In the round-up: Teams say the 2026 technical regulations offer more freedom than the current ones.
In brief
Teams “welcome freedom” of 2026 regulations
F1’s team principals say they are pleased that the 2026 technical regulations changes will give their technical teams more opportunity for innovation than the currently active rules.
“With the recent release of the car geometry, especially from an aerodynamic point of view, basically two main things have been achieved,” said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella.
“One is a much higher downforce level and the second one is more freedom. We welcome both. We welcome the more freedom. I think this will give teams the possibility to just use their knowledge, use their methodologies.”
Williams team principal James Vowles agrees: “We now have more freedom where you could see a different direction that you’re going in,” he said.
“There’s more flow controlling devices in place, which lead to downforce, but differentiation between teams. What’s been really positive as well is there’s still some small areas of improvement around the diffuser. But again, what’s great to see is teams in the [working group] working hand in hand in order to improve that. Because every time you make a change like that, it has some consequences. But I think what you’re going to see now is instead of all teams working in the same few millimetres, there’ll be some different concepts. I personally think that is good for the sport.”
Alpine targets Colapinto – reports
Despite Alpine already having announced both Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan as their race drivers for 2025, reports in the Italian media suggest that Franco Colapinto has become attractive to the team.La Gazetta dello Sport reports that Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore is working to try and bring the Williams rookie to the team to fill the seat that has been announced already for Doohan.
Colapinto has raced six rounds for Williams replacing Logan Sargeant. He sits 19th in the championship with five points scored.
Pulling quickest in Formula E test
Alpine junior driver and F1 Academy championship leader Abbi Pulling was fastest in the all-woman Formula E test in Jarama yesterday.
Driving for Nissan, Pulling set the best time of the session around the Spanish circuit with a 1’30.889, three tenths faster than the closest time of Jamie Chadwick in the Jaguar. Bianca Bustamante was third fastest for McLaren.
Mitch Evans set the quickest time in the final session of testing for current race drivers for Jaguar, ahead of Dan Ticktum for the renamed Kiro Race Co.
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Links
Rossi ‘will push a lot’ for Hypercar race chance after ‘stunning’ Rookie Test (FIA WEC)
''I felt comfortable from the first lap. The Hypercar is very exciting and a lot of fun to drive; it has plenty of horsepower – the acceleration when you open the throttle is impressive – and being 15 seconds a lap faster than the LMGT3, the straights feel a lot shorter! The tyres also have great grip with all the downforce, and you can brake very deep for the corners. Sincerely, lapping so close to the top was more than I had expected. My race pace was good too, and I was able to improve my times a lot throughout the day. I have to say thank you to the team for such a great experience, and I hope I get another chance to try the car.I don’t know if it will be possible, maybe not next year, but after this test, I will push a lot.''
iRacing Development Update: November 2024 (iRacing)
'Together with Ferrari, we are so excited to bring the beautiful Ferrari 499P to iRacing. Our development collaborations have been extensive, including a visit to Ferrari HQ in Maranello, Italy, and collaboration with the real-world development team and drivers. The end result is fantastic – the 499P is incredible and thrilling to drive. The 499P will join our now 16-car-deep Endurance Series, as well as the BMW M Hybrid V8, Cadillac V-Series.R GTP, Acura ARX-06 GTP, and Porsche 963 GTP in a reconfigured/reconstituted Prototype Challenge Series. '
SF Full Access - 2024 São Paulo GP | Still in the Fight (Ferrari via YouTube)
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jnr get an early wake up call on the morning of the Brazilian Grand Prix
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Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Reimagining the Future, 2024 ✨💜
The incredible night, hosted by @ArianaBravoF1, kicked off with a warm welcome from Mission 44 CEO, @Jason_Arthur.
This was followed by an inspiring conversation between Ariana, @LewisHamilton and Motorsport Scholar, Laila, who recently… pic.twitter.com/Nd10JK1V1j
— Mission 44 (@mission44) November 8, 2024
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Comment of the day
Looking back at how Max Verstappen’s Brazilian Grand Prix victory played out over team radio leaves roadrunner impressed with the world champion…
I’m not his biggest fan and the red flag helped, that’s for sure, but his performance was quite on another level compared to the whole field. That’s the most impressive thing. Only Verstappen found the grip early on, only he could overtake people and in clean air he was just miles faster than anybody else.
I have no doubts that he would have beaten Lando Norris anyway. Although the Alpine boys did quite well too, given the car disadvantage they have compared to Red Bull and the other top teams.
roadrunner
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to George, Adrian Hancox and Cristofer Lima!
An Sionnach
9th November 2024, 0:24
I had a feeling Flavio would be interested in Colapinto. It would be like him to poach a promising driver out from under the noses of other, lumbering team bosses.
Jungle
9th November 2024, 9:47
He’s definitely an exciting young prospect…be a shame to miss out.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th November 2024, 6:24
Yesterday’s sudden Alpine claim most certainly has zero validity & foundation.
Just like Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, & Haas, Alpine won’t make any driver changes this late for the sake of changing, not to mention Doohan is a driver whose career they’ve invested in, which is precisely why they decided to promote him to a full-time drive in the first place, so thinking they’d take back their decision made in August is unrealistic & simply foolish, especially as Briatore is his manager & started within the Montmelo-Spielberg-Silverstone triple-header, so definitely relevant for the decision timing.
Zero stance & validity in such reports as long as no confirmation comes from the relevant party, i.e., Alpine itself as only their words matter at all, but unfortunately, F1 has always been full of people giving a stance for third-party reports or claims as if they’d truly matter.
Ultimately, James Volwes should stop acting like other teams owe Williams a favor, even those already set with their drivers for the short to medium term, & accept that everything happened too late for him regarding any 2025 drive, meaning that reserve driver role, with or without side racing program, is Colapinto’s fate.
I fully agree with the COTD.
notagrumpyfan
9th November 2024, 7:10
Why do you always rush to present your opinion and assessments as if they are facts?
You’ve been wrong on many occasions (Bottas is out and Colapinto was considered by Sauber), and it cannot be that difficult to add an ‘I think’ or ‘AFAIK’ to a statement!
Unexpected_move
9th November 2024, 8:06
@Jere doesn’t like Colapinto at all. Just read his comments for the past month. Whenever Franco’s name comes out he just tries to downplay Colapinto’s possibility of joining another team next year. Now, I have bad news for @Jere, Franco will be driving for a top team in 2025. One month in advance I anticipated in this forum that Colapinto was going to drive for Williams F1 team and he did. I’m very close to him and I know for a fact the details of the negotiations that are currently taking place.
Jungle
9th November 2024, 9:39
Top team eh? Then it has to be Red Bull. Can you confirm that Sainz will still replace him at Williams? As there’s a few innuendos going around about that now….
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
9th November 2024, 12:47
I would love to see Carlos get a better drive. I think it highly unlikely at this stage but I think he’s going to be a waste driving a Williams.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th November 2024, 13:30
Unexpected_move Literally nothing to do with whether I like or dislike any particular driver, but simply about being fully realistic with expectations.
As for your claim about being close to him, yeah right, sure. I don’t fall for that because if you truly were part of his group, you wouldn’t be here & use such a username, etc., so doubtful credibility.
I’d only believe if you provided some actual evidence about you being close to him, like your real name, occupation, etc.
notagrumpyfan Any actual evidence he ‘was’ considered by Sauber/Audi? As for Bottas, while I believed he’d continue, I also never discounted the opposite possibility that eventually happened.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th November 2024, 13:47
Unexpected_move May I add that a certain type of image would also be enough as evidence.
notagrumpyfan
9th November 2024, 14:09
Please read my comment, and recommendation, again!
Just stop pretending that your beliefs are facts. Too often you have been proven wrong, and a simple ‘I think’ or ‘AFAIK’ would go a long way.
Why being so nasty to Unexpected_move, and making him out to be a liar if he doesn’t provide you proof, and at the same time expecting us to simply accept your statements as facts (do notice that I do no call you a ‘liar’).
anon
9th November 2024, 18:38
It’s quite a serious claim by that particular poster, who has appeared out of nowhere, that they are extremely close to Colapinto and have such detailed knowledge of negotiations that are confidential in nature.
We’ve had a few instances of people who have falsely claimed to have links to certain figures, only for those claims to be proven false. Sometimes it’s been attention seeking, sometimes it’s been fans promoting a particular narrative they wanted to see play out, and sometimes it was motivated more by spite (either wanting to paint someone in a negative light or wanting to fool others into believing them and then mocking them for being so gullible).
It’s particularly the case when certain posters might have a grudge against another poster and want to make them look stupid, and we know there is a particular poster on this site who has been specifically targeting jere for no clear reason than because they can.
I am therefore not surprised that at least some posters would be rather dubious of such claims and expect something more substantial to back up those claims – particularly given that these claims are coming some time after press reports saying Colapinto is in talks with Red Bull.
We’re therefore not necessarily getting information that only someone close to Colapinto could know, and somebody could just bluff their way into claiming to have knowledge that has been presented elsewhere, particularly if it is from sources that aren’t English speaking and thus people on this site may not check against.
It also has to be said that, for all the criticism that poster has got for “presenting opinion as fact”, there are plenty of posters on this site who are guilty of the same practice. I am sure that you, I and many others, if not everyone on this site, will be guilty of doing that to a greater or lesser extent at times and perhaps should be a bit more moderate in that criticism.
notagrumpyfan
9th November 2024, 21:53
Indeed it is, but that isn’t my point.
We all make mistakes, and I’m sure I have presented my opinion as more factual in some occasions as well. But OP does it regularly, and it might stifle others in sharing their views and opinion. It’s a pity as otherwise the posts are often very good, insightful, and historically correct.
It might be a language thing (as I replied earlier this week), but I hope(d) that me and others pointing it out will help to reflect on this.
Unexpected_move
9th November 2024, 23:38
@anon, it’s a serious claim indeed and I gain nothing by posting this information. Just take it in anyway you like. Cheers.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th November 2024, 17:31
anon Thank you. Claiming things under random usernames is an easy way of fooling unsuspecting people, so I’m justifiably always reserved if I saw certain type of claims that seem too good to be true, & if evidence doesn’t matter at all, anyone could do the same thing freely, & for that matter, I’m close to Red Bull & therefore, know for certain that Tsunoda will finally receive a main team promotion, with Lawson & Hadjar forming the B-team duo for next season, if you get the memo.
Fully seriously, if people bother to claim to be part of negotiations or otherwise close to certain parties, they should be willing to provide concrete evidence or claim nothing in the first place.
I’m merely defending my right to question matters that seem questionable or unrealistic, hence, I never try to present my opinions or beliefs as facts, etc., but I simply stay as realistic as possible with my expectations.
I guess the relevant point everyone should realize is that some things are simply obvious enough that one doesn’t need to be a genius to realize whether they can realistically be truthful or not, & if third-party reports or speculation had more relevance than words from relevant parties, people should as well claim the same thing about Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, or Haas as they’ve been doing with Alpine recently regarding Doohan.
Unexpected_move How surprising of you to reply in an arrogant manner to valid accusations.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th November 2024, 17:37
I somehow mistyped ‘If I see’ as ‘If I saw’ & I’ll use this opportunity to additionally point out that you Unexpected_move may have typed a month in advance that Colapinto would replace Sargeant during the season, but that was purely an accurate prediction/assumption, which anyone can do, so nothing weird.
notagrumpyfan
10th November 2024, 20:44
@jerejj, you are still missing the point; and that’s a fact ;)
Don’t try to focus on somebody else when it’s you who are being asked (challenged) not to present your beliefs as facts. You were doing it here, and you have done it many times before.
Just take it as some feedback. You clearly have a very good memory (or searching skills) about many things that happen in F1, but there are also things you do not have a lot of experience in (primarily the business and politics around F1). Feel free to share your opinion and ideas, but try to keep your ears and mind open.
As you should’ve seen by now; various of your predictions, or beliefs, were simply wrong.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
9th November 2024, 8:32
This amuses me, as I’ve lost count of the times that you have presented your opinion as fact!
I think it’s naive to laugh off these rumours. F1 has proven time and again that a contract means nothing when teams decide to make a change. It might not happen, but weirder things have. And Alpine of all teams are the most volatile for recruitment and retention.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th November 2024, 13:32
@eurobrun The essential point is that people should unrealistically assume that a team would make a late change without a strongly justifiable, i.e., a different matter if a world champion were available or even someone like Sainz who Alpine certainly tried to get before eventually resorting to promoting Doohan, but still for a reason.
Ambrogio Isgro
9th November 2024, 17:51
You have to consider how Briatore acts.
When Michael Schumacher appeared in F1 he was really fast to give him a contract and say goodbye to the second Benetton driver (Moreno?).
If he feels that Colapinto could be a new star he will hire him without any consideration about Doohan and Alpine junior program. Between Gasly and Doohan the first is a known quantity for the team so they can measure instantly Colapinto value against him. Then, if the argentinian driver doesn’t match the expectatives, he’ll get rid of him asap.
For sure Colapinto will be in a F1 seat next year.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th November 2024, 17:33
Ambrogio Isgro Some validity regarding Briatore, although if Alpine weren’t going to give Doohan a chance anyway, they wouldn’t have decided that way in August after the Sainz rejection, but simply tried to alternatively hire someone like Bottas or Magnussen as an experienced driver alongside Gasly.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
11th November 2024, 21:31
We also have to consider that Briatore had a last-minute attempt to get Sainz, not because there was ever any serious chance of his going there, but because he wanted that moment of psuedopolitical power. If Briatore says he’s in talks with Colapinto, it doesn’t mean he is, and even if he proved the conversation happened, it wouldn’t mean he ever intended or expected to hire him.
F1 has a lot of silly games of chess going on within it.
MichaelN
9th November 2024, 20:16
Anything can happen. I recall some took Vowles’ word that Sargeant wouldn’t be replaced as the one and only truth, when all of these things are merely temporary views. If circumstances in the drivers market change, nothing that was said before matters anymore.
Anyway, it would be pretty rough on Doohan if this happens.
Jere (@jerejj)
10th November 2024, 17:24
Yes, Vowles first said Sargeant wouldn’t be replaced, but that’s normal & was true until he changed his mind, which is also normal, so nothing weird.
What people should accept that things won’t change or will happen in a certain way until the relevant party(ies) decide & say differently.
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
9th November 2024, 8:47
Would be nice to know what time Evans had set at that test too, just to compare.
Imre (@f1mre)
9th November 2024, 9:50
@njoydesign 1:27.461
Ideals (@ideals)
9th November 2024, 10:30
The slowest overall time in the regular test was Nico Müller with 1:28.856.
While they’re not miles off, they are still off significantly enough that you don’t have to expect a full time drive for a woman in Formula E anytime soon.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
9th November 2024, 11:19
To be fair even Muller has 33 races under his belt, so I’m not sure we can really compare a seasoned driver in his car vs a newbie handed a one time drive in an unknown car. If anything, I find it quite reasonable actually. The very best of women could probably be competitive in Formula E.
Imre (@f1mre)
9th November 2024, 19:39
We have women who are competing with men. Both in sportscar racing and in single seaters.
Sophia Flörsch is for example very much against separating women and men in motorsports and she is competing against men. She would probably have smashed the women field.
Doh
10th November 2024, 17:27
A few years back I remember seeing I think an Asian gt3 race. Thailand if I remember correctly and it was a women who won and apparently she had been dominating that season, or at least doing very well. No idea who or what series though
SteveP
9th November 2024, 9:43
No one going to comment on The Doctor being just a tenth off Leclerc in hypercar?
Maybe Ferrari should let the ‘youngster’* have a go in their F1 car?
*They do say you’re as young as you feel and age is just a number.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
10th November 2024, 12:42
GD A
Well it’s all right even if you’re old and grey
Well it’s all right
You’ve still got something to say
Maybe somewhere down the road aways at the end of the line
You’ll think of me and wonder where I am these days
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays
Purple Haze
Well it’s all right
(Except if you feel 15 years older than you are)
Doh
10th November 2024, 17:35
It’s very impressive indeed. Reminds me of his Ferrari F1 test in 2008. If driving an F1 car is a visceral experience that requires a lot of talent, I can only assume riding a top level bike is at the very least, a clear step above.
I’m not sure if that’s enough to say it’s not surprising, but I think riders don’t get enough credit. Probably only because cars are more common than bikes across most of the world
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
10th November 2024, 20:44
44 & 46? (that’s their numbers, both yellow, not their ages)
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
11th November 2024, 21:42
This was both of their first attempts in a Hypercar (and I think the press release did a typo there, because the Leclerc that was fastest was Arthur), and both should be very pleased with their efforts.
Ferrari has a lot of good sportscar drivers in its teams at the moment, but I think Rossi has set out his stall neatly to get a WEC seat in Ferrari (Hypercar or GT3), should a vacancy appear.
Asd
9th November 2024, 13:38
What sad news. That’s just terrible. Will they never learn anything? They’ve been playing that silly game for 30 years now.
The more aero downforce you have, the more downforce there is to be lost when following another car, thus making it harder to follow. Everybody and their dog know that, but they seem to have been going blindly back and forth with this for decades now.
Doh
10th November 2024, 17:39
I agree. In 2014 the cars may have been a bit slow but wasn’t the racing better? They still needed drs no doubt but maybe someone can chime in if they remember. I know Lewis couldn’t get by in Brazil even with drs (if he had it all) but I would think they could follow a bit better with less downforce
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
9th November 2024, 15:44
Many thanks for the birthday shout out, just home from the Miller and Carter after a stunning Ribeye and a few sharp and refreshing ciders, have a nice weekend all – time for my afternoon kip!
notagrumpyfan
9th November 2024, 16:42
Happy Birthday.