- Helmut Marko claims Mercedes’ front wing bends during races.
- Speculation about Max Verstappen possibly moving to Mercedes.
- The qualifying battle between Hamilton and Russell heats up.
- F1 CEO Domenicali hints at future changes to the race calendar.
Red Bull’s Helmut Marko stirred the pot by alleging that Mercedes’ front wing appeared to bend noticeably during the recent Canadian Grand Prix. Despite these claims, the wings had passed the FIA’s strength tests. Marko highlighted this as part of the ongoing ‘flexi-wings’ debate, emphasizing that while everything might meet regulations in a controlled setting, it’s a different story on the racetrack, where the wing behavior could benefit aerodynamics.
Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz shared an intriguing theory suggesting that Kimi Antonelli might be the key figure preventing Max Verstappen from joining Mercedes. As speculation swirls around Verstappen’s future post-2026, Kravitz explained that if Mercedes wants Verstappen, they may have to figure out how to integrate him without sidelining Antonelli, who is seen as a future star for Mercedes. Helmut Marko, however, believes Antonelli is firmly planted in the Mercedes camp and doesn’t foresee him leaving.
There’s an ongoing battle within Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell vie for qualifying supremacy. Currently, Russell leads with an 8-1 advantage. Mercedes’ technical director, James Allison, acknowledged that the performance gap might change as the W15 car improves, making future qualifying results more telling of each driver’s prowess.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali spoke about the possibility of rotating European races on the calendar and increasing the number of Sprint events. He pointed out that F1 is no longer as dependent on Europe and compared the sport’s frequency of events to other sports like soccer and basketball. Domenicali stressed that despite the high number of races, F1 continues to grow and entertain its fans effectively.
The F1 landscape is continuously evolving with technical controversies, driver speculations, and changes to race formats.
Source: Planetf1
