New week, new information. We're getting close to the start of the season and the news say so, let's see them:
Less circuits, more street races
Last Tuesday the change of the venue of the Spanish Grand Prix was announced, Madrid will be the new host of this GP from 2026 in detriment of the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya. Although Stefano Domenicalli expressed some weeks ago that he didn't wanted to have two GPs on Spain, he has started negotiations with the directive of the permanent circuit after signing with Madrid. Talking about the latter, it's circuit was announced via an event in the IFEMA facilities, where the race is going to take place. The layout which was presented there went around those facilities and near Real Madrid's training field. There was also a play of a Flamenco version of the F1 Theme, which is thought to be used in that GP as it happen in Mexico.
Foremost, F1 has registered the trademark "Formula one Grand Prix of Chicago" which could be the fourth race on the United States. It is also rumoured to be a street circuit.
The changes of Red Bull as a whole
Red Bull's junior team has been renamed as "Visa Cash App RB". This is the second team that changes their name in view of the 2024 season, and another team to have their sponsors as their main name. The team has declared that the "RB" doesn't stand for anything, although their company name is Racing Bulls S.p.A.
The main team is looking into changing some things of their internal structure, with the most notorious change being the transfer of their head of aerodinamicists and the mastermind behind all of their championship winning cars Adrian Newey to their supercar project. This isn't for nothing, as his transfer would mean that is salary wouldn't be within the budget cap, but he would not be permitted by the FIA to work on their F1 car.
Silly season has started
Without the season even starting we have got some changes on the contracts of two drivers, although none of them are changing teams. Charles Leclerc was the first one to sign, renovating with Ferrari for an unknown number of years. Some journalists say that he has a place at the Scuderia until 2028. Leclerc himself has said that he liked knowing he would wear the red racing suit for some more seasons, confirmating that it is a multi-annual deal. It is also rummoured that Leclerc has a clause on his contract that permits him to rescind his contract if he doesn't have a winning car from 2026 onwards. The italian team also has signed Ollie Bearman to be their reserve driver.
McLaren also has re-signed one of it's drivers, the most veteran one, Lando Norris, who has dropped that he had offers from Red Bull:
There were conversations, but they ended quickly. When I started getting calls I talked it over internally with Andrea Stella and Zak Brown, we discussed it and made sure we put these rumors to rest and made a quick decision.
He also has declared that he didn't want to go to the Austrian team because he would have Max Verstappen as a teammate.
Here is a list of all the contracts on the grid:
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2028 | ???? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albon | Gasly | Piastri | Verstappen | Leclerc |
| Alonso | Hamilton | Norris | ||
| Bottas | Russell | Stroll | ||
| Hulkenberg | ||||
| Magnussen | ||||
| Ocon | ||||
| Perez | ||||
| Ricciardo | ||||
| Sainz | ||||
| Tsunoda | ||||
| Zhou |
Close from pre-season testing, closer from the presentations
With only some weeks to spare, Alpine has failed again the lateral crash test. The french team are pessimistic about what they can do this season, and, with the drivers expressing how they didn't trust Alpine of giving them a championship winning car some weeks ago, the team based in Enstone is passing through a rough patch.
Also with little to no time to spare, the FIA has said to BBS, the F1 rim supplier, to make them more resistant to impact to not repeat the scene that happened in Brazil last year with a tire going by itself on the track. The German manufacturer has announced that the new rims are going to be heavier, but more resistant.
Definitive Presentation dates
Finally we have the definitive dates, with the announcement of Haas and Visa Cash App RB.
| Team | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Haas | 2nd February |
| Stake / Sauber | 5th February |
| Williams | 5th February |
| Alpine | 7th February |
| Visa Cash App RB | 8th February |
| Aston Martin | 12th February |
| Ferrari | 13th February |
| Mercedes | 14th February |
| McLaren | 14th February |
| Red Bull | 15th February |
To make sure you keep up with the latest news in Formula 1, make sure to follow us on all our social media, links to them are on the Blog section
David, Co-owner of SBOF1