Singapore Grand Prix
3 to 5 October, starting at 13:00 BST on Sunday.
The lights go on in Singapore this weekend as the battle for the Formula 1 world title resumes on the streets of Marina Bay.
Before the night race, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was 69 points ahead of Oscar Piastri, who now leads McLaren team-mate Lando Norris by 25 points, a race win.
With only 13 points required to win a second consecutive team title, McLaren appears determined to win the constructors’ championship in Singapore. Even if they don’t manage that, Mercedes need to outscore them by 31 points or Ferrari by 35 to prevent them winning it this weekend.
How likely is it that Christian Horner will compete for another F1 team next season now that he has been officially released by Red Bull Racing, and would he only agree to serve as the CEO or something similar? – Matthew
Last week, a full article covered the subject.
In summary, Horner appears to be eager to return to F1, but he does not want to be “only” a team principal. He would want a shareholding in the team and a strong degree of control.
Toto Wolff, his nemesis at Mercedes, has had since he joined the team in 2013, and he wants that status.
Although Horner was already the team principal and chief executive officer of Red Bull Racing, he did not have any equity, and his failure in the end resulted in his failure.
Where could he go? That’s more difficult to say, and there are potential obstacles in many places you can look.
Alpine ? They have just employed a new person in a role that is effectively team principal, managing director Steve Nielsen. And they already have Flavio Briatore, the executive adviser in charge, as their top echelon.
Given the state of their relationship, it’s difficult to imagine Wolff agreeing to give his power-units to any team led by Horner. Alpine also has Mercedes engines.
Aston Martin have been mentioned in some reports. Through Lawrence Stroll, the owner of the team, they have ambition and wealth.
Adrian Newey, who has a shareholding, became the company’s managing technical partner in March. And Newey left Red Bull largely because of Horner – the allegations levelled against him by a female employee, and Horner’s role in diminishing Newey’s contribution over the previous couple of years.
In those circumstances, would Newey want to work with Horner again?
Ferrari ? Frederic Vasseur has just signed a new multi-year contract as team principal, and it’s hard to imagine them making Horner CEO of the car company and giving him a substantial shareholding, especially given how well Ferrari has done since it was listed.
Haas ? Owner Gene Haas wants to sell a sizable share of the company. So far, the answer has been no.
Does he want to alter the philosophy of his team? He has so far enjoyed doing F1 with a small budget and obtaining as many Ferrari parts as possible. And does he want to spend a lot of money on Horner’s salary?
If the car isn’t competitive, Fernando Alonso claims it will be difficult for him to retire next year. What are his legitimate options for a championship-winning vehicle other than an Aston Martin, and do you think he’ll stay? – Srinivasan
Alonso’s Aston Martin contract expires at the end of the 2026 season and he will turn 45 in July of next year.
So, what are the two questions: Will he continue to work after the following year and will any team want to sign a 46-year-old player?
There is no sign so far of Alonso’s performance dropping off with age. He trails teammate Lance Stroll in the championship game this year, which is unusual, but that has more to do with circumstances than performance.
Alonso leads in the qualifying standings, going 19-1 ahead of them in each session with an average of 0. 319 seconds.
Realistically, though, it’s unlikely a top team would want to sign Alonso, and I’m not convinced he’d want to leave Aston Martin – he believes in the project and they have Adrian Newey.
So, one would anticipate that if he stays with F1 and works for Aston Martin.
I have to admit that I don’t fully understand Alonso’s logic when he says, “Let’s say that if we are competitive, there is more chance that I stop,” in an interview that Aston Martin released last week. If we are not competitive, it will be very hard to give up without trying again”.
You’d think it could be the opposite: if they were competitive, he would want to keep going, and if not, he might just say, “Well, I hung on for this, it hasn’t worked, I might as well stop.”
The improvements at Williams have been impressive since James Vowles took charge. How far can he possibly join the team without a sizable injection of cash or a car manufacturer’s support? – Mark
Williams ‘ ambitions are clear – they want to return to their former position at the top of F1.
Owner Dorilton has already made a sizable investment in the team. That’s one of the reasons James Vowles’ work has made such a significant progress.
Max Verstappen’s dominance over his Red Bull team-mates is ironically reminiscent of Michael Schumacher’s over Jos Verstappen at Benetton in 1994. Was dad Jos’ experience a key factor in making Max a true champion? Alexander
Jos Verstappen devoted his life to preparing Max for F1 from the moment his own career came to an end.
You can read more about how he did this in this article, which was first published on the eve of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Jos was a very demanding tutor, and Max started out in karts at age three.
It seems as if Max is the perfect combination of nature and nurture. His father raced in Formula One. Sophie Kumpen, Sophie’s mother, was a highly regarded go-karter who competed against a lot of aspiring F1 drivers. And Max has put in the practice necessary.
Let’s face it, it still does. Weekend off from F1 took place last weekend. Was Max relaxing? No . He was competing at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and he was winning. Unsurprising in a way, given who he is. But also remarkable.
Only Graham Hill has ever won the motorsport triple crown, winning the Le Mans, Monaco Grand Prix, and Indy 500. Do you believe that any driver has a good chance of finishing it in the near future? – Josh
At this point, only two drivers are on par to winning the triple crown. Le Mans and Monaco have been won by Juan Pablo Montoya, but not Le Mans. Fernando Alonso has won Monaco and Le Mans twice, but not the Indy 500.
Montoya has effectively retired at the age of 50. Alonso did not seem particularly interested in returning the last time I inquired about Indy.
This was in 2022, admittedly, but he said that he was concerned about safety and had found the cars less satisfying since the introduction of the aero screen, IndyCar’s version of the halo head-protection device in F1.
Alonso responded, “No, it’s too dangerous.” Additionally, the aero screen has become more challenging to follow and less enjoyable.
Of course, he might change his mind. After leaving Formula One, it appears that Alonso will be more likely than Indy to compete in the Dakar Rally.
In that context, it seems unlikely that the triple crown will be won for some time. In today’s world, it’s difficult to imagine a driver competing in F1, IndyCars, and Le Mans throughout their careers.
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