Formula 1: Articles & News Reports.

[Fortitude]

Stella’s warning: Williams could crash the top four party.
The data didn’t lie: Williams, powered by new signing Carlos Sainz, had topped the timesheets on day two with a blistering single-lap pace that turned heads across the paddock.
2 Mar 2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

“We see there are definitely several cars that are in condition to put together very competitive lap times, which I think are competitive in absolute terms,” Stella told the media, quoted by Motorsport Week.

For Stella, it was a sign that 2025 might rewrite the pecking order. “So if anything my take so far is that I was thinking before coming here that in the past we used to talk about the top three,” he said. “Then thankfully McLaren has kind of added and now we have the top four.”

“But perhaps this year we might have to adapt our language again, which will be great for Formula 1 and then maybe the top five or the top six. So we will see. Certainly there seem to be a few quick cars out there.” Asked who among the chasing pack stood out, Stella pointed straight at Williams.

‘The data didn’t lie: Williams’;

https://f1i.com/news/531845-stellas-...our-party.html


F1: Williams could become threat for top 4 teams, say McLaren
Mar 5, 2025
Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
Last Word On Sports

McLaren’s Andrea Stella elaborated on why James Vowles’ squad should not be underestimated: “We see that at low fuel, there are definitely several cars that are in condition to put together very competitive lap times, which I think are competitive in absolute terms…”

“It’s interesting that, for instance, Williams were very strong in the second sector. Which is not only a sector of braking acceleration, is also a sector with a couple of medium-speed corners. So I think this should say that Williams might have improved in that area.”

In many ways, it is important to exercise caution about the lap times set by James Vowles’ team in Sakhir. Fundamentally, Williams were running significantly less fuel than the top teams when setting their personal best times. Of course, this is not to say the FW47 is not a clear step forward on its predecessor.

‘Williams could become threat for top 4’;

https://lastwordonsports.com/motorsp...s-say-mclaren/


Williams a surprise threat ahead of Australian GP
McLaren boss Andrea Stella has singled out Williams as a potential surprise packet as the F1 circus heads to Melbourne for next weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
5 March 2025
Mat Coch
Speedcafe

McLaren emerged as the team to beat during the three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain late last month. That reaffirmed the belief the Papaya squad is the favourite for the championship this year. However, team principal Stella is wary of the closing challenge posed by the field. “I’ve seen that, in terms of one lap pace, in addition to the top four… certainly Williams very competitive,” he said. “I’m sure everyone will have seen the same data that I look at.”

“Already last year, going through qualifying sessions, it was quite tight,” Stella admitted. “Those sessions in which you enter [Q1] and you think we’re going to go through with one set of tyres, just the first run will be enough; often we needed to go out again and it was still quite close from a lap times point of view. What I’ve taken from these two days is that, if anything, there is going to be even more of this as we start this 2025 season.”

‘Williams a surprise threat’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-m...ents-reaction/


Will Williams end painful three-year wait?
Williams have featured on the F1 podium 313 times in its history in the pinnacle of motorsport, although it has not added to that list since 2021.
4 Mar 2025
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Williams has not claimed a podium in Formula 1 in over three years, although the team enters the new season in a fascinating position. The Grove-based outfit's most recent podium came in the unusual 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, with George Russell finishing second.

At a soaked Spa-Francorchamps, Russell qualified in second. Following a significant delay due to extreme weather, the first two laps were completed behind the safety car. A red flag was flown on the third lap, with no restart possible. It holds the record for the shortest race in F1 history. Since then, Williams has not been in a position to compete for a podium.

‘Painful three-year wait’;

https://racingnews365.com/will-willi...hree-year-wait


Williams delighted with the reliability of their FW47
4 Mar 2025
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Williams' chief engineer Dave Robson highlighted the reliability of the FW47 as its main strength, with only minor technical issues having hindered the team's on-track preparation for the upcoming season. "Alex was back in the car for the final day of winter testing. Conditions were more challenging today with the strong gusts making testing more difficult.”

"However, we were still able to complete some useful work across a range of fuel loads. In preparation for the season ahead, we scanned a range of car configurations and tyre compounds. Once again, the FW47 was mostly reliable with only a few minor issues affecting the programme. This puts us in a good place for the opening races of the season."

‘FW47 was mostly reliable’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/26391


Joy for Carlos Sainz? Williams gains uncovered in F1 testing data analysis
3 Mar 2025
Pablo Hidalgo
PlanetF1.com

Carlos Sainz and Williams to start F1 2025 as best of the rest? In the short pre-season in Bahrain the team led by James Vowles seems to have made a clear step forward with the new Williams FW47. Carlos Sainz was the fastest driver during pre-season testing with a lap time of 1:29.438. Of course, no top team went in search of performance and if they had, they would have beaten this lap time.

Still, the telemetry data shows that the FW47 is a car with good aerodynamic efficiency on the straights, but still struggles to find grip on slow-speed corners as we can see in the following graph compared to Lewis Hamilton’s brand new Ferrari SF-25. The FW47 seems to have a certain ease in making the softer compounds work in the optimal operating window. However, it struggles more with the harder tyres in the long runs.

While there are many doubts about the relative differences between McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, everything seems a little clearer in the middle of the grid. Williams seems to have an extra point of potential ahead of Alpine and Racing Bulls while Aston Martin, Sauber and Haas seem to be a step behind these three teams.

‘FW47 is a car with good aerodynamic efficiency’;

https://www.planetf1.com/features/ca...ata-f1-testing


What Williams can learn from its last great F1 leap forward
Mar 5, 2025
Edd Straw
The Race

Williams's leap forward in 2014 was no more than a dead cat bounce, with little chance of it leading to a sustained return to frontrunning form. That's the big difference in what it hopes to achieve in 2026 as, with the financial conditions prevalent in F1 now very different, there should be no reason why it can't hold onto any big gains made.

The one problem is that 2026 probably comes too early to expect Williams to repeat its 2014 trick and be able to jump forward to the extent that it's the second-fastest car. Williams might look well placed to make a leap from the back to the front of Formula 1's midfield in 2025, but team principal James Vowles has long been clear that the team's resources are focussed on the opportunity presented by the new regulations to make an even greater leap forward in 2026.

‘Williams's leap forward’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/w...-leap-forward/

[Fortitude]

Russell approves the return to Melbourne: "Definitely should be the opener".
Russell on returning to Melbourne for the season opener: "I think it's great starting in Melbourne.”
4 Mar 2025
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

“Melbourne's naturally a great place, but of course, it takes a long time to get there. And I think the last couple of years, when it's been race three, you've already had quite a heavy start to the season with testing [in] Bahrain in general, whereas at the start of the season, things are a little bit calmer and it takes less of a toll on the body. So I feel it definitely should be the opener," Russell explained at the F1 75 Live event in London.

"I think when you look at last year, I don't think there's really any trends of where cars go well and when they perform poorly. So I think whoever wins in Melbourne or even if the team dominates, I don't think that necessarily means they'll go on to dominate the season. If they win the opening four races, that's a better indicator," Russell concluded.

“Great starting in Melbourne”;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/33041...melbourne.html


Doohan and Piastri headline free Australian GP fan event
7 March 2025
Mat Coch
Speedcafe

Australian Grand Prix organisers have supplemented this year’s event with an all-new festival in Melbourne Park Oval. Starting on Wednesday, the initiative offers a cost-free way for fans to engage with the Australian GP without attending the circuit. Doohan and Piastri will kick off the festival with an appearance at 3pm AEDT on Wednesday.

“The appearance of Oscar and Jack offers fans a free and exclusive opportunity to hear from the drivers ahead of their home race, something usually reserved for ticket holders attending the Grand Prix at Albert Park.,” said Australian GP boss Travis Auld.

“Over the five-day festival, fans will also get the opportunity to hear from Formula 1 reserve drivers and team principal, Supercars drivers and even Australia’s own 2025 Dakar Rally winner, extending the excitement of race week from the track to Melbourne Park Oval.” On top of the Q&A appearances, the fan festival will boast a big screen, display car, and virtual selfies. The five-day festival starts on Wednesday and runs throughout the weekend.

‘Fan event’;

https://speedcafe.com/doohan-and-pia...-gp-fan-event/


Norris backed to vanquish Verstappen and Hamilton with early boost
3 Mar 2025
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Who will win the Australian Grand Prix?
Answer Share of vote
Lando Norris 32.29%
Max Verstappen 22.87%
Lewis Hamilton 17.94%
Charles Leclerc 10.31%
Oscar Piastri 9.87%
George Russell 2.69%
Kimi Antonelli 0.90%
Liam Lawson 0.45%
Someone else 2.69%

‘Norris backed’;

https://racingnews365.com/norris-bac...th-early-boost


Every F1 team ranked after 2025 testing
1 Mar 2025
The Race

10 Sauber: Being the slowest based on headline laptimes is one thing, but doing so in harness with unspectacular long-run pace in a car that is visibly the trickiest to drive adds up to a bleak picture for what was already last year’s worst team.
9 Aston Martin The fact Aston Martin had a disrupted test, completing only 306 laps – more only than Red Bull – perhaps shrouded the car’s potential. But on top of the inconclusive, but unspectacular, laptimes there were signs trackside of instability at corner entry, meaning the drivers often had to hesitate briefly after the initial turn in to ensure the rear end didn’t give up on them. That’s a time and confidence-sapping trait.
8 Haas: It was only the ninth-quickest car on single-lap pace, but it again looks set to be a competitive midfield proposition. As team principal Ayao Komatsu says: “we are in the ballpark, I don’t know exactly where”.
7 Racing Bulls: The team had to chip away at an understeer problem over the course of the Bahrain test, and there were still signs of a slight front limitation on the final day - but nothing too serious. In the hands of Yuki Tsunoda, in particular, the car looks like a good package with significant data accumulated and mileage logged.

6 Alpine: We might even be harsh on Alpine by ranking it only sixth, given it looks to be nip and tuck with Williams for the head of the midfield. Generally, the Alpine ran a little heavier on fuel load than the Williams in Bahrain, with the two cars looking to have similar pace.
5 Williams: Williams set the fastest laptime of the test, on the second day of running. While that led to some tipping it to join the lead group, that seems a step too far - as Carlos Sainz admitted when he said “I don’t think we’ve done the necessary step to be fighting with the top teams this year”.
4 Red Bull: The Red Bull RB21 is unquestionably fast enough to be in the leading group of four, but it appears to have inherited at least some of its predecessor’s problems. Watching from trackside, there were signs of the balance problems with the car not looking easy to get turned in and rotated through the corner consistently when pushing. Even when quick, the car looked tricky.

3 Ferrari: At its best, the car is nimble and strong, almost inseparable from the Mercedes in both poise on-track and in laptime. But it occasionally exhibited some more prominent limitations – sometimes understeer, sometimes rear sliding, sometimes excessive tyre wear. It seems the test was slightly disappointing given how well sorted McLaren looked and the step Mercedes has apparently made.
2 Mercedes: The Mercedes was unusually serene on track throughout the Bahrain test. It looked consistent, giving drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli real confidence.It also showed a good turn of pace, with the numbers placing it at a very similar level to Ferrari. Given the car looked so well balanced, despite a persistent front-brake-locking problem, that’s given it the marginal edge in our ranking. Russell described the test as “seamless”, reflecting the positive mood in the team.
1 McLaren: McLaren was only fifth fastest based on headline laptimes, but make no mistake - its race pace was mighty and clear of everyone. That means its status as pre-season favourite has been confirmed.

‘Rankings’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/e...-2025-testing/


Lewis Hamilton 'ready' as Ferrari boss warns F1 rivals ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Mar 6, 2025
Harry Smith
Daily and Sunday Express

"It was nice to start on the track after the first two months of enormous enthusiasm,” Ferrari boss Vasseur told Italian news outlet Corriere Della Sera. “Even though he is a seven-time world champion, he is living a completely new experience. It's not easy to change teams. He's known new procedures, he had to get used to a different steering wheel and different software. They were intense days, it went well in Bahrain, and now he’s ready for Melbourne."

'Ready';

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-a...ian-Grand-Prix


'Would not be at all surprised': Ted Kravitz predicts three-win F1 star to beat Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen onto the Australian GP podium
6 Mar 2025
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Kravitz, impressed by the speed of the Mercedes car during testing, has backed George Russell to prevail. That means Hamilton and Verstappen will both miss out, in addition to Charles Leclerc and youngsters Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson.

“I would not be at all surprised if we saw George Russell on the podium in Melbourne,” Kravitz said. “Maybe if you’re saying the McLaren is the fastest car, it could be a Norris-Piastri, Piastri-Norris first and second. I would say that George Russell has got a great chance of being third. That Mercedes is quick. I would put that Mercedes behind the McLaren on the grid, maybe ahead of the Ferraris.”

'Prediction';

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ted...ian-gp-podium/


Ralf Schumacher fears a ‘difficult’ year awaits one-pole driver whose 2025 F1 car is a ‘disaster’
6 Mar 2025
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Ralf Schumacher is not holding out hope for one driver ahead of the 2025 season-opening Australian Grand Prix as their car was a ‘disaster’ at F1 testing in Bahrain. Ralf Schumacher fears for Nico Hulkenberg as Sauber’s 2025 car was a ‘disaster’ at F1 testing. Expectations for the term ahead are not high as the C45 was just the ninth-best car in qualifying or race simulations at F1 testing.

So, Schumacher fears for Hulkenberg and even questions his German compatriot’s move as Audi will focus on 2026 when the automotive giants make Sauber a works team. He also has questions for Sauber/Audi COO Mattia Binotto plus new team principal, Jonathan Wheatley.

Schumacher told Sky Sports Germany’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast: “Hulkenberg [faces a] difficult initial situation. Audi, last year of these regulations, they’ll be looking at ‘26. What can his motto be this year? I’m a little sorry about that because the car is really still a disaster, at least as it looks at the moment. But maybe something else will come to it. However, I’m afraid that Binotto is such a nice guy, but I don’t know exactly, I’m not quite sure yet if he sees the big picture now.”

‘Fears for Nico Hulkenberg’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ral...is-a-disaster/

[tbazsi95]

Fresh pictures about construction at the Hungaroring
https://www.instagram.com/p/DG5jC4rNAoT/

[tbazsi95]

BREAKING: Cadillac confirmed as 11th team on the 2026 F1 grid​
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...Pc7k9TFl4eNrQN

[Fortitude]

F1 formally approve arrival of new Cadillac team with Silverstone base to enter sport from 2026.
Formal confirmation has now been reached between world motorsport’s governing body the FIA and FOM, with Cadillac F1 to become the grid’s 11th team from 2026 onwards.
7 Mar 2025
• Charles Crook
CitiBlog

The move will see Cadillac become the first new entry to the Formula One grid since Haas joined in 2016. In a statement on the F1 website, Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “As we said in November, the commitment by General Motors to bring a Cadillac team to Formula 1 was an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport.

“I want to thank GM and TWG Motorsports for their constructive engagement over many months and look forward to welcoming the team on the grid from 2026 for what will be another exciting year for Formula 1.”

The team operators previously opened a Silverstone base in April 2024 as part of their approach to get started on their attempts to enter the sport, with the 48,000 square foot facility adjacent to the race-track intended to house manufacturing facilities, ADM, electronics, R&D and additional office and meeting facilities. The site is one of three that will be used by the team, alongside further facilities in the American states of Indiana and North Carolina.

‘Cadillac team with Silverstone base’;

https://citiblog.co.uk/2025/03/07/f1...ort-from-2026/


F1 confirm new team - powered by Ferrari - will join the grid next year with at least one of the drivers likely to be American
• A bid, headed by US team Andretti, was first rejected but a deal has been done
• 1978 world champion Mario Andretti is set to be involved with team as an advisor
• The other 10 teams on the grid had been against introduction due to prize money
By PA
7 Mar 2025
MailOnline

The other 10 teams had largely been against the introduction of a new outfit because of the dilution of prize money. However, it is understood Cadillac's ambition to become a full works team and commitment to a future power unit of their own - as well as the significant financial involvement of General Motors in the project - was too good for the sport to resist.

Cadillac, a division of American motoring giant General Motors, will be supported by TWG Motorsports and powered by Ferrari before it develops its own engines. It is expected that at least one of Cadillac's drivers will be American. Briton Graeme Lowdon has already been announced as the team principal and it will have a base at Silverstone.

‘At least one of Cadillac's drivers will be American’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-American.html


Cadillac F1: Who are the key personnel at America’s latest Formula 1 team?
07 Mar 2025
Elizabeth Blackstock
PlanetF1.com

TWG Motorsports: Cadillac F1’s ownership group: The motorsport division was created to absorb the increasing motorsport investments made by TWG Global, which now include the Cadillac F1 team, Andretti Global’s IndyCar and Formula E endeavors, NASCAR’s Spire Motorsports team, IMSA’s Wayne Taylor Racing, and the Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars team.

Graeme Lowdon: Cadillac F1 team principal: Lowdon has been actively involved in motorsport since the mid-1990s, and with his ties to Virgin Group, he assisted Richard Branson in the founding of the Virgin Racing F1 team that went on to become Marussia, then Manor.

Nick Chester: Technical director: Chester started at Simtek as a vehicle simulation researcher before moving to the Arrows Formula 1 team in 1995. His role evolved from vehicle simulation engineer to suspension designer to race engineer. After that, Chester headed to Benetton, Lotus, and Renault…

‘Key personnel’;

https://www.planetf1.com/features/ca...formula-1-team


Who should Cadillac sign as its F1 drivers for 2026?
Cadillac has officially been approved for an F1 entry in 2026 - but we want to know who should be signed as its driver line-up!
7 Mar 2025
Jake Nichol

There will be an 11th team on the F1 grid for the 2026 season after Cadillac received final approval for its entry. The General Motors project will join the grid from the start of next season after passing all technical and commercial tests and will mark GM's first taste of F1.

Former Marussia boss Graeme Lowdon has been signed as team principal, but the identity of the driver pairing has yet to be confirmed. With that in mind, RacingNews365 wants to know who you think should be its driver line-up. To do so, vote in the poll below, and we will select the top two options from the number of votes cast to declare a result!

‘Who should Cadillac sign?’;

https://racingnews365.com/who-should...ivers-for-2026


Cadillac F1 chief addresses driver rumours after 2026 entry confirmed
American driver Colton Herta has been linked to the Cadillac F1 team.
Mar 7, 2025
Lydia Mee
Motorsport.com

Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon has addressed the rumours surrounding the driver lineup for the team, which has now been formally approved to join the Formula 1 grid in 2026. “There’s some very talented drivers still out there. We hadn’t been able to be in the driver market until the entry was confirmed. Now it has, we can move forward with that.

“In terms of timing, we’re not putting any timeline on driver announcements or anything like that but for sure, there will be in time. For sure we’re going to hire drivers based on merit. But as such, we see no reason why we won’t have American drivers in time.”

“There’s nothing preventing a driver being selected on merit and being American. I think that would be something that a lot of fans would really want to see as well. At the end of the day, the Cadillac Formula 1 Team is based in the US. We have an operation in the UK, but it’s headquartered in the US and it is a US team as well. I’m fairly sure that hiring on merit and having a US driver are entirely compatible objectives for the team.”

‘Driver rumours’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/c...rmed/10701253/


Cadillac F1 entry ‘transformative’ as FIA president welcomes ‘milestone’ moment
7 Mar 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

In a statement, Ben Sulayem said: “Today marks a transformative moment, and I am proud to lead the Federation in this progressive step for the championship. The FIA Formula One Championship’s expansion to an 11th team in 2026 is a milestone.”

“GM/Cadillac brings fresh energy, aligning with the new FIA 2026 regulations and ushering in an exciting era for the sport. The Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s presence in the paddock will inspire future competitors and fans. Their entry strengthens our mission to push motorsport’s boundaries at the highest level.”

‘Transformative’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/cadill...ed-ben-sulayem


Analysis: ‘We don’t just want to turn up and race’ – Cadillac’s challenge ahead as F1’s 11th team prepare to hit the grid in 2026
7 Mar 2025
Lawrence Barretto
Formula One - Official Site

Cadillac have done a deal with Ferrari to use their power units and gearboxes from next season. The race is now on to be ready for 2026 – and while it’s going to be a massive challenge, the American outfit is up for it. “In terms of being ready to race, everything is on schedule,” Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, who knows how to get a Formula 1 team set up having brought Virgin Racing into the sport in 2010, told F1.com.

“We don’t just want to turn up and race, we want to be as competitive as we possibly can be. From that point of view, for sure we would have loved to have had more time and more people because the more of that you have, the more performance you can build in. But we recognised that the process itself requires a huge amount of energy and effort.”

“In terms of timeline for production, we’re happy with where that stands. We’ve been using a lot of time up to now doing a lot of testing and validation of individual components, things like testing of noses, squeeze testing of chassis elements and the like. There’s an awful lot of work that has gone on in the background. There’s still a lot of work to do. We’re in a significantly better position now that we’re now a fully-fledged F1 team. We will have access to all the data and information that all the other teams have.”

‘Hit the grid in 2026’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...MXNyrINwqc4kUY

[Fortitude]

Joy for McLaren? Max Verstappen’s blunt Red Bull assessment ahead of Australian GP.
Max Verstappen has admitted that Red Bull have “too much work to do” to stop McLaren winning next weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the F1 2025 season.
8 Mar 2025
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

According to PlanetF1.com’s best guess regarding the initial pecking order, based on conversations with teams up and down the paddock as well as from watching the cars trackside in Bahrain, McLaren are set to start the F1 2025 campaign with the quickest car with Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari all battling behind.

With the Red Bull RB21 carrying a striking resemblance to its predecessor, technical director Pierre Waché admitted at the conclusion of the Bahrain test that he is “not as happy as [he] could be” at this stage of the season.

Waché revealed that the RB21 “did not respond how we wanted at times”, a common complaint of the 2024 car, raising doubts over how much Red Bull have improved since the end of last season. He went on to add that while the team are heading in the right direction with development, “the magnitude of the direction was not as big as we expected.”

‘Max Verstappen’s blunt Red Bull assessment’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...-australian-gp


Hamilton slower than last year? 'I would put Mercedes ahead of Ferrari'
7 Mar 2025
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz sees Lewis Hamilton's former team Mercedes "ahead of the Ferraris" as Formula 1 gears up for the Australian Grand Prix. Many saw it as a move to chase a record-breaking eighth world title, but according to Kravitz, speaking on Sky Sports News, it may be his former team who have more pace to start the season: "That Mercedes is quick. I would put it behind the McLaren in terms of where they are on the grid, and maybe ahead of the Ferrari's early on."

"I would say that George Russell has got a great chance of being third. And watch out for Kimi Antonelli too. It's great to have an Italian back in Formula 1, but when all the attention is on the man who went from Mercedes to Ferrari, it might be an Italian driver not in a Ferrari who manages to get on the podium," concluded Kravitz.

"That Mercedes is quick”;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/33073...australia.html


Why Williams staff are privately feeling ‘really nervous’ before the Australian Grand Prix
7 Mar 2025
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer

Williams do not want to get carried away with testing performance before Australian Grand Prix. Early indications are that Williams have taken a step forward in development. Sainz went quickest on day two of testing ahead of the two Ferraris. But according to journalist Mat Coch, the staff in Grove are ‘really nervous’ heading into the Australian Grand Prix. They do not want to get carried away with their display in Bahrain, despite signs being good for their 2025 prospects.

Coch said via Speedcafe: “I was actually messaging a few people at Williams over the three days of testing and they don’t want to get themselves carried away. They’re really nervous, they’re saying: ‘It’s only testing!’ But the signs are good. Certainly when you look at the last couple of years, they’ve been struggling for points. They were in that battle for sixth but they were an arm’s length away from it really last season in terms of the constructors’ championship.”

“This year they look very much in the fight, not just for sixth but potentially for fifth as well. That’s a huge step forward in terms of where that team has come from in recent years. And what it does, it also validates all the work they’re doing off track because there’s been a huge amount of investment since Dorilton Capital bought that team in 2020. They’ve spent off the top of my head 857.2 million Australian dollars, work that out say 500 million American? That’s a huge amount of money to invest in a team.”

‘Really nervous’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/why...an-grand-prix/


Christian Horner names 'standout' car ahead of F1 season-opener
Pre-season testing in Bahrain saw the F1 teams roll out their new challengers for the year ahead, with one catching the eye of Red Bull's Christian Horner.
8 Mar 2025
Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

“Into this cycle of regulations, it’s clear that the cars have converged and they look very, very similar,” Horner told media including RacingNews365. “I think probably Ferrari is a standout as probably being a differentiator.”

“That’s inevitable, marginal gains are going to be there. Every surface on our car is different to last year, it just looks similar because it’s a similar philosophy. You can see other cars have converged with that. That’s what is going to make the racing so tight this year, that some cars might suit some circuits better than others.”

‘Ferrari is a standout’;

https://racingnews365.com/christian-...-season-opener


Bernie Ecclestone sells £500 million F1 car collection to Red Bull co-owner
8 Mar 2025
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

According to the MailOnline, Mark Mateschitz, the son of the late Red Bull founder Dietrich, who inherited his father’s 49 percent share in the business, has snapped-up the collection of 69 cars from Mr Ecclestone. Ecclestone appeared happy with the sale, commenting: “These are unique vehicles. They have written sport history and marked technical milestones.

They embody 70 years of F1 history. “It means a great deal to me to know that this collection is now in the very best of hands. Mark is the best and most worthy owner we could ever imagine.” The collection comprises of a plethora of cars from various era, and features a strong presence of Ferraris, including the F2002, which helped Michael Schumacher to his fifth World Championship with 11 wins from 17 races.

Another notable car in the collection is the Brabham BT46, commonly known as the ‘fan car’, from 1978, when Ecclestone was owner of the team. Designed by Gordon Murray, the car utilised a fan which extracted air from underneath, creating a huge amount of downforce. It raced just once, at the Swedish Grand Prix, and took Niki Lauda to victory, but was pulled by the team thereafter due to concerns raised by other teams.

‘They embody 70 years of F1 history’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/...bull-co-owner/

[Fortitude]

"McLaren are three tenths ahead," reveals Helmut Marko.
Following the three-day pre-season testing, Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko insisted that the Milton Keynes-based outfit still needs to iron out a few issues with its new car.
10 Mar 2025
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Red Bull's motorsport advisor Dr Helmut Marko insisted that the Milton Keynes-based outfit still needs to iron out a few issues with its new car. “I’m not disappointed with the RB21, but it would have been nice if our adaptations and innovations had worked right away. The car is more predictable, it reacts to changes in trim as it should, there is no longer the unpredictability that characterized much of 2024. Some news didn’t work and this means we still have room for improvement.”

Marko expects McLaren to carry over its competitive advantage into the upcoming season, estimating that the reigning world champion outfit enjoying a gap of two-three tenths of a second which is mainly due to better tyre degradation. “We still have 2-3 tenths to be at the level of McLaren, which has had a much better degradation than ours in terms of tires,” concluded Marko.

"McLaren are three tenths ahead";

https://www.f1technical.net/news/26403


F1 Australian GP 2025 Schedule
This year, we kick off the Formula 1 season in Australia, something that last happened in 2019. Check out the full schedule of the F1 Australian GP here and don’t miss the moment the red lights go out!
10 Mar 2025
RacingNews365 Staff

The schedule of the F1 Australian GP is automatically adjusted to your time zone.
F1 schedule Australian GP

Session
Date Time
Free practice 1 Friday 14 March 02:30 - 03:30
Free practice 2 Friday 14 March 06:00 - 07:00
Free practice 3 Saturday 15 March 02:30 - 03:30
Qualification Saturday 15 March 06:00 - 07:00
Race Sunday 16 March 05:00 - 07:00

‘Schedule’;

https://racingnews365.com/f1-austral...-2025-schedule


Rising rain threat for Australian Grand Prix
This weekend’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix faces an extra threat with an increasing risk of rain forecast.
10 March 2025
Mat Coch
Speedcafe

Cars hit track for the first time on Friday with Thursday, opening day of the four-day event, given over to local support categories, headlined by Supercars. Current forecasts predict cool but dry conditions to start proceedings, with an expected top of 23.

Things will warm and brighten up on Friday, with a top of 29 on the cards as F1 heads out on track for the first time. The warmer conditions are expected to remain on Saturday, though there is a 40 percent chance of showers according to the Bureau of Meteorology. That is largely expected overnight and, while potentially making the Albert Park circuit greasy, forecasts suggest it should not otherwise interrupt proceedings for the first F1 qualifying session of the year.

However, the threat of rain during the day is real moving into Sunday. Temperatures are expected to fall slightly while the chance of any rain in Melbourne increases to 70 percent, with estimates of up to eight millimetres over the day. That is predicted to hit Melbourne in the afternoon, with the chance increasing from noon.

‘Rising rain threat’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2025-a...-rain-details/


‘People in the paddock’ spotted staff at 95-race F1 team looking miserable after 2025 Bahrain testing
9 Mar 2025
Ben Evans
F1 Oversteer

Kimi Raikkonen former engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast and his sources in the paddock gave him the lowdown of what was happening during testing. It sounds like staff in the Aston Martin garage weren’t having the best time after a tricky end to 2024.

Aston Martin staff had ‘long faces’ after watching their cars during pre-season F1 testing. “And then for me, one of the disappointments was Aston [Martin]. Talking to some people in the paddock and you were there, I wasn’t, but apparently they had some long faces over there, like not very happy. They clearly don’t have the pace in qualifying or in the race. So they’re around P8.”

‘Miserable’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/peo...hrain-testing/


'I am 100% convinced' - Former Red Bull driver makes key Newey claim
Adrian Newey has started work at Aston Martin - with one former Red Bull racer sure success will be delivered.
9 Mar 2025
Jake Nichol & Aaron Deckers
RacingNews365

Former Red Bull driver Christian Klien is "100% convinced" that Adrian Newey will ultimately deliver F1 success to Aston Martin in the future. "This year's Aston Martin doesn't seem to be good, but it remains to be seen if Newey can do something for the car right away, I don't know, but I do think he will come up with something. However, it is not clear if he can implement them for this season, especially with the focus on 2026, which will be his main focus," Klien told RacingNews365.

"Aston Martin has done incredibly well in bringing Newey in, I am 100% convinced he still has it in him, and I remember how he made Red Bull a top team. He succeeded because he knew who to work with and created a fantastic team around him and built it step-by-step, but it did take a few years. Even at Red Bull, he needed some time to let everything fall into place, and in my view, a perfect process takes about five years.”

"The question therefore is whether he has come in time for Fernando Alonso (who will turn 49 in 2030). They will become a top team, but it is difficult to say in what time frame that will happen. It is not easy to gather a good team of people, and you have to take them away from other teams, and then also deal with gardening leave, but it is definitely not a 'one-man team' with Newey. One of his great strengths is that he knows exactly who to sign, that is why he is absolutely the right man for Aston Martin, he will be a success story."

‘100% convinced’;

https://racingnews365.com/i-am-100-c...ey-newey-claim


Honda tipped to come out on top in F1 2026 power unit regulation shake-up
09 Mar 2025
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com

Honda has been tipped to create the best powertrain in Formula 1 during the next regulation cycle as new engine regulations will shake up the formbook next season. Honda is set to return to Formula 1 as a full-blown supplier in 2026, having agreed on a works supply deal with Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin team as Red Bull has embarked on a partnership with Ford to create Red Bull Powertrains for its two teams.

Otmar Szafnauer is a former veteran of Honda motorsport, having been on the board of Honda’s F1 team and becoming vice-president of Honda Racing Developments in the mid-2000s. Saafnauer believes that even if Honda doesn’t immediately have the best powertrain in F1 2026, it won’t take long for the Japanese manufacturer to rise to the top. “If I look back at what they did with these regulations when they came in with McLaren, again, they didn’t start off with the best powertrain and ended up with the best powertrain,” he said.

“They will absolutely end up with the best powertrain. They work hard. They have the resources to do it, they have the infrastructure to do it. They have smart powertrain engineers. And one thing Honda has always prided itself on is being a powertrain company, a powertrain-led company. So every CEO at Honda Motor Company has been an engine engineer. They’ve had no other CEOs other than engine engineers.”

‘Tipped to create the best powertrain in Formula 1’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/honda-...les-cycle-2026