Category: Formula 1

Ahead of what is expected to be a pretty intense silly season as drivers vie for the best cockpits, Audi has found itself at the centre of the market talk as it looks for the stars that it wants to carry into its debut campaign in 2026.

Its approach has become especially intriguing after Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko revealed ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix that his squad found itself unable to compete with a “lucrative” offer that had been made to Carlos Sainz.

But while the Audi-owned Sauber squad insists that it is far away from making a decision on its line-up, the Swiss outfit is clear that it will not just be bit-part players in how things shake out.

Speaking about the Sainz rumours, Sauber’s team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi said his squad was in a far more powerful position in the driver market than it had been in the past.

“There are 14 drivers without a contract fixed for next year and, as all the teams, we are speaking with different drivers,” said Alunni Bravi.

“It is not the time for us to take any decision. It’s time to provide our drivers with a performing car.

“But, let me say, we are happy that it seems that we can play, a role, a different role in the driver market for the future, thanks to the Audi announcement and all the investments that will be done in order to improve our team.

“I think that, if it is good news for our team, it is that finally we are attractive. And we are not the spectators. We are a player in the market.”

Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal and General Manager, Scuderia Ferrari, and Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Alunni Bravi did not want to be drawn on where things stood specifically with Sainz, as he said others revealing details about what may or may not be happening was part of a ‘game’ to get the best deals.

“It’s not appropriate to discuss or to disclose what could be the discussion in place,” he said. “No one really knows what other teams are offering to the drivers or discussing with the drivers. We don’t want to be part of a game that is done by others.”

Instead, he said the main focus for his outfit now was on improving performance so it could get itself into a points-scoring position.

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“Every driver is speaking with a lot of teams to understand the situation, to understand if there could be a common vision on the project, especially for a team like us that is in full transformation process ahead of 2026,” he added.

“But we are focused on our drivers, and we respect our drivers. We know that we need to deliver a better performance as a team. And this is the first step to start deciding what will be the driver line-up for the future.

“We need to consolidate our performance. So far, we didn’t score points so I think that the main target and the priority for the team is to start scoring points, and then to approach the drivers’ market: starting with discussion with our drivers and then having, of course, open eyes on the market.”

While teams are often reluctant to introduce major development packages for sprint race weekends, because of limited track running, it does not prevent them seeking gains in other ways.

And interestingly, in the team submissions lodged with the FIA for this weekend’s race in Shanghai, three outfits have made revisions to the area surrounding the driver and cockpit area.

RB F1 Team VCARB 01 halo detail

Photo by: Jon Noble

At RB, it has reshaped the headrest behind the drivers’ helmet to help better manage the airflow separation in this area, which should have benefits further downstream.

At Mercedes and Williams, the changes have come to the halo area, which is also aimed at cleaning up airflow.

Mercedes F1 W15 halo detail

Photo by: Jon Noble

Mercedes has added a small flick either side of the cockpit behind the Halo.

The idea is that these tweaks help generate small vortices to help control flow out of the cockpit, which then sets the air up much better as it heads towards the rear wing.

Williams FW46 halo detail

Photo by: Jon Noble

For Williams, the geometry at the forward part of the halo has been adjusted to increase the angle of attack.

This helps tidy up the airflow around the halo and better controls losses that it has noticed within the cockpit area.

The benefits of doing so should be in improving the airflow to the rear and beam wing, which then boosts aerodynamic efficiency.

Williams head of vehicle performance Dave Robson said that while the changes seemed relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, the cockpit area was quite critical in terms of distributing airflow better around the rest of the car.

That is why he reckoned it was intriguing that other teams had also introduced changes here on the same weekend.

“It is an important area,” he said. “I saw that [FIA submission] list this morning and I was quite surprised by the coincidence of it.

“But in our case, we did some flow vis on our Halo shroud a couple of races ago and saw a few aspects of the flow we didn’t like. That is what inspired us to improve the flow, take the cockpit losses and just make sure they end up in the right part at the back of the car.”

Robson felt that there were two critical factors at play with teams bringing upgrades in this area: it showed that details mattered more, and they were also something that could be done cheaply and quickly.

“It is just one of those incremental changes that you need to make,” he said. “And hopefully it will be more effective than it would visibly appear to be.

“But the other thing is it’s relatively quick to do. So, we’re in that sort of phase where we’ve brought the [updated] front wing to Japan, which is quite a lot of work and a big thing to introduce, and we’re kind of working on the next package of aero upgrades.

“So, something like that Halo shroud is relatively small that we can fit in quite cheaply.”

The French manufacturer has fast-tracked an upgraded floor for this weekend’s round in Shanghai aimed at bringing more performance after its difficult start to the year. 

It will be used by Esteban Ocon exclusively this time out, before both drivers have it for the next race in Miami.

But interestingly, the revised chassis that the parts are fitted to is not only lighter than the version that the team has used so far, but is also its third monocoque of the year – meaning it will have a spare for the first time.

Alpine’s technical director (performance) Ciaron Pilbeam explained: “This is the first race the third chassis has been here.”

As well as moving forward with aero developments (detailed below), Alpine has also been chipping away with the weight of its car, with it being over the minimum weight limit at the start of the year.

Although the squad was not yet in a place it wanted to be, Pilbeam reckoned that it would not take long before it hits its target, as he confirmed the upgraded car was lighter.

“We’re nearly there and we will be there within the next race or two,” he said.

“It’s a programme that we’ve had since before race one, and it’s not one thing – it’s just many smaller reductions that will get us there.”

Asked if this meant hitting the minimum weight limit or being below to give it freedom with ballast, Pilbeam said: “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but we’ll soon be in a place that we’re happy with, to be able to give ourselves a bit of flexibility as well as just running on the limit.”

Alpine fast-tracked its latest development in order for it to be used at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Understandably, we’re unable to see any changes that might have been employed to the floor’s more critical underbody. But, there are changes to the floor’s edge and the edge wing that are visible.

The forward section of the edge wing, which has more than a passing resemblance to the two-tier, C-shaped winglet stack seen on the Red Bull, remains largely unblemished in the overhaul, with more focus drawn to the rear section.

This begins with the camber of the element as it’s twisted away from the forward section, with both the edge wing and floor geometry altered to accommodate a cutout in the floor.

The cutout not only results in the rear tyre spat region being raised, when compared with the section ahead of it, but that forward area also reclines.

Both of these surfaces are intersected by a new dog-legged section on the rear of the edge wing that forms a wing-shaped element that connects to the underside of the floor and does away with the tapered tail on the edge wing.

Interestingly, this is somewhat of a reversion for Alpine, as the A523 (see inset) featured a rear floor cutout, with a raised rear platform.

Previously though the winglet protruding from the cutout wasn’t connected to the edge wing on that occasion, suggesting the team has found performance from combining the two design solutions.

The Canadian intervened in the end-of-session series of soft tyre laps to leapfrog Oscar Piastri’s effort moments before the chequered flag, which nobody else had enough time to beat.

His surprise appearance at the top of the timesheets rather defined the atypical order locked in at the close of the session, as many teams opted for varying run plans to prepare for the sprint weekend in China.

A series of tentative laps opened the session as the field got its first experience of the Shanghai circuit for the first time in five years; home hero Zhou Guanyu reported that grip levels were low as the new bitumen layer had yet to be fully rubbered in.

The first laps shook out in the 1m40s, although Max Verstappen was tasked with the early stewardship at the top of the order after he took the times below the 100-second barrier and continued to find time on the medium tyre.

The session was then red-flagged after approximately 15 minutes, when a patch of grass at the side of the track in Turn 7 appeared to spontaneously self-immolate – leaving a trail of scorched earth in the immediate vicinity. A spark produced by a car bottoming out was believed to be the culprit.

Running resumed two minutes later when the tiny fire was exhausted, but in a poetic twist it appeared that the majority of drivers’ streak of hot laps had also been largely doused by the intermission.

Verstappen’s headline effort on the medium tyre was, however, eclipsed by the two soft-shod Ferraris; both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz moved to the top of the order after the pause, shuffling the Red Bulls down a couple of positions.

Sainz had initially got to the headline time through posting a 1m38.382s, before Leclerc put his team-mate in the shade. The Monegasque reeled off a 1m38.130s, and followed it up with a 1m38.090s to press his advantage further.

Zhou Guanyu, Kick Sauber C44, Valtteri Bottas, Kick Sauber C44

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

After a series of continued race runs across the field on the medium and hard tyres, a handful of drivers started to move across the aisle to pick up softs for a series of faster times in the final 15 minutes of the session.

Logan Sargeant began the festivities but subsequently branded his 1m38.317s “terrible”, while Williams team-mate Alex Albon then bolted on softs to secure a 1m37.229s.

Sergio Perez went just under a tenth quicker than the Anglo-Thai driver, but this was little more than preamble to Verstappen’s return to the top of the order; the Dutch driver bagged a 1m36.660s.

This remained the headliner for about five minutes, but Piastri entered the frame with a strong effort that culminated in him buzzing the timing line with a 1m36.629s.

McLaren team-mate Lando Norris was set to raise the bar higher with a pair of session-best sectors to open the lap, but aborted his effort following hinderance from traffic.

Stroll then snatched top spot from Piastri at the close of the session, logging his 1m36.302s, which pushed the Red Bull pair down to third and fourth positions as the clock finally stopped.

Haas duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen were fifth and sixth fastest, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon – who has the French team’s sole new floor package for this weekend.

Albon’s effort was good enough for eighth, as Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10.

F1 Chinese GP – Practice results:

The German manufacturer has endured a bruising start to the 2024 season, with it yet to finish on the podium and currently lying in fourth in the constructors’ championship – just one point ahead of Aston Martin.

But while on paper its situation does not look promising, Russell thinks that Mercedes’ fate has been exacerbated by tiny elements – and a relatively minor uplift in pace would change it dramatically.

“I think small things make a big difference to the overall result,” said Russell ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

“I think an extra tenth or two in qualifying and you are four positions higher on the grid. We wouldn’t [in Japan] have then made the bold choice of starting on the hard, which, with the information we had at the time, was absolutely the correct decision. The race would have panned out very, very differently.

“We’re in a battle of fine margins right now. We’ve been on the wrong end of that for the past few race weekends, at two circuits that I don’t think really suit the characteristics of that car.”

With the Mercedes W15 struggling against the opposition in high-speed corners, its weakness has been exposed at recent venues like Jeddah, Australia and Suzuka.

George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

That is why Russell sees this weekend’s Chinese GP as perhaps a better indicator of Mercedes’ potential, with its profile being more geared towards medium- and low-speed corners.

“I think this will be a really good test this weekend to see where we do fall out, compared to McLaren as well,” he explained.

“They seem to be exceptionally strong in the high-speed corners and a bit weak in the low-speed corners. There is a lot more potential to be shown. I don’t think we have optimised the car and its set-up in the last couple of races. That’s what we’re homing in on.”

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Team-mate Lewis Hamilton said Mercedes would not be running any upgrades in Shanghai this weekend but was carrying forward some important set-up lessons that it uncovered in Japan.

“Nothing has changed with our car, so it’s going to be the same car this weekend,” he said. “But we understand it a little bit more.

“Looking at the last weekend, we did make improvements. So, if we could go back, we would have done things differently, and that is the benefit of hindsight and experience.

“We will try and bring that here this weekend and see if we can implement some of those changes that we would have perhaps done further in Suzuka. Hopefully that can find us a bit of performance.”

Over time F1 fans have watched the live broadcast cut to the driver cooldown room after each grand prix to see the top three finishers debrief the race.

In 2023 it caused various memes online, as world champion Max Verstappen headed to the cooldown room for 21 of 22 grands prix. Fans joked that it was like the Red Bull driver had his own podcast with different guests – or drivers – on each week.

Other cooldown room moments have seen drivers hold heated exchanges after something happened in the race, so it is a great source of knowledge and entertainment for fans.

But what exactly is the cooldown room in F1 and which moments left fans talking about it for years to come?

What is the cooldown room in F1?

The F1 cooldown room is where the top three finishers head to from parc ferme as they wait for the podium ceremony to start. It is designed to help drivers calm down after a race and plays an essential role in the safety and well-being of those on the F1 grid.

That is because it is a climate-controlled area which allows drivers to lower their body temperatures after a race. The gruelling 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was the perfect example, as cockpit temperatures reached approximately 60C which caused Logan Sargeant to retire from heat exhaustion, for instance. It is something which affected every driver, so in the cooldown room Verstappen and Oscar Piastri both laid on the floor helping them to recover slightly.

There’re various other features of the cooldown room which help drivers to recover, like bottles of cold water to rehydrate, towels, cooling fans and chairs so people can sit down. It is also used as preparation for the podium, because there are tables which allow drivers to place their helmets and store other belongings before they put on a Pirelli cap that is given to first, second and third.

But the main thing fans look for when the feed cuts to the cooldown room is the conversation between the three drivers. Much of that conversation is centred around the television which has been added to the cooldown room in recent years, allowing drivers to react to key moments as race highlights are played on the screen.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Because of it, fans watched Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso react to the 2023 Canadian GP together, while the seven-time world champion was also caught controversially calling the Red Bull driver a “d***head” when the two collided at the 2018 Bahrain GP.

The top three finishers are not the only people in F1’s cooldown room though, because a representative from the winning team is present, as they also stand on the podium. Many F1 and FIA officials are often there too, to ensure everything runs smoothly. But the cooldown room is not a requirement for non-podium finishers.

This is because they do not need to wait for the podium ceremony. So instead, after visiting parc ferme, the rest of the grid head straight to their respective media duties, debriefs and motor homes to freshen up following the grand prix.

Why is the F1 cooldown room filmed?

F1’s cooldown room is filmed to give fans greater insight into the drivers and their thoughts on the grand prix.

Filming of F1’s cooldown room goes back several years with many clips from the early 2000s, like the famous bust-up between Alonso and Felipe Massa after the 2007 European GP. It happened after Alonso overtook Massa for the lead around the outside of Nurburgring’s Turn 5, yet the two cars touched in the process and the double world champion, then driving for McLaren, accused his Ferrari rival of deliberately causing the collision – to which the Brazilian aggressively denied.

That was just one of many cooldown room moments to get caught on camera over the years, however filming stopped in 2020 due to COVID-19. The pandemic caused much of the 2020 season to be staged behind closed doors with many social distancing protocols in place, so this meant the cooldown room was no longer used for safety reasons.

The change wasn’t permanent though as the F1 cooldown room returned for the first time in three years at the 2022 Emilia Romagna GP. Verstappen won that day in a Red Bull 1-2 with Sergio Perez, while Lando Norris completed the podium at Imola.

Race winner Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, second place Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, third place Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

But, Norris was only on the podium because Charles Leclerc spun into the barrier from third with nine laps to go. So, the podium finishers reacted to the spin via the cooldown room television with Norris noting how aggressive Leclerc was on the kerbs.

Since then, the cooldown room has featured after every grand prix except for the inaugural Las Vegas GP, presumably for scheduling reasons. Soon after the race finished, the top three drivers were escorted to the nearby Bellagio Hotel for the traditional podium interviews before being driven back to the grid for the ceremony.

10 Memorable moments in the F1 cooldown room

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg celebrate together – 2008 Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, and Nico Rosberg, Williams, celebrate on the podium

Photo by: Andre Vor / Sutton Images

A young Hamilton converted pole into victory at the 2008 season-opening Australian GP to overcome the disappointment of losing out on the 2007 championship in his rookie campaign by a single point. The 2008 Australian GP also featured a maiden podium for Nico Rosberg, who was beginning his third season in F1 while driving for Williams.

The two drivers had a long history of competing against each other as team-mates in karting to becoming teenage best friends and going on holiday together. Both had dreamed of reaching F1, so when they shared a podium for the first time Hamilton and Rosberg shared a big hug in the cooldown room while the German stated “I feel amazing”.

However, it is well documented that later in their F1 careers Hamilton and Rosberg became not so friendly with each other – leading to some more memorable cooldown room moments.

Mark Webber reminds Sebastian Vettel of ‘multi 21’ – 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix

Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel

Photo by: Andre Vor / Sutton Images

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel shared a very fractious relationship as Red Bull team-mates (2009-13) and tensions reached boiling point at the 2013 Malaysian GP. Webber was leading a comfortable Red Bull 1-2, so both drivers were told “multi-map 21” meaning to hold position and lower engine performance.

But Vettel ignored this. He started attacking Webber and eventually overtook with 10 laps left to ultimately win the race. Webber was furious and initially rebuffed Vettel’s attempt to talk in the cooldown room before eventually stating “multi 21 Seb, yeah, multi 21” to which the then triple world champion had no response.

The drama continued and although Vettel eventually apologised back at the team’s factory, on the podium that day an angry Webber, who quit F1 at the end of the year, claimed the Red Bull protege “will have protection as usual”.

Lewis Hamilton throws cap at Nico Rosberg after winning third world title – 2015 United States Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG, 2nd Position, and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG, 1st Position, celebrate with their team.

Photo by: Alastair Staley / Motorsport Images

The friendship days were long gone for Hamilton and Rosberg come 2015. The two became Mercedes team-mates in 2013 and very bitterly-fought one another for the 2014 and 2015 championships with Hamilton winning both times.

Hamilton claimed the 2015 crown after winning the United States GP in a Mercedes 1-2. But, polesitter Rosberg was angry at his team-mate for pushing him wide at Turn 1 which allowed Hamilton to claim the lead.

Afterwards, in the cooldown room, Rosberg silently sat staring at the ground in anger over losing another championship. Then Hamilton threw the second-placed Pirelli cap onto his team-mate’s lap before Rosberg immediately chucked it back at his rival, with the hat hitting the Briton’s shoulder.

Sebastian Vettel calls Daniil Kvyat a ‘torpedo’ – 2016 Chinese Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 2nd Position, has a word with Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Racing, 3rd Position, about their start incident.

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The 2016 Chinese GP was special for Daniil Kvyat as he claimed his second F1 podium after finishing third despite starting sixth. Much of that was due to his start, as the then Red Bull driver climbed up to third after storming down the inside of the Turn 1 bend.

However, to avoid colliding with Kvyat, Vettel suddenly moved left but that caused him to tag Kimi Raikkonen’s rear-right tyre and knock his Ferrari team-mate off the track. Vettel still finished on the podium in second, but Kvyat’s question in the cooldown room sparked an angry reaction from him.

“You, asking what happened at the start,” responded Vettel. “If I don’t go to the left you crash into us and we all three go out.”

“Well” is all Kvyat could say before Vettel cut in again with “no ‘well’, you came like a torpedo”. The argument continued as Vettel later claimed “you were lucky this time”, before Kvyat ended the heated exchange with a sarcastic pat on the four-time world champion’s shoulder.

Daniel Ricciardo then referenced the incident ahead of the 2017 British GP. The Australian joked that “there was an invite for the ‘torpedo’” to Vettel’s birthday party, before Ricciardo told a confused Hamilton that “it’s what Seb called him in China last year”.

Max Verstappen told to leave the cooldown room – 2016 Mexican Grand Prix

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB12

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

In Verstappen’s early days at Red Bull, he made quite the habit of getting kicked out of the cooldown room. The first time it happened was at the 2016 Mexican GP, when Verstappen crossed the line in third but was later given a five-second penalty for cutting Turn 2 which allowed him to stay ahead of Vettel.

Verstappen was informed of the penalty in the cooldown room. After standing there frustrated, he picked up his helmet, told Hamilton and Rosberg “it’s been good guys, see you later” before explaining what happened to the confused Mercedes drivers.

Vettel replaced him on the podium, but later on the Ferrari driver was penalised 10 seconds for moving under braking while defending from Ricciardo, so he was eventually given third position.

Max Verstappen told to leave the cooldown room again – 2017 United States Grand Prix

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sutton Images

Verstappen was kicked out of the cooldown room for a second time at the 2017 United States GP. It came after Verstappen passed Raikkonen for third on the final lap, but all four wheels were off the track as he made the manoeuvre down the inside of Turn 17.

Stewards gave Verstappen a five-second penalty as a result but again, he was not informed until he’d reached the cooldown room. A proud Verstappen was recalling his overtake to Vettel, but suddenly Raikkonen appeared in the cooldown room and the Red Bull driver responded “again”.

An FIA official then told him “I think there is a penalty” as Verstappen gave a sarcastic chuckle when he walked out of the room.

Kimi Raikkonen asks Lewis Hamilton if he’s won the championship – 2018 United States Grand Prix

Race winner Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF71H celebrates in Parc Ferme with Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 W09 in back ground

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

Raikkonen claimed his final grand prix victory at the 2018 United States GP ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton, who would have clinched a fifth title that day had he finished eight points ahead of Vettel and not three as the Ferrari driver came fourth.

But a vexed Hamilton was reminded of this in the cooldown room. Out of nowhere, Raikkonen asked Hamilton “did you win the championship” and an abrupt “no” was the reply. When others in the cooldown room started laughing, Raikkonen defended himself saying “I didn’t know, I didn’t know”.

Verstappen and Raikkonen were then reminded of the Austin cooldown room from 12 months prior. So, Verstappen jokingly replied “now, I’m allowed to stay”.

Max Verstappen sits in world champion throne at Suzuka – 2022 Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The 2022 Japanese GP caused one of the funniest and most iconic cooldown room moments. It came after a race that completed just 28 of its intended 53 laps due to torrential rain, as Verstappen led a Red Bull 1-2 with Leclerc in third.

As less than 75% of the scheduled race distance was completed, teams and drivers assumed full points would not be awarded. In that scenario, Verstappen was not yet champion because 75% of race points would have been given, leaving the Red Bull driver one point short of the advantage he needed over Leclerc.

However, a new rule stated that full points would not be awarded only “if a race cannot be resumed or suspended”, but the Japanese GP did resume after an initial red flag on lap two, so full points were given. The paddock didn’t know this until Johnny Herbert suddenly informed a confused Verstappen that he was champion in the parc ferme interviews.

The doubt still lingered though and Verstappen wasn’t completely sure until the cooldown room when officials assured him that he was now a double world champion. So, as requested, Verstappen then entered the neighbouring room and sat – quite awkwardly – in a big, red seat with “2022 world champion” labelled on the wall behind. Verstappen sat in front of the cameras for 20 seconds before re-entering the next room after claiming “I feel a bit lonely”.

Drivers discuss Sebastian Vettel’s retirement – 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR22

Photo by: Erik Junius

Vettel announced that he was to retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season. However, many drivers have previously done that before returning at a later date like Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Alonso.

So, in the cooldown room after the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP, it was discussed if Vettel would do the same. Perez, who finished third that day, said: “It didn’t feel like a goodbye to Seb. I have a feeling he will come back.”

But Leclerc, who was Vettel’s Ferrari team-mate in 2019 and 2020, strongly rebuffed Perez’s claim saying: “I don’t have that feeling. I don’t think he will come back, unfortunately.”

Drivers joke about the ‘Max Verstappen podcast’ – 2023 Japanese Grand Prix

Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, in the post race Press Conference

Photo by: FIA Pool

Verstappen finished on the podium for each of the first 14 grands prix in 2023, so the world champion became a regular feature of the cooldown room. His run ended with an off-weekend in Singapore where Verstappen finished fifth, before returning to form at the next race in Suzuka with a victory.

Joining him in the cooldown room that day were both McLaren drivers as Norris finished second with rookie Piastri claiming his maiden podium. When the three drivers were watching the race highlights, Norris joked that “this [the McLaren drivers] is going to be next on Max’s podcast”.

Piastri then referred to himself as a “new addition” before Verstappen bluntly said “I don’t even like podcasts”. Journalists then asked him about the comment in the post-race press conference showing how many talking points can come from the cooldown room.

Sauber introduced more advanced pitstop equipment for this year, but from the first race in Bahrain, it has encountered cross-threading issues on the wheel nuts, which led to disastrous pitstops over the first few races.

The Swiss team made some modifications and changed procedures to mitigate its hardware issues since Bahrain which has generally worked, but Sauber’s pitstops are still generally slower than its midfield rivals.

Those problems have already proved immensely costly in the tightest midfield battle in years, with Sauber’s Bottas and Zhou Guanyu still left without points while RB and Haas have already managed to get on the board.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, Bottas said the team is introducing further modifications for the Shanghai race, but a permanent fix remained unavailable.

“It’s a difficult situation and we shouldn’t be in this situation, but we are and now we need to get it sorted,” Bottas said.

“There are further modifications for this weekend, but it’s not 100% fixed, so we know it’s not yet our strength for sure.

“If anything, it can be our weakness, but we’re trying. Let’s hope that things go smoothly now.”

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

When asked when he expects a permanent solution to arrive, he clarified: “By Imola.”

Sauber’s weakness was on full display in the Japanese Grand Prix when Bottas pitted together with a gaggle of midfield cars on Lap 23.

Bottas came in from 11th place, behind Haas’ Kevin Magnussen but ahead of a train including Logan Sargeant, Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll.

Bottas entered the pits in second position from the group but came out in fourth behind Tsunoda and Stroll, and his slower stop also meant he was undercut by the struggling Alpine of Esteban Ocon.

Tsunoda, who came out first, went on to claim a point for RB on his home turf, which Bottas felt could have been him as his Sauber had similar pace.

“We’ve been improving race by race, and that’s because we’ve been bringing bits,” the Finn explained.

“In the last two events we’ve been, in terms of pace, very similar to RB and Tsunoda.

“The issues we’ve been having, especially with the pit stops, that’s been masking quite a bit what the actual race results should have been.

“For example, in Japan before the first stops, I was ahead of Tsunoda and with similar pace, and he finished in 10th. So, I think we haven’t really seen the full potential yet.

“We are aware that most likely if we stop at the same time as our competitors, we have a bigger chance of losing the position.

“We’ll try to optimise for that, but hopefully that doesn’t need to be the case. Hopefully, we are getting that consistency and 100% fix in a couple of races.”

Watch: F1 Teams Concerns about the 2026 Regulations Changes

Sainz and his management have been engaged in discussions with every F1 team that has an opening for next season when he will be replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton.

Until Fernando Alonso re-signed with Aston Martin last week, this left Sainz weighing up possible options at eight squads, as previously only Ferrari and McLaren had their 2025 line-ups locked in.

This selection is headlined by the possibility of Sainz going to Red Bull as a replacement for Sergio Perez or if Max Verstappen makes a shock choice to leave F1’s current best squad as a result of the ongoing Red Bull management war and the Christian Horner scandal.

Red Bull, via Marko, was publicly courting the Sainz camp at Suzuka last time out and there Marko also claimed “Audi is making pressure” on the 2025 driver market.

This follows the long-held understanding that Audi had been eyeing signing Sainz ahead of its F1 entry in 2026 with its Sauber takeover, as the 29-year-old already had links to the manufacturer through his father’s Dakar Rally outings in its RS Q e-tron machinery since 2022, including victory in the 2024 event.

But ahead of this weekend’s returning Chinese Grand Prix, Marko added another intriguing element to the most high-profile confirmed 2025 driver contract saga so far early in this silly season.

In an interview with Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, Marko said of Sainz: “We’re talking to him, he’s having his strongest season in F1, but he has a very lucrative offer from Audi that we can’t match or beat.

Liam Lawson, Reserve Driver, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, with Helmut Marko, Consultant, Red Bull Racing, Peter Bayer, CEO, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

“But we know him from the Toro Rosso days, even back then he drove with Max [in 2015 and early 2016].

“But it really hurt him back then when we backed Verstappen at Red Bull and not him.”

The final line is a reference to Red Bull rapidly promoting Verstappen to its senior team in early 2016, with Sainz going on to leave the Red Bull fold for Renault late in the 2017 campaign – something the now Ferrari driver pushed for.

Elsewhere in the interview, Marko revealed that Verstappen publicly backing him during the various twists in the Red Bull management war early in 2024 had been “a really big sign of loyalty” that he “absolutely don’t take for granted, especially in this day and age”.

Marko also sought to clarify recent rumours regarding the driver line-up at RB given Daniel Ricciardo’s poor start to the campaign and his successful 2023 injury replacement, Liam Lawson, still without a full-time F1 drive.

Regarding reports of a possible Ricciardo/Lawson in-season swap that have emerged in the New Zealand and Italian press in recent weeks, Marko said: “With Liam Lawson as a reserve driver, we obviously have a strong driver in the team who is contractually entitled to drive for another team if he doesn’t get a cockpit with us in 2025,” he continued.

“In this respect, it would of course be exciting for us if we could see him in Formula 1 this year to get an even clearer picture.

“But it’s a complex issue, so we’ll have to see how things progress.”