One detail of Lando Norris’s new McLaren contract extension has particularly impressed Formula 1 fans, who have described the agreement as “well deserved”.
The reigning F1 world champion has signed a contract extension that will keep him with McLaren until at least the end of 2030. As part of the deal, the 26-year-old will also receive the MCL39 chassis in which he secured his maiden drivers’ championship in 2025.
Norris made his McLaren debut in 2019 and has now started 163 grands prix for the Woking-based team, more than any other driver. The Briton’s career record includes 13 grand prix victories, 48 podium finishes, 18 pole positions, 20 fastest laps, 1,589 points and one drivers’ title.
“The perfect choice for both sides, Lando showed McLaren loyalty and it more than paid off with a title, so he deserves a new mega deal. He might possibly be a one-team guy for his career, and he might not be done winning titles either,”
one fan commented on Reddit.
“Well deserved. I hope this comes with a big salary increase because he’s been one of the best drivers on the grid this season and has a title. He literally reminds me of Button after 2009 but with a higher skill ceiling.”
another fan posted.
Lando Norris, McLaren. Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Lando Norris’s championship-winning McLaren chassis
The decision to give Norris his championship-winning MCL39 quickly became a major talking point among fans.
“This is such a beautiful gesture from McLaren to give Lando the championship-winning car. Well-deserved extension with the loyalty he’s given them from the very beginning and paid off well with the title last year. Plus, with what he’s been doing so far this season, even with the reliability woes earlier in the year, he’s going to be competitive with them for much longer,”
another fan wrote.
“Big fat contract extension and he’s being gifted his championship-winning car. What a day for the lad!”
someone else posted, while another commented:
“Such an insane gift to be able to get your first championship-winning car. Fully deserved. He’s stuck with the team through thick and thin! Bro is for sure going to celebrate tonight.”
George Russell celebrated Mercedes’ double podium at the Dutch Grand Prix by rewarding team members from the Brackley and Brixworth facilities with a private karting event at Silverstone Circuit.
Mercedes confirmed the event on social media, posting on X: “Swapping the W17 for the kart. All smiles as George treated team members from both Brackley and Brixworth to a special karting experience at Silverstone.”
Russell joins Mercedes staff for Silverstone karting day
The event brought together employees from Mercedes’ main headquarters in Brackley and Mercedes High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth.
“We’re here at Silverstone doing a team karting day,” Russell told the camera. “A thousand people applied from Brackley and Brixworth, but we can only fit 170 people. Really looking forward to it, and I’m going to be racing with them.”
After the staff had completed several laps, Russell put on his race suit and joined them on track. He also handed out medals to the participants at the end of the event.
Fans responded positively to footage of Russell enjoying the day. One commenter on X wrote: “It’s so nice seeing George this happy. It makes you realise how different things could be with a bit more support. Obviously, I’m not talking about Marcus, Katsu, and the others; you know full well who the problem is…”
Another fan added: “I really love how happy George looks for the entire day. He really loves this team.”
Some comments took a more sarcastic tone, including: “Just give him the kart at Monza. Probably be more reliable” and “He finally gets a reliable car, no wonder he’s happy.”
Mercedes leads 2026 constructors’ championship
The karting event comes during a strong 2026 campaign for Mercedes. The team currently leads the constructors’ championship with 425 points, while Ferrari is second on 338 points.
Russell sits second in the drivers’ championship, 59 points behind his team-mate Kimi Antonelli. He is level on points with Lewis Hamilton.
The 13th round of the season will be held at Monza during the Italian Grand Prix weekend from 4-6 September.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin described the team’s performance through Zandvoort’s high-speed corners as “rubbish” as Mercedes investigates its inconsistent pace during the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
Mercedes made a strong start to the Zandvoort weekend, with George Russell taking pole position and winning the sprint race. However, the team fell behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, who secured pole and victory in the Dutch Grand Prix.
Mercedes still finished second and third in qualifying and the race. Kimi Antonelli finished ahead of team-mate Russell to extend his championship lead to 59 points, but Mercedes was unable to explain why its early pace failed to carry through the rest of the weekend against its main rival.
“We’ve got a few things on the performance side to try and dig into,” Shovlin said on Mercedes’ Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show. “We’re going to be getting on with that this week and see what we learn.
“But there were a few corners where we were pretty rubbish, like that combination of [Turns] 7, 8, 9. You could see [it in] the faster-speed [curves]. And it also gives the tyres on the left-hand side of the car a tough time. And we don’t really understand yet fully what’s causing that.
“We’ve got some ideas, but that’s not a problem that we’ve suffered with so far this year. And there’s plenty of circuits that have got kind of continued corners in one direction.
“We were a bit off the pace in the fastest of those [turns]. And then our problems kind of grew a bit as we went through. All the other corners look solid.”
Mercedes struggled to explain differing tyre performance
Mercedes’ confusion was compounded by the limited changes made to the cars between the sprint race and the grand prix, as well as during the race itself. Shovlin acknowledged that pace can vary depending on tyre compound and tyre life, but both drivers experienced problems at different stages of the race.
“We didn’t change the car. We obviously had different compounds at different stages. But again, we need to understand a bit,” he said.
“George’s first stint was a bit lacklustre compared to his later ones. And then with Kimi, first stint was good, and then dropped a bit on the second, dropped a bit more on the third, a bit came back on the third. It wasn’t like we were playing around with electronic settings or up and down on flap angles. And for him, the balance of the car was quite different stint on stint.
“The two drivers, normally they report similar things with a car at the end of the race. Both of them, their perception of the balance, and probably the reality is George had a more understeery car, Kimi had a more oversteery car. If we look at how they were set up, we don’t yet know quite why we got such a big difference.
“So, though, really good to have a strong point-scoring weekend when we weren’t at our best in terms of performance. It was actually good fun, sat on the pitwall and having to make decisions in a hurry. I think the whole team enjoyed that and rose to the occasion. And it was definitely a good result, given where we were.
“But yeah, a bit of head-scratching to do over the next few days.”
Mercedes records second-highest points haul of the season
Despite its lack of clarity over the pace loss, Mercedes scored 46 points at Zandvoort, its second-highest team total of the season. Only its 55-point haul at the Chinese Grand Prix was higher, although both events were sprint weekends with more points available.
Williams team principal James Vowles says the Grove-based Formula 1 team is managing a “huge number of projects” to correct development mistakes made during the winter that continue to affect its 2026 campaign.
Williams targeting long-term performance fixes
Speaking in his post-race The Vowles Verdict debrief after a difficult Dutch Grand Prix, Vowles said Williams is restructuring behind the scenes to identify and address the reasons for its current lack of performance.
“As you saw, we announced both driver contracts last week, and it’s hard to put into words what it means to the organisation when that happens,” he said. “But it’s a monumental change. We have made mistakes this winter, which we’re still paying for today, and the drivers are paying for on the car that we’ve delivered on track.
“What was great is when we started to show the future that’s beyond here, one that’s more around the long term, their commitment came to the forefront. And that’s really important to me. It’s important to the team. It’s important to everyone because ultimately we’re here and we know we have a pathway to go, but we’re here fighting as a team.”
Williams ended speculation over its driver line-up before the Dutch Grand Prix, with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz both signing contract extensions. Albon agreed to a one-year extension that will keep him at Williams until the end of 2027, while Sainz signed a multi-year deal.
Although some updated car components are scheduled to arrive later in the season, Vowles said the Williams factory is prioritising fixes designed to improve the team’s long-term competitiveness.
“We have huge numbers of projects, though, in the background to make sure that we’re just digging out what went wrong this winter and fixing for the long term,” Vowles added. “And that’s our commitment today as it will be in six months’ time.”
Williams currently sits ninth in the Formula 1 constructors’ championship with 11 points.
Red Bull’s driver swap for the Dutch Grand Prix has reignited discussion about the advantages of Formula 1 teams operating under shared ownership.
After Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar suffered a wrist fracture before the race weekend at Zandvoort, the Milton Keynes-based team promoted Liam Lawson from sister outfit Racing Bulls. Lawson joined Max Verstappen for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Racing Bulls then promoted reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda to partner rookie Arvid Lindblad, filling the vacancy created by Lawson’s move.
Red Bull benefits from shared driver pool
Former W Series driver and Sky Sports analyst Naomi Schiff said Red Bull benefited from promoting a driver already familiar with the 2026-specification cars, rather than relying on a reserve driver with less experience in the machinery.
“It seems to be a little bit of an advantage to be able to put someone in who’s already currently driving these cars and I guess Ferrari is the only other team that would probably call on Oliver Bearman,” Schiff explained during an episode of the Up To Speed podcast after co-host and former F1 driver David Coulthard claimed there is a “strength and depth” in Red Bull in that it can pull in drivers from its sister team.
“Whereas Mercedes have Fred Vesti, who travels with them to most of the races, so it would most likely be him. I do think it works out to be an advantage for Liam, but I think that doesn’t take away from the fact that that was probably a daunting environment for him to step back into, although it does look very different than what it was, what he left behind.”
Lawson finished the Dutch Grand Prix in seventh place, scoring six points for Red Bull. The team has not yet confirmed whether Hadjar will return for the Italian Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli Keeps Original Trophy From Maiden F1 Victory
Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has revealed that the team allowed him to keep the original trophy from his first Formula 1 victory.
Speaking to GQ Magazine for a feature titled 10 Things F1 Driver Kimi Antonelli Can’t Live Without, the Italian showed the trophy he received on the podium after his breakthrough victory at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Mercedes Made an Exception for Antonelli’s First Win
Formula 1 teams typically retain the original trophies won by their drivers, displaying them at the factory while giving the drivers high-quality replicas. However, Mercedes made an exception for Antonelli to commemorate his first career victory.
“This is the trophy of my first victory in China, and this is a moment I’ll never forget,” Antonelli explained.
“The first victory is always incredible. It has an enormous meaning, and it also marks my first win in the top division. This trophy is the original, the one I lifted on the podium.
“Usually, the originals go to the teams, while we keep the replicas. However, since it was my first win, the team let me have it, especially since you only get one first time. This, obviously, was placed in my trophy case.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes. Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Antonelli started the Chinese Grand Prix from pole position and said he recognised his opportunity to claim a strong result as the race approached its conclusion.
“Starting from pole position, I knew I had a good chance of being able to get a good result. Obviously, I knew it would be very difficult, but when there were about fifteen laps to go, I knew I was close to the finish line and that I could do it.
“It took a long time to realise in that moment what had happened. But it was a truly indescribable moment.”
Antonelli Leads the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship
Antonelli went on to secure five more Grand Prix victories during the first half of the 2026 Formula 1 season. He currently leads the drivers’ championship by 59 points over George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, who are level on points.
Sergio Perez believes he has “maybe three more years” left in Formula 1 and wants to use that time to help Cadillac establish itself in the sport.
The Mexican driver left F1 at the end of 2024 after Red Bull released him following a difficult season. Perez had finished second in the 2023 drivers’ championship, but his form declined after a strong start to the campaign. He then slipped to eighth in the 2024 standings, recording only four podium finishes.
After spending a year away from Formula 1, Perez returned when Cadillac signed him to partner Valtteri Bottas. The new team has opted for an experienced driver line-up as it prepares to enter the championship, with both drivers bringing knowledge of leading F1 operations to the project.
Sergio Perez embraces Cadillac’s Formula 1 project
Speaking on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, Perez said he is enjoying his role in helping shape Cadillac’s future. He described himself as “more than a driver” because of his involvement in development and the team’s wider direction.
He added that only a small number of drivers have the opportunity to help build a Formula 1 team from the ground up.
“I really feel like this is a project. And I really feel like I’m part of this project of this new era, like building something from scratch,” Perez said.
“Of course, I want to win championships and be fighting at the front. But if you don’t have that opportunity, I think Cadillac, it’s something that motivates me a lot. It’s like building a team from scratch and starting basically from last to see how far we can go together.
“And like you say, you know, I feel like here I’m much more than a driver. At the same time, they listen a lot to me on different things, on development and stuff. Only a few drivers can get that in their careers, and it’s the first time I can have this.”
Perez says motivation will determine when he retires
Perez later discussed his long-term future and explained that the key sign it is time to stop racing will be a decline in his “will” and concentration. He said a driver’s focus on the car, engineers and pursuit of performance eventually reveals whether the desire to compete is fading.
For now, Perez believes the Cadillac project is providing enough motivation to keep him focused. He estimates that he could have approximately three years of racing remaining before turning his attention to interests outside Formula 1.
“I think there’s a certain age where you start to drop,” he added. “I think it’s the engine inside you. It’s the will, and you see it from the outside, when you’re not in the car, how much you’re thinking on your engineers, on your car.
“When you go away and you start thinking less and less on that, that’s the first alarm, I would say. It’s going away. Because when you’re young, all what you’re thinking, it’s what’s coming next, how you will be driving better, what different techniques you can use, and that sort of thing.
“But as you get older and older – and some drivers are different. Some drivers, it happens at late 20s, mid-30s, mid-40s, and others – we might see Fernando until he’s 60! He’s still driving at a very high level. But I think Fernando is different.
“He has that engine inside him still. You can see him whenever there is an opportunity, like whenever there is anything he can take advantage of, he still has that.
“And you can see it. But everyone is different. I don’t think that there is a number, that there is an age. Although Formula 1 is very physical, very demanding, training is not a limitation like other sports, like within football or tennis. Here, I think, it’s more the brain or the vision.
“I think at the same time, it’s really hard for a driver to realise it’s enough, that I’m not as competitive as I wish or as I want to be and you need to call it off. And I think to take that decision as a driver is not so easy.
“But at the end, you need to be very honest with yourself and grateful, you know, to that kid that started everything and you need to be able to say, you know, it’s time to do something else.
“It’s hard to tell you a number. Obviously, I don’t have much in it. Say, maybe three years more. I want to see this project moving forward. I think that requires a bit more time.
“But yeah, I mean, I respect a lot what Fernando has done in the sport and the motivation he has. But for me, it wouldn’t be that long because I want to do other things out of Formula 1.”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing. Photo by Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images.
Ferrari has unveiled special Formula 1 race suits for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc ahead of the team’s home Italian Grand Prix at Monza, paying tribute to seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
The Maranello team is preparing for its home race, scheduled for 4–6 September, with the entire weekend dedicated to Schumacher’s legacy and his impact on Ferrari.
Ferrari’s Schumacher tribute race suits
The one-off race suits retain Ferrari’s iconic red design but feature white stripes running down the front, along the arms and across the shoulders. Seven stars have been added to the upper back of each suit to represent Schumacher’s seven Formula 1 world championships.
The stars use the same design that Schumacher incorporated into his helmet graphics. His personal logo also appears on the hip of each race suit.
Ferrari arrives at Monza after a difficult Dutch Grand Prix. Hamilton and Leclerc finished fourth and fifth at Zandvoort, following several frustrated radio exchanges between Hamilton and the team.
Ferrari currently sits second in the constructors’ championship with 338 points, 87 points behind championship leader Mercedes.
Speaking to the media in Zandvoort, both Leclerc and Hamilton expressed their anticipation for Ferrari’s home race. Leclerc said:
“I’m excited for Monza, even though on paper it doesn’t look like the best track for us. But for sure, for how special Monza is for us, I’m looking forward to it,”
Hamilton added:
“We’re in a much different place than we have been in the past, obviously, last year. “We’re still second in the constructors’ championship. We’ve got a lot of positives to take from this first half. The next ones, we really need to turn up the heat if we’re going to have any chance of beating these guys.”
BMW has ruled out joining Mercedes and Audi in Formula 1, citing limited opportunities to transfer racing technology to its production cars.
The Munich-based manufacturer has been absent from F1 since selling its majority stake in Sauber in 2009. However, the championship’s rising popularity and its appeal to major automotive brands have made a return increasingly attractive for carmakers.
Sauber, which BMW previously co-owned, is now controlled by Audi. Formula 1’s 2026 technical regulations have also helped attract major manufacturers and brands including Cadillac and Ford, the latter through its partnership with Red Bull’s engine programme.
Porsche also seriously considered partnering with Red Bull before negotiations collapsed in late 2022. That has left BMW as the only major German manufacturer not to have shown serious interest in entering F1 in recent years.
According to BMW M boss Frank van Meel, Formula 1 does not “fit into” the company’s motorsport philosophy, which focuses on transferring technology from racing cars to road-going models.
“Formula 1 is too far removed for us; it’s too much of a laboratory and doesn’t translate well enough to production cars,” van Meel told Motorsport.com’s sister title Motor1 Germany.
“In Formula 1, it would be a completely separate technology centre, detached from the rest.
“Our customers and fans certainly like Formula 1, but they also like motorsport that’s more direct and closer to production cars. The story behind M is that we bring motorsport into production cars. And Formula 1 simply doesn’t fit into that for us.”
“BMW grew big in the US through motorsport”
#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Rene Rast, Robin Frijns. Photo by: Jakob Ebrey
BMW remains heavily involved in other forms of motorsport, particularly sports car racing.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 is now the manufacturer’s flagship racing car. The factory-supported WRT team competes with it in both the World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
That dual programme gives BMW a presence in some of the world’s biggest endurance races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
BMW also supplies customer teams around the world with GT3 and GT4 versions of its M4 sports car.
Van Meel believes these racing programmes are better aligned with BMW’s priorities. He also credited the company’s involvement in championships such as IMSA with helping to increase its popularity in the lucrative US market.
“For us, it’s not just about the WEC, but also about IMSA,” he said. “The USA, with around 40% of our volume, is the most important single market for BMW M. BMW grew big in the USA through motorsport. That’s why IMSA is extremely important for us.
“WEC and IMSA are also a good fit for us because of the direct technology transfer. For example, the M Concept New Class incorporates elements from the M4 GT3, such as the airflow-optimized hood and diffuser. The lighting graphics come from our LMDh race car.
“There are also transfers of technology to the powertrains. We use a V8 hybrid in motorsport and have V8 hybrids in the M5 and XM. In some cases, the same engineers work on these powertrains. We can test certain aspects more quickly and in a more production-ready way through these racing series.”
Mercedes Formula 1 driver and championship leader Kimi Antonelli has appeared as a driving instructor in Amelia Dimoldenberg’s YouTube series, Passenger Princess.
Produced in collaboration with F1 as part of the championship’s effort to attract a younger and more diverse audience, the second season sees current drivers teach the British presenter how to drive.
Kimi Antonelli brings chaos to Passenger Princess
Antonelli’s episode quickly descended into chaos when he rapidly steered from side to side to warm up the tyres. Dimoldenberg jokingly exclaimed, “Stop it. Stop, Kimi. This is not acceptable. I knew you were young, but I didn’t know you would be this immature.”
The 20-year-old Mercedes driver then attempted doughnuts in an SUV. “Wait, can we just stop for a second because I feel really dizzy now,” Dimoldenberg said.
“That was not a doughnut,” Antonelli admitted. “You would slide a lot more.”
When the roles were reversed and Dimoldenberg took the wheel, Antonelli’s coaching skills were put to the test. The comedian was also asked to perform a doughnut, but the attempt came close to ending in the gravel.
“So, this is actually my last lesson. So, actually I should at this point be pretty good at driving. Which is why I wanted to do the doughnuts because I feel like doughnuts is when you’re a pro, and you can just do what you want,” Dimoldenberg said before Antonelli gave her driving attempt a score of 5.5 out of 10.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Eric Le Galliot
Antonelli discusses life away from Formula 1
During the deadpan comedic exchanges, the Italian driver discussed what he eats on a cheat day, how he began go-karting at the age of five, his pre-race ritual and how he spends his time off.
At the time of writing, the video had been viewed more than one million times and received over 31,000 likes.
“Kimi HAS to be the first driver to ragebait Amelia,” one fan commented, while another added: “He got the sassiness of George and sarcasm of Max, truly their son.”
Someone else posted: “It’s giving oldest sister youngest siblings vibe,” while another fan wrote: “Kimi’s sarcastic blinks are next level!”
