Williams place their delayed FW48 upgrade at the centre of the Baku weekend
Williams will introduce its long-awaited major FW48 upgrade at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The package is intended to address performance and weight concerns that have left Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon behind the midfield more often than the team expected. The Baku weekend has not started, so the update cannot yet be called a success. Its importance comes from giving Williams a track test of work signed off months earlier while rivals have continued developing.
Alpine appoint Mike Elliott as chief technical officer to coordinate Enstone’s engineering departments
Alpine has appointed Mike Elliott as chief technical officer, bringing the former Mercedes technical leader back to Formula 1. Elliott will oversee technical and engineering functions at Enstone after a career spanning McLaren, Renault and Mercedes. The appointment is complete rather than speculative, and Alpine says it is intended to strengthen the team's attempt to close the gap to the leading four. His first challenge is organisational: a senior title only helps when aerodynamic, vehicle performance, design and trackside groups share priorities and evidence.
Marcin Budkowski makes reliability and race operations Cadillac’s first priorities
Marcin Budkowski has described his first month leading Cadillac as a rapid adjustment to the scale and pressure of a Formula 1 team. He took over before the Dutch Grand Prix and inherited a new operation still searching for its first points, with Valtteri Bottas's 13th place in China remaining the team's best finish. Budkowski's priorities are practical: improve reliability, organise race weekends more clearly and develop pace without treating one strong session as a complete recovery. A new team needs all three because speed that cannot reach the flag produces little useful progress.
Red Bull will wait for Isack Hadjar to recover fully before returning him to Formula 1 competition
Red Bull has said Isack Hadjar's recovery remains on course after a wrist injury kept him out of the Dutch, Italian and Madrid Grands Prix. Liam Lawson has driven in his place, while team principal Laurent Mekies has made clear that Hadjar will return only when he is close to full condition. The update is current and does not attach an unconfirmed comeback to a specific race. Formula 1 places heavy load through a driver's hands and forearms, so a simulator test and medical progress matter more than a hopeful date.
Formula 1’s 2027 calendar adds ten Sprints and returns to Portugal and Türkiye
Formula 1 has published a 24-round calendar for 2027 covering twenty-two countries and including ten Sprint weekends. Portugal returns in June and Türkiye returns in October, while Bahrain opens the championship after hosting pre-season testing. The schedule expands the Sprint format to circuits that have never used it and keeps several familiar Sprint venues. More competitive sessions may appeal to spectators, but teams will have less practice time to understand new parts and track conditions.
Max Verstappen passes 99 rivals to win a karting challenge
Max Verstappen began a karting challenge behind ninety-nine opponents and reached the front after fourteen laps and roughly thirty-five minutes. The race was designed around pursuit rather than a conventional equal-grid start, giving the Formula 1 champion a time limit to pass the entire field. He gained sixty-four positions on the opening lap, entered the top ten after six and then had to solve smaller, more organized groups as the track cleared. The result was entertaining, but it also showed why traffic management is a separate skill from outright speed.
Red Bull explains why the RB22 loses aerodynamic performance during long runs
Red Bull has identified a persistent RB22 problem that is more complicated than ordinary tyre degradation. Team principal Laurent Mekies says aerodynamic performance can fall after a number of laps, reducing the consistency available to the driver during a stint. Updates introduced around Monza and Madrid have helped the investigation, but the team does not describe a single component as the complete answer. The issue connects setup, airflow and tyre behaviour, which is why a quick qualifying car can still become harder to manage in a longer run.