Racing Lines
THE LATEST STORIES FROM THE PADDOCK
RED BULL
LAWSON AND HADJAR REACT TO MEKIES PROMOTION
Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar have given former boss Laurent Mekies the vote of confidence, following his promotion to Red Bull after Christian Horner's exit.
Despite only having a season-and-a-half of experience as a team principal, the 48-year-old has received glowing praise from the drivers he has left behind at Racing Bulls.
"It was quite disappointing, to be honest, when I heard the news, because I had a great relationship with him," said Hadjar. "I still have, I still will, but it’s a bit sad for every team member because he was very appreciated. I’m very happy for him and his new mission now."
Lawson has experience of both teams this year, having completed the opening two rounds of the 2025 season with Red Bull before being replaced by Yuki Tsunoda — who will now reconnect with Mekies at the senior squad.
Conceding that Red Bull has endured a ‘turbulent’ period in recent times, the New Zealander said: “I think it’s important that Laurent gets the time he needs, going to Red Bull, because I do believe he’s the perfect person to have that position.”
FERARRI
HAMILTON ON WORKING WITH FERARRI
Lewis Hamilton says he’s determined to leave nothing to chance in his mission to bring title success back to Ferrari, as he pushes the Scuderia to embrace change in a bid to end their championship drought.
The seven-time World Champion stressed the need for urgency and a fresh approach after years of missed opportunities with other top-tier drivers. Hamilton made clear that he’s not just there to drive — he’s there to shake things up.
“I feel it is my job to challenge every area, everybody in the team — especially the guys at the top, making the decisions,” he said.
“If you look at the team for the last 20 years, they have had amazing drivers — Fernando, Kimi, Sebastian. Amazing drivers but they didn’t win a title, and I refuse to have that happen with me."
“If you do the same things you have the same results, so I’m challenging everything. They are very responsive. I’m here to win, I don’t have much time so it is crunch time.”
mercedes
ANTONELLI WANTS IMPROVED SECOND-HALF OF THE SEASON
Kimi Antonelli admits his rookie Formula 1 season has been a tough learning curve, as the 18-year-old reflects on a challenging start to the European season and looks to reset for the second half of the year.
Despite moments of promise, Antonelli acknowledges that consistency has been elusive, citing both driver errors and operational issues as stumbling blocks.
“It has been challenging, I have had some highs but quite a few lows,” he said. “The European season hasn’t gone very well — I think it has gone pretty badly.”
“Also on my side, Qualifying has been weak but I need to put it all together,” he added. “I’ve not been that good on doing the right step to get those last tenths. Now, the second half of the season, it is important to do the step and find some consistency.”
Aston Martin
ALONSO CONSIDERING UPGRADES
Fernando Alonso has downplayed any concerns around Aston Martin’s planned upgrade for this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, as the team weighs up whether to run the new parts amid limited track time at Spa.
With the event running a Sprint format, teams face reduced practice before Qualifying, and Aston Martin’s package — originally scheduled for Budapest — has arrived earlier than planned.
Alonso confirmed the upgrade is ready to be tested, but admitted it might not feature immediately.
“There is no guarantee we will race it,” he said. “But there has been a push in the factory to get everything ready and we will test it, and if we cannot [due to the weather] we can opt to not fit it for Quali. There are plenty of possibilities, and I am not concerned.”
TYRES
WHAT TYRES WILL THE TEAMS HAVE FOR THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX?
On a weekend that will feature the third Sprint of the season, Pirelli have chosen three dry weather compounds that are not consecutive, with the C1 acting as the hard tyre while the C3 is provided as the medium and the C4 as the soft.
With the Sprint format in play, drivers will have 12 sets of tyres available rather than the usual 13.
Each will get two sets of the hard (marked white), four sets of the medium (marked yellow) and six sets of soft (marked red), along with six sets of green intermediates and three sets of blue full wets.
Reflecting further on the characteristics of the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the tyre manufacturer adds: “It is one of the most spectacular tracks, very popular with teams and drivers because of its technical complexity and the challenges it presents."
