It was another busy week as fans watched the conclusion of the triple-header at Silverstone. It was an emotional race that brought a seven-time World Champion’s winless streak to a close. There was also plenty of news off the track, with a lot of news swirling around the driver market. A trailer has also dropped for the upcoming Brad Pitt movie.
Haas announced this week that Oliver Bearman will race for the team in 2025. He has been part of the Ferrari Academy since 2021, serving as a Haas reserve driver. He has been linked to the team since his strong F1 debut earlier this year at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, filling in for Carlos Sainz as he underwent appendix surgery. He finished P7 in his first time out after qualifying P11. With Nico Hulkenberg moving to Audi and Kevin Magnussen still without a contract for 2025, it’s not known who will be racing alongside Bearman next year.
Liam Lawson is set to get behind the wheel of the Red Bull RB20 on Thursday for a promotional film day at Silverstone. This is the team’s second of two allowed testing days this year. The young New Zealander has been linked to the Red Bull family as a potential replacement for Daniel Ricciardo as early as the summer break. Ricciardo’s performance suffered heavily at the start of the year, although he has greatly improved in recent races. Lawson impressed the team last year, filling in for Ricciardo while he recovered from a broken wrist. Ricciardo is the only driver in the Red Bull family without a contract for 2025.
The team principal of Prema Racing, Rene Rosin, has approached Logan Sargeant about racing in IndyCar with Prema’s new entry in 2025. Sargeant is in his second Formula One season with Williams but has struggled to achieve results. In his 34 races, he has scored only a single point compared to teammate Alex Albon’s 31. This lack of performance has led many to question his future, with many speculating that he will be replaced by Mercedes hopeful Kimi Antonelli during the summer break. Sargeant raced with Prema in Formula 3, securing third in the 2020 championship, his highest finish in the series. He is only one of the drivers linked to Prema’s IndyCar programme, with Prema alumni Callum Ilott on the radar with former F1 driver Alexander Rossi.
Former Russian Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin has completed his first test in Europe since his European Union sanctions were lifted earlier this year. He tested an LMGT3-spec Ferrari 296 GT3 sports car at the new Balton Park Circuit in Hungary. Mazepin lost his F1 seat with Haas abruptly before the start of the 2022 season in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and found himself included on the European Union’s sanctions list. After more than two years on the list, Mazepin’s sanction was annulled by a court effective May 30, 2024, because he had no links to his father Dmitry other than family ties, which was insufficient to keep him on the list.
Apple announced their upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt will be called F1 and released the first official teaser trailer. The movie, set to come out in 2025, has been filmed in collaboration with Formula One and the teams. It will tell the fictional story of a former F1 star returning to the sport alongside a rookie on the APXGP team. It is being filmed at races this season, including the British Grand Prix, with additional filming coming in Hungary, Belgium, Mexico, Las Vegas, and Abu Dhabi.
Lewis Hamilton has been linked to a potential buyout of the Gresini Racing MotoGP team, although these are little more than rumours at the moment. Speaking to the press during the British Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton, who has been a long-term fan of MotoGP, said he was “interested” in the growth of the sport, but denied any real plans at the moment. However, he did hint at potential team ownership opportunities in “the next five to ten years”. Hamilton already owns Team X44, which has had great success in the electric rally series Extreme E. He also became part-owner of the Denver Broncos in the American NFL in 2022. Although there are no signs that the team is up for sale, Gresini Racing has been run by Nadia Padovani since her husband Fausto Gresini’s death in 2021. Additionally, the announcement of Liberty Media’s plans to acquire a majority stake in the sport could increase the value of teams in the series, catching the eyes of potential investors.
Mercedes is willing to supply Alpine with power units, should they abandon the Renault engines in 2026, according to Toto Wolff. This comes just two weeks after reports that Alpine is evaluating whether to convert their Renault works team into a customer team when the engine regulations change in 2026. With Aston Martin set to take on a works Honda engine for 2026, there is now a vacancy in the Mercedes engine supply list. “I think we’re set up as an organisation that the more power units, the better it is in terms of accelerating some of the developments or the reliability,” Wolff explained. However, we are unlikely to see any decision from Alpine anytime soon.
Former Mercedes engine leader Andy Cowell will become CEO of Aston Martin Group on October 1 this year. He is best known as Managing Director at Mercedes AMG High-Performance Powertrains between 2013 and 2020, during which the Mercedes engine powered the works team to a dominant 12 World Championship titles. He will replace former McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh, who has been with Aston Martin since 2021.
Despite dark clouds looming above the circuit, the first free practice session of the British Grand Prix weekend started in dry conditions, with Lando Norris setting the time to beat. Yuki Tsunoda brought out the early red flag ten minutes into the session after breaching his RB in the gravel at turn seven. Carlos Sainz set the pace in the first half of the session but fell down the order when teams fitted the softer tyres. Oscar Piastri suffered a mechanical issue late in the session, driving slowly back to the pit lane. A busy track led to a few scary moments with traffic. Charles Leclerc was held up by Lance Stroll, who finished a shocking second in the session. Lando Norris had to take evasive action to avoid the Red Bull of youngster Isack Hadjar, who was driving Sergio Perez’s car. Both drivers were reprimanded by the stewards. Hadjar was just one of four junior drivers to participate in the session. Oliver Bearman tested out the car he will be driving next year, on loan from Kevin Magnussen. Jack Doohan took over Pierre Gasly’s car as Alpine continues to evaluate their options for next season. Logan Sargeant sat out the session so that Franco Colapinto could give it a go. Bearman ranked highest of the rookies, finishing the session 14th on the timing pages.
Lando Norris was again on top of the timesheet at the end of the second free practice, ahead of teammate Oscar Piastri. With a risk of rain, teams were eager to get their practice programmes underway at the start of the session, with windy conditions also impacting performance. Aston Martin spent some time near the top of the table, backing up Stroll’s strong pace in the first session, although they would fall to P9 and P11 before the end of the session. Sergio Perez had a strong showing, with a time worthy of P3. Nico Hulkenberg was the only other driver to come within 0.5s of the pace set by the leading McLaren, with an equally impressive performance in his Haas. Rain fell late in the session, but it didn’t limit running and was only a taste of things to come.
Heavy rain overnight meant a wet track for the final free practice session on Saturday morning, seeing a greatly reduced pace. George Russell set the pace in a Mercedes 1-2, with only 0.035s separating the teammates. Lando Norris was the only other driver to come close to the Mercedes pace. Slippery conditions caused many drivers to spin during the session, including Max Verstappen. Pierre Gasly spun into the gravel in the final corner, briefly bringing out the red flag. Lap times didn’t improve in the latter stages of the session, with another shower drenching the circuit.
The British drivers had a strong showing in front of their home crowd for qualifying, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton securing a Mercedes front-row lockout ahead of Lando Norris. Damp conditions required the intermediate tyres at the start of Q1, but the sun quickly allowed drivers to transition to the slicks. Sergio Perez brought out the red flag when he spun into the gravel at Copse, bringing his session to an early end. DRS was enabled for Q2, with grip having been restored. Charles Leclerc was the shock exit from the session, narrowly missing out on Q3.
Lewis Hamilton earned himself a worthy victory in the race, ending his winless streak and earning the most victories at a single circuit. The two Mercedes built an early lead as the race started in dry conditions, while an early mistake for Lando Norris allowed Max Verstappen to claim P3 on the opening lap. Early rain covered the circuit, although not enough for most drivers to change to the intermediate. Those who did so lost pace when the track quickly began to dry, including Charles Leclerc. The early rain allowed McLaren to take 1-2 in the race, but a second heavier rainfall forced drivers to change to the intermediate tyres. This cost Oscar Piastri dearly after McLaren left him out for an additional lap to avoid double-stacking. George Russell suffered a mechanical failure, bringing his race to a premature end. The circuit dried again, causing more pit stops for slicks. Lando Norris stayed out a lap too long, forfeiting the lead to Hamilton. Red Bull made the controversial decision to put Verstappen on the hard tyres while the two cars ahead fitted the soft tyres. This paid dividends for the reigning World Champion, who overtook Norris in the closing laps. Although his pace was strong at the end, it was not enough to deny Hamilton an emotional win at Silverstone. Click here to read a full recap of the race.
That brings this triple-header to a close, also marking the halfway point in the season. Next on the calendar is the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 21.
It can be challenging for even the most avid fans to keep up with the fast-paced world of Formula One. The Weekly F1 Recap is a series published each Monday that breaks down the action, both on and off the circuit, into bit-sized pieces. It's perfect for casual and experienced fans alike.
