General Motors has reached an in-principle deal with Formula One to become the 11th team on the grid in 2026. The company, entering under its Cadillac brand, previously attempted to join the sport with Andretti Global but was denied entry by Formula One Management. GM will take over Andretti’s existing Silverstone-based project. However, we will not see in-house power units until 2028, with the team being expected to be a customer team for the first two seasons. The 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti, father of former Andretti Global owner Michael Andretti, will serve as the director on the board, although the Andretti family will not be involved in day-to-day operations. Adding further strength to their F1 project, the team has signed current Alpine operations director Rob White to become the team’s Chief Operating Officer.
Audi’s F1 project is still full steam ahead despite financial troubles at the VW Group, according to Audi boss Gernot Dollner. Audi has been planning a takeover of the Sauber team for 2026, transforming it into a works team that will run Audi power units. The Volkswagen Group, which owns Audi, has faced major financial losses and plans to close at least three German factories and downsize others, which will result in tens of thousands of jobs lost. Despite this, Dollner insists the F1 project is “an integral part of the transformation story of Audi.” Although the timing of the Qatar Investment Authority may look worrying, Dollner claims the plans were made more than a year ago.
The Monza Circuit has extended its contract to host the Italian Grand Prix until 2031. The circuit’s contract was set to expire in 2025, having previously been extended a year longer as compensation for hosting the 2020 race without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The legendary circuit has hosted a race in Formula One every year, except for 1980 when it was closed for renovations and Imola took over as a temporary host.
Mick Schumacher will leave his reserve driver role with Mercedes at the end of the year. The German has been working with Mercedes since his unsuccessful two-year stint with Haas ended in 2022. With no real opportunity still available in Formula One for the upcoming season, Schumacher will part ways with the team to pursue racing elsewhere. While it’s unclear where his future lies, he has raced with Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team this year, scoring a podium. Although it’s not been officially confirmed who will take over Schumacher’s role as reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas may be on the shortlist.
Valtteri Bottas has revealed that he turned down an offer to race in IndyCar full-time in 2025, hoping to pursue other Formula One opportunities that may open up in 2026. The Finn will be out of a seat at the end of the year, with Sauber opting to completely refresh its driver lineup for its final year before the Audi takeover. With 11 teams set to be on the grid in 2026, there will be more seats available than in previous seasons and Bottas is hoping to find his way to one of them. In the meantime, he is expected to join Mercedes next year as a reserve driver, having previously raced with the team. Despite turning down a full-time IndyCar drive, Bottas insists he would consider participating in the Indianapolis 500 if an opportunity presents itself.
Formula 2 rookie Paul Aron will join Alpine in 2025 as their reserve driver. The 20-year-old Estonian is currently ranked third in the Formula 2 championship, having won the feature race in Qatar this weekend. He will replace Jack Doohan in the role, as the Australian moves up the ranks to a full-time seat for 2025 alongside Pierre Gasly.
The Qatar Grand Prix likely marked the final race on Alpine for Esteban Ocon, as the team explore other options for the season finale. Although an agreement has not yet been reached, it’s believed that the Frenchman will sit out the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, handing his car to the team’s future driver Jack Doohan. Ocon has been with the team since 2020 and will join Haas in 2025.
Carlos Sainz will get a taste of the Williams car ahead of schedule, as the team books a filming day for the end of the season. Sainz was originally set to get behind the wheel of the Williams car at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi set for the Tuesday after the season finale. However, Williams has booked a filming day at the circuit for the Monday after the season concludes. Although it will limit him to a maximum of 200km of mileage, it will give him a chance to get acquainted with the team ahead of his first test with the team. Sainz, who will be joining Williams in 2025, was permitted to participate in both post-season events, despite being contracted with Ferrari until the end of the year.
New Formula One race director Rui Marques had to work double duty at the Qatar Grand Prix following the sudden departure of the new Formula Two race director. Marques, who was promoted to F1 after the surprising exit of Niels Wittich, has had his new role for only a week. Janette Tan was appointed to be Marques’ replacement in F2, but she was dismissed unexpectedly ahead of the Qatar weekend. No reason for her exit has been confirmed, but she is just one of the many people to have left the FIA in recent months under the leadership of President Mohammed Ben Bulayem.
Additionally, long-serving race steward Tim Mayer has left the FIA. Mayer, the son of McLaren founder Teddy Mayer, has worked with the FIA for 15 years. With the FIA appearing to be a revolving door of staff over the past year, Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director George Russell has called for “a bit of transparency and consistency” over the recent departures, which he feels is important to ensure that Formula One stays in a stable position. President Ben Sulayem hit back against the criticism, saying that it’s “none of their business” how the FIA is run and that the drivers should “concentrate on what they do best, which is race.” He insists the recent staffing decisions are what’s best for the FIA, saying, “I have been elected to fix the FIA, and I am fixing it.”
The FIA presented its proposed changes to the Driving Standards Guidelines ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, although the FIA will continue to assess potential changes. It was originally thought that changes could be coming as soon as the Qatar Grand Prix. The Driving Standards Guidelines is a document that helps race stewards assess racing incidents by dictating the responsibilities of attacking and defending drivers. Since this document is not an official regulation, it is not publicly available. The guidelines fell under criticism this year after numerous clashes between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Many of the concerns revolve around the driver on the outside being forced off the circuit if the driver on the inside is ahead at the apex. This relatively new style of driving has been frequently exploited by Verstappen, causing issues at the Mexican and United States Grand Prix. It’s understood that the FIA will aim to close this loophole as early as 2025.
The Qatar Grand Prix weekend got underway on Friday evening, with Charles Leclerc topping the only free practice session. He had a comfortable pace over his next closest competitors, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. It was a busy but orderly session as the teams worked to perfect their setups ahead of sprint qualifying later in the evening.
Lando Norris clinched pole position for the sprint race, narrowly beating out George Russell by just 0.063s. SQ1 saw Sergio Perez fail to make it into the next round of qualifying, adding to the Mexican’s qualifying woes this season. Oscar Piastri was nearly eliminated in SQ2 after his lap time was deleted for track limits, but the Australian was able to rebound to set a quick time. Norris set the pace in SQ3 and maintained pole, although his teammate looked quicker at times. Russell set a time worthy of P2 at the end of the session to secure a position on the front row.
The sprint race was won by Oscar Piastri, albeit in a controversial fashion. McLaren found themselves in 1-2 order on the opening lap after Piastri overtook George Russell around the outside of the first corner. When the DRS was enabled, Piastri found himself under threat from the Mercedes behind. To ensure the team finished with the best possible result for the World Constructors’ Championship, Lando Norris was told to slow down to give his teammate DRS. He did so, keeping Piastri in P2. But on the final corner of the final lap, Norris took it upon himself to allow his teammate through for the victory. Click here to read a full summary of the sprint race.
Max Verstappen set the fastest time in qualifying, but it was George Russell who took the pole position after the World Champion was given a one-place grid penalty. Russell set the initial pace in Q1, with some drivers complaining about traffic in a hectic start to the session. Alex Alon narrowly missed out on Q2 by just 0.026s. Norris set the pace of Q2 before being beaten by Verstappen at the end of the session. Verstappen repeated this feat in Q3, taking pole from Russell by just 0.055s. However, race control noted that Verstappen was driving unnecessarily slowly on his cooldown lap and felt that it had impeded Russell. They awarded the Dutchman an unusual one-place grid penalty, dropping him to P2. The McLarens locked out the second row of the grid, hoping to secure enough points this weekend to earn the World Constructors’ Championship.
Fans were treated to another controversial race, this time with Max Verstappen on the top step of the podium. Verstappen forced George Russell wide in the first corner. Lando Norris tried to overtake both but had to settle for P2. On lap 30, a mirror fell off of Alex Albon’s Williams on the main straight. Race control showed a waved yellow but didn’t clear up the debris. Valtteri Bottas ran over the mirror a few laps later, showering the circuit with debris that gave Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz punctures. The safety car was deployed to clear the debris. Norris nearly took the lead as Verstappen had an uncharacteristically poor restart, but the race was quickly put under the safety car for issues further back. Shortly after the race resumed, Norris found out that he was given a ten-second stop-go penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags, dropping him to the rear of the field. It was not the only strange penalty, with Hamilton earning a drive-through penalty for a jump start. But on the bright side of the weekend, Guanyu Zhou earned the first points for Sauber this season. Click here to read a full summary of the race.
It’s been a long and fascinating season, but all good things must come to an end. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will mark the finale of the season. The race will be held on December 8.
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.
