The Chinese Grand Prix has extended its contract to continue racing at the Shanghai International Circuit until at least 2030. The venue has been a part of the F1 calendar since 2004, although this year marked its first return since the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024 event was sold out as people crowded the circuit to celebrate the country’s first Formula One driver Zhou Guanyu. The 2025 event will take place one month earlier than this year and will be the first sprint weekend of the season.
The 2026 Dutch Grand Prix will be the final Formula One race hosted by Zandvoort, with the event organizers reaching a final one-year contract extension. Originally scheduled for 2020 before being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dutch Grand Prix made a triumphant return in 2021. Heavy investment was made to update the circuit and supporting infrastructure. Due to funding issues, many potential solutions were discussed with the event organizers, including a rotating schedule with the Belgian Grand Prix. In the end, it was best to call it quits. “We are a privately owned and operated business, and we must balance the opportunities presented by continuing to host the event, against other risks and responsibilities,” Dutch Grand Prix Director, Robert van Overdijk, explained. “We have decided to go out on a high with two more incredible Dutch Grands Prix in 2025 and 2026. We wanted to take this step while our event is adored and supported by passionate fans, residents, and the Formula 1 community.”
Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet announced they are expecting their first child together. The two have been dating since 2020 and Piquet has a daughter from her previous relationship with former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat. Kelly Piquet is the daughter of three-time F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet. Verstappen will become one of only three fathers racing in Formula One in 2025, joining Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
Max Verstappen and George Russell have been emersed in a rivalry since the aftermath of the Qatar Grand Prix, exchanging words in the media. After being given a one-place grid penalty at the Qatar Grand Prix for impeding Russell during qualifying, Verstappen criticized the Brit in the media, saying, “I’ve been in that meeting room many times in my life and my career with people that I’ve raced. And I’ve never seen someone trying to screw someone over that hard. For me, I lost all respect.” He doubled down on these criticisms ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, accusing Russell of lying to the stewards. Russell hit back against Verstappen’s comments, accusing the four-time World Champion of saying he would “put me on my f******* head in the wall” and threatening to purposely crash into him. “People have been bullied by Max for years now, and you can’t question his driving abilities,” Russell said. “But he cannot deal with adversity whenever anything has gone against him.” He also dredged up the controversial 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi which saw Verstappen win his first championship title under unprecedented circumstances. Russell claimed that if Verstappen had lost the championship, former race director Michael Masi would “be fearing for his life”. He also pointed out the hypocrisy of Verstappen’s complaints as Verstappen sought to get Lando Norris penalized for ignoring the yellow flags during the Qatar Grand Prix.
Graeme Lowdon will serve as the Cadillac F1 Team’s first team principal in 2026. The Brit has previous Formula One experience, having worked with Manor for many years. He joined Manor Motorsport in 2000 and used his connections to the Virgin Group, which was a customer of the data communications company he co-founded Nomand Digital, to move Manor into Formula One under the name Virgin Racing in 2010. He remained with the team as they rebranded to Marussia, leaving at the end of 2015 due to differences with team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick. After the F1 team collapsed, Lowdon returned to Manor Motorsport to help them join the World Endurance Championship in 2016.
Former Formula One Group CEO, Chase Carey, will be returning to Liberty Media to join the company’s executive committee of the board. Carey served as the CEO of F1 when Liberty Media took over in 2017, during which time he helped implement the sport’s first budget cap. Although he stepped down ahead of the 2021 season, he remained with the company as a chairman until 2022.
Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is selling off part of his private car collection. The 69 cars, being sold via private treaty sale by performance car specialist Tom Hartley Jr., include a variety of cars collected since the 1950s. They range from historic icons, recreations, and one-off cars like the Brabham BT46 “fan car”. The 94-year-old has been largely credited with commercializing Formula One and made a lot of money in return. He stepped down in 2017 when Liberty Media acquired a stake in the sport. Before that, he owned the Brabham team between 1971 and 1988, so those cars make up much of his collection. “I love all of my cars, but the time has come for me to start thinking about what will happen to them should I no longer be here, and that is why I have decided to sell them,” Ecclestone explained. “After collecting and owning them for so long, I would like to know where they have gone, and not leave them for my wife to deal with should I not be around.”
Sergio Perez’s future in F1 could be decided in the coming weeks, with the Red Bull investors set to discuss the issue during the winter break. Perez, who has suffered from a downturn in performance this season, has had his future questioned many times throughout the year. He silenced critics by securing a contract extension and survived the summer break, both of which were thought impossible. But, with Red Bull losing the World Constructors’ Championship title to McLaren and Ferrari, it appears this may be the last straw for the Mexican. Although nothing has been confirmed and any reports are pure speculation, the latest information suggests that Liam Lawson will be promoted to Red Bull and Isack Hadjar will take the vacant seat at RB. Will this happen? Only time will tell.
Kevin Magnussen will join BMW to race in their works sports car programme, although it’s still unclear which series he will be racing. With no seat available in Formula One for 2025, the Dane has been forced to find something else to fill his time. He was in a similar situation at the end of 2020, being bumped from Haas in favour of an all-rookie lineup. He turned to sports cars, racing with Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship. BMW is involved in the World Endurance Championship and IMSA, meaning Magnussen could participate in either venture. It’s also unclear whether we will see Magnussen return to Formula One in the future.
Esteban Ocon will participate in the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi with Haas, getting his first taste of the team he will be driving for next year. Ocon was released from Alpine ahead of schedule, being replaced by Jack Doohan for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, allowing the Frenchman to join Haas for the test. He will be driving alongside Toyota World Endurance Championship driver Ryo Hirakawa. Hirakawa is a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme and got his first taste of a current-spec F1 car during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Haas originally intended to run Oliver Bearman as their rookie driver to satisfy the FIA’s young driver requirement, but filling in for the ill Kevin Magnussen at the Brazilian Grand Prix made the Brit ineligible to compete.
Rookies Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman will participate in the Super Formula test at Suzuka next week. Doing so will give both drivers a chance to learn the circuit ahead of their debut seasons in Formula One. Suzuka International Racing Course will host the Japanese Grand Prix as the third round in the 2025 championship. It’s still unknown what Super Formula teams they will drive for. Bearman could participate in all three days while Antonelli’s post-season Abu Dhabi test obligations limit him to only Friday.
Charles Leclerc set the pace in the opening Abu Dhabi Grand Prix free practice session Friday afternoon. There were early concerns for the Monegasque, as the team spent time addressing a battery issue. He eventually completed a somewhat reduced practice programme. Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and George Russell were the only drivers within a second of Leclerc’s pace. Numerous young drivers participated in the session, including Ryo Hirakawa for McLaren, Arthur Leclerc for Ferrari, Isack Hadjar for Red Bull, Felipe Drugovich for Aston Martin, Ayumu Iwasa for RB, and Luke Browning for Williams. Of these youngsters, Drugovich set the fastest time in P9.
McLaren earned a 1-2 finish in the second free practice as the sun fell in Abu Dhabi, with Lando Norris setting the time to beat. He set the early benchmark, but Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri all battled over the fastest time. By the end of the session, Nico Hulkenberg found his way to an impressive P3. The primary focus was qualifying simulations, with the session’s temperatures mirroring what lay ahead in qualifying.
McLaren was again atop the leaderboard at the end of the final free practice session on Saturday, but with Oscar Piastri leading the way. Kevin Magnussen caught everyone’s eye in the first half of the session, setting the quickest time in his final weekend in Formula One. It was a worrying session for Ferrari, who couldn’t find the pace to McLaren. Smoke from Sainz’s car worried fans further, although it didn’t seem to be anything too serious.
McLaren’s strong performance continued in qualifying to earn their drivers a front-row lockout with Lando Norris in pole position. Sergio Perez initially faced elimination in Q1 when his lap time was deleted, but the team convinced the stewards to reinstate the time. Lewis Hamilton was the surprise exit from Q1, struggling with his Mercedes in his final weekend with the team. Carlos Sainz was the quickest in Q2, while teammate Charles Leclerc failed to make it into Q3 despite topping the leaderboard at the end of Q1. Adding to the Monegasque’s troubles was a 10-place grid drop for changing his battery during practice which would see him drop to P19. In the closing runs at the end of Q3, Nico Hulkenberg was in the provisional pole before being passed by Norris, Piastri, and Sainz. Hulkenberg set a time worthy of P4 but was demoted to P7 after being penalized for overtaking at the pit exit in Q1, which is not allowed in Abu Dhabi due to the pit exit’s narrow tunnel.
Lando Norris led the race from start to finish to secure McLaren’s championship title, although not as comfortably as expected. Norris led off the line, but Max Verstappen spun Oscar Piastri in the first corner, earning himself a ten-second penalty. Piastri dropped to the back of the field, although he recovered to P10 before the end of the race. The virtual safety car was deployed early when Sergio Perez retired after being spun by Valtteri Bottas in turn six. Piastri earned a penalty when he hit Franco Colapinto on the restart, adding to his headache. Starting out of position in P19 after taking a new battery for the race, Charles Leclerc stormed through the field on the opening lap and was in the top five by lap 12. He went on to finish the race in P3 behind teammate Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton was another driver who made a good recovery. Starting on the alternate strategy with the hard tyres, the future Ferrari driver worked his way up to P4, overtaking his teammate on the final lap. Despite Ferrari’s best effort, they were unable to steal the World Constructors’ Championship title from McLaren. Click here to read a full recap of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Now begins the unbearable wait for the racing action to resume in March 2025. Although the cars have stopped racing, the Formula One action never stops. Stay tuned to Racing Clothesline to keep up to date with the latest headlines as we continue our Weekly F1 Recap series through the winter break.
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.
