Thirty-six automobile clubs have expressed their support for FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who will be seeking re-election later this year. In an open letter to the president, these clubs praised his financial turnaround of the FIA and inclusivity when engaging with the clubs governed under the FIA. The letter ended with the clubs offering “full support” in his re-election. Most of the clubs involved with the letter are based in the Americas. Ben Sulayem’s reign as FIA president has not been without controversy, like the steady flow of key figures leaving the organization, banning driver swearing, and preventing FIA members from participating in meetings. Although Ben Sulayem is currently unopposed in the race for presidency, it’s believed that Carlos Sainz Sr. will enter the campaign.
The thief who stole more than £250,000 worth of luxury items from Jenson Button’s wife Brittny has been sentenced to prison. While returning from a Paris trip in February this year, a 41-year-old man stole a suitcase while bags were being loaded into a car. The suitcase contained several expensive items, including designer bags and jewellery. The thief was arrested four days later and was sentenced to two years and four months in prison this week. Upon completing his sentence, he will be deported because he was living in the UK illegally.
Max Verstappen has acquired an FIA Platinum Categorization, the highest level available. This driver ranking is used in some sports car racing to determine whether a driver is eligible to compete. Drivers must request to be evaluated by the FIA. This comes after Verstappen participated in a test at the Nurburgring under a pseudonym, allegedly breaking the lap record. He is not the only active F1 driver who has obtained this high status. Fernando Alonso, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hulkenberg, Lando Norris, and Lance Stroll are also categorized as platinum.
The Spanish Grand Prix marks the start of the FIA’s clampdown on flexi-wings. Although some of the regulations surrounding flexible bodywork were tightened before the start of the season, some of the restrictions on front wings were deferred until Spain to give teams more time to adapt their cars. As part of this change, front wings can now only flex up to 10mm under load, which is a reduction of 33%. Making bodywork flexible can help teams gain an advantage by changing the aerodynamic characteristics of the car during a lap. For example, allowing a front wing to flex at high speeds could increase a car’s top speed by reducing drag. This crackdown prevents teams from abusing the flexibility of carbon fibre components.
Lance Stroll withdrew from the Spanish Grand Prix for medical reasons, despite having qualified for P14. Shortly before the start of the 2023 season, Stroll suffered fractures to both wrists from a bike accident. Despite his injuries, he returned in time for the season opener in Bahrain, claiming P6 in the race. According to a statement from Aston Martin, Stroll has been suffering from pain in his hand and wrist over the past six weeks. After qualifying, he sought medical attention for the pain, causing the team to withdraw him from the race so he could have a medical procedure to correct the issue. Since he had already qualified for the race, the team was ineligible to enter a reserve driver, leaving only one Aston Martin car on the grid for the race. It has not been confirmed whether Stroll will participate in the Canadian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris led the way in the first free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, comfortably ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. F2 driver Victor Martins made his F1 practice debut, taking over Alex Albon’s Williams. Esteban Ocon also sat out the session, allowing Ryo Hirakawa to take his second practice outing of the season. It was a relatively orderly session to start the weekend.
Another orange McLaren was on top of the timesheets in free practice two, but this time it was Oscar Piastri. It was a busy start to the session as all 20 drivers raced to start their practice programmes in the opening minutes. Oliver Bearman suffered an early spin through the gravel, but was able to rejoin without becoming beached. Slow traffic was an annoyance for some drivers, with both Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso complaining about other drivers. George Russell set the early pace in the session but would finish in P2 ahead of Max Verstappen. FP1’s fastest driver, Lando Norris, was P4 ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Oscar Piastri remained on top for the final free practice session of the weekend, with Lando Norris being second quickest but some 0.526s off his teammate’s pace. Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Isack Hadjar were the only other drivers to get within a second of the pace set by the leading McLaren. Some drivers complained about a lack of grip around the circuit as the teams prepared to lock in their setups for qualifying in the afternoon.
McLaren would again earn a front-row lockout in qualifying, with Oscar Piastri earning another pole position this season. There was some drama in the closing minutes of Q1 as the cars queued up behind Franco Colapinto to leave the pit lane for their final flying laps. The Argentine suffered an issue with the car and was unable to pull away, prompting the drivers to overtake him in the pit lane. By the end of Q1, Yuki Tsunoda was shockingly eliminated, suffering another poor qualifying this season. Carlos Sainz was also eliminated at this home race, with the Williams appearing to lack pace. Piastri led all three qualifying sessions to earn pole, with the McLarens lining up ahead of Max Verstappen, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Antonelli on Sunday.
Oscar Piastri concluded a strong weekend by leading a McLaren 1-2 in the race on Sunday, but it was not an open-and-shut race. Piastri had an excellent start from pole, but Max Verstappen managed to overtake Lando Norris. Verstappen pitted early after losing his position to Norris later in the race, starting the three-stop strategy. On his third stop, he rejoined into a battle between two lapped cars, slowing him slightly and costing him a chance at the undercut on the McLarens. A late-race safety car to recover Kimi Antonelli’s smoking Mercedes prompted the field to pit. With no tyres remaining, Red Bull put Verstappen on the hard tyres for the remaining ten laps. Verstappen nearly spun in the final corner coming to the restart, allowing Charles Leclerc to overtake down the main straight. George Russell was also able to challenge into the first corner, but the two collided, bumping Verstappen into the runoff area. Verstappen rejoined the race ahead of Russell, but his engineers advised him to give Russell the position. Verstappen slowed in turn five to allow Russell to go by, only to slam into the side of the Mercedes. Verstappen finished in P5 behind Russell, but the stewards were unhappy with the Dutchman’s actions, giving him a 10-second penalty that dropped him down to P10. The penalty also carries penalty points, bringing Verstappen only one point away from a race ban. Click here to read our full summary of the race.
There will be some time to recover after this exciting European triple-header. Next on the schedule is the Canadian Grand Prix, which will be held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 15.
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.
