Audi has filed an appeal over the result of the Italian Grand Prix. The issue revolves around the fact that Yuki Tsunoda was not properly penalized during the race. The Japanese driver was behind the wheel of the Racing Bulls car and accidentally lined up in the incorrect grid position at the race restart. Noticing the mistake, race control aborted the start and triggered another formation lap. Audi argues this was against the regulations, citing Article B5.9.4 of the FIA Sporting Regulations, which requires drivers who cause a formation lap to restart the race from the pit lane. Tsunoda kept his position at the second restart, going on to finish P10 ahead of Audi’s own Gabriel Bortoleto. This case comes just weeks after McLaren and Red Bull successfully overturned the result of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Red Bull has signed Kimi Raikkonen’s son to its young driver programme. Robin Raikkonen is currently 11 years old and has been competing in karting since 2022, initially only in Switzerland, but now across Europe. Red Bull’s junior programme has incubated many talented young F1 drivers, like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. His father, Kimi Raikkonen, raced in Formula One between 2001 and 2021, winning the World Drivers’ Championship title in 2007.
Former F1 leader Bernie Ecclestone was stopped at a Portuguese airport after a shotgun was found on his private jet. According to Ecclestone, he was transporting the gun from Switzerland with his wife, Fabiana Flosi. After searching his bag, the police discovered the gun, and Ecclestone was not carrying the documents for it. The matter was resolved, and Ecclestone was released on his way. Ecclestone had apparently been transporting the gun for clay pigeon shooting.
Mercedes led the way in the first free practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, with George Russell setting the quickest time around the brand-new Madring circuit. It was a busy session, as the teams rushed to gather as much information as possible about the new circuit. Both Alpine cars had a little bit of technical trouble, being trapped in the garage for the first 15 minutes, while Yuki Tsunoda, back in the Racing Bulls for a third race, suffered a power steering failure in the final 20 minutes. Ferrari was the second-quickest team in the session, with Charles Leclerc leading his teammate, who was ahead of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Arvid Lindblad.
It was Kimi Antonelli’s turn to lead in the second free practice session of the weekend, beating Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. They finished ahead of Arvid Lindblad, who had another impressive session, albeit shortened. He spun into the barriers at turn 13, damaging his car. He was not the only driver to have a rough session. Fernando Alonso missed out on much of the early part of the session, having suffered a clutch issue during morning practice starts. Lando Norris was essentially missing from the session, with McLaren opting to replace the reigning champ’s power unit. George Russell, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri were the only other drivers to finish within one second of Antonelli’s pace, with a significant margin dividing Piastri from the rest of the field.
Kimi Antonelli was again quickest in the final practice session, which saw multiple stoppages. The first was for Lewis Hamilton, who put his Ferrari nose-first into the barriers at the final corner. The Brit attempted to limp his car back to the pits, against his team’s instructions, but eventually parked up trackside. Oliver Bearman was the other driver to crash, spinning around at the quick tenth turn. He gave his team some work to do ahead of qualifying, suffering heavy damage from the barriers. Another team that was working hard was Racing Bulls, although it was largely in the garage, as they rushed to prepare Arvid Lindblad’s stricken car for qualifying. He did manage to complete some laps at the end of the session. Charles Leclerc was the second-quickest driver on track, outpacing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen rounded out the top five.
Lando Norris took control in qualifying to beat Kimi Antonelli to pole position by only 0.011s. Mercedes was quickest in Q1, with George Russell leading the way, in what was a lacklustre weekend for the Brit. There was disappointment for the Spanish crowd, as both home heroes were eliminated in the opening qualifying session. Max Verstappen was quickest in Q2, although he would have to settle for third quickest in Q3 ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton was briefly set the provisional pole position in the final qualifying session, before being passed by Antonelli. But it was Norris who set the fastest time at the end of the session to take pole position.
Kimi Antonelli exchanged P2 for P1 on Spanish Grand Prix race day, winning the first race around the Madring. Lando Norris had gotten away well from pole position. Antonelli had been overtaken by Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman had to drop back two places after gaining an advantage off the circuit on the opening lap against Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen lost a significant amount of time to slow for Hamilton, who was suffering from a terminal brake problem. The virtual safety car, which was deployed for a stranded Lance Stroll on lap 14, played a big part in the race strategy. Most of the top drivers pitted under the VSC, with the exception of Charles Leclerc. Norris also didn’t pit under the VSC, having narrowly missed the window, although McLaren still called him in to make a green-flag pit stop at the end of the VSC, costing him the lead. Leclerc held the lead for much of the race, hoping for another safety car, but eventually had to pit, dropping to P4 behind Norris. Norris had a good chance to overtake Verstappen for P2 on the penultimate lap when the Red Bull driver ran wide, but overtaking proved difficult at the Madring. Click here to read a full summary of the race.
The teams and drivers will have a weekend off before heading to Azerbaijan for a race weekend at the Baku City Circuit. That race is set for the weekend of September 26.
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.
