How Sauber went from season's slowest to beating Ferrari, Inside McLaren’s approach to its driver rivalry, and other big updates

How Sauber went from season's slowest to beating Ferrari

Sauber has been the slowest car on average in the 2025 season, but Hulkenberg's fifth-place finish in Spain exposed a real shift in performance. He overtook both Hadjar and Hamilton on fresh soft tyres after a safety car, then gained another spot when Verstappen was penalized. The team introduced a major upgrade focused on making the car more stable and less peaky, especially in turbulent air, and the results were clear. Hulkenberg ran the new parts and outpaced Bortoleto by 0.367s in testing. While the car still needs to prove itself on different types of circuits, this was the clearest sign yet that Sauber may no longer be stuck at the back.

Click here to read the full article by Edd Straw & Gary Anderson (the-race.com)

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How McLaren is handling its driver rivalry

McLaren boss Andrea Stella said it is not getting harder to manage Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, even though they are fighting for the 2025 F1 title. After finishing first and second in Spain, Piastri is now 49 points ahead of the next-best driver because Verstappen got a penalty and dropped to 10th. In qualifying, Norris used Piastri’s slipstream to get a faster lap, and Piastri called it “cheeky” on the radio. Stella said this was a small problem for the team to fix, not for the drivers, and they need to be ready for more challenging races coming up.

Click here to read the full article by Taylor Powling (motorsportweek.com)

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Aston Martin set to prove Newey wrong

Adrian Newey claimed it could take Aston Martin two years to fix their simulator issues and become a race-winning team. His comments angered the design team, and CEO Andy Cowell said they are now determined to prove him wrong and achieve results much faster. Cowell insisted it won't take two years and said everyone at the factory is using Newey's remarks as motivation to accelerate development. He also said his engine experience will help the team when they switch to Honda engines in 2026.

Click here to read the full article by Ben Hunt (motorsport.com)

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Albon and Sainz face off in It Takes Two

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz are next to take on It Takes Two. The duo are teaming up to face off against the other F1 teams in a quiz where each question has two parts; the first is a general knowledge round, so if you know it, just buzz in. But how will the Williams duo get on? Click here to watch the video.

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Hadjar could be Red Bull's 2026 bet

Red Bull already changed Max Verstappen’s teammate once this season, but now they’re starting to believe another driver might actually be faster. The rookie they signed for 2025, mainly because there weren’t many other options, has been so impressive that he’s now becoming their top pick for 2026. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda hasn’t built much on his solid start, which has helped the rookie stand out even more.