McLaren’s pre-season struggles explained

McLaren’s pre-season struggles explained

McLaren’s MCL39 has been the best car of the 2025 Formula 1 season, winning the last four races with 1-2 finishes and building a 299-point lead over Ferrari. Even with this success, both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri said the car was hard to handle in testing, and it still isn’t as strong in qualifying as it is in races. McLaren added a new suspension setup to help Norris with steering feel, while Piastri chose to keep the original and use setup changes instead. The car may not be perfect, but its tire control and steady race pace have kept it far ahead of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull.

Click here to read the full article by Jake Boxall-Legge (motorsport.com)

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How Daytona's wild finish created two winners

Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona after moving from 13th to 1st in the last two laps. Alex Bowman also gained by taking the final playoff spot, even though he crashed out on Lap 29 and had to wait for the race to end. Blaney’s win stopped other winless drivers from knocking Bowman out, and the finish came down to a close four-wide battle. Tyler Reddick also recovered from an early crash to make the playoffs, which will start next Sunday at Darlington Raceway.

Click here to read the full article by Matt Weaver (sportingnews.com)

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FIA denies Wurz’s karting safety claims

Alex Wurz, the GPDA chairman, said the FIA had allowed new aero parts in karting, which he and all 20 F1 drivers felt was “insane,” unsafe, and too costly. He warned that adding wings and floors in junior karting could put young drivers in danger and bring no real benefit to the sport. The FIA denied this, saying its rules clearly ban such parts, all kart bodywork must pass safety tests, and safety standards have recently been made even stronger. The argument has also raised questions about why Wurz did not take the issue directly to the FIA and how it might affect his group’s future talks with them.

Click here to read the full article by Michael Delaney (f1i.com)

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F1 Academy set for Zandvoort showdown

F1 Academy returns to Zandvoort from August 29–31 for Round 5, with Doriane Pin on top of the standings after her wins earlier in the season. The Dutch track is very tricky, with fast corners, steep banking, and weather that can quickly change from sun to heavy rain. This season’s format has a reverse-grid Race 1 on Saturday and a full-points Race 2 on Sunday. Dutch driver Esmee Kosterman will also make her debut as a wild card, racing with a special TeamViewer livery that honors women's role models.

Click here to read the full article by Anny Wooldridge (femalesinmotorsport.com)

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Altoè puts Ferrari on pole at VIR

Giacomo Altoè took pole in GTD PRO at VIR with a fast 1:44.433 lap in the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari, giving Albert Costa a boost in his title chase. The car earned its fourth pole of the season, and Costa gained seven points on Corvette drivers Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims in the standings. Altoè is not in the driver’s title fight since he has only raced four times this year, but he is focused on helping DragonSpeed and Ferrari in the team and manufacturer battles. In GTD, Jack Hawksworth put the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus on pole, cutting a few points from Winward Racing’s lead as all the top title contenders qualified in the first two rows.

Click here to read the full article at speedsport.com