How Verstappen continues to beat McLaren to pole, why Doohan's Alpine future fell apart, and other big updates

Fast Five: Today’s Top Motorsports News‍

How Verstappen continues to beat McLaren to pole, why Doohan's Alpine future fell apart, and other updates from the world of Formula 1, IndyCar and more.

Today's Headlines
  • How Verstappen continues to beat McLaren to pole
  • Why Doohan's Alpine future fell apart
  • Sainz frustrated as Williams prioritizes 2026 
  • How F1 transformed a Miami parking lot into a track
  • Drivers trade cars for Lego bricks

How Verstappen continues to beat McLaren to pole

Max Verstappen on track in Miami

Max Verstappen leads the pole positions in 2025, but McLaren and Red Bull are arguing about their qualifying performance. McLaren is strong in races, but their drivers struggle with the car's unpredictable front axle in qualifying. Red Bull's Christian Horner says Verstappen's success is due to his ability to handle pressure well in crucial moments. McLaren's Andrea Stella disagrees that Red Bull has the better car, saying McLaren car has more potential but it's hard to use it consistently.

Click here to read the full article by Filip Cleeren (motorsport.com)

Why Doohan's Alpine future fell apart

Alpine is expected to replace Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto from the next race in Imola, a move that has felt inevitable due to internal pressure, commercial interests, and Doohan's underwhelming start to 2025. Despite showing early promise, Doohan failed to deliver consistent results, and tensions with the team, especially after incidents like his Suzuka crash, left him feeling unsupported and exposed. His frustrations grew visibly in the media and on the radio, which only reinforced doubts about his ability to handle pressure at the top level. Ultimately, with Flavio Briatore favoring Colapinto and support for Doohan weakening inside Alpine, the decision was made, and it marks a disappointing and premature end to his F1 opportunity.

Click here to read the full article by Scott Mitchell-Malm (the-race.com)

Sainz frustrated as Williams prioritizes 2026 

Carlos Sainz is frustrated that Williams stopped developing their 2025 car but understands the need to focus on next year’s rules. He thinks the FW47 has a lot of potential, and the team could improve this year if they fixed a few issues. At the Miami Grand Prix, Sainz and teammate Alex Albon showed the car’s strength by qualifying in sixth and seventh, with Albon finishing fifth. While Sainz agrees with focusing on the future, he’s still disappointed about missing the chance to make progress now.

Click here to read the full article by Rachit Thukral (crash.net)

How F1 transformed a Miami parking lot into a track

The Miami GP before and after construction

Formula 1 had been trying to race in Miami since 2018, but it wasn't until 2022 that they finally made it happen. So how did they turn a parking lot into an F1 track? To fully understand that, we need to look at the challenges of the design process, how the track was physically built over a year, and the changes made in response to strong criticism. Click here to see for yourself.

Drivers trade cars for Lego bricks

There were hilarious scenes before the Miami Grand Prix as the drivers turned into a bunch of big kids during a pre-race activity they couldn’t get enough of. Instead of the usual parade where drivers are shepherded around the track, fans were treated to a Lego race between the 10 teams. The life-size F1 Lego cars each weigh a ton, are made of 400,000 bricks, took 22,000 hours to build, and can reach a top speed of 20 km/h. Click here to watch the video.

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