A different kind of WWW one might say.
In just over a week, the following events took place:
- Madrid was announced as the new host of the Spanish Grand Prix starting in 2026.
- Charles Leclerc extended his contract with Scuderia Ferrari.
- Lando Norris extended his contract with McLaren.
- Formula One Management denied Andretti Global entry to the F1 grid despite receiving FIA approval to join the sport.
- Lewis Hamilton announced that he was leaving Mercedes and joining Scuderia Ferrari for the 2025 season.
- Red Bull (the corporation) is investigating Red Bull Racing’s Team Principal, Christian Horner, for misconduct.
I’ve followed Formula One for the better part of forty years and I can’t think of a more consequential week during the off-season. Several of these are massive as stand-alone stories (i.e., the Andretti Global saga) but pack them all in just over a week…wow. There are a lot of moving parts, that is for sure.
It makes me wonder what was the catalyst for all this? I imagine that the ongoing conflict between the FIA and FOM factors into at least a few of these. Also, teams are making major moves to take on Red Bull Racing. From my perspective, on the driver’s front at least, something changed recently that resulted in Ferrari’s moves and McLaren’s actions. Maybe instead of a having a lead driver and a number two to support him, teams now figure having two top-tier drivers is the way to go.
Anyway, it’s been an eventful week. Just think, in a few weeks the cars will hit the track in Bahrain for pre-season testing. Who knows, maybe by then things will have settled down and the racing will seem sedate compared to what has happened away from the track. In the meantime, we’ll see what else happens in the coming weeks before the season starts.
