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TopClass said:
Hadjar gets the Red Bull seat.

Gasly

Albon

Perez

Lawson

Tsunoda


Is he genuinely better than those? Soon find out.

New regs demand different driving styles too which could flip things
Click to expand...

This is what I’m hoping for , for Hadjar’s sake .

Also I can’t help but feel that since Horner’s gone , RB seems a happier place .

Maybe Max really doesn’t care who his teammate is , and Hadjar will get better treatment ?

Didn’t help Tsunoda , so who knows .
 
Number 1 Jasper said:
This is what I’m hoping for , for Hadjar’s sake .

Also I can’t help but feel that since Horner’s gone , RB seems a happier place .

Maybe Max really doesn’t care who his teammate is , and Hadjar will get better treatment ?

Didn’t help Tsunoda , so who knows .
Click to expand...
I get the feeling that when Horner left there was one less bully at Red Bull. Just Marko left now!!
Hope Hadjar does well and gives Max a challenge.
 
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Confirmed


Red Bull adviser Marko to leave team after 20 years
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IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Helmut Marko said it was the right time "to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter" with Red Bull

ByAndrew Benson, F1 Correspondent and Lorraine McKenna, BBC Sport Journalist
  • Published
    1 hour ago
Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko will leave the team after 20 years at the end of 2025.

The 82-year-old has been an integral part of Red Bull's success since the team formed in 2005, as they won six constructors' championships and eight drivers' titles.

Marko, who was the right-hand man of the late Red Bull co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, has overseen the development of 20 drivers, most notably world champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, with whom the Austrian has a close relationship.

In a statement, Marko said: "I have been involved in motorsport for six decades now, and the past 20-plus years at Red Bull have been an extraordinary and extremely successful journey."

A statement from Red Bull said Marko, a former F1 driver and Le Mans winner, had "decided to step down at the end of 2025".

Marko added: "I have been involved in motorsport for six decades now, and the past 20-plus years at Red Bull have been an extraordinary and extremely successful journey.

"It has been a wonderful time that I have been able to help shape and share with so many talented people. Everything we have built and achieved together fills me with pride.

"Narrowly missing out on the world championship this season has moved me deeply and made it clear to me that now is the right moment for me personally to end this very long, intense, and successful chapter."

Oliver Mintzlaff, who is in overall charge of Red Bull's F1 programme in his role as chief executive officer of corporate projects and investments, said the decision came after "a long and intense conversation".

He added: "Helmut approached me with the wish to end his role as motorsport adviser at the end of the year. I deeply regret his decision, as he has been an influential figure for more than two decades, and his departure marks the end of an extraordinary era."


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00:52

Media caption,
'That's life' - Verstappen and Piastri react to missing out on F1 title

Mintzlaff added: "Over more than 20 years, Helmut has earned incomparable merits for our team and the entire Red Bull motorsport family. He played a decisive role in all key strategic decisions that made Red Bull Racing what it is today: a multiple world champion, an engine of innovation, and a cornerstone of international motorsport.

"His instinct for exceptional talent not only shaped our junior programme but also left a lasting impact on Formula 1 as a whole.

"Names like Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen stand for the many drivers who were discovered, supported, and guided to the very top under his leadership.

"His passion, his courage to make clear decisions, and his ability to spot potential will remain unforgettable."

Verstappen has spoken to Marko and, although he is emotional about the move, has accepted it is time for his ally to move on, according to insiders.

At the beginning of 2024, Verstappen was instrumental in ensuring Marko kept his role in the team in the midst of a power struggle with former team principal Christian Horner.

Marko's decision is said to have been influenced by the fact he realised he no longer had the control he once had, following the changes that have been made in the wake of Horner's sacking in July.

One flashpoint late in 2025, according to sources close to Red Bull, has been that Marko signed Irish racing driver Alex Dunne to the Red Bull programme against the wishes of Mintzlaff and team principal Laurent Mekies.

Dunne has had to be paid off and is currently looking for another way into F1 after his ties with McLaren were severed earlier this year.

Marko was also at the centre of a number of controversies.

These included blaming former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez's inconsistent form in 2023 on his ethnicity, remarks for which he later apologised.

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IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen both won four drivers' titles in a row for Red Bull
 
Obviously he was prone to the odd inappropriate comment, but aside from that you have to have a lot of respect for what he’s done for the sport: his part in building up RedBull, unearthing Vettel and Verstappen and all the other drivers that have come through the young driver program - 1/3 of next year’s grid have come through that.

Something interesting hidden in that article is the story about Alex Dunne - I’d heard he’d been signed to RedBull a while back, which made sense as Lindblad wasn’t looking great in F2 and explained why Dunne had left McLaren seemingly without an obvious alternative opportunity. I was therefore a bit surprised by the driver announcement last week, this now explains that.
 
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Sportista said:
Obviously he was prone to the odd inappropriate comment, but aside from that you have to have a lot of respect for what he’s done for the sport: his part in building up RedBull, unearthing Vettel and Verstappen and all the other drivers that have come through the young driver program - 1/3 of next year’s grid have come through that.

Something interesting hidden in that article is the story about Alex Dunne - I’d heard he’d been signed to RedBull a while back, which made sense as Lindblad wasn’t looking great in F2 and explained why Dunne had left McLaren seemingly without an obvious alternative opportunity. I was therefore a bit surprised by the driver announcement last week, this now explains that.
Click to expand...

There has also been al lot of people cast to the scrapheap in what really has been a number game in a lot of respects. I'm not entirely sure they have nurtured talent. As a human being, I have no respect for him whatsoever.
 
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Seems like more and more reports of Horner and 'friends' buying a 24% controlling share of Renault! So come April Horner could be back as part team owner!!!!
 
and now we have our first insight into some of the innovative things the engine manufacturers might be doing. https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/trick-at-centre-of-2026-f1-engine-loophole-controversy/

The article suggests that it’s Merc and RedBull, which makes some sense if it’s Merc staff who’ve transferred the knowledge, although Ferrari have been publicly touting how much they’ve been using additive manufacturing in their engine so maybe it’s a pretty wide spread practice?

As an aside (unless they edit it before anyone reads it) the compression ratios in the article currently are written as 16:0 and 18:0, which would imply unlimited and that the two numbers are anyhow the same!
 
Sportista said:
and now we have our first insight into some of the innovative things the engine manufacturers might be doing. https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/trick-at-centre-of-2026-f1-engine-loophole-controversy/

The article suggests that it’s Merc and RedBull, which makes some sense if it’s Merc staff who’ve transferred the knowledge, although Ferrari have been publicly touting how much they’ve been using additive manufacturing in their engine so maybe it’s a pretty wide spread practice?

As an aside (unless they edit it before anyone reads it) the compression ratios in the article currently are written as 16:0 and 18:0, which would imply unlimited and that the two numbers are anyhow the same!
Click to expand...
I read 'grey area' and just laughed, they never learn. But I love seeing the team's engineers solutions to the 'if it's not illegal it's legal' areas.
 
If the FIA regs say that compression ratio is measured at ambient temp then that's how it should be measured. If a team can come up with a manufacturing process that allows a component to expand when heated to increase the compression ratio then that's within the regs - it's not a gray area at all.
Then again I always thought the engineers that created the code for VW cars to 'sense' when on test and modify their emissions where geniuses. Their cars complied with the rules as they were written. Dieselgate was just rule makers not understanding how engineers work. It should have been the govs that took the hit and held their hands up saying we wrote a bad set of rules.

I would love it if say after 5 years the teams had to come clean about all the engineering tricks they had used on the 5 year old cars but that can't really happen. It would be so fascinating to see how they interpreted the rules.
 
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ched999uk said:
If the FIA regs say that compression ratio is measured at ambient temp then that's how it should be measured. If a team can come up with a manufacturing process that allows a component to expand when heated to increase the compression ratio then that's within the regs - it's not a gray area at all.
Then again I always thought the engineers that created the code for VW cars to 'sense' when on test and modify their emissions where geniuses. Their cars complied with the rules as they were written. Dieselgate was just rule makers not understanding how engineers work. It should have been the govs that took the hit and held their hands up saying we wrote a bad set of rules.

I would love it if say after 5 years the teams had to come clean about all the engineering tricks they had used on the 5 year old cars but that can't really happen. It would be so fascinating to see how they interpreted the rules.
Click to expand...

Agree that the F1 elements here are part of the F1 game - I’d see this the same as flexible aero, the test defines how much deflection and under what loading and the game is to get the maximum on track performance whilst passing the test.

The VW situation in my opinion is different, the emissions regulations prohibit so called defeat devices and include provisions like having to use competitive technologies that perform their jobs in a wide range of circumstances, they’re very clear that the test is only one element of compliance and that reasonable “best efforts” need to be made in real world conditions. Manufacturers have to declare and justify actions they take that diminish the performance of the emissions system, such that a concealed system/function is inherently non-compliant.
 
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Ferrari seem to be worried. There have been a few statements suggesting that the car that hits the test track will be a 2026 car but an early iteration that will look for reliability not performance! I'm surprised at that as who said you can make an unreliable car reliable but it's difficult to make a slow car fast?

They also stopped developing the 2025 car in April, so they have had huge time and resources to get the 2026 car right.

Reports of a "steel alloy" (all steel is an alloy!) head as they say although heaver than ali it can provide different pressures and temps - is this something to do with compression ratios and expansion?
 
ched999uk said:
Ferrari seem to be worried. There have been a few statements suggesting that the car that hits the test track will be a 2026 car but an early iteration that will look for reliability not performance! I'm surprised at that as who said you can make an unreliable car reliable but it's difficult to make a slow car fast?

They also stopped developing the 2025 car in April, so they have had huge time and resources to get the 2026 car right.

Reports of a "steel alloy" (all steel is an alloy!) head as they say although heaver than ali it can provide different pressures and temps - is this something to do with compression ratios and expansion?
Click to expand...

Seems like a good thread to wish a happy new year to all!

I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with Ferrari specifically, the first test is really for PU commissioning, so I’m not expecting anyone to show their hand and that all the cars will be early mules that are focused on getting miles on the engines. I read that Audi have built a “safe” version of their engine designed to ensure they’re reliable at this first test and that to me seems like a bigger risk?
 
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So it seems like the Lambiase story has evolved a bit over the holidays and he may well leave RedBull, with him talking to Aston and Williams about senior management positions, including potentially the TP role at Aston. Williams time in the doldrums does seem to have dulled their racing edge, so I think it’s pretty clear he could have a significant and timely impact there. Aston has had so much churn that it’s hard to know what or why there weaknesses are/will be, but it would be another step in “RedBullifying” themselves - they clearly still feel they’re lacking something from a leadership perspective, but there’s so many big names there now and it’s less obvious to me what this would specifically add?
 
Sportista said:
So it seems like the Lambiase story has evolved a bit over the holidays and he may well leave RedBull, with him talking to Aston and Williams about senior management positions, including potentially the TP role at Aston. Williams time in the doldrums does seem to have dulled their racing edge, so I think it’s pretty clear he could have a significant and timely impact there. Aston has had so much churn that it’s hard to know what or why there weaknesses are/will be, but it would be another step in “RedBullifying” themselves - they clearly still feel they’re lacking something from a leadership perspective, but there’s so many big names there now and it’s less obvious to me what this would specifically add?
Click to expand...

Lambiase’s wife has breast cancer .
That’s why he wants less travel so he can spend more time with family .



for:

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Gianpiero Lambiase, Head of Racing of Oracle Red Bull Racing on the podium with the trophies during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 22, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //
FORMULA 1 HOT NEWS
Formula 1 News: Gianpiero Lambiase’s Future in Flux Amid Wife’s Cancer Battle and Aston Martin Rumors

Posted by AR1 staff December 28, 2025
FacebookTwitterEmailCopy LinkOutlook.comShare
In the high-stakes world of Formula 1, where travel demands are relentless and personal lives often take a backseat, few stories hit as close to home as that of Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase (pictured with Max Verstappen).

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The British-Italian engineer, Max Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016 and Red Bull’s Head of Racing since 2025, has been a cornerstone of the team’s success. But as the 2025 season ended, revelations about his wife Eloisa’s battle with breast cancer have cast new light on his emotional moments trackside—and sparked speculation about his 2026 plans.

The news broke publicly in late December 2025 when Eloisa Lambiase shared a heartfelt Facebook post celebrating a treatment milestone. She expressed gratitude to her medical team, friends, and family, writing:

The journey’s not over… but with the support I have behind me I can take on anything.
Accompanying posts from family bakers highlighted her strength during this challenging period. The couple has a young child, making the demanding F1 calendar—24 races in 2026, spanning continents—even more taxing.

This explains Lambiase’s absences from the 2025 Austrian and Belgian Grands Prix (where Simon Rennie deputized for Verstappen), his visible emotion on the Abu Dhabi pit wall, and Verstappen’s post-race comments about a “tough” year for his engineer. Verstappen praised Lambiase’s passion, calling him not just a colleague but a friend.

for:

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Gianpiero Lambiase, Head of Racing of Oracle Red Bull Racing on the podium with the trophies during the F1 Grand Prix of Las Vegas at Las Vegas Strip Circuit on November 22, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool //
FORMULA 1 HOT NEWS
Formula 1 News: Gianpiero Lambiase’s Future in Flux Amid Wife’s Cancer Battle and Aston Martin Rumors

Posted by AR1 staff December 28, 2025
FacebookTwitterEmailCopy LinkOutlook.comShare
In the high-stakes world of Formula 1, where travel demands are relentless and personal lives often take a backseat, few stories hit as close to home as that of Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase (pictured with Max Verstappen).

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The British-Italian engineer, Max Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016 and Red Bull’s Head of Racing since 2025, has been a cornerstone of the team’s success. But as the 2025 season ended, revelations about his wife Eloisa’s battle with breast cancer have cast new light on his emotional moments trackside—and sparked speculation about his 2026 plans.

The news broke publicly in late December 2025 when Eloisa Lambiase shared a heartfelt Facebook post celebrating a treatment milestone. She expressed gratitude to her medical team, friends, and family, writing:

The journey’s not over… but with the support I have behind me I can take on anything.
Accompanying posts from family bakers highlighted her strength during this challenging period. The couple has a young child, making the demanding F1 calendar—24 races in 2026, spanning continents—even more taxing.

This explains Lambiase’s absences from the 2025 Austrian and Belgian Grands Prix (where Simon Rennie deputized for Verstappen), his visible emotion on the Abu Dhabi pit wall, and Verstappen’s post-race comments about a “tough” year for his engineer. Verstappen praised Lambiase’s passion, calling him not just a colleague but a friend.
 
Last edited:
Sounds like Audi are hitting the track first!! Filming day booked for tomorrow 9th Jan!!
That must be a great relief getting their first car on a track before the first test day on the 26th!
I don't expect we will get much info after the filming day but you never know what cameras can catch.
 
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