SHOCK: OLIVER MINTZLAFF CONFIRMS CHRISTIAN HORNER’S £80 MILLION SEVERANCE DEAL AFTER SUMMER DISMISSAL
Oliver Mintzlaff breaks the silence on Christian Horner's sacking while Max Verstappen ignores the Spanish GP "guilt."
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff talked about why they let Christian Horner go earlier this year.
Horner had been in charge of the team since it started in 2005. He saw Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel win a bunch of world championships.
Former Aston Martin strategy engineer Bernie Collins thinks the F1 rankings in 2026 will mostly depend on how good the new engine is.
Next year, there will be big changes to both the engine and the aero rules.
Red Bull CEO Oliver Mintzlaff seems sure that Max Verstappen won't decide to race for another F1 team before he retires.
There was a lot of talk about Verstappen's F1 future in the first half of 2025 because the team wasn't doing so well compared to McLaren, which was way ahead.
David Coulthard doesn't think Max Verstappen will be sorry about bumping into George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix, even though it cost him some key points. He thinks only weaker minds would feel that way.
Everyone knows about what happened at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Even if the Red Bull driver had given up his spot to the Brit without any trouble, he still would have finished fifth and gotten 10 points.
Fred Vasseur said that Ferrari will show up at the private test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in January with a spec A car.
The Ferrari boss thinks other F1 teams will do the same. He said that the main thing during the five-day test won't be how fast the car is, but how well it holds up.
Toto Wolff said Mercedes is lucky to have George Russell racing for them after the British driver's great 2025 F1 season.
Russell, who has won five Grand Prix races, did really well that season. He came in fourth overall, behind the top three drivers, and made it to the podium nine times, winning twice.
THE PAPAYA BLUEPRINT: DISCOVER MCLAREN’S NEW 2026 LIVERIES AND ADVANCED TECH INFRASTRUCTURE
McLaren IndyCar unveils its 2026 liveries and a massive new Indiana HQ as President Trump announces a DC race for the US 250th.
McLaren’s IndyCar team just pulled the covers off its 2026 liveries and showed off a brand-new American headquarters, hoping to ride the momentum from its best season yet.
Last year, the US side of the Papaya crew had a lot to cheer about. Pato O’Ward, piloting car No. 5, snagged two wins and finished second in the championship. Christian Lundgaard, who’s joining full-time in 2025, chipped in with a fifth-place finish, helping cement McLaren’s breakout year. The team hit a record 12 podiums—no small feat.
Nolan Siegel spent his rookie year learning the ropes with the three-car squad. Now, with the bar set higher, McLaren needs every bit of firepower from its drivers if it wants to take the fight to Alex Palou and Ganassi. Palou clinched the 2025 title with two races left on the calendar, so the challenge is real.
The new McLaren Racing Centre is a big piece of the puzzle. They bought the facility from Andretti, who’s shifting its IndyCar operation elsewhere. Originally built in 1997 for Team Green (which eventually became Andretti), the place got a massive facelift after McLaren moved in last year—expanding from 30,000 to 86,000 square feet.
Meanwhile, Andretti had planned to house its IndyCar team alongside the Cadillac Grand Prix project (both under the TWG Motorsports banner) at a custom-built spot in Fishers, Indiana. But with F1’s cost cap rules kicking in, Andretti had to change course and ended up transforming the old Indianapolis Star newspaper HQ into a new base for its US single-seater and Formula E teams.
“We’re really excited to be working out of the McLaren Racing Centre, with all the space, tech, and infrastructure finally under one roof,” said Tony Kanaan, the McLaren IndyCar boss.
“Nothing’s changed for us—growth, winning the Indy 500, and chasing the championship are still the goals. We set a high standard in 2025, and we’re aiming even higher this season. The team’s ready for the fight.”
McLaren streamed the launch live on YouTube, with veteran Fox reporter Jamie Little hosting. Fox has jumped into the spotlight since grabbing the IndyCar broadcast rights for 2025.
Fox’s ties to US President Donald Trump run deep. Recently, Trump announced a special IndyCar street race around Washington, D.C., to celebrate America’s 250th birthday. He made it official in the Oval Office, with series owner Roger Penske and Fox CEO Eric Shanks sitting in.
“IndyCar racing is a source of pride and entertainment for our nation, which is why I am pleased to announce the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.,” President Trump said in the executive order.
“This race, the first of its kind in our nation’s capital near the National Mall, will show off the majesty of our great city as drivers race past our iconic monuments to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.”
The new IndyCar season kicks off March 1 in St. Petersburg. If the buzz is anything to go by, 2026 could draw more fans to the championship than we’ve seen in years.
WHAT WILL MAX VERSTAPPEN BE DOING IN 30 YEARS? HIS HONEST ANSWER
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen explains his simple approach to fame, his focus on family, and why he avoids the celebrity scene.
Max Verstappen has a simple way of staying grounded, even as Formula 1 sweeps him into the spotlight. He doesn’t feel any urge to change just because he’s more famous now. His focus stays locked on racing.
“I just try to be myself, honestly. I don’t need to meet celebrities or act any differently. I know what I have to do—perform on track. If I don’t, I’m out. It really is that straightforward,” he told TAG Heuer.
He leans on his close friends and family. They keep him steady, no matter what’s happening in F1. “My friends and my family are the most important to me,” he says. Sure, Formula 1 brings all sorts of big names and celebrities into his world, but that’s never why he’s there. “I just roll with it. I do my job, and then I go home. I try to keep life simple, nothing wild. Outside F1, I just want to live like anyone else.”
He doesn’t pretend to have everything figured out. “It’s tough to tell yourself you’ve got it all under control, because you never know what’s coming. I’ve been lucky to win a lot already. If more comes, perfect; I’ll take it. If not, that’s fine too.”
That’s just who he is—pretty laid-back. “We’ll just see what happens.”
When someone asked how it would feel in a few decades, when people call him a legend, he just shrugged. “Good question. Twenty or thirty years from now? I have no clue what I’ll be doing. But those four titles, they’re mine. No one can take that away.”
Racing will always matter to him. It’s fun, and being a Dutch driver means a lot. “Even after I stop, I hope there’s new talent coming up in the Netherlands. I want national motorsport to stay alive, for people here to fall in love with racing the way I did.”