ALERT: OSCAR PIASTRI EXPOSES GEORGE RUSSELL’S "ILLEGAL" UNO RULES DURING F1 TRAVEL
Oscar Piastri spills the beans on George Russell's "cheating" at UNO, his RC car past, and life as an F1 contender in Monaco.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren’s young driver, let slip that he, George Russell, and Alex Albon got pretty competitive with an “UNO World Championship” during their travel days between races in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Apparently, there was a lot of bending the rules—mostly thanks to George. Oscar laughed about it, admitting he’d never heard of half the rules George tried to use. “Family rules, apparently,” he joked.
During an interview on F1’s Off The Grid with Lawrence Barretto, Oscar talked about how those long-haul flights between races can get a bit weird. Sometimes you sleep, sometimes you just chat, but in this case, UNO took over. The game started as a way to kill time on the flight from Baku to Singapore, but it quickly turned into a full-blown championship.
Barretto asked if George’s rules gave him an unfair advantage. Oscar just grinned and nodded—of course they did. “We’re always competitive, all of us. It’s just how we are. But it’s always a good laugh.”
Oscar’s been wired for competition since he was a kid. Before he even thought about Formula 1, he was racing RC cars, just like Lewis Hamilton once did. “I’ve always been competitive. Started with RC cars, won a national championship at nine, then moved on to karting a year later,” he said.
These days, like a lot of drivers, Oscar lives in Monaco. Not just for the glam—though that helps—but because it’s actually practical for getting to races and hanging out with the other drivers. “It’s handy if you want to play padel or just do something different,” he said. “And yeah, it makes travelling to races a lot easier. We usually end up on the same flights anyway.”
After the races, Monaco offers a rare bit of downtime. “It’s nice to come back here when the racing’s over. It’s a bit more chilled out.”
Oscar’s career has taken off fast, and now he’s suddenly in the spotlight as a championship contender for 2025. The attention still throws him off sometimes. “It’s a bit strange,” he admitted. “At the track, you expect it. But sometimes you’re just in the supermarket, and someone comes up for a photo or an autograph, or even just to check if it’s actually you. It still feels weird.”
He’s hoping to keep the momentum going into 2026, building on everything he’s learned so far.
ANALYSIS: HOW NICK CASSIDY’S 13TH-TO-FIRST MASTERCLASS GAVE CITROëN ITS HISTORIC FIRST FORMULA E WIN
We analyse Nick Cassidy’s perfect energy strategy in Mexico City that handed Citroën a shock win in only their second-ever race.
Nick Cassidy pulled off a stunning drive in Mexico City, storming from 13th on the grid to hand Citroen its first Formula E win—only their second race in the series.
Citroen just joined the all-electric championship for the 2025/26 season, but they’re already making waves. Cassidy had already grabbed third in the Sao Paulo opener, and now he’s added a win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Smart energy management and a clever, off-sync Attack Mode strategy were the keys for the New Zealander, who shared the podium with Edoardo Mortara and reigning champ Oliver Rowland.
The day was a wild one—it was the 150th Formula E race, and it kicked off with drama in qualifying. Taylor Barnard set the fastest time, but a track limits violation at the final corner wiped out his lap in the duel for pole.
That handed the pole to Sebastien Buemi, but his luck didn’t last. He misjudged the first braking zone and went straight into the escape road at Turn 1. Barnard inherited the lead, but it was far from settled; early laps saw drivers swapping the front spot as they juggled energy-saving and Attack Mode timing.
Pascal Wehrlein jumped from eighth to first by lap five, hoping to control the race from the front—he figured overtaking would be tough later on. Turns out, he was wrong. Once his four-minute Attack Mode ended, Wehrlein slipped down the order, and it became clear that strategy would decide this one.
Patience with Attack Mode and saving battery for the end paid off, especially after a yellow flag-turned-safety car between laps 17 and 20. Nyck de Vries triggered that after a mechanical issue sent him off at Turn 1.
Things got messier on lap 25: Antonio Felix da Costa, defending from Cassidy, tangled with Maximilian Gunther, who spun and knocked da Costa into Dan Ticktum at Turns 5 and 6. That chaos was for the lower end of the top 10, while Cassidy’s charge was just heating up. Over the final 13 laps, he went all-in, using his full eight minutes of Attack Mode. He started with a six-minute burst, leaving him only two minutes of extra power just as Mortara—second place—still had four minutes left.
Even so, Cassidy managed his energy better than Mortara in the Mahindra, setting up a nail-biting finish. Mortara went on the attack, but Cassidy’s defence held solid, delivering his 13th series win. The close fight up front let Rowland close in and take third after passing Barnard and Jake Dennis in the late stages.
Wehrlein ended up sixth, with rookie Pepe Marti in seventh—he’d also saved his battery for a late push. Jean-Eric Vergne, Nico Muller, and Norman Nato rounded out the points.
Now, Cassidy leads the championship. And if the pattern holds, he’s in good shape: the last three Mexico City E-Prix winners all went on to become world champions.
GIANPIERO LAMBIASE OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED AS MAX VERSTAPPEN’S RACE ENGINEER FOR 2026
GianPiero Lambiase is confirmed for Red Bull 2026. Discover why Max Verstappen calls his race engineer his "best friend" and ally.
Max Verstappen says his connection with GianPiero Lambiase goes way beyond the usual driver-engineer relationship. He doesn’t just see him as a colleague—he calls him a friend.
He shared these thoughts right after clinching victory at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At the time, nobody knew if Lambiase would stick with Red Bull or head off to Aston Martin. Now, with Red Bull confirming Lambiase will stay on for 2026, Verstappen’s words feel even more meaningful.
Lambiase has been by Verstappen’s side since May 2016, and their partnership started strong—winning their very first race together at the Spanish Grand Prix. Since then, they’ve picked up four consecutive world titles from 2021 to 2024.
This past season, Verstappen just missed out on a fifth championship. Lando Norris edged him out by two points at the Abu Dhabi finale. After the race, Lambiase looked crushed on the pit wall, holding back tears. People started to wonder if he was about to leave Verstappen behind for 2026.
At one point, it seemed like Lambiase might move into a behind-the-scenes role or even jump ship to Aston Martin, which had their eye on him for a senior position. But as of this week, Red Bull confirmed he’s staying put, keeping his race engineer job and head of racing duties for next season.
In the press conference after Abu Dhabi, Verstappen didn’t hide how much Lambiase means to him. “He’s my friend,” Max said. “I’m really proud to work with someone that good.”
He went on, “It’s been an emotional year. Forget about the results. I won’t get into all the details, but it’s been tough. I’m just happy I get to work with someone so passionate. Yeah, he’s my race engineer, but honestly, he’s my friend. We’ve been through so much together—the highs and the lows. I’m sure he was emotional after the race. I can’t wait to catch up with him, because this year hasn’t been easy for him. He’s a real example of someone who never gave up, even when things got rough.”
Now that Lambiase’s future is settled, Red Bull can focus on what’s coming next. The 2026 F1 season is bringing some of the biggest rule changes ever—half-electric powertrains, fully sustainable fuels, and active aerodynamics. Red Bull will build its own engines for the first time, working with Ford through its Powertrains division.
Next week, Red Bull and Racing Bulls will show off their 2026 car liveries at a Ford launch event in Detroit. The new Red Bull RB22 is set to run pushrod suspension at both the front and back, and Ferrari’s going down the same path for their 2026 car. Most teams are likely to use this double-pushrod setup—it should make the cars more predictable as F1 ditches the ground-effect designs used from 2022 to 2025. Plus, it helps fit the new, more complex engines into the cars.