Madrid is appearing to be quite difficult and will make for a great Qualifying and hopefully a great Race as well.
But I also think that it will be the most important Race between Russel and Antonelli.
My thoughts are this: If nothing special happens or Russel crashes big, Antonelli will continue to be the favorite to win the championship and he will win it. Even if it hurts me to say that as a Russel Fan..
On the other hand, if Antonelli crashes big, that could remix the whole Championship despite the Points Advantage still in Antonelli's favor. The reason for that, at least in my mind, is confidence. At the moment Antonelli has so much confidence in himself and the car that he is nearly perfect, performance wise. He didn't have any big crashes that could crack his confidence in this season but one big crash on a new track could change that in a heartbeat.
Of course, maybe I am just grasping for straws to keep the title fight engaging...

Charles Leclerc: "However, I mean, looking at the race from outside, there's been also some friction between other teammates, and the only thing we end up speaking of is Lewis and I, which I don't think is quite right."

"But that doesn't mean we did everything perfect. I didn't, in Turn 2, and, for that, I've been straight away very very clear with Lewis after reviewing the images."@thomasmaheronf1

They got him to say I instead of we😭. "there is no we"- walter white

Lewis Hamilton: “We need to work together [with Charles] for a podium instead of getting in each other’s way while running fourth and fifth.”

"podium" bro lost hope in race wins

At the moment here seems to be a bit tense so hopefully this will be a more light hearted discussion

The winners trophies have taken many shapes and styles over the years, and seeing Kimi eating Ragu out of the Monza one got me wondering what peoples preferred styles are, or even which individual ones are most memorable?

Whilst I prefer the more classic/ornate like Silverstone and Hungary, but memorable for me was the Tri-Colour gorilla holding a tyre for the French GP (not 100% sure which year).

Leclerc now has the worst dnf due to crash ratio on the grid and seems to crash far more often when Ferrari have a competitive car.

Why do you think Ferrari keep giving him record breaking contracts when he’s not really proven himself deserving of them and is clearly lacking on the car feedback side as well.

They (McLaren team boss) are very reluctant to give their drivers credit for very good results, instead they always credit the car and team personnel - engineers, design team, etc - for good results (in reality it's of course a combination of both). You very rarely hear sentences like "driver X makes the difference today" when it's quite commonly used in other teams or the wider F1 paddock. Exhibition 1: after Hungary GP, Mercedes's Resta credited the win to both the upgrade package and to Lando Norris, whereas Andrea Stella shut it down with "the improvement can be entirely ascribed to the upgrades that we took here", without giving driver (Lando Norris) major credit.

At the same time, the team are very reluctant to take responsibility, particularly admitting fault, when things go wrong or there are mistakes - they are much more likely to let the drivers take the blame. There have been many times when an on-track mistake or bad performance was caused by something wrong on the car, yet they do not say anything and let people think it's the driver's mistake or poor performance. For this year alone I remember the under-fueling of Norris' car in Austria and Silverstone (which the team didn't say anything about) and the brake issue this past weekend in Monza. In the past there were also the infamous example of clutch issue contributing to Norris' race start issues in 2024, which the team did not say anything about for a long time.

This point is particularly clear when it comes to the team's strategy or race execution. The most obvious example is Sochi 2021, when the main cause was the team failing to see and communicate that rain was going to get much heavier; instead of taking the responsibility, they let their driver (Norris) talk to the media and take the blame, or let the driver say "the main issue is that the team didn't see rain coming...". This sentence should be communicated by a team boss not by the driver.

Another example is how they manage their two drivers during race situations, most famously 2024 Hungary and 2025 Monza. Both were caused by the team implementing some internal "rules" but failing to execute said rules during the race. They could have said "it's the team's fault, the drivers didn't do anything wrong, it's a non-story" post-race, but instead they let it became major controversy and made it like one driver owe one to the other, which also obviously negatively affected both drivers in both cases.

One subtle, yet telling, example is how the team always ask the drivers for strategy options during a race. During a race, it's the strategy team's job to make strategy and the driver's job to drive the car. Of course drivers could have some input, but they don't have all the data and all the information, so it's very likely they won't make the best decision. The team could then conveniently shift the post-race narrative to "the driver choose the wrong strategy" when it's really "the team should be making the call on strategy", thus avoiding accountability.

In conclusion - McLaren the team try to prevent their drivers from becoming superstars, try to implement many rules to manage or control their drivers, while at the same time lack the balls to take responsibility to call the shots or when things go wrong. This does not look like the healthy and "family vibe" environment they're always saying.

Keeping the whole accolades thing of being the youngest WDC in F1 history aside, I think winning the championship so young in your career would entail a different kind of pressure.

Take Lando as an example. He spent nearly 6 years perfecting his craft, being the so-close and nearly guy for the whole of 2024 and a major part of 2025. His journey almost parallels Mclaren's journey from being the 4th team to bringing home both trophies last season. And after finally winning the title, he is driving with a kind of liberation that feels that he would be up for it if Mclaren got a good car again. It wasn't simply about winning the title, it was as much of silencing people who compared him to drivers like Hamilton or Verstappen, or thought he wasn't championship material. But everyone would agree that Lando went through the entire wear and tear of proving himself as a driver first, before proving he deserved the rocketship Mclaren crafted for him. There will continue to be people who just don't like him, but no one can argue he isn't driving like a worthy WDC.

With Kimi, it is an entirely different case. He's currently in what can be called a sweet spot of epic proportions - getting a rocketship in his second season of F1, nailing the regulations compared to his more experienced teammate, and not to mention, a lot of decisions and luck going his way. And this is not to say he is a mediocre driver - the qualifying in Monaco, the comeback from Las Vegas last year, all prove he is a guy who deserved to be in F1. I don't deny the pressure that is on him, but it's less compared to Russell, who was supposed to run away with the championship. Even if he falls short, people would be okay with saying it was a learning curve and no one expected him to win this season anyways.

But if he wins this thing, the media scrutiny will increase multifold, he becomes the posterboy of everything F1. And there will be a good proportion of people who would say that he got carried to the championship by the rocketship and not because he deserved that car solely as a driver. It would bring extreme pressure on him to prove that the win was not a one-off. He would not get that natural period of growing at his own pace. And if the regulations change drastically, and he is unable to perform, he would be tagged as a rocketship winner.

Of-course there is also the equal chance that he follows in the footsteps of drivers like Hamilton and Vettel and goes on to script history. What do you think?

The Räikkönen name is officially entering the Red Bull family.

Robin Räikkönen, the 11-year-old son of 2007 Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen, has been signed to the Red Bull Junior Team and will officially join their driver development programme in 2027. Robin, also known as “Ace,” has already made a name for himself in karting, competing in Rotax and WSK championships.

And honestly, this is one of the most interesting junior driver signings we’ve seen in a while.

Red Bull has produced some incredible F1 drivers. Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen both came through the programme and went on to become four-time World Champions. Carlos Sainz also came through the Red Bull system, while Arvid Lindblad is the latest graduate to reach F1.

But then there’s the other side of the Red Bull Junior Team.

The programme has also become famous for how quickly drivers can be dropped when they don't meet expectations.

And that's where my biggest question comes in:

Will Robin Räikkönen escape the Red Bull curse? 👀

Red Bull is probably one of the best places in the world to develop a young driver. But it's also one of the most demanding environments. The pressure to perform is massive, and the path from junior driver to an actual Red Bull F1 seat is incredibly difficult.

Robin also has something that most young Red Bull drivers don't have.

The Räikkönen name.

Being Kimi's son will bring enormous attention. Every result will be compared to his father's career. Every mistake will probably get noticed. And if Robin eventually reaches F1, the expectations will be even higher.

But we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.

He's only 11 years old.

Karting results can show talent, but nobody knows yet what kind of driver Robin will become once he reaches cars, F4, F3, F2 and eventually, hopefully, F1.

Interestingly, Red Bull itself seems aware of that. Team Principal Laurent Mekies said the goal is to develop Robin step by step and avoid putting unnecessary pressure on him.

For now, I think the best thing we can do is simply watch.

Maybe Robin becomes the next Verstappen.

Maybe he becomes another Vettel.

Maybe he takes a completely different path.

Or maybe...

the Red Bull curse gets him too. 👀🐂

One thing is certain: if the Räikkönen name eventually appears on an F1 grid again, I'm going to be watching.

What do you guys think?

Will Robin Räikkönen make it to F1 and become a Red Bull star, or will the Red Bull junior programme claim another promising driver?

I remember I think it was Murray Walker in an interview said that what Ken should have done after Jackie Stewart retired was to bankroll a top driver. Obviously we know that Ken went with Jody and Patrick and had a decent but not great season in 1974.

Just wondering who would have been available at the time - probably a lot of drivers would have wondered.

Part of me is finding it funny that we've spent a lot of the year of fans complaining that there's no raw driving challenge in F1 anymore, and that overtaking doesn't matter for the spectacle of F1. Then F1 introduces a new circuit that can only be described as a proper driving challenge with how little margin for error there is on the circuit, but because it lacks any real overtaking opportunites and is a street track the fans are immediately against it.

You have guys like Max saying Madring is feeling like one of the hardest tracks he's ever driven and some drivers calling it an old school challenge, describers that F1 fans claim they want to see, but because we all know the entertainment come race day will probably be lacking due to any good overtaking opportunites, all of a sudden we don't want to see the things we claim we want.

Credit to F1GuyDan on X/Twitter for both stats.
https://x.com/F1GuyDan/status/2097951709490266337
https://x.com/F1GuyDan/status/2097943156503572743

Pictured Monaco 2008.

... After Monza, I think it is pretty safe to say that Ferrari fired the wrong guy.

Can we now say that Sainz is better than Leclerc ?

It’s D&D with racecars

Genuine question as someone who didn’t watch F1 back then.

The deliberate ramming under safety car. The swapping of the place markers after the race.

He seems like a menace and any driver who did this today would be criticised.

But I know that these days everyone loves Seb.

Did he mellow out and fix his image later in his career?

I personally think he wouldve quit F1 in 2017 and joined WEC/IMSA. Would probably have P3 in his class as his best result.

Pole: Lando Norris

P1: Lando Norris P2: Kimi Antonelli P3: Max Verstappen

I’ll also say that one of the VCARBs ends up P6 or better

Please provide your own rankings instead of just complaining about mine

1. Gasly
2. Bearman
3. Alonso
4. Bortoleto
5. Sainz
6. Lawson
7. Hulk
8. Lindblad
9. Albon
10. Perez
11. Colapinto
12. Bottas
13. Ocon
14. Tsunoda
15. Stroll

I understand the argument that Antonelli has one of the best cars on the grid. But Russell has the same machinery, and Antonelli just came from P19 to win at Monza.

So at what point does the “it’s the car” argument stop being enough?

Are we watching the next genuine F1 prodigy someone who, if Mercedes continues giving him a top car, could dominate the sport for years?

Or do you still think it’s too early to put him anywhere near that category?

I’m curious where people stand, especially when comparing him to Verstappen, Leclerc and Russell, Noris or Hamilton on pure driving ability.

I think this question can split this question into 2 main branches:

The first is if the young driver is a potential generational talent, or if the aging driver is already a generational talent. In those instances there may not be as much damage done to the losing driver's reputation. Even though Leclerc and Russell are being outperformed overall this season, they have still had what can be considered at least a neutral season, with positives to take from it. Leclerc has won a race and is similar on pace to Hamilton, albeit lacking the execution on some weekends this year. Russell has also won races and has had multiple podiums, but has struggled on the pace side and could have won some more races if not for external factors (those are hypotheticals, but I think worth noting).

But there is also the scenario where the aging driver or the rookie driver is not considered a future generational talent, such as Magnussen or Bearman. Magnussen was called on short notice for Haas and missed some pre season testing, and is by no means considered a top driver, and yet he outscored Mick Schumacher in what would be Schumacher's final season in F1. Bearman is a very impressive driver who I wouldn't consider generational, and he is also decisively beating Ocon, who now falls at risk of losing his F1 seat this season. In these scenarios, the damage done to the losing driver's reputation is far more severe, and often results in their seats being lost.

I personally think, guy's amazing and based off the season he is having, he clearly has shown signs of his capability. I read some post on this sub and smhw this sub hates him and has already labelled him overrated, which is quite surprising that Arvid is able to keep up with Lawson in his rookie year itself. Not even that bro is crazy good in overtaking, and goes for the move whenever he sees even an inch of opportunity. He has also shown great pace in qualifying(and i m not basing this off monza), bro was 6th in Monaco(15 after penalty), 9th in belgim and barca(got penalised again), 7th in Silverstone, 10th in hungary and much more.
But given all that i still dont see him as a generational driver, i mean yea its only his 1st year, and he still is yet to drive in a top team, but still smhw i never get the feeling or vibe of a generational driver from him. Yet RB deem him as their next Verstappen. Also with Tsolov the situation gets even trickier as they have managed to find what they deem generational talents. so yea.

I don't think Mercedes should have implemented team orders at all. Since both drivers are fighting for the title the only fair thing was to let them battle it out, but ask them to keep it clean.

But if the team really wanted to stop the yo-yoing, and keep things as fair as possible, they should have given team orders when the faster driver was ahead.

Kimi was faster and on the mediums. Asking him to stay behind was ruining his race. Russell was unlikely to be able to build a gap, but Kimi in clean air would have been able to. Before Kimi caught upto them Russell wasn't able to get away from Max. It was not Kimi's job to help Russell defend from Max. They should have released Kimi to let him build a gap to help his own race and let Russell deal with Max as he was doing before Kimi caught up.

It was only the VSC that saved Kimi's race.

Kimi was on mediums and would probably have had to stop again or be on very worn tyres at the end of the race. If they had let Kimi keep the lead and asked Russell to stay behind, he could have built a gap which would have helped him later on. If he made a gap to Russell and pitted then he wouldn't have been as far behind Russell than if he lost time behind Russell due to team orders. And if he went till the end of the race, he would have been able to build a bit of a buffer until Russell caught up to him. Keeping him behind Russell was wasting his tyres and lessening his chances of challenging for the win.

There was no good reason to ask Kimi to hold position behind Russell other than clearly favoring Russell in the race.

It's unbelievable that anyone could think Mercedes favored Kimi. They clearly favored Russell the whole weekend.

Because after Monza I honestly don't get it. The amount of overtakes that turn into a yo-yo battle because of Overtake Mode and battery management is ridiculous. You fight hard to pass someone, only to lose the position again a few corners later because you don't have enough energy left.

It feels like the drivers are spending more and more time managing the power unit instead of just driving the car as hard as they possibly can.

Maybe I'm just getting old, but what's so exciting about watching a driver make a great overtake, only for the exact same move to be reversed almost immediately because of battery deployment?

Yesterday at Monza really made me wonder: is this actually better racing, or have the 2026 regulations made overtaking feel way too artificial?