Is Red Bull taking the update risk in Austin?

Toto Wolff: Hamilton and Ferrari will work out!

Mattia Binotto would not have brought Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, we have already established that. His successor Frederic Vasseur sees it differently and has brought his former protégé into his team, and Ferrari boss John Elkann is also looking forward to Hamilton at the Scuderia.

Hamilton’s current boss Toto Wolff has spoken out about the global edition of Motorsport.com He expressed how he assessed the prospect of collaboration between Hamilton and the Italian team. Many fans and observers are skeptical as to whether this will work. Wolff sees it differently:

“I think a lot of people say it’s going to be very difficult,” Wolff explained, “but I think when you say it’s going to be really difficult, the opposite is often the case. Ferrari is a great team, great people, lots of emotions and passion, and that’s why the pressure is on. But I believe they will find a way to work together.

Triple header 1/2

The next six race weekends are really tough, as they include two triple headers with sprint races.

Austin, Mexico and Brazil start with sprint races in Austin and Interlagos, then there is a two-week breather and then the final spurt of the season with Las Vegas, Qatar (including sprint) and Abu Dhabi.

Tight program!

Max Verstappen: “It’s part of the game”

Hardly any team in Formula 1 is viewed as suspiciously by the competition as Red Bull Racing. Every technical update is examined closely and every fluctuation in mood is analyzed directly. In an exclusive conversation with the global edition of Motorsport.com Max Verstappen expressed his surprise and also said what he would like from many protagonists in Formula 1:

“I find it really bizarre how they come up with such things, but it is what it is. It’s part of the game, but I usually just let it go.”

“I’ve been in Formula 1 for 10 years now and I don’t waste my time with all these stories. I hardly read anything about Formula 1 anyway. Of course, sometimes I see something or someone says to me: ‘Did you see what such and such a person said, what?’ But I always say people can think whatever they want, I won’t waste my energy on that. I don’t care what other people say.

Red Bull also came under criticism from competitors for its poor form and infighting off the track, leading McLaren boss Zak Brown to say that Red Bull had been “destabilised”. He later described the team as a “pretty toxic” environment.

“People who say all sorts of things should just focus on their own team,” Verstappen replied when the topic was raised. “By the way, this is nothing specifically against Zak Brown, it applies to everyone. People just need to focus on themselves, and that’s what I do.”

The thing with teammates

In the World Cup fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, should it really come to a head again, the teammates could play an important role. By the way, even if Charles Leclerc, currently in third place in the overall standings with 86 points behind Verstappen and 34 points behind Norris, can intervene again.

Sergio Perez is currently too far away to be able to seriously cover Verstappen’s back, which could be a real disadvantage for the Dutchman.

Things certainly look best settled at Ferrari, because Carlos Sainz knows that he will be leaving the team at the end of the season and could even go out with a real image victory with the role of a helping hand for Leclerc if he really wins the Monegasque Delete title.

Things will be exciting at McLaren because there is currently an agreement to focus on Norris, but Oscar Piastri will still have to make sure that he still brings in moments that protect his position within the team. His manager Mark Webber will also tell him that, because once you have the role, it will be difficult to get rid of it, especially if the team’s “golden boy” actually becomes world champion.

This could definitely be an interesting story for the remaining six race weekends, depending on how the championship fight develops.

It’s race week in America!

A wonderful good morning and welcome to the Formula 1 live ticker on Monday and the start of the racing week in Austin, because the premier class returns with the sprint weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas.

Kevin Scheuren is at the keyboard for you today and if you have any questions, comments, criticism or topic suggestions, feel free to write me an email using our contact form, use the hashtag #FragMST on X or write me a message on Instagram. I try to integrate everything as best as possible.

Here you can read the live ticker from last Friday again.

Have a strong start to the week and enjoy the Formula 1 live ticker.