Max Verstappen has a reputation for making off-colour remarks but Formula One Management appeared to censor one of his radio comments in error yesterday.
The Red Bull driver’s reaction to his five-second time penalty was censored in the live world television broadcast of yesterday’s race. However the original message appears to contain no profanity.
The FIA introduced regulations earlier this year which define swearing as a form of misconduct. However no driver has been penalised for swearing on their radio and Carlos Sainz Jnr avoided a penalty for using a swear word in a press conference earlier this month.
FOM replayed part of Verstappen’s exchange with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase on their television broadcast with one word censored (below). Footage from Verstappen’s onboard channel indicates he sarcastically called his penalty “really lovely.”
Verstappen often uses a similar expression, “simply lovely”, on his radio. He applied to trademark the phrase last year to use it in a line of fashion products.
However Verstappen has tended to use profanity more frequently on his radio than his rivals do, notably in last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem subsequently complained about drivers swearing on their radios, following which Verstappen said FOM should not broadcast it.
F1 has been criticised for allegedly misrepresenting drivers’ radio messages already this year. It denied intentionally omitting a key comment by Lewis Hamilton during the Chinese Grand Prix, which gave the impression he disobeyed an instruction from his team.
| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
FOM has been approached for comment.
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Verstappen’s radio on TV broadcast
Lambiase
Information, you have been given a five-second time penalty for the incident at turn one. Head down.
Verstappen
Oh, that is…
Lambiase
Yeah, Max…
Verstappen
…[censored] lovely!
Lambiase
Yep. Yep. No comment.
Verstappen’s radio from onboard channel
Lambiase
Gap behind 1.1. Information, you have been given a five-second time penalty for the incident at turn one. Head down.
Williams boss James Vowles has outlined how spreading income and expenditure across different currencies has protected the team from the global financial uncertainty created by the recent tariff announcements from Donald Trump.
The United States president doled out higher tariffs on 57 countries on 2 April – ranging from 11% to 50% – before pausing them for all nations except China for at least 90 days, after the financial markets rocked in the wake of the news.
There remains uncertainty as to whether the tariffs will be implemented after the delay, if new numbers will be announced or if countries can strike independent deals to avoid the ramifications that would come with the proposed increases.
Formula 1 would not be immune from the issues that may arise should the tariffs still be rolled out, as discussed on Motorsport.com when Trump first made the announcement.
Vowles, though, was largely unconcerned by potential dangers as he explained how Williams is looking to remain on a firm footing.
“So basically for a team, a lot of your income comes first of all with sponsors or our partners,” he told reporters, including Motorsport.com, at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
“The dollar’s still low. You try and hedge a little bit. So some of the drivers are paid in dollars, some of them paid in euros, for example. Some of your partner income is in dollars, some of your partner income is in euros or some of it in pounds.
“So you can hedge by doing your contracts in a different way. I’m not sure what other teams do. That’s just a clever way of doing it here.
“Probably for us, one of your largest income streams is your FOM income and that is in dollars and that is fixed in dollars. So has that had a hit relative to where we are? Yes – but it’s the sort of thing that I don’t get particularly hung up on.”
Vowles insists Williams does not have to consider tightening the purse-strings in the wake of the Trump administration’s announcement and that, similar to how income and expenditure is paid across different currencies, equipment is also sourced from across the world.
“I think one of the advantages to Williams is we are truly independent, and our holding company Dorilton is truly international in terms of its income streams from all over the world. It’s not reliant on one particular finance structure, which is very useful to us,” he explained.
“So for us at the moment, we had a talk internally and there’s no large impact on either tariffs or on what’s going on with the dollar right now. It’s small numbers.
Matthew Savage, Chairman, Dorilton Capital, Paul Asencio, Chief Revenue Officer, Williams Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“It doesn’t help, but it’s small numbers. I think for major manufacturers, they are hurt at the moment because there’s turmoil, or certainly if I took OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) turmoil in terms of who’s buying products, where they’re buying them, and what are the costs of them buying them in the world.
“I don’t know what the future of that is, but I can only speak in part for ourselves, which is that, yes, it’s a pain in the arse, but it hasn’t dramatically affected our day-to-day operation.
“It hasn’t changed our budget. It hasn’t changed our forecast for the next three years or our investment for the next three years.
“The amount of kit that is supplied from the US is not as much as you may think. The raw materials are supplied from all over the world, but you cover yourself purposely in that regard.
“I think COVID taught us one thing, which is make sure you have suppliers based all over as a result of things, because you never know what’s going to happen in that regard.
“You stockpile as much as you can, but ultimately you can only sit in the freezer for a certain period of time anyway. But those are pretty much already to the maximum that we would be comfortable doing, because the cost cap prohibits us from buying six years’ worth of material.
“You’ve got to be careful what you’re doing in a cost-cap world, so you don’t over-index for one year relative to the future. So no, we have enough to keep ourselves going.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Lars Baron – Motorsport Images
With Williams looking to be on solid ground despite the current unknowns across the markets, Vowles is concentrating more on delivering on track success, having been clear from the outset that the squad is a long-term project.
“Let’s be completely straightforward, we’re in a mess because we were short-termist all the way through the last 20 years. Some of it financially driven, some of it driven by other elements,” he said.
“But you can’t be in the sport. It has to be investment. And to be clear, investment is about five years forward to get yourself into the right position of leading.
“It wasn’t difficult at all because part of the reason why I joined this entity is we had a pretty frank discussion from the very beginning over it, over it will take this long, it will take this amount of investment, and we cannot be driven by short-termism. And it was completely aligned and agreed from the outset.”
In terms of partners, Williams has attracted some big names recently – not least its highest-ever figure for a title sponsor in Atlassian – and Vowles insists each new partner brought into his vision.
Asked if the team’s partners were happy to accept success may take time to arrive, he replied: “Absolutely, and actually it is really interesting, or perhaps naturally, we ended up attracting what I consider challenger brands, brands that also know that it’s about the long-term rather than today in terms of exposure.
“All of them want to be a part of the journey. In many regards, they love the fact that we’re very open and honest about what we’re doing because for so many companies, you’re driven to need performance now.
“When our partners came on board with us, the same message I gave them was ‘we’re fixing year by year, this is why it will move forward, but this is how long it will take’.”
In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Williams
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Welcome back to the F1 Hangover. This is a mini edition of the series, which takes you inside the off-track happenings during a race weekend. I wasn’t on the ground in Saudi Arabia, but I’ll be returning to form in Miami early next month, so mark your calendars.
In the meantime, let’s look back on the week in Jeddah. It’s no secret that the Saudis are paying big bucks to attract sporting stars to the region, and same goes for the world of entertainment. Jennifer Lopez, Usher and Major Lazer were flown out to perform at the MDLBEAST music festival attached to the race. Somewhat bizarrely, all of the musical guests were seen posing for snaps with the Saudi race promoters and Stefano Domenicalli – I’m not being facetious when I say I’d love to know what a conversation between Diplo and the F1 chief sounds like.
Lopez made her presence known when she watched qualifying from the Ferrari garage in a hot pink, skin-tight catsuit (I just know she was sweating under that Middle Eastern sun) and posed for snaps with Lewis Hamilton. Usher was also seen walking into the team’s garage with the seven-time world champion the following day, shortly before the race began.
Ferrari has never been in dire need of extra publicity or celebrity shine, but it’s interesting to see the power of Hamilton in full effect as A-listers who previously would have made a beeline for Mercedes head straight to the Scuderia. They say everyone’s a Ferrari fan, but with Hamilton in tow, everyone is donning their racing red.
Earlier in the week, Sebastian Vettel made a powerful return to the sport – not in the paddock, but on the karting track. The four-time world champion hosted a Race4Women event in support of his ongoing push for gender equality in motorsport. “Generally Saudi is opening up and it’s great to see the next generation of girls and women speaking out their dreams, being able and being allowed to do a lot of the things their mothers weren’t able or allowed to do,” Vettel told F1.
F1 Academy was also on the docket this weekend and there was a noticeable shift in the support series paddock, as several F1 drivers and team bosses publicly showed up for the young women getting behind the wheel. Yuki Tsunoda, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri were among the figures in the F1 world who spent time with their affiliated junior drivers. The rest of the grid will have another opportunity to support the F1 Academy drivers when the series heads to Miami for round three. We’ll see you there!
Read Also:
In this article
Emily Selleck
Formula 1
Culture
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
The decision to hand Max Verstappen a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage – by cutting Turn 2 to keep the lead against Oscar Piastri – resurfaced the debate over racing rules in Formula 1.
But whichever side of the fence you sit on, it was apparent that it was the latest incident to place the spotlight on F1’s racing guidelines and what drivers can and cannot do when battling for position on the track.
This incident ended with Verstappen getting a five-second penalty and ultimately losing the race to Piastri when he dropped down the order after serving the punishment during his pitstop. The penalty split opinion, naturally, and posed the question about if F1’s racing rules are working. Our writers offer their views.
There will always be grey areas over who is in front – Stuart Codling
Rules, guidelines, whatever – we saw last year with the events of Max Verstappen vs Lando Norris at the US GP in Austin that grey areas exist around the given areas of what is acceptable. At that time the guidelines stated that whoever had their front axle ahead at the apex had the right to the corner.
And as demonstrated there, it will always be relatively straightforward for a driver of Max Verstappen’s calibre to head off the possibility of being overtaken around the outside by releasing the brakes, knowing there is no hope of making the corner, but knowing also that he will be enshrined as the one with the axle line in the right place while the other guy spears off the track.
Those guidelines were then amended in the wake of what was regarded by the majority of the drivers allowed to express an opinion as Verstappen’s borderline egregious exploitation of the grey areas.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Alex Pantling – Formula 1
So we should welcome the stance of the stewards in Saudi Arabia, who stood firm against Red Bull’s lobbying. There will always be an element of subjectivity in such cases and, ultimately, they decided circumstances merited a five-second penalty rather than a 10-second one.
But it was clear that Verstappen was never going to make the corner while Piastri was – and on the correct line. When Christian Horner arrived for his post-race press conference bearing a sheaf of screen grabs showing Verstappen ahead, it was a transparent and clumsy attempt at spinning the issue via the media and fanbase, having already lost the argument with the stewards.
Read Also:
At the point of those shots, Verstappen was well past the point of no return. Obviously some people will buy what Horner was trying to sell, and perhaps he may get what he wants – a “re-look at” the guidelines.
To do what – add more grey areas to exploit?
Penalties are too lenient these days – Fabien Gaillard
Given that the guidelines are a means for stewards to judge incidents, they serve this purpose fairly well. However, as we saw at the end of last season, the underlying principles are flexible – as, when several controversial situations arise in quick succession, modifications are quickly announced.
However, the example of Verstappen and Piastri speaks for itself: you can implement all the guidelines in the world, but if a driver consciously decides that it is better to cut the corner to unduly stay in front of another car (and therefore risk a penalty) rather than accept to concede on the track or return the position later, your guidelines will be useless.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Beyond the guidelines, when the circuit does not allow for a better outcome, penalties should be a real deterrent. When Verstappen decides to take a corner at absurdly high speed on the outside of Turn 1, knowing fully well that he would never make it through the corner on the track, seeing the stewards impose only a five-second penalty instead of 10s because it was the first lap is almost laughable.
The current penalties in F1 for track incidents are abysmally lenient compared to those of previous decades. Penalising misconduct more harshly would be a good way to remind drivers and teams that there are consequences for breaking the rules and ignoring the guidelines.
Guidelines are all well and good, but humans still make the final decision – Oleg Karpov
Whenever there is a controversial decision by the stewards – and it seems it’s always going to be controversial when the race win is on the line – there will inevitably be those who disagree. But amid all the outcry about the lack of consistency, perhaps it’s also necessary to note that something is actually working when the decisions make sense. Of course, Verstappen feels (or says) that he’s been wronged – but apart from him and his bosses, there perhaps aren’t many in the paddock who would dispute the stewards’ verdict on the Turn 1 battle.
After all, you can write pages and pages of guidelines, but the nature of sport is that there will never be two absolutely identical episodes – and we’ll always need a human being to make the final call. And it’s not an easy job, because inevitably someone will vent their frustration to the media, or even bring a piece of paper with ‘evidence’ printed on it to try and prove them wrong. But that’s just the way it is.
Someone had to make the call – and to me, at least, it feels like there’d be a much bigger outcry if Verstappen had been let off the hook. You can watch his onboard frame by frame and pause the footage at the right moment to see where his wheels are compared to Piastri’s McLaren – but the stewards are not new to the series either and they probably know that Verstappen will never give up the lead like that. One can be forgiven for feeling that it’s not the first time he’s just lifted the brake pedal to claim he was in front at the apex. And yes, there needs to be a human being for those occasions to simply say, “Yeah, that’s just naughty.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
For me, a five-second penalty was the most appropriate penalty there could have been – and it did exactly what it was supposed to do: put Verstappen behind Piastri. And that’s where the discussion should have ended. But there will always be those who disagree.
Are the racing guidelines out of touch? No, it’s the tracks that are wrong – Jake Boxall-Legge
I don’t think there’s a real issue with the racing guidelines; most drivers have no trouble obeying, and a clear marker has been laid down in the wake of the Verstappen-Piastri side-by-side jostle into Turn 1 at Jeddah. All of the chatter about who has “the right” to the corner in their apex positioning could be viewed as slightly nebulous, but it’s clear the stewards won’t tolerate bleeding the brake off to be level into the corner anymore. Now that there’s precedent for trying that on the opening lap, one has to decide if the five-second penalty is worth it.
But this brings me back to my usual argument for this situation: does this situation happen with grass or gravel instead of run-off? The answer is, as always, no.
We must give a bit of credit to those who came up with the solution of blue-bordered white lines solution and corner exit gravel. They’ve not eradicated the track limits offences at those areas entirely, but at least it adds immediate punishment in those cases.
But when you’ve got a first corner that is bordered by a white line and an asphalt expanse, there’s nothing stopping you from just skipping across and picking up a penalty. Per the FIA’s guidelines, if you run across and gain an advantage, that’s a 10-second penalty; Verstappen only got five because it was the first lap. If you think you can take the lead and run a five or 10-second advantage, why not take the punt? That’s what the system allows.
And if you don’t think that’s in the spirit of the rules, you’re right. Vote for change. Vote Grass/Gravel.
In this article
Autosport Staff
Formula 1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
The decision to hand Max Verstappen a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage – by cutting Turn 2 to keep the lead against Oscar Piastri – resurfaced the debate over racing rules in Formula 1.
But whichever side of the fence you sit on, it was apparent that it was the latest incident to place the spotlight on F1’s racing guidelines and what drivers can and cannot do when battling for position on the track.
This incident ended with Verstappen getting a five-second penalty and ultimately losing the race to Piastri when he dropped down the order after serving the punishment during his pitstop. The penalty split opinion, naturally, and posed the question about if F1’s racing rules are working. Our writers offer their views.
There will always be grey areas over who is in front – Stuart Codling
Rules, guidelines, whatever – we saw last year with the events of Max Verstappen vs Lando Norris at the US GP in Austin that grey areas exist around the given areas of what is acceptable. At that time the guidelines stated that whoever had their front axle ahead at the apex had the right to the corner.
And as demonstrated there, it will always be relatively straightforward for a driver of Max Verstappen’s calibre to head off the possibility of being overtaken around the outside by releasing the brakes, knowing there is no hope of making the corner, but knowing also that he will be enshrined as the one with the axle line in the right place while the other guy spears off the track.
Those guidelines were then amended in the wake of what was regarded by the majority of the drivers allowed to express an opinion as Verstappen’s borderline egregious exploitation of the grey areas.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Alex Pantling – Formula 1
So we should welcome the stance of the stewards in Saudi Arabia, who stood firm against Red Bull’s lobbying. There will always be an element of subjectivity in such cases and, ultimately, they decided circumstances merited a five-second penalty rather than a 10-second one.
But it was clear that Verstappen was never going to make the corner while Piastri was – and on the correct line. When Christian Horner arrived for his post-race press conference bearing a sheaf of screen grabs showing Verstappen ahead, it was a transparent and clumsy attempt at spinning the issue via the media and fanbase, having already lost the argument with the stewards.
Read Also:
At the point of those shots, Verstappen was well past the point of no return. Obviously some people will buy what Horner was trying to sell, and perhaps he may get what he wants – a “re-look at” the guidelines.
To do what – add more grey areas to exploit?
Penalties are too lenient these days – Fabien Gaillard
Given that the guidelines are a means for stewards to judge incidents, they serve this purpose fairly well. However, as we saw at the end of last season, the underlying principles are flexible – as, when several controversial situations arise in quick succession, modifications are quickly announced.
However, the example of Verstappen and Piastri speaks for itself: you can implement all the guidelines in the world, but if a driver consciously decides that it is better to cut the corner to unduly stay in front of another car (and therefore risk a penalty) rather than accept to concede on the track or return the position later, your guidelines will be useless.
Beyond the guidelines, when the circuit does not allow for a better outcome, penalties should be a real deterrent. When Verstappen decides to take a corner at absurdly high speed on the outside of Turn 1, knowing fully well that he would never make it through the corner on the track, seeing the stewards impose only a five-second penalty instead of 10s because it was the first lap is almost laughable.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Alex Pantling – Formula 1
The current penalties in F1 for track incidents are abysmally lenient compared to those of previous decades. Penalising misconduct more harshly would be a good way to remind drivers and teams that there are consequences for breaking the rules and ignoring the guidelines.
Guidelines are all well and good, but humans still make the final decision – Oleg Karpov
Whenever there is a controversial decision by the stewards – and it seems it’s always going to be controversial when the race win is on the line – there will inevitably be those who disagree. But amid all the outcry about the lack of consistency, perhaps it’s also necessary to note that something is actually working when the decisions make sense. Of course, Verstappen feels (or says) that he’s been wronged – but apart from him and his bosses, there perhaps aren’t many in the paddock who would dispute the stewards’ verdict on the Turn 1 battle.
After all, you can write pages and pages of guidelines, but the nature of sport is that there will never be two absolutely identical episodes – and we’ll always need a human being to make the final call. And it’s not an easy job, because inevitably someone will vent their frustration to the media, or even bring a piece of paper with ‘evidence’ printed on it to try and prove them wrong. But that’s just the way it is.
Someone had to make the call – and to me, at least, it feels like there’d be a much bigger outcry if Verstappen had been let off the hook. You can watch his onboard frame by frame and pause the footage at the right moment to see where his wheels are compared to Piastri’s McLaren – but the stewards are not new to the series either and they probably know that Verstappen will never give up the lead like that. One can be forgiven for feeling that it’s not the first time he’s just lifted the brake pedal to claim he was in front at the apex. And yes, there needs to be a human being for those occasions to simply say, “Yeah, that’s just naughty.”
For me, a five-second penalty was the most appropriate penalty there could have been – and it did exactly what it was supposed to do: put Verstappen behind Piastri. And that’s where the discussion should have ended. But there will always be those who disagree.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Gabriel Bouys – AFP – Getty Images
Are the racing guidelines out of touch? No, it’s the tracks that are wrong – Jake Boxall-Legge
I don’t think there’s a real issue with the racing guidelines; most drivers have no trouble obeying, and a clear marker has been laid down in the wake of the Verstappen-Piastri side-by-side jostle into Turn 1 at Jeddah. All of the chatter about who has “the right” to the corner in their apex positioning could be viewed as slightly nebulous, but it’s clear the stewards won’t tolerate bleeding the brake off to be level into the corner anymore. Now that there’s precedent for trying that on the opening lap, one has to decide if the five-second penalty is worth it.
But this brings me back to my usual argument for this situation: does this situation happen with grass or gravel instead of run-off? The answer is, as always, no.
We must give a bit of credit to those who came up with the solution of blue-bordered white lines solution and corner exit gravel. They’ve not eradicated the track limits offences at those areas entirely, but at least it adds immediate punishment in those cases.
But when you’ve got a first corner that is bordered by a white line and an asphalt expanse, there’s nothing stopping you from just skipping across and picking up a penalty. Per the FIA’s guidelines, if you run across and gain an advantage, that’s a 10-second penalty; Verstappen only got five because it was the first lap. If you think you can take the lead and run a five or 10-second advantage, why not take the punt? That’s what the system allows.
And if you don’t think that’s in the spirit of the rules, you’re right. Vote for change. Vote Grass/Gravel.
In this article
Motorsport.com staff writers
Formula 1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Max Verstappen praised Oscar Piastri after the McLaren driver claimed the championship lead in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Piastri scored his third grand prix victory of the season yesterday and moved 10 points clear of team mate Lando Norris at the top of the drivers’ standings. Verstappen is 12 points behind in third.
The Red Bull driver, who is seeking his fifth consecutive championship victory, said he is impressed with Piastri’s performance in his third season in F1.
“Last year was his second year, now he’s in his third year and he’s very solid. He’s very calm in his approach, and I like that. It shows on-track.
“He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes – and that’s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.”
Piastri is the first Australian to lead the world championship since his manager Mark Webber did 15 years ago. Webber led the 2010 standings with three rounds to go before falling to third place.
Verstappen said Piastri has benefited from Webber’s experience. “With Mark by his side, he’s helping him a lot, it’s great.
| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
“People learn from their own careers – that’s what I had with my dad and Mark is advising Oscar. At the end of the day, Oscar is using his talent, and that’s great to see.”
Piastri beat Verstappen to victory after the Red Bull driver was penalised for going off the track at the first corner to pass the McLaren. The pair were separated by less than three seconds at the finish.
Verstappen said he was encouraged by the performance of his car having finished only sixth in Bahrain a week earlier.
“I was very positively surprised, to be honest, because on Friday it was very, very tough,” he said. “It didn’t matter what I was doing in terms of driving, management, the tyres would just fall off.
“The car was a lot nicer [in the race]. Still limitations, but it was much more promising. And actually, at one point when I started to pull away again, I was quite positively surprised.”
But Verstappen, who won the Japanese Grand Prix a week before Bahrain, said Red Bull’s performance in Jeddah doesn’t prove they’ll be able to consistently challenge McLaren.
| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free
“We have to stay a little bit calm because this track doesn’t have a lot of deg[radation], and we know that when we go to tracks where there’s higher deg, we just struggle more,” he said. “We still need to work on that.
“But the changes that we made already yesterday also worked for today. So I’m very pleased with that.”
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Isack Hadjar says his Racing Bulls Formula 1 team-mate Liam Lawson has had a smooth adaptation back to the Faenza-based squad following his Red Bull demotion – which the New Zealander agrees on.
Lawson outqualified Hadjar for the first time at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, outpacing the rookie by 0.010s in Q1 and 0.227s in Q2.
Read Also:
He eventually finished the race 11th on the road, just 1.4s away from Hadjar, though a 10-second penalty for overtaking Jack Doohan off the track at Turn 2 dropped him behind Fernando Alonso in the final classification.
“This weekend he was really, really fast,” Hadjar said of Lawson. “In qualifying, he made the most of the car. He’s definitely getting stronger now, definitely pushing me just like Yuki [Tsunoda, his previous team-mate] was pushing me as well.”
Lawson was on the same strategy as most drivers – a first stint on medium tyres, then another on hards – but didn’t find it successful. The 23-year-old was 12th early on, then overtook Alonso; following his pitstop he passed Gabriel Bortoleto, Doohan – controversially – Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll, but still finished the race in a similar position to lap 1, right behind Hadjar.
“Unfortunately, my [strategy] didn’t work today, we spent the race overtaking cars,” Lawson lamented.
“The end of our race was absolutely flat out, trying to make a 10-second gap to Fernando, but it wasn’t for the points anyway. It’s a shame we just ended up on the wrong end of it today.”
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
However, after struggling so much over his only two grands prix at Red Bull, Lawson corroborated Hadjar’s analysis that he was now up to speed at Racing Bulls.
“I think this is the fastest we’ve been, but just unfortunately not enough,” he said, before being asked if he was now fully dialled in: “I think so. Obviously we didn’t quite have the speed of the top teams yesterday, so we’ll try and work on improving this for Miami.”
Meanwhile, Hadjar hailed a “perfect” race from himself, having secured 10th with the alternate hard/medium strategy. However, he was left frustrated by spending the last 10 laps of the race stuck behind Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon despite his fresher, softer rubber.
“It was a perfect race, and to get only one point is a bit… harsh,” the 20-year-old said. “When I knew the two Williams were ahead of me after the pitstop, I knew I was… cooked.”
As for the way he bounced back after crashing out of the Australia season-opener before it even started, Hadjar explained: “It’s the love for racing. I just love it so much, just committed to it. That’s why a tough hit like Melbourne is not enough to bring me down, because I love driving and giving my best.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Mark Mann-Bryans
In this article
Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Liam Lawson
Isack Hadjar
Racing Bulls
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Isack Hadjar says his Racing Bulls Formula 1 team-mate Liam Lawson has had a smooth adaptation back to the Faenza-based squad following his Red Bull demotion – which the New Zealander agrees on.
Lawson outqualified Hadjar for the first time at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, outpacing the rookie by 0.010s in Q1 and 0.227s in Q2.
He eventually finished the race 11th on the road, just 1.4s away from Hadjar, though a 10-second penalty for overtaking Jack Doohan off the track at Turn 2 dropped him behind Fernando Alonso in the final classification.
“This weekend he was really, really fast,” Hadjar said of Lawson. “In qualifying, he made the most of the car. He’s definitely getting stronger now, definitely pushing me just like Yuki [Tsunoda, his previous team-mate] was pushing me as well.”
Lawson was on the same strategy as most drivers – a first stint on medium tyres, then another on hards – but didn’t find it successful.
The 23-year-old was 12th early on, then overtook Alonso; following his pitstop he passed Gabriel Bortoleto, Doohan – controversially – Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll, but still finished the race in a similar position to lap 1, right behind Hadjar.
“Unfortunately, my [strategy] didn’t work today, we spent the race overtaking cars,” Lawson lamented.
“The end of our race was absolutely flat out, trying to make a 10-second gap to Fernando, but it wasn’t for the points anyway. It’s a shame we just ended up on the wrong end of it today.”
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
However, after struggling so much over his only two grands prix at Red Bull, Lawson corroborated Hadjar’s analysis that he was now up to speed at Racing Bulls.
“I think this is the fastest we’ve been, but just unfortunately not enough,” he said, before being asked if he was now fully dialled in: “I think so. Obviously we didn’t quite have the speed of the top teams yesterday, so we’ll try and work on improving this for Miami.”
Meanwhile, Hadjar hailed a “perfect” race from himself, having secured 10th with the alternate hard/medium strategy.
However, he was left frustrated by spending the last 10 laps of the race stuck behind Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon despite his fresher, softer rubber.
“It was a perfect race, and to get only one point is a bit… harsh,” the 20-year-old said. “When I knew the two Williams were ahead of me after the pitstop, I knew I was… cooked.”
As for the way he bounced back after crashing out of the Australia season-opener before it even started, Hadjar explained: “It’s the love for racing. I just love it so much, just committed to it.
“That’s why a tough hit like Melbourne is not enough to bring me down, because I love driving and giving my best.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren and Mark Mann-Bryans
Read Also:
In this article
Ben Vinel
Formula 1
Liam Lawson
Isack Hadjar
RB
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was arguably decided by the lap one incident between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, which prompted a controversial penalty for the Red Bull driver.
Piastri attacked down the inside of Turn 1, leading to Verstappen going off at the second part of the chicane to protect his lead thinking he was forced off by the McLaren.
Stewards deemed otherwise and awarded the world champion a five-second penalty, allowing Piastri to jump ahead in the pit window to eventually claim the victory.
Both teams inevitably had differing views of the decision and it is of course the main talking point in the latest Autosport podcast.
Mark Mann-Bryans and Filip Cleeren also discuss Lando Norris’ recovery drive from 10th to fourth, after his Q3 crash. It therefore lost him the championship lead and handed it to team-mate Piastri.
Charles Leclerc’s first podium of the 2025 season is also discussed, as is a double points finish for Williams which has continued its strong start to the campaign.
In this article
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Williams boss James Vowles has outlined how spreading income and expenditure across different currencies has protected the team from the global financial uncertainty created by the recent tariff announcements from Donald Trump.
The United States president doled out higher tariffs on 57 countries on 2 April – ranging from 11% to 50% – before pausing them for all nations except China for at least 90 days, after the financial markets rocked in the wake of the news.
There remains uncertainty as to whether the tariffs will be implemented after the delay, if new numbers will be announced or if countries can strike independent deals to avoid the ramifications that would come with the proposed increases.
Formula 1 would not be immune from the issues that may arise should the tariffs still be rolled out, as discussed on Autosport when Trump first made the announcement.
Vowles, though, was largely unconcerned by potential dangers as he explained how Williams is looking to remain on a firm footing.
“So basically for a team, a lot of your income comes first of all with sponsors or our partners,” he told reporters, including Autosport at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
“The dollar’s still low. You try and hedge a little bit. So some of the drivers are paid in dollars, some of them paid in euros, for example. Some of your partner income is in dollars, some of your partner income is in euros or some of it in pounds.
“So you can hedge by doing your contracts in a different way. I’m not sure what other teams do. That’s just a clever way of doing it here.
“Probably for us, one of your largest income streams is your FOM income and that is in dollars and that is fixed in dollars. So has that had a hit relative to where we are? Yes – but it’s the sort of thing that I don’t get particularly hung up on.”
Vowles insists Williams does not have to consider tightening the purse-strings in the wake of the Trump administration’s announcement and that, similar to how income and expenditure is paid across different currencies, equipment is also sourced from across the world.
“I think one of the advantages to Williams is we are truly independent, and our holding company Dorilton is truly international in terms of its income streams from all over the world. It’s not reliant on one particular finance structure, which is very useful to us,” he explained.
“So for us at the moment, we had a talk internally and there’s no large impact on either tariffs or on what’s going on with the dollar right now. It’s small numbers.
Matthew Savage, Chairman, Dorilton Capital, Paul Asencio, Chief Revenue Officer, Williams Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“It doesn’t help, but it’s small numbers. I think for major manufacturers, they are hurt at the moment because there’s turmoil, or certainly if I took OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) turmoil in terms of who’s buying products, where they’re buying them, and what are the costs of them buying them in the world.
“I don’t know what the future of that is, but I can only speak in part for ourselves, which is that, yes, it’s a pain in the arse, but it hasn’t dramatically affected our day-to-day operation.
“It hasn’t changed our budget. It hasn’t changed our forecast for the next three years or our investment for the next three years.
“The amount of kit that is supplied from the US is not as much as you may think. The raw materials are supplied from all over the world, but you cover yourself purposely in that regard.
“I think COVID taught us one thing, which is make sure you have suppliers based all over as a result of things, because you never know what’s going to happen in that regard.
“You stockpile as much as you can, but ultimately you can only sit in the freezer for a certain period of time anyway. But those are pretty much already to the maximum that we would be comfortable doing, because the cost cap prohibits us from buying six years’ worth of material.
“You’ve got to be careful what you’re doing in a cost-cap world, so you don’t over-index for one year relative to the future. So no, we have enough to keep ourselves going.”
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Lars Baron – Motorsport Images
With Williams looking to be on solid ground despite the current unknowns across the markets, Vowles is concentrating more on delivering on track success, having been clear from the outset that the squad is a long-term project.
“Let’s be completely straightforward, we’re in a mess because we were short-termist all the way through the last 20 years. Some of it financially driven, some of it driven by other elements,” he said.
“But you can’t be in the sport. It has to be investment. And to be clear, investment is about five years forward to get yourself into the right position of leading.
“It wasn’t difficult at all because part of the reason why I joined this entity is we had a pretty frank discussion from the very beginning over it, over it will take this long, it will take this amount of investment, and we cannot be driven by short-termism. And it was completely aligned and agreed from the outset.”
In terms of partners, Williams has attracted some big names recently – not least its highest-ever figure for a title sponsor in Atlassian – and Vowles insists each new partner brought into his vision.
Asked if the team’s partners were happy to accept success may take time to arrive, he replied: “Absolutely, and actually it is really interesting, or perhaps naturally, we ended up attracting what I consider challenger brands, brands that also know that it’s about the long-term rather than today in terms of exposure.
“All of them want to be a part of the journey. In many regards, they love the fact that we’re very open and honest about what we’re doing because for so many companies, you’re driven to need performance now.
“When our partners came on board with us, the same message I gave them was ‘we’re fixing year by year, this is why it will move forward, but this is how long it will take’.”
Read Also:
In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Williams
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Cookies
To make this site work properly, we sometimes place small data files called cookies on your device. This enables us to improve our website to provide a better user experience. No personal data is collected.
