Silly season 2025-2026

[Gillian]

Well if Nando is leaving AM for Alpine it can mean only one thing... AM will have a winning car next year.

Fernando will stay. He has a newey car now and he knows next years one will be there. And possibly the one in 2028. I see him calling it quits after that. (maybe joing christian horner to be an owner driver of BYD team?)

I hope you are right! I'd love to see him on the podium again! This year an 8th for Hamilton, next year 3rd for Alonso... A man can dream right!? Then both of them can retire and live happily ever after

But in all seriousness, a 3rd WDC would be fantastic for him but even just a single win after such a long time... would be fantastic.

[ChrisF1]

Possibly going off topic, but a Newey car isn't the answer. We saw this in 2014-2016 when the Renault PU was as much of a dud as the current Honda engine. Having a good car cannot make up for a rubbish PU and right now that's what the Honda is.

Agree with the comments about it making zero sense for Alpine though. Alonso is best off sticking where is.

[De Wet]

[aberracus]

I don't understand why the FIA is always on Mercedes pocket...

[Schumix]

I don't understand why the FIA is always on Mercedes pocket...

If we remember correctly, Toto Wolff said at the start of the season that the ADUO system should not alter the balance of power in the fight for the 2026 championship. We have reached a turning point where Mercedes might no longer so utterly dominate the competition. And coincidentally, the official announcement of the teams benefiting from ADUO is blocked, and the FIA ​​is granting Mercedes what it refused Ferrari. These are facts we can only acknowledge...

[mzso]

I don't understand why the FIA is always on Mercedes pocket...

Not sure how all this is related to "silly season".

Anyway, probably they pay more nowadays. It used to be that they always helped Ferrari.

[FNTC]

[ScottB]

It's MBS having another go at 'what if Cosworth made a customer engine teams could buy?'

[FNTC]

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/oscar- ... pen-links/

Reports of Piastri considering pulling an exit clause too, now.

[FNTC]

It's MBS having another go at 'what if Cosworth made a customer engine teams could buy?'

"Translated from German
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to limit the influence of the major manufacturers on their customer teams. His idea: an independent standard engine as a cost-effective alternative for the Formula 1 teams."

[Just_a_fan]

Of course he wants to limit/reduce/remove the manufacturers' influence. It's the main thing that keeps him in check. If he can get rid of the big companies with very deep pockets, he can play king so much more easily.

Of course, unless he can implement a very tight cost cap on the PU, Cosworth (or whomever) is never going to compete with a company like Mercedes on PU development.

[aMessageToCharlie]

The sad thing is that even with this dumb idea, F1 would still be better of than it is right now with electric nonsense

[Just_a_fan]

The sad thing is that even with this dumb idea, F1 would still be better of than it is right now with electric nonsense

I'm quite enjoying the current nonsense. Yes, we can argue 'til the middle of next week about purity and "not real F1" and all those other things, but we are getting what F1 has been looking to achieve for years - wheel to wheel racing between drivers in different teams near/at the front of the grid. The arguments about "fake overtakes" and "yo-yo racing" are merely people who want some idealist F1 that has really never existed (at least not in the last 30-40 years, anyway).

Silverstone would have been a great race if it weren't for the silliness at the end and Kimi's nonsense penalty. Pure? No. Entertaining? Yes, frankly.

[aMessageToCharlie]

Good for you, but this "proper F1 never existed" argument is just gaslighting.

So is this the big announcement then that Buxton was talking about? Seems like another nothingburger akin to Ecclestone sprinkler story.