This week’s top stories revolve on Haas, including updates on Kevin Magnussen’s whereabouts and their ongoing conflict with a former sponsor.
A McLaren 1-2 in Hungary leads to an intra-team battle over team radio. Haas dominates the headlines this week with news on Kevin Magnussen’s future and developments in their feud with a former sponsor.
With Oliver Bearman joining the team in 2025, many have speculated who will race alongside the rookie in the other Haas seat. We now know who won’t be. Haas has announced that they will not renew Kevin Magnussen’s contract, which expires at the end of the season. With the 2025 grid quickly taking shape, it’s unclear what opportunities, if any, are available for the Dane in Formula One. Magnussen replaced Esteban Gutierrez on the team in 2017, having previously competed in single-season stints with McLaren and Renault. He was replaced in 2021 when Haas changed to an all-rookie lineup but returned the following year to replace Nikita Mazepin, who lost his seat amidst the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the eve of the 2022 season. During his time away from Formula One he competed in the IMSA SportsCar Championship with great success.
The dispute between Haas and their former sponsor Uralkali continues, with the Russian company now claiming the American team has missed a payment deadline. The dispute revolves around the termination of Uralkali’s sponsorship deal for 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year. Although a Swiss arbitration court ruled that Haas hadn’t breached the contract, they did agree that the team should refund most of the $13 million that had been paid as part of the sponsorship deal. Additionally, the team must give Uralkali a 2021 car, as part of the original sponsorship agreement. A statement from Uralkali claims that Haas has been ignoring communications from the company and that they have missed the court-issued deadline for payment of the owed funds and car.
Haas and Ferrari have agreed to extend their technical partnership through to the end of the 2028 season, continuing to work closely with each other. Haas’ partnership with Ferrari was extremely important when the team made its debut in 2016, with power units, gearboxes, and various other car parts having been provided by the Italian team. The American team has even used Ferrari’s wind tunnel and simulator facilities in Maranello. With the power unit technical regulations set for a major shakeup in 2026, this renewed partnership silences wild rumours of a potential tie-up with Toyota. Some reports have suggested ongoing discussions between Haas and the former Japanese F1 constructor, ranging from sponsorship, to power units, to wind tunnel usage, and even as far as a works team deal. While these reports have been largely unfounded, with Toyota even outright denying any plans of a full-scale return to Formula One, it does not rule out a potential partnership with Toyota alongside Haas’ current partners.
A showcar with an Audi Formula One livery© Audi AG
Audi has united with BP, securing a technical partnership with the oil and gas company for its 2026 F1 project. The company will supply the Audi team with the fuel – which will be 100% sustainable – for 2026, as well as various other lubricants, greases, oils, and thermal liquids. BP has already been working with Audi during the development of the German car maker’s V6 turbo hybrid Formula One engine, which already has simulated race distances under its belt. The deal also includes sponsorship space for BP as well as its brands Castrol and Aral.
The FIA will test an experimental air conditioning system for drivers at the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, following through on a promise to prevent a repeat of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Extreme temperatures in that race pushed many drivers to their limits, with Logan Sargeant retiring in the closing laps due to heatstroke and Lance Stroll passing out after the race. The new system will channel cooled air directly to the driver and will be fitted to a single car as part of the initial test. If, after additional tests at other races this season, the system proves to be effective, the FIA plans to make it mandatory at races in which temperatures are hazardous.
Lewis Hamilton setting in his Mercedes in the garage during practice for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix© Daimler AG
The Mercedes team had a busy Friday morning ahead of the first free practice session, as they were impacted by the global tech outage that crippled many businesses around the world. The glitch was caused by a faulty software update from the American-based cybersecurity company CrowdStrike and impacted an estimated 8.5 million computers running Microsoft Windows, including airports, banks, healthcare facilities, and government systems. CrowdStrike has been partnered with Mercedes since 2019, with the company providing the team with numerous tech services. CrowdStrike was able to quickly identify the issue and Mercedes had applied the necessary fix to all of their systems before the start of FP1.
The action got underway at the Hungaroring under extremely hot temperatures for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz found his way to the top of the timing sheet in FP1, despite the early pace being set by Max Verstappen. Oscar Piastri spent some of the morning trapped in the garage with a technical issue, although it didn’t hamper his mileage during the session. Both McLarens finished behind Zhou Guanyu, who drove his Sauber to an impressive fifth position. Oliver Bearman continued his preparations for 2025, taking over Nico Hulkenberg’s car, but both Haas cars were the slowest in the field.
Lando Norris topped the second free practice session, after what he considered to be a disappointing race last time out at Silverstone. Charles Leclerc’s session came to an early end after spinning into the barriers at turn 4 just 15 minutes into the session, bringing out the red flags. Zhou Guanyu very nearly suffered a similar fate in turn 4, almost collecting Sergio Perez in the process. Yuki Tsunoda had a difficult session with limited running due to a suspension change early in the session.
McLaren found themselves at the top of the table at the end of the final free practice session on Saturday morning, with Lando Norris leading the 1-2. Max Verstappen set a time worthy of third place, potentially worrying the Dutchman, who was aiming to return to the top of the podium this weekend after fierce competition from rivals in the last few races. It was a relatively uneventful session, as the teams worked hard to prepare for qualifying in the afternoon.
Qualifying was much more chaotic, with Lando Norris securing pole position in a McLaren front-row lockout. Temperatures began to cool and raindrops began to fall ahead of Q1. Sergio Perez crashed into the barriers halfway into the session, bringing out the red flags and ensuring he would not improve upon his P16 time. The rain intensified during the stoppage but quickly cleared up. George Russell set a P10 time when the session resumed, but it was beaten in the closing minutes of the session by drivers on a slightly drier circuit, knocking the Mercedes driver out of the session. Teammate Lewis Hamilton was nearly eliminated from Q2 but managed to narrowly beat Nico Hulkenberg by only 0.01s. Max Verstappen took the early lead in Q3, with the threat of rain toward the end of the session putting a lot of pressure on the opening runs, but Norris set a quicker time. The session was red-flagged for an unusual accident for Yuki Tsunoda, who launched into the barriers off of the kerbs on the outside of turn 5. The session resumed with only 2:13 remaining, causing a mad dash to set fast laps. Carlos Sainz was the only driver unable to set a final lap, although he was still able to secure P4 alongside Verstappen on the second row of the grid.
Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri (from front to back) go three abreast in the first corner on the first lap of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix© Pirelli & C SpA
The two McLarens would keep the top two spots by the end of the race, but in a swapped position after a heated intra-team political battle. Despite Lando Norris’ best efforts, Oscar Piastri took the race lead in the first corner. Max Verstappen tried to go around the outside of both the McLarens but was forced wide off the circuit. He rejoined ahead of Norris but was advised by his team to give back the position. This was only the start of what turned out to be a very frustrating day for the World Championship leader. He was perhaps the most angry we’ve ever seen. After multiple tense exchanges on the team radio, Verstappen’s frustrations bubbled up into a late-race collision with Lewis Hamilton when attempting to promote himself to P3. The Dutchman had braked too late to make the corner. The McLaren radio was also full of angry messages for most of the second half. Norris was pitted first in the second pit window to cover off an undercut threat from Hamilton. This gave Norris the lead and the McLaren pit wall spent the rest of the race urging the Brit to allow Piastri to retake P1. Norris eventually obliged with two laps remaining in the race but made his disappointment known by throwing the P2 hat to the floor in the driver cooldown room. But it was still a great result for McLaren in Hungary, with Piastri picking up his first career victory in McLaren’s first 1-2 finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Click here to read the full recap of this dramatic race.
Only a single race now stands between Formula One and the summer break. Some teams will undoubtedly be eagerly awaiting some time to cool things down, in what is shaping up to be a fantastic championship battle.
