Double Max Verstappen punishment; Lewis Hamilton mistake under scrutiny

Friday’s fast-paced F1 news wrap includes Red Bull driver Max Verstappen being punished following an incident in practice at this weekend’s GT3 race at Portimao.

With F2 boss Bruno Michel weighing in on Colton Herta’s struggles, and Lewis Hamilton under scrutiny after his Singapore Grand Prix strategy error, here’s today’s roundup…

Max Verstappen gets double punishment for FP1 incident – but avoids Portimao GT3 grid penalty

Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen was given a reprimand and one Behavioural Warning Point following a collision in FP1 at this weekend’s GT World Challenge race at Portimao.

Verstappen, the winner of the last two F1 races in Malaysia and Singapore, is back racing in GT3 machinery this weekend.

The four-time world champion made contact with a rival minutes into the first practice session of the weekend.

F2 boss: Colton Herta ‘underestimated’ challenge of adapting to F2 from IndyCar

Formula 2 chief executive Bruno Michel says Colton Herta may have “underestimated” the challenge of adapting from IndyCar in 2026.

A multiple race winner in IndyCar, Herta moved to F2 for this season with a view to a future F1 promotion with Cadillac.

Herta recently cast doubt on his future in F2 having scored points on just five occasions.

Max Verstappen ‘almost jinxed myself’ with GianPiero Lambiase conversation

Max Verstappen has revealed that he “almost jinxed” himself by reassuring GianPiero Lambiase last year that they would win many more races together.

Lambiase aired his concerns to Verstappen following last year’s Las Vegas Grand Prix that it could prove to be his last time on the podium.

The engineer, who will move to McLaren in due course, joined Verstappen on the podium at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix as Red Bull collected a second straight win.

Haas reveals Toyota conversation ahead of Rafael Camara signing for F1 2027

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that he personally visited the Toyota chairman to avoid “any misunderstanding” over the signing of Rafael Camara.

Komatsu said the Japanese manufacturer had wanted a Toyota-backed driver at Haas by 2027 when a technical partnership between the two parties was first struck in 2024.

The Haas boss said Toyota “was completely happy” with the team’s decision to sign the fastest driver available for 2027.

Opinion: The great Lewis Hamilton misconception

Ferrari has been told since early 2025 to follow Lewis Hamilton’s advice in order to end its title drought.

Yet being a great driver does not automatically make Hamilton an effective team leader.

His disastrous strategy choice at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix seemed to prove the point.

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