New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nNot every team will succeed.<\/p>\n
MERCEDES NEEDS\u2026 THE SEALING UPGRADE<\/p>\n
Mercedes has played a high-risk iterative upgrade plan with its 2026 car. Despite its early domination of the sport, its grip has slackened progressively over the season as other teams have caught up with massive upgrade after massive upgrade.<\/p>\n
After taking the first 10 poles of the season, it\u2019s claimed just one of the last four. It won the first six grands prix in a row but has won only half of the last eight races \u2014 and it would\u2019ve been less than that had the VSC not benefited Andrea Kimi Antonelli in Madrid.<\/p>\n
McLaren appears to believe Lando Norris could close his 106-point title deficit. McLaren is an unlikely 197 points behind Mercedes on the constructors table, while Ferrari is a little closer, at 145 points adrift.<\/p>\n
These are big margins, but it\u2019s true also that momentum has been moving away from Mercedes.<\/p>\n
The success of its go-slow upgrade strategy will be decided in the next fortnight, when it brings its one remaining upgrade at the Malaysian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we\u2019ll make a decent step,\u201d trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin told the Silver Arrows Radio Show podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to be out front by miles, but hopefully we\u2019ll be back into a position where we can really go into qualifying knowing that we\u2019re fighting for pole.\u201d<\/p>\n
If it can reassert dominance, then its championship-winning moment will come into view as soon as the United States Grand Prix in late October.<\/p>\n
Horror pit stop costs Norris the lead | 00:44<\/p>\n
FERRARI NEEDS\u2026 COMPOSURE (AND SPEED)<\/p>\n
What on paper should have been a highly productive run of races for Ferrari on either side of the mid-season break has instead been a phenomenal disappointment.<\/p>\n
The team hasn\u2019t touched the podium since the Belgian Grand Prix way back in July. What at first was a story of missed chances and fumbled strategies has become one of being jumped by McLaren and gradually seeing those mid-year gains washed away.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s opened up all the same old wounds we\u2019re used to seeing at the Italian team.<\/p>\n
Friction and disagreement have spilt into the public sphere. Lewis Hamilton has been forced to deny reports that he\u2019s agitating for staff changes. There are further reports his relationship with team boss Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Vasseur has weakened \u2014 and that Vasseur is not totally secure in the top job.<\/p>\n
True or not, it\u2019s the sort of stuff that\u2019s eaten away at Ferrari historically.<\/p>\n
Hamilton knows the title is gone, and Ferrari must know deep down it\u2019s not going to catch Mercedes. But it needs to end the year strongly \u2014 and developing the sort of composure it needs to have a better crack next season.<\/p>\n
To do so will also require the next round of upgrades to deliver, having delayed them for more wind tunnel time. When they finally arrive next month, they must restore some of the momentum from the middle of the season lest Ferrari end the year looking directionless \u2014 and lest infighting resurface.<\/p>\n
Piastri’s race ruined by opening clash | 00:32<\/p>\n
McLAREN NEEDS\u2026 PIASTRI BACK IN THE FIGHT<\/p>\n
McLaren has almost certainly left it too late to defend either championship this year \u2014 though CEO Zak Brown remains optimistic the season is still alive \u2014 but the team\u2019s momentum is no less important.<\/p>\n
Having changed development tack and delivered a race-winning car \u2014 the fastest car at three of the last four grands prix \u2014 McLaren is mounting a credible case to be considered Mercedes\u2019s chief rival next season, when it can begin rebuilding its dynasty.<\/p>\n
To do so, though, it will need Oscar Piastri in the fight.<\/p>\n
In 2024 and 2025 Oscar Piastri was the highest-scoring driver during the European season. This year, however, he couldn\u2019t find his groove.<\/p>\n
Drivers championship, European season<\/p>\n
1. Andrea Kimi Antonelli: 161 points<\/p>\n
2. Lando Norris: 128 points<\/p>\n
3. George Russell: 123 points<\/p>\n
4. Lewis Hamilton: 119 points<\/p>\n
5. Max Verstappen: 102 points<\/p>\n
6. Charles Leclerc: 92 points<\/p>\n
7. Oscar Piastri: 72 points<\/p>\n
8. Isack Hadjar: 57 points<\/p>\n
Piastri\u2019s score gap has repercussions for the constructors championship too.<\/p>\n
Constructors championship, European season<\/p>\n
1. Mercedes: 284 points<\/p>\n
2. Ferrari: 211 points<\/p>\n
3. McLaren: 200 points<\/p>\n
4. Red Bull Racing: 165 points<\/p>\n
The reasons for Piastri\u2019s struggles boil down largely to a driving style that he hasn\u2019t been able to match to the car. Team principal Andrea Stella says the team will be helping Piastri with some of the techniques it used to haul Norris back into contention in the middle of last season.<\/p>\n
Piastri will be itching to get himself back into title contention next year and write off 2026 as a necessary learning season during which neither championship was genuinely up for grabs.<\/p>\n
McLaren must get him there, because having the car but not both drivers in the fight won\u2019t be enough to claim the constructors title.<\/p>\n
Lando refuses to ditch the Coca-Cola! | 00:17<\/p>\n
RED BULL RACING NEEDS\u2026 A VICTORY, ANY VICTORY<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen hasn\u2019t had a winless season in Formula 1 since claiming his maiden in 2016.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also never waited longer than 15 rounds for his first win \u2014 and this weekend is round 15.<\/p>\n
The team that dominated the 2023 season so ruthlessly has yet to really fire a shot this season.<\/p>\n
Verstappen has no wins and only six podiums from 14 rounds, and each top-three finish has seemed more miraculous than the last, won largely off the back of the four-time champion\u2019s individual brilliance.<\/p>\n
Throughout, however, he\u2019s complained about a car with myriad problems, including a feeling that the car is aerodynamically degrading over a race stint, almost as though it were picking up damage with every lap.<\/p>\n
That frustration is combined with the bizarre engine concession situation that has resulted in Red Bull Powertrains being judged to have the best internal combustion engine and therefore denied upgrade chances offered to every other manufacturer.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a feeling that Red Bull Racing didn\u2019t play the political game strongly enough as other brands attempted to game the concession measurement system \u2014 a highly uncharacteristic accusation by historical standards for this team.<\/p>\n
The gains that were made after the team\u2019s dire start to the season have plateaued, leaving it adrift of the top three.<\/p>\n
Despite Red Bull Racing having locked down Verstappen on a longer contract this year, the problems at the heart of the team that triggered speculation that the Dutchman could exit largely remain. One crisis may have been averted, but the sense of listlessness has yet to be cleared.<\/p>\n
“Tell me if you’re going to fix it!” | 00:48<\/p>\n
RACING BULLS NEEDS\u2026 LIAM LAWSON BACK<\/p>\n
With all due respect to Yuki Tsunoda, who did admirably in his last-minute call-up, Racing Bulls could really use Liam Lawson back at the helm.<\/p>\n
Lawson has been key to the team sitting fifth in the standings, having never finished a season higher than sixth in its decades-long history, predating even Red Bull\u2019s ownership.<\/p>\n
Before the Dutch Grand Prix, Lawson had almost twice the score of rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad, and though Lindblad has done well in the Kiwi\u2019s absence, chances for bigger scores have gone begging as Tsunoda found his feat in F1 2026.<\/p>\n
In the three rounds Lawson has been at Red Bull Racing, Alpine has outscored Racing Bulls 16-7, closing the gap in the battle for fifth to just nine points.<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing has yet to confirm whether Isack Hadjar will return from injury this weekend.<\/p>\n
Racing Bulls will surely be hoping the Frenchman is fighting fit so that it can get its leader back to seal its best-ever title finish.<\/p>\n
F1 backs Middle East return in 2027 | 00:54<\/p>\n
ALPINE NEEDS\u2026 CONSISTENCY FROM FRANCO COLAPINTO<\/p>\n
Alpine has been able to count on a greater points contribution from Franco Colapinto \u2014 not difficult when the Argentine was scoreless last season \u2014 but though the pace has returned, the consistency is still a work in progress.<\/p>\n
Take qualifying as an example. Colapinto is on average 0.242s slower than Gasly \u2014 the second-largest margin in the sport, though by no means a thrashing \u2014 but when he\u2019s behind, he\u2019s 0.455s behind.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s on average qualifying 2.3 places behind Gasly, but when he\u2019s behind, he\u2019s 4.4 places behind \u2014 and it\u2019s much the same in the race, when his average 2.2-place deficit blows out to 4.2 places.<\/p>\n
Heartening is that Colapinto has shown a greater propensity to pick up the pieces on the rare weekends Gasly hasn\u2019t been able to \u2014 like in Madrid, when he made Q3 and scored in his teammate\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
But what could last year\u2019s last-placed team achieve in 2026 if Colapinto could raise his floor?<\/p>\n
Kimi Antonelli claims Spanish Grand Prix | 01:32<\/p>\n
HAAS NEEDS\u2026 MORE FUNDING<\/p>\n
Despite Cadillac being a brand-new team in 2026, Haas is still the smallest constructor in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
The reason boils down to owner Gene Haas being willing to tip only so much money into the team, even as it continues punching above its weight.<\/p>\n
It means Haas is the only team not hitting the US$215 million (A$301.3 million) budget cap. Already under-resourced via infrastructure, it\u2019s also effectively fighting with one arm behind its back.<\/p>\n
The budget cap has done a lot of lifting to reduce and contain field spread in Formula 1, but Haas\u2019s inability to reach it also explains why the team tends to start seasons well and then slide backwards \u2014 it is, bar Williams, the team sliding down the order fastest this year.<\/p>\n
Without more money, the team can\u2019t expand staff or upgrade facilities.<\/p>\n
But team principal Ayao Komatsu says he is \u201cvery positive\u201d about next year\u2019s financial proposition amid rumours that he\u2019s close to signing BWT, the current Alpine title sponsor.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no exaggeration to say a major sponsorship deal would change this team\u2019s outlook. At a time an increasing number of teams are backed by manufacturers or big spenders, Haas risks being permanently left behind without it.<\/p>\n
CARNAGE as Max takes on 100 drivers | 02:04<\/p>\n
AUDI NEEDS\u2026 BETTER STARTS<\/p>\n
Audi has made a reputable start to its Formula 1 history, even if it already owned the former Sauber team prior to this year\u2019s rebranding.<\/p>\n
Given that acquisition, the biggest question has been its first-ever F1 engine. Again, it\u2019s been a commendable effort, but it has some notable rough edges.<\/p>\n
The starts are the biggest one.<\/p>\n
Across 18 starts \u2014 14 grands prix and four sprints \u2014 Nico H\u00fclkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto have lost a cumulative 68 places, by far the most of any team.<\/p>\n
On average its drivers are dropping 2.1 places per start.<\/p>\n
The next-worst constructor is Red Bull Racing, which has shipped a cumulative 43 places in that time \u2014 but Red Bull Racing is starting higher up the grid, where there\u2019s more to lose.<\/p>\n
Every other midfield team \u2014 including both Haas and Alpine, just ahead on the title table \u2014 both gain around one place on average off the line.<\/p>\n
When the battle for points is so tight, the starts make a difference.<\/p>\n
2027 Aussie Grand Prix gets sprint race | 01:29<\/p>\n
WILLIAMS NEEDS\u2026 ITS BAKU UPGRADE TO WORK<\/p>\n
Williams overperformed last year with its comfortable fifth, which has made this year\u2019s underperformance look even worse than it already is.<\/p>\n
The car was late to debut in testing due to development problems \u2014 despite having given up on its 2025 car earlier than almost anyone else to get a jump on 2026 \u2014 and when it did hit the track, it was overweight and slow.<\/p>\n
Though it took some small step forward during the year, it\u2019s been moving further and further back on one-lap pace. It\u2019s been ahead of only Cadillac and Aston Martin for the last three weekends \u2014 and it was behind Aston four rounds ago, in Hungary.<\/p>\n
The team has focused its resources on a big upgrade due this weekend in Baku, but it\u2019s already attempted to talk down its potential. Effectively it\u2019s putting this year in the bin in the hope of starting fresh in 2027.<\/p>\n
But this weekend\u2019s upgrade has to work. While James Vowles has emphasised the team has decades-old structural issues that will take time to rectify, it needs some reason to hope that the trajectory exceeded last year wasn\u2019t wrong.<\/p>\n
Acosta crashes out of Austria Sprint | 01:12<\/p>\n
ASTON MARTIN NEEDS\u2026 RULE CHANGES IN ITS FAVOUR<\/p>\n
Aston Martin hoped for so much more this season, but a combination of a dire debut car and Honda\u2019s problematic power unit has left it anchored to the back of the grid, battling only with Cadillac most weekends.<\/p>\n
An almost certain 10th in the championship is far, far below expectations for the big-spending team.<\/p>\n
But the season might not be totally wasted.<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso\u2019s reticence to confirm whether he\u2019ll keep racing next year \u2014 paddock consensus is that he almost certainly will \u2014 appears to have given the team and Honda some leverage to urge for rule changes in their favour.<\/p>\n
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said in Madrid last weekend that he was open to changing the rules to ensure the final chapter of Alonso\u2019s career wouldn\u2019t be so grim.<\/p>\n
Reports since have suggested that Ben Sulayem was referring to work ongoing behind the scenes with other teams and manufacturers to change the engine concession rules to help Honda catch up more quickly.<\/p>\n
After all, this was supposed to be the purpose of the concession rule; the idea that the regulations have given Ferrari and Honda the same benefits \u2014 and that Mercedes has also got a concession upgrade \u2014 demonstrates the work to do.<\/p>\n
Alonso, forever a wily political operator, and Aston Martin could be the combination to break the inertia around correcting this regulation.<\/p>\n
At least that would mean they\u2019d have got something out of this year.<\/p>\n
Acosta claims MotoGP win | 01:42<\/p>\n
CADILLAC NEEDS\u2026 TO FINISH SOME RACES<\/p>\n
Cadillac has made a perfectly respectable start to life as a Formula 1 team. Some thought the American brand would be lucky to qualify for races at all; instead it spent much of the first half of the year outperforming Aston Martin.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s hard not to feel that it\u2019s hit something of a ceiling in the middle of the year. Both Sergio P\u00e9rez and Valtteri Bottas have said as much publicly in different ways, and the executive obviously thinks similarly given it axed team principal Graeme Lowdon during the mid-season break.<\/p>\n
Only five times this season has Cadillac got both cars to the finish, and most concerning is the number of times the failures to finish have been caused by recurring problems, most notably overheating brakes.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s left Cadillac having completed only 6212km or racing out of a possible maximum of 8482km.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s 2270km less experience working as a team, understanding the car\u2019s performance, debugging reliability issues.<\/p>\n
Kilometres are what matter to new teams, and if Cadillac is to take a step forward next year, kilometres are what it needs from the final stage of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The European leg of the Formula 1 season has ended, and as summer turns to autumn in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-900557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790028252_995_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n