This Week – 02/02/2025
Hello welcome to This Week, the scramble for Africa is on as South Africa extends the bidding process as Madrid steps up its preparations for its return next year. There is more turbulence at the FIA with more experienced stewards and officials leaving, politics doesn’t stop. F1 is slowly waking from its short winter with six weeks until Melbourne and an important year going into next year’s regulation changes.
General News
The South African government has extended the deadline to submit host bids for a Grand Prix in the country. A bid for Kyalami’s return to the calendar collapsed in 2023 and the country has continued its efforts to end its three-decade wait for a return.
As previously reported, the country’s Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture commissioned a Bid Steering Committee to invite bids from potential promoters and host organisers for the race.
Kyalami, which last hosted the race in 1993, is one frontrunner, pending ongoing work to elevate the circuit to the required FIA Grade 1 standard. The second bid is from Cape Town which has put forward two options a street circuit which hosted Formula E in 2023 or building a purpose-built circuit.
The original deadline was on Friday but has now been extended by almost two months to the 18th of March to allow more bidders to file an expression of interest to DSAC. A statement said, “The Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Bid Steering Committee (BSC), has extended the submission deadline for the Request for Expression of Interest (RFEOI) for South Africa’s Formula 1 Grand Prix bid to 18 March 2025.”
“This extension aims to give stakeholders additional time to submit comprehensive, well-structured proposals in line with RFEOI [Request for Expression of Interest] requirements. The Ministry is committed to a transparent and competitive process to secure this prestigious motorsport event.
The end of January was not the only ambitious deadline mentioned in the 37-page request, with the document referring to a return of the race by 2026 for 2027. The 2026 calendar is already full, with Mexico expecting to beat Imola to the last available slot. Hosting a race by 2027 will equally be an aggressive target.
The minister responsible Gayton McKenzie continued his vocal campaign to bring F1 back, having met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali for exploratory talks in Baku last year, which prompted him to claim the race “is going to happen”.
McKenzie has now said: “Hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix would boost our economy, tourism and development while showcasing South Africa as a premier global sporting destination. This extension ensures bidders have the time to prepare exceptional proposals.”
The mayor of Madrid Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida has insisted that the city’s return to the Spanish capital is progressing “as planned” ahead of its debut in 2026. A year ago it was announced the rights to the Spanish Grand Prix had been won by Madrid with a hybrid permeant/street circuit around the IFEMA convention centre and will have a length of 5.47km.
The aim of the City Council and the organisers of the race is to begin work on the facilities and the circuit in April. Five offers have been submitted, two from two construction companies and three from business conglomerates, to lead the construction of the required facilities.
The deadline for the execution of the works to have everything ready for the grand prix is fourteen months, so even starting in May would still give the city some margin, since the race is expected to be held in September next year.
Speaking on Monday to Europa Press, Martinez-Almeida urged to stay “calm” and insisted the race “will be held and will be a success.” Martinez-Almeida said all the parties involved are working “very intensely to be able to make it a reality” and that everything was moving forward “as planned”.
The mayor also accused his political rivals claiming he will use public money for the F1 race, saying “the Spanish Government has provided €70 million for the America’s Cup to be held in Barcelona or that the Catalan institutions spend €50 million for Formula 1 in Barcelona”.
FIA
The FIA has announced a further clamp down on the way teams can bend both the front and rear wings with a new load test to be introduced in Melbourne. From the opening race, the FIA will expand the static deflection tests measuring the rear wings, and it will also be introducing additional front-wing tests from the Spanish GP at the start of June.
The move presents a U-turn for the FIA which initially said it was satisfied with its current tests, given the difficulty of imposing further tests that would work well across F1 teams’ varying wing designs. On Friday, it issued a new draft directive, which is effectively an amendment to the regulations.
TD018 is designed to stop aero elasticity from being such a big talking point among teams over the new season, by reducing flexing by 5mm from 15mm to 10mm along with other measurements. The governing body said its analysis aimed to ensure that “bodywork flexibility is no longer a point of contention for the 2025 season.”
Adding, “As part of this effort, we will be increasing the scope of rear wing tests from the start of the 2025 season, and additional front wing tests being introduced from the Spanish GP.”
“This phased approach allows teams to adapt without the need to discard existing components unnecessarily. These adjustments are aimed at further refining our ability to monitor and enforce bodywork flexibility regulations, ensuring a level playing field for all competitors to promote fair and exciting racing.”
Motorsport.com says that it understands he delay is to help the teams adjust to the stricter tests without having to discard their front wing for the start of the 2025 season, with some teams intending to stick to their 2024 wings.
Aero-elasticity has become a huge talking point over the 2022-25 rules cycle, as the current generation of venturi cars has been extremely difficult for teams to balance between low and high-speed corners.
The FIA has sacked former driver Johnny Herbert as a steward. The governing body said that Herbert’s “duties as an FIA steward and that of a media pundit were incompatible”.
The statement added that the decision was made “with regret” and that the three-time race winner was “widely respected and brought invaluable experience and expertise to his role”. The governing body has not commented further, but it’s believed that it is due to commenting on decisions he had been involved in as an FIA steward on several betting websites.
Herbert was involved in a public row with former rival Jos Verstappen, after his son Max was given a penalty where the Englishman was a steward. Verstappen was given two ten-second penalties for two incidents with McLaren’s Lando Norris on the same lap.
His father Jos Verstappen said after the race that “the FIA should take a good look at the staffing of the stewards, who they put there and whether there is no appearance of a conflict of interest”.
In an interview conducted via a gambling outlet, Herbert rejected accusations of British bias as “ridiculous”, and described Max Verstappen as “very worldly – he’s very open to chat about anything and you have a really nice conversation with him”.
But he defended the decision made, calling Verstappen’s driving “over the top” and saying the way he drove against Norris in Mexico “frustrates me massively” and that the Dutchman had got into “this horrible mindset of trying to gain an advantage by taking a fellow driver off the race track”.
Herbert is the second experienced steward to be sacked by the FIA in just over two months. Tim Mayer was sacked following a row with President Mohammed Ben Sulayem because the Emirati “took offence” at the contents of an appeal document filed by the Circuit of the Americas.
In addition to the deputy F2 race director Janette Tan, the F1 race director Niels Wittich and FIA compliance officer Paolo Basarri. Trade union the GPDA and some national bodies, known as ASN’s, have also criticised the running of the governing body, stewarding, and new rules approved last month that opponents say reduce accountability at the organisation.
McLaren
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has welcomed the announcement by the FIA to make stewarding more professional, suggesting that teams could help pay their wages. Last month the governing body announced it was creating a new officials department to train up more qualified race officials, including stewards and race directors.
This comes against the backdrop of President Mohamed Ben Sulayem sounding the alarm bells over what he feels is a lack of trained officials coming through. But Ben Sulayem has faced a lot of criticism over the last year including the sacking of race directors Niels Wittich and Janette Tan, as well as long-time stewards Tim Mayer, as well as other departures from the governing body.
The latest departure was Johnny Herbert, the former driver and broadcaster resigned on Wednesday over unease over the combination of officiating and his punditry work.
One key element is the desire to have more remunerated, full-time officials rather than relying on volunteers as is currently the case, although questions remain over who would foot the bill.
Speaking at Autosport Business Exchange: London on Wednesday, McLaren chief Brown said he would welcome full-time FIA race stewards and would accept McLaren paying a percentage towards their wages.
Brown said, “To have part-time, unpaid stewards in a multi-billion-dollar sport where everything is on the line to make the right call… I don’t think we are set up for success by not having full-time stewards.”
“The individuals are fine but the rulebook is too restrictive. I’d like us to take a step back, loosen it up. Have full-time stewards who can make more of a subjective decision of whether that was right or wrong.” But the McLaren boss accepted paying for stewards would be unpopular with other teams.
He argued they should contribute to professional stewarding if they truly want to see improvements to the current system, which has come under frequent criticism.
On Wednesday Oscar Piastri took part in a Pirelli 2026 tyre test at Paul Ricard, however, he was unable to complete his morning running in the MCL60 because. Of extremely cold conditions, with some areas of the track surface only reaching -2C.
However, the programme was able to run as planned in the afternoon, meaning that the Australian completed the day’s programme with a total mileage of 120 laps and a best time of 07.008.
Lando Norris took over running on Thursday where the focus was on wet and inters, but as of Friday, no information has been given at time of editing. Further testing will be conducted throughout the year as Pirelli prepares for the 2026 regulations.
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has reported made several adjustment requests for Ferrari following his first test with his new team. According to Italian media, the seven-time champion struggled with the pedals.
Hamilton is believed to have experimented with various adjustments to the pedals but was unable to find a comfortable solution for his maiden test. The seven-time also used teammate Charles Leclerc’s steering wheel as a base to develop his own preferences.
According to Italian AutoRacer, Ferrari has acted swiftly to Hamilton’s requests. AutoRacer reports Hamilton has already received the pedal changes he requested which they added “required a lot of work”. Hamilton is set to get the solution during his second round of testing with Ferrari this week.
Ferrari booked out Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from 28-30 January for a further three days of private testing. Hamilton and Leclerc will be completing these runs under TPC regulations with teams allowed 1,000km of testing in previous cars. Hamilton will also have an extra Pirelli tyre test also in Barcelona next week, while a shakedown test is also expected.
This week the team announced the 2025 car would be called the SF-25, following recent naming conventions. Last week the team announced they would launch in London on 19th February the day after the sport’s inaugural season launch at The O2, it will be new signing Hamilton’s first car as a Ferrari driver.
Red Bull
Red Bull says it will keep an open mind about developing low-drag rear wings for 2025 after Max Verstappen voiced his frustration over not having a bespoke design. Last season the team did not develop a bespoke low-drag rear wing and instead trimmed its existing design for low downforce circuits like Monza and Las Vegas.
That put them on the back foot and having to find compromises at those types of circuits, thus costing them top speed and performance. Verstappen, who took his fourth straight world title at Vegas after finishing fifth and was a distant sixth in Italy, felt Red Bull had left itself exposed at races requiring low-downforce set-up without a dedicated rear wing.
He said after Vegas, “It feels a bit like we throw away two race weekends like this because you definitely lose too much on the straights. We would have liked to have a lower wing, a lower-downforce wing, or at least a different shape, a more efficient shape. But on the other hand, there’s only one more year left with these rules, and I don’t know if it makes sense.”
But the four-time champion also admitted Red Bull may need to stick to the current development path because of the budget cap and because of the 2026 regulation changes.
Technical director Pierre Wache remains pragmatic over the team’s 2025 strategy and while the team will look at different options in time for September’s Monza round, it may not make sense to develop another wing. Wache told Motorsport.com, “It has to do with the budget cap, but also with what you found.”
Adding, “It is not because you have a different shape than the other teams that it is worse. When you have a massive balance issue, then I don’t know if the rear wing was the main issue. We will look at it, what to do next season and if we find something better.”
He also says Red Bull might not necessarily find a low downforce rear wing design that actually works better with the design of its 2025 car.
Red Bull will launch its car during a filming day on the eve of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on Tuesday 25th February. otorsport.com understands Red Bull will shake down the RB21 one day before the new season properly gets underway with three days of official testing at the Sakhir circuit.
Verstappen will get his first miles with his new car, and his new teammate Liam Lawson will also take the wheel of the RB21 ahead of his official Red Bull debut in Bahrain. Last year Red Bull opted to hold its filming with Verstappen and Perez at Silverstone, a day which was affected by rain.
All teams will launch the cars at the O2 Arena in London on 18th February as F1 celebrates its 75th anniversary.
Mercedes
Mercedes will unveil their 2025 car in Sakhir, Bahrain on 24th February, two days before the start of testing at the circuit. The W16 will be the team’s first car since the 2012 W03 not to be raced by Lewis Hamilton, as it prepares for a season with its new line-up of George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The team has traditionally done its launch and shake-down at Silverstone, but it has opted for the warmer conditions in Bahrain. The team t will reveal the car on 24 February, before putting it through its paces in a filming day the following day. Pre-season testing will then take place at the Sakhir venue from 26-28 February, before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on 14-16 March.
Mercedes finished fourth in the 2024 constructors’ championship and, although it returned to winning ways after a lean 2023, its W15 was plagued by a narrow set-up window and frequent overheating of the rear tyres.
Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin theorised that the team was also hurt by a perceived lag in its update schedule versus the other frontrunning squads, as it needed time to understand the all-new concept developed for 2024.
Mercedes announced that Antonelli has also passed his road driving test in Italy ahead of his debut season. Eighteen is the minimum age to drive a car in Italy and on Wednesday Mercedes posted on X congratulating Antonelli on securing his driving licence. Antonelli already had secured his Super Licence, which is required to race.
CEO and team principal Toto Wolff compared seeing Lewis Hamilton arrive at Ferrari with seeing a divorced partner in a new relationship, but has wished his former driver well ahead of the new season.
Although Hamilton’s intention to move to Ferrari was a year ago, Wolff said he still had an emotional reaction when he saw the first images of Hamilton at Maranello. He told Sky Sports at the Autosport Awards, “”It’s a little bit like you divorce amicably, and it’s all good, and then you see your partner for the first time with a new friend!”
“But I’m really happy for him, and I told him that those pictures were iconic that he made it was so well curated and no surprise with Lewis.”
Looking ahead to 2025, after a mixed 2024 with four wins but a car which performance fluctuated significantly depending on track layout and conditions. Wolff said the season left the team with plenty of questions and possible solutions going into 2025, but it will only know if it has answered them in Australia.
Adding “We were scratching our head a lot last year, particularly in the beginning. Like all the other teams, we had ups and downs; we had some very dominant performances and then other races that were not so good.”
Aston Martin
Incoming managing technical partner Adrian Newey says his decision to leave Red Bull last year stemmed from being “honest with myself”. Newey made the shock decision to bow out of Red Bull last May before joining Aston Martin in September, though the reason for his departure was unclear but was believed to be linked to the fractional fighting within the team.
In an interview with the German publication AMuS, Newey discussed his decision to leave Red Bull but not retire from F1. He said, “Well I think that goes back slightly. If you said to me 12 months ago that I would be leaving Red Bull and then now ultimately starting again, I’d have said no, you’re crazy.”
“But for various reasons, I felt I wouldn’t be true to myself if I stayed at Red Bull. The first difficult decision was exactly that – do I stay or not at Red Bull? We came to the conclusion and being honest with myself I couldn’t.
“Having made that decision it was then what to do next? With my wife Mandy, we discussed various things. I am in the lucky position where I don’t need to work financially. It could have been to simply retire and sit on the beach, or it could be to do something completely different – America’s Cup or maybe work for one of the OEMs in road cars or stay in racing.”
Newey will officially join the team on 3rd March, two weeks before the opening race in Melbourne