Bortoleto: Max and I really hit it off.
Gabriel Bortoleto met Max Verstappen at age 11 at a karting event and told Racingnews365 in an interview that over the years they have become true friends…

Gabriel Bortoleto: “Max and I have become great friends. These days you often see us together when we go out, stream, play games and all that. Obviously, in Formula 1 we’ve grown closer to each other since we race together. Max is a wonderful person. Many people don’t know, but he has helped me a lot throughout my career.
When I was racing in the junior categories, I would ask him what he thought about one contract or another. When I was about to sign a contract with McLaren, I asked him for his opinion. When I was about to move to Sauber, I asked him about that too. He’s always ready to help if I have questions. He didn’t tell me what to do, but he would give his opinion, and he was always very kind and open with me.

Sergio Pérez: I want to guarantee a successful return.
Sergio Pérez returns to Formula 1 after a one-year break. The Mexican driver described how the pause in his career helped him restore his love for racing, what differences between Cadillac and Red Bull he has already noticed, and what he expects from the upcoming season.

Sergio Pérez: "I never felt I needed a break in my career before. When you compete in Formula 1, you are constantly thinking about the next season, the next race, the next contract. It's like you are on autopilot. When you are forced to step away, as happened in my case, you start to look at the sport differently.

I feel like I've fallen back in love with Formula 1. The last six months at Red Bull were very difficult for me in every way. I began to feel demotivated toward the sport, but I couldn't allow that attitude because this sport has given me everything.

It's wrong to count the money in someone else's pockets, especially when those pockets belong to drivers risking their lives, but the Dutch Racingnews365 has compiled its version of the top five wealthiest drivers of all time and nations.

Topping this ranking is Michael Schumacher — his fortune is estimated at 790 million US dollars, or 671 million euros, or 586 million pounds, or 1 billion 180 thousand Australian dollars.

Following the German are two active drivers: Lewis Hamilton in second place with 304 million US dollars and Fernando Alonso with 264 million US dollars. The Spaniard has fewer titles, but his record is solid.

The five richest drivers according to Racingnews365

1. Michael Schumacher
$790 million

2. Lewis Hamilton
$304 million

3. Fernando Alonso
$264 million

4. Kimi Räikkönen
$254 million

5. Niki Lauda
$203 million

Lindblad: Throughout my career I've had to learn quickly.
Arvid Lindblad will debut in Formula 1 next year with Racing Bulls, having spent just one season in Formula 2. The British driver suggests that the experience gained in that junior series will be of little use in Formula 1.

Arvid Lindblad: "Formula 2 is unique. Yes, it's the final step to Formula 1, but the two championships are very different. I've learned a lot this year in Formula 2, but I don't know whether that experience will be applicable to Formula 1.
On the other hand, I've learned a lot about myself on and off the track. I've learned a great deal about working with the team, which will be especially important in Formula 1.
As for driving, it's hard for me to single out anything specific that I've learned. I progressed through the junior categories so quickly that I had to adapt and learn incredibly fast.

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is skeptical about the Scuderia's chances of winning the championship in the foreseeable future.
The Italian executive, who joined the board of directors of McLaren Group Holdings Limited, which runs the McLaren Racing division, in the summer, compared Ferrari to the football club Bologna, which he has supported for many years. Journalists from Quotidiano Nazionale asked di Montezemolo who will become champion first — Ferrari in Formula 1 or Bologna winning the Italian championship.
Luca di Montezemolo's answer was short but categorical: "Given the current situation in Maranello, Bologna will lift the trophy first."
After fifteen games of the current season, Bologna sit sixth in the Serie A table, eight points behind leaders Inter. The last time the team won Serie A was in the 1963–64 season.

Describing a possible title fight in the 2026 season, George Russell spoke about a rivalry with Max Verstappen...
George Russell: "I know for sure that I can compete with the best. Obviously, Max is the benchmark right now — he's the one I'd like to go one-on-one with. I think only his fans might doubt my pace — and I'll be happy to prove them wrong.
Max is the only driver you'd want to be in the same team with to gauge your competitiveness.
I always think of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, who needed five years to win the championship. People remember only the years of his peak, but no one remembers 1996 and 1997. I hope a better future awaits me too."

Today legendary Formula 1 engineer Adrian Newey turned 67.
The British specialist has won with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing over the years. The cars he designed have won 14 drivers' titles and 12 Constructors' Championships.
Newey made champions of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Häkkinen, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.
In 2012 Newey was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to motorsport. He has stepped away from Formula 1 several times, but each time he returned. Now he has taken on a new challenge and moved to Aston Martin, and there is no doubt the team will be fast. People say that "he sees the air."

The Little Hurricane. Chapter 6

In an interview with Racingnews365 Peter Sauber recalled the best days of his team and its drivers…
Peter Sauber: “What do I remember most? On the one hand — the one-two in Montreal, with BMW — or BMW with us! We really needed to win races back then.
But for me the most important thing was fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship in 2001, when there were two rookies behind the wheel: Nick Heidfeld after an unsuccessful season with Prost, and Kimi Räikkönen. Fourth place with those two guys was simply fantastic! Of course I was surprised. But Kimi had an excellent season, and Nick was brilliant too. And we had a pretty good car. In Formula 1 you need a good car.
Best driver? I can’t pick just one. They were all special. Maybe not particularly great, but special.”

Max Verstappen's race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is in talks over a move from Red Bull Racing to Aston Martin for a leadership role.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli's debut season at Mercedes was not easy, but Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff believes that everything is going according to plan... Toto Wolff: "I never doubted Kimi's pace, his talent, skills and mastery. But I think we underestimated his age. When you're thrown into this wild circus at such a young age, where you have to cope with the pressure, the journalists, and meet inevitably high expectations, it's very difficult. But I have no doubt that this year has been good for him."

Pierre Gasly: In 2026 I want to be fighting for wins.
Next year the Alpine team will switch to Mercedes power units. Pierre Gasly believes this will allow them to make gains, and hopes that in 2026 Alpine will be fighting among the frontrunners.
Pierre Gasly: "First of all, it's important to thank everyone who worked at the Viry-Châtillon facility and was involved in engine development. Those engines were heavily criticized, sometimes undeservedly, because everyone worked with maximum commitment and did everything they could.
We are opening a new chapter with Mercedes. Obviously, when you look at their achievements, at how many titles they have won, I have no doubt that we'll have an excellent collaboration. I won't lie — I'm excited about it.
From what I've already heard, the power unit has turned out great.

Günther Steiner, in an interview, commented on the season's results, evaluated the performances of the 2025 rookies, and suggested that next season could be Lewis Hamilton's last.

The new Subaru Forester Hybrid is highly practical, but it's hindered by its outdated technology.

Oscar Piastri: I'm hungry for success and ready to fight
These days in Melbourne, Oscar Piastri’s hometown, the traditional series of cricket matches between Australia and England is taking place, and the McLaren driver is appearing at the MCG as an honoured guest not for the first time.
This time the attention on him at home is especially great, because Oscar for the first time in his career was genuinely in contention for the championship title, which ultimately went to his teammate, Lando Norris.
Before the recent match, Oscar walked out to the middle of the field and, in a conversation with commentators from Australian TV channels, confessed his love for cricket, but the conversation was not only about that sport, which is very popular in the driver’s homeland.

Albon: There are signs that Williams is becoming a top team.
Alex Albon’s season was uneven – then again, the same could be said of Carlos Sainz, except that Williams’ teammates were able to shine at different stages of the championship. The Spaniard found his way with the car closer to autumn and even reached the podium a couple of times, while Albon was more assured in the first third of the season.

Alex is most proud of how he performed at the Australian round, which opened the championship: in Melbourne he started sixth and finished fifth in a race that took place in very difficult, changeable weather conditions.

“I’d say I’m proud of the first race of the year,” the championship’s official website quotes Albon as saying. “In many ways it’s an obvious choice, but it was my best result with the Williams team.

The former Top Gear producer shared memories of Kimi.
Andy Wilman is a legendary figure, and such a grand epithet does not seem an exaggeration, for it was Wilman together with Jeremy Clarkson who ran the car show Top Gear during the best years of that TV project. Then, with the same merry trio Clarkson – Richard Hammond – James May, he created the much-talked-about Grand Tour, and now, together with Jeremy, has been filming more than one season of the hugely popular Clarkson's Farm.

Wilman himself never appeared on camera, although his name was mentioned regularly, but now he took part in the Midweek F1 podcast and among other things shared memories of how he once had to deal with Kimi Räikkönen, who had just returned to Formula 1 after a two-year break with the Lotus F1 Team.

Mintzlaff preferred not to criticize Horner.
Oliver Mintzlaff preferred to distance himself from the rather harsh assessments of Christian Horner that Helmut Marko made about the former Red Bull Racing team principal in an interview with De Limburger.

It should be recalled that the 82-year-old Austrian then accused Horner of every sin, including engaging in systematic political games in which he allegedly constantly used various behind-the-scenes maneuvers.

“Let Helmut answer for such words about Christian himself,” stressed Red Bull’s executive director for corporate projects and investments in a conversation with a reporter from another Dutch paper, De Telegraaf. “I cannot say anything bad about Christian, simply because he means a great deal to Red Bull. But there always comes a moment when things are not going well and the company has to make a decision.

Alonso drove around Monaco in a very expensive Mercedes.
Formula 1 stars sometimes attract attention thanks to the very expensive cars in their private collections. For example, in early autumn Daniel Ricciardo put his hypercar, the Aston Martin Valkyrie, up for auction, and that news was immediately picked up by many publications.

But in terms of uniqueness that car is hard to compare with the vehicle Fernando Alonso recently drove onto the streets of Monaco, with his girlfriend Melissa Jimenez — the mother of their expected child — as passenger.

Among Mercedes’ sports models there is a special one, developed in 1997 in cooperation with AMG specifically for endurance racing — the Mercedes CLK GTR. But there was also a version adapted for public roads, and between 1998 and 1999 only 28 examples of that car were produced.

Resurfacing work is underway in Suzuka.
Very recently, tests of the national Super Formula series were held at Suzuka, and at the end of March next year the famous circuit will host the Japanese Grand Prix for the 36th time. It is operated by Honda Mobilityland, a division of the Honda corporation, and the winter off-season was chosen for a scheduled resurfacing of the asphalt.

At present the western part of the racing circuit is completely closed as extensive roadworks are taking place there, the circuit’s press office reported on its social media pages.

As is often the case in such situations, at the initial stage when the first races are held on newly laid asphalt, the track surface does not offer good grip — it is quite possible that this will be the case on 27 March, when the first practice sessions begin at Suzuka International Racing Course.

Chapter 7. An Expensive Purchase. Part One...