This weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix will give us the first glimpse of major management changes that have taken place in the last two weeks.
Christian Horner will not be there, having been axed by Red Bull’s Austrian HQ in some sort of power struggle. In his place, on the Red Bull Racing pitwall’s primo position, is Laurent Mekies, who has been promoted from being team principal of the Racing Bulls to top dog at the senior squad.
Racing Bull’s new boss has also been promoted from within – Alan Permane, a British F1 engineer with 36 years’ experience who previously helped Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso to world titles.
Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit which challenges the cars, drivers and people’s wardrobe choices in equal measure, thanks to its swooping high-speed terrain and bafflingly unpredictable weather. It’s a test of aerodynamics and Racing Bulls have brought upgrades they hope will help them cut through the wind.
Aston Martin, too, are bringing their biggest upgrade yet. With Nico Hulkenberg’s amazing Silverstone podium, Sauber have scaled almost all of the midfield competition. Williams are winning that fight with 59 points but then it’s the Swiss scuderia (41), followed by Racing Bulls and Aston (tied on 36), Haas (29), and the struggling equipe Alpine (19).
Ferrari are best of the rest compared to the mighty McLaren but there is no doubt Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc hoped to be closer to the front. On the face of it, Spa’s characteristics are perfect for the McLaren but Hamilton and Leclerc have strong form here, with theBritish driver last triumphing in 2024 and his team-mate taking his debut victory in 2019.
Ferrari will try out a new suspension package but Hamilton doesn’t expect it to make much difference this weekend, although it may prove beneficial at other tracks. Overall, he has not been impressed with the regularity of upgrades and is pushing extremely hard behind the scenes to get the team working in a new direction.
‘We had an upgraded floor in Bahrain and we didn’t get another upgrade until Austria. Pace-wise, we haven’t had what I thought we would have. Other teams bring small pieces every single weekend,’ said Hamilton.
Over the last fortnight he has spent four days in the Maranello factory, sitting down with team principal Fred Vasseur, CEO Benedetto Vigna and chairman John Elkann, as well as each technical head of department, to address what he needs to get back on the top step of the podium.
Hamilton revealed he had been submitting his own technical reports, and tested the 2026 car on the simulator last week for the first time. ‘It’s a big, big push. I’ve held lots of meetings, talking about the engine for next year, suspension for next year, things I want,’ added the 40-year-old.
‘After the first few races I submitted a full document to the team. Over this break I did another two documents, so I’ve gone in to address those. One was about structural adjustments we need to make to get better, and the other was about the issues I have with this current car. There are some things you do want to take on to next year’s car, and some you don’t.
‘The reason for it is I see a huge amount of potential within this team. The passion – nothing comes close. It’s a huge organisation with a lot of moving parts, but the parts are not firing on all cylinders like they need to be. That’s ultimately why the team hasn’t had the success I feel it deserves.
‘I’m here to win. It’s crunch time for me and I truly believe in the potential of this team, I believe they can win multiple championships. That’s my sole goal.
‘I feel it’s my job to challenge every area and challenge everybody in the team, especially the guys at the top who are making the decisions. If you look at the team in the last 20 years, they’ve had amazing drivers and yet they didn’t win a title with Ferrari.
‘I refuse for that to be the case with me. I’m going the extra mile. I’m fortunate to have had experiences in two other great teams. For sure things are going to be different, it’s a different culture, but if you take the same path all the time you’re going to get the same result.’
It is rumoured Vasseur won’t have his contract renewed at the end of this year. Does that leave the door open for Horner?
Well, he doesn’t speak Italian and though Ferrari may offer to pay him handsomely, they won’t offer him equity, which is what he really wants. I also doubt Hamilton would be happy working with him, not least because Horner has been so combative on Max Verstappen’s behalf in the past.
Three more likely options for Horner are if Toyota buy Haas, Cadillac decide to push current principal Graeme Lowdon out of the way or Alpine are taken over by a rumoured consortium which he may be invited to join. That last one feels the most likely, and I believe Bernie Ecclestone is pulling the strings. Watch this space.