Audi signing up veteran Nico Hulkenberg will have a big impact on the 2025 Formula 1 silly season - primarily in the back half of the grid. What’s currently Sauber now has some breathing space when it comes to securing its other driver - which is useful because Audi’s number one target, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, is taking his time given there may yet be openings at Red Bull or Mercedes. While there would be a risk of fielding a weakened line-up if it dithered on both seats, Audi can be confident there will be good fallback options available later in the year - whether that’s the Alpine drivers ..read more

Alpine produced its strongest weekend of the 2024 Formula 1 season at the recent Chinese Grand Prix following the introduction of its first major upgrade. 'Best', of course, is a relative term and given its dismal start to the year this amounted only to 11th place for Esteban Ocon. But it at least proved the beleaguered team is capable of making some progress. Only Ocon ran the update package because the team had pushed through production to bring its arrival forward from the Miami Grand Prix in early May. Alpine introduced a new chassis that Ocon used once modifications had been made in orde ..read more

Audi's first Formula 1 driver for its works entry might not be the one who ends up spearheading its project. But considering Nico Hulkenberg spent three seasons on the sidelines, during which there was a very real prospect of his career ending, just getting the Sauber/Audi seat for potentially the next three years makes the 36-year-old one of F1’s most unlikely comeback stories. The main draw for Audi seems to be that it wants a German driver to be one of the faces of its works effort in 2026. There are no other German drivers on the current F1 grid after Sebastian Vettel bowed out - and Mick ..read more

From what we hear about Adrian Newey’s situation, we have to assume that there are some destabilising politics going on within the Red Bull Formula 1 team. We know from what he's said before, whether it's in interviews or his book - How to Build a Car - that Adrian Newey doesn’t like being managed by the chief financial officer, or now probably even the cost cap restrictions. Regardless of the Christian Horner situation, both of these factors will put a dampener on his creativity. Mark Hughes: Newey's decision is purely personal Read more The death of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Matesch ..read more

We dissect the latest big move in the 2025 Formula 1 driver market and the talk of Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull in the latest episode of The Race F1 Podcast. Mark Hughes and Ben Anderson join Edd Straw to explain Nico Hulkenberg's Audi deal and whether it represents only a sideways move for what's currently the Sauber team.  We also discuss the chances of Carlos Sainz joining him and who the other Audi candidates may be.  The potential replacements for Hulkenberg at Haas are also debated, including the question of whether Kevin Magnussen could extend his stay with the team.  ..read more

If, as speculation has suggested, Adrian Newey wishes to leave Red Bull, what are the implications for the Formula 1 team? Obviously, to lose the services of someone with a very real claim to be the greatest technical mind in F1's history would be a very significant blow. But it would not be like a light switch being flicked off. Any of the major teams are far too big and strong in depth for the departure of even such a towering talent to have an instant effect. Furthermore, there are a whole bunch of exceptionally talented engineers working in that Red Bull technical department and should N ..read more

Audi has broken the Formula 1 driver market impasse by moving to sign up the first driver for its works team, securing the services of Nico Hulkenberg on a multi-year contract that starts in 2025. At the age of 36 and with more than 200 grands prix starts to his name, Hulkenberg undoubtedly falls into the category of F1 veteran; one who is still performing at a consistent (and high) level, but one who is still followed around by an unwanted statistic of most starts without a podium. Could Audi have been more ambitious and were there better initial options out there? Or has it been wise in loc ..read more

Nico Hulkenberg has become Audi’s first driver signing for its impending works Formula 1 team. Audi is taking full control of Sauber and developing an F1 engine for the first time ahead of a full-scale manufacturer entry for the new 2026 rules. Though the team will not be known as Audi before then, partly because it needs to see out its customer Ferrari engine deal in 2025, Audi is keen to have its own drivers installed next year - with current Sauber pair Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu likely to make way. The absurdity of Sainz's 2025 F1 situation Read more Audi has been courting Carlo ..read more

When Codemasters and EA announced F1 24 back in February, they promised an “overhauled career mode” to the excitement of many F1 game fans. Particularly when there hasn’t been a major change to career mode since the inclusion of 'My Team' in F1 2020. Details on the changes have been light until a recent media presentation which shed some light on the new inclusions that set F1 24’s career mode, specifically driver career, apart from previous entries. This year the developers have put greater attention on the challenges F1 drivers face. Such as the battle with their team-mate and how a team’s ..read more

Is Oscar Piastri not quite living up to the hype of his excellent rookie Formula 1 campaign? Is Max Verstappen undervalued - and should you expect him to assert himself even further and break away even more as the season develops? Is Mercedes' faith in George Russell shaken - and should it be? And could Aston Martin ever drop Lance Stroll? This and more in the latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast, tackling a variety of questions from the Members Club. The Race F1 Podcast is available free to subscribe to from all good podcast suppliers, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. I ..read more