Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Nico Hulkenberg’s breakthrough podium finish last weekend prompted many tributes to him. Ivan took a detailed look at his career which you can read in full here – an excerpt is below:
Delighted for Hulkenberg. I think his performance against Perez in 2015-16 and Ricciardo in 2019 painted the picture that his ceiling was in the midfield, but his stellar 2013 (brilliant second half of the season, wiping the floor with Gutierrez), his substitute performances in the Racing Point, and his recent brilliance for Haas, have always had me convinced that he could be a class 1B driver with the likes of Button, prime Grosjean, stacking consistent podiums in a top car.
He just never got that chance.
Ivan
Social media and links
CCTV: Theft of classic F1 steering wheel at Silverstone (Northamptonshire Police)
'The man in the image could assist police with their enquiries so he, or anyone who recognises him, is asked call Northamptonshire Police on 101.'
Ben Sulayem says F1 could have V8 engines as soon as 2029 (Reuters)
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem: 'We need to do it soon... you need three years, so hopefully by 2029 we have something there, but the fuel is also very expensive, and we have to be very careful with that. Transmissions are very expensive.'
'Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody. '
Formula E losses nearly double to €78.3m in 2023/24 (Blackbook)
'The series reaffirmed that its shareholders are ‘supportive’ of its overall growth plan. However, its solvency remains dependent on support from its parent company.'
Mid-Ohio shows Palou is still human after all (Racer)
'Big mistake. Yeah, nothing in particular happened – just lost it a little bit, then kind of got into the marbles and went out. Yeah, lost everything there. It was a big, big mistake by my part.'
Max Verstappen reference in the latest edition of BBC Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz (at 22m 24s):www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/…#F1
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine.bsky.social) 2025-07-07T10:18:28.802Z
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Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ev!
On this day in motorsport
- 35 years ago today Ivan Capelli nearly scored a surprise win for Leyton House in his Adrian Newey-designed March at Paul Ricard, but Alain Prost overtook him to win the French Grand Prix
- 35 years ago today Danny Sullivan won IndyCar’s Cleveland Grand Prix after a serious pit fire on Al Unser Jnr’s car injured several crew members, including Brian Barnhardt, who now works for McLaren’s IndyCar team as their general manager
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PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
8th July 2025, 0:41
With regards to-
CCTV: Theft of classic F1 steering wheel at Silverstone (Northamptonshire Police)
Is that you Keith?…:)
MacLeod (@macleod)
8th July 2025, 7:55
Naoo Keith has hair and almost the reverse of that person. The thief is someone from an other team to get prove of the secret button (tin hat removing) It’s sad that someone just took a very expensive piece from McLaren. 60-80k for each steering wheel If memory serves me correct.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
8th July 2025, 9:06
@F1-ploss No, but I did take an extra chocolate bar from the media centre. I will not be drawn on which type of chocolate bar it was but let’s just say Murray Walker would approve.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
8th July 2025, 12:57
I would scream “Mars Bar!” for a point, but I believe Murray denied or at least downplayed his involvement. Unless the answer is Twix?
The guy is halfheartedly dressed as a McLaren employee. Why do it? It would be hard to sell, and presumably he doesn’t need a spare for his own F1 car at home? Do we know what McLaren it was taken from? If it’s a somewhat modern car McLaren obviously do the electronics and I assume keep a some spares and could probably manufacture another.
If it’s pre-hybrid era, I’m guessing someone at McLaren has a headache and a car they can’t steer. Presumably the thief figured out the release mechanism and shoved it in a bag? I suggest they drop it off at the local police station with a note saying ‘sorry’. It’s not of any use to anyone other than the car it belongs to.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
8th July 2025, 13:20
Apparently they climbed into a Brabham BT59 and attempted to steal the steering wheel from the car, he then climbed into the neighbouring 1990 Leyton House CG901 and stole the steering wheel before walking away.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
8th July 2025, 13:56
You’re right, there’s no reference to it being a McLaren. Whomever owns the Leyton House I’m guessing is annoyed. Perhaps easier to replace? I dunno. Still very unnecessary. If you’re at Silverstone, you presumably enjoy these cars, leave them as they are for others to enjoy.
G (@unklegsif)
8th July 2025, 13:18
Opal Fruits, surely?
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
8th July 2025, 13:28
Trill.
PlosslF1 (@f1-ploss)
8th July 2025, 13:24
Didnt the TV advert go something like…
Two Mars bars a day
Helps you nick steering wheels and run away
Free_B
8th July 2025, 1:41
I think Ben Sulayem was looking more to create a sound-bite than making a realistic prediction.
… like who? The reality is that everyone except Ferrari are selling more 4-banger turbos and hybrids than even V6’s. The commercial fact is that the fastest-growing car companies in the world (most Chinese) are building electric cars and hybrids. So if we want to transform F1 into a “classic car” race then cool. But it’s highly unlikely to get the support of the manufacturers.
Don’t get me wrong I LOVED the V8/V10 era. It was that sound that electrified my love for F1. But that became, I fear, a bygone era when engineers realized that noise was wasted energy.
MGus.ai
8th July 2025, 2:44
Still on that, all that talk about synthetic fuel went silent all of the sudden.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
8th July 2025, 3:45
AFAIK sustainable fuels are still on the roadmap for the next gen engines. Not silent, rather: nothing new to report.
MichaelN
8th July 2025, 15:58
Not really, it’s already used in F3 and F2 and will be in F1 next year.
anon
8th July 2025, 7:31
There are also all of the comments he’s been making about wanting a Chinese manufacturer in F1 to effectively have a US – China cold war taking place in motorsport (stating he wanted a US team with US drivers battling head to head with a Chinese team with Chinese drivers).
David (@nvherman)
8th July 2025, 8:58
@anon
Hello, this is A1GP: you owe us x millions in royalties for stealing our concept.
Also, isn’t this what happened (except with Britain vs Germany) back in 2010 when Button joined Hamilton at McLaren and Mercedes (formerly BrawnGP) hired Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg?
anon
8th July 2025, 17:49
The difference is that Sulayem wants those teams to be overtly nationalistic in nature. Sulayem has previously talked about wanting “a United States of America team” – ie he wants the team to be based in the USA, staffed by US team members, run by an American OEM and using US drivers to compete against a Chinese team with the same sort of structure.
The examples you give are rather different – for example, Mercedes might have had two German drivers, but they were also happy to have a UK base, a French engineer as their head of aerodynamics, a Malaysian fuel supplier and so on. They weren’t expected to be “the German national team” in the way that Sulayem wants those teams in the US and China to much more overtly represent those nations.
MacLeod (@macleod)
8th July 2025, 7:52
If Ben thinks the engine builders are going to swap to V8 after 2 years investing development he is crazier then I thought he was. the chance on that is 0%
Sound from a engine is indeed wast of power for a engine. If people want yanking/screaming sound they should install car soundsystems to imitate that sound.
S Arkazam
8th July 2025, 8:21
Would be good again for the trackside earplug sellers ;)
MichaelN
8th July 2025, 16:05
There is not much to develop. The engine is very similar, just without the MGU-H. Ben Sulayem is right that the costs of these hybrids is very high. Even these dumbed version used next year a still barely attracted any attention, whereas manufacturers are lining up to join the WEC.
All F1 got out if 2026 was Audi, a technical partnership with Ford on the MGU for Red Bull, and a vague promise of Cadillac about future plans to build their own PU. And I guess Honda reversed their decision to quit.
When the choice is between expensive, heavy hybrids to meet environmental targets, or cheaper, lighter V8s with synthetic fuels, the manufacturers of sporty cars seemingly have an easy decision on their hands.
anon
8th July 2025, 18:02
The V8 engines weren’t cheap either though – they appeared artificially cheap in later years because the manufacturers eventually had to agree to sell engines at less than the cost of production, in much the same way that Indycar forces their engine suppliers to sell the engines at a loss.
Renault, for example, talked back in 2013 about how they were selling their V8 engine at barely 50% of what it actually cost to produce them due to the FIA cost caps. We know other manufacturers were also loss making from their public accounts and relied on cross subsidies from their parent companies to offset those losses.
Of course, it’s useful to leave out those details when aiming to put about a false narrative. Equally, wasn’t it only a few months ago that you were repeating the statements from Sulayem declaring that the 2026 regulations were a success precisely because it was bringing in those engine manufacturers? What is supposed to be the propaganda line you are expected to promote now?
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
8th July 2025, 21:38
Which is why nobody other than Honda & Chevrolet have showed any real interest in entering Indycar over the past decade or so.
There was interest from a few additional engine suppliers in the early days of the current formula but the requirement to subsidise the engine cost to teams saw all additional interest dry up immediately.
And there’s been a few times since 2012 where Honda & Chevvy made threats to withdraw but were convinced to stay via deals the full details of which were not always made public.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
8th July 2025, 14:45
Aston Martin, Mercedes, Ford, McLaren, Ferrari, Audi and Cadillac all have models with V8 engines.
Jere (@jerejj)
8th July 2025, 6:58
Weird thievery & damage claim.
MBS’ plan is ambitious, but good luck with that.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th July 2025, 8:30
Look at that Ferrari, my gosh. What a beauty. Can’t imagine what it must’ve been seeing it at speed.
I saw it in the MoMA museum in New York in 2007. It made everything else look bland.
Alefosi
8th July 2025, 11:51
Just look at that Ferrari 641/2!!! Light, nimble… how F1 used to be. Aah yes the early nineties. V12, V10, V8, GoodYear, Pirelli and iconic liveries.
anon
8th July 2025, 13:44
Does that also happen to coincide with the time when you began watching the sport?
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
8th July 2025, 13:59
Ah yes. Back in the good old days. Love the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s cars. But F1 lost its way with the cars after about 2010.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
8th July 2025, 12:26
Don’t worry MBS you won’t be in power by then.