Hi friends,
Welcome to a weekend of poutine, Timmies and lots of interviews with the Strolls. I’ve always had a soft spot for Canada, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend.
But, without further ado, here’s the Race Week Recap for Canada, part 2.
The top story of the week: Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine at the end of 2024
Between Ocon leaving Alpine and the FIA announcing the final 2026 regulations, it was a close finish for the top story of the week. But, the Ocon news won out in the end.
Why is this important? Ocon has been with the French team for 5 seasons, and is another in an ever growing list of driver and senior staff turnover. Him leaving the team is not all that surprising to me, considering their failure to fulfil the repeated promises of podium positions and championships, as well as their step backwards this season. There are constant rumours that Renault are looking for an “out”, both on the team side and the engine side, and with the constant staff turnover it’s hard to see how they will manage to stabilise in a way that makes it an attractive prospect for Ocon in the long term – especially after giving it this long without meaningful, consistent results.
What strikes me about this announcement is the timing. Ocon hasn’t secured a deal with another team yet. Typically a driver would wait to inform their team of their departure until a new contract was signed. To me that signals that both Ocon and Alpine were keen to just close the books on the relationship, and move on.
The rest of the stories this week:
- Sergio Perez signs two-year extension with Red Bull
- The FIA will reveal the 2026 regulations (Here’s a little sneak peak a reddit user dug out from the video posted by the FIA)
- Disney+ has announced a Sergio Perez docuseries
- Max Verstappen says “I’m happy where I am” when asked about leaving Red Bull
- Esteban Ocon confirms that he will be racing in Canada, despite speculation that Alpine would bench him
- Alpine have fired Operations Director Rob White
- Pirelli working on a softer compound for street races in 2025
- Hyundai could be interested in buying their way into Formula 1
- Christian Horner says F1 reducing car size in 2026 “isn’t really on the cards”
- Jack Doohan will do FP1 in Canada with Alpine
- Jak Crawford will do a test at the Red Bull Ring in the Aston Martin AMR22
- Kimi Antonelli and Mick Schumacher will be testing the Mercedes W13 in Barcelona
- Canadian GP trophies are designed by generative AI
- Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds has hinted at talks with Ferrari
- Emanuele Pirro has been appointed as the new President of the FIA Single Seater Commission
- Doriane Pin will miss the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to fractured ribs
- A 15 year old has passed away after crash at karting event in Norway
- Former F1 team owner and Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones passed away
- Renault and Geely establish new powertrain technology company
And remember: Silly season is all year in Formula 1. The best thing to do, is just embrace it.
Until next week, thank you for being here.
