Ex-Mercedes chief lifts lid on W15 issues as Verstappen shares unpopular opinion – F1 news round-up

Henry Valantine 11 May 2024 10:00 PM

Max Verstappen admitted wheel-to-wheel racing for wins isn't how he'd prefer to win races, in Saturday's F1 news.

Saturday’s F1 news is here, with lots to dig into from the paddock as the drivers enjoy a weekend away from racing.

There are a host of historic Formula 1 cars being raced around Monaco this weekend, with McLaren CEO Zak Brown and outgoing Red Bull technical guru Adrian Newey both behind the wheel in their down-time, but here’s a look at the headlines from within the paddock.

Mercedes took ‘wrong turns’ in ground effect era

Former Mercedes executive director Paddy Lowe explained that the team took “wrong turns” with their development direction in the ground effect era, but he feels for his former employers and the current situation in which they find themselves.

He told Motorsport.com: “I have a lot of sympathy and in fairness if you talk to teams that are doing well, if they aren’t too arrogant, and they will say ‘You should count on having good fortune in this sport when you have a good car and don’t assume it is always from your own brilliance’.

“That is a message that most of us have learned over the years.

“Mercedes have made some wrong turns aerodynamically. The tools that we use are incredibly sophisticated, wind tunnels and CFD and so on but nevertheless highly flawed and all teams will admit this…that is very difficult to recover simply over a matter of time.”

Max Verstappen’s admission on how he would like to win races

When asked about how he would rather win races, in wheel-to-wheel action or far out in the distance – Max Verstappen would much rather have a nice big gap on his own to the chequered flag.

“At least 20 seconds!” he told Sky Sports F1.

“That’s for me… I’ve raced so much in my life in close combat. I enjoy a lot more if we can actually nail the car and are 100 percent sure that we can win by a big margin but, of course, that’s not what fans want to hear but I am honest, you know?

“I’m here to win and I’m here to create my own success.”

Stefano Domenicali’s unorthodox view on Max Verstappen’s dominance

On the flip side to having half the field winning over the course of the season, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali can see the reasons why having a dominant driver can be the target for the others to strive for.

When asked about ‘manufacturing a level playing field’ to help competitiveness, Domenicali told ESPN SportsCenter: “That’s not the objective of the sport. And by the way, in all the [history of the] sport Formula 1 has lived with cycles, where we had the great racers who won for many years, one behind the others.

“And this is not the factor that is not attracting people, because there is also the fact that if there are too many racers that are winning, then you are not able to beat the legend.

“So we need to respect the fact that so far, Max has been the best driver, and soon maybe there will be someone that will take that place.”

Christian Horner on ‘complicated business’ of rivals signing Adrian Newey

For any of Red Bull’s rivals who want to bring Adrian Newey to their team and build a design department around him, Christian Horner warned that might not be easy with the sport being as it is at the moment – and Red Bull have made adjustments over time to work the way he does.

“I think Formula 1 is a very complicated business now, particularly with the cost cap, elements that you have to take into consideration,” Horner told media in Miami.

“You have to think very carefully where you commit your funding, where you commit your budgets, what resource, where you’re going to get best bang for buck.

“He’s the only designer in Formula 1 that works still on a drawing board. But of course, as the regulations have become tighter and tighter, and Adrian’s role has evolved and developed within the team over the last years, others have had to step up.”

The most prestigious races in the world, ranked

And finally, something a little bit different.

We got our heads together to take a look at the wider world of motorsport – not just Formula 1 – and put together a ranking of the best of the best races from around the globe.

From Bathurst to Dakar, Indianapolis to Le Mans, two and four wheels are all represented in this list (with a sprinkling of Formula 1, of course), to bring together what we believe to be the 10 most prestigious races in the world of motorsport.

Of course, you’re welcome to have your own opinion, but we’ve gone with our own thoughts for now.

Red Bull Adrian Newey Christian Horner Max Verstappen