OBITUARY: Remembering the life and career of the ‘tough and popular’ Jochen Mass Ocon vows Haas will 'keep at it’ as he laments bad luck during Miami Grand Prix Antonelli's 'seismic moment' and why Williams were faster than Ferrari – it’s our Miami GP review Gasly admits Alpine ‘need answers’ after difficult weekend in Miami as Doohan reflects on Lap 1 collision with Lawson Audi announce organisational restructure ahead of F1 arrival in 2026 Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes has addressed rumours that the team will replace Jack Doohan with reserve Franco Colapinto at the next round in Imola insisting the Australian will be racing at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix Speculation over Doohan’s future at the team has been a frequent topic at the start of the season initially fuelled by Alpine signing the highly-rated Colapinto as a reserve driver in January following his nine-race stint with Williams last year READ MORE: Piastri reveals where pole ‘went away’ from him during Miami Sprint Qualifying as Norris pleased to be back ‘in a good ballpark’ Leading into this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix claimed – during an off-air moment in a TV interview – that the former Williams super-sub would debut with Alpine at the Emila-Romagna Grand Prix Asked about those comments in the team principals' press conference in Miami Oakes poured cold water on the claims and stated that Oakes confirmed Doohan would be driving in Imola when asked in Friday's press conference in Miami about the comments on Colapinto “I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco "I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday We’ve been pretty open as a team that that’s just noise READ MORE: ‘I did not expect it!’ – Antonelli ‘over the moon’ with debut pole in Miami Sprint Qualifying "Jack needs to continue doing a good job But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there." When asked directly if Doohan would be in the car at Imola Jack is our driver along with Pierre [Gasly] 2025 Miami GP Sprint Qualifying: ‘That’s a joke!’ – Doohan left furious after SQ1 exit Rookie Doohan will start Saturday’s Sprint from a lowly 17th on the grid after a pit lane “mess up” prevented the Australian from completing his final flying lap in SQ1 The 22-year-old was caught up in frantic pit lane traffic late on in the first segment of the session including the simultaneous release of his team mate Pierre Gasly which prevented him from leaving his garage properly and also led to a frustrated message over team radio FRIDAY DEBRIEF: Can Mercedes pose a threat to McLaren after Antonelli’s magical Miami lap? Don't miss your chance to experience the picturesque Imola circuit.. MIAMI LOWDOWN: All the key moments as McLaren and Antonelli shine, Ferrari face tensions and LEGO takes over MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Leclerc and Hamilton’s opposing Miami strategies culminated in fractious Ferrari radio exchanges HIGHLIGHTS: Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 after thrilling race in Miami Driveable LEGO big builds welcomed to Miami drivers’ parade Cadillac unveil their team logo and brand during dazzling Miami launch event ahead of 2026 entry Driveable LEGO big builds welcomed to Miami drivers’ parade ‘We made it count when it mattered’ – Russell satisfied with recovery to podium after troublesome Miami weekend VideoRACE START: Verstappen narrowly holds onto the lead in thrilling start to Miami GP Tsunoda concedes he ‘made life much more difficult’ with five-second penalty in Miami after battling for final point © 2003-2025 Formula One World Championship Limited Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting Alpine is considering switching Jack Doohan with reserve driver Franco Colapinto ahead of Formula 1's next race in Imola Doohan's disappointing run of results and incidents have moved Alpine's management to seriously consider whether it should make a driver change immediately rather than hand the Australian rookie more time to make the seat his own Neither driver was wholly to blame for what was deemed a racing incident, but it added to the growing list of on-track issues – including a huge crash in Suzuka practice – that have hampered Doohan's campaign The French team has a 2025 car with potential as evidenced by Gasly's excellent seventh place at the Bahrain Grand Prix But other than a Miami sprint race point for Gasly due to three penalties for his rivals this was Alpine's only points finish this year In contrast, a ferocious midfield battle is being led by Williams in fifth followed by Haas. Alpine is a disappointing ninth in the standings ahead of only Sauber which may well force the Enstone squad to reconsider its options Ever since 2024 Williams reserve Colapinto was signed by Alpine over the off-season rumours swirled over Doohan's longevity with the Enstone squad noise that Alpine admitted was partly of its own making That pressure has only ramped up in recent weeks with the CEO of Argentinian energy giant YPF Horacio Marin caught saying Colapinto would be in the car "in Imola" after a TV interview later clarifying it was only wishful thinking on his behalf Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes said: "I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday "We’ve been pretty open as a team that that’s just noise But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there." When pressed for a black and white answer on whether Doohan will remain in the car in two weeks in Imola Oakes said Doohan was the team's driver "as it is today," leaving wiggle room for interpretation before adding the team is "always evaluating" its line-up Jack is our driver along with Pierre," he said making a decision before Imola would make sense as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on 18 May forms the first race in a triple-header that includes Monaco and Barcelona But Autosport understands that timing is not a factor in Alpine's decision In any case, Colapinto is well prepared to step in at short notice as his reserve duties include a mixture of simulation work and private testing, and it is worth pointing out that the Argentinian made his F1 debut last year in the middle of a Zandvoort-Monza double-header Colapinto caused an immediate impact on his nine-race Williams cameo replacing Logan Sargeant which led to a brief spell of interest from Red Bull But the Argentinian's inexperience also showed in violent crashes in Las Vegas and Brazil which put Red Bull off his scent before Alpine swooped in over the off-season to add the 21-year-old to its roster of reserve drivers is reported to be keen on giving Colapinto a chance sooner rather than later The Argentinian also enjoys considerable backing from his supportive home country with sponsor Mercado Libre already following him from Williams to Alpine From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker The point of the season has been reached in which speculation has consistently suggested Jack Doohan’s seat security at Alpine may have ended the rumour mill has suggested the Australian was only assured of the first six races of the season and PlanetF1.com understands the driver situation will be looked at closely before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in two weeks’ time With Miami representing the sixth and final race of Doohan’s speculated safety net the Australian endured a difficult weekend in Florida despite showing strong pace in qualifying Out-qualifying Pierre Gasly for the first time as teammates Doohan lined up in 14th but was eliminated on the first lap when he and Liam Lawson came together at Turn 1 – spinning Lawson out and ripping Doohan’s left-front wheel apart It was his second first-lap retirement of the six races following on from his crash at his home race at Albert Park in the first round “It seemed that I was squeezed into Turn 1,” he explained to media nowhere really to go and unavoidable contact and damage you’re disappointed and you’re mad I don’t want to put any blame in any direction I’ll have to also reflect to see if there’s anything that I could do differently I don’t think there was much.” Shortly after the chequered flag, Alpine cancelled team boss Oliver Oakes’ scheduled media session with the team having done the same in Japan Doohan is one of four drivers yet to score – but it must be pointed out that Alpine has only scored once as Gasly came home seventh in Bahrain Alpine has consistently remained tight-lipped about Doohan’s contract situation and has not explicitly shut down the scenario that Doohan could be replaced at some point this season – the possible replacements being from the team’s reserve driver pool with the leading candidates appearing to be Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron Aron posted a picture of himself in the garage with the caption “Soon” with this post being deleted shortly afterward – PlanetF1.com understands this was due to it being posted with an incorrect caption It has since been reposted without any caption With Alpine – as with every team – required to hand over four practice sessions to a rookie driver in an expansion of this rule for F1 2025 Aron is highly likely to appear in an FP1 session for Alpine very soon in order to start ticking off this requirement – Colapinto has taken part in too many race weekends to still be eligible to fulfill these rookie outings 👉 Miami GP: Piastri continues winning streak after more Verstappen v Norris fireworks 👉 Tempers flare between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari in Miami GP radio transcript Oakes was asked about the speculation over Doohan’s seat ahead of the beginning of the European season when he appeared in Friday’s FIA press conference and left the door open for the possibility of a change Jack is our driver along with Pierre,” he said the CEO of a prominent sponsor of Franco Colapinto the Argentinean rookie who Alpine signed as a reserve driver on a long-term deal ahead of the F1 2025 season ‘let slip’ on a live microphone during an interview on Argentine television that Colapinto may make his F1 return “in Imola” I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco “I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there.” The speculation surrounding Alpine’s second seat stems back almost six months at this point with Flavio Briatore having been keen on signing Colapinto as the Argentinean driver impressed early in his stint as a replacement for Logan Sargeant at Williams With Doohan already signed as a race driver Colapinto joined Alpine as a reserve driver – on a contract understood to be for five years – and recently took part in a TPC outing at Monza with the Enstone-based squad Doohan appeared to have earned enough leeway to be given until the summer break to impress Alpine but that situation may have changed over the Miami weekend Doohan’s frustrations with the on-track events of the weekend appeared emphasised with a team error compromising his exit from the garage in SQ1 – an error that cost Doohan significant time and prevented him from getting in his second flying lap and consigning him to 17th that is not acceptable,” he angrily said over team radio “If you’re gonna send him [Gasly] after me you have to make sure he’s ready or before me – I can’t turn out and then pull out because he’s going to run into me Doohan said the upcoming week will be spent in the factory and the sim preparing for the next onslaught of races “We have some sim work to do on the car and then some sim work to do on preparing for the upcoming few races,” he said “So [it’s] a good time now to reset although I feel like I haven’t really even done much driving So there’ll be just shifting the focus straight to what’s to come.” Read Next: ‘No eureka moment’ ahead for Red Bull with Miami GP issues explained © Planet Sport Limited 2025 • All Rights Reserved Alpine Formula 1 team boss Oliver Oakes denied rumours that Franco Colapinto would replace Jack Doohan at the next round in Imola that's the case" that Doohan would continue Colapinto signed as Alpine's reserve driver last January following his nine-grand-prix stint as a regular driver for Williams last year and there has been much speculation ever since about the possibility of seeing the Argentine back on the F1 grid Pierre Gasly's new teammate for the 2025 season at Alpine has not had results on par with the Frenchman so far which has only led to increasing speculation about his stay at the Enstone team This speculation was fuelled further when Horacio Marín CEO of Argentina's state-owned oil company YPF said in a television interview on La Nación+ – when he thought he was off-air – that Colapinto would debut with his new team at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix which will take place in Imola in two weeks saying he had only said it as a personal hope: "What I'm saying is that I hope he races at Imola "How am I supposed to have the information if I'm the president of YPF I have an extraordinary relationship with him Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images During the team principals' press conference on Friday at the Miami Grand Prix Oakes was asked about the situation – and although he suggested that the speculation was natural he took Marin's comments with a pinch of salt When asked directly if he could confirm Doohan will be driving for the Alpine team at Imola it is the case" that the Australian will remain in his drive I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco when he's going to be in the car I'm sure there's a lot of people in Argentina who'd like him in the car this Sunday," he explained Jack needs to continue doing a good job but I think obviously it's natural that there's always that speculation there." I think we've been pretty clear about that signed with Alpine as a reserve in January The Argentine’s name routinely has been considered as a replacement for Doohan who has struggled in six races during his rookie season was caught off-microphone in a recent interview saying Colapinto would be in the car for the May 18 race in Italy Speculation has been rampant given Doohan’s poor start including a first-lap crash at the Australian Grand Prix on March 16 and four penalty points at the Chinese Grand Prix a week later The 22-year-old Australian also crashed in the second free practice session ahead of the April 6 Japanese Grand Prix Doohan, however, kept his spirits up after an opening-lap incident with Liam Lawson at the Miami Grand Prix “We just have to look into it because it didn’t end well for me and I don’t think it helped him out as well. We’ve just got to keep our heads up. Looking forward to Imola now,” Doohan concluded. (Reuters) WEC Full Access from last month’s 6 Hours of Imola – round two of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign – is now available to watch for subscribers of the FIA WEC App Offering fans a fascinating insight into the stars of the show WEC Full Access covers everything from team briefings to heated mid-race discussions It is the ultimate behind-the-scenes series documenting the most private areas of the FIA WEC paddock As one of the most ‘old-school’ and unforgiving circuits on the calendar the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari invariably delivers drama – and  Alex Lynn was one of the first to fall foul of its uncompromising nature crashing his Cadillac at Rivazza during the final free practice session and requiring the JOTA crew to reprise its rebuild heroics from Le Mans last year The Briton repaid his team by hauling the #12 V-Series.R prototype into the Hyperpole top ten shootout in qualifying barely four hours later and there were even bigger celebrations for motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi who claimed his maiden pole position in the championship in the LMGT3 category.  as the home hero found himself repeatedly caught out by track limits – leaving the Qatar-winning scarlet 499P Hypercar to begin the race from 18th and last place WEC Full Access takes viewers onto the starting grid as the tension rises – and then into the cockpit over the course of a typically hectic opening lap as the cars jostle for position with no quarter given fans can join Fuoco’s team-mate Nicklas Nielsen aboard the #50 Ferrari while the Dane scythes his way through the field in the early stages up into the top six On-board cameras similarly shine a spotlight on two significant clashes in LMGT3 – both involving BMWs with contact from Yasser Shahin pitching Ian James’ Aston Martin into the circuit barriers and Rossi coming together with Simon Mann in the Ferrari prompting impassioned reactions in the teams’ respective pit garages There were differences of opinion in the Hypercar class as Mike Conway and René Rast argued over the same plot of real estate while Fuoco’s fiery battle with Sébastien Buemi came to a head when the pair made contact at Tamburello in the final hour but joy for Ferrari – whose victory with the #51 Hypercar avenged last season’s disappointment on home soil – as well as fellow podium-finisher Alpine and Manthey Racing for whom Richard Lietz narrowly fended off a charging Kelvin Van der Linde to prevail in the closest LMGT3 finish to-date.  Watch every moment of the action, live or on demand, via the official FIA WEC TV app – your full-access pass to the FIA World Endurance Championship. 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For more details, please review our Privacy Policy Jack Doohan is expected to be replaced for the next Formula 1 race at Imola after Alpine informed the rookie of its intention to make an immediate change Alpine promoted its junior driver to a race seat for 2025 after losing out on Carlos Sainz to Williams But Doohan’s seat seemed at risk before he had even raced in F1 as Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore explored the prospect of signing Franco Colapinto late last year Alpine was in talks to bring in 2024 Williams stand-in Colapinto for this season as a reserve and potential race driver even as Doohan made his debut in place of Esteban Ocon in the 2024 season finale Then Colapinto officially joined Alpine in January this year magnifying the pressure on Doohan in the build-up to his rookie season Though he has shown strong underlying pace at times and even surprised some at Alpine with how fast he was early in the season Doohan has also had a run of incidents and is without a point after six races He retired from Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix following a first-corner clash with Liam Lawson - after outqualifying team-mate Pierre Gasly for the first time in a grand prix qualifying Doohan’s poor results are partly owed to Alpine’s own unexpectedly tricky start to the year after a good pre-season but he has often struggled compared to Gasly While this is broadly in line with what might be expected of a rookie Doohan has not been afforded the same time as others GPs: Gasly 5 - Doohan 1Sprints: Gasly 1 - Doohan 1Average gap: Gasly 0.367s ahead The Race understands Doohan was informed before leaving the track in Miami on Sunday night that Alpine intended to make a change Colapinto is in line to replace Doohan from the next race at Imola is also an option for its driver line-up this season will remain part of Alpine's overall driver roster as it stands Alpine is yet to comment on Doohan’s situation or its driver intentions Please accept marketing cookies to enable YouTube videos Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom Ferrari has endured a difficult start to the F1 season but it is hoping to boost its form with an upgrade at Imola The sprint race weekend in Miami offers very little opportunities to introduce major update packages only one practice session will allow the teams to dial in the cars ahead of the competitive sessions Most teams will likely just adapt the cars to the characteristics of the track - however, RacingNews365 understands Red Bull will reportedly bring a new floor.  It fits within the development plan of the Milton Keynes-based team after which the biggest update will follow in Imola It's a similar situation at Ferrari - the Italian squad introduced a new floor in Bahrain and will enter Miami with the same setup as in Jeddah Ferrari has thus further decided to introduce a major update package in Imola On the occasion of the first race in Europe although the concept of the SF-25 will not be changed.  Ferrari is betting on being able to fix the unexpected problems that have manifested themselves on the track The floor is being further evolved so that downforce can be maximised even when the car is not tuned as close to the ground It seems as if Ferrari's performance depends too much on variations in ride height sometimes adopting a setup that risks overusing the plank which was the case for Lewis Hamilton in China changes are also being made to the rear of the bodywork to increase the passage of outgoing airflow airflow under the floor and near the rear wing will also be improved.  The inner brake drums are also being adapted to boost airflow distribution Those brake drums are based on McLaren's advanced concept.  with a front wing serving as a precursor to the new rules in Spain where increased flexi-wing tests will be enforced Ferrari is already introducing an updated front wing in Imola the flexibility is linked to adjustments to the floor If only the front wing had been modified in Spain the update for the floor would not have been as effective.  If the two parts are not developed simultaneously it creates other problems as the new rules around front wings are related to a different management of airflow under the car Sign up for the daily digest and/or weekly newsletter and we'll make sure that you are fully up to date with the latest news from the Formula 1 world Find the latest F1 news and news from other motorsport series at RacingNews365.com the world's leading independent F1 website providing daily F1 coverage Check out the 2025 F1 calendar for an overview of all the races with extensive background and real-time information.  Follow RacingNews365 on your favorite social media channels Catch up on all of the action from second round of FIA World Endurance Championship season… photos and video features from the trusted Sportscar365 web staff Stephen and Brenton Grove to replace Claudio Schiavoni replacing Paul-Loup Chatin at IDEC Sport.. 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One of Franco Colapinto's sponsors had claimed the Argentine was set to drive for Alpine from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix A major sponsor of Franco Colapinto has backtracked on claims the Argentine was set to replace Jack Doohan at Alpine from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix an energy drinks brand was caught on a hot mic on TV news channel A24 and claimed that Colapinto appeared on television news channel A24 he was asked when Colapinto would make his official F1 debut for the team Alpine has been firm that Doohan would receive time in the car following Colapinto's arrival from Williams as a third and reserve driver during the winter.  Marin has now clarified that he has no information about when Colapinto will take part in an official F1 weekend with Alpine having already carried out some private testing "What I'm saying is that I hope he races at Imola and if it happens "How can I have the information if I am the president of YPF I told him he was going to make his debut two weeks later "I told him that the guy who was there (Logan Sargeant) was going to lose his seat and break the car I wish I had bought a lottery ticket and won a lot of money Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding as they discuss Miami Grand Prix media day and the absence of Max Verstappen Alpine Endurance Team has hailed an ‘aggressive’ approach in the 6 Hours of Imola earlier this month as the French outfit celebrated an unexpected rostrum finish in the second outing of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign Following a disappointing Qatari curtain-raiser that had yielded just 13th and 14th places for its two A424 prototypes despite showing early promise Alpine travelled to the iconic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari seeking to kickstart its challenge in the series’ headlining Hypercar category After advancing to the top ten Hyperpole shootout in qualifying Mick Schumacher and Charles Milesi duly put the #36 and #35 entries sixth and eighth on the grid respectively in the high-calibre Frédéric Makowiecki began the race behind the wheel of the #36 car with stablemate Jules Gounon moving up to fifth during his double-stint thanks to a well-timed pit visit and using soft tyres to gain track position.  A bold strategy and a clean run then enabled Schumacher to overhaul a number of rivals when they made their final refuelling stops in the closing stages elevating the German to third with just eight minutes to go He would maintain that position to the chequered flag to secure the A424’s second podium in FIA WEC competition.  “It was a great race,” Schumacher acknowledged with a little help from a few incidents out front We managed to pull off something that we didn’t believe possible at the start and we can be proud of our progress so far Let’s keep working hard to build on this momentum.” “I’m pleased with how we have worked to find more performance,” echoed Makowiecki who has joined Alpine this season following a decade spent competing in Porsche machinery “We needed a strong race to validate the work we have done with a better strategy than everyone else at the end We made the right decisions at the right time in the final hours at Imola; we now need to do that throughout an entire race.  Ferdinand Habsburg found himself penalised for an infringement at a Full Course Yellow re-start and subsequently had to drive through a gravel trap to avoid a collision An enforced rear bodywork change later on necessitated a prolonged pit-stop for Paul-Loup Chatin which would ultimately finish an unlucky 13th “It was a disappointing result for our crew but our pace was as strong as our team-mates,” commented Habsburg We need to focus on the positives and the fact that our package keeps improving and we need to use the [#36 crew’s] result and our team spirit to make further strides forward.” Les Bleus will head to Belgium for next weekend’s TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (8-10 May) occupying fourth spot in the Manufacturers’ standings and aiming to add to its points tally in the Ardennes “Imola showed that the slightest mistake can be costly in a pure sprint especially at a circuit where overtaking is difficult and track position so important,” summarised Team Principal “The first few hours didn’t go quite as we wanted but we got back into contention by using soft tyres on an increasingly cool track.  we opted for different strategies to cover all scenarios favouring two short stints rather than a long one followed by a very short one allowing us to push without compromising our tyres We were determined to demonstrate our progress in understanding the car and it was a great team effort that rewarded everybody’s work but we must also learn certain lessons to make even more progress in the long-term.” Welcome to the Race Ready for the Imola F1 Grand Prix taking place at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari We’re here to ensure you have all the information available at your fingertips to enable you to get the most out of your live motorsport experience. Book tickets for the Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix here The first of two Formula 1 Grand Prix in Italy on the Formula 1 calendar this famous track provides unpredictable racing combined with an eclectic mix of world renowned Italian culture Formula 2 and Formula 3 will both be on show at the 2025 Imola Grand Prix The full schedule for the 2025 Imola Grand Prix has not been released yet but there will be plenty of action to entertain fans across the weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Read all about the F1 Sprints here There will also be a Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race ahead of the Grand Prix on the Sunday Use our handy track map to plan your trip as best you can You can download the image or take a screenshot to have it to hand during the Grand Prix weekend It is essential to have your priorities in order when planning your trip to a Formula 1 Grand Prix Use the map above to help you in your planning Use our handy Imola Grandstand Guide to make sure you find the right spot for your Formula 1 trip to Italy Imola itself is a relatively small town to accommodate some many travelling fans The small number of hotels are generally fully booked up immediately by F1 personnel and teams but getting to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is less straightforward by public transport – but still very doable Many fans will opt to camp at Imola to be close to the track save money on accommodation and enjoy the nightlife and festival vibes over the Grand Prix weekend Check out our travel guide to help you get the most out of your Italian adventure Here you can discover the best ways to travel to and around Imola as well as information on parking and unmissable local attractions The local currency is the Euro (EUR – €) The exchange rate is around 1 GBP to 1.16 EUR All goods and services are paid in the local currency Prohibited Items at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. If you require assistance during the race weekend, feel free to contact our customer service team through the Motorsport Tickets Help Centre If you have some more queries or would like more information, head over to our FAQs section Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali has indicated his home race of Imola could drop off the calendar with Italy unlikely to retain two grands prix on a bulging 24-round schedule with plenty of candidates "Italy has always been and will be an important part of Formula 1," the Italian told RAI radio "It will be increasingly difficult to have two races in the same country because interest in F1 is growing and it's a situation we will have to deal with in the coming months," he added "It's hard for this situation with Imola and Monza to continue together on the calendar for long." whose race is designated the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix the former Ferrari boss said it would not be an easy decision from a personal point of view but he had to take a global approach Imola returned to the F1 calendar during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and has kept its place although the 2023 race was cancelled due to flooding that devastated the region has been on the calendar every year since the first championship in 1950 although Spain is due to have an overlap next season with Madrid coming in as the new Spanish Grand Prix venue when Barcelona will be in the final year of its contract The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort has already announced it will not continue after 2026 The United States has three races and there has been talk of China having a second Thailand is also in talks for a round from 2028 and the sport wants to return to Africa Ferrari AF Corse claimed victory on home soil in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Imola which came down to a strategic final two hours of the FIA World Endurance Championship round 51 Ferrari 499P to a 8.490-second win over the No 20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde with Mick Schumacher completing the Hypercar podium in the No 36 Alpine A424 following a hard-fought contest 51 Ferrari controlled the race from pole in the first half after triple stinting its Michelin tires several contenders took different strategies that shook up the running order which included a race-leading effort for the No 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Matt Campbell in the fourth hour Campbell lost the lead to the Ferrari with two hours and 22 minutes to go just moments before a Virtual Safety Car for an incident involving Valentino Rossi and the No that neutralized the field with the race’s second safety car period and subsequent restart with 1 hour and 58 minutes remaining went on an alternative strategy that put Sebastien Buemi into the lead in the final hour It came to blows between the two cars with 38 minutes to go when Antonio Fuoco and Sebastien Buemi made side-to-side contact resulting in a left-rear puncture for the Ferrari which was the last of the cars to make a splash-and-go pit stop with nine minutes to go Pier Guidi shared top honors with James Calado and pole-sitter Antonio Giovinazzi marking the team’s first victory of the season and first overall win for the Italian manufacturer on home soil 15 BMW was sixth at the line in the hands of Dries Vanthoor Mikkel Jensen and Norman Nato completed the top-ten in the No 12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R entries The JOTA Cadillac bounced back from an opening hour drive-through penalty for Full Course Yellow procedures that also impacted two other cars while the Peugeot had a spin triggered by the No 38 JOTA entry of Earl Bamber in the second hour The second JOTA Cadillac finished 16th after receiving a drive-through penalty for the No which came after Bamber was run off the road by the No with Proton Competition’s Porsche 14th After the late stop for a new left-rear tire All Hypercar entries were classified at the finish including both Heart of Racing Team-entered Aston Martin Valkyries 92 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Richard Lietz following a costly penalty for Rossi that likely denied the Italian and Team WRT the win Lietz finished just 0.316 seconds ahead of the No 46 WRT BMW of a hard-charging Kelvin van der Linde who made up considerable ground after serving a stop-and-go penalty for Rossi’s contact with Mann while battling for the class lead at the time The South African pressured Lietz in the closing laps but was unable to overtake the Austrian for what would have been a come-from-behind win 78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 completed the podium in third despite an atypical driver rotation that initially dropped the car out of the class lead Gold-rated Esteban Masson completed the race ahead of teammate Jose Maria Lopez in the No 54 AF Corse Ferrari to the finish in fifth retired with damage sustained in the crash 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo was the race’s only other retirement after Ian James was hit by the No 31 WRT BMW of Yasser Shahin in the second hour resulting in a penalty for Shahin and the race’s first safety car period James was unhurt in the high-speed accident RESULTS: 6 Hours of Imola John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Catch up on all of the action from second round of FIA World Endurance.. It was a day for the home heroes in qualifying for the 6 Hours of Imola – round two of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign – as Ferrari and Valentino Rossi thrilled the ever-enthusiastic tifosi by claiming pole position in the Hypercar and LMGT3 categories respectively Antonio Giovinazzi remains undefeated in Hyperpole in FIA WEC this year the Italian topped the timesheets by 0.136secs he increased that margin to an impressive 0.758secs as none of his rivals proved able to hold a candle to his extraordinary effort.  “It’s always a super-nice feeling to qualify in front of all the tifosi at our home race,” enthused the 31-year-old but I tried to put it all together in qualifying and in Hyperpole The ideal lap is always difficult to achieve The #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar will duly start at the front of the field for the second race in succession and alongside will be the #83 AF Corse entry That was a remarkable result for a car that lost much of the earlier FP3 session due to a mechanical issue.  BMW M Team WRT was once again best-of-the-rest with Dries Vanthoor securing third on the grid behind the wheel of the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 a further two tenths-of-a-second in arrears The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing entries were extremely evenly-matched in fourth and fifth – Ryō Hirakawa and Nyck de Vries separated by a scant 0.001secs in favour of the former – with Mick Schumacher placing a strong sixth for Alpine Endurance Team.  Jean-Éric Vergne took seventh for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies’ 9X8 ahead of Charles Milesi in the second Alpine A424 – the Frenchman enduring a couple of gravelly moments during the course of the session Alex Lynn – battling back from a crash during final practice – dug deep for ninth in the rebuilt #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R with defending champion Kévin Estre just tenth as Porsche Penske Motorsport continues to struggle.  There were worse fortunes still for the #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry as Antonio Fuoco – last year’s pole-sitter at Imola – was stripped of his spot in Hyperpole due to a track limits transgression The reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning crew will begin tomorrow’s six-hour race from 18th and last place on the Hypercar grid Barely half-an-hour before Giovinazzi’s Hypercar heroics Valentino Rossi had already sent the thousands of spectators thronging the circuit grandstands into rapture by storming to his and BMW’s first pole position in the fiercely-disputed LMGT3 category Team-mate Ahmad Al-Harthy laid the foundations with a monster lap of his own behind the wheel of the #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO in the first part of the session with Rossi then maintaining that momentum in the subsequent Hyperpole shootout Despite losing a lap to a track limits infringement ‘The Doctor’ was a factor throughout the ten-minute showdown mastering the 4.909km Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari with a stellar effort that ultimately nobody else could match to raise BMW’s hopes of replicating its Imola victory from 12 months ago “The track limits situation is tricky – there are a lot of places where it can be a problem and I’m very good at track limits “I also had quite a lot of pressure from Ahmad [Al-Harthy] because he did a fantastic lap in the first in the first part of qualifying the car was strong and I had enough grip to try again and managed to improve.  “Pole is a fantastic achievement and I’m very happy especially after the first race which was a bit more difficult The team and BMW did very good job and to do this here at Imola with all the fans is so special The multiple MotoGP world champion ultimately wound up just under a third-of-a-second clear of Clemens Schmid in the leading Akkodis ASP Team Lexus with the Japanese sportscar continuing to show much-improved form in 2025 Zacharie Robichon completed the top three in Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin with Qatar winner Ben Keating able to manage no better than 16th in TF Sport’s Corvette The 6 Hours of Imola will begin at 13:00 CET tomorrow (20 April). Watch every moment of the action, live or on demand, via the official FIA WEC TV app – your full-access pass to the FIA World Endurance Championship. For further information, click HERE For the full qualifying times, click HERE TOYOTA GAZOO Racing delivered a determined performance to qualify both cars in the top five for the 6 Hours of Imola the second round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) A hotly-contested qualifying among the 18-strong Hypercar field saw close competition and required a strong team effort to enable both GR010 HYBRIDs to start towards the front of the grid and give the reigning World Champion team a solid platform to accelerate its challenge for both titles.Ryo Hirakawa’s impressive qualifying performance earned fourth and a second-row start in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley Nyck de Vries was only 0.001secs behind in fifth in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi.That performance was the result of intense effort since second practice which saw drivers and engineers working together to identify improvements as well as analysing the tyre characteristics Mechanics worked from early this morning to adjust the GR010 HYBRIDs for final practice which took place in bright sunshine and allowed the team to prepare for qualifying as well as optimise race set-up and compare the soft and medium tyres The one-hour session was twice disrupted twice by red flags reducing it by 17 minutes.Nyck was nominated for qualifying duties for the second time this season having earned seventh on the grid in Qatar while Ryo was behind the wheel of the #8 in qualifying for the first time in 2025 In the two-and-a-half hours between third practice and Hypercar qualifying engineers and the two drivers fine-tuned their approach to achieve maximum performance over one lap with new medium tyres and low fuel.Finishing in the top 10 was the primary target in the 12-minute qualifying session both drivers hit that target with their first flying laps and improved on their second to comfortably progress with Nyck in fourth and Ryo just a fraction behind in sixth.With only eight minutes until Hyperpole drivers and engineers had little time to reflect before the shoot-out for the top grid positions began Both cars again used the medium compound Michelin tyre for the 10-minute session and Nyck set his best lap on his first effort Ryo improved on his second lap to put the #8 ahead of the #7 sister car by the smallest possible margin.With both cars starting in the top five the team now has a strong foundation to challenge for its first podium of the season when the race begins at 1pm CEST on Sunday I think we can be fairly satisfied with qualifying fourth and fifth here as you can see from the tiny gap between the two cars I don’t think we could have done much better than that; we did a strong job to execute a clean qualifying The gap to the front cars looks quite big over one lap but we will do our best with race pace tyre management and strategy to challenge for the podium.”Ryo Hirakawa (Driver “We put everything together in qualifying and achieved a solid result with fourth and fifth Our best lap times in Hyperpole were so close which shows how hard both Nyck and I were pushing it is a good benefit to be starting towards the front of the grid and this gives us a better chance for the race I’m happy with how the weekend has gone so far (For the latest result, please visit fiawec.alkamelsystems.com) Round two of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign – the 6 Hours of Imola – is underway (18 April) and Italian hopes are high for a second successive Ferrari triumph Read on for all the information regarding where to watch Action from Free Practice 3 tomorrow (19 April) will be live on the FIA WEC YouTube channel. For €8,99 qualifying and the race are available via the official FIA WEC app (more info below) Eurosport platforms will show the action throughout Europe – including France Italy and Spain – with the 6 Hours of Imola being broadcast live in two parts on Eurosport 2 from 12:30 – 14:00 CET and 15:30 – 19:30 CET qualifying and the full race will be available on Eurosport Player The race will be broadcast in its entirety in Italy on Sky Sport Arena from 13:00 – 19:00 CET Viewers living in France can watch the race free via digital channel L’Equipe.fr (13:00 – 19:00 CET) the whole race will be available free on SPORT1 OTT (12:55 – 19:15 CET) TNT Sports will show the race live in two parts from 12:30 – 14:00 CET and 15:30 – 19:30 CET on its TNT Sports 4 channel qualifying and the full race live and on-demand while Canadian residents can catch highlights on CityTV+ the race will go out on Fox Desportes and Tubi BAND will broadcast the action live and free-to-air in Brazil The agreement will see the 6 Hours of Imola shown in three parts on pay-TV channel Band Sports and in full on FTA digital platform Bandplay (08:00 – 14:00 local time) Esporte will similarly broadcast the whole race live and for free with Grande Premio offering the full package of FP3 qualifying and the race – the latter also available on TikTok Brazil As was the case for the season-opening Qatar 1812km qualifying and the full race will be free to watch elsewhere in Latin America on the FIA WEC YouTube channel A pan-Asian TV deal for the Asia-Pacific region sees the 6 Hours of Imola broadcast live on Eurosport Fans in Japan can tune into the full qualifying session and race (19:30 – 03:30 local time) on the J Sports digital channel with the full race similarly being shown on J Sports 3 Eurosport India will bring fans the final part of the race from 18:00 – 20:00 CET The full race will be shown on beIN Sports 6 with long-term FIA WEC broadcast partner SuperSport televising the six-hour contest for residents living in Sub-Saharan Africa USA; Alpine driver Jack Doohan (7) during the F1 Miami Grand Prix Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Alpine Shakeup: Doohan Axed as Colapinto Takes the Wheel for Imola Showdown Alpine is set for a dramatic mid-season shakeup in the Formula 1 realm as reports suggest that Jack Doohan is on the chopping block after just six races into the 2025 season paving the way for Argentine driver Franco Colapinto to step into the spotlight ahead of the Imola Grand Prix Doohan’s stint as a full-time F1 driver in 2025 is seemingly coming to an abrupt end with the promising youngster failing to live up to expectations despite occasional flashes of brilliance such as outqualifying teammate Pierre Gasly in Miami a lack of consistent results and a string of on-track incidents have marred his season leaving him without a single point on the scoreboard Sources indicate that Alpine has already made the decision to replace Doohan with Colapinto who has been actively involved with the team in a reserve capacity since the beginning of the season The Argentine driver’s stellar performances during testing and simulator sessions coupled with strong backing from sponsors like YPF and Mercado Libre have reportedly tipped the scales in his favor While Doohan has shown glimpses of speed on certain occasions his track record of accumulating penalty points and erratic racecraft seem to have sealed his fate at Alpine The recent collision with Liam Lawson in Miami appears to have been the final straw for the Australian driver Colapinto’s promotion to a full-time race seat at the upcoming Imola Grand Prix could mark a historic moment for Argentine motorsport and a significant turning point in Alpine’s trajectory for the 2025 season The imminent driver swap at Alpine underscores the cutthroat nature of Formula 1 and the relentless pursuit of performance and results in the pinnacle of motorsport As the team gears up for a crucial phase of the season all eyes will be on Colapinto as he prepares to make his mark on the prestigious grid at Imola Stay tuned for more updates as the F1 drama unfolds reshaping the landscape of the sport and setting the stage for a thrilling battle on the iconic Italian circuit Formula One F1 - Miami Grand Prix - Miami International Autodrome 2025 McLaren team principal Andrea Stella ahead of the Miami.. Cadillac Revolutionizes Formula 1 with American Team Debut Formula 1 enthusiasts in America were in for a treat during a thrilling weekend in Miami Formula One F1 - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Jeddah Corniche Circuit 2025 Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur ahead of practice REUTERS/Hamad.. © 2025 M Sports - Premium news & magazine M Sports Please enter your username or email address to reset your password © 2025 M Sports - Premium news & magazine M Sports Red Bull has been introducing plenty of upgrades; however a reported major upgrade has been quashed by the team boss Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has denied speculation that the outfit is set to introduce a major upgrades package at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.  The Milton Keynes-based team has introduced upgrades at back-to-back events in Saudi Arabia and Miami; however only Max Verstappen's car has received the new parts this weekend.  Verstappen's RB21 has been fitted with a new floor whilst Yuki Tsunoda has the old-spec for the sixth round of the season.  Horner shut down the rumours of a significant brand-new package for Imola and insisted that any upgrades are minor due to the upcoming introduction of the new power unit regulations I don't know where this has come from for Imola," Horner told select media "We're at the stage of these regulations where it's all incremental gains." The championship is entering a fascinating point with new rules being introduced in Barcelona in regard to the stiffness of the front wings.  McLaren has been tipped by many to suffer a performance blow from the Spanish Grand Prix something the Woking-based team has denied.  Horner is unsure if the new rules will make claiming the title more possible for Red Bull with the team focusing on improving its own performance.  How that will affect the different cars with the stiffening of the front wings we've been unhappy at certain races this year with our performance but we've still been dragging results out of the car "We're the only team who have won a race at the moment We're working very hard to improve the car and improve that situation.  "So being only 12 points away at this stage I don't think you can exclude anybody in the top "And I think if last year teaches us anything Who knows how that front wing change will play out as they discuss a hectic opening day of on-track action at the Miami Grand Prix Porsche 963 handed 11kg reduction after difficult Qatar opener as Cadillac Porsche has been given the biggest weight break of the eight Hypercar manufacturers in the Balance of Performance for this weekend’s second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship season at Imola According to the latest BoP bulletin published on Monday the Porsche 963 will run at 1053 kg for the 6 Hours of Imola marking a reduction of 11 kg compared to its minimum weight for February’s opening round of the season in Qatar It follows a tough curtain-raiser for the Stuttgart marque which came away with just two points for 10th in the Qatar 1812km in which its 963 was the joint-heaviest of the eight Hypercar machines together with the Toyota GR010 Hybrid The bulletin released by the WEC Committee is the first since the FIA and the ACO revealed details of this year’s revised BoP methodology With the values set using data from the most recent three regular WEC races this weekend’s BoP is determined from data taken from last year’s final two rounds at Fuji and Bahrain Five of the eight Hypercars have been handed weight increases since Qatar with the largest going to the Cadillac V.Series-R which now runs at 1051 kg following a 9 kg increase Data taken from the fastest cars from last year’s Fuji and Bahrain rounds is being used to set the BoP for the Valkyrie The Qatar-winning Ferrari 499P has also been given a weight increase of 8 kg for the Maranello brand’s home race bringing it up to 1045 kg and making it the fourth-heaviest car after the Toyota Toyota’s GR010 Hybrid has been given a 1 kg increase despite an uncompetitive showing for the Japanese brand at Qatar which is 5 kgs higher than the weight at which it won last year’s rain-impacted race the Ferrari is 4 kgs heavier than last year’s Imola round now at the minimum regulatory weight of 1030 kg following a one kilo reduction weighing in at 11 kg less than the next-lightest car and 12kg less than the Alpine A424 (-2 kg) and BMW M Hybrid (+5 kg) Peugeot is the only manufacturer not to have been given a change of maximum power below the Power Gain threshold of 250 km/h (155.3 mph): it remains at 520kW (697 hp) Cadillac (+7kW/510kW) and Ferrari (+7kW/508kW) have all been compensated for the weight increases with increased power while the Toyota is now the least powerful car below 250 km/h at 500kW All eight cars have had their Power Gain values modified since Qatar Gaining power above the threshold are Toyota with Toyota now gaining 3.6 percent (18kW) the Cadillac two percent (10kW) and the Porsche 1.2 percent (6kW) while Peugeot and Alpine face steep reductions of 5.4 percent (-28kW) In the BoP issued for the LMGT3 class significant weight breaks have been handed to the Ford Mustang GT3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and Porsche 911 GT3 R All three cars struggled for performance at Qatar 88 car scoring points for 10th place among the three marques The Mustang GT3 has the biggest weight break of all while the Mercedes-AMG (1352 kg) and Porsche (1336 kg) have been handed reductions of 19 kg and 16 kg respectively That makes the Porsche the third-lightest car behind the Mustang and the BMW M4 GT3 EVO (1335 kg) McLaren’s Qatar pole-winning 720S GT3 Evo is the only car to have had its minimum weight upped an increase of 6 kg to 1357 kg making it the second-heaviest car behind the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R (-2 kg/1372 kg) 81 Corvette is also hit by an extra 36 kg of success ballast Porsche has also benefitted from the largest power increase in the class of three percent with the remaining cars all getting adjustments of one or two percent with the exception of the Mustang Jamie Klein is Sportscar365's Asian editor who previously worked for Motorsport Network on the Motorsport.cоm and Autosport titles covers the FIA World Endurance Championship and SUPER GT #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi Ferrari came out on top at the end of a thrilling race on home ground at Imola to claim its second victory of the 2025 World Endurance Championship season James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi triumphed aboard the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar by only 8.4s at the end of a race they threatened to dominate Two full safety cars and two of the virtual kind turned the Imola 6 Hours into a tactical chess game in which BMW, Alpine Toyota and Porsche emerged as contenders in the latter stages BMW and Alpine equalled their best results in the WEC so far with their respective LMDh machinery with second and third positions The winning factory AF Corse Ferrari dominated the opening hours from pole position Calado establishing some breathing space over the chasing customer AF-run customer 499P with Phil Hanson at the wheel At the first round of pitstops at the end of the opening hour, the leading Ferrari had an advantage of nearly 3s over the privateer entry, while best-of-the-rest Kevin Magnussen in the #15 WRT BMW was a further 15s in arrears The two Ferraris were still sitting pretty at the head of the field late in the second hour when the first safety car was called The intervention allowed the Hypercar teams to mix up their strategies on fuel and tyres which opened up the race over the final two thirds of the contest Pier Guidi was in front before the majority of the leading contenders made splash-and-dash fuel stops in the last hour the Italian calling into the pits for the final time with just 12 minutes left on the clock The BMW and the Alpine had made their stops slightly earlier after short-fuelling in order to gain track position during the second safety car but moved back up the order in the dying minutes The BMW came back from a clash with the #7 Toyota with Mike Conway at the wheel that resulted in a damaged rear bodywork #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Rene Rast The customer AF Ferrari that Hanson shared with Yifei Ye and Robert Kubica took fourth after the last-named ducked out of the lead with eight minutes remaining The #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid LMH shared by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sebastien Buemi took fifth having gone onto an alternate strategy after losing time with a drive-through penalty for speeding under Full Course Yellow The #20 BMW in which Magnussen was teamed with Raffaelo Marciello and Dries Vanthoor rounded out the top six Peugeot and Cadillac got a car each in the points #93 taking ninth for the French manufacturer The efforts of Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco to fight back from last position on the Hypercar grid came to nought in the final hour Fuoco was battling with Buemi when contact into the Tamburello chicane sent him into the gravel the Ferrari sustaining a rear puncture that left it down in 15th position at the chequered flag #46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau Home hero Valentino Rossi lost out on victory in LMGT3 with the BMW WRT team by less than a second Kelvin van der Linde at the wheel of the #46 BMW M4 GT3 Evo was all over the back of the #92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3-R driven by Richard Lietz over the final lap The BMW, in which Ahmad Al Harthy joined Rossi and van der Linde, was just three tenths behind the Porsche co-driven by Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera at the flag Rossi looked on course to follow up on his first WEC pole position with a maiden victory until he made contact with the #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Simon Mann attempting to retake the lead The resulting drive-through penalty deprived him and his team-mates of a near-certain victory Third in class went to the Auto Sport Promotion Lexs RC F GT3 shared by Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz and Esteban Masson Ferrari may have achieved just one podium finish in the 2025 Formula 1 season so far, courtesy of Charles Leclerc in Jeddah but it expects much more to come in the next few months The Maranello-based outfit is counting on the FIA’s stricter front wing tests which will be introduced at the Spanish Grand Prix in late May to make substantial progress compared to other top teams Leclerc believes the FIA’s clampdown on front wing flexibility will play a pivotal role in a potential uptick in form for Ferrari, implying that some of its rivals – McLaren and Mercedes in particular – may be excelling in using flexible aero elements that still pass static tests successfully Ferrari is set to start introducing a major upgrade package at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – the next race after this weekend’s Miami round – aiming at improving the SF-25’s downforce; it is scheduled to be fully unleashed two weeks later The goal is to address some of the car’s flaws, including the rear end’s lack of downforce, which causes instability – and therefore particularly impacts Lewis Hamilton’s confidence under braking and on corner entry has been better at compensating through his driving style It’s also a matter of merely gaining performance as Ferrari has been trailing McLaren by 0.323s in qualifying over the last four rounds which can also be explained by the SF-25 representing a smaller step forward than the MCL39 compared to its respective predecessors – 0.857s to 1.359s The Scuderia may have initially overestimated how competitive its new challenger was going to be Expectations should however be kept in check given rivals will presumably introduce updates as well and the previous technical directive on rear wing flexibility ultimately had little impact BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 10: <> at Bahrain International Circuit on February 10 (Photo by Ryan Pierse - Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images) Colapinto In – Shocking Driver Swap Unveiled young driver Jack Doohan is set to be replaced at Alpine for the upcoming Formula 1 race at Imola The decision came after Alpine informed the rookie of their immediate intention to make a change in their driver lineup who was promoted to a race seat for the 2025 season after Alpine missed out on Carlos Sainz found his position in jeopardy even before he had the chance to prove himself on the track The pressure mounted on Doohan when Alpine welcomed Franco Colapinto Despite showing flashes of speed and impressing Alpine initially Doohan has struggled to deliver consistent results failing to score a single point in the six races so far His most recent retirement at the Miami Grand Prix The decision to replace Doohan with Colapinto While Doohan will remain part of Alpine’s driver roster the shift in the lineup signals a significant change for the team Alpine is yet to officially comment on the situation leaving fans and experts speculating on the reasons behind the sudden swap With Colapinto waiting in the wings and ready to take on the challenge at Imola the upcoming race is sure to be one filled with anticipation and excitement audio and imagery - is provided by Imagn Images Reuters Connect has not verified or endorsed t Franco Colapinto’s Possible Imola DebutSpeculation has been swirling in the Formula 1 paddock about a possible debut for Franco Colapinto with Alpine at the upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.The rumors reached a fever pitch after a sponsor’s offhand comment was broadcast live leading to a speculation that the Argentine reserve driver Franco Colapinto will be taking part in the race weekend in Imola with Alpine The latest round of speculation began when Horacio Marin president and CEO of Colapinto sponsor YPF Asked directly about when Colapinto would make his official F1 debut with Alpine Marin was overheard saying “in Imola,” a remark that quickly spread across motorsport media and fueled talk of an imminent debut explaining that he has no inside information about Colapinto’s schedule with Alpine and that his statement was more wishful thinking than a factual announcement.  The term “debut” has added to the confusion While some interpreted Marin’s comment as a sign that Colapinto might replace Jack Doohan in a race seat others believe it is more likely that Alpine could give Colapinto an outing in one of the practice sessions at Imola perhaps as part of the team’s young driver allocation teams are required to give rookie drivers opportunities in free practice sessions who joined Alpine as a reserve driver after a nine-race stint with Williams in 2024 Alpine has already used a reserve driver in a practice session this year with Ryo Hirakawa taking part in FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix This means the team has some flexibility in how it manages its rookie driver requirements and a Colapinto practice run at Imola remains a possibility has yet to score a point in his rookie season while teammate Pierre Gasly has been the only one to bring in points for the team so far Despite ongoing speculation about Doohan’s future Alpine has publicly stated its support for the Australian and there has been no official confirmation that a race seat swap is imminent has already made history as the first Argentine to race in F1 since 2001 scoring points during his nine-race run with Williams last year. He joined Alpine as a reserve and development driver for 2025 and has participated in private testing for the team While the moment has certainly set the rumor mill spinning there is no official confirmation that Franco Colapinto will make his Alpine debut at Imola whether in a race seat or a practice session Alpine Formula 1 team boss Oliver Oakes denied rumours that Franco Colapinto would replace Jack Doohan at the next round in Imola Colapinto signed as Alpine's reserve driver last January following his nine-grand-prix stint as a regular driver for Williams last year, and there has been much speculation ever since about the possibility of seeing the Argentine back on the F1 grid. Doohan, Pierre Gasly's new teammate for the 2025 season at Alpine, has not had results on par with the Frenchman so far, which has only led to increasing speculation about his stay at the Enstone team. This speculation was fuelled further when Horacio Marín, CEO of Argentina's state-owned oil company YPF, said in a television interview on La Nación+ – when he thought he was off-air – that Colapinto would debut with his new team at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which will take place in Imola in two weeks. He later clarified his comment, saying he had only said it as a personal hope: "What I'm saying is that I hope he races at Imola. And if that happens, he'll call me. "How am I supposed to have the information if I'm the president of YPF, not Colapinto's representative? I have an extraordinary relationship with him, but we don't talk all day long." Franco Colapinto, Reserve Driver, Alpine F1 During the team principals' press conference on Friday at the Miami Grand Prix, Oakes was asked about the situation – and although he suggested that the speculation was natural, he took Marin's comments with a pinch of salt. When asked directly if he could confirm Doohan will be driving for the Alpine team at Imola, Oakes indicated that "today, it is the case" that the Australian will remain in his drive. "I saw it like everyone else, I think it was a sponsor from Argentina off-camera giving his view on Franco when he's going to be in the car. I'm sure there's a lot of people in Argentina who'd like him in the car this Sunday," he explained. "I think we've been pretty open as a team, and that's just noise out there. Jack needs to continue doing a good job but I think obviously it's natural that there's always that speculation there." "As it is today, Jack is our driver, along with Pierre. I think we've been pretty clear about that. I mean, we always evaluate it. But yes, today that's the case." From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker. Receive exciting Motorsport news, updates, and special offers straight to your inbox. Make your voice heard with article commenting. Today, Pirelli informed the teams of the slick tyre compound choices for the sixth and seventh rounds of the season, which take place in Miami from 2 to 4 May and Imola from 16 to 18 May. The most significant change for both these events is that the trio of compounds is a step softer than last year. For the first of this year’s three Grands Prix to be held in the USA, the selection is the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft, the same choice as in Melbourne and Jeddah. Moving on to the first race to be held in Europe this season, the new-for-2025 C6, the softest of all the compounds in this year’s range, will be making its debut, obviously running the red bands and the Pirelli logo. It joins the C5 as Medium and the C4 as Hard. In Miami and Imola last year, the most common strategy was a one-stop, as was also the case in Jeddah. For these three consecutive Grands Prix, Pirelli has chosen to go one step softer. Copyright © 1995 - 2023 Pirelli & C. S.p.A. - P.IVA: 00860340157 Get up to speed with everything you need to know about the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix which takes place over 63 laps of the 4.909-kilometre Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari commonly known as Imola and former home of the San Marino GP Using the links above you can find the full weekend schedule including details of practice and qualifying sessions with details of how and where you can watch the race on TV or download the schedule for the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix to your mobile device Intense speculation about his future has been swirling all season so far with team advisor Flavio Briatore's obvious favourite Franco Colapinto - on loan from Williams - poised to step into the cockpit has actually eased over the last few weeks Team boss Oliver Oakes seemed keen to reduce the pressure on Doohan's shoulders but there were also rumblings about Alpine wanting to squeeze more money out of Colapinto's sponsors The logos of Argentine e-commerce company Mercado Libre are already on the Alpine livery but another major Colapinto backer - the Argentine oil giant YPF - is still missing Some think this is because of a clash with an existing - and new - Alpine sponsor ENI YPF president Horacio Marin gave an interview to Argentine broadcaster A24 this week and he was asked directly if Colapinto is going to race for Alpine in 2025 the YPF president laughed as he awkwardly explained that he couldn't say anything about it and Marin believed his microphone was no longer broadcasting because music and an end-screen were on the monitor he was heard to mutter to his interviewer: In Imola Ferrari driver Antonio Giovinazzi claimed top spot in qualifying for Sunday's Imola World Endurance Championship round as Valentino Rossi took class pole in LMGT3 Ferrari made it a good day for the home crowd by following up on Rossi’s performance by blocking out the front row of the grid in the Hyperpole session for the fastest 10 cars in the initial qualifying period Giovinazzi posted a 1m28.920s aboard the #51 factory 499P Le Mans Hypercar to end up with a margin of more than seven tenths over the customer Ferrari run by AF Corse and driven by Robert Kubica Kubica trailed Giovinazzi by eight tenths after the initial push laps a subsequent improvement to a 1m29.678s failing to trouble the factory car ahead of him Second on the grid still represented a major achievement for the privateer side of the AF team It had to rebuild the rear end of the #83 Ferrari after an engine fire in final free practice ahead of qualifying on Saturday afternoon which notched up a 1-2-3 result at the WEC curtain-raiser in Qatar in February didn’t enjoy the perfect day after ending up at the top of the order in all three practice periods Antonio Fuoco failed to make it through to the Hyperpole session after losing a series of laps to track-limit violations in opening qualifying #15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor BMW driver Dries Vanthoor who had equalled Giovinazzi’s mark at the top of the times in FP2 on Friday afternoon The Belgian ended up just over a tenth behind Kubica in the #15 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh on a 1m29.885s Toyota took fourth and fifth with its pair of GR010 HYBRID LMHs, Ryo Hirakawa improving to 1m30.042s to pip team-mate Nyck de Vries by just a thousandth of a second Mick Schumacher took sixth for Alpine on a 1m30.190s in his Signatech-run A424 LMDh after narrowly making it through to Hyperpole: he made a last-gasp improvement after the chequered flag had fallen in the 12-minute opening session to jump into the top 10 Jean-Eric Vergne took seventh in the #93 Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMH with a 1m30.301s, which just shaded the 1m30.305s from Charles Milesi in the second of the Alpines Alex Lynn claimed eighth in the fastest of the Cadillac V-Series.R LMDhs after the car had been repaired following his off right at the start of FP3 Reigning WEC drivers' champion Kevin Estre ended up slowest in Hyperpole claimed his maiden LMGT3 pole driving the #46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo He topped the class times in Hyperpole with a 1m42.355s, which gave him a three-tenth margin over Clemens Schmid’s 1m42.661s in the best of the Auto Sport Promotion Lexus RC F GT3s Rossi had set the initial pace during the 10-minute session only for an improvement to be ruled out for a track-limits violation That resulted in the BMW being bumped down to fourth before a further improvement vaulted him back to the head of the order Schmid would then have taken the pole with 1m42.326s Zach Robichon took third for the Heart of Racing squad in the Hyperpole session fought out by the silver-rated driver in each LMGT3 line-up The Canadian was just a tenth back from Schmid on a 1m42.703s aboard his Aston Martin Vantage Simon Mann claimed fourth aboard the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 Following a dramatic curtain-raising contest in Qatar expectations are high for another unpredictable and action-packed affair as FIA WEC returns to Europe for the first time since last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans Ferrari leads the way in the Hypercar category heading to its home circuit buoyed by a commanding podium lockout at Lusail the Prancing Horse secured the top three spots on the grid at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari last season but failed to convert that into victory after being wrong-footed by the weather the legendary Italian manufacturer is keen to make amends.. Reigning title-holder Porsche Penske Motorsport will continue to run three-driver crews in its pair of 963 Hypercars in preparation for Le Mans with the German brand bidding to quickly bounce back from a disappointing start to its championship defence in the Middle East Aston Martin THOR Team is conversely slimming down to two drivers in each of its Valkyries as per the squad’s plan for the shorter races British outfits TF Sport (Corvette) and United Autosports (McLaren) will look to reprise their epic Qatari duel while Vista AF Corse will be eager to exploit home advantage with its two-strong stable of Ferraris The only driver change is in the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus, where the injured Ben Barnicoat will be replaced by Esteban Masson To view the full entry list, click here Colapinto Nearing F1 EntryRumors surrounding Franco Colapinto’s future in Formula 1 are heating up as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix approaches may be closer to returning to the grid than expected amid growing uncertainty around Jack Doohan the young starter who has yet to convince the French team The 21-year-old Colapinto signed with Alpine as a reserve driver at the beginning of 2025 after completing nine Grand Prix appearances with Williams the previous season he’s been actively involved in simulations patiently waiting for his chance to get back on track Talks about a possible debut in Imola gained traction this week after Horacio Marín president of YPF —one of Colapinto’s main sponsors— casually mentioned off-camera that the driver might be racing in the upcoming event Though Marín later clarified it was a personal wish rather than official news his words sparked excitement among Argentine fans When asked during the Miami Grand Prix weekend Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes acknowledged the rumors but remained cautious “I saw it like everyone else — an Argentine sponsor expressing a personal opinion It’s normal that fans in Argentina want to see him race,” he said Oakes reaffirmed that Doohan remains their current driver but admitted that the team constantly evaluates performance Pressure has been mounting on the Australian due to underwhelming results and recent friction with the team he failed to progress past the first qualifying round of the Sprint This disappointing performance contrasts with the growing internal support Colapinto enjoys within the Enstone-based team Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore didn’t rule out potential changes: “We have three drivers We assess race by race and will decide accordingly.” Briatore also emphasized the high-stakes nature of the sport: “Pressure currently enduring a difficult season with just one points finish —a seventh-place by Pierre Gasly in Bahrain— is actively seeking ways to improve its performance in the midfield battle Colapinto’s name is gaining momentum as a serious contender While there is no official confirmation yet the signs suggest that the Argentine might get his chance sooner rather than later A debut at Imola no longer sounds like a fantasy — it’s shaping up to be a real and timely possibility that could open a new chapter in his career Ferrari maintained its strong start to the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign in opening practice for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Imola (18-20 April) as Robert Kubica set the pace for the Prancing Horse in FP1 today Free Practice 2 gets underway at 16.00 local time (CET) Sometimes I wonder what I’m watching when I travel the world to report on international sportscar racing convoluted safety car regulations and the like But the Imola 6 Hours last Sunday went some way to restoring my faith in the branch of our sport that I’ve made my life We really didn’t know as the clock ticked down in an absorbing final hour For all the complaints about the BoP deciding the outcome of the races before the green flag has dropped Imola showed that there is still plenty of room for strategic interplay that can mix things up The fact that the AF Corse-run customer Ferrari crossed the line fourth The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have told us that the BoP is never going to “compensate for the lack of optimisation in racing” I’ve had a bit of a whinge about a Hypercar’s ability to look after its tyres being factored into the BoP for this season but Imola proved there’s still scope for a team and drivers to make a difference BMW and Alpine took the final two podium positions courtesy of some creative strategy over the final two hours The BMW M Hybrid LMDh was admittedly the second-fastest car around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at the weekend but the #20 machine that came through to second didn’t look like a podium finisher as it trailed into the pits with its rear bodywork flapping in the breeze early in hour three A clever fuel strategy allowed BMW and WRT to equal the best result for its LMDh Soft tyre gamble paid off for Alpine as differing strategies came into the mix Actually, I’m going to correct that: it wasn’t a gamble because team-mate Jules Gounon had already completed a double on the alternate tyre available at Imola The team knew the softs could work as the temperatures fell and also knew how to get the most out of them after Gounon’s run I’m not forgetting that Ferrari was still very much in the ascendant on home ground as it made it two out of two in this year’s WEC Its victory on Sunday wasn’t as dominant as the one first time out in Qatar in February That’s led to some inevitable questioning of the BoP and the revised system by which it is calculated this year ANALYSIS: Why Ferrari's conservatism didn't deny it in an Imola WEC thriller That’s nowhere near the 100% equivalence promised by the FIA and the ACO If you stick to that part of the explanation of the BoP system we are all quite right to start banging a drum But perhaps not if you take into account the nitty gritty of what was outlined in Qatar on the performance from the previous three races So here’s my take on what is always going to be a contentious subject The BoP in Qatar was based on the final three races of 2024 the calculations for Imola on Qatar and last year’s Fuji and Bahrain races Ferrari is reaping the rewards of hard work over the winter Is it so wrong that a manufacturer develops its machine within the strict confines of what is allowed in Hypercar, and then reaps the rewards? Excuse me for sounding like an old fuddy-duddy again, but that’s how motor racing used to work. Endeavour on the test track, in the wind tunnel, in the drawing office or wherever converting into performance on the race track used to be the name of the game. Toyota’s lack of performance this year maybe backs up my hypothesis. The GR010 Hybrid LMH is the oldest and most developed machine in Hypercar, one that underwent major upgrades ahead of its second and third seasons. So it stands to reason that Ferrari, with a car entering a third rather than fifth season, had more to gain than Toyota through a winter’s worth of development. No one has been idle over the winter, of course. All the Hypercar manufacturers are pushing to the limit to find the last tenth or two. Has Ferrari really found more than everyone else? If the BoP is doing its job as prescribed, then I would say it has to be a yes. In theory, the chasing pack should be nearer again at Spa next month when Imola is taken into account in the BoP calculations. Just don’t ask me about the Le Mans 24 Hours. The unique characteristics of the 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe mean the centrepiece round of the WEC in June has a specific BoP. It’s not based on the three-race rolling average. But come Interlagos in July, Ferrari’s winter gains should have been mitigated by the BoP. Whether that is my conclusion on what has happened so far in the WEC this year or just a hope, I’m not quite sure. Nor am I bold enough to try to predict whether Ferrari is going to be out front on its own at Spa, but I will stick my neck out and say we’re in for another great WEC race. Some fickle Ardennes weather and, I’m sure, a safety car or two should shake things up a bit on the majestic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Expect some more left-field strategic thinking on the pitwall. Whether Ferrari will keep the number one spot or suffer in the BoP stakes is unclear Porsche Penske Motorsport claimed crucial points in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the 6 Hours of Imola as the Manthey 1st Phorm team took its first LMGT3 win of the season finished eighth in the six-hour race on Sunday to score four points the #6 car led for parts of the race on an off-set strategy but exited into eighth after its final pitstop Michael Christensen and Mathieu Jaminet narrowly missed out on the points The #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 shared by Neel Jani Nicolas Pino and Nicolás Varrone was in 14th as the sole customer Porsche 963 the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm entry of Ryan Hardwick Richard Lietz and Riccardo Pera claimed a stellar win despite a fierce challenge from the #46 BMW in the closing laps The Porsche Penske Motorsport team had a tough qualifying on Saturday with the #6 car making it through to Hyperpole to line up 10th The pair avoided contact in the chaotic opening stages with the #6 running in 12th with Vanthoor at the wheel two places ahead of the sister car driven by Andlauer The #5 car was soon embroiled in a fierce battle with the #50 Ferrari and a small mistake at Piratella meant the home team made it past up the inside at Acque Minerali That same car soon posed a threat to the #6 car up ahead and traffic at Tosa allowed the Ferrari through at Rivazza prompted by an incident in the LMGT3 class Two lots of bad luck came soon after for the #5 car in the form of a five-second penalty for a start procedure infringement before it was pushed onto the grass by the #94 Peugeot though Andlauer was able to stay out of trouble Both cars stopped around the one-hour mark with the #6 out in 10th and the #5 in 14th The #6 quickly made up several places as those ahead were penalised and was soon running eighth 35 seconds off the leader after passing a damaged #20 BMW which had suffered contact from the #7 Toyota Another full course yellow came soon after before further stops saw it boosted to third benefitting from a clean race and both penalties and contact for its rivals and despite a stellar defensive effort from Campbell the #6 car was passed at Rivazza before another pause in the action courtesy of a virtual safety car The #6 car pitted from second under that VSC before the #5 car stopped soon after for Christensen to take the wheel from Jaminet and exit in eighth A fantastic stint from Estre kept the #6 Porsche in the fight for as long as possible but both Ferrari and Toyota had superior pace and he exited his next stop in 12th and though the #6 was in the podium positions into the closing stages its final fuel stop saw it exit the pits into eighth The #5 car narrowly missed out on the points The #99 Proton Competition car started Sunday’s race in 14th Though it dropped a couple of positions in the opening stages it was running up two spots in 12th at the close of the first hour It was making strong progress into the top 10 before being cycled back by stops and then running wide onto the gravel at Tamburello to lose a position to the #35 car The #99 car continued to run just outside the top 10 for the remainder of the race The #92 Manthey 1st Phorm entry took its first win at Imola fending off a last lap challenge from the #46 BMW to take victory Hardwick took the wheel for the opening stint starting from seventh and quickly gaining positions to run fourth at the end of the first hour Having dropped to the back of the points as the stops cycled through the #92 fought back up the order to run third at the end of hour three Lietz took the wheel for the final stage of the race taking the lead of the class soon after the five-hour mark despite Kelvin van der Linde rapidly closing in the last few laps Though he made several attempts to pass on the final two laps The #85 Iron Dames car was driven by Martin first and was handed a drive-through penalty in hour one after unfortunate contact with the #37 TF Sport car at Tamburello Steady progress throughout the next few hours saw them chip away at their rivals and they were up to 11th at the end of hour four Pitting slightly ahead of the rest of the field soon after put them into the points The World Endurance Championship returns for its third round of the 2025 season with the 6 Hours of Spa at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on May 10 Last year’s event was a rain-interrupted thriller The 6 Hours of Spa is the final challenge before the highlight of the season: The 24 Hours of Le Mans * All new vehicles offered by Porsche are type-approved according to WLTP Official NEDC values derived from WLTP values are no longer available for new vehicles as of 1 January 2023 and can therefore not be provided specific vehicle and are not part of the offered product range They are only for the purposes of comparison between different vehicle tyrpes Additional equipment and accessories (add-on parts tyre formats etc.) can change relevant vehicle parameters such as weight can influence the fuel/electricity consumption Sportscar365’s notebook following first on-track WEC action at Imola… ***The result from Friday’s second Free Practice session marks only the second time in FIA World Endurance Championship history that a dead heat has been recorded The only other time it occurred was during qualifying for the 2014 Six Hours of Shanghai when Porsche drivers Romain Dumas and Neel Jani captured pole with an identical time compared to Toyota pairing Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi It should be noted that that was a combined average time as WEC’s qualifying format still featured multiple drivers back then ***This weekend marks the 95th WEC race since the world championship’s inception at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2012 The 100th race will come at this year’s 6 Hours of Fuji ***Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA driver Alex Lynn believes it’s going to be an “intense” race with the likelihood of changing conditions and three different tire options when factoring in the Michelin wet weather compound into the mix alongside the Soft and Medium slicks ***Lynn said: “I think the weather on Sunday is going to play a big part in that with the two different compounds and the wet The [wet] to slick transition is very important Some cars work really well in that condition Generally I think Sunday’s race is going to be intense from the cockpit I think it’s going to be a good race and stressful from behind the wheel.” ***Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Mike Conway added: “It’s all going to be about what you’re going to do in terms of stint lengths in the race That’s going to determine what we’re going to choose The [tire] deg here is not that bad so we’ll just see how we can manage that.” Ferrari’s performance and regulations manager welcomed Michelin’s decision to make the Soft compound of tires available to teams this weekend describing them as “a better alternative” to the Hard compound that was used last year ***Barbieri said: “The surface roughness and the energy that you put on the tires makes the Soft a more drivable option than the Hard,” he said but having this changeable weather conditions the Soft is giving you a wider window to work.” Barbieri indicated the usage of the Soft tires could also add a new strategic element to the race saying: “We expect the warm-up to be quite faster on the Soft than on the Medium later when the pace could be slower due to the Soft tire degradation the amount of time that you gain in the out lap thanks to the quicker warm-up could be worth [it] and keep you faster after two stints or so.” 5 Porsche 963 will have to serve two separate penalties during Saturday’s third and final Free Practice session was handed out after Julien Andlauer accessed the fast lane before the three minutes signal in Free Practice 2 Mathieu Jaminet was then found to be in constant abuse of track limits resulting in another five-minute stop-and-hold penalty on top of the earlier infraction BMW and Toyota) have sought either clarifications or procedural tweaks regarding the new driver weight system that was introduced for this season Toyota Gazoo Racing team manager John Steegs proposed to introduce “random weight checks during the race which would see a driver step onto the scale when he/she comes out of the car.” This would replace the current system which gives technical delegates the discretion to request random driver weight checks at any time up to 4 hours prior to the start of the race ***Toyota’s proposal was rejected by the championship which stated that article 7.3.4 of the sporting regulations already gives technical delegates the authority to check weights at any time during the competition a separate request filed by BMW M Team WRT to move the deadline for the declaration of driver weights to the end of pre-race scrutineering checks on Thursday at 7 p.m this was set at the conclusion of pre-race administrative checks which placed the deadline six hours earlier on the same day ***Toyota Gazoo Racing driver and team principal Kamui Kobayashi will miss a Super Formula event for the first time in nearly four years as a result of his WEC commitments with the single seater series in action at Motegi this weekend Kobayashi was last forced to skip a Super Formula round due to a WEC clash during the Bahrain double header at the end of 2021 ***Both Sebastien Buemi and Nyck de Vries “should be with” Toyota for the 6 Hours of São Paulo despite a clash with the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship according to Toyota WEC technical director David Floury who has strengthened his stance on the situation since asking back in February during the Qatar season opener ***Floury indicated that their contracts give precedence to Toyota’s WEC program although the weekend will mark the first post-Le Mans clash in recent memory we will review depending on their positions in their respective championships “The target is to have both of them with us.” ***Peugeot Sport technical director Olivier Jansonnie clarified that its reserve driver will be on-site in São Paulo but may not necessarily race The French brand is expecting for both Stoffel Vandoorne and Jean-Eric Vergne to miss the WEC round ***Iron Lynx will further add to its Le Mans preparation program for Stephen and Brenton Grove by entering the International GT Open season opener at Portimao later this month. Previously, the team already confirmed an entry in the Michelin 12H Misano on May 23-25 during which team boss Andrea Piccini will make his first race start since 2021 ***No fewer than six drivers (Augusto Farfus Ferdinand Habsburg and Christian Ried) were found to have exceeded the pit lane speed limit during Free Practice 1 all resulting in fines and the deletion of lap times Van der Linde was found to have committed the infringement twice while Ried was the heaviest offender by going 11 kph (6.8 mph) over the limit resulting in a fine of €1,100 ($1,250 USD) ***The support bill for this weekend’s event consists of two championships with the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland joined by the Italian X-GT4 Supersport GT series The field for the latter consists a mixture of various single-make cars from the likes of Lamborghini as well as a GT4 class that features three Lotus Emira GT4s ***Saturday’s schedule features the final on-track running ahead of Sunday’s six-hour race with the third and final Free Practice session at 10:40 a.m followed by qualifying at with FP2 to follow at 2.30 p.m John Dagys and Jamie Klein contributed to this report Davey Euwema is Sportscar365's European Editor Euwema covers the FIA World Endurance Championship European Le Mans Series and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Aston Martin is clinging to a straw, a straw that is burning so hot that even Fernando Alonso doesn’t seem to want to hold on to it The British team’s poor start to the season seemed a foregone conclusion from the outset but no one could have predicted such a disaster despite the possibility of updates for the next race there is little confidence that they will make a significant leap forward on the current grid The poor start to the season has hit Fernando Alonso particularly hard The Asturian driver has been involved in accidents and retirements in races where points were possible—thanks to his quality who has shown that on equal terms he is a couple of steps below the Oviedo native The best example of this came this weekend in Miami where Alonso had the chance to finish on the podium – incredible as it may sound – in the race to the spint The team’s poor decision not to pit on time relegated him to eighth place But his accident with Lawson took him out of the race – something that once again favored Stroll in his quest for points The weekend couldn’t have ended worse for Aston Martin with both cars out in Q1 and finishing last in the race possibly the worst pace of the entire season Lawrence Stroll has made a significant commitment to making Aston Martin a winning team The factory has been changed and equipped with the latest technology on the market The best engineers in the world of F1 have been hired Everything pointed to the team going upwards and that seemed to be the case in 2023 when Fernando Alonso was back fighting for podiums But everything fell apart to the point where we are now For 2025, Stroll has put the icing on a cake that is not yet well baked, with the addition of a new wind tunnel and the arrival of Adrian Newey considered the best engineer in the history of the sport but the changes should be seen in the next race The new improvements are here, the first with the new wind tunnel, with Adrian Newey (supposedly 100% focused on 2026), and it’s the straw Aston Martin is grasping at. We warned about this a few weeks ago exclusively on Grada3 But the truth is that every improvement the team has made to its various cars has been a step backwards in terms of performance Fernando Alonso himself warned of this after the Miami race “We need to improve and hopefully take a step forward in Imola where we hope to make progress with the new things we are bringing We talk about Aston’s as if the others were resting or sleeping Whatever we take to Imola or the following races it’s best not to raise false expectations but miracles in F1 don’t usually happen but it’s the straw Aston Martin is clinging to © 2025 Grada3.com - Soccer © 2025 Grada3.com - Soccer