F1 Today | More silly season news thanks to VCARB and the Spaniards

No matter if you are overperforming or underperforming in Formula 1, unless you have a signed contract for 2025, the silly season is well and truly underway for you, mainly thanks to Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton. Spanish drivers Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso gave some updates about their future, while after another mostly disappointing weekend by Daniel Ricciardo, pundits and experts call for replacing the Aussie driver. Here are the best news of 9 April.

After a promising start to 2023, getting closer to win his 33rd Grand Prix in Formula 1, Fernando Alonso stated over the weekend clearly that he now only has the fifth best car on the grid at the moment. As it is hard to know how many more years are left in his great career, Alonso might have to choose another team wisely, as it might be his final move in this category.

One team that seems to be less appealing for the two-time world champion are Mercedes, as Alonso told Sky Sports that signing for them "doesn't feel that attractive."

Current Ferrari driver, but the one to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton in 2025, Carlos Sainz, also told Sky Sports that he iss "talking to a few [teams] because that's what my management team and myself have to do." After his great start to the season, Sainz is in a great position in terms of contract talks.

In GPblog's poll from yesterday, 67.5% of our readers believe that VCARB should let Daniel Ricciardo go, which also means Liam Lawson could get a permanent seat in Formula 1. Former F1 driver Christijan Albers was also critical of Ricciardo, and wants Lawson to drive his car.

What certainly does not help his that Helmut Marko also made a cynical comment about Ricciardo, as he thanked him for his crash because that could help Max Verstappen win the Japanese Grand Prix last Sunday. In other news, the Austrian advisor also commented on the potential sale of the Visa Cash App RB team.

Adrian Newey believes Red Bull have made a step forward with their new upgrades, which were introduced at the Suzuka Circuit. "It was a small step forward. I think this weekend we’d probably have been OK anyway. We all know it’s going to tighten up so we just keep pushing," Newey underlined to Sky Sports after Red Bull achieved their third one-two finish in 2024 in just four races.

News were published about the 2026 regulations too. Motorsport.com reports that it is believed F1 will have to review their plans for active aerodynamics based on test results.