After months of rumours, Max Verstappen has personally put to rest the speculation about a possible move to Mercedes in 2026 by confirming his continuation with Red Bull, accordingly allowing George Russell to breathe a long sigh of relief.

The announcement of the British driver’s contract renewal now appears to be a mere formality, although no official date has been set yet.  

What is certain is that Russell can rely on his strong performances this season, including his recent podium in Budapest, which was also helped by issues faced by Charles Leclerc that affected the Monegasque’s race.

Guenther Steiner, talking on the Red Flags podcast, also believes that the Briton has more than earned his contract renewal

That there was a conversation between the Verstappen camp and Toto Wolff (CEO and team boss of the Mercedes F1 team) was obviously no secret. What has remained unclear all this time was, who approached whom first?

Was it Mercedes, seeing how Verstappen was going through a difficult time with Red Bull - both in sports and due to the internal disputes within the team? Or was it Verstappen's entourage, who after all the problems with the Austrian racing stable wanted to see what the options were elsewhere?  

Franco Colapinto had a severe crash this Wednesday during a test for Pirelli, but was able to get out without any problems.

Colapinto crashed heavily in Turn 11 at the Hungaroring on Wednesday. Photographs showed his car was heavily damaged after a significant impact. Medical staff have checked the driver and declared him okay.

Alpine has let GPblog know that, as expected, Franco Colapinto has gotten back into an F1 car during the afternoon session, as he made his laps in the A523, the 2023 car. This is being done as part of a Test of Previous Cars (TPC). Pierre Gasly drove this TPC in the morning.