F1 Today | Red Bull and McLaren lodge appeal, Alpine's clear candidate for 2027 seat

After the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Verstappen is currently 101 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, despite the Italian's DNF last Sunday. With 108 points in total up for grabs until the summer break, it is now nearly impossible for the Dutchman to lead the standings by then. Verstappen is also sixty points behind second-placed Lewis Hamilton. George Russell is third, 51 points ahead of the four-time world champion.

Realistically, it’s virtually impossible for the Red Bull driver to be inside the top two in the standings by the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Verstappen would need to win multiple Grands Prix, while Hamilton, Russell, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri would have to suffer significant setbacks.

If that's the case, the clause feared by Red Bull Racing can be activated by the Dutchman. Whether he will actually do so is not a certainty, as his intention has always been to see out his contract with Red Bull, but the Dutchman does want to see progress in terms of on-track performance by the Austrian team. Updates are set to be introduced for the Austrian GP, team boss Laurent Mekies has previously confirmed.

The Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was another race to forget for Aston Martin, as both of the Silverstone-based team's cars failed to finish on Sunday. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was also blunt about the team's current performance, saying: "We knew that we have the worst car and the worst engine. And we've been very clear in every race so far that we have to work."

GPblog understands that effectively a completely new Aston Martin, in principle, is set to see the light of day at Zandvoort.

Recently, there were also rumours of Alonso rejoining Alpine, with many pointing to the Spaniard being spotted alongside Flavio Briatore as a sign that a return could be on the cards. That is, however, not unusual, as the Italian remains Alonso's manager. There is a clear candidate to continue alongside Pierre Gasly: Franco Colapinto, who has enjoyed a strong run of form so far in the 2026 campaign. The suggestion that Alonso would replace him should, at this stage, be dismissed as typical paddock speculation.

After the stewards have decided to reinstate Gasly as the third-place finisher of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren has lodged a notification of appeal with the FIA International Court of Appeal.

The team's statement wrote: "While we fully respect the FIA’s judicial processes and the role of the Stewards, we believe this case raises important questions concerning sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competition."

Red Bull Racing has also lodged an appeal, GPblog understands. The Austrian team's main concerns with the decision are the sporting implications and the potential consequences arising from this decision, this website has learned.