Thursday's Summary: Bad news for Red Bull and Alonso stays

The summer break is finally over, so it's time to get back to racing! Formula 1 heads to Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. Lewis Hamilton defends his first place in the world championship, but the gap to Max Verstappen is only eight points. As always, Thursday was all about the press conferences.

Today the news came that the engines of Verstappen and Sergio Perez are not usable anymore. For both Verstappen and Perez, this means that they are stuck with their third engine. When this engine needs to be changed, it will mean a grid penalty for both of them. Bad news for the Red Bull Racing team.

The cooperation between Fernando Alonso and Alpine is officially continued. The Spaniard signed for 2022. Bad news for the drivers of the Alpine Academy, but Alonso shows this season that he still has what it takes.

At first, more was going to be known about the second driver for Mercedes around the weekend of Spa, but now the decision seems to be postponed to September. During the press conference, George Russell and Valtteri Bottas made some cryptic remarks that show that they might know more. It is also rumoured that Mercedes have to wait for the team of the losing driver.