Formula One News — September 2025

Lando Norris believes American Indycar star Colton Herta deserves a Formula 1 seat now rather than waiting until 2027.Herta, who is connected to Andretti and has been signed as Cadillac's official test driver for 2026, does not yet qualify for an FIA super license. The 25-year-old will be placed in Formula 2 next season to collect the required points, despite already proving himself at the top level of Indycar. "I think he's probably capable of driving a Formula 1 car and driving it at an incredibly high level," McLaren driver Norris told Indy Star newspaper. "He's probably better than most drivers that are in the ranks and coming up in F3 or F2, so I don't think he should need to race in F2, if I was the boss." Norris, who was teammate to Herta at Carlin a decade ago in the series now known as British F4, said the level in Indycar is underestimated. "IndyCar is one of the toughest series in the world," he said. "I think it's an incredibly tough car to drive and I've driven it myself. But you can tell those things, and the level of those drivers is incredibly high. "So I don't know how many points they get in Indycar, but I would put them above the level of Formula 2." Meanwhile, Bobby Epstein - chairman of the Circuit of the Americas and promoter of the US Grand Prix in Austin - told Newsweek that construction has already begun to expand the paddock for the 12th team for 2026. "We have to build new garages, because there's another team on the grid," he revealed. "And someone said, 'Well, you're building the Cadillac garages.' And I said, 'What makes you think that garage is going to be for Cadillac? Because I don't expect them to be the last-place team.'" Epstein continued: "And they said, 'Well, it goes by the year before', so I forgot about that. So they're automatically, by default, the Cadillac garages." Epstein added that an American driver's success would lift F1's profile even higher in the United States. "For the sport's sake, separate from just COTA and the grand prix at our track, if there were an American champion driver, that would go a lot farther. "That would take it to the next level." <span class="gmm">(GMM)</span>

Mercedes' confirmation of its 2026 driver lineup is being delayed by George Russell's ongoing contract negotiations, according to reports.

Franz Tost has paid tribute to Honda as the Japanese manufacturer's ultra-successful partnership with Red Bull races towards the finish line.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has dismissed talk that Formula 1's next-generation cars could approach 400 kilometres per hour.

Max Verstappen has successfully secured his license to race GT3 machinery at the Nurburgring, after completing the required laps in his debut outing in the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has insisted Formula 1's governing body was not behind the decision to drop the Russian GP.

Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has accused the fabled Maranello marque of trying to erase him from its history.

French rookie Isack Hadjar says he is proud to be compared to Formula 1 legend Alain Prost.

Toto Wolff has revealed just how close he came to walking away from Formula 1 five years ago.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has admitted the recent Israeli airstrike in Doha makes the upcoming Qatar GP a sensitive issue, though he remains hopeful the race will go ahead as planned.

Speculation is intensifying about who will partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine in 2026, with several names now in the frame.

Cadillac's entry to Formula 1 in 2026 will be eased by an unusual agreement with Ferrari.

chairman John Elkann is in the headlines this week for more than Formula 1, as former president Luca di Montezemolo launched a stinging critique of the Maranello marque's current state.

Audi's new partnership with Adidas will be worth less than the German sportswear giant's parallel sponsorship with Mercedes.

Ralf Schumacher has criticised German motorsport authorities for making Max Verstappen "sweat" over his licence to race at the Nurburgring.

Max Verstappen says he wants Barcelona to remain part of the Formula 1 world championship schedule beyond 2026.

Cadillac is ramping up preparations for its 2026 Formula 1 entry, having staged a full-scale 'shadow race weekend' at last week's Italian GP at Monza.

Ralf Schumacher has revealed he is now being blanked by Flavio Briatore, after criticising the 75-year-old Alpine advisor and de-facto team boss earlier this year.

Carlos Sainz says that if he had never left McLaren, he would now be in contention for the Formula 1 world championship.

Former Formula 1 driver Christian Danner has joined the critics of McLaren's controversial handling of the Oscar Piastri-Lando Norris swap at Monza.

Ferrari has suffered a major blow to its 2026 Formula 1 program, with veteran engine chief Wolf Zimmermann and his deputy Lars Schmidt leaving Maranello to reunite with Mattia Binotto at Audi.

Flavio Briatore says Alpine will decide by the end of October whether Franco Colapinto keeps his seat for 2026.

Geronimo La Russa, the new president-elect of Italy's Automobile Club (ACI), says Monza is serious about securing its place on the Formula 1 calendar.

Fernando Alonso says the arrival of Adrian Newey at Aston Martin this year gave him new confidence about the team's future.