F1Weekly Podcast # 1122
McLAREN DISQUALIFIED FROM LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX! VERSTAPPEN NOW HAS A REAL SHOT AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP. DID LCH SIMPLY HAVE A SENIOR MOMENT? THE FIA DEFEND F1 MARSHALL INTERVENTION AND…FERNANDO DOES NOT LIKE THE VEGAS GRAND PRIX IN. NOVEMBER!
THE NASIR HAMEED CORNER HAS MORE CLASSIC F1 HISTORY AND, OUR INTERVIEW…CARLOS BOBADA , ATLANTIC SERIES TEAM OWNER.
Max Verstappen made an early move on race leader Lando Norris of McLaren to take first place at the Las Vegas Grand Prix before cruising to victory and ensuring that he remains in the hunt for the world title. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver powered home for his sixth victory of the season and is now 24 points behind Norris (who was disqualified for excessive skid-block wear) in the championship standings with two races remaining. Meanwhile, teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished in 14th place.
MAX VERSTAPPEN:
“Everything went really smooth today and we did well to keep the tyres alive. It was great to get the win here and we had a very good day. The last few laps were very strong, we made no mistakes and had good communication with the pit wall throughout. Our start was really good and Lando was a bit late on the brakes. It was important to get ahead as we were able to then do our own thing and stay really consistent.
During the race, the Mediums felt better than expected and we did a decent stint first which made things easier when we got on to the Hard compound. It was a good race for us, we had good pace and everything worked really well. For the next few races we just need to do the best we can and keep trying to win as many races until the end of the year and maximise everything we can. I had fun out there today.”
LAURENT MEKIES, CEO & Team Principal
“Everyone in the Team and back in Milton Keynes can be proud. The car was fast at a track where we struggled a bit last year and this weekend no one had time to properly prepare because Thursday’s practice was somewhat disturbed, as was FP3. The car was fast, our tyre management was up to the job and our execution was very strong. When Max needed to push, he did and was able to bring more to the table.
This is a race like no other with the low temperatures and the track layout and tonight, Max and the Team mastered it. As for the start, Max is unbeatable when it comes to this sort of move, so we are no longer surprised! But there were a few critical moments in the race, when George pitted while we and Lando stayed out, but everyone managed it to perfection. As for Yuki, we paid the price for what happened yesterday. Today, we made it, a win is a win, so now we will reset and look ahead to Qatar with the same objective of extracting everything from our package.”
George Russell:
That was a difficult race, so I’m relieved to have finished P3 and added another podium to our tally. I had an opportunity to put Max under pressure in both stints but doing that hurt the tyre. That was particularly the case on the Hard tyre and made the rest of my race challenging. At one point I thought we were going to have to make another stop but thankfully we had a good gap behind us, and we could manage our pace to the end to take third.
Kimi did an amazing job to finish P4 on the road and P5 in the final classification. Collectively, it’s a great result for the team as we come away here with another good bunch of points. Our aim is to hold second in the Constructors’ Championship come Abu Dhabi and we now head to Qatar with our advantage intact.
Kimi Antonelli
I am very happy with how our race went this evening. It felt like redemption after yesterday where we were knocked out in Q1. It was a shame that we started so far back as without that, we would have definitely been in the hunt right at the front. That said, we need to be pleased with how we performed today and that we were able to add good points for the team after a difficult qualifying.
Halfway through the race I started to see some graining on the front tyres. That made me a little worried that we would be forced into a second stop and lose the positions we had gained. I was focused on talking to the tyres and just asking them to hold on! Eventually the graining cleaned up and I was able to put some strong laps in and limit the damage of our penalty to take P5.
Toto Wolff, CEO & Team Principal
The stopwatch never lies so today seems like a fair result. Many people had labelled us as favourites after winning here last year but we knew that a repeat performance of such dominance was going to be unlikely 12 months on. We come away from here with another good haul of points for the championship though and that is always the aim.
George was pushing early in both stints to try and overtake Verstappen for the lead. That likely asked a lot of the tyre which we suffered with later in the stint. That, coupled with the pace of the McLaren, made it impossible for him to resist Norris but he did a good job to manage his pace to the end and bring home the podium. Kimi meanwhile did a brilliant job to push from P17 all the way to P4 on the road and P5 after the penalty was applied. We can only imagine what he would have done today if he was starting nearer the front. Nevertheless, it was another good performance building on several strong weekends that he has put together recently.
George Kurtz becomes co-owner of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team through minority acquisition in Toto Wolff ownership entity, appointed Technology Advisor.
Business innovator and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner invests in the future of the Mercedes-
Las Vegas, NV, and Brackley, UK – November 20, 2025 – The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and George Kurtz, CEO and Founder of CrowdStrike, today announced that Kurtz has become a co-owner of the team and been appointed Technology Advisor.
Through his personal acquisition of a 15% minority interest in the ownership entity controlled by Toto Wolff, which holds one-third of the team in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and INEOS, Kurtz joins Mercedes-Benz, INEOS, and Toto Wolff in the team’s long-term ownership group.
Kurtz also joins the team’s strategic steering committee alongside Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG Ola Källenius, INEOS Group Founder and Chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and Toto Wolff. The governance of the team remains unchanged, and Wolff continues in all existing executive roles.
Kurtz is an accomplished endurance racer and globally respected business leader who has built the most successful AI cybersecurity company of the modern era. As an entrepreneur, technologist, and S&P 500 CEO, he’s established and scaled world-class innovation and teams. Kurtz’s combination of experience uniquely spans cybersecurity, large-scale technology operations, and professional motorsport.
In his advisory capacity, Kurtz will support the team’s innovation and technology strategy, with a focus on the intersection of competitive motorsport, data analytics, and performance. He will also work to grow the team’s ecosystem across the U.S. and global technology sectors, and to secure competitive advantage and investment from new tech partners.
“Winning in racing and cybersecurity requires speed, precision, and innovation. Milliseconds matter. Execution counts. Data wins,” said George Kurtz, CrowdStrike Founder and CEO. “Technology is reshaping competitive advantage and human capability everywhere, including motorsport. I’m excited to help the team securely accelerate forward.”
Kurtz’s ownership builds on years of strategic partnership since CrowdStrike became a Global Partner with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team in 2019. This strategic partnership continues, with CrowdStrike providing AI-powered cybersecurity solutions that protect the team’s technology infrastructure.
Welcoming George Kurtz to the team, Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff commented: “George’s background is unusual in its breadth: he’s a racer, a loyal sporting ambassador for Mercedes-AMG, and an exceptional entrepreneur. He understands both the demands of racing and the realities of building and scaling technology businesses. That combination brings specific insight that is increasingly relevant to the future of Formula One.”
ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO, ARTISTS EQUITY AND WHISPER TEAM UP WITH MARK STEWART PRODUCTIONS FOR ADRIAN NEWEY F1 DOCUMENTARY.
Silverstone, UK, 20 November 2025: – Aston Martin Aramco, The Whisper Group and Mark Stewart Productions (MSP) today announced an exciting collaboration with Artists Equity to deliver Turbulence: The Greatest Mind in F1® (working title), a documentary telling the incredible story of Adrian Newey, the world’s greatest ever race car designer, as he sets out on his ambitious journey of advancing Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team to the front of the grid. The documentary will be produced in collaboration with Aston Martin Aramco and F1®.
With an extraordinary 12 World Constructors’ Championships and 14 World Drivers’ Championships to his credit, F1 fans revere Adrian as an era-defining genius. Turbulence follows Newey into the next chapter of his career after he surprised the motorsports world at the beginning of 2025 by leaving Red Bull to join Aston Martin Aramco.
Given his unprecedented run of success over the last three decades, the expectations and pressure as he joins Aston Martin Aramco are sky-high. With exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the team’s Silverstone campus, the film will follow Adrian as he attempts to design a World Championship challenging car for the relentlessly ambitious British brand, led by owner Lawrence Stroll. This contemporary narrative will be intercut with scenes exploring the triumphs and heartbreaking tragedies of Adrian’s truly astonishing career. Turbulence will transcend motorsport and explore universal human themes of ambition, sacrifice, tragedy, and redemption.
Adrian Newey, Managing Technical Partner, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team: “When Mark Stewart approached me about making a docu film, whilst flattered I was initially not sure whether to accept. However, one of the touching things about my 2017 autobiography is the number of letters I have received, relaying how much the book had sparked their interest in and appreciation of the design and engineering that goes into racing cars, how interactive the car design is with the drivers, and how much success is about mindset.
“Hopefully this film can portray the passion, the working practice, the strength of mind that is involved in bringing an F1 car to the grid. The film charts the challenges I have faced in joining a new team in early March to prepare for what is arguably the biggest regulation change in F1 history. It also delves into the story behind my career up to this point and how it has helped to prepare me for this enormous challenge.
“It’s been a wild ride so far, but F1 never stands still. I hope that the film will capture some of that
restless energy, and our constant drive towards improved performance.”
Indy 500 Winner Palou Unveils Image on Borg-Warner Trophy
INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025) – 2025 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Alex Palou unveiled his likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy on Nov. 19 in Indianapolis, one of the most significant honors since he earned his first Indy 500 victory May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Palou, driving the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, earned the first oval victory of his career and became the first Spaniard to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” He passed Marcus Ericsson on Lap 187 and never trailed thereafter, earning Chip Ganassi Racing’s sixth Indy 500 victory.
The unveiling took place at The Above Event Center at Commission Row. Located in downtown Indianapolis, it is part of the Pacers Sports & Entertainment Complex known as Bicentennial Unity Plaza. Following the unveil, Palou attended the Indiana Pacers’ game with the Borg-Warner Trophy. It was a full-circle moment as he also attended an Indiana Pacers’ playoff game following his Indy 500 win.
The bas-relief, sterling silver image of Palou is the 112th face to be affixed to the iconic trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 since 1936.
“This is one of those days that I knew I wanted to be part of at some point in my career,” Palou said. “I knew it was going take a lot of work, and finally to be here and to get to see the trophy for the first time, it’s amazing.
“I know that it’s always going to be there forever, if I race one more year or if I race 50 more years. And whatever the history of INDYCAR is going to be, it’s always going to be there. So, it’s great to be part of all those amazing drivers. And, yeah, I feel that now. I want to get that face again on that trophy. Try and be part again of the history of our sport.”
Renowned sculptor Will Behrends created Palou’s image, as he has for every winner since 1990.
Behrends begins his creative process by studying a series of 360-degree photos of the winner to get a baseline for sculpting. Palou then visited Behrends’ studio in Tryon, North Carolina, for an in-person session where Behrends constructed a full-scale clay model of the driver’s face.
This life-size clay version is used as reference for Behrends to construct the smaller model, a piece created out of a mixture of oil-based clay. The smaller clay model is turned into a mold and cast in wax before being sent to a jeweler to be transformed into sterling silver. Behrends completes his process by polishing and buffing the sculpture before adhering it to the trophy.
“I’m honored to continue one of the greatest traditions in all of sports and unveil the latest addition to the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy at this beautiful venue,” said Michelle Collins, global director, Marketing and Public Relations, BorgWarner. “Alex’s victory exemplifies that tenacity and constant commitment to excellence will result in success, on and off the track. On behalf of everyone at BorgWarner, congratulations to Alex and the team at Chip Ganassi Racing.”
Originally designed in 1935, the sterling silver trophy measures over 5 feet, 4-3/4 inches tall and weighs more than 110 pounds as it carries the sculpted face of every victor since 1911 and of former IMS owner Tony Hulman.
Early next year, Palou will receive his BorgWarner Championships Driver’s Trophy, also known as a “Baby Borg,” a miniature replica of the large-scale Borg-Warner Trophy.