Samwise F1 Newsletter
Saturday, October 3, 2026
Antonelli Leads Final Practice at Sepang Ahead of Verstappen
Kimi Antonelli went quickest in the third and final practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, setting a 1m 36.302s at the Sepang International Circuit. The Mercedes driver finished 0.278s clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar third, half a second back. George Russell was fourth with a six-tenths deficit to his team mate, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The result followed what Mercedes described as one of its “toughest Fridays of the season.” A red flag was briefly shown for debris from Ollie Bearman’s Haas. Qualifying was scheduled to begin at 1600 local time.
Sources: Formula1.com
Leclerc Tops Dry Second Practice as Upgraded Mercedes Trails
Charles Leclerc topped second practice at Sepang with a 1m37.528s, 0.099s quicker than Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who has returned to F1 after missing three race weekends with a wrist injury. Despite a 90% chance of rain before the session, FP2 stayed dry, and the top four teams were covered by less than half a second. Lando Norris was third and Max Verstappen fourth, setting his best time on medium tyres. Lewis Hamilton was fifth and Oscar Piastri sixth. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were seventh and eighth after neither completed a clean soft-tyre lap. Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi stopped late in the session, causing a virtual safety car.
Hadjar, Colapinto and Lindblad Take Grid Penalties for Power Unit Changes
Three drivers will take grid penalties at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia after their teams changed power unit components. Isack Hadjar, who finished on the podium last weekend, takes a five-place drop after Red Bull swapped his internal combustion engine; he will use his seventh ICE of the season. Alpine fitted Franco Colapinto’s fifth ICE, a 10-place penalty on top of the five-place drop he received for colliding with Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris in Azerbaijan, moving him back 15 places in total. Racing Bulls replaced Arvid Lindblad’s ICE, turbocharger and exhaust, giving him a 30-place penalty that sends him to the back of the grid.
Verstappen Explains Why He Skipped Soft Tyres in Second Practice
Max Verstappen said he did not do a qualifying simulation run in second practice due to concerns over potential rain. The Red Bull driver, quickest in first practice using only soft tyres, set his FP2 pace on medium rubber and fell to fourth, while team-mate Isack Hadjar, on softs, was less than a tenth slower than pace-setter Charles Leclerc. “I wanted to do a long run in case there was some rain coming in,” Verstappen said, describing the track as “really hot” with “a lot of degradation.” Oscar Piastri said it “looks pretty close amongst the top four teams,” adding that his team was “maybe a tiny step behind.”
Russell Says Tyre Degradation Trumped Mercedes Upgrade on Friday
George Russell said Mercedes’ most significant package of updates for four months was “trumped” by tyre degradation on Friday at Sepang. The aerodynamic upgrade, the team’s first of this size since the Canadian Grand Prix at the end of May, includes changes to the W17’s floor and rear suspension. Russell finished second in opening practice, but he and team-mate Kimi Antonelli slipped to seventh and eighth in the second session. “I’m feeling the downforce in terms of the corners but with this amount of tyre overheating and tyre degradation that kind of trumps everything,” Russell said. He pointed to Max Verstappen’s speed and McLaren’s race pace as threats.
Sources: Sky Sports
Hamilton Warned, Ferrari Fined €10,000 for Impeding Bortoleto
Lewis Hamilton received a warning and Ferrari was fined €10,000 after Hamilton impeded Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto approaching Turn 9 in second practice at Sepang. The stewards said Hamilton was travelling at approximately 80-85 km/h when Bortoleto, on an out lap, approached at approximately 240 km/h, and that Hamilton moved towards the racing line, causing Bortoleto to brake and take evasive action. The stewards accepted that Hamilton’s right-hand mirror was damaged and treated it as a mitigating circumstance. Ferrari was fined because the team knew the mirror was damaged but did not give its driver appropriate radio warnings of significantly faster approaching cars.
Drivers Raise Concerns Over Rough Sepang Track Surface
Charles Leclerc was among several drivers to raise concerns about the Sepang track surface after Friday practice. The surface has not been fully replaced since Formula 1’s last visit in 2017; instead, patches at several key corners have been resurfaced, and the track had not seen any action in the three months before F1’s return. Large stones were evident on tyres during practice starts. “Today the conditions were very, very, very poor, and so it was very slippery,” Leclerc said. Haas driver Ollie Bearman called the tarmac “incredibly rough,” while Williams driver Alex Albon said the strategies on Sunday “will be really interesting.”
Vowles Says Cost Cap Has Created a Two-Tier Formula 1
Williams team boss James Vowles said Formula 1’s cost cap is creating a “two-tier championship” during the team boss press conference at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Vowles said the cap, first introduced in 2021, had achieved long-term financial sustainability but failed on sporting equity and compressing the field. He said the top four teams scored 83% of the points across the five cost-cap years, compared with figures in the 70s before. Alpine’s Flavio Briatore suggested a single budget cap that includes drivers. Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur pointed to the sliding scale of windtunnel time, which Vowles called “a step in the right direction.”
Alpine Questions Why Lindblad Escaped Penalty for Baku Crash
Alpine has questioned why Arvid Lindblad was not penalised for causing a collision at a Safety Car restart in Azerbaijan, when its driver Franco Colapinto was. Colapinto received a five-place grid penalty for triggering a collision that eliminated team-mate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Lindblad was involved in a collision with his Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson at the same time. “I don’t understand why Racing Bulls was not penalised,” said Alpine executive consultant Flavio Briatore. The stewards said the contact was primarily the result of restricted space and the chain reaction caused by the incident ahead. Alpine are 15 points behind Racing Bulls in the fight for fifth.
Alpine Investor Otro Capital in Talks for Miami Grand Prix Stake
Otro Capital, the private equity firm that bought into the Alpine F1 team, is in talks with Miami Grand Prix owner Stephen Ross to purchase a stake in the event, potentially as much as 20%, according to a Front Office Sports report. The Miami GP declined to comment, but sources familiar with the situation suggested the report is accurate, although nothing has been agreed. Otro has been looking to offload its 24% stake in Alpine; talks advanced with Mercedes before the manufacturer pulled out. Otro paid $200 million for the stake in 2023, valuing Alpine at around $900 million, and was targeting more than $700 million for it.
After Round 15 — the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Drivers’ Championship
| Pos | Driver | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | 302 |
| 2 | George Russell | 236 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 199 |
| 4 | Lando Norris | 186 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 179 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | 163 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | 120 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | 86 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | 59 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | 41 |
| 11 | Arvid Lindblad | 37 |
| 12 | Franco Colapinto | 27 |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | 20 |
| 14 | Gabriel Bortoleto | 10 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | 7 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | 7 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | 7 |
| 18 | Alexander Albon | 5 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | 3 |
| 20 | Yuki Tsunoda | 1 |
| 21 | Lance Stroll | 0 |
| 22 | Valtteri Bottas | 0 |
| 23 | Sergio Perez | 0 |
Constructors’ Championship
| Pos | Constructor | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 538 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 378 |
| 3 | McLaren | 306 |
| 4 | Red Bull Racing | 263 |
| 5 | Racing Bulls | 83 |
| 6 | Alpine | 68 |
| 7 | Haas F1 Team | 27 |
| 8 | Audi | 17 |
| 9 | Williams | 12 |
| 10 | Aston Martin | 3 |
| 11 | Cadillac | 0 |
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency