🏁 Zandvoort has departed Formula One in characteristic fashion: noise, drama and absolutely no intention of slipping quietly out through the side door.
Now the paddock heads for Monza.
Mercedes has an intriguing problem; Ferrari has the inevitable Italian expectations — and McLaren has quietly removed one very important driver from Formula One’s future shopping list.
♔ Full Story
The paddock view:
The summer holiday is over. The politics certainly aren’t.
▪️The significant development today is Lando Norris.
The reigning World Champion has extended his McLaren contract until at least the end of 2030, with a multi-year option beyond that.
Norris joined McLaren’s junior programme in 2017, made his Formula One debut with the team in 2019 and has now effectively tied his long-term future to Woking.
He described staying as the easiest decision of his career.
▪️Meanwhile, attention turns to Monza, where championship leader Kimi Antonelli is due to take a grid penalty following a planned Mercedes power-unit change.
Mercedes believes Monza is mathematically the best circuit at which to take the punishment — despite the minor inconvenience of it being Antonelli’s home Grand Prix.
▪️Toto Wolff explained that the algorithms don’t consider nationality.
▪️Which may be the most Formula One sentence of the week.
♔ What to watch:
Ferrari arrives under the usual home pressure, Antonelli faces a recovery drive, and McLaren arrives with its World Champion’s future settled.
♔ Bottom line: Formula One is back from its summer break.
📍 ‘So, very definitely, is the intrigue.’
