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Aston Martin bolster F1 line-up with two driver extensions
racingnews365.com·

Aston Martin bolster F1 line-up with two driver extensions

Aston Martin has announced it is continuing its collaboration with Stoffel Vandoorne and Jak Crawford this year. Vandoorne, a former F1 driver for McLaren, has carried out reserve driver duties at Aston Martin over the last several years. His most recent outing with the team came at the end of year test from Abu Dhabi in 2025. The Belgian driver will be on hand to take over driving duties should Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll be unavailable during the year. Jak Crawford, a former member of the Red Bull junior team, joined up with Aston Martin in 2024. The American will remain in the position of third driver this year. Crawford had two free practice outings with the Silverstone-based squad in 2025 before partaking in the season-ending young driver's test. https://x.com/AstonMartinF1/status/2016089019889729594 Momentum continues. Together. Stoffel will remain in his role as Simulator, Test and Reserve Driver in 2026, while Jak continues as the team’s Third Driver. pic.twitter.com/jr62p97i0w — Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) January 27, 2026

Zak Brown addresses million-dollar ruling in McLaren court case
racingnews365.com·

Zak Brown addresses million-dollar ruling in McLaren court case

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has labelled the UK High Court's verdict in McLaren's court case against Alex Palou as "entirely appropriate." McLaren was suing Palou for a breach of contract after the Spanish racer broke his contract to drive for the team in IndyCar, doing so in 2023 after it dawned on Palou that he would not receive an F1 race seat for 2024. He believed that this had been promised to him during talks with McLaren chief Brown, who denied such an arrangement, and insisted Palou was simply told it was a possiblity whilst he conducted TPC running and FP1 outings. Ultimately, McLaren sued Palou for nearly $20 million in London's High Court, with the trial taking place in October 2025, attended by RacingNews365.  Mr Justice Picken, in his verdict dismissed McLaren's claims for loss of F1 monies, but did award the team a total of $10,194,844, made up of driver salary, loss of IndyCar earnings and other sponsor losses. Another claim worth between $2 million and $2.5 million is to be decided in respect of another sponsor claim, potentially pushing the total up to $12.6 million, over half of what McLaren was seeking. Responding to the verdict, available to read here, Brown issued the following statement.  "This is an entirely appropriate result for McLaren Racing," he said. "As the ruling shows, we clearly demonstrated that we fulfilled every single contractual obligation towards Alex and fully honoured what had been agreed.  "We thank the court for recognising the very significant commercial impact and disruption our business suffered as a result of Alex’s breach of contract with the team."

Helmut Marko reacts to staggering Sergio Perez Red Bull criticism
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Helmut Marko reacts to staggering Sergio Perez Red Bull criticism

Helmut Marko has reacted to Sergio Perez's staggering criticism towards Red Bull, with the Austrian admitting he found the comments "surprising". Perez joined Red Bull ahead of the 2021 season to replace Alex Albon, following the Mexican driver being left without a seat after Force India did not renew his contract.  Red Bull saved Perez's F1 career, with the pair having spent four eventful years together. Perez claimed five wins for the Milton Keynes-based outfit, although he never consistently matched Max Verstappen.  In the end, Perez's form spiralled out of control, leading to his exit at the end of 2024. It resulted in a one-year sabbatical from F1, with him to rejoin this year with new outfit Cadillac. There is clearly no love lost for Perez towards Red Bull, who fired a series of comments against the team in a recent podcast appearance. "At Red Bull, everything was a problem," Perez said on the Cracks podcast. "If I was very fast, it was a problem, because then there was a very tense atmosphere within Red Bull.  "If I was faster than Max, it was a problem. If I was slower than Max, it was a problem. So everything was a problem. I also learned a lot from that: 'OK, these are the circumstances I'm in'." Marko's reaction Perez was very much a number two driver while at Red Bull and played a major part in McLaren beating the outfit to the 2024 constructors' title. It was a mixed four years for the 35-year-old, although Marko raised the argument that without Red Bull, Perez's career was done. Asked for his thoughts on Perez's comments, Marko told ORF : "It is somewhat surprising, because we should not forget that Checo Pérez did not have a contract. He was fired from the racing team he practically kept alive. "I don't know exactly how many Grand Prix races he won, but especially in 2022 he was in the race for the world championship for a while.  "That he eventually stopped performing had several reasons, but overall I think Checo made his career with us.