Formula 1

Take a hike, Max Verstappen. You're not on until next week, Kevin Magnussen.

Tomorrow (11 April) on "Who needs F1 in April when we can have this" is future F1 World Champion Lance Stroll in GT World Challenge Europe at Paul Ricard.

He'll race the #18 Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo with his Spanish team mates Mari Boya and Roberto Merhi.

Other cars to keep an eye on:

#50 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO with Arthur Leclerc (Charles' brother), Lilou Wadoux (world class female racer), and Sean Gelael (of meme fame but genuinely good in sportscars).

#48 Mercedes AMG Team MANN-FILTER with Lucas Auer, Luca Stolz, and Maro Engel in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

There are overall four classes: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Pro.

Broadcast is free on YouTube:

• 11:50 CEST Qualifying

• 17:30 CEST Race

The YouTube pages will show you the times matching your local time zones. There are also streams in other languages, such as German.

More details at https://www.gt-world-challenge-europe.com/watch-live

Austrian media is reporting that despite Marko leaving RBR/RB, he still holds an ambassador position at his home race.

At the end of June, Marko will be on site at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg. The home race takes place on June 28 in Styria. He is also scheduled to attend the MotoGP’s new September event at the Red Bull Ring in his capacity as an ambassador.

Source (in Dutch): https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/autosport/red-bull-raakt-rechterhand-max-verstappen-kwijt-gianpiero-lambiase-gaat-in-op-astronomisch-aanbod-van-mclaren/145448070.html

Via Deepl:

Lambiase (45) is under contract with Red Bull Racing through 2027. Until then, the English engineer—who also serves as Head of Racing at Red Bull—will not be going anywhere. He is expected to join rival team McLaren in 2028. This has been confirmed by multiple sources following earlier reports by De Limburger.

By bringing in Lambiase—scheduled for 2028—McLaren is already preparing for the possible departure of Andrea Stella. The current team principal is well-regarded internally at the Woking-based team, but has been linked with a return to Ferrari. For Lambiase, therefore, a significant promotion—both financially and in terms of position—lies ahead.

Having reviewed the reaction online and on social media after the Japanese Grand Prix, as a team, we feel we owe it to our fans to address certain points and questions being raised, and also once again speak out against the hate and abuse being aimed at not just one of our own drivers, but also aimed towards our racing counterparts and other members of the Formula One family.

Aston Martin removed a component that cured most of the discomfort its F1 drivers have suffered and did not race it at the Japanese GP

Former Formula 1 driver Jack Doohan will make his sports car racing debut this season after signing with Nielsen Racing to contest the European Le Mans Series.

Thoughts?

This weekend, the first 3 rounds of the 2026 F1 Sim Racing World Championship took place.

Round 1 - China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZ3t7AXC_8

Round 2 - Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue9y2GU9gpk

Round 3 - Bahrain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLgHzonrho4

Not sure if there is interest in the "sim" side of F1, but i found it quite nice to watch so far.