New FIA Presidential candidate declared as Verstappen quizzed on GT career – round-up

Henry Valantine 18 Sep 2025 11:00 PM

Thursday’s F1 news brings an eclectic mix of stories as media day took place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

Aside from the teams all finding a new friend in the paddock cat which made its way around Azerbaijan’s capital, there are multiple on-track matters that need tending to.

F1 news: New FIA Presidential candidate declared

Swiss racing driver, Laura Villars, has declared a candidacy for the FIA Presidency, though this remains subject to a formal application.

Villars, 28, would go up against incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem as well as Tim Mayer for the role, and would become the first female candidate to run for the Presidency.

At this stage, however, PlanetF1.com understands no formal application has been made by Villars for the Presidential elections, with Friday 19th September representing the deadline for which to submit one to the FIA for the World Motorsport Council.

Max Verstappen responds to Nurburgring outing

In case you haven’t heard (and if not, why not?), Max Verstappen was in GT machinery at the Nurburgring last weekend, and he sat down to talk about it in Baku.

With the requisite licence now gained to race at the ‘Green Hell’ in future, Verstappen’s name had been floated for a potential run in the circuit’s 24-hour race next year.

That comes with a catch, however.

“For me, it’s very important to be able to do those things [outside F1],” he said.

“Of course, how much I can do during an F1 season is a bit tricky.

“It depends on how next season goes with the new rules. It’s impossible to say now if I can compete in other things outside of that.”

Isack Hadjar’s response to Red Bull rumours

Rumoured to be in the running to partner Max Verstappen in 2026, Isack Hadjar is keeping his focus on the here and now, and anything else will sort itself later.

Red Bull is understood to be looking to decide upon its 2026 line-up in the next three races, but Hadjar is not worrying himself with the rumours around him.

“I don’t care. I really don’t care,” he made it clear to the journalists in attendance.

“I had, like, five days off at home and other things to do than scrolling on Instagram.”

Antonelli responds to ‘underwhelming’ verdict

Having had his weekend in Monza declared as “underwhelming” by Toto Wolff, Kimi Antonelli is looking to bounce back in Baku this time around.

“I think I pretty understand his comment,” said Antonelli.

“Me and Toto, we’re always very open to each other, and we talk to each other quite openly.

“I think it was mainly about the race. Qualifying was actually pretty good, despite the the off in FP2. But then in the race, especially on the hard tyre, I struggled a little bit, and also, I did the mistake on the start. So I think it was mainly related to the race, which I agree on the comment, which wasn’t the best.

“But as well, I took it with positive, as fuel to do even better for this race weekend.”

Lando Norris responds to McLaren critics post-Monza

After late team orders in Monza divided opinion among F1 fans, Lando Norris said McLaren will continue to do things its own way as it navigates its in-team title battle.

Asked if he was surprised by the reaction, Norris replied: “Not a surprise at all, from my side.

“But, it also doesn’t affect us as a team. It’s what you expect nowadays, and I think in the world that we live in, it’s more negativity than ever positivity.

“We continue to do things our way, whether people agree with it or not. It’s not our problem, and we don’t really care about that, so we’re happy. We focus on ourselves.”