Red Bull confirms Lambiase successor, Lawson in for Monza, McLaren upgrade – roundup
Red Bull has enjoyed huge success in F1 with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen
Wednesday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Red Bull confirming Tom McCullough as GianPiero Lambiase’s successor as Liam Lawson continues to deputise for Isack Hadjar at the Italian Grand Prix.
Let’s fly through the day’s main headlines at the speed of light…
Liam Lawson stays with Red Bull for Italian Grand Prix
Liam Lawson will remain at Red Bull for the Italian Grand Prix as Isack Hadjar continues to recover from a wrist injury.
Lawson deputised for Hadjar at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, with Yuki Tsunoda reuniting with the Racing Bulls team.
With Hadjar needing more time to recover, the Red Bull and Racing Bulls lineups will remain unchanged for Monza.
Read more: Red Bull announces Italian GP driver decision after Hadjar wrist injury
Red Bull confirms Tom McCullough as GianPiero Lambiase successor
Red Bull has announced that former Aston Martin engineer Tom McCullough will join the team ahead of the F1 2027 season.
It comes after PlanetF1.com revealed last month that McCullough was set to join Red Bull.
McCullough will become Red Bull’s head of racing, a role currently occupied by Max Verstappen’s race engineer GianPiero Lambiase, who will join McLaren in due course.
Read more: Red Bull finds GianPiero Lambiase successor ahead of McLaren move
Toto Wolff on Kimi Antonelli penalty: ‘Our sport doesn’t reward sentiment’
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, has defended the decision for Kimi Antonelli to take a grid penalty at the Italian Grand Prix.
Antonelli will start from the back at Monza with Mercedes opting for a complete engine change at his home race.
The 20-year-old will almost certainly be prevented from adding to his tally of six wins in 2026 this weekend.
Read more: Toto Wolff lifts lid on Antonelli penalty for Italian Grand Prix
McLaren names H-wing ahead of Italian Grand Prix debut
McLaren has named its rotating rear wing the ‘H-wing’ ahead of its race debut at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
The Woking-based outfit has been evaluating its own version of the ‘Macarena’ rear wing for some months, with the device appearing in practice in Hungary prior to the summer break.
The H-wing – named in a nod to a McLaren sponsor – will race for the first time at Monza.
Read more: McLaren confirms H-wing upgrade race debut at Italian Grand Prix
FIA ‘keeping a close eye’ on Madring ahead of Spanish Grand Prix
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, says the new F1 circuit in Madrid is “quite an adventure.”
And he says F1’s governing body is “keeping a close eye on it” after the homologation process proved “complicated.”
The Madring, which will host its first Spanish Grand Prix next weekend, was hit by 19 red flags during a recent F3 test.
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Read more: FIA monitoring Madring as president casts ‘adventure’ verdict ahead of Spanish GP
