Race Week Recap #11 - Hungary, part 2

Hi friends

Happy Thursday from my little vacation spot. I'm off work for the next two weeks, and fun fact - I completely forgot that I had vacation coming up, so I didn't schedule anything. It's actually a really good feeling getting a surprise two week period with absolutely zero plans. I could get used to this.

Top story of the week: Haas extends engine deal and technical partnership with Ferrari until 2028

📸 Haas F1 Team

Haas have tied up it's engine supply and technical partnership with Ferrari until 2028.

Why is this important? Not only have Haas signed Ferrari junior Bearman to a multi-year contract, they've also committed to Ferrari for at least a few more years. While it's a logical decision from Haas, who would be hard pressed to change their supplier, given the sheer amount of parts they are getting from Ferrari - it does put a spanner in the works for another American outfit trying to get on the grid: Andretti.

After rejecting Andretti as a new team for 2026, the big names in F1 have been quoted saying, that the way in would be to buy another team. It's been rumoured that Haas was a potential target for Andretti, given the relatively low price point and the small physical footprint of the operation. But with Haas committing to Ferrari until 2028, it gets more complicated for Andretti. They'd have to work around the partnership, or buy it out partially or completely, adding another cost to an already expensive undertaking.

The rest of the stories this week:

• Kevin Magnussen will leave Haas at the end of the season

• BP and Castrol partner with Audi for their return to Formula 1

• Engine manufacturers and F1 having discussions about improving the sound of the 2026 engines

• Bottas hints that Williams looking elsewhere than Sainz for 2025, the Finn may be an option

• Red Bull suspect that McLaren may have been toeing the line of the technical regulations

• Isack Hadjar could be an option for VCARB as early as next year, as per Horner

• Aston Martin insists they evaluated other drivers before extending with Lance Stroll

• Theo Pourchaire comments on his exit from McLaren in INDYCAR: "They didn’t give me the specific reasons"

• INDYCAR has gone hybrid and teams aren't thrilled about it

• We got our first clear look at the Aston Martin Valkyrie on a race track

• We got our first look at the RB17 hypercar

• Former Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene has been charged on multiple counts, including stock market manipulation and issuing fake invoices during his time as CEO of Juventus FC

• Ralf Schumacher came out on Instagram

• The roof of the McLaren motorhome blew off

I'm going back into vacation mode, which is day drinking and me trying to finish the deck building project I started months ago. Wish me luck.

If you have any feedback, suggestions or questions, send me a message on Twitter or via Buymeacoffee.

That's it for this week. Until next time, thank you for being here.