F1 Today | Vandoorne interview, and Binotto predictis world champion

F1 News

f1 today stoffel vandoorne interview and mattia binotto prediction
13 October at 22:00
  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

Next Sunday we will have a Grand Prix to discuss, but this week was the final week of the first-ever autumn break in Formula 1. Teams and drivers are still resting, but they will all travel to Austin, Texas this weekend for the United States Grand Prix. With just six races to go, new Sauber (soon to be Audi) team principal Mattia Binotto is predicting who will win the world championship this year. Along with that, hear what Stoffel Vandoorne had to say in an exclusive interview with GPblog.

Vandoorne says he is satisfied with F1 career 

GPblog spoke exclusively with former F1 driver Stoffel Vandoorne, saying that he "doesn't expect" to come back to F1, finding success in Formula E after winning the 21/22 world championship since leaving the premier class of motorsport.

The Belgian said that his F1 years "were not the easiest", but he says he 'thinks he will stay' with the Aston Martin team after being their reserve driver for the 2024 season. To read the full interview with Vandoorne, be sure to click the link above.

Horner sees positives in all the Red Bull departures

There have been a lot of departures from Red Bull Racing in 2024, including Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, with the 2024 season for the Austrian team being one of real struggle both on and off the track.

However, with all of these key members of staff leaving Red Bull, team boss Christian Horner is looking at the positive elements of it. Red Bull will also lose chief strategist Will Courtenay to McLaren in 2026, but that will allow strategist Hannah Schmitz to rise up the ranks, with Horner happy to keep Schmitz in their ranks despite her being a "target" for rivals.

"It gives an opportunity for Hannah Schmitz to move up, which, if she hadn't had that opportunity, she'd have been a prime target for somebody," said the team boss.

Binotto makes world championship prediction 

Just six races remain in the 2024 season, and the drivers' championship battle is still well and truly on between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, with no one knowing who is going to take the glory in 2024. However, someone who has made a prediction is someone who has returned to the paddock recently; Sauber COO and CTO Mattia Binotto.

The Italian team boss has had his say on who will be at the top of the standings come the end of the season, and that is Max Verstappen, saying that the three-time world champion is the strongest on the grid despite having a weaker car.

However, it won't be double glory for the Dutchman, with Binotto saying that McLaren will win their first constructors' title since 1998. "McLaren have shown that you can change the balance of power, but it also shows that the regulations work," said the Italian.