Would Red Bull Be Interested In An Albon Return?

Dutch Grand Prix

Venue: Zandvoort Dates: 29-31 August Race start: 14:00 BST connected Sunday

Coverage: Live commentary connected BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; unrecorded matter updates connected BBC Sport website and app

Formula 1's summertime break is astir complete pinch nan play resuming pinch nan Dutch Grand Prix astatine Zandvoort this weekend.

Ten races stay successful 2025 pinch Oscar Piastri holding a nine-point lead complete McLaren team-mate Lando Norris astatine nan apical of nan drivers' championship.

BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your latest questions.

Are Red Bull willing successful getting Alex Albon backmost because his superiority complete Carlos Sainz suggests he is arsenic accelerated arsenic Charles Leclerc? - Peter

This mobility raises each sorts of follow-ups astir whether it is imaginable to comparison drivers arsenic they move astir teams.

On nan 1 hand, location is nary different option, but sometimes location is nary different conclusion than to deliberation it can't beryllium that simple.

To return Sainz arsenic an example, he was somewhat quicker than Max Verstappen connected mean successful qualifying erstwhile they were team-mates astatine Toro Rosso. He was a small slower than Nico Hulkenberg erstwhile they were teamed astatine Renault. He was beautiful adjacent pinch Lando Norris astatine McLaren, and past slower again than Leclerc astatine Ferrari than he was Hulkenberg astatine Renault.

And now, astatine Williams truthful far, Sainz is connected mean a small slower than Albon, but somewhat person to him than he was connected mean to Leclerc.

Comparing conscionable Sainz, Leclerc and Albon, then, yes, that suggests that Leclerc is nan quickest, pinch Albon betwixt him and Sainz.

But if each that is immutable, past it besides intends Verstappen is slower than Leclerc and only very somewhat faster than Hulkenberg.

And really does that make immoderate consciousness fixed Verstappen was much than 0.5secs quicker than Albon erstwhile they were driving nan aforesaid car astatine Red Bull?

It gets moreover much confusing if you propulsion Daniel Ricciardo's comparative performances against galore of those drivers into nan mix.

That's a roundabout measurement of saying that conscionable because Albon has had nan measurement of Sainz truthful acold astatine Williams, it doesn't needfully mean Red Bull would beryllium willing successful having him back.

Generally, unless a driver is simply a generational talent, really he does astatine a squad is astir much than conscionable earthy velocity successful a car group up ideally for him.

Other factors besides travel into nan picture, specified arsenic nan measurement he fits into nan team, nan measurement nan car fits his earthy driving style, really difficult it is to set to nan style nan car demands, and truthful on.

At nan aforesaid time, really Red Bull are going to run successful nan driver marketplace successful nan early is chartless astatine nan moment, arsenic Christian Horner has gone, and Laurent Mekies is now moving alongside motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.

The wide accuracy remains nan same, though. As Marko put it erstwhile I was talking to him astir drivers recently: "At Red Bull, we make stars, we don't bargain them."

As nan Belgian Grand Prix is group to beryllium put connected a rotation year-by-year, what way will Spa rotate pinch and whitethorn that venue moreover rotate? - Toby

This taxable centres connected 2 inter-related factors - nan request for caller races, and nan truth that European countries find it progressively difficult to find and/or warrant nan costs to salary for a expansive prix.

Earlier this year, Formula 1 signed a caller statement pinch Spa-Francorchamps that runs until 2031, but which does not see 2028 and 2030, erstwhile different title will look connected nan almanac instead.

This is apt to beryllium different European event. The premier candidates are different events successful a akin situation.

For example, nan Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is losing nan Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid but still has a slot connected nan almanac for adjacent year, is willing successful staying connected nan almanac beyond 2026.

Imola has already mislaid its slot adjacent play and could beryllium successful a akin position successful nan future. Another sanction doing nan rounds astatine nan infinitesimal is Turkey.

Nothing is formed successful stone, but it gives F1 other elasticity erstwhile it is trying to put together nan calendar.

With nan powerfulness units being made simpler adjacent year, will they make much sound than presently (I judge they will ne'er sound for illustration they did up until 2013)? I see it an embarrassment for nan athletics that nan F3 cars (and Porsche Cup cars) that besides title connected nan F1 weekends are louder than nan main arena - Raffi

The belief mightiness beryllium that nan caller engines being introduced adjacent twelvemonth should beryllium louder because they will nary longer person an MGU-H - nan instrumentality that recovers power from nan turbo.

But I americium told that while they mightiness beryllium a small louder than currently, they won't beryllium that different, because they still person turbos, which is nan overriding effect connected nan sound.

As you whitethorn person read, location is simply a push from governing assemblage nan FIA astatine nan infinitesimal to return F1 to older-style people aspirated engines, and that's partially because of nan noise.

Initially, this seems to person travel from a whim of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, pinch power from Bernie Ecclestone and Christian Horner, alternatively than a reasoned sentiment based connected thorough investigation of nan desires of nan audience.

However, it does chime pinch concerns that beryllium astir really F1 will look adjacent twelvemonth because of nan energy-recovery demands of nan caller engines, which person adjacent to 50% of their full powerfulness output coming from nan electrical portion of nan engine.

From what I'm told astir instrumentality surveys done by F1, location is nary wide statement connected whether louder engines would beryllium a positive.

Some - for illustration Raffi - evidently deliberation they would be.

But nan F1 fanbase has changed a batch successful caller years, and wrong nan athletics location is interest that newer members of nan assemblage - much women and children now travel to races, for illustration - would not invited engines that made truthful overmuch sound arsenic to beryllium virtually deafening, that made receptor defenders an absolute necessity, that stopped group having a comfortable speech erstwhile nan title was on, etc. Likewise nan guests successful nan firm boxes.

Equally, metropolis races specified arsenic Miami and Las Vegas would beryllium threatened if nan cars abruptly became overmuch noisier than was promised to residents erstwhile discussions astir nan races took place.

It would highly apt revive nan complaints that utilized to return spot successful Melbourne astir this, too.

The world has moved connected successful galore different ways since nan first decade of this century, and it's acold from clear that efficaciously turning nan timepiece backmost 20 aliases 30 years would beryllium a bully idea, moreover if it was pinch nan summation of a token hybrid constituent to nan engines and sustainable fuel.

Talks are ongoing connected nan early guidance of engines from 2030 aliases truthful onwards, but they are a agelong measurement from reaching a conclusion.

There is simply a consciousness that V8s mightiness return - galore manufacturers successful F1 still make V8s for roadworthy cars. But astir opportunity a hybrid constituent is non-negotiable, and immoderate - specified arsenic Audi - are presently insisting connected a turbo, too. A conclusion is simply a agelong measurement away.

The talk is each of tyres and ambiance conditions but do different circuits person different asphalt and does it effect connected nan tyre capacity which ones are nan astir abrasive? - Derek

Yes, different F1 circuits person different way surfaces and, yes, it does person a awesome effect connected tyre performance.

In elemental terms, nan smoother a surface, nan little request it makes of nan tyres. A batch of nan recently resurfaced tracks - specified arsenic Silverstone - person a precocious bitumen contented successful nan asphalt, and that reduces nan strain connected nan tyres, and pinch it overheating.

Think of nan stones that dress up nan asphalt, and really overmuch achromatic worldly (bitumen) location is smoothing retired nan gaps betwixt them - generally, nan older nan surface, nan little bitumen, nan much abrasiveness.

At Spa, location are moreover 2 different parts of nan way - immoderate of it was resurfaced earlier nan 2024 expansive prix, and immoderate of it remains nan aged asphalt.

There is not abstraction present to spell done each nan different way surfaces connected nan calendar. But 1 of nan extremes of abrasiveness would beryllium Bahrain, which has very aged asphalt, and by consequence causes a batch of tyre overheating and degradation.

Street circuits connected existent metropolis roads thin to person debased scraping - deliberation Monaco, Baku and Singapore. The shortness and debased velocity of nan corners adds to nan low-impact connected nan tyres connected these types of tracks.

When a driver is asked to travel into nan pits, why do they opportunity connected nan power "box, box, box?" - David

This is to do pinch clarity of communication. "Box" is an easier connection to understand intelligibly successful nan noisy and demanding situation of an F1 cockpit than "pit".

"Box, box, box" is simply utilizing nan connection 3 times to emphasise nan urgency of nan command.

As for nan root of nan usage of nan connection "box" for pit, that comes from nan truth that successful German pit extremity is "boxenstopp".