Two young drivers in F1 2025 conversation, Verstappen team-mate wish – round up

Tuesday’s dose of F1 news is here, and there is lots to dive into as always – despite the sport’s autumn break rolling on.

There was another driver announcement from McLaren in confirming Singapore wildcard entry Ella Lloyd as their F1 Academy representative next year, alongside joining their driver development programme – so let’s talk you through the other F1 news from the day.

F1 news: Alex Albon on two drivers ‘in the mix’ for F1 2025 drive

Alex Albon was full of praise for end-of-2024 team-mate Franco Colapinto, and though he is unsure, McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto may also be in the hunt for the vacant seat at Sauber next year.

Asked by Motorsport.com’s Brazilian arm whether Brazil’s Bortoleto will be on the F1 2025 grid, Albon replied: “I don’t know. I think it’s going to be tight. I don’t think there’s an obvious answer, and I think even Franco is also going into the mix.

“So from everything I saw, it sounded like it was happening, like there was a good chance. And then, obviously, I haven’t spent so much… I think you guys know more the talks of the paddock.

“But I think he would be a great addition. I think you’ve seen the drivers that have come in from F2, Kimi [Antonelli], Ollie [Bearman], Franco, they have been competitive straight away. And I don’t see why another addition wouldn’t be quick as well.”

Read more: Two drivers make late play for F1 2025 grid spot in exciting Alex Albon reveal

Helmut Marko hints at location for Max Verstappen’s next team-mate

Helmut Marko has spoken of wanting to return VCARB to its junior team roots when it was Toro Rosso, and he has spoken of wanting Max Verstappen’s next team-mate to be a Red Bull junior once more, when the time comes for Sergio Perez to depart.

Perez is under contract for next season at Red Bull, but he was the first driver since Mark Webber’s arrival in 2007 to have not come through the Red Bull system – something which Marko is looking to address.

He told ORF that he would like to have “ideally with someone from our junior program [next to Verstappen].”

“Youth is the trend again,” he added. “What we used to do, is now being done by Mercedes with Antonelli, Haas with Bearman, and I also hope that [Franco] Colapinto will end up somewhere. He was thrown in at the deep end [by Williams] and has delivered three great races.”

Read more: Helmut Marko drops huge Max Verstappen 2025 Red Bull team-mate hint

Exclusive: David Coulthard discusses the early days of Red Bull

Talking of Red Bull, PlanetF1.com spoke to one of the team’s first drivers in David Coulthard – and DC was in good form as he discussed his role in how the foundations of the team took shape 20 years ago.

They were largely seen as the ‘party team’ in their early days on the grid, but that reputation quickly changed once they became a title threat in the late 2000s.

Our own Sam Cooper was on hand for this enlightening discussion, which is well worth a read.

Read more: Exclusive: How David Coulthard helped shape the early days of Red Bull

Carlos Sainz Sr on his son’s Williams choice

With several options on the table, Carlos Sainz Sr has spoken about why his son opted for Williams, believing the Grove-based team to be on an upward trajectory.

“It’s his decision and we have to respect it,” Sainz Sr told Marca . “It wasn’t an easy decision, nor a clear one. There were three or four options and in the end he is the one who has to decide his future and we support him as much as possible. And that’s what we’ve done.

“Williams is a project that is going up, at the end of this year it has started to go better and we have to hope, and we trust in it, that next year it will continue on an upward trend.”

Read more: Carlos Sainz Sr explains why son snubbed Audi F1 for Williams

Should the F1 autumn break stick around next season?

With this four-week gap between races in autumn being unknown territory in the modern era of Formula 1 (there have been longer in-season gaps before, but given the calendar in its current state, we don’t often notice!), our journalist Thomas Maher put forward the case for this respite being extended next year.

The 2025 calendar is already out and this will not be a factor in the same way next season, but Thomas has explained why this may need to be taken into consideration in the future.

Again, we may be encouraging you in one direction, but it’s another piece well worth a read.

Read more: Why F1’s one-off autumn break should become a permanent fixture