F1 Fast Five: Ben Sulayem opens FIA presidency race, Bottas beats puncture to finish 133rd in gravel world championship, and other big updates

Ben Sulayem opens FIA presidency race

The FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is ready to face competition in his upcoming re-election campaign. Since taking over in December 2021, he wants to finish his plans and make the FIA more efficient. In an interview, he said the British media has treated him and Max Verstappen unfairly but that their opinions do not matter to the FIA. He stressed that only the General Assembly and member clubs can decide if he stays president, not the media.

Click here to read the full article by Lydia Mee (si.com)

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Bottas beats puncture to finish 133rd in gravel world championship

Valtteri Bottas placed 133rd in his class at the cycling gravel world championship in Belgium after dealing with a puncture in the final 5km. He raced in the 35-39 men’s class and finished the 182.8km course in 5:40.04. The elite races were won by Marianne Vos and Mathieu van der Poel in their respective events.

Click here to read the full article by Jake Nichol (racingnews365.com)

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Badoer joins McLaren's junior program for 2025

Brando Badoer has joined McLaren’s F1 junior program for 2025 and will race in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema. His strong results in the Formula Regional European Championship, where he’s fifth with seven podiums, led McLaren to give him a full-time spot. Badoer said he’s excited to race for McLaren and keep improving. Prema’s team boss also praised Badoer, saying he has made great progress from F4 to FREC.

Click here to read the full article by Ida Wood (formulascout.com)

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Ex-Alpine boss paid Force India salaries out of pocket

Otmar Szafnauer, the former F1 team boss, said he had to pay Force India’s salaries with his own money twice, which was in millions. He understood that many employees relied on their paychecks and wanted to make sure they were paid on time. Szafnauer noted that the Formula 1 money would come in a few days after the salaries were due, so he took the risk to cover the payments himself. He believed it was important to keep team morale high, especially when competing against bigger teams.

Click here to read the full article by Connor McDonagh (crash.net)

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Anything but F1!

How much does Max Verstappen know about Dutch football? Does Zhou Guanyu know a lot about Chinese rap? What does Daniel Ricciardo think about dirt bikes? Can Charles Leclerc really play the piano well? And how does Oscar Piastri connect with Australian cricket? Click here to watch this video.