F1 Fast Five: Verstappen to trademark "simply lovely" for clothing line, 2025 Australian GP tickets sold out in under an hour, and other big updates

Verstappen to trademark "simply lovely" for clothing line

Max Verstappen has applied to trademark his "simply lovely" radio catchphrase for use in a clothing line. The trademark application, filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Network, covers clothing, footwear, headgear, and advertising purposes. Verstappen first used the phrase during the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, and it has since become associated with his brand. Though Verstappen occasionally uses the phrase, rival Lando Norris humorously adopted it after winning Verstappen’s home race at Zandvoort this year.

Click here to read the full article by Keith Collantine (racefans.net)

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2025 Australian GP tickets sold out in under an hour

Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday of the 2025 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix have sold out rapidly, with general admission and grandstand tickets gone in less than an hour after their release. The public sale started at noon AEDT, and after a delay due to a Ticketmaster outage, tickets were gone in under an hour. The event will take place from March 13-16, 2025, and is expected to attract even more fans than this year's record of 452,055 people.

Click here to read the full article by Mat Coch (speedcafe.com)

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F1 may return to South Africa

South Africa's Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie announced that Formula 1 will return to South Africa. He confirmed that F1 has shown interest in coming back and that the country is ready to meet their requirements. The last F1 race in South Africa was in 1993 at Kyalami. There is ongoing speculation about whether the race will be held in Cape Town or Johannesburg, but no decision has been made yet.

Click here to read the full article by Freddie Hiney (thesouthafrican.com)

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How Alpine lost Piastri

Ousted Alpine F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer said senior management was to blame for losing Oscar Piastri to McLaren. After Alpine announced Piastri as a driver in mid-2022, he tweeted that he wouldn’t drive for them, which led to McLaren signing him after a review by the Contract Recognition Board. Szafnauer explained that Alpine failed to execute a contract option for Piastri during a two-week window in November. He was frustrated that the communications department used his image in a press release to shift the blame, showing how untrustworthy Alpine’s top management was.

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

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Will Albon make it in time for the showrun?

Williams driver Alex Albon must make it to the Gulf Speed Festival on time for a showrun at the Anhembi Sambadrome in São Paulo. But can he? On his way, he meets a big F1 fan who stops him with a simple request. Will Albon take a chance on him?