1 week Ago By Harry Smith
Here is your F1 news for Friday, April 11th. Carlos Sainz is facing a fine in the region of £34,000 (€40,000) after swearing in the FIA press conference ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Spaniard was hit with a £17,000 (€20,000) fine, half of which was suspended, at the Japanese Grand Prix last time out after he was late to the national anthem ceremony on the grid.
Ordinarily, this would have been a £52,000 (€60,00) punishment, but Sainz’s fine was reduced on medical grounds. In addressing his frustrations, Sainz broke the FIA’s driver language rules. “I was the first one to put my hand up and say, 'I am late, I am sorry for that', but at the same time, I was five seconds late, and had to pay €10,000, and for me, it is out of the question that we're having to pay these fines.
I don't know if I am going to get another fine for saying this, but s*** happens, it is the way it goes sometimes.” The Williams racer now faces a nervous wait to discover whether or not he will be punished by the FIA . McLaren will enter the World Endurance Championship in the Hypercar class in 2027 , marking the start of an exciting new chapter for the British automotive brand.
The Woking-based squad won on their 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 1995 but have never fielded a season-long entry until now. McLaren ’s announcement follows recent Hypercar adventures for F1 rivals Alpine and Aston Martin, the latter of whom joined the grid in 2025. “I’m excited that McLaren Racing will return to one of the world’s most challenging global racing series, the FIA WEC,” CEO Zak Brown said on Thursday.
“Le Mans 1995 is where we secured a legendary win at the first attempt, and I can’t wait for the team to make history once again. We’re up for it. We’re back.
And now, with this news, we’re going to try and win all three big races (the triple crown of motorsport) in the same year!” Oscar Piastri has responded to Red Bull ’s comments about a drop-off in speed for McLaren after round nine of the season in Barcelona. Reports have recently circulated suggesting that the FIA’s incoming front-wing technical directive could negatively impact the Woking-based squad. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner alluded to this in Japan last weekend.
“Don’t underestimate the regulation change of race nine, you know, with these front wings,” he told Channel 4 . “That could be a game-changer. The first four [teams] are super tight, and as you well know, there’s no better tonic than a win.
” When asked about the comments from Red Bull , Piastri made his feelings crystal clear. “I’m pretty confident we’ll be strong all year," he stated confidently. "I don’t think it will change too much.
I’ve not spoken to the team about it massively, in all honesty, which probably tells you enough about that. So, yeah, let’s see when we get to Spain, but we’ve still got a lot of races until then, but I think we’ll be a strong team all year around.”.
