F1 Today | Verstappen and Piquet celebrate Christmas, and Alpine rumours
F1 News
Teams and drivers celebrate Christmas, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner praise Max Verstappen's qualities and work ethic, and Flavio Briatore suggests changes might happen within Alpine. GPblog brings you the best news of the day, and wishes you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Christmas celebrations in F1
Over the holiday period, drivers get to relax and spend time with their friends and family. Max Verstappen's partner, Kelly Piquet shared her "Christmas album" with photos of what they were doing these last days on her Instagram. Of course, Piquet's daughter, Penelope was present as well.
Toto Wolff also shared a special holiday video on Mercedes' X account reacting to the team's 2024 season. Moreover, teams also wished Happy Holidays for everyone celebrating! You can see the list of every team's pictures celebrating Christmas on social media here!
Marko sees 'Max factor'
According to Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing have a clear advantage over their rivals, and it is Max Verstappen's ability to get the best out of the car given to him. To Kleine Zeitung, the Austrian advisor explained: "At one point, we didn't know where we had taken a wrong turn, and sometimes, we only had the fourth fastest car. In this situation, Max saved us by working around the car's weaknesses," he began.
Team principal Christian Horner also praised the Verstappen's work ethic, and explained how Verstappen contributed towards getting the RB20 back on track together with the Red Bull personnel. In the end, he was crowned world champion in Las Vegas for the fourth time in his career. Meanwhile, mechanic Calum Nicholas talked about the Dutchman's 'killer instinct.'
Moreover, the latest Red Bull junior to join VCARB in F1, Isack Hadjar has also chosen his number for the next season.
Rumours around Alpine
Earlier this season, it was announced that Jack Doohan will replace Esteban Ocon, who will leave the French team and joined Haas F1. Still, with the arrival of Flavio Briatore as CEO Luca de Meo's advisor, the Italian has alluded to signing a new driver to Le Parisien. "We start the year with Pierre and Jack, I guarantee it. After that, we'll see during the season," he explained. Briatore has also previously talked about Franco Colapinto being an option for the team.
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