Max Verstappen race ruined by penalty as Christian Horner set for public grilling - F1 News Today

Saturday's GT World Challenge Endurance Cup season-ender at Portimao was won excellently by the Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed No. 17 car, driven by Maximilian Gotz, Ralf Aron and Fabian Schiller.

Max Verstappen's brief sojourn to GT racing this weekend ended in disappointing fashion, the four-time F1 champion coming with the race essentially already lost - although he made the best of his 45 minutes on track, making a string of overtakes in a frenetic stint to finish ninth.

The No. 3 Verstappen Racing car had worked its way up from 13th to sixth in the hands of Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham as the three-hour race approached the two-thirds mark when disaster struck.

➡️ READ MORE: Max Verstappen GT World Challenge results: Times and positions from Portimao

Christian Horner set to face public grilling about Red Bull sacking

Christian Horner could face some uncomfortable questions about his shock Red Bull exit when he kicks off his UK speaking tour in York tonight (Saturday October 17).

Horner was dismissed in July 2025 after 20 years at the helm of Red Bull, later receiving a £66.98million compensation package.

➡️ READ MORE: Christian Horner set to face public grilling about Red Bull sacking

Ferrari under fire again over costly Lewis Hamilton strategy blunder

Former Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley has delivered a damning verdict on the team's handling of Lewis Hamilton during the Singapore Grand Prix, suggesting a costly strategy blunder could have been avoided.

The seven-time world champion found himself at the centre of controversy after opting against following Ferrari's instructions to pit under Virtual Safety Car conditions, a decision which ultimately left him fighting an uphill battle as his tyres deteriorated.

➡️ READ MORE: Ferrari under fire again over costly Lewis Hamilton strategy blunder

Toto Wolff spotted behind wheel of £8m Mercedes supercar in Monaco

It's probably quite nice to own a third of Mercedes' F1 team, just like Toto Wolff.

Not only are you a billionaire pretty much by default, but you get the inside line on some of the coolest cars to ever exist - if they were made by a certain German manufacturer, at least.

Relatedly, the 54-year-old Wolff has been spotted cruising around the streets of Monaco in a Mercedes CLK GTR - a car so rare that just 28 road-legal versions were ever made: two prototypes, six roadsters, and 20 coupes.

➡️ READ MORE: Toto Wolff spotted behind wheel of £8m Mercedes supercar in Monaco

F1 legend Nigel Mansell was given last rites after horror crash

Motorsport legend Nigel Mansell has recalled how his career - and life - nearly ended long before he ever set foot in an F1 car.

Mansell, who became Britain's first world drivers' champion since James Hunt when he romped to the 1992 title, has spoken about the time he had such a horrific crash while karting that he ended up in hospital being given the last rites by a priest.

➡️ READ MORE: F1 legend Nigel Mansell was given last rites after horror crash

Adrian Newey has built an Aston Martin rocketship - but there is one huge problem

Extraordinary GPS data has revealed the staggering extent of Honda's power unit struggles at Aston Martin, suggesting Fernando Alonso could have been fighting for pole position with a more competitive engine.

Analysis from respected F1 journalist Mark Hughes indicates that Alonso lost more time to Max Verstappen on the straights at Sepang than the total gap between their qualifying laps, highlighting the massive potential of Adrian Newey's AMR26 chassis.

➡️ READ MORE: Adrian Newey has built an Aston Martin rocketship - but there is one huge problem

F1 star Liam Lawson announces surprise new role ahead of US Grand Prix

There is a lot of pressure on F1 star Liam Lawson to perform at the US Grand Prix next weekend.

No, not on the track (well, a bit on the track), but in an actual musical performance on stage, as part of his Racing Bulls team's 'Garage Sessions'.

The event will be held at Inn Cahoots in Austin on the Thursday evening before the race, with 'Liam Lawson and Friends' (his brother, Marcus, and his two childhood friends, Thomas and Harrison) headlining the event and Jonathan Capeci, Scoot Teasley, Jess Farren, Alison Nichols, and Drake Milligan also on the bill.

➡️ READ MORE: F1 star Liam Lawson announces surprise new role ahead of US Grand Prix