F1 Q&A after Canada: Ricciardo and Sainz future plus Perez at Red Bull

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won for nan sixth clip this play successful an eventful Canadian Grand Prix.

McLaren's Lando Norris led nan title doubly but had to settee for second, Mercedes showed improved form, while some Ferraris grounded to finish.

BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your questions pursuing nan title astatine Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

After his capacity astatine Montreal, do you deliberation Daniel Ricciardo will clasp his spot astatine RB successful 2025? – David

Ricciardo's capacity for RB astatine nan Canadian Grand Prix - qualifying a superb 5th and finishing successful nan points successful eighth spot contempt a five-second punishment for jumping nan commencement - was precisely what he needed aft an unconvincing commencement to nan season.

Ricciardo was nan taxable of immoderate harsh disapproval from Jacques Villeneuve, who was a pundit for Sky tv complete nan weekend, pinch nan 1997 world champion asking: "Why is he still successful F1?"

Ricciardo did not return kindly to that. But, immoderate 1 thinks of Villeneuve’s comments, nan truth is that Ricciardo has not been performing arsenic Red Bull expected since he returned to F1.

He replaced Nyck de Vries pinch nan squad who were past called Alpha Tauri midway done past play and was unlucky to break his manus successful a clang astatine nan Dutch Grand Prix, only his 3rd title aft returning, and miss 5 races.

But successful nan events he did characteristic successful past year, he was much often than not slower than team-mate Yuki Tsunoda - isolated from a starring capacity successful Mexico. And nan inclination has continued this year, pinch nan overseas objection specified arsenic nan sprint qualifying convention successful China and now Canada.

Ricciardo is 7-2 down connected Tsunoda successful expansive prix qualifying sessions this twelvemonth and somewhat slower connected average. And nan problem pinch that is that Red Bull don't complaint nan Japanese arsenic a top-line driver.

This is why Ricciardo has gone from being considered a imaginable replacement for Sergio Perez successful nan main Red Bull team, to being astatine consequence of losing his seat.

Reserve driver Liam Lawson is waiting successful nan wings. But Ricciardo is presently protected by squad main Christian Horner. It remains to beryllium seen which measurement Red Bull spell successful choosing a partner for Tsunoda astatine what is now called RB successful 2025.

Do you spot Carlos Sainz returning to a top-flight squad successful nan adjacent future? – Mick

Carlos Sainz is being fto spell by Ferrari astatine nan extremity of nan play because they person signed Lewis Hamilton for 2025 to title alongside Charles Leclerc.

Sainz had hopes of landing different spot successful a apical squad fixed location were theoretical vacancies astatine some Red Bull and Mercedes, but those person been dashed.

Red Bull person re-signed Sergio Perez for different 2 seasons - a determination not everyone successful F1 really understands, fixed nan Mexican's fluctuating performances - and Mercedes are very overmuch connected a way to promoting their Italian protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

That has near Sainz pinch a prime betwixt Sauber, who will go Audi successful 2026, and Williams for adjacent season.

He is Audi's first prime - they want him to lead their squad into their caller era successful F1. And connected insubstantial this looks nan astir charismatic action - a awesome shaper pinch a large fund committed to occurrence successful nan mean term.

The problem is that Sauber are F1's worst-performing squad this twelvemonth and astir judge it is going to return Audi rather immoderate clip to move them around. Williams mightiness beryllium a much appealing short-term option.

The apical teams successful F1 person made clear their views connected drivers and Sainz is intelligibly not successful their minds - if he was, he would not beryllium successful nan business he is. That being nan case, it's difficult to spot him ending up successful an elite car again successful nan adjacent future. But successful F1 you ne'er cognize what will happen, truthful it cannot beryllium ruled out.

When 1 car follows another, 'running successful soiled air' is bad but 'getting a tow' is good. What's nan quality and erstwhile does each apply? – Chris

They are efficaciously products of nan aforesaid effect, but astatine different parts of nan circuit.

'Running successful soiled air' intends that nan car down is adjacent capable to nan car successful beforehand for nan airflow complete it to beryllium affected.

To execute astatine their optimum, F1 cars want nice, cleanable airflow. Running down different car intends nan airflow that hits a car is not cleanable - truthful it's 'dirty'. So nan aerodynamics do not activity arsenic well, which intends a nonaccomplishment of downforce. A spot for illustration turbulence successful an aeroplane.

That intends a driblet successful capacity during cornering caused by a nonaccomplishment of aerodynamic load, which successful move intends nan tyres request to activity harder, truthful they slide, overheat and besides suffer grip.

But that's during cornering.

A 'tow' is thing that happens down a straight. The car successful beforehand punches a spread successful nan air, which intends location is little aerial guidance for nan car behind, truthful it is efficaciously sucked on and gains apical speed, making overtaking easier.

The irony pinch nan 2022 rules was that while they made pursuing a small easier than before, by ensuring nan airflow down a car was little disturbed, truthful cars could tally person together, they reduced nan tow effect, truthful overtaking has not go noticeably easier.

Do you deliberation Red Bull re-signing Sergio Perez is to appease Max Verstappen to support nan harmony? – Ed

Verstappen was asked this nonstop mobility by BBC 5 Live pit-lane newsman Rosanna Tennant successful Canada, and he said: "I don't deliberation it has thing to do pinch that. People ever dress up stories but things are not linked to each other.

"I americium happy wherever I americium astatine nan moment. I person a statement till '28 and nan dream and nan target is still to extremity it aft '28, to really tally retired nan full contract. And past aft that I don't moreover cognize if I want to proceed successful nan first place.

"I don't deliberation astir it excessively much. I americium conscionable very happy Checo has signed. It is amended for him knowing what you're doing successful nan coming years. We person ever worked really good together. We person bully stableness successful nan squad and it has ever been bully and calm for illustration that and that is besides very important wrong a team."

Verstappen's reply somewhat glosses complete nan tensions that arose betwixt nan 2 drivers successful 2022, erstwhile nan Dutchman believed Perez had collapsed deliberately successful Monaco qualifying to unafraid his grid position up of Verstappen.

And it does not reside his ain reality. Insiders person made it clear to BBC Sport that location is simply a anticipation Verstappen will time off Red Bull for 2026.

The determination to support Perez was made by squad main Christian Horner. And it was made successful nan interests of stableness - location were tensions successful nan squad erstwhile Verstappen and Carlos Sainz were paired astatine Toro Rosso successful 2015-16 and Horner had nary desire to consequence that happening again.

With nary Red Bull inferior driver making a convincing lawsuit to beryllium promoted alongside Verstappen, Horner preferred nan position quo.

As a caller fan, I americium wondering why do nan afloat bedewed tyres ne'er get utilized and only nan intermediates? – Harrison

The first-order reply to this is that nan utmost bedewed tyre is not very good. The drivers telephone it 'the information car tyre', because it really only is useful for driving down nan information car erstwhile it's excessively bedewed to race.

It displaces much h2o than an intermediate but has little grip unless location is simply a batch of opinionated h2o connected nan track.

So drivers will ever want to beryllium connected nan intermediate, because it's nan faster tyre.

The intermediate has nan added advantage that it tin beryllium tally for overmuch longer arsenic conditions barren up, while nan utmost bedewed starts to overheat very quickly erstwhile location are nary longer ample amounts of h2o connected track.

You could spot each this successful nan opening laps of nan Canadian Grand Prix. Nearly everyone chose inters for nan start, moreover though nan way was still very bedewed and had a batch of opinionated water.

But nan Haas drivers went for afloat wets, and for a little play astatine nan beginning, erstwhile nan way was still very wet, they were nan fastest cars connected track.

But aft astir 5 laps, pinch nan way slow drying, they were not, and past they had to pit very soon after.

With DRS being dropped from nan 2026 play and nan preamble of movable beforehand and rear wings, will this make racing much exciting? – Anil

No-one knows. The caller rules person travel astir arsenic a consequence of a business F1 created for itself.

The caller engines were decided upon first. They person been a occurrence successful attracting caller manufacturers - Audi and Ford are coming in, and Honda are staying arsenic a consequence of them.

But nan engines created a problem. They person adjacent to 50% of their powerfulness coming from nan hybrid system, overmuch much than now. But really to retrieve each nan basal power having taken disconnected nan MGU-H (motor generator portion - heat) and only allowing betterment from nan rear axle, to debar nan consequence of stableness power coming successful by stealth?

The reply was to make nan cars faster connected nan straights, to make nan braking distances longer, to springiness much clip to retrieve nan basal energy. Hence nan progressive aerodynamics.

And erstwhile nan progressive wings are needed for that, they can't beryllium utilized for DRS. So different measurement of giving a car down an advantage needed to beryllium found. Hence nan push-to-pass idea.

But it's adjacent to opportunity nan teams person important concerns astir nan caller regulations successful nan measurement they are presently written - nan cars will beryllium excessively accelerated connected nan straights and excessively slow successful nan corners, they say.

Their concerns were mollified a small erstwhile FIA single-seater head Nikolas Tombazis indicated successful Canada that he was unfastened to making immoderate changes were necessary. But a batch of activity needs to beryllium done earlier everyone has assurance nan 2026 rules are successful a bully place.