Helmut Marko predicts Adrian Newey’s next move as McLaren’s upgrades uncovered – F1 news round-up

F1 news, Adrian Newey and Lando Norris.

Wednesday’s F1 news has got a mixture of significant updates from around the paddock, with the afterglow of the Miami Grand Prix still fresh in our minds.

Let’s dive straight in…

F1 news: Helmut Marko on Adrian Newey, McLaren and more

Helmut Marko tips Adrian Newey to join Aston Martin

Adrian Newey’s next move is on the minds of every pundit after his announcement that he will be leaving Red Bull early next year, but Helmut Marko believes Aston Martin could be his next destination.

Newey has been heavily linked with a potential move to Ferrari, but Aston Martin are believed to also be after his services – as are Williams, who had the legendary designer’s services through their dominant years in the early 1990s.

“What colour do I see Newey in the future?” Marko said. “I think the red clashes a bit with the dark blue. But I think anything is possible with a great colour like green.”

McLaren’s huge MCL38 upgrades unpacked after Miami success

McLaren’s updates ran onto a second page when the FIA’s document detailing all the teams’ upgrades was released ahead of Miami, showing just how much was brought to the MCL38 over the weekend.

We have delved into just what these upgrades mean and what McLaren may be bringing to the car, along with how they are looking to challenge Red Bull as the F1 2024 season develops.

Fernando Alonso speaks to FIA president following ‘nationality’ comments

Having had his complaints for the FIA, believing his Spanish nationality to be part of the reason he has had multiple severe penalties of late, Fernando Alonso vowed to speak to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to voice his concerns.

Now, he has followed through and done so.

“I spoke with him and he’s always on board on every opinion that the drivers have,” Alonso said.

“He knows that we are the ones driving the cars and that we can have some suggestions on things.

“There are a couple of points that we need to address as a sport. But he has always listened to us. Let’s see if we make F1 a better sport and a little bit more consistent.”

Christian Horner makes McLaren verdict after huge upgrade package topples RB20

Having been beaten by McLaren after their raft of upgrades in Miami, even with floor damage for Max Verstappen after his collision with a bollard, team principal Christian Horner acknowledged the progress the team have made in how they have managed to close down their rivals.

“They’ve obviously won the race, they had good pace in the second half of the race,” Horner said.

“They were quick on the medium in the sprint race quali, but we still managed two poles earlier this weekend, the sprint victory and we were leading the race had it not been for the Safety Car – but you can see they’ve definitely made a step forward.”

Alex Albon believes Nico Hulkenberg set off F1 2025 market ‘trigger’

After Nico Hulkenberg’s move to Sauber was confirmed, Alex Albon believes the outgoing Haas driver has pulled the ‘trigger’ on the F1 2025 driver market – to an extent where the rest of the grid may even fill up much sooner than expected.

“Everything’s moving early, everything’s moving very quickly,” Albon said in Miami.

“Obviously, Nico [Hulkenberg] has just pulled somewhat of a trigger at Sauber and I’m sure the second one is going to follow soon.

“And everything, including my focus on where I go, not so much for next year, but the year after, and focusing on that side of things, it’s these next couple of weeks are where all the decisions I think for the whole grid is going to be finalised.”