F1 News Today: Christian Horner plan materialises as Aston Martin announce F1 swap for Abu Dhabi GP

Christian Horner in Spain — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News Today

F1 News Today: Christian Horner plan materialises as Aston Martin announce F1 swap for Abu Dhabi GP

Catch up with all the F1 headlines heading into Abu Dhabi

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Thursday 4 December 2025 16:58

Christian Horner's 'cunning plan' to snatch the F1 title away from McLaren has materialised in a throwback video shared by Sky Sports.

Following the Qatar Grand Prix, Max Verstappen is now 12 points behind Lando Norris in second place, usurping Oscar Piastri after his win on Sunday.

Red Bull have successfully returned to the F1 title fight by applying pressure on McLaren, a strategy Horner formulated when he was still the boss at the team.

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Aston Martin to swap out BOTH F1 drivers at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Aston Martin F1 team have announced that they will be replacing both F1 drivers for FP1 at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Given that the race weekend at Yas Marina Circuit marks the season finale of the 2025 championship, it presents the final opportunity for teams to fulfill their rookie driver quota for each car.

As a result, F2 driver Cian Shields will be stepping in to Fernando Alonso's F1 machinery and Jak Crawford will be driving the AMR25 in place of Lance Stroll for the first hour of practice.

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F1 team announce NFL Super Bowl car launch

There will be one extra team on the grid next year with Cadillac joining F1 for the first time ever.

And of course being American, they couldn't help but name an unveiling date for their first car that coincides with an extremely important event on the calendar in the USA.

However, have they made a PR own goal by risking their launch go under the radar?

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Lewis Hamilton confronts FIA in Qatar meeting

Lewis Hamilton has stuck the boot into the Qatar Grand Prix, calling it 'probably the worst race' for the drivers.

Max Verstappen took a stunning win at the Lusail Circuit to take the title fight down to the final race in Abu Dhabi.

But that hasn't stopped Hamilton from blasting the poor spectacle, 'hoping' the media would pick up on how poor the venue is (luckily for him this has already been done).

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Aston Martin F1 team announce new driver for 2026

Aston Martin have announced the driver who will be representing them in the 2026 F1 Academy campaign.

The Silverstone squad welcomed a new talent to their ranks in the form of 17-year-old Mathilda Paatz, who earned her spot within the team after an intense driver evaluation programme.

Paatz will represent Aston Martin in next year's F1 Academy championship, where she will compete with PREMA Racing in the fourth season of the all-female series, sporting the iconic green Aston Martin livery.

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Max Verstappen's 2026 team-mate announced as star OUT of F1

Red Bull have confirmed that Isack Hadjar will drive for them alongside Max Verstappen next year, in just his second F1 season.

Hadjar takes the place of Yuki Tsunoda, who will serve as Red Bull's test and reserve driver for 2026, while Hadjar's place alongside Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls will be filled by 18-year-old sensation Arvid Lindblad.

New Red Bull man Hadjar has picked up 51 points so far this season, eclipsing both Lawson (38) and Tsunoda (33) – and, indeed, surpassing both drivers' career highs.

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McLaren F1 boss launches 'internal review' into Qatar GP howler

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella confirmed that there will be an 'internal review' into the strategy blunder that cost Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Qatar.

The decision not to pit Norris or Piastri during the lap 7 safety car, essentially gave Max Verstappen a free pit stop that allowed him to win the race.

Speaking to the media after the Qatar GP, Stella vowed to look into the mistakes made ahead of the season finale - and championship defining race - in Abu Dhabi.

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If McLaren order Piastri to hand Norris the title, he's lost to them. They should still do it

'Multi 21'. 'Fernando is faster, do you understand?' 'Don't ask that again to me'. Team orders have been in and out of fashion in F1, and there's a non-zero chance that a simple message on the radio decides the world championship this year.

McLaren having two cars fighting for the drivers' title this weekend in Abu Dhabi, which would be the most obviously 'let them race' situation of all time...if Max Verstappen wasn't stuck right in the middle of them in the standings.

Verstappen's presence as a very real title contender has turned what McLaren had hoped would be a simple coronation of one of their star drivers into a potential nightmare scenario.

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Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

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