• Sauber director Pascal Picci, top, – who took over as chairman and president when Peter Sauber retired – has resigned, citing a disagreement with team principal Frédéric Vasseur over driver choice and his management. Picci was reportedly not in favour of hiring Valtteri Bottas and wished to retain a link to Ferrari’s Driving Academy roster. “I am sorry that Antonio [Giovinazzi] is no longer here though I am happy that [Guanyu] Zhou will arrive,” is how he worded it. Picci was also disappointed by the decision by main shareholder Finn Rausing not to sell to the Andretti Group, saying: “He is free to make choices, he represents the shareholders and is a reliable person. I was in the minority.”

• Just one week after being announced, the sponsorship agreement between Mercedes and Kingspan – the insulation company implicated in the Grenfell tragedy – was annulled after an outcry from the families of the victims.

• Outgoing FIA president Jean Todt, right, is tipped to be heading back to Ferrari in a non-executive advisory role, similar to that previously fulfilled at Mercedes by Niki Lauda.

• The Volkswagen Group’s expected entry into F1 from 2026 is now set to be a mixture of in-house and Red Bull powertrains. It is expected to receive Porsche branding and a supply deal may extend also to Williams. An Audi-badged project with the same power unit, possibly in the back of a McLaren, remains possible.

• Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll has asked to be included in the F1 power unit working group as he has not ruled out Aston Martin making its own PU when the new regulations take effect, probably from 2026.