The weather was a major talking point on race day at Spa-Francorchamps, but there were further developments bubbling away relating to the driver market, while the fallout from Christian Horner‘s departure from Red Bull continued.

Russell on the verge

So much of the discussion surrounding Max Verstappen and his future has been a public topic since George Russell openly stated that talks were taking place between the Dutchman and Mercedes.

That was as a result of Toto Wolff being very honest with his drivers about the scenarios he was exploring, and it led to a strange few weeks of limbo when there was a lack of progress in talks between Russell and Mercedes.

The narrative started to change ahead of this weekend’s race, though, perhaps fuelled by the team principal change at Red Bull but also by the gap in races that allowed some movement to happen. Wolff was keen to state he was happy with his current driver line-up in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF, and both Russell and Kimi Antonelli spoke of their confidence in their respective futures on arrival at Spa.

That confidence appears well-placed for 2026 from Russell’s point of view, as sources indicate talks are progressing in the right direction towards agreeing a deal that will show Mercedes’ faith in him, regardless of Verstappen’s potential future availability. Should the agreement be concluded, it also increases the chances of a mouth-watering pairing of Verstappen and Russell one day, if the Dutchman does opt to lead Red Bull.

Mekies and Wolff meet

Toto Wolff made some interesting comments to Sky Sports when discussing Christian Horner‘s departure from Red Bull, admitting he will miss his former rival a little because he was a polarising character and one of the main cast in F1.

That is a viewpoint held by many in the paddock, in the sense that sport often needs heroes and villains to be at its most engaging and entertaining, and Horner certainly took on the role of the villain at times over the past 20 years.

His replacement, however, is a very different character, and it will take time for Laurent Mekies to emerge as his own cast member the longer he is in the role.

But the dynamic between Mekies and Wolff is already very different to that of Horner and Wolff, and there appeared to be an attempt to ensure they get off on the other foot in Belgium. Following qualifying, after Mekies had admirably still been congratulating his junior drivers at Racing Bulls and replacement Alan Permane, the Red Bull team principal then headed to Mercedes for a half-hour meeting with Wolff.

The specific contents of the meeting remain unknown, but Mekies emerged still in a positive mood before heading to Red Bull’s debrief. Sources suggest it was an attempt to understand where each team sees their working relationship at this point, given common ground in the future as both constructors but also power unit manufacturers, and it shows a potentially more positive outlook between the two teams in the early stages of Mekies’ leadership.

Bearman’s karting obsession

The first half of this season saw 12 races held in just 17 weeks, providing a challenging schedule for all of the teams and drivers. As a result, the two consecutive weekends without a race between Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps were warmly received, with many drivers taking the chance to enjoy a short holiday.

For most, that meant a break from racing, and Ollie Bearman was looking for the same when he headed to Sweden with his girlfriend and her family. But his accommodation was very near a karting track…

The Haas rookie insists he was egged on by the rest of the party to go and beat the lap record, but he was a few tenths short on his first visit. So he went to return on a second occasion, only to have that attempt scuppered by rain.

Bearman admits he went a third time, and even had a fourth visit planned if he wasn’t able to beat the record in the heat of the day, with an early-morning attempt in the works before he finally managed to get his time down enough, taking some pretty extreme measures.

“You had to really put the perfect lap together and change the layout a little bit, move some of the walls a little bit!” Bearman admitted. “And finally at the end I managed by just like half a tenth to beat the lap time.

“But I did like 15 laps where I was 0.03s or 0.04s away from it and when you’re that close you can’t quit until you win. So I got photos of the guy with me and my girlfriend taking fuel out of the car to try and make it lighter. I was cooling down the engine between runs with like a leaf blower, it was really top level stuff.

“It was just a corporate kart but honestly I think because it was quite hot out there, it was like 28, 29 degrees, the engine was running very hot. So we had to take away some of the body work to keep the engine cool and stuff because the power really drops when the engine gets hot, so it was a high-tech operation there.”

It might not seem like much of a holiday for a racing driver, but Bearman says there was a joy in going back to his roots in a kart.

“I always loved karting so much and there it was incredible and such a beautiful country as well, it was really the perfect way to spend the time off. I didn’t plan to go karting pretty much every day but it’s not a bad thing, it’s in the blood and really takes you back to where you started and love the sport so much.”

The joy might have been slightly short-lived, though, as the previous record-holder took back his crown by Friday – a result that has Bearman admitting he will likely be heading back again in the future.

Thai progress could be slow

As we soak up another visit to Spa-Francorchamps ahead of a move to a rotational race-hosting basis in future years, one of the most likely additions to the calendar could see progress slow in the coming months.

Plans for a grand prix in Thailand have been moving ahead over the past year, with funding approved by the government last month to push on with discussions with F1, targeting a first race in Bangkok in 2028.

But since that funding was approved, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended over a leaked phone call to former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and the tensions between the two countries have since increased, with fighting intensifying over a disputed border.

Paetongtarn is under pressure as she faces an ethics probe, with acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai now handling the Cambodia crisis. All of that means there are much more serious issues for the government to be focusing on rather than the potential planning of a grand prix.

While support for the project is expected to remain, it might mean it is some time before any further developments relating to F1 are ready to be confirmed.