Thursday was a busy day behind the scenes in Formula 1, with important definitions regarding engines, contracts, and expectations for the next season. While Mercedes is studying reducing the number of customer teams from 2026, Lewis Hamilton’s name is back at the center of speculation, Max Verstappen is eyeing a new number on the grid, and Zak Brown is already projecting Oscar Piastri as a strong contender for the title.
The day began with Toto Wolff making it clear that Mercedes does not intend to remain the largest supplier of power units in F1 for much longer. Currently, the brand supplies McLaren, Aston Martin, and Williams, in addition to its own official team, and will also have Alpine as a new customer in 2026. Despite having contracts signed for the next five years, Wolff revealed that the team is already discussing internally the possibility of reducing this number, considering it ideal to work with two or a maximum of three teams, including Mercedes itself. For him, producing many power units prolongs the development cycles too much and puts the team at a disadvantage compared to rivals with fewer customers.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s future continues to fuel debates. Romain Grosjean stated that he sees 2026 as the possible last season for the British driver in the category, especially given the context of regulatory changes and adaptation to Ferrari. The former driver highlighted that the seven-time champion still has the level to compete at a high standard, but believes that the combination of a long career, new technical challenges, and the arrival of a new generation of fast drivers may weigh on the decision to end the cycle in F1 after the first full season with the new cars and engines.
In Red Bull, the topic of the day was more specific, but carries symbolic weight. The team is expected to negotiate with Daniel Ricciardo to try to release the number that Max Verstappen wants to use in the future. The Dutchman, who was crowned using the number 1 after his titles, has a strong connection with the number 33, which marked his rise in Formula 1. Since the number 3 belongs to Ricciardo, any rearrangement depends on internal conversation, and the theme reinforces how identity, personal brand, and marketing continue to be increasingly relevant for drivers in a scenario of intense disputes both on and off the tracks.
At McLaren, the focus is entirely on sports and points to 2026. Zak Brown stated that Oscar Piastri has everything to be a world champion already in the next season, even after the frustration of losing the 2025 title to Lando Norris. The executive recalled that the Australian led the championship for a good part of the year, won important races, and showed the consistency of a top driver. For Brown, Piastri is young, extremely focused, and has few areas to improve, which puts him as one of the big names of the next era of F1.
With strategic decisions on engines, a possible end of cycle for a giant like Hamilton, internal movements at Red Bull, and McLaren’s declared bet on Piastri, the post-season shows that Formula 1 does not slow down even when the lights of the grid go out. The next few months until 2026 promise to be as intense as the disputes that fans followed on the tracks in 2025.
