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Indecent proposal? How Sainz's big idea to change F1 qualifying might work

Feature
Formula 1
British GP
Indecent proposal? How Sainz's big idea to change F1 qualifying might work

Why Ferrari fears "deficit could be twice as big" to Mercedes at Silverstone and Spa

Formula 1
British GP
Why Ferrari fears "deficit could be twice as big" to Mercedes at Silverstone and Spa

How "charging station" Silverstone will really look different in F1 2026

Formula 1
British GP
How "charging station" Silverstone will really look different in F1 2026

Alonso denies claim that Aston Martin's Hungarian GP upgrade will decide his F1 future

Formula 1
British GP
Alonso denies claim that Aston Martin's Hungarian GP upgrade will decide his F1 future

Dixon to leave Chip Ganassi Racing at end of 2026 IndyCar season

IndyCar
Mid-Ohio
Dixon to leave Chip Ganassi Racing at end of 2026 IndyCar season

Kay back to the top of Autosport National Rankings table

National
Kay back to the top of Autosport National Rankings table

Alonso: Silverstone will be "not fun to drive" with 2026 F1 cars

Formula 1
British GP
Alonso: Silverstone will be "not fun to drive" with 2026 F1 cars

Motorsport UK and BRDC unite to develop young British drivers

National
Motorsport UK and BRDC unite to develop young British drivers

Felipe Massa calls for Williams Formula 1 team brake change

Felipe Massa has urged the Williams Formula 1 team to change its brake systems after struggling in wet qualifying at the recent Belgian Grand Prix

Massa qualified a lowly ninth for the Spa event, on a track where Williams was expected to run at the front.

Massa was among a selection of drivers to suffer glazed brakes in the wet session, and he has called on his team to switch from its current Carbone Industrie-only set-up to allow its car to run Brembo pads and discs.

When asked whether he wanted to move to Brembo brakes, which the Brazilian used at his previous team Ferrari, Massa said: "Yes. It's not the first time we had [glazing] this year.

"Normally the brakes we used in the conditions like this, we had [glazing] a few times this year.

"It's not great to be honest, so it's something that we are still working on.

"It's impossible to warm up the [CI] brakes [in the wet]."

Williams performance chief Rob Smedley confirmed Williams was evaluating redesigning its car to accept both types of material, but said the FW36 was designed around using CI brakes, so any change would not be straightforward to make.

"You have to set out at the start of the year essentially with your mechanical fixing that fixes the brake disc to the car able to accept both," Smedley explained.

"If you haven't done that, then it's a very big change to make to the car. It's something you couldn't just do between sessions.

"We're going through the process now, but this team has been geared up to run with CI for many years now, so to change to another manufacturer is not wholly straightforward.

"With a certain amount of resource we have to consider where to put that resource the best. We can't put all of the company on to changing to Brembo material.

"We're considering the design and considering what to do for the future.

"For next year, that [a change to design of the mechanical fixing] will more than likely be the case."

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