The Racing Point brake duct appeal was finally dropped during the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari is satisfied that the FIA’s latest directives restricting the possibility of reverse engineering of rival cars will prevent the possibility of any repeat of the creation of future clone cars, as embodied by the current ‘Pink Mercedes’ Racing Point RP20.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner has reiterated there is no intention of switching back Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon between AlphaTauri and Red Bull. “Pierre has done a fantastic job,” he said. “Since taking the step back into what was Toro Rosso, he’s found his confidence, he’s driving incredibly well. AlphaTauri are doing a great job with him. It’s good to see that’s working out for him. As far as Red Bull Racing’s seats are concerned, we’re focused on Alex Albon. We want to try and give him the best opportunity to retain that seat. It wouldn’t make sense to switch the drivers back. AlphaTauri is now a sister team rather than a junior team. Franz [Tost] is happy I believe with Pierre. The final decision will be made later in the year, but there’s no push from our side to reverse the current situation.”

A long-running dispute between Liberty and the Haas team regarding a claim for FOM money on the basis of Racing Point initially retaining Force India’s payment status when it bought the team out of administration has been settled in arbitration.

As Williams gets new owners but retains its name, the Renault team retains its owners but gets a new name for next year – ALPINE. The Enstone team is
rebranding the squad to align it with a marketing push for its sporting sister brand, partly in anticipation of the future full electrification of its mainstream range.

Lewis Hamilton’s controlled victory in the Tuscan GP at Mugello has moved him to 90 career grand prix victories, putting him one behind Michael Schumacher’s record tally of 91. Hamilton can equal the German legend next time out in Russia, and potentially set a new milestone in Schuey’s home turf of the Nürburgring in the Eifel GP on October 11.

Ferrari’s CEO Louis Camilleri was an unsatisfied spectator during the brand’s 1000th Formula 1 Grand Prix at Mugello. On what should have been a weekend of celebration for the Scuderia, it had to settle with Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel trundling home in eighth and 10th respectively. After watching the race, Camilleri said: “Listen, we’re in a hole now, and we know we’re in a hole. It’s a confluence of factors, but anything I say will come across as excuses, and we’re not into excuses. What matters is getting back to our rightful place.”