F1 news: Key figure sends shockwaves with dramatic resignation as Mercedes admit regret

The Bahrain Grand Prix is in focus as we head into the fourth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season with a huge FIA resignation making the headlines along with several driver changes ahead of FP1

A triple header means there’s so little time to breathe in the Formula 1 world right now. Just a few days on from Max Verstappen’s victory at the Japanese Grand Prix and we’re already at media day for the next race and back in Bahrain.

Pre-season testing was held here in February but the timing of Ramadan this year meant it was not the season-opener, as has been the car in recent years. Instead, that honour reverted to the Australian Grand Prix which kicked off the 2025 campaign last month.

But now we’re back in the Gulf state and finally feeling the heat. After a relatively cold first few rounds of the F1 season, it’s shorts weather again with high air temperatures of 39 degrees on Thursday – and it’s only going to cool down a little bit as the race weekend progresses.

Speaking of heat, there have been plenty of hot topics in the paddock as always. That includes a swathe of unfamiliar faces who will be taking part in first practice this weekend as teams bid to comply with rules forcing them to field rookies four times this year.

We’ve also had a dramatic resignation on the eve of the race weekend and one F1 team addressing rumours over its future as stock markets everywhere continue to feel the effects of Donald Trump’s bonkers trade tariffs. Mirror Sport has all the headlines:

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Rook who’s driving

Nearly a third of the grid will be made up of drivers with very little F1 experience when FP1 gets under way on Friday. The likes of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and George Russell will all be sitting that session out as their teams take the opportunity to field some younger talent.

Ayumu Iwasa will drive Verstappen’s Red Bull, Dino Beganovic will be in Leclerc’s Ferrari and Russell will give the keys to his Mercedes to Frederik Vesti. Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso will make way for Felipe Drugovich, Brit Luke Browning fills in for Carlos Sainz at Williams and new signing Ryo Hirakawa will make his Haas debut in place of Oliver Bearman.

FIA rocked by resignation

Mohammed ben Sulayem continues to cause plenty of drama at F1’s governing body. His actions during an increasingly unsavoury presidential term have led to another high-profile exit from the organisation – this time his deputy president Robert Reid.

“When I took on this role, it was to serve the FIA’s members, not to serve power. Over time, I have witnessed a steady erosion of the principles we promised to uphold,” said the Scottish former rally driver. “Decisions are being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and people the FIA exists to represent. My resignation is not about personalities; it is about principles.”

Haas statement on Trump turmoil

Fans of F1 minnows Haas would have been worried to see parent company, US-based machine tools firm Haas Automation, announce that president Donald Trump’s tariffs and their financial consequences had led to their decision to pause hiring new staff and cut back on production at its main factory in Oxnard, California.

But the racing team has issued a statement of its own confirming that, for them and for now, it is business as usual. A spokesperson said: “The statement put out by Haas Automation with regards to tariffs and the Trump Administration does not have any impact regarding MoneyGram Haas F1 Team. It’s business as usual regarding the team and there is no change to our development plan, recruiting process and other projects.”

Mercedes left red-faced

You can’t get every decision right and Mercedes were left to rue a big missed opportunity in Japan last week. Looking back on how Verstappen took pole before winning the Grand Prix, while their driver Russell had to settle for fifth both on the grid and in the race, technical director James Allison has reflected on the big mistake they made.

He said: “On our final run – and it was definitely not the right thing to do – we urged a slightly cooler start to the lap for George. The consequence was the tyre wasn’t ready in that first part of the lap. So we lost a load of time there, which meant it was sort of irrelevant what happened in the second part of the lap. We never got the benefit there either because the lap was just uncompetitive.”