The question of which car defined a driver's career tends to produce diplomatic answers. Two-time Formula 1 world champion Emerson Fittipaldi doesn't need to be diplomatic. Speaking on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, the Brazilian got straight to it: the Lotus 72 was the finest machine he ever sat in.

"The Lotus 72, to me, was the best car I ever drove in my career," he confirmed. "From the cars I drove, the Lotus 72, all this year with Colin [Chapman], we developed the car, changing suspension geometry, downforce, wings.

"But it was always an incredible car to drive. I would come to the paddock, look to him, he looked to me, and we got together; it was an extension of my body.

"It was a fantastic car. Colin was a genius, and he had the intuition to set up a car. And I remember Colin used to put his two fingers here when I talked about the car, and it came as the right solution. It was amazing because there was no telemetry there, it was just what I was feeling, telling Colin, and then Colin getting to the point and improving the car. It was a fantastic car."

There was limited data at this point, no simulations or telemetry, just a driver describing what he felt in the seat to Chapman, and Chapman translating that into a mechanical change the next morning.

"After the first year, we had a very good relationship," he said when asked if he developed similar relationships at McLaren to his relationship with Chapman. "Gordon Coppuck was the chief engineer. He was extremely good, very dedicated. He did a fantastic car. I mean, the M23 was an incredible car. It was a simpler car, a more conventional car than the Lotus.

"Lotus had the torsion bars that were difficult to work with at the proper angle. We were all the time working, and McLaren was a more conventional car, but we had three wheelbases. We had a long wheelbase, we had a mid-wheelbase, and the short wheelbase for Monaco, for the short circuits.

Emerson Fittipaldi

"And there was another good work for McLaren for logistics. We changed the weight distribution, a higher percentage of weight on the front for the short circuits. I mean, we had a lot of pre-race study from each track - more than Lotus would do - to adapt the M23 to different tracks, different characteristics for the whole year, and that was Alastair Caldwell and Gordon Coppuck."

The Lotus 72 made its racing debut at the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix and was seen as an incredible piece of engineering. Inspired by the Lotus 56, it boasted better aerodynamics and a higher top speed despite using the same Cosworth engine. 

Jochen Rindt was on course to win the 1970 championship when he was killed in a qualifying crash at Monza. His replacement, Fittipaldi, won the US Grand Prix, helping Rindt become F1's only posthumous world champion.

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Ahead of the progress shown in Miami, the opening weeks of the 2026 season had not been easy for Red Bull. While the new power unit surprised some of its rivals in the paddock, the picture on the chassis and aero side initially proved underwhelming.

Moreover, news emerged that Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s right-hand man and also Red Bull’s Head of Racing, will leave the team for McLaren in 2028. His departure fits into a broader trend of key figures leaving the team, something team boss Laurent Mekies openly acknowledged in Miami.

Lambiase’s move to McLaren makes sense - but Red Bull faces another big hole to fill

When Red Bull’s current engine partner Ford returned to Formula 1, Ford Performance director Mark Rushbrook emphasised that the American manufacturer likes to apply a similar approach across all championships it takes part in: not a works team, but joining forces with the best teams in a given racing series.

Since that announcement, however, quite a lot has changed at Red Bull, raising the question of how Ford now views the state of the team.

“I think Red Bull showed their character, what the team is capable of, many times through history,” Rushbrook said during an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com.

“Let’s take last year as an example. Everybody counted them out of the championship, and look how close it was in the end and what they were able to achieve in that. So that was just a demonstration again of what they are capable of.”

Despite the technical regulations now being completely different, that gives Ford confidence for the current season and the years ahead.

“It's the same thing here. A lot of people are saying, well, Red Bull is behind. And sure, that's what we've seen on track so far, but we're not discouraged by that. If anything, collectively we're energised by that because Red Bull and Ford want to be racing at the front.”

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Ford got reassurances from Red Bull about Lambiase’s departure

Besides the regulations, the personnel changes form a second factor. In addition to Lambiase, the team has already had to replace Rob Marshall, Jonathan Wheatley, Adrian Newey, Will Courtenay, besides Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.

It raises the question of how many departures a team can absorb altogether, but Rushbrook says he is not immediately worried on that front either.

“They've got the right people, the right culture. And even with personnel changes, I know that creates a lot of excitement in the media and maybe other places, but I think that's part of the sport,” he said.

“Not that we necessarily wanted to see any of those people go, but it’s about how you react to that.”

According to the American, the latter is more important than the departures themselves: how does the team ultimately deal with them?

“There's always some concern when you see somebody leaving. Why are they leaving? What does it actually mean to the team?,” he added.

“So it's not that it's not important, but you react to those things, just like anything else in racing, or even in life. When things happen, it's all about how you react to them and stay strong.”

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing

In Lambiase’s case, Red Bull still has some time to think about succession planning. Moreover, there appeared to be little chance for the Milton Keynes-based team to keep him on board for longer. Verstappen even said that, considering McLaren’s offer, he “would have been an idiot” if he had tried to keep Lambiase at Red Bull.

Verstappen revealed that the race engineer had spoken to him long before the announcement, and according to Rushbrook, Red Bull did exactly the same with Ford as a partner. Asked whether the American company received certain reassurances regarding how Red Bull will handle this next departure, he replied: “Yes, exactly, for sure.”

“Would hate to see Max go, but wouldn’t change our commitment to F1”

Besides all the aforementioned team members, there is another variable that seems to return every year: Verstappen’s own future.

The four-time world champion has been vocal about the regulations during the opening months of 2026 and added in Miami that his views on the rules have not changed because of Red Bull’s recent progress. Moreover, he said that he wants to take his time regarding the “life choices” he referred to in Japan.

Are we at a turning point for Verstappen – and F1?

“I completely understand the driver's perspective and Max's perspective,” Rushbrook responded. “The drivers, they're the ones in the car and dealing with the technology and how it impacts the racing.”

“But we've seen that the sport is willing to talk about those issues internally amongst the teams and to react to it, and take steps to address it. I think as long as the sport is willing to do that and that we do address those things together, then hopefully everybody is happy and they stay in the sport.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

“Nobody wants to see Max leave or any of the current drivers, because they are part of the personality of the sport. So we want them to be happy, we want them engaged and excited about the racing that they're doing, because that makes the fans even more excited about it.”

But should Verstappen leave after all — either by switching from Red Bull to another team or by leaving F1 altogether — Rushbrook stresses that Ford’s position would not change: “We came to Formula 1 to be in Formula 1 and we chose Red Bull because of who they are as a team, as a culture, not any single individual.

“And again, we love Max, we love the fact that he's racing in a Red Bull Ford powered vehicle. We would hate to see him leave, but that wouldn't change our commitment to the sport.”

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2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has praised Lando Norris for speaking openly about mental health.

While reflecting on his own career in the championship, Button detailed how every driver is "flawed" and "insecure", which he argued could be seen in some of Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari radio messages.

"As drivers, we're flawed. We are insecure," Button told Tom Clarkson during an appearance on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast. "And I'll go for any driver. When I heard Lewis Hamilton on the radio last year in the Ferrari, when he asks a question, they don't come back to him, and he's like, 'Have I done something wrong?' You're a seven-time world champion. The confidence you should have is out of this world, but insecurities creep in.

"You forget what you've achieved, and you just think about that last session. You're like, 'I'm not good enough.' You know, 'I was two-tenths behind my team-mate.' It's crazy. And the pressure you put yourself under, it's enormous.

"And that's why you see so many drivers fail in the sport even though they have the talent. Mentally, they're just in a really dark place. And I've heard it from many drivers. We think of it as a weakness, so we don't talk about it, and that's what amazed me with Lando. The way he's been outspoken over the last couple of years on mental health. Really, really good. And I think that gives you a lot of strength."

Norris was very open about his mental health battles during his championship fight against his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen. After clinching the title, he spoke to Sky Sports News about the importance of speaking to a psychologist throughout the season. 

“Very,” he said when asked about the significance of a psychologist to his championship fight.

Jenson Button

“When you look at the end of the season, two points were all I needed, you know? There are plenty of places that I could have got more points. There’s also plenty of places I could have lost more points, and it’s hard to quantify, ‘Did this one meeting help you get this many points?’

“You don’t really know this thing, because it’s just a collection of work, and you go through everything, ‘Is this going to help you potentially do a better job?’

“If it’s a yes, you’ve got to do as many of those different things as you can. Certainly, working with a psychologist and different people in many different areas all played a part.

“How much? Very difficult to know. But did it make me perform better? Did it allow me to get wins in the second half of the season and have that run, which I would say effectively got me the championship in the end? Yes.

“So every small piece can add up and make a big difference.”

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