Hey gang, time for another edition of Ask Dre! The show where you, the wonderful and mighty Motorsport101 Audience ask me your questions about F1, MotoGP, IndyCar and just about everything else in-between! Let’s see what’s in the mailbag this week?
With an F3 driver receiving 18 penalty points over the course of 2 race weekends, the F2 championship leader being 4 points away from a ban and the reigning F1 champion being 1 point away from a ban, is the penalty points system achieving its purpose, or is a rethink required? – Kieran (Question of the Month)
For those lacking context, Nicola Lacorte just speedran a race ban after picking up 7 penalty points in F3’s Barcelona weekend, as well as Alex Dunne, who has 8 points in F2 after multiple incidents on track where he initiated contact. After Max Verstappen’s Russell crash in F1, he’s now on 11 and one away from a race ban until after Austria.
Long story short Kieran – Nope, I don’t think it should be changed, I think it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do, punish the repeat offenders. You have to work REALLY hard to get 12 penalty points in a rolling calendar year. Most clashes on track lead to one to two penalty points depending on the steward’s discretion, with three points normally only given for the extreme incidents like 10-second stop and go’s… or Max). So by my maths, you’re likely looking at 6-9 penalties over the course of a year to get to 12 depending on the context. And quite frankly, if you’re missing the mark that frequently (roughly 1 in 4-5 races), you probably should be sat down for a race weekend.
So for me, I think the system is fine as it is. I suspect a lot of people want to see harsher punishments as more of a deterrent for bad driving, which I understand, but I also think that’s exactly why we have the system in place that we do.
Dear Dre, is it Panic Mode for Team Penske? – Susan
My dear Susan, extra love for the “Dear”, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside!
Yeah, Team Penske’s in trouble, on and off the track. On it, they’re already pretty close to having nothing to play for this season. A humiliating 500 after back-to-back wins via Josef Newgarden, and they’re now winless as the IndyCar season approaches the half-way mark. And looking at how far their drivers are off the Astor Cup:
Will Power (5th, -136), Scott McLaughlin (8th, -147), Josef Newgarden (12th, -185)
…Just three podium finishes combined in seven races this season is not good. While they haven’t been terrible, they’re mostly hovering around the lower to middle of the Top 10, and when Alex Palou has a vicegrip on the field, everyone tripping over each other limits the damage the Spaniard takes. Man had a full on P25 DNF in Detroit and he only lost 22 points in his head when you get 54 for a perfect weekend.
But beyond that, it just feels like the series is a bit fed up with their overlords. A second cheating scandal in two years, the senior management with over 50 years combined experience, culled. The impossible job of securing a third engine supplier while potentially alienating and losing the second. Even the drivers don’t feel as universally liked as before, with McLaughlin talking a lot of shit for a man who wrecked out of his 500 on the warm-up lap. Newgarden had a genuine split in his following after last year’s button pushing too.
Penske feels like an exhausting and not very liked team to follow right now, and they don’t even have the results to silence the haters like they normally do. It’s rough out here. Speaking of which:
“Who do we think will be appointed head of Team Penske? Internal promotion or splashy new hire?” – Debbie
Hard to say on this one, Debbie. Could easily go either way. Jay Fyre bit the bullet as President of the series last year and now he’s running Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and man was that weird to see during the 500. Given the last set of senior management staff (Cindric did 25 years, Ruzewski was over 20 and Moyer was in Year 11), it seems that Penske rewards loyalty, and that makes me think they’ll promote from within, especially given that they had to do so at last year’s Indy 500 and kept it moving, winning the whole thing. That’s the benefit of having a huge organisation, next man up.
You are Felipe Drugovich: Do you ditch your potentially Le Mans winning seat on the Action Express Cadillac to do P18 for Aston Martin at the F1 Canadian GP? – Sammibor
Genuinely tough call when you know the backstory. It’s hard not to feel a bit bad for Felipe. He was a definite F1 dreamer, but when he got to F2, he won the title in his third season (Already a death sentence in the “We think we know wheel” social media stakes), and as an independent, with no driver academy support. He was the inaugural member of Aston Martin’s academy after winning said title, but he joined a team that had Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso just join, so it rendered an actual seat just about impossible. Since then, he hasn’t had many opportunities to impress in F1’s paddock.
Now from what I’ve been told, he’s had chances to switch to IndyCar and we know he’s driving for Action Express Cadillac for Le Mans, but there’s only a slim chance that his sponsors would go with him if he did. So he’s kinda stuck. This stand-in role for Aston now Stroll is injured might be his one shot to impress, and when you’re an F1 lifer, it’s hard to turn down that chance, even if it sounds stupid on paper to miss Le Mans and potentially pivot to Sportscars.
I’d race at Le Mans and understand that the odds an F1 team comes calling now is slim to none, but given it already seems Felipe WOULD stand in if the opportunity presented itself, says a lot. (Unless as he’s a reserve, Aston Martin has first refusal on what he can and can’t do, dunno for sure.)
Should Indycar be looking to expand into other markets like Europe and bring races here? – Steve Bartlett
I’d love for them to try! I was discussing this with my Editor-In-Chief at Autosport, Kevin Turner – We both agreed that an IndyCar race at Silverstone, with Lando Norris in a McLaren would be mega, and I think the series has enough European fans that it could be worth a go! The racing I think is a better fit than F1 is.
The obvious problem for me is sponsorship. IndyCar is super-niche in the global scale of Motorsport, and their sponsors are generally North American exclusive. The series umm’d and aaah’d about a race in Mexico City before Pato O’Ward stuffed a firework up Mark Miles ass, I fear a UK race would lose the series a boatload of money and I’m not sure the payoff could justify that because I don’t think US-based companies will be keen to sponsor their cars where their product is unavailable. The series I think needs a bigger US foothold before they really start thinking about races outside of the Americas again, so let’s hope FOX gets its house in order in the medium-term.
How much longer can Pecco Bagnaia’s motivation last before the GP25 finally breaks his spirit? – Yewhoho
I mean, it feels like we’re already there, right?
By the time we got to Le Mans, he was already telling the media that he had to force himself to adapt to the GP25 because he felt like the bike didn’t fit his rather sensitive riding style. He’s scored four points since then.
With Pecco now 72 points behind Marc Marquez in the standings, and Pecco complaining further that the front end of the bike feels numb, and he can’t tell the difference between a medium and a soft tyre, it feels like he’s in big trouble, and he’s clearly pushing Ducati to try and do something about it.
Pecco’s been the third strongest Ducati rider all season long, and one more bad weekend might put him out of the running for good. This isn’t like 2022 when he came back from a 91-point deficit against Fabio Quartararo, this is a total different beast. Yamaha’s decline was swift and ridiculous. Marquez isn’t that. Pecco’s tough, but this could be a step too far for the former two-time Champ…
After Alex Palou’s dismal showing in Detroit, is it time to call him washed? 😂 – Stuart Ellis
Oh yeah, him only hovering in 4th before being punted by David Malukas has clearly taken the edge off him, mans is cooked! His average finish is only 4.5 now, the title race is wide open!
Which IndyCar driver would you sign for Cadillac F1? – Viandra
Alex Palou, next question.
Okay, actual answer – Palou has openly admitted he’s committed to staying in IndyCar now he has a home and family in the US, so seemingly that ship has sailed. If I’m an F1 team boss, I’m likely looking for a blend of skill, experience, and preferably younger because you’d ideally want them in your team as long as you can.
I think the best blend of all of those elements is Colton Herta. He’s a street circuit expert, has speed in abundance, has massively improved on ovals, as the youngest of the elite drivers in the field at 25. You have to remember, a lot of his series struggles came about as a result of his crew, not him directly. And let’s not forget, he was Championship runner-up in IndyCar last year, and only half a race behind Palou.
Pato O’Ward is another I’d consider here too, especially with McLaren and Red Bull both flirting with the idea in year’s past. Kyle Kirkwood had the best single-seater junior record in US history, but like Pato, may now be a little on the older side at 26 (I hate that 26 sounds old in F1 language, but here we are), and is getting better in IndyCar year-on-year.
So if I had to choose, I’d probably go for Herta, but I’d be more than happy with any of those three.
Any dream one-off drives/rides in motorsport? (Any rider, any series is fair game) – Galarian Mike
Ooo, good one. I’d have loved to have seen what Dani Pedrosa could have done if he started out his career with Yamaha, instead of Honda. Yamaha’s bikes were often a lot smoother and easier to ride than Honda, where the former made its lap time in cornering speed and wider, sweeping lines. Could Pedrosa have won a race in his prime on the opposite bike?
I’d have also liked to have seen Casey Stoner actually do a wildcard on one of the more recent Ducati’s, post Gigi Dall’Igna. He left Ducati at arguably their lowest point since coming back in 2003 to move to Honda. But after 2016, Ducati were winning again at a rate of knots, and seeing the man who had won two titles with Ducati and Honda on topline prototypes would have been fascinating. Alas…
How do you see the MotoGP grid sorting out for 2026? Plenty of silly season rumors are going around, and it sounds like some desirable seats might be available (like Jorge’s factory Aprilia spot). Who’s getting a ride, and who’s getting the bat? – GhostRaptor
Ah, a grid guesser. A classic. Okay, let’s type in who I think are definites for 2026, riders already confirmed or very, very likely to stay:
Factories
Ducati – Marc Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia
Aprilia – Marco Bezzecchi
KTM – Brad Binder
Yamaha – Fabio Quartararo
Honda – Joan Mir
Customers
Gresini – Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer
VR46 – Fabio Di Giannantonio
Trackhouse – Raul Fernandez, Al Ogura
Pramac – ??
LCR – Johann Zarco
Tech3 – Maverick Vinales, Enea Bastianini
Every name I’ve jotted down are either contracted through 2026, or are almost certainly staying. Let’s go by factories and work out the rest.
Ducati – Not too much to say here. Both the factory team and the Gresini Satellite team have both their riders contracted until the end of 2026. Same applies to Diggia on a factory contract at VR46. Franky Morbidelli is a free agent come the end of the season, but given he’s fifth in the standings, they’d be foolish to let him go in what’s been an outstanding season for the Brazilian. Ducati is completely unchanged for me.
Aprilia – Here’s where the big domino falls for me. Jorge Martin doubled down last week in his plans to leave the team at the end of the season unless he gets a consultation period with the bike when he comes back, with the tentative date set for July. I think he leaves. Martin has always played hard ball with his contracts, he’s been burned more times than Kane. I think he heads to Honda, and I’ll tackle them next.
Both Trackhouse riders are locked in through 2026, and I don’t think that’ll change unless Davide Brivio really U-Turns on Raul Fernandez. That just leaves the one factory seat alongside Bez, and I think it’ll be a straight swap for Luca Marini, who is out of contract at the end of 2025 with Honda. Speaking of…
Honda – Honda’s been the hivemind for a lot of silly season discussion for obvious reasons. Joan Mir is safe through 2026, even if his form should suggest otherwise. Johann Zarco has been pushing for a factory payday after two years of exceptional performance with LCR, but I think that’s all the more reason he ultimately stays put, albeit maybe on a slightly better contract.
As I said, I think both Jorge Martin and Luca Marini ultimately swap seats, Aprilia like going after homegrown talent and they can put together the VR46 team from 2023. That just leaves Somkiat Chantra. We all know the story, Idemitsu and Honda want an East Asian rider to help promote the brand, and the pathway into MotoGP. But Chantra has really, really struggled. I think Chantra stays, if for no other reason, there’s not another Asian rider in the classes ready to go.
KTM – Come back next year – I think that is when all the drama kicks off as KTM’s future remains pretty uncertain beyond 2026 due to new ownership. Despite that, I think all four riders stay. Binder, Bastianini and Vinales are all tied down through 2026, and while Pedro Acosta has kicked up a stink behind the scenes, there isn’t really a better place for him to go in the short-term future. Given 2026’s silly season will be much more up for grabs, I think his patience will prevail.
Yamaha – This is where we get all sorts of options. The only rider we know for sure whose staying is Fabio Quartararo. Everything beyond that is a crapshoot. Alex Rins has struggled this season in 17th place… but so has everyone else. Miguel Oliveira has been hurt and can’t get used to the Yamaha, Rins might not ever be the same rider again post leg shattering and Jack Miller’s had flashes of brilliance but is still shredding tyres and crashing too frequently.
If the reports out of Turkey are true, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu has signed for Pramac and will be announced next week. There’s multiple ways Yamaha could handle this. Do they keep Rins and give him another contract? If not, do you promote one of the current Pramac’s, likely Miller? Do you let Miller go knowing there’s reports that Ducati wants him in World Superbikes? This is a big deal as whoever doesn’t make it in, likely won’t be on the grid next season.
Here’s what I think Yamaha should do. I think you sign Toprak to Pramac, have him replace Miguel Oliveira, promote Jack Miller to the factory team (I think he’s the lesser of three evils here), and then Pramac signs Manuel Gonzalez from Moto2 to fill the remaining Pramac seat. Gonzalez is a great talent and is kicking ass in Moto2, it sucks that currently being Spanish is a deterrent in the series unless you’re Pedro Acosta, but he’s been more than good enough to justify a promotion.
So, my 2026 MotoGP roster looks like this:
Ducati – Marc Marquez, Pecco Bagnaia
Gresini – Alex Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer
VR46 – Fabio Di Giannantonio, Franky Morbidelli
Yamaha – Fabio Quartararo, Jack Miller
Pramac – Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, Manuel Gonzalez
Aprilia – Marco Bezzecchi, Luca Marini
Trackhouse – Ai Ogura, Raul Fernandez
KTM – Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta
Tech3 – Enea Bastianini, Maverick Vinales
Honda – Joan Mir, Jorge Martin
LCR – Johann Zarco, Somkiat Chantra
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts, and I’ll catch you back here this weekend for another DRR on the Aragon GP!
