After two tattoos, will McLaren F1 boss sport a papaya mohawk?

Crash.net recaps all of the news, updates and tidbits of information from the Spa-Francorchamps paddock after Thursday’s media sessions ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix…

Zak Brown to sport papaya mohawk?

Oscar Piastri has teased the prospect that McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown could turn up to the F1 paddock sporting a papaya mohawk following his first victory in Hungary.

The McLaren boss has two tattoos of race circuits inked on his body to commemorate wins for Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in the last few years.

However, a third tattoo is not on the cards for Brown, according to Piastri.

“It won’t be a tattoo, he already made that one very clear,” the Australian said. “We never actually shook on anything but the last thing we discussed which got some traction was a papaya mohawk. So I’ve reminded him of that, and let’s see when it comes out.”

Sabbatical not on the cards for Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz insists he will “absolutely not” be taking a sabbatical from F1 next year

“[A] sabbatical is not even in my head,” the Spaniard stressed. “I am happy in F1. I love F1. I would rather go down to a midfield team and use my skill in the peak of my career to try and help a midfield team to find the right way than taking a year off or being third driver for anyone.

“I am competitive and I know I can still bring to a midfield team that side of me.”

Alpine bring the upgrades… To their motorhome

Alpine have debuted a brand new hospitality unit in the Spa-Francorchamps paddock.

The impressive new structure is bigger than its predecessor - which was Toyota’s old motorhome - and can accommodate 180 people over two floors. The interior design is inspired by a ski chalet.

Alex Albon’s front-row view of controversial clash

Alex Albon was overtaken by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton as they battled for third place and crashed in the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Asked what he was thinking as he watched the drama unfold right in front of him, Albon replied: “Don’t be the creator of something that happens straightaway. As soon as it happened I was like ‘okay, I hope I wasn’t to blame in that one’.

“Both [were] aggressive, Max being aggressive on his move. At the same time, I do think there was an element of squeezing. But it’s all pretty close. I think the call in the end is the right call from the stewards. I think it is a racing incident.”

He went on to joke: “When they are together, when is it not?”

Williams car still overweight

Albon has revealed that Williams’ 2024 F1 car remains overweight, but has praised the work done by his team.

“The team are doing a great job. The factory has got a lot of weight out of the car. We’re still overweight, but nowhere near where we were to start with,” he said.

“When you look at how many upgrades there have been from the teams around us, we haven’t had any major upgrades. Apart from that, it’s all just been weight.

“In some ways I think it’s positive, because we haven’t put an upgrade on the car but we have still been able to fight for points.

Albon added that the British squad “do have an upgrade coming” but said he doesn’t want to “give a date to it”.

Run for Anthoine

Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and other F1 drivers took part in the Run for Anthoine at Spa-Francorchamps.

The event - which F1 media including this writer also took part in - was held in memory of Anthoine Hubert, who died in an F2 crash at the circuit five years ago.

There were also tributes paid to Dilano van’t Hoff, who tragically lost his life in a crash during a Formula Regional European championship race in 2023.