From Fernando Alonso revealing the name of his first child after receiving a special gift from F1, to Toto Wolff agreeing with Ferrari’s prediction of a ‘new’ championship post-Miami, here are the two main stories from today, Saturday, April 4.
While he may be having a poor start to the season at Aston Martin, it was nevertheless a joyous Japanese Grand Prix weekend for Alonso as the Spaniard’s first child was born just before the on-track action.
The 44-year-old, who missed the Thursday media day and FP1 at Suzuka, had confirmed that his partner Melissa Jimenez had given birth to a baby boy, but his name has been under wraps until now.
On Instagram, Alonso posted a gift that he received from Formula 1, a paddock pass with a photo and the baby’s name: Leonard Alonso Jiménez.
The two-time world champion added the caption: “Thank you so much Formula 1! The first of many.“
Photo: Instagram @Fernandoalo_oficial
Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Wolff has agreed with Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur that a ‘new championship’ could start at the Miami Grand Prix, as teams get a better handle on the 2026 regulations and start to chase favourites Mercedes.
“I agree. It could be the case. People have learned now, teams and drivers are starting to learn how to optimise the systems to their benefit. And we’ve seen that first indication,” Wolff argued, referring to Oscar Piastri’s impressive P2 finish behind Kimi Antonelli.
The Silver Arrows boss later added that a championship “restart” is very much on the cards, after Mercedes’ “home run” victories in the opening races of the season.
“What looked like a home run in the first two races for us isn’t the case, and we’ve always warned.
“And then, yes, Miami is going to be, for me also, a restart. How are the upgrades going to work that people are bringing? How have we optimized all the other systems? It’s going to be exciting.“
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