Is it time McLaren F1 team invested in their own bug? Perhaps so after their recent tyre strategy disaster at the Canadian Grand Prix.
This was, somewhat, the topic on a recent episode of the High Performance Racing podcast, where Jake Humphrey, former F1 engineer Rob Smedley and ex F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer descended further into madness (in the best possible sense).
The trio were occupied with the fallout from last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, where wet conditions opened up a variety of tyre strategies for the race start. While teams like Mercedes and Ferrari opted for the slick tyres, McLaren made the bold choice to start on the intermediates.
This was in the event further rain would fall and, if proven correct, could have made the team look like heroes. What transpired, however, was a rapidly drying track and no further rain, a fact Oscar Piastri conveyed to his team on the formation lap.
It was a miserable outing for McLaren in the end, with Piastri finishing P11 after hitting Alex Albon and earning himself a 10-second time penalty, while Lando Norris retired with a gearbox failure.
What’s this all got to do with a bug? Let Otmar Szafnauer explain…
After discussing McLaren’s tyre strategy blunder, Szafnauer then revealed the unique way in which his former colleague and F1 designer Akio Haga predicted the weather.
Haga has worked in F1 for over two decades, beginning at Jordan in 1998 before it became Spyker and then Force India in 2008, where he was their chief designer.
He then moved to Aston Martin as their chief designer in 2021, later moving into the role of head of trackside liaison and eventually moving across to Aston Martin Performance Technologies as their chief designer.
Szafnauer himself joined Force India in 2009, where he worked alongside Haga, and asked Smedley whether he knew about his race strategy trick – which included a June bug, a matchbox and a weather forecast.
“Was Akio Haga at Jordan when you were there? Akio used to have this little June bug in an old matchbox. And if the June bug was on its back, that meant it was going to rain. And if it wasn’t, it wasn’t raining,” he explained.
Szafnauer then paused so Smedley could get his laughter out, before he asked Szafnauer if the story was real and then if the bug was alive.
To this both Szafnauer and Humphrey delivered a passionate ‘yes’, and the former team boss continued: “So you’d have Mediachance information and Akio Haga information. And then the two of them together.
When asked which was more accurate, Szafnauer said straight-faced: “Akio’s bug.”
Kim Kardashian may have stolen the attention at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday but that’s not all Lewis Hamilton‘s new romantic interest was pinching at Monte Carlo.
Speculation over Lewis Hamilton dating Kim Kardashian have been running wild since February, with a series of public outings together over the last few months.
However, her appearance at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday to support Hamilton was a first for a Formula 1 weekend, and she would have been delighted to see the seven-time world champion earn a podium spot for Ferrari after finishing second behind race winner Kimi Antonelli.
That should have been that, but one eagle eyed F1 fan spotted an outrageous act from Kim just after the race finished that left fans furious with her conduct.
As she was walking past the an area of the track prepared for the top three finishers, she unashamedly whipped away a towel supplied for Mercedes’ race winner Kimi Antonelli.
A photographer appears to confront her on the cheeky swipe, but after a small exchange still leaves with towel in hand, and poor Antonelli (probably) wondering why F1 had forgotten to give him a towel after a hard earned race win.
Fans though were more furious over Kim’s behaviour, one fan even telling Hamilton to never bring her to an F1 race again, saying: “How do you even pick something up that is clearly not meant for you?? Lewis Hamilton, please leave her at home next time.”
Others were not as kind, with one fan saying: “True Billionaire behaviour. Do whatever you want, assume it is OK. Someone will deal with any consequences. I’m sure that towels are in plentiful supply at the Monaco GP.”
One fan was still smarting from her snubbing Martin Brundle by ignoring an interview from his grid walk, adding: “After the way she treated Brundle and now this, she shouldn’t be allowed back.”
There were of course some looking to defend her behaviour, and the best that can be found is one fan saying Kimi wasn’t using it anymore… no really. They said: “It was after the podium so he doesn’t need the towel anymore.”
Hamilton: Amazing to have Kim Kardashian
Whatever the fans think, it doesn’t look like Hamilton will be looking to stop Kim coming to any future races judging by his reaction to her being in the paddock in Monaco.
In the press conference after the race he said: “It’s amazing to have her come this weekend and have the support, but with my friends, incredible turnout just overall with people.
“And yeah, I don’t really know what else to say. It’s amazing to have good people around you and good people supporting you, and she does that for me every day.”
So that’s that then. Hamilton won’t do too badly to scratch up on his South Park knowledge before the next race though, and take advice from one of the show’s supporting characters in telling Kim Kardashian ‘Don’t forget to bring a towel.’
I’ve been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.
The 41-year-old British superstar endured a miserable first season in Maranello, being soundly beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc in what turned into an awful campaign.
2026 has started much better for Hamilton though, and he is now ahead of his team-mate following his second consecutive second-place finish, this time in the principality. Leclerc meanwhile was a DNF after brake issues caused him to crash into a barrier.
Hamilton’s excellent result means he also leapfrogs George Russell as well as Leclerc into second place in the standings. Russell is down to third after a pointless afternoon in Monaco following a penalty-laden race.
Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world’s biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.
The Monaco Grand Prix is the undisputed jewel in Formula 1’s glittering crown, a legendary street race which demands absolute precision and mercilessly punishes the smallest error.
First held in 1929 before joining the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship in 1950, the narrow, twisting circuit through the tiny principality on the French Riviera has served as the ultimate test of driver skill for nearly a century.
Legends like Ayrton Senna, ‘Mr. Monaco’ Graham Hill, and Michael Schumacher have defined their careers on these perilous, barrier-lined streets in a rich history of motorsport brilliance.
Ayrton Senna reigns supreme in the principality with six victories, closely followed by fellow legends Graham Hill and Michael Schumacher on five.
Driver
Wins
Ayrton Senna
6
Graham Hill
5
Michael Schumacher
5
Alain Prost
4
Jackie Stewart
3
Lewis Hamilton
3
Nico Rosberg
3
Stirling Moss
3
David Coulthard
2
Fernando Alonso
2
Jody Scheckter
2
Juan Manuel Fangio
2
Mark Webber
2
Maurice Trintignant
2
Max Verstappen
2
Niki Lauda
2
Sebastian Vettel
2
Graham Hill – aka ‘Mr Monaco’
Teams with the most Monaco Grand Prix wins
McLaren are the undisputed masters of Monte Carlo among the constructors, boasting 16 official World Championship wins on the famous streets, comfortably ahead of Ferrari.
Team
Wins
McLaren
16
Ferrari
10
Lotus
7
Red Bull
7
BRM
5
Mercedes
5
Brabham
3
Cooper
3
Tyrrell
3
Benetton
2
Maserati
2
Renault
2
Who is the youngest ever Monaco Grand Prix winner?
Lewis Hamilton remains the youngest ever winner – he was just 23 years, 4 months and 18 days old when he overcame an early puncture to triumph in 2008.
Teenage Italian star Kimi Antonelli (19) will obliterate that record should he win for Mercedes this weekend.
Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world’s biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.