Author Profile: Leopold Pleijsier

Leopold Pleijsier

Leopold Pleijsier

F1 Journalist

30356 published articles
16 Oct 2026 latest publication

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

Latest story: Court order pulls Mercedes into Antonelli's contract fight

Ferrari brings back Schumacher's first livery 30 years later

Thirty years after Schumacher first pulled on red, Ferrari has dressed the SF-26 in his 1996 colours, and Vettel and Barrichello take the F2002...

3 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Pirelli may reopen a straight-line question it closed months ago

Alonso's rear wing stayed shut at Zandvoort and left him last of all 22. Pirelli now says the safety debate it closed in mid-season...

1 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Why F1 25’s 2026 Cars Feel So Different To Drive

Formula 1 changed in 2026, and those changes have made their way into F1 25. The cars in the 2026 Season Pack feel different...

0 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Hadjar expected to stay at Red Bull into 2027

Red Bull will not rule on Isack Hadjar's Monza fitness until Wednesday, yet the German press already reads the Frenchman's 2027 seat as good...

1 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Button urges Alonso to stay a little longer at Aston

Jenson Button's appeal for Fernando Alonso to race on carries extra weight, because Aston Martin itself chose to publish the tribute on its own...

1 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Honda insists Spec 2 delivered, yet still trails at Monza

Honda's trackside chief accepts the drivability complaints from Alonso and Stroll, but insists the numbers Spec 2 showed on the dyno did arrive on...

0 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Madring wins early praise as legal rows keep growing

Bruno del Pino's 93 laps of Madring produced far better reviews than the photographs promised, even as residents and rival designers head for the...

1 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Milei pushes for a Buenos Aires return with Colapinto

Argentina's president used the FIA American Congress to lobby Ben Sulayem in person, and framed the whole pitch around a single name: Franco Colapinto.

1 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Audi's new gear ratios arrive at Monza after 24 weeks

Twenty-four weeks of work deliver a small fix at Monza, while Audi keeps the visible change for Baku, where an insider says the R26...

1 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Nike eyes an F1 return, 24 years after Schumacher

Nike has talked to Formula One Management about sponsorship and licensing, and the clearest clue so far is the trainers turning up in Cadillac's...

0 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Russia now drops murder case over Vitaly Petrov's father

Ilya Traber spent two months in Lefortovo accused of organising the killing of Alexander Petrov. Investigators now say he had no involvement whatsoever.

0 comments  | 
1 Sep 2026

Hamilton could stay at Ferrari beyond 2027 as Bearman waits

Signs point to Ferrari keeping Hamilton into 2028. That would leave Oliver Bearman, its own academy graduate, weighing whether the wait for Maranello is...

2 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Ben Sulayem says Sainz Sr never understood the FIA presidency

Ben Sulayem's verdict on the rally legend who nearly ran against him: a good friend who misjudged the job. Sainz Jr, meanwhile, is batting...

2 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Norris admits other interest before easy McLaren decision

Norris calls the reported $40 million a fiction and places himself below Hamilton and Verstappen on merit. Ralf Schumacher sees a driver who stopped...

2 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Red Bull was never going to leave F1, says Klien

Klien was backed by Red Bull long before it owned a team. He says the in-house engine programme alone rules out an exit, whatever...

1 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Surer explains why Cadillac changed leaders mid-season

Cadillac swapped Lowdon for Budkowski in the middle of its debut season. Surer, watching the repeated failures pile up, says the team needed an...

0 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Ralf Schumacher to reach Monza days after shoulder surgery

A televised jet-ski stunt cost Ralf Schumacher his right shoulder and a chip of bone. Surgery is on Monday, yet he still expects to...

0 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

BMW again rules out F1 return despite new rules

Audi has committed and Mercedes is a benchmark, but BMW keeps saying no. Its M boss calls Formula 1 a laboratory that does not...

1 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Mazepin wins again days after FIA lifts Russian curbs

Mazepin took two poles and two wins at Spa in his first outing since the FIA dropped its neutrality rules. Ukraine's federation has gone...

0 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Cable theft at Madring investigated two weeks before F1

Around 300 metres of cable vanished near the new Madrid circuit overnight. Organisers insist the 13 September race is safe, with only temporary work...

0 comments  | 
31 Aug 2026

Hadjar targets Monza return as Red Bull delays wrist decision

Hadjar has not raced since a shutdown wrist injury, and Red Bull is holding its verdict until Wednesday. Lawson's points at Zandvoort make the...

2 comments  | 
30 Aug 2026

Ferrari's Monza Engine Gain May Be Smaller Than Hoped

A new turbocharger, a fourth power unit of the season and a home crowd that expects fireworks. Maranello, by most accounts, is not expecting...

0 comments  | 
30 Aug 2026

Antonelli Learned of Hamilton's Ferrari Move Before It Broke

February 2024. An eighteen year old who had not yet started a Formula 2 race is called into an office and told he might...

2 comments  | 
30 Aug 2026

Vowles Admits Williams Is Still Paying for Winter Mistakes

Eleven points after twelve races. Williams has stopped looking for the one thing that went wrong. James Vowles used his post-race debrief after the...

1 comments  | 
30 Aug 2026

Sainz and Albon explain why they stayed at Williams

A late, overweight car with no downforce. Sainz calls 2026 a perfect storm and re-signed anyway, while Albon wants to see the reaction before...

1 comments  | 
29 Aug 2026

Three teams tested 2027 tyres days before the specification freeze

Five drivers, three teams and 2,948km at Mugello. The 2027 tyre programme has reached Pirelli's hardest prototypes with the FIA's specification freeze only days...

1 comments  | 
29 Aug 2026

Pirelli returns to abrasive Sepang with mid-range compounds

Three races, two philosophies. Pirelli goes softest for the street circuits at Baku and Singapore, then steps back a notch for an abrasive Sepang...

0 comments  | 
29 Aug 2026

Red Bull stays quiet on Verstappen's new 80 million deal

The figures attached to Verstappen's new Red Bull contract have stopped sounding like a salary and started sounding like a valuation. Mekies is confirming...

2 comments  | 
28 Aug 2026

Stella doubts Mercedes has already stopped developing the W17

Toto Wolff says Mercedes cannot afford to keep upgrading the W17. Andrea Stella has heard that argument before, and he is not buying a...

1 comments  | 
28 Aug 2026

Racing Bulls in no rush as Lawson nears 2027 stay

Lawson began 2026 as the driver Red Bull looked ready to drop. Halfway through the year Racing Bulls are in no hurry, and his...

1 comments  | 
28 Aug 2026