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

Gasly hates flying so drives from Malaysia to Singapore

Alpine's Pierre Gasly joined Bortoleto in admitting he hates flying, so he went by car from Malaysia to Singapore and joked that he beat...

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10 Oct 2026

Starting Grid 2026 Singapore Formula 1 Sprint

Event: Singapore Grand Prix Track: Marina Bay Street Circuit Warm-up lap starts at: 17:00 Local | 11:00 CET | 10:00 UK | 02:00 LA...

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9 Oct 2026

Verstappen Broke Yellow-Flag Rule Passing Hamilton & Escapes Penalty

Max Verstappen has escaped punishment for overtaking Lewis Hamilton under yellow flags during Sprint Qualifying for the 2026 Singapore grand prix, despite the stewards...

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9 Oct 2026

Qualifying Report & Results 2026 Singapore F1 Sprint

Event: Singapore Grand Prix Track: Marina Bay Street Circuit Weather: Dry  32°C / 90°F Tarmac: Dry  44°C / 110°F Humidity : 75% Wind :...

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9 Oct 2026

First Free Practice Report & Results 2026 Singapore F1 Grand Prix

Event: Singapore Grand Prix Track: Marina Bay Street Circuit Weather: Sunny & dry  32°C / 90°F Tarmac: dry  50°C / 122°F Humidity : 72%...

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9 Oct 2026

Alonso denies Dakar return as testing reportedly starts next week

Alonso says Dakar and a Formula 1 season are nearly impossible to combine, yet Spanish reports insist a Prodrive-built car and a first test...

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9 Oct 2026

Hamilton again defends Vasseur over Ferrari criticism

Hamilton and Vasseur make the same case to Canal Plus: the criticism of Ferrari comes from outsiders, yet it lands hardest on the 1500...

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9 Oct 2026

Mercedes splits cars as Russell goes back to old spec

Mercedes goes to Singapore with two different cars: Antonelli presses on with a troublesome upgrade, Russell goes back to the package he won with...

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9 Oct 2026

Ocon open to reserve role next year if no seat

Ocon is unusually blunt in Singapore: Formula 1 is the only place he wants to race, and if no seat appears, a reserve role...

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9 Oct 2026

Hulkenberg unimpressed by Bottas bike ride after Sepang spin

Valtteri Bottas rode 420 kilometres from Malaysia to Singapore and met a cobra on the way. Nico Hulkenberg, whose race he ruined at Sepang,...

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9 Oct 2026

Rwanda F1 deal reportedly approved, first race around 2030

AFP and AGI both point to 2030 for a Rwanda Grand Prix near Kigali, which would bring Formula 1 back to Africa for the...

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9 Oct 2026

Perez backs Vowles on cost-cap reform for small teams

Perez knows both sides of the cap: at Red Bull upgrades arrived at practically every race, while at Cadillac he says a small new...

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9 Oct 2026

Hamilton says FIA and young drivers too cautious in rain

Hamilton, 41, says today's wet races are not what they were. After climbing from 18th to third on slicks at Sepang, he thinks F1...

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9 Oct 2026

Outgoing Honda chief admits first-year failure left pride wounded

Koji Watanabe leaves HRC on January 1 with a blunt verdict: Honda aimed high under the new rules, missed, and caused disillusionment. Aston Martin...

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9 Oct 2026

Nike set to enter F1 in 2027 with Vegas announcement

Bild says the deal is done: Nike will reportedly dress Formula 1 personnel from 2027, a return after the Schumacher years, as the brand...

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9 Oct 2026

FIA watches Singapore haze ahead of race as drivers shrug

Indonesian wildfire smoke has put Singapore's air in the unhealthy range. The FIA is watching, the drivers are largely relaxed, and heat and humidity...

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9 Oct 2026

Verstappen: Red Bull calmer after Horner's exit

Max Verstappen says Red Bull is calmer without Christian Horner, and that respect for Ferrari's famous brand counts for little if it means driving...

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8 Oct 2026

Mercedes to compare old and new packages in Singapore

After a difficult Sepang weekend, Mercedes will use Singapore as a test bench, running both aero packages while Russell fights back from a back-of-grid...

1 comments  | 
8 Oct 2026

Vowles pushes cost-cap change for 'two-tier' F1 grid

Williams boss James Vowles says the cost cap has deepened F1's divide, and wants extra spending room for teams outside the top four ahead...

1 comments  | 
8 Oct 2026

Audi boss rejects F1 exit fears amid VW's deepening crisis

As Volkswagen cuts jobs, Audi's chief insists the F1 programme was built to stand alone, with its own financing, majority control and a 2030...

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8 Oct 2026

Boeri rules out Monaco layout change as 2027 nears

Monaco's president has shut the door on a layout rethink, arguing that changes would trigger a new inspection and fresh FIA homologation of the...

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8 Oct 2026

Minister congratulates Rwanda ahead of official F1 deal

South Africa's sports minister has welcomed a Rwandan F1 race that is not yet official, while insisting his own country will host a grand...

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8 Oct 2026

Russell faces Singapore back-row start as title hopes fade

Russell's Sepang engine failure cost him third place and a Singapore grid slot, while Mercedes weigh rushing an upgrade forward to limit the wider...

1 comments  | 
7 Oct 2026

Marko says Horner first opposed Verstappen's early promotion

Helmut Marko rejects Christian Horner's account of Verstappen's rise, insisting the early opposition came from Horner, and calls Sepang's software failure shameful.

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7 Oct 2026

Stella admits McLaren lost ground despite recent upgrades

After Norris won in Hungary and Zandvoort, McLaren has slipped backwards, and Andrea Stella admits the team cannot yet explain why its rivals moved...

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7 Oct 2026

Rwanda reportedly secures 2030 grand prix as Africa return nears

Coulthard says an Africa announcement is coming, and reports point to Rwanda with a new circuit near Kigali from 2030, F1's first African race...

2 comments  | 
7 Oct 2026

Italian tax row Bottas raised could grow into legal battle

Italy's tax authorities reportedly want foreign teams to withhold 30 percent of drivers' Monza and Imola earnings, and one expert expects a fight that...

1 comments  | 
7 Oct 2026

Barnard: American spectacle makes modern F1 feel artificial

John Barnard, the designer behind carbon-fibre chassis and paddle shift, calls F1's entertainment-first rules artificial and says today's cars are too big and too...

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7 Oct 2026

Salo praises Bottas's fitness after 350km bike ride to Singapore

Mika Salo would not copy it, but says Bottas's 350km gravel-bike ride from Malaysia to Singapore is exactly the endurance training modern drivers need.

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7 Oct 2026

Rosberg says father urged him to leave Mercedes over Schumacher

Schumacher's Mercedes arrival left Nico Rosberg scared, and his father's advice was blunt: leave as quickly as possible before the team revolves around Michael.

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7 Oct 2026