Max Verstappen's dominant Nurburgring 24 Hours stint on Saturday put him in the lead from 10th on the road, only to lose the win to a driveshaft failure. Remarkably, he's just the third Formula 1 driver in over two decades to race seriously elsewhere while under contract. Fernando Alonso did it with Indy 500, Daytona and WEC runs; Nico Hulkenberg tackled Le Mans in 2015. Contracts and risk are the main barriers.

The reason Verstappen can pull this off is Red Bull's dependence on keeping him happy. Toto Wolff drew a parallel with Alonso, whose McLaren was uncompetitive and whose team boss Zak Brown backed the Indy venture as a motorsport fan. Verstappen nearly crashed when front wheels lifted over a crest chasing a rival, reinforcing why most teams forbid outside racing.

On engines, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem pushes to return to V8-era regulations, but 2013 saw Vettel dominate the last nine races after tyre rule changes. Weight rules now eliminate size disadvantages, with a 768kg car minimum. Antonelli's pairing with Peter Bonnington mirrors Schumacher and Hamilton's legacy setup at Mercedes.