F1 Today | 'Franz Antonelli' takes over German karting event, F1 fans disappointed after social media tease

From a certain 'Franz Antonelli' taking part in a karting event in Germany, to F1 fans voicing their disappointment with a trailer for the second half of the 2026 season, here are the main stories from today, August 16.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli has emulated Max Verstappen by reportedly adopting the pseudonym 'Franz Antonelli' to race 'undercover' in a go-kart event.

Verstappen famously first used the "Franz Hermann" alias in May 2025 when making his first appearance at the Nürburgring. The four-time world champion joined the official NLS test and setup day ahead of the third round of the 2025 Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS).

That outing ultimately marked the beginning of a journey that would eventually see Verstappen competing in the historic Nürburgring 24 Hours in May this year, only for his race to end in heartbreak due to a technical failure while his Verstappen Racing team were in the lead.

With Formula 1 set to resume at Zandvoort next week, 2026's championship leader, the youngest ever in F1 at just 19, has seemingly spent some of his remaining time away from the paddock karting in Germany. Antonelli entered the event under the pseudonym "Franz Antonelli", a not-so-subtle nod to the alias famously used by the four-time world champion Verstappen.

Photo: Race Pictures

With just under a week to go before lights out at the Dutch GP, F1 has shared a trailer for the second half of the season on the sport's social media channels, but some fans are not too pleased with the latest post.

Narrated by Irish actor, and known F1 fan, Colin Farrell, the trailer counts down to the second half of the season, featuring highlights and clips from the sport's major stars such as Verstappen, Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton.

Fans, however, have been left frustrated by the video, as the day prior, F1 shared a picture of the starting lights going out, teasing some sort of announcement with the caption: "See you tomorrow." After a day of much speculation, some fans have expressed disappointment.

Somewhat humorously referencing Farrell's iconic role as Batman villain The Penguin, one fan wrote on X: "So you’re telling me we waited that long for a promotional video of The Penguin about the second half of the season?"

Another fan reacted: "Wait... all this hype over a teaser that reminds us reminding us, as if we didn't already know, that tomorrow is race week and the second half of the season is about to begin? No words."

Some, however, were more receptive to the 2026 trailer, with one fan commenting: "I don’t care what everyone says, I love this video!!! It gave me goosebumps and a lot of hope for the second half of this season!"

Here is F1's trailer for the second half of 2026:

“Loading tweet...”