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Monster 50G F1 crash sparks fury as Antonelli makes history
RacingNews365·

Monster 50G F1 crash sparks fury as Antonelli makes history

Kimi Antonelli made history by winning the Japanese Grand Prix, making him the first teenager to win multiple F1 races and the youngest driver to lead the world championship. However, the big talking point surrounded a huge 50G crash for Haas' Oliver Bearman, triggered by a staggering closing speed on Alpine's Franco Colapinto. Thankfully, Bearman escaped unharmed but drivers after the race issued their fury at the accident even happening in the first place. Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they dissect the Japanese GP!

Oscar Piastri's deadpan "Mario Kart" joke wins the Japanese Grand Prix cooldown room
motorsport.com·

Oscar Piastri's deadpan "Mario Kart" joke wins the Japanese Grand Prix cooldown room

Following an interesting Japanese Grand Prix won by the impressive Kimi Antonelli, the podium sitters retreated to the calm of the cooldown room. With the Italian sat beside Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, they watched Ollie Bearman's violent crash as he swerved to avoid a slow Franco Colapinto. The trio reacted in unison as they watched the replay of the Haas hitting the barriers in what ...Keep reading

Oliver Bearman reveals 'lot longer' Haas issue due to 2026 F1 intricacy
racingnews365.com·

Oliver Bearman reveals 'lot longer' Haas issue due to 2026 F1 intricacy

Oliver Bearman has explained that the "more intricate details" of the new 2026 F1 cars proved to be a thorn in his side on his first day of pre-season testing with Haas. On Monday, at the start of the five-day private test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, Esteban Ocon delivered a heroic display for the team, pounding out 154 laps, more than twice a race distance. Unfortunately for Bearman, he encountered a problem early on the third day that consigned him to the garage for a lengthy period before returning just before the lunch break. Overall, Bearman managed just 21 laps in the morning session. Bearman has indicated that the problem was power-unit related, one that would have been solved quickly last season. However, with the change to the system for this year, with the axing of the MGU-H and a switch to a 50-50 split between combustion and electrical, issues are now far more tricky to diagnose and correct. "Unfortunately, we had a small issue, but that's what this [testing] is all about," said Bearman. "We expect to have these issues.  "Everybody's learning the car and the new bits and procedures. So the problem we had, which would have taken maybe 30 minutes with last year's car, since everybody knew it so well, took a lot longer. "It's just because there are a few more intricate details, and there's just so much more to the power unit compared to what we've been used to." Bearman, who returned to the cockpit of the VF-26 in the afternoon session, feels Haas should at least be proud of delivering on track so far, including a successful shakedown last week at Fiorano ahead of Ocon's mammoth Monday stint. "First of all, to be out at the shakedown, and to be out at this test and do a whole day, we completed more than two race distances, closer to three, actually, with no major issues," he said. "It's super, super impressive for our team, and I think everybody should be really proud of that achievement. "Of course, we're setting our targets high. We want to continue to learn about this car. Every lap is a learning experience for us at this stage, but it's good fun as well. "It's my first time being in this situation, with a regulation change, where, as drivers, we can have so much impact on the end result, so it's a great prospect."

Impressive Mercedes thunder on in Barcelona as Lando Norris shows off new McLaren
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Impressive Mercedes thunder on in Barcelona as Lando Norris shows off new McLaren

Mercedes maintained its sterling reliability at the start of 2026 F1 pre-season testing as George Russell clocked up the laps on a day when McLaren finally made its first appearance. It was a day when several teams made an appearance, as the forecasted rain failed to materialise, although for Audi and Haas it did not go as planned. Nico Hulkenberg had managed four laps in the Audi before encountering an apparent technical issue that has since consigned him to the garage, whilst Oliver Bearman also caused a brief interruption, but was back on track just before the lunch break. After sitting out the first two days of the five-day private test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, all eyes were naturally on the McLaren garage to see if the MCL40 would make an appearance. Finally, bearing the No.1 on his car, F1 champion Lando Norris took to the track to complete systems checks, clocking 34 laps, seemingly without any issues. The car is expected to run more productively over the final two days. In terms of reliability, Mercedes again made a particular impression. George Russell had completed 92 laps by 1 pm local time. After the car completed 154 laps on Monday, between Russell and team-mate Kimi Antonelli, the Silver Arrows is currently amassing the data on its W17. Russell also ended the morning session with the fastest lap, 1:17.580s, set late on. For some time, Alpine's Franco Colapinto had led the way with a 1:19.150s. Racing Bulls has also been on track, with Arvid Lindblad behind the wheel. Red Bull opted to skip the test day after Isack Hadjar's crash, while Ferrari and Cadillac have not yet appeared. Aston Martin and Williams were already known not to be there on Wednesday. View the all-new McLaren below!

Esteban Ocon left in awe of 'unbelievable' Haas: 'People have climbed mountains'
racingnews365.com·

Esteban Ocon left in awe of 'unbelievable' Haas: 'People have climbed mountains'

Esteban Ocon was left in awe of the "unbelievable effort" Haas has made to get into a decent position for the Barcelona test, sharing that the team has "climbed mountains." Haas opted to run on the opening day of the five-day test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with Ocon getting his chance behind the wheel of the VF-26. In the morning session, the Frenchman completed an impressive 66 laps, with a best lap time of 1m 24.520, gathering significant data for the American outfit. In the afternoon, Ocon improved to set a 1m 21.301 and completed around 150 laps. It was a positive start to testing in Barcelona for Haas, showcasing its new Toyota-inspired livery as part of the duo's strengthening relationship. According to Ocon, the team had the car ready to leave the garage immediately on Monday morning, despite only being at Fiorano last Saturday for Oliver Bearman to complete an initial shakedown. "I think, first of all, an unbelievable effort from the team, really, to put the car down at 09:20 this morning," Ocon told F1TV after the opening morning session.  "The car was ready at nine, but we were waiting on better track conditions and a few things that we wanted to be perfect before we went out. "But yeah, from Fiorano testing with Oliver [Bearman] to here, people have really climbed mountains to make this car work. And it’s been really good. So we are dealing with the plan and learning as we go. "Of course, it's a busy programme for the day, so it’s going to be difficult to complete it, but for the first real day of driving, I think so far it’s going really well. And yeah, we will keep pushing to make sure that all the details are covered. "We have more days than normal, which is a good thing."

Oliver Bearman spins in Haas F1 shakedown
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Oliver Bearman spins in Haas F1 shakedown

Oliver Bearman suffered an unfortunate moment as he put the new Haas through its first paces in a shakedown at Fiorano. The Briton was on-track in the VF-26 for the first at Ferrari's home-track, but suffered a low-speed spin as he ventured around, but unlike Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad, was able to continue on his way.  Haas has become the seventh team to run its new 2026 car before official testing gets underway on Monday with the Barcelona private test, with just McLaren, Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Williams yet to do so.  Check out the spin for Bearman below! reel/DT5TT26DLBS/?igsh=bzh5ZmRqeDgzdnBn View this post on Instagram A post shared by F1wow (@f1wow)

Haas start bold new era as new Toyota-backed car makes F1 debut
racingnews365.com·

Haas start bold new era as new Toyota-backed car makes F1 debut

Haas has become the seventh F1 team to give its 2026 car its first taste of on-track running with an outing at Fiorano.  Oliver Bearman was behind the wheel as the VF-26 ventured out for the first time, doing so at Ferrari's Fiorano test track, where 24 hours before, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed a shakedown for the new Ferrari machine. Haas will once again be powered by Ferrari customer engines for the coming season, as the team starts the new year with a new title sponsorship with Toyota Gazoo Racing, and will officially be entered as TGR Haas F1 Team. The VF-26 has followed the new cars from Audi, Cadillac, Racing Bulls, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Alpine in getting out on track, with Cadillac, Mercedes, and Alpine all doing so at Silverstone. Audi used Barcelona for its shakedown, as Racing Bulls used Imola.  It means McLaren, Aston Martin, Red Bull and Williams are yet to run their new cars on track heading to the behind-closed-doors Barcelona test, starting on Monday, which, as RacingNews365 revealed on Friday, Williams is set to miss due to problems with passing the FIA-mandated crash tests.