Search

Throwback: F1 world shook by bombshell driver move

Two years ago today, the F1 world witnessed one of the most dramatic developments in the sport's history. On February 1, 2024, Ferrari confirmed what had seemed unthinkable: Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who had spent 12 years at Mercedes, would be joining the Scuderia on a multi-year contract. It began as nothing more than rumours at the start of the day, and at first, was largely brushed off as mere winter break speculation, as Hamilton had long been linked with a switch to the Italian squad. But as the day progressed, it became ever clearer that it was really happening. In the evening, Ferrari put a stop to all speculation. Hamilton had activated a release clause in his Mercedes deal, cutting short a contract set to run through 2025. After 103 race wins and six world titles with the Silver Arrows, the partnership that had dominated F1's hybrid era was ending. Despite marking the most dramatic driver move in F1 history, Ferrari's own statement was perhaps the most understated we've ever seen. It said: “Scuderia Ferrari is pleased to announce that Lewis Hamilton will be joining the team in 2025, on a multi-year contract.” Hamilton waited two days before releasing his own statement, which was far more lengthy. In it, he spoke of the “crazy few days which have been filled with a whole range of emotions” and voiced his excitement to drive a Ferrari car. The seven-time champion thanked the Mercedes set-up as he drew the curtain on that chapter of his career, insisting it was one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make. The announcement was described as a blockbuster moment, a marketing dream that would dominate headlines for months. Hamilton endured a challenging opening season with the squad as he failed to reach the podium at any event. This year, he enters the season with renewed hope as the sport resets under a new regulation cycle.

racingnews365.com·Jan 31

Cadillac 'fighting issues' in Barcelona as F1 debut ticks closer

Sergio Perez has highlighted Cadillac was “fighting issues” throughout the day on Thursday when he was behind the wheel. Cadillac's F1 car made its on-track debut on Monday with both Perez and team-mate Valtteri Bottas taking it out onto the circuit. However, the team did not make another appearance until Thursday when Perez handled driving duties, clocking up 66 laps across the day of running. Perez highlighted the team is improving every time it takes to the tarck, but conceded there are still problems it is trying to iron out. “It was a much better day,” he said. “Obviously, we got a lot of running, a lot of information. “We're still fighting a few issues out there, which is great - it was all about it today. “We are improving on pretty much every run. “[There are] issues all around with the power unit, with the car, with a few electronics issues. “But this is great that things are happening here. We have a lot of of work ahead of us, being a new team.” Cadillac is facing a challenging campaign ahead as it arrives as the sport's newest team, having established itself from scratch. It employed the services of Perez and Bottas - two of F1's most experienced drivers - for its maiden season. Perez, who last raced in 2024, said of his return: “Coming back, it felt a little bit strange, seeing some people, some drivers, again. “It felt like it's been a long time since I last saw them. I'm happy to be back.”

racingnews365.com·Jan 30

Charles Leclerc challenged by 'steep learning curve' with new Ferrari

Charles Leclerc has admitted there is a “steep learning curve” with the new F1 cars for 2026, which have seen drastic changes from their predecessors. This year's challengers have been fitted with brand new power units which have changed for the first time in 12 years, while new aerodynamic regulations have also come into effect. Leclerc and team-mate Lewis Hamilton took part in the Barcelona shakedown this week, giving the team the first chance to collect data on the SF-26. After facing wet conditions on Tuesday, Leclerc had an opportunity to test the car in the dry on Thursday for the first time before climbing back behind the wheel on Friday morning. "It's super interesting," Leclerc said, assessing the new car. "It was the first day for me in the car in normal conditions, so a lot to learn, a lot to discover and it's a very different car to what we've been driving since I arrived in Formula 1. “I take that as a challenge and I actually quite like that everything is new and then there might be an opportunity for us drivers to think outside the box.” One of the most significant changes relating to the new power unit is the increase in electrical output, which now matches the combustion engine. Leclerc acknowledged that adjusting to that change has proven to be a challenge for him during the week. "I definitely feel more and more comfortable,” he said. “It remains an F1 car as well in a way, it's not like I was completely lost when I got back into the car and I was at ease quite quickly. “With these new systems and obviously with 50 per cent of the power that comes from the electrical engine, it makes it quite a bit more challenging to manage that, so the learning curve is quite steep. But it's very interesting."

racingnews365.com·Jan 25

The new F1 dictionary for 2026

With the start of the 2026 season, drivers, teams and fans will have to deal with a completely new vocabulary of buttons, systems and regulations. From "Overtake" to active aerodynamics, from Audi's entry to the compression ratio controversy, the sport is evolving into a new era. Here are the key terms for the coming years. Overtake The well-known DRS system will be replaced by Overtake Mode in 2026. Unlike the opening rear wing, which offered an aerodynamic advantage, Overtake Mode provides additional electrical power. The system can be activated when a driver is within one second of the car ahead, similar to how DRS was allowed to be activated. There is one detection point per circuit. With Overtake Mode, the attacking driver can charge an additional 0.5 megajoules and use it the next lap to attempt an overtake. This means that the attacking driver has both more total energy available and access to full power at higher speeds than the car in front of him. A significant advantage to enable overtaking manoeuvres. Boost In addition to Overtake Mode, drivers will also have a separate Boost Mode at their disposal, a system that operates completely independently of proximity to rivals. Boost is a button on the steering wheel that delivers the maximum combined power from both the combustion engine and the battery, as long as electrical power is available. As opposed to Overtake Mode, drivers can use this system anywhere on the track, both for attack and defence. The strategic element is in the timing. Drivers can decide to deploy the boost all at once for powerful acceleration, or spread the extra energy over several moments in the lap, depending on when they need the extra performance most. This flexibility makes the boost button one of the most versatile tactical tools in the new F1 arsenal. Recharge Drivers can then recharge the battery with Recharge Mode. When the mode is enabled, the battery recharges by the energy released under braking. This creates an intense task in the cockpit. Drivers must constantly switch between power input, aerodynamic modes and energy from the battery. It becomes a constant dialogue between driver and team via the onboard radio. In early simulations, the battery would be depleted so early on a straight that a driver would have to downshift, but that is not expected to happen. However, speed can be reduced on straights. Straight and Corner Mode In addition to changes to the engine, 2026 also marks the end of the ground-effect era that began in 2022. The real revolution, however, is in active aerodynamics. Both the front and rear wings get adjustable flaps that can operate in two different positions, available to all drivers on designated straights. In Straight Mode, the front and rear wings are flatter to reduce drag in predetermined activation zones. This lowers downforce and improves top speed. In Corner Mode, the wings remain in their standard closed position to maintain the higher downforce needed for cornering grip. For wet conditions, there is a partial aero option where the front wing can be in Straight Mode while the rear wing remains in Corner Mode for the needed downforce. The text continues below the image. Compression Ratio While the visible changes draw attention, behind the scenes a technical controversy rages over engine compression ratios. The 2026 regulations limit the geometric compression ratio to 16:1 from 18:1 in 2025. This reduction was implemented to help new engine manufacturers and align with the transition to sustainable fuels. The critical point: compression ratio is measured statically, not while racing. This measurement approach has generated considerable controversy. Namely, Mercedes could still reach 18:1 if used without violating regulations. That could yield three to four tenths on a circuit like Australia. So this term will come up often, as other engine suppliers are not happy with it. Ferrari, Audi and Honda are said to have protested to the FIA. So this topic will no doubt be continued... Audi & Cadillac About Audi, that brand will enter F1 as a factory team in 2026 after taking over from Sauber. The team will operate from Sauber's existing headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland, while Audi has set up a powertrain production site in Neuberg, Germany. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto form the driver duo, with Jonathan Wheatley as team principal. Cadillac forms the other, all-new eleventh team. The Cadillac Formula 1 Team, backed by General Motors and TWG Motorsports, received final approval in March 2025 and becomes the first new team since Haas in 2016. The team is led by Graeme Lowdon as team boss and will initially use Ferrari engines while General Motors builds an engine for 2029. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez should help Cadillac advance with their experience. Red Bull Powertrains Red Bull Racing is also taking a huge step forward with Red Bull Powertrains, its own power unit to be used from 2026. Red Bull Powertrains is developing a V6 turbo hybrid powertrain in collaboration with Ford. This is a huge project, with about 700 people contributing to it in Milton Keynes. The question is how competitive Red Bull and sister team Racing Bulls will be, though. They have never driven its own engines before. Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar should help the team in its biggest challenge to date in the coming years. Arvid Lindblad In the midst of all this technical complexity, there is one driver who is experiencing it all for the first time: Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie on the 2026 grid. The 18-year-old British driver drives for Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson. Lindblad earned his seat after just one season in Formula 2, where he finished sixth in the championship with three race wins. His path to F1 was accelerated by two appearances for Red Bull in 2025 at Silverstone and in Mexico City, where he impressed the team management enough to secure his Racing Bulls seat. Early competitiveness will be challenging, especially since the 2026 season features completely new technical regulations and engines that even experienced drivers will have to get used to. Spanish Grand Prix And as if all these technical changes were not enough, the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix will be held at the Madring for the first time. This is a street circuit near Madrid, near the IFEMA Exhibition Centre. The circuit covers 5.47 kilometres with 22 corners, including a remarkably long sloping corner, the longest sloping corner on the F1 calendar. The Spanish Grand Prix will take place on Sept. 13 and is the sixteenth round of the season. The European season will officially conclude at the Madring.

racingnews365.com·Jan 24

FIA confident of winning over Max Verstappen and F1 'superstars' as contentious new rules debut loom

The FIA has no doubt the likes of Max Verstappen and his fellow F1 "superstars" will eventually be won over by the biggest rules change in F1 history once they become accustomed to the style of racing. When the FIA first proposed a shift to a 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power in 2023, it drew stern criticism from the likes of four-time F1 champion Verstappen initially, who described them as "terrible" , and that F1 would be "drawn into an ICE competition...whoever has the strongest engine will have a big benefit". Last season, when questioned at various stages, the drivers were far from complimentary following simulator sessions. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, for instance, described it as "not the most enjoyable car" he had driven, whilst Williams' Carlos Sainz said it was "very complicated". The drivers will be mentally tested as they manage the battery levels around a lap, knowing when to deploy and when to hold back, particularly if the battery depletes on long straights, as is the suspicion. Asked by RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview whether comments such as those from Verstappen were taken on board, FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said: "Yes, we do take a lot of the comments on board. "We do have a lot of discussions with the drivers. Ultimately, they are the superstars of the sport. "That said, we also have to take a lot of factors into consideration - the fan experience, the participating manufacturers, we need to keep costs under control, to look after safety, of course, and we need to look after environmental factors. "So the parameters are not just the drivers. We need to speak to a lot of people. In addition, not everybody who votes in various rule changes always has the same view. "That's why we have a voting system, and sometimes with a voting structure, it is quite challenging to get changes, even if we all believe a certain change should be made. "So I think we do take [driver comments] into account, but drivers are inherently conservative. They get used to driving certain things, and they may not immediately want to change something. "I'm sure that when they first go in a car, it will feel different, and they will get the sense of familiarity they've had for the last five years. "I'm sure we will get there, and we will keep speaking with them." As to whether he felt they would be won over in the end, Tombazis replied: "More than just the end. Hopefully, a bit earlier than that."

racingnews365.com·Jan 22

Audi defends 'serious' target despite previous F1 team failures

Audi chief Mattia Binotto has launched a strong defence of the team's public goal to be challenging for the F1 championship in 2030. The Ingolstadt-based concern is entering grand prix racing for the first time in 2026, having taken over the Sauber team and its Hinwil base. The team has been quite vocal in naming the 2030 season, the fifth it will compete in, as when it expects to be fighting for the world championship, but this is a dangerous claim for teams to make. Upon its return in 2016, Renault claimed it wanted to be fighting for the titles after 100 races, which should have been the 2021 season-opener. However, by this time, the Renault name had only achieved two 2020 podiums and had been rebadged as Alpine for '21, with the '100-race plan' then reimagined for the new brand. This too has not yielded the desired results, although Pierre Gasly does believe given the radical nature of the new 2026 rules, he could be a contender for the world championship, with Alpine now also using Mercedes power units. When questioned about why the team had decided to set itself a firm deadline to be championship challengers, Binotto explained how first, the team needed to prove itself as a "strong and serious" rival to established front-running outfits, such as McLaren and Red Bull. "We've got a final objective of 2030, and we need to set milestones or intermediate stations on our climbing to the top of the mountain," Binotto told media, including RacingNews365 , at the Audi launch. "As Sauber last year, we set an internal objective for the team, which was aiming to score points at every race, which we finally achieved from race nine onwards, which was a clear objective. "We discussed internally what the objective for 2026 should be, and what should be our first intermediate station, and whether we should measure it in terms of ranking in the championship or the number of points scored at the end of the season? "Should we say we should score more points than in 2025, knowing it is a brand-new team with a brand-new power train and new regulations, and finally, we decided differently. "We decided that for us, the most important thing in 2026 is to become a serious competitor, and that is about behaviour, about perception and by the end of the season, how other teams see and perceive us as a strong competitor for the future, and becoming serious in terms of competing for wins. "It is about attitude, it is about staying humble but learning from mistakes and failures, and I would be happy if we were perceived as a strong and serious competitor."

motorsport.com

Some Aston Martin F1 upgrades “should never have happened” claims Fernando Alonso

Performance gains have become harder to find as F1’s second ground-effect aerodynamics era matures, but for some, the process has been more challenging for others. Aston Martin has noticeably struggled to unlock more relative pace from its cars ever since making a strong start to the 2023 season. This has not been for want of trying since the Silverstone-based team has been among the most ...Keep reading