Formula 1: Articles & News Reports.

Wheatley leaves Audi: This appears to be a key reason behind stepping down.
The relationship between team boss Jonathan Wheatley and Mattia Binotto (COO and CTO of the Audi F1 project) was strained, GPblog understands. That seems to be a key reason for the former to quit a seemingly attractive job at Audi and ultimately choose Aston Martin.
20 Mar 2026
Kada Sárközi
Ludo van Denderen
GPblog.com

GPblog understands that the relationship between Binotto and Wheatley was difficult. Although Binotto, as COO and CTO, was the most important figure within the organization, he had no influence over Wheatley’s appointment. Both appointments were made by Audi’s top management; the Italian had no say in that. But apparently, Wheatley was not the team boss Binotto would have preferred.

By leaving Audi, Wheatley can also leave Switzerland, where he lived there for only a year. He can return to his family and friends in the United Kingdom, especially if he indeed goes to work for Aston Martin. That team’s factory is in Silverstone, not far from Milton Keynes where Wheatley previously worked with Red Bull.

He may also be in line for a pay raise, as co-owner Lawrence Stroll is determined to bring the best people to Aston Martin. It’s no coincidence that several key figures from other teams have succumbed to the British outfit in recent years.

‘Strained relationship’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/features/w...n-to-step-down


‘With immediate effect’, Wheatley’s Audi departure confirmed
21 Mar 2026
Jawad Yaqub
F1 Chronicle

Audi have announced that its Team Principal Jonathan Wheatley has left the team “with immediate effect”, amid speculation surrounding his ex-Red Bull colleague Adrian Newey’s position at Aston Martin. The Hinwil based outfit confirmed Wheatley’s departure in a press release, citing “personal reasons” for the 58-year old leaving the team which he joined only twelve months ago. Being a desire to return home to the UK.

“We are grateful to Jonathan Wheatley for his contribution to the project during the crucial entry phase and wish him all the best for the future,” said Audi AG’s CEO and chairman of the board of management of Audi Motorsport AG, Gernot Döllner. “Mattia Binotto and the team will continue to pursue the path we have chosen with determination.”

“Our focus remains unchanged: we are concentrating all our efforts on building a team competing at the highest level that will challenge for world championships in Formula 1 by 2030. We will continuously develop our organisational structures to achieve our shared goal in a sustainable manner.”

‘With immediate effect’;

https://f1chronicle.com/with-immedia.../?nowprocket=1


Ex-F1 boss dismisses Audi’s explanation for shock Jonathan Wheatley departure
22 Mar 2026
Anirban Aly Mandal
Motorsport Week

Bernie Ecclestone has given his two cents on Jonathan Wheatley’s shock Formula 1 departure from Audi as rumors of Aston Martin appointment intensify. Ecclestone calls reason for Jonathan Wheatley Audi departure “impossible”. Former F1 boss Ecclestone may have some light to shed on these personal reasons, dismissing Audi’s explanation for Wheatley’s sudden departure.

“That’s actually impossible,” he told Blick. “It would only make sense if he doesn’t like it in Switzerland and wants to go back to England.” Stroll’s comments might turn out to be a window to the future, with the British marque employing Wheatley’s services whilst allowing Newey to re-focus his expertise into the technical aspects of Aston Martin’s F1 project.

“That’s actually impossible”;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...ley-departure/


Aston Martin statement reinforces Adrian Newey role amid Jonathan Wheatley speculation
20 Mar 2026
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com

Aston Martin has issued a statement, shortly after Jonathan Wheatley’s confirmed departure from the Audi F1 team. “With the current speculation surrounding Adrian Newey’s role in our team, I want to take this opportunity to set the record straight,” Stroll said, with his team having been embroiled in rumours for days.

“As Executive Chairman and Controlling Shareholder, I would like to reaffirm that Adrian Newey is my partner and an important shareholder. He is AMR’s Managing Technical Partner, and he and I have a true partnership built on a shared vision of success for the company. We do things differently here, and while we don’t currently adopt the traditional Team Principal role that you see elsewhere – it is by design.”


“As the most successful engineer in the history of the sport, Adrian’s primary focus is on the strategic and technical leadership, where he excels. He is supported by a highly skilled Senior Leadership Team to deliver on all aspects of the business, both at the Campus and trackside. We are regularly approached by senior executives of other teams who wish to join Aston Martin Aramco, but in keeping with our policy, we do not comment on rumour and speculation.”

‘Aston Martin statement’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/jonath...ian-newey-role


Jonathan Wheatley exits Audi and sparks Aston Martin shake-up as Newey steps back
Aston Martin moves quickly after a troubled start to 2026, with Jonathan Wheatley set to replace Adrian Newey in a major leadership reset
20 Mar 2026
John Smith
Total Motorsport

Aston Martin turns to experience amid early crisis. For Aston Martin, the arrival of Wheatley represents a shift in approach at a critical moment. A veteran of Benetton, Renault and Red Bull, where he played a central role in the team’s operational success, Wheatley brings a reputation for structure, discipline and race-day execution.

Those qualities are now urgently needed as the team looks to steady itself. While Newey’s technical expertise remains invaluable, the decision to remove him from the day-to-day pressures of team management suggests a recognition that the current structure was not working. The challenge ahead remains significant.

Beyond leadership adjustments, Aston Martin must urgently resolve its power unit issues and extract performance from a package that has yet to deliver on its promise. But with Wheatley expected to take control of the team’s overall direction and Newey focusing on development, there is at least a clearer structure emerging. Whether that will be enough to turn around their 2026 campaign remains uncertain but one thing is clear: the pressure on Aston Martin has never been greater.

‘Major leadership reset’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/jon...in-newey-exit/


Juan Pablo Montoya raises ‘political’ concern for why Jonathan Wheatley has left Audi
21 Mar 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Juan Pablo Montoya thinks living in Switzerland might not have been the only reason why Jonathan Wheatley has left Audi, as team politics could also have been an issue. Montoya thinks Wheatley’s resignation shows Audi are now facing the same challenges that Sauber encountered with trying to get Formula 1 personnel to move from mainly England to Switzerland. But it also suggests Wheatley did not like how political the team is under Audi.

There have been rumours of rifts in Wheatley’s relationship with Mattia Binotto, the overall project leader of Audi’s F1 team. Blick reports that Binotto and Wheatley had been clashing over the boundaries of their responsibilities, but Audi have downplayed any power struggle. “It would have to be, first of all, a chance to go back and live in the UK,” Montoya told RacingNews365.

“I think that has always been one of the harder things when they were Sauber, getting the right people to work there. Yes, Switzerland is amazing and everything, but when you’ve been in racing and you’ve always been involved in the UK, going to live in a different place is a bit of a shock. And I think the way Audi and Sauber worked together, now everything is Audi, maybe it’s too political. If he gets the opportunity to go and do something else, it’s fine.”

‘Team politics could also have been an issue’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jua...has-left-audi/

Williams branded ‘biggest flop’ as FW48 drags dead weight.
“…a car that’s apparently almost 30kg too heavy, is a real flop” …30 kilograms isn’t just a disadvantage – it’s an anchor.
20/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

“It sounds harsh, but I’d say Williams is the biggest flop.” The phrase lingers like smoke in the paddock air. And Ralf Schumacher doubled down, pointing to the heart of the issue – a car that may be fundamentally compromised. “When you consider what sort of engine is in the back and what’s being made of it at the moment, I have to say that Williams, with a car that’s apparently almost 30kg too heavy, is a real flop,” he added. In an era where grams matter, 30 kilograms isn’t just a disadvantage – it’s an anchor.

If Schumacher exposed the problem, Juan Pablo Montoya demanded consequences. The former Williams racer, who also once carried the team’s legacy on his shoulders, delivered a stark warning about what failure at this level should mean. “Personally someone should be held responsible for that,” he said. “The people on that team and someone who held a position that obviously involved supervising that and making a mistake like that, should be responsible for it and should set a bit of an example for people.”

‘30kg: It’s an anchor’;

https://f1i.com/news/561495-williams...ad-weight.html


Williams engineer privately revealed they are losing a second a lap due to FW48’s weight issues
17 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Tom Clarkson and Jolyon Palmer discussed on the F1 Nation podcast the problems Williams are facing...

Clarkson: “One of the engineers told me that in weight alone, it’s about a second a lap, compared to people who are on the weight limit.”
Palmer: “I heard in Bahrain that the car was heavier this year than it was last year. Bear in mind the weight limit has come down by 32 kilos, TC. That’s outrageous. That’s what they’re dealing with.”

“The weight is a natural penalty. It makes about a second a lap. Probably there’s a few sensors on the car in testing that they can take off and trim it down a little bit. So the weight’s a second. Good. There’s a chance you can take off the weight and find it, but you need to still be able to take off the weight. They’ve got hopes for Miami. With a bit more time now, they’ll be able to trim weight off the car. But we’re not talking about one magic fix. We’re talking about every single component, trying to shave off grams here or there, and add downforce, so it’s a double-edged sword.”

‘Losing a second a lap’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/wil...weight-issues/


Yet another Williams car problem might be its most troubling
22 Mar 2026
SCOTT MITCHELL-MALM
The Race

Alex Albon: "The biggest issue at the minute is the car three-wheeling, so we just need to fix it." Three-wheeling is when the car lifts one tyre off the ground in a corner, usually the inside rear. It is not always fully detached from the ground but can give that sensation if the suspension brings the wheel up such that it is significantly unloaded. The effect is the car running with a reduced contact patch across the four wheels that reduces mechanical grip but also disrupts its aerodynamic platform. This means the car can lack grip and be unpredictable.

As Albon said in China, "we can’t hide behind the weight". There are other issues hurting Williams - "some weird stuff going on in the car", Albon said, after a weekend in which multiple set-up changes did not help and reliability problems after a gearbox change meant he did not even start Sunday's grand prix. "Nothing seems to fix the car," he said. "There's a lot of balance issues in the car," said Albon. "We aren't seeing some downforce as well, so it's an accumulation of things. The weight's one thing. There's also plans kind of in conjunction with the weight loss to get the car a bit in balance and also at downforce quicker."

"We know we are too slow and we are too slow compared to where we wanted to be, compared to where we expected to be," Carlos Sainz said. "Part of that is weight that we know we need to get out of the car but another part, a very big part of it, is downforce that we need to improve. We haven't been the most reliable car also. Honestly we need to level up because we're having too many issues in too many areas and as a team, we need to dig deep. I hope these two points serve as motivation, as a bit of a bonus motivation for everyone to go back home and dig deep because it's not where we wanted to be and where we said we would be this season."

'Biggest issue: Three-wheeling car';

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/y...ost-troubling/


Williams ignoring potential strategy errors will affect them far more than current weight issues
19 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

James Vowles claims Williams pit strategy would not have earned them more points in Shanghai. James Vowles answered fan questions in the latest episode of Vowles Verdict. When asked whether a better-timed pit stop to align with the safety car would have helped Carlos Sainz earn a better finish, Vowles refuted the notion. “Had we waited just one lap, that’s how short it was, we would have pitted ahead of Lawson. However, from everything we can see at the moment, based on where we are performance-wise, that wouldn’t have resulted in a different finish position.”

“Perhaps a slightly easier race, but the same finish position, which was P9. In terms of the decision itself, the team were always conscious that these regulations and the amount of reliability we’ve seen now, there was a high probability at any given lap of a car breakdown and a safety car. But it’s hard to do. It’s a random event, and in the meantime, their focus was on the amount of graining we had on the medium tyre and effectively gaining off that tyre because we were starting to lose a lot of performance.”

‘Williams ignoring potential strategy errors will affect them far more…’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/wil...weight-issues/


James Vowles says Williams now have an ‘aggressive’ plan to improve the pace of their 2026 F1 car
17 Mar 2026
Ashley Hambly
F1 Oversteer

From inside the Chinese Grand Prix paddock, James Vowles said, “We’ve got Suzuka coming up and then that long break as a result of Bahrain and Saudi unfortunately being cancelled. On a note on that, thank you to the FIA, who I know have taken a difficult decision, but have considered all elements. But also, my heart goes out to all those affected by it at the same time.”

“In terms of Japan, we’ll come back stronger, and I’m confident as we then go through that break into Miami, there’s a lot more to come. We know we’re not where we wanted to be today, there’s no doubt about that. But we have an aggressive plan to get us back to where the car really should be. That’s round two over, and our first points on the board for Carlos,” Vowles added. “Absolutely incredible drive by him. Whether he’s fighting for a podium or two points, you can tell he puts his heart and soul into it and earned the result today.”

“I’m desperately sorry for Alex, we weren’t able to start the race. We changed the gearbox overnight and suffered a hydraulics issue this morning, which you can only find by effectively driving on laps to the grid. The team, as hard as they worked, weren’t able to repair it before the start of the race. And it’s deeply disappointing because I truly believe he had the potential to also score a point.”

“In terms of Japan, we’ll come back stronger”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jam...r-2026-f1-car/


Williams delivered crushing ‘flop of the season’ verdict as longstanding F1 rumor resurfaces
20 Mar 2026
Anirban Aly Mandal
Motorsport Week

Former Formula 1 [WILLIAMS] drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya have laid into Williams as a rumored overweight FW48 gets called the “biggest flop” of the 2026 season. Looking at the state of affairs at Williams, former driver Schumacher called them the “biggest flop” of the season so far. “Aston Martin, (are struggling) too, and obviously Honda with the issues they’re facing. So these teams naturally have a huge opportunity. It sounds harsh, but I think it’s almost that simple to call Honda that. I’d say Williams is the biggest flop.”

If these rumors are true, then, Williams have taken a big step backwards in terms of developing its package for F1’s latest era. Montoya, who drove for the team between 2001 and 2004, has gone as far as suggesting that the engineers responsible should be relieved from their duties immediately. “Personally someone should be held responsible for that,” he told AS Colombia. “The people on that team and someone who held a position that obviously involved supervising that and making a mistake like that, should be responsible for it and should set a bit of an example for people.”

“Not by threatening people, but people have to take responsibility for their work, if you know what I mean? If you’re the captain of, I don’t know, a cruise ship and you sink the ship, you’ll be sacked, if you know what I mean? If you’ve got a job to do and you mess it up, you’re out. And so I think that’s important.”

‘Laid into Williams: Flop of the season – “Williams is the biggest flop’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...or-resurfaces/

Concerned Sainz fears that 'big crash' could occur due to 2026 regulations.
Carlos Sainz has issued a stark warning regarding the 2026 regulations, stating that a "big crash" could occur regarding the new 'Straight Mode'.
24 Mar 2026
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

The regulation overhaul saw the Drag Reduction System replaced by active aerodynamics, meaning front and rear wings would open up through the 'Straight Mode' zones on track.
Unlike DRS, the SM zones can be used without being within a second of the car in front, and they appear across several parts of the track, including some kinks and corners. As a result, drivers have raised concerns about the lack of downforce through high-speed corners due to SM and active aerodynamics, and Sainz was the latest to do so after the Chinese Grand Prix.

"I think SM is a plaster on top of a plaster," the Spaniard said to GPblog and others in Shanghai. Carlos Sainz finished P9 at the Chinese Grand Prix "Racing with your wings open on the straights at 340 KPH, sooner rather than later, there's going to be a big crash at very high speeds in tracks like Australia with little kinks.”

"Places like Jeddah, with open wings, I don't like it, I don't like having to race flat out at 340 KPH with no downforce in the car and the wings open. In China, it's a straight line; it's fine, but in the other kind of tracks, it's not good. I think it's the plaster, the SM is the plaster to a very energy-demanding circuit and car like we have right now."

‘Stark warning; "Big Crash"’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/conce...26-regulations


F1 star 'really lucky' after miraculously avoiding 'dangerous' crash not shown on TV
Franco Colapinto’s incredible reactions somehow avoided a huge smash in the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix as he was forced to avoid a slow car off the start line
8 Mar 2026
Cameron Winstanley
Daily Star

Franco Colapinto’s incredible reactions are to thank for avoiding a huge crash just seconds into the Australian Grand Prix. The opening race of the 2026 season started in dramatic fashion as Oscar Piastri crashed out on the reconnaissance lap half an hour before the start. The McLaren star wrecked his car after spinning and slamming into the wall after clipping the kerb but thankfully exited the car unharmed.

There was almost another terrifying crash off the start line in Melbourne as Colapinto was forced to take last-minute evasive action to avoid driving straight into the back of Liam Lawson who was bogged down off the line

On-board footage from Colapinto’s Alpine, which started in P16, showed the Argentine getting a great launch off the line but he almost ended up in the back of Lawson’s Racing Bulls and then the wall, but miraculously steered clear of both. Lawson, who started in P8, failed to get off the line and was left a sitting duck as he crawled away from his grid spot.

'Really lucky';

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/f1...-miss-36833739


Carlos Sainz issues fierce F1 warning over 'big crash'
A close call occurred between two F1 drivers at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.
12 Mar 2026
Fergal Walsh & Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Carlos Sainz has warned F1 it will see a large crash if it stands still over safety concerns with the new regulations. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix last week saw Franco Colapinto forced to take avoiding action as he came across a slow-moving Liam Lawson as they launched off the start line.

Lando Norris has already voiced his fear of seeing a major crash due to the car's behaviour. It's a viewpoint Sainz shares as he called on the FIA to take action in order to prevent injury. “There are two main points about safety this year,” Sainz told media including RacingNews365. “One is the starts and the situation that you saw already from testing, you saw them again in Melbourne.”

“In Melbourne, we were extremely lucky that nothing happened with Liam and Franco. My feeling is that there is going to be one of those big crashes if nothing changes for the start at some point this year. Fingers crossed that we take action in time to improve them and it never happens. But if we stay without doing anything, my feeling is that at one point or another, we will see one of those situations.”

'Big crash';

https://racingnews365.com/carlos-sai...over-big-crash


F1 dealt 'not a good look' criticism after China start mayhem
Formula 1 has already seen six cars fail to start races in 2026, with it yet begin a grand prix with a full grid.
22 Mar 2026
Nick Golding & Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Carlos Sainz has stressed that it is "not a good look" for so many cars to have failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix, in the latest criticism of Formula 1's new regulations. Both McLarens, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Alex Albon all failed to start at the Shanghai International Circuit due to various issues, resulting in only 18 cars taking to the grid.

Discussing four cars not starting in China, Sainz told select media including RacingNews365: "For sure, it's not a great look for everyone. "I think not having the two McLarens, a Williams, and an Audi on the grid shows how difficult we make our lives by coming up with super-complicated engines with extremely complex software and battery usage.”

‘F1 dealt 'not a good look' criticism’;

https://racingnews365.com/f1-dealt-n...a-start-mayhem


Why Sainz is racing in fear of ‘a very big crash’ in F1
24/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

On paper, it’s innovation. On track, Sainz sees something far more sinister. “SM is a plaster on top of a plaster,” he warned bluntly, dismissing the system as a temporary fix masking deeper flaws. But it’s what comes next that sends a chill through the Spaniard’s spine.

“Racing with your wings open on the straights at 340 km/h, sooner rather than later, there’s going to be a big crash at very high speeds in tracks with little kinks,” he said, pinpointing Melbourne, where F1 has already raced this season, and Jeddah which the sport will bypass.

‘Chill through the Spaniard’s spine’;

https://f1i.com/news/561646-why-sain...ash-in-f1.html


Lando Norris accused of 'harsh criticism' over F1 crash fear
It was an eye-opening remark that drew plenty of attention.
19 Mar 2026
Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

One of McLaren driver Lando Norris' major concerns was over the speed differential in wheel-to-wheel combat between a car lacking power from the battery compared to one fully charged. “It's chaos, you're going to have a big accident,” said Norris. "Which is a shame that you're just driving, and we're the ones just waiting for something to happen and something to go quite horribly wrong.”

"That's not a nice position to be in. There's nothing we can really do about that now. It's a shame, it's very artificial, depending on what the power unit decides to do and randomly does at times. You just get overtaken by five cars, and you can just do nothing about it."

'Harsh criticism';

https://racingnews365.com/lando-norr...-f1-crash-fear

Wolff cautious ‘political knives’ could derail Mercedes dominance.
Mercedes have won the first two grand prix of the season, with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli the top two in the standings.
24 Mar 2026
Kieran Jackson
The Independent

Toto Wolff is cautious about Mercede’s strong start to the new F1 season and is wary of the political knives” which could play a part in the early phase of the year.

‘Political knives’;

https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/tot...-b2944398.html


Ralf Schumacher says Mercedes still have ‘something up their sleeve’ in Ferrari battle
24 Mar 2026
Ashley Hambly
F1 Oversteer

There’s no doubting Mercedes’ superiority in F1’s new technical ruleset, but Ralf Schumacher thinks the W17 is yet to reach its peak as he theorises on the Silver Arrows still having ‘something up their sleeve’ in the battle against Ferrari. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have both led one-twos for Mercedes in the first two rounds of the 2026 F1 season, culminating in a 31-point lead for the German constructor over their closest rivals, Ferrari.

In a recent episode of the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, six-time Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher touched upon the rumours that Mercedes are still withholding some performance in their W17 despite the levels of dominance it has already shown. The German pundit said, “I do believe that they still have something up their sleeve. However, in race pace, the Ferrari is also there, in terms of performance. Lewis Hamilton has confirmed it.”

“So there is a possibility that Mercedes can step up again, in a legal way, obviously, while Ferrari seems to be able to demand more performance from the engine during the race with the same durability. So from that perspective, it is closer than I thought. There is still potential in the car. You can also see that after the safety car phases, both drivers always have major problems, unlike Ferrari, to get up to speed, and to bring the temperature into the car directly. Accordingly, I do believe that Ferrari is closer than one would have expected to Mercedes.”

‘Something up their sleeve’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ral...errari-battle/


F1TECH: Mercedes front wing under scrutiny after reports of two phase closure system
25 Mar 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Rumblings in the Formula 1 paddock have intensified after reports surfaced suggesting that Mercedes may be operating a two phase front wing closure mechanism that could fall outside the intended scope of FIA active aerodynamics regulations. The system, observed during recent sessions and highlighted by technical analysts, appears to manipulate the timing of the wing’s transition between active and closed states — potentially allowing the W17 to gain an aerodynamic advantage without triggering regulatory alarms.

Concerns were amplified when Ferrari reportedly requested clarification from the FIA, believing Mercedes may have discovered a way to bypass the mandatory closure time sensors by splitting the wing’s movement into two distinct stages. Footage and technical breakdowns indicate that Mercedes’ front wing does not simply snap shut in a single motion. Instead, it appears to operate in a two phase sequence. During the first phase, a rapid movement lasts roughly 400 milliseconds, which the FIA’s control system interprets as a full closure.

Afterwards, a slower, mechanical continuation follows which brings the wing to its final aerodynamic position — but outside the time window monitored by the FIA. This behaviour was visible in live broadcast screenshots last time out at the Chinese Grand Prix, where the front wing could be seen shifting first to an intermediate angle before completing its movement moments later. Ferrari believes this staggered process may allow Mercedes to comply with the letter of the regulations while sidestepping their intended effect.

‘Concerns were amplified when Ferrari reportedly requested clarification from the FIA’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28366


Mercedes to unleash ‘the beast’ as Japanese Grand Prix livery revealed
24 Mar 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Mercedes will be “unleashing the beast” at Suzuka, having unveiled a unique Japanese Grand Prix livery. Joining the collection of teams to adapt its look for Suzuka, Mercedes has gone with a wolf face atop its front wing, in a unique one-off livery for the championship leaders.

Mercedes will also be shaking up its livery this weekend, at least when it comes to the front wing, anyway. Complete with an ‘unleashing the Beast this weekend in Suzuka’ caption on social media, Mercedes revealed a Wolf-inspired character which will adorn the top of the front wing on the W17s, driven by George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

‘The Beast’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/merced...26-wolf-design


Antonelli’s title downplayed after Chinese GP win: 'Only if something special happens'
24 MAR 2026
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes the future is bright for Kimi Antonelli, but a world title in 2026 may be just out of his reach. Despite the impressive drive, Steiner believes it might be a season too soon before Antonelli becomes champion of the world in F1. "No, only if something special happens, like it happened in China, in qualifying," the Italian said while on the Red Flags podcast.

"The good thing is he took it there, but maybe not under normal circumstances. I think it is also understandable why not; the kid is 19 years old in his second year in Formula One. George is a good race car driver, so I don't think he can do it this year. But there are other opportunities for him. If he doesn't win it this year, he can wait another time because he's so young. For me, he doesn't have to put too much pressure on himself to win it this year. He has a good future in front of him."

'Only if something special happens';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/stein...p-breakthrough

Gary Anderson: F1's sudden Japanese GP rule change doesn't go far enough.
“…but more could have been done to ensure qualifying is the spectacle and driving challenge it should be.” Gary Anderson.
26 Mar 2026
GARY ANDERSON
The Race

For reference of torque output versus time for a battery storage capacity of 4MJ gives you.
350kW for roughly 11.5seconds.
300kW for roughly 13.3 seconds.
250kW for roughly 16.0 seconds.
200kW for roughly 20.0 seconds.

In my opinion, the only way to achieve this is lots of lift and coast, through Turn 1 into Turn 2 is an ideal candidate. Also, through the esses just to control the speed and also Degner 1. It will be sad to see, but I’m sure we will also see plenty of it through 130R as well. Once, it was a demanding flat-out corner, but I suppose those days are long gone, however with nothing much to gain on the way to the chicane, it’s an ideal place to maximise harvesting for the short run to the finish line.

Basically, the driver has to dictate whether he wants the car to go slower or faster. He has two pedals to achieve that, and I believe his demands should be what the system reacts to and provides. All this ‘hidden’ circuit mapping that Charles Leclerc was commenting on, confusing the system doesn’t need to be there; give the driver back control. After all, that’s what the steering wheel does - the driver tells the car to turn left or right. Can you imagine the chaos if that system was allowed to be fly-by-wire? It wouldn’t take long for a driver to lose confidence after a couple of programming errors, and basically it’s now the same with the torque delivery.

“More could have been done”;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...go-far-enough/


FIA heeds F1 qualifying concerns with crucial Japanese GP rule change
26 Mar 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

In a statement, the FIA said: “Following discussions between the FIA, F1 teams and Power Unit Manufacturers, a minor adjustment to the energy management parameters for Qualifying at the Japanese GP has been agreed with the unanimous support of all Power Unit Manufacturers.”

“To ensure that the intended balance between energy deployment and driver performance is maintained, the maximum permitted energy recharge for Qualifying this weekend has been reduced from 9.0 MJ to 8.0 MJ. This adjustment reflects feedback from drivers and teams, who have emphasised the importance of maintaining Qualifying as a performance challenge.”

“The FIA notes that the first events under the 2026 Regulations have been operationally successful, and this targeted refinement is part of the normal process of optimisation as the new regulatory framework is further validated in real-world conditions. The FIA, together with F1 teams and Power Unit Manufacturers, continues to embrace evolutions to energy management, with further discussions scheduled in the coming weeks.”

‘Crucial Japanese GP rule change’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...1-japanese-gp/


FIA makes late change to qualifying before Japanese GP amid driver concerns
26 Mar 2026
Laurence Edmondson
TSN

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, has made a tweak to the rules around this weekend's qualifying session at the Japanese Grand Prix amid concerns drivers would have to focus on energy harvesting on high-speed sections of track. during simulations ahead of this weekend's race, teams noted that having such a high limit encouraged large amounts of lifting and coasting -- the process by which a driver lifts off the throttle before braking for a corner -- and super clipping -- when the V6 engine is partly used as a generator to charge the battery.

In order to minimise such practices -- which often appear unnatural to viewers watching onboard footage from the cars -- the FIA informed the teams on Wednesday that the limit would be reduced to eight megajoules. The change equates to four seconds less of super clipping around a lap, and the FIA expects the cars to be roughly 0.5 seconds per lap slower as a result of having less energy to deploy around the lap.

While most drivers either welcomed the change or said it wouldn't make an impact, Haas' Oliver Bearman argued against it. "I mean it's just making us even slower," he argued. "On one hand we don't have to do any lift and coast any more, which is probably a bit better for us, but it just means we have to do a lot of... I think there's better ways of achieving the same thing. If we could harvest at negative 350 kilowatts while on full throttle, I think it would make everyone's lives a bit easier. But this is also a solution, I guess."

‘Tweak to the rules’;

https://www.tsn.ca/motorsports/artic...s-n1-48310901/


Verstappen sounds off on FIA tweak aimed at ‘fixing’ qualifying
26 Mar 2026
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Max Verstappen has aired his take on the changes made by the FIA to qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix weekend. Asked for his reaction, Verstappen offered a measured response, admitting he had yet to test the changes but expressing hope they would make qualifying more flat-out. “I mean, I've not practised this on the simulator, so I cannot give you a clear answer. It was a little bit before, not flat-out basically. So I hope that this can be closer to being flat-out,” Verstappen said at the Suzuka International Circuit.

When pressed on whether the change compromises the purity of racing at Suzuka, the four-time world champion remained pragmatic, acknowledging the limitations of the current regulations while looking ahead to potential improvements. “Of course, it feels very different to last year, but this is the reality that we're in now and you just have to accept that at the moment. I mean, there's not much that you can do anyway for this year,” Verstappen explained.

“I hope that bigger changes will be there for next year. How does it feel? It feels... how does it feel? It's different. I mean, you all know how I, of course, think of the situation, and I think that was something that I felt when I was on the simulator as well. Around here, going to eight megajoules probably helps a tiny bit, but the basics are the same, you know, so you still need to be careful with your throttle inputs. That is, of course, very different to the past,” the Red Bull Racing driver concluded.

‘Max Verstappen has aired his take on the changes’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...ing-qualifying


Russell: Suzuka "good test" of F1's new rules after "super boring" 2025 race
George Russell described the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix as "super boring", and expects Sunday's race to stress test the excitement of the new F1 era.
26 Mar 2026
Sam Hall, Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Overtake Mode and Straightline Mode have kept battling drivers closer together for longer, and early championship leader Russell believes this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix will provide a stern test for the improved action.

“I think this is the argument. The previous generation of cars, we would say are perfectly suited to a track like Suzuka, because the cars in the past had a lot of high-speed downforce, and I think the lap times we saw last year were probably the fastest lap times we’ve ever seen in Suzuka, yet the race was super boring,” said Russell.

“So yes, we will be slower through the Esses this year, and I think it will probably be an easy one-stop, the same as last year. But it was an easy one-stop in China, and it was a very exciting race. I guess this will be a good test for the regulations, if this track now becomes an exciting race and it was once a boring race, that will be quite interesting.”

‘Expects Sunday's race to stress test the excitement of the new F1 era’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109194...sed-excitement


How Ferrari can ‘annoy’ F1 rival Mercedes at Japanese GP
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc hopes to "annoy" Mercedes at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.
26 Mar 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

While Leclerc has downplayed Ferrari’s chances of winning this weekend, the Monegasque at least hopes to give Mercedes a headache early on. "I don’t think it’s as close as maybe people think,” Leclerc said during Thursday’s FIA press conference at Suzuka.

“Obviously the first few races we see lots of fighting between the cars, which is actually quite nice, but as soon as you are a little bit suboptimal with these cars you lose a lot of lap time. So, our only chance to stay with them is to annoy them in the first few laps, but as soon as they get free air then they’ve shown their real pace in the last race, and I think there’s still these four or five tenths that we’ve seen throughout these first two races.”

"It’s still a significant advantage. But yes, that doesn’t discourage me and again we have some things in the pipeline. We’ve got to focus on ourselves, not trying to overdo it because it’s never good in these situations, and then we’ll see where that brings us.” Leclerc reiterated the importance of the development battle throughout the 2026 campaign.

‘Give Mercedes a headache early on’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109195...es-japanese-gp

Japanese GP: Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 in Suzuka first practice.
George Russell continued his commanding start to the 2026 season by topping first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, narrowly edging Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in a closely fought session.
27/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

The championship leader’s benchmark lap of 1m31.666s was enough to deny Antonelli by just 0.026s, underlining that Mercedes’ early-season dominance remains firmly intact. Under clear skies at the iconic Suzuka Circuit, Russell wasted little time asserting control. Running on hard tyres in the opening stages, he posted a 1m32.429s to lead the field ahead of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.

Once the switch to soft tyres came, the Silver Arrows tightened their grip. Russell improved to a 1m31.755s, only for Antonelli – fresh from his breakthrough win in Shanghai—to respond with a 1m31.692s and briefly take over at the top. But Russell wasn’t done. After a wide moment at Spoon Curve, the Briton regrouped and delivered the session’s decisive blow, reclaiming P1 with a 1m31.666s that would stand unbeaten.

For now, though, the spotlight remains firmly on Mercedes. With Russell and Antonelli once again locking out the top two positions, the message from Suzuka’s opening session was clear: the Silver Arrows are still the team to beat.

‘Russell leads Mercedes 1-2’;

https://f1i.com/news/561804-japanese...-practice.html


Japanese GP FP1 Results Today: 2026 Practice 1 Times
George Russell continues his impressive start to the 2026 Formula 1 season for Mercedes.
27 Mar 2026
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport

Here are the complete Practice 1 results from the Suzuka Circuit in Japan.
Position Driver Team Time / Gap to Fastest
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:31.666
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.026
3 Lando Norris McLaren +0.132
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.199
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.289
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.374
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.791
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.863
9 Esteban Ocon Haas +0.935
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +0.999

‘FP1 Results’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/jap...6-fp1-results/


Mercedes continue F1 domination as Red Bull alarm rings in Japan practice
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli picked up where they left off in China during the first free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.
27 Mar 2026
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

George Russell led a strong Mercedes one-two in the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, as a major Red Bull alarm sounded. Russell initially shaved half-a-second off his best time to post a 1:31.755, with Antonelli suffering a lock-up at the hairpin and losing two-tenths to his team-mate. Verstappen, meanwhile, having run the soft tyres at a similar time in track conditions, was 0.765s slower than Russell.

Antonelli improved to a 1:31.692, before Russell then lowered his time again to a 1:31.666s which stood as the session best, 0.026s ahead of the Italian in the sister car. Norris finished third, 0.132s down on Russell after a late start to his session, with Oscar Piastri fourth ahead of both Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton in fifth and sixth, but both within 0.4s. Verstappen was seventh.

Four drivers were placed under investigation by the stewards for incidents, with Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson involved in a bizarre driving slowly incident at the exit of the hairpin, whilst Alex Albon crashed into Sergio Perez at the final chicane in the closing moments of the session.

‘Red Bull alarm rings’;

https://racingnews365.com/mercedes-c...japan-practice


Japanese Grand Prix: George Russell pips Kimi Antonelli to finish fastest in first practice
Mar 27, 2026
PA
ESPN.co.uk

George Russell set the fastest time in first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. Championship leader Russell saw off team-mate Kimi Antonelli by just 0.026 seconds as Mercedes secured a one-two finish.

World champion Lando Norris was third for McLaren, just 0.132 sec back, and a place clear of team-mate Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth respectively for Ferrari with Red Bull's Max Verstappen seventh.

Russell and Antonelli have one win apiece so far, and the Mercedes men again look to be the pair to beat here in Suzuka. Russell leads Antonelli by just four points in the standings following the Italian teenager's first win last time out in China.

‘George Russell pips Kimi Antonelli’;

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id...first-practice


Japanese GP: Full Practice 1 results as officials investigate Alex Albon
27 Mar 2026
Mat Coch
PlanetF1.com

Mercedes established itself as the early favourite with a strong performance in the opening hour of practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli headed the pack with Lando Norris recovering from a slow start to be third best.

It was an issue-free hour for Mercedes as a while, while setup days cost Lando Norris time in the early moments. There was a moment for Sergio Perez and Alex Albon in the final moments as the Williams driver tried to move up the inside of the Cadillac at the Casio Triange.

That resulted in conflict and will be investigated by officials. It was the second moment for Albon who bounced through the gravel at Degner 2 and even made contact with the tyre barrier earlier in the session.

‘Officials investigate Alex Albon’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-res...rix-suzuka-fp1


FIA determine cause of clumsy Alex Albon and Sergio Perez crash
Alex Albon collided with Sergio Perez late on during Free Practice 1 at the Japanese Grand Prix.
27 Mar 2026
Jake Nichol & Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Alex Albon has escaped repercussions for crashing into Sergio Perez during Free Practice 1 at the Japanese Grand Prix. "The Driver of Car 23 said that he believed from the wide line taken by Car 11 at the entry to turn 16 that Car 11 was letting him through.”

"Both Drivers were surprised by the closing speeds. The collision was therefore the result of a misunderstanding contributed to by a lack of communication by the team to the Driver of Car 11. Both Drivers accepted that neither of them was wholly or predominantly to blame for it. The Stewards therefore determined to take no further action."

“No further action";

https://racingnews365.com/fia-determ...io-perez-crash

Piastri breaks Mercedes' P1 hegemony at the Japan Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri was the quickest in FP1, finishing marginally ahead of the two Mercedes drivers, Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
27 Mar 2026
Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com

Many teams and drivers were eager to get on track during the second session of the day, with the group led by Hamilton. Norris was not on that list, with the McLaren mechanics working on his MCL40. Arvid Lindblad's day has also come to an early end after he reported issues on his opening lap over the team radio. Around 10 minutes into the session, Alex Albon nearly caused the first red flag of the day by stopping on track, but the Thai-British driver was able to get going again.

15 minutes into the session, Leclerc led with a 1:31.0, marginally ahead of Piastri. By the halfway point, drivers completed their first laps on the soft tyres. Piastri then led the session ahead of the two Mercedes drivers, in the order of Antonelli and Russell. Entering the final 15 minutes, Piastri continued to lead FP2, as the drivers switched for stints on the medium tyres.

Lando Norris finished fourth ahead of the two Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The Briton reported during the session that he was not comfortable with his car. Four-time world champion and the winner of the last four Japanese GPs, Max Verstappen, finished tenth in this session.

‘Piastri breaks Mercedes' P1 hegemony’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/breaking-n...pan-grand-prix


Japanese Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results
27/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

2026 Japanese Grand Prix - Free Practice 2 results
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30.133s 29
2 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.092s 28
3 George Russell Mercedes +0.205s 29
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.516s 17
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.713s 28
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.847s 27
7 Nico Hülkenberg Audi +1.308s 27
8 Alexander Albon Williams +1.363s 30
9 Oliver Bearman Haas +1.365s 28
10 Max Verstappen Red Bull +1.376s 29

‘Free Practice 2 results’;

https://f1i.com/news/561802-japanese...results-2.html


F1 Japanese GP: Oscar Piastri heads Mercedes pair as issues hit Lando Norris in second practice
Oscar Piastri puts McLaren ahead of Mercedes at the end of Friday at the Japanese Grand Prix.
27 Mar 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri outpaced the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in second practice at Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix. Lap times tumbled in the second hour of practice running at Suzuka, with Piastri putting McLaren top of the timesheet for the first time after pipping Antonelli, who claimed his maiden F1 victory last time out in China, by 0.092 seconds.

Early world championship leader Russell, who led a Mercedes one-two in opening practice, was third-fastest, 0.205s down on Piastri’s benchmark in FP2. World champion Lando Norris was fourth after a hydraulics leak caused him to miss almost half of the session. The McLaren driver ended up 0.516s behind team-mate Piastri on the soft tyres.

Norris has lost one of his three batteries for the 2026 season in a setback to his hopes of defending his world title. Issues for Norris aside, it has been an encouraging start to the weekend for McLaren after its double DNS disaster in Shanghai.

‘Oscar Piastri heads Mercedes pair’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109203...-norris-second


Japanese GP: Full Practice 2 results sees Piastri topple Mercedes
27 Mar 2026
Mat Coch
PlanetF1.com

Oscar Piastri topped the second practice hour for this weekend’s Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. The McLaren driver’s soft tyre run left him just 0.092s clear of the Chinese GP race winner, with Lando Norris in the second McLaren fourth best.

Norris endured a complicated session after a hydraulics issue kept him in the garage for the first 23 minutes. There were problems too for Arvid Lindblad, who reported issues on track shortly after leaving the pits as the session began. Gabriel Bortoleto was also reduced to spectator duties as Audi worked on the power unit in the back of his car.

Damage sustained in opening practice also saw Sergio Perez delayed as Cadillac worked to repair the floor on the Mexican’s car. Franco Colapinto will front the stewards after he weaved his way down the back straight, impeding Max Verstappen in the process.

‘Piastri topple(s) Mercedes’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-res...rix-suzuka-fp2


FP2 Report: What Happened in Second Practice at the 2026 Japanese GP
Oscar Piastri tops second practice at Suzuka ahead of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell as McLaren shows improved pace
27 Mar 2026
John Smith
Total Motorsport

The Japanese GP FP2 report saw Oscar Piastri deliver a standout performance at Suzuka, putting McLaren at the top of the timesheets ahead of the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in a busy and incident-filled session. The Australian’s benchmark of 1m 30.133s proved enough to hold off Antonelli by just 0.092s, with Russell a further tenth behind. It was a tight margin, but one that carried weight given the context of McLaren’s disrupted start to the season.

If Piastri’s lap hinted at promise, the other side of the McLaren garage told a more complicated story. Lando Norris endured a delayed start to the session after the team investigated a suspected hydraulic issue, leaving the Brit watching from the garage while rivals banked valuable laps.

By the time he joined the track, much of the early running had already unfolded. Even so, Norris recovered impressively to finish fourth, though over half a second shy of his team-mate’s time. His session underlined both the potential of the MCL40 and the fragility that has defined McLaren’s early campaign.

‘McLaren shows improved pace’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/fp2...p-2026-report/


Liam Lawson just proved Red Bull are not ‘a happy camp’ at Japanese Grand Prix, says Karun Chandhok
27 Mar 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Liam Lawson’s fastest FP2 lap in Japan being 0.081s slower than Max Verstappen’s shows Red Bull’s issues. Verstappen struggled with understeer throughout FP2 at the Japanese GP, with the 28-year-old often fighting to force his Red Bull RB22 to corner how he wanted without locking up or making a mistake. Yet Chandhok feels Lawson’s pace hammered home Red Bull’s problems.

Lawson’s qualifying simulation run in the Racing Bulls VCARB 03 resulting in a lap time only 0.081s slower than Verstappen’s best effort shows Chandhok just how much Red Bull need to improve the RB22, as the junior team should not be able to compete with the top team. Chandhok said on Sky Sports F1 (27/03, 06:35): “That’s what it looked like from trackside.”

“The Red Bull, it just looked like he was chasing the front end, just having to wait, and wait, and wait. And we know Max, of any driver on the grid, that’s a balance that he really dislikes. The fact [that] he’s still three-tenths ahead of Isack Hadjar suggests that the car is not there. Lawson in the Racing Bulls, with all due respect to them, should not be within eight-hundredths of Max Verstappen in the top Red Bull car. So, that is not a happy camp.”

“Suggests that the car is not there”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/lia...arun-chandhok/

Japanese GP: Mercedes back on top in FP3 with Antonelli fastest.
Mercedes turned up the heat in Saturday’s final practice ahead of Japanese Grand Prix qualifying at Suzuka, with Kimi Antonelli comfortably edging teammate George Russell in the session.
28/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Kimi Antonelli was the first to truly ignite the session, smashing through the 1m 31s barrier with ease before steadily lowering the benchmark. Charles Leclerc responded, chipping away at the gap, while George Russell lurked close behind in a tightly contested top three. But Suzuka’s narrow, high-speed layout added its own drama. Traffic became a major talking point, especially through the fearsome 130R corner, where both Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas voiced their frustration after near-encounters compromised their laps.

At the halfway stage, Leclerc briefly seized control with a 1m 30.229s, exposing a relative weakness in the Mercedes cars through the final sector. But the Silver Arrows were far from done. As the clock ticked down, the gloves came off. Antonelli shattered the 1m 30 barrier for the first time all weekend, only for Russell to edge him moments later by the slimmest of margins – just 0.011s. The duel was on.

But Antonelli had the final word. Hooking up a near-perfect lap, he unleashed a 1m 29.362s that left the rest trailing, and ultimately stood unbeaten at the chequered flag. Behind the Mercedes pair, Leclerc held onto third, albeit a distant eight-tenths back. Oscar Piastri impressed in fourth, followed by Hamilton and the recovering Norris.

‘Kimi Antonelli had the final word’;

https://f1i.com/news/561942-japanese...i-fastest.html


Japanese GP: Free Practice 3 Results
Full results from Free Practice 3 for the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
28 Mar 2026
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe

Results: Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, Free Practice 3
Pos.
No. Driver Team Time / Gap Laps
1 12 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:29.362 18
2 63 George Russell Mercedes +0.254s 18
3 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.867s 20
4 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.002s 19
5 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +1.021s 23
6 1 Lando Norris McLaren +1.238s 13
7 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi +1.296s 21
8 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.548s 22
9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.638s 21
10 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.720s 20

‘Results: Free Practice 3’;

https://speedcafe.com/f1-news-2026-j...3-fp3-results/


F1- Antonelli quickest in final practice for Japanese Grand Prix
28 Mar 2026
FIA (Press Release)

Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli posted the fastest lap of the final practice session for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, beating team-mate George Russell by a little over a quarter of a second. Charles Leclerc was third, though the Ferrari driver was more than eight tenths of a second off the pace set by Antonelli. It was Ferrari that led the way in the opening phases of the session, but Antonelli took command when he bolted on a set of Soft tyres and quickly delivered a lap of 1:30.418. He then improved to 1:29.929 to set the fastest time of the weekend so far.

With Ferrari and McLaren not threatening to get near that time, Antonelli’s only real competition during the qualifying runs was team-mate Russell and the Australian Grand Prix winner narrowly gapped his Italian team-mate by a hundredth of a second as he too took on Soft tyres. Antonelli rose to that challenge and 18 minutes from the end of the session the youngster logged a lap of 1:29.392 to take top spot, 0.254s clear of Russell who had no response.

Leclerc was the only driver to get within a second of the dominant Mercedes pair, though the Monegasque racer could only haul his Ferrari SF-26 to 0.867s off Antonelli. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was next on the list, just over a second off the pace, while Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top five in the second Ferrari. The seven-time champion ended the session just two hundredths of a second behind Piastri and 0.154s off team-mate Leclerc.

‘Antonelli quickest’;

https://www.fia.com/news/f1-antonell...ese-grand-prix


Everything that happened in final Japanese GP practice
28 Mar 2026
MATT BEER
The Race

Mercedes moved back ahead as Friday pacesetter McLaren had a muted start to qualifying day at Formula 1's Japanese Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli beat George Russell by 0.254 seconds in final practice in a Mercedes 1-2 at the front, with everyone else close to a second back. McLaren had been fastest with Oscar Piastri on Friday but he was 1.002s off the pace in fourth behind Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.

The second McLaren of world champion Lando Norris missed the first half of the session with an ERS problem that the team feared would rule him out of the whole hour at first. He worked his way up to sixth, with Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari just ahead. It was a very encouraging session for Audi, which was as high as fifth going into the final minutes and ended up seventh and ninth with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto sandwiching an unhappy Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly pushed the other Red Bull of Isack Hadjar out of the top 10 late on. At the back, Aston Martin was a second off even Cadillac's pace on Honda's home ground. Ollie Bearman produced the session's only noteworthy incident, with a fast but beautifully caught spin out of Spoon.

‘Everything that happened’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/e...e-gp-practice/


Lando Norris now on the cusp of a grid penalty as McLaren face more battery issues at Japanese GP
28 Mar 2026
Ashley Hambly
F1 Oversteer

Lando Norris will now face a grid penalty if McLaren introduce another battery pack into his 2026 pool. During Sky Sports F1’s coverage of FP3 at Suzuka, pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz explained how Norris now has all three of his allocated battery packs for the entire season present in his pool, which means he will face a grid penalty if the issue crops up again.

He said, “On fire up, they found there was a problem with the battery pack, and bear in mind that it was already the second of the three that he’s allowed for the season. So, this is number three going in now.”

“Of course, once they identify and they’re able to fix the pool of three batteries, then that might mean that you can do half a season or maybe more on three energy recovery system battery packs. Use more than three, and you’ll get a grid penalty. That’s probably the least of Lando Norris’ worries, something for the future.”

‘McLaren face more battery issues’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/lan...t-japanese-gp/


Final practice results as Norris suffers fresh battery blow
28 Mar 2026
Mat Coch
PlanetF1.com

Kimi Antonelli holds the advantage ahead of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix after he topped the final practice session in Suzuka. Antonelli headed George Russell and Charles Leclerc at the end of the Saturday-morning session, the Ferrari driver almost nine-tenths off the outright pace. Kimi Antonelli heads Mercedes one-two as McLaren works miracle for Lando Norris.

Disaster struck Lando Norris before the session even began as McLaren detected a battery issue in his car. McLaren worked a minor miracle to complete a battery change for Norris to emerged with 22 minutes remaining, affording him the chance to bank valuable laps prior to qualifying as he ended up sixth.

Oscar Piastri was fifth best, while Lewis Hamilton appeared to ave a more settled car to be fifth-best. Further back, both Audi drivers found themselves in the top 10 to highlight themselves as strong Q3 contenders come qualifying.

‘Final practice results’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-res...rix-suzuka-fp3

Antonelli soaks up ‘incredible feeling’ after securing pole position in Japan.
Kimi Antonelli has raved about the “incredible feeling” he experienced upon claiming pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, building on his formidable start to the 2026 season.
28/03/2026
Formula One - Official Site

Kimi Antonelli came out on top in the battle for pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix. “It was a good session, I’m happy with it,” he said after Qualifying. “I think I was able to improve lap by lap. That first Q3 lap was good. Second lap was looking strong but then at Turn 11 I locked up and lost quite a bit of time so it was a shame.”

“I was a bit annoyed with that but [I got] pole position. I felt good in the car, felt good with the track, and now focusing on tomorrow.” Reflecting on the support he has enjoyed over the weekend, he explained in an earlier interview: “The fans here in Japan are pretty incredible. There's so much passion and racing at a historic track is an incredible feeling.”

“The track is unbelievable to drive with this kind of car plus the fans give us a little bit more of a boost when we go on track.” Antonelli will now be hoping to avoid small errors that have occasionally impacted his performance at times – such as his crash in FP3 at the season opener in Australia as well as a poor start and time penalty in the China Sprint – and target his second Grand Prix victory.

“I’m happy with it”;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...1c7l5tHNlpsCy3


Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying Results
28/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

2026 Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying results
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:30.035s 1:29.048s 1:28.778s
2 George Russell Mercedes 1:29.967s 1:29.686s 1:29.076s
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30.200s 1:29.451s 1:29.132s
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.915s 1:29.303s 1:29.405s
5 Lando Norris McLaren 1:30.401s 1:29.795s 1:29.409s
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.309s 1:29.589s 1:29.567s
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:30.584s 1:29.874s 1:29.691s
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:30.662s 1:30.104s 1:29.978s
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:30.359s 1:29.990s 1:30.274s
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 1:30.781s 1:30.109s 1:30.319s

‘Qualifying Results’;

https://f1i.com/news/561957-japanese...results-2.html


Kimi Antonelli surprised by George Russell gap after tricky Suzuka qualifying
28 Mar 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

“I had a really clean session. Felt good. Had a strong run one, and from there on, I just built the momentum,” said Kimi Antonelli after qualifying. “Obviously it was a bit trickier than FP3, especially at the start of qualifying. I think the wind increased a little bit. It felt a little bit more difficult, the car overall.”
“But then we just try to adapt. We made some tweaks with aero balance and found a good compromise. Then the lap in Q3 was good. Bit of a shame for the last one, but I think it was, overall, a very strong session.” Antonelli was asked if he was surprised by the gap to Russell.

He held an advantage over his teammate and the championship leader throughout qualifying, and ended up three tenths clear. “Yeah, I am,” he confirmed. “But with this regulation, it is really easy to gain and lose time. It was the same for me in Melbourne. But, he’s super quick. He’s been super quick around here, and we’ll see tomorrow in the race, how we’re going to do.”

‘Kimi Antonelli surprised’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/kimi-a...17-russell-gap


Arvid Lindblad reacts to dumping Max Verstappen out of 2026 Japanese GP Qualifying: ‘I’m very proud’
The 18-year-old stunned for Racing Bulls at the Suzuka International Racing Course on Saturday
28 Mar 2026
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport

“I’m very proud of myself,” Lindblad told Sky Sports F1. “I think the job I did in Q2 was pretty impressive. I had a lot of fun on that lap. I knew after the first run that if I did a perfect job, I might be able to just squeeze through. So, I told myself, I’m just going to switch off the brain, hope for the best and send it.”

“It was such an exhilarating feeling as well, just on a track like this when you’re at one with the car, it’s so much fun. I come out of [Turn] 14 and I’m like half-a-second up on the dash on the board there,” Lindblad added. “So I’m like half a second up on the dash and I remember I was so happy in that moment.”

“I was like… You know the lap was amazing to that point, so I remember I even screamed a bit inside the helmet like, ‘Come on!’ So at this point I’m coming into here [Turn 16] and I’m like, ‘Right, just don’t mess it up you know? Just keep it together.’ So I’m coming in and I’m just trying to do a clean job. Brake nice and late because there’s so much lap time here in braking, the kerbs are really difficult, but I just got it nicely.”

‘The 18-year-old stunned for Racing Bulls’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/arv...gp-qualifying/


Karun Chandhok says Max Verstappen had ‘no chance’ of Q3 after watching Japanese Grand Prix onboard
28 Mar 2026
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer

Karun Chandhok noticed Max Verstappen struggling in high-speed corners that gave him ‘no chance’ of Q3 at Suzuka. Karun Chandhok assessed Verstappen’s final run in Q2 on Sky Sports F1 (28/03, 6:44 am). Watching his onboard, he saw the RB22 losing time through the high-speed corners, which ultimately cost him a place in the top 10.

“He said it was jumping around in the high-speed [corners]. Watch his head there as he goes through turn one, loads of understeer, struggling then, then snaps into an oversteer,” he said. “Let’s go through the Esses and he’s just waiting on the front for a long time, and it eventually bites. There’s almost like a disconnect where he’s just not able to get the front and rear of the car talking to each other.”

“He goes in, carrying the speed that he believes, the rear of the car steps out of line, has to correct it. Then he’s just waiting because he’s gone in too fast and he’s now on this kerb, and all of that means he’s not in the right position he wants for the second part, has to have another correction there for the second apex.”

‘No chance of Q3’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/kar...-prix-onboard/


Charles Leclerc blasts qualifying in F1 2026 with foul-mouthed radio outburst at Japanese Grand Prix
28 Mar 2026
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer

When race engineer Bryan Bozzi confirmed he had finished the session in P4, Charles Leclerc lamented: “Honestly, I honestly cannot stand with the quali, it’s a f—— joke. I go faster in corners, throttle earlier, for f— sake, I’m losing everything in the straight.”

Speaking to Canal+ after qualifying, Leclerc explains the issues he was having down the straights at Suzuka. “Not at all, I think that was the best Q2 I’ve done and I don’t think I could replicate it. Honestly, even if from the onboard it looks like a mistake, in itself it was super beneficial for the Q2, there wasn’t much more in that lap. What’s more frustrating than anything else is the performance we lose from one run to the next in the straights with what we do with the driving.”

“In Q3, last run, I tried to push a little bit more, it worked everywhere, but unfortunately we lose a tenth and a half just compared to my lap, only in the straights in the last sector, and that’s very frustrating, even if we know it’s a bit part of the game with this regulation. I’m not getting used to it and in the car you want to push, but well, that’s how it is.”

‘Foul-mouthed radio outburst’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/cha...se-grand-prix/


Ted recaps quali as Antonelli makes it back-to-back poles ���� | Ted's Japanese GP Qualifying Notebook
Mar 28, 2026
Sky Sports F1

Ted Kravitz recaps Japanese Grand Prix Qualifying where it was Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli who secured back-to-back pole positions followed by George Russell and Oscar Piastri. 0:00 - Ted explores 6:15 - Mercedes 11:20 - McLaren 14:04 - Red Bull 17:20 - Ferrari 19:04 - Williams 20:31 - Racing Bulls 21:31 - Jonathan Wheatley future 22:56 - Aston Martin 23:44 - Haas 24:08 - Audi 24:30 - Alpine 24:56 - Cadillac

‘Back-to-back poles’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjRqUVABlU0

Antonelli revels in history-making Japanese GP win: ‘Pace was incredible’.
Kimi Antonelli has detailed his excitement after claiming a history-making victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.
29 Mar 2026
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Sharing his reaction after the race, Antonelli admitted to feeling very good about his win, noting his terrible start and the strong recovery he made. The 19-year-old also highlighted the impact of the safety car, which he used masterfully to his advantage. "It feels pretty good! Of course, it's too early to think about the championship, but we are on the right track. I had a terrible start and need to check what happened. Then I was lucky with the Safety Car to be in the lead, but after that, the pace was incredible," Antonelli began. "It was really nice. In the second stint, I felt very good with the car. I'm very pleased with that," he added.

Speaking about his race start and how he could improve, Antonelli noted that he could practise a few clutch drops to achieve better race start sequences. "I can practice some clutch drops to get a better feel with it because, definitely, it's been a weak point so far this year. I need to improve that because you can easily win or lose races with it," he noted. "On the medium tyres, we were strong once we had free air, and on the hard, the pace was incredible. I don't know what the outcome would have been without the Safety Car, but it made my life a lot easier," he concluded.

‘Pace was incredible’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/anton...was-incredible


Japanese GP 2026 Race Results: Full Classification and Winner
29 Mar 2026
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport

Antonelli‘s ability to capitalize on the safety car, combined with Mercedes’ tactical precision, hands the 19-year-old another memorable moment in his career.
Here are the results:
Pos. Driver Team Gap Points
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes Winner 25
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +13.722 18
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +15.270 15
4 George Russell Mercedes +15.754 12
5 Lando Norris McLaren +23.479 10
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +25.037 8
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine +32.340 6
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull +32.677 4
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +50.180 2
10 Esteban Ocon Haas +51.216 1

‘Full Classification and Winner’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/jap...lassification/


Japanese GP: Lucky Antonelli wins again – takes championship lead
29/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Kimi Antonelli claimed a fortunate victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, as a perfectly timed safety car flipped the race on its head and handed the young Mercedes driver control he would never relinquish. Out front, Antonelli was untouchable. He crossed the line 14 seconds clear of Piastri, sealing his second consecutive victory and becoming the youngest multiple race winner in Formula 1 history – surpassing the mark set by Max Verstappen. The result also propelled Antonelli into the lead of the drivers’ championship, ahead of team-mate Russell.

Further back, Pierre Gasly delivered an impressive seventh-place finish for Alpine, holding off Verstappen, who complained of extremely heavy steering throughout the race. Strategy misfortune cost Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad and Isack Hadjar, all of whom pitted before the safety car and dropped out of contention. Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto initially inherited points-paying positions, though Bortoleto fell back, allowing Ocon to recover 10th.

Aside from Bearman, the only retirement was Lance Stroll, who stopped with a suspected water pressure issue. It meant at least one Aston Martin reached the finish, with Fernando Alonso classified in 18th. In a race defined by fine margins and one pivotal moment, Antonelli proved ready to seize opportunity – and turn it into history.

‘Lucky Antonelli wins again’;

https://f1i.com/news/562098-japanese...ship-lead.html


Kimi Antonelli admits he was ‘very lucky’ to beat Oscar Piastri in Japanese Grand Prix
29 Mar 2026
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Speaking immediately after the race in parc ferme, Antonelli admitted that the safety car was a stroke of luck. He had found it difficult to clear Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc after losing ground. But Antonelli, who was closing on Russell by the time his teammate pitted, says his pace was ‘incredible’ once he had free air.

His eventual winning margin over Piastri was almost 14 seconds, which underlines Mercedes’ lasting advantage over McLaren despite the progress made by the world champions. “I had a terrible start, just need to check what happened,” said Antonelli. “I was lucky with the safety car to be in the lead, but then the pace was just incredible. It was really nice. Second stint, I felt really good with the car. Very pleased with that.”

“We were very lucky with the safety car, but on the medium, we were really strong once I got some free air. On the hand, the pace was just incredible. I don’t know what would have happened, what the outcome would have been, without the safety car, but it definitely made my life a lot easier.”

‘Very lucky’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/kim...se-grand-prix/


Antonelli lucks in for second win and becomes youngest F1 championship leader
2026 Japanese Grand Prix report
29th Mar 2026
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

The Mercedes driver started the race from pole position but fell to sixth place on the first lap as he got off the line slowly. Oscar Piastri shot into the lead from third place. George Russell, who started on the front row but dropped to fourth at the start, easily picked off Lando Norris and Leclerc then closed on Piastri. Russell wasn’t able to make a pass stick on the race leader, However. He ‘yo-yoed’ ahead of Piastri at the end of lap eight but immediately lost the place as the next lap began.

Antonelli also gained ground in the other Mercedes. He shot past Lewis Hamilton on lap two, got Norris two laps later, then also indulged in a yo-yo position swap with Leclerc. McLaren discussed the possibility of an early pit stop with Piastri, then brought fifth-placed Norris in first on lap 17. Ferrari followed suit with Leclerc the next time by, then McLaren summoned the race leader in. Piastri quickly picked off Max Verstappen after he rejoined the track. Russell, who had warned Mercedes of the risks of running too long, entered the pit lane three laps after Piastri did, handing the lead to Antonelli.

Soon after Russell rejoined the track behind Piastri, the yellow flags appeared. Oliver Bearman had crashed heavily at Spoon curve trying to pass Franco Colapinto, prompting an appearance by the Safety Car. This was disastrous timing for those who had already pitted and a gift for those who hadn’t, led by Antonelli. He pitted, followed by second-placed Hamilton, and rejoined in the lead. “Unbelievable,” fumed Russell. The restart played out similarly to the one in Shanghai two weeks ago. While Antonelli made good his escape, Russell lost out to both the Ferrari drivers.

‘“Unbelievable,” fumed Russell’;

https://www.racefans.net/2026/03/29/...onship-leader/


Kimi Antonelli seizes F1 title lead with dominant Japanese GP display
29 Mar 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

Andrea Kimi Antonelli overcame another poor Mercedes start to take a commanding win of the Japanese Grand Prix, giving him the lead of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship. The Italian dropped to sixth at the start, with Oscar Piastri – finally taking his first race start of the year – taking the lead.

But a mid-race Safety Car, sparked by a huge accident for Oliver Bearman, enabled Antonelli to take a cheap pit stop, seeing him maintain a lead he would hold until the flag. Charles Leclerc finished third after an exciting late-race battle with George Russell, who becomes the first Mercedes driver to not score a podium finish this year.

For Antonelli, it was another new record, as his victory saw him become the first teenager to ever lead the World Championship, and taking the 125th victory for Mercedes in its modern era.

‘Kimi Antonelli seizes F1 title lead’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...panese-gp-win/

Oscar Piastri: ‘We did everything right and still got beaten by 15 seconds’.
Piastri described the weekend as one of his best in Formula 1, crediting strong preparation across practice and qualifying as the foundation for McLaren’s result.
29 Mar 2026
Media
F1 Chronicle

• Oscar Piastri finished second at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, leading the race from the start before the Safety Car handed the advantage back to Kimi Antonelli.
• The Australian said he came away from Suzuka believing Mercedes are beatable, but was clear-eyed that a significant performance gap to the championship leader remains.
Second place at Suzuka was, by Oscar Piastri‘s own assessment, as close to a perfect weekend as McLaren could have produced.

The result still came up short, and he made no attempt to dress it up otherwise. From the front, Piastri was able to pull away from George Russell before the pit stops, a detail he returned to more than once as evidence of McLaren’s genuine competitiveness. When asked which aspect of the car’s performance pleased him most across the weekend, he was thorough.

“I’m not sure there was one that I was massively pleased with, but I think, clearly, we did a good job at the start today. I think this weekend we just did a really good job of optimising what we had, and I think from practice we were in a good window with the car in FP2 and we managed to get it back in that window for qualifying. We had a really good understanding of what we wanted from the power unit and how we had to kind of dial it in for the qualifying grip level.”

‘Close to a perfect weekend as McLaren could have produced’;

https://f1chronicle.com/oscar-piastr.../?nowprocket=1


Jacques Villeneuve blasts McLaren for making strategy error with ‘flying’ Oscar Piastri
29 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Jacques Villeneuve was not a fan of how McLaren squandered the brilliant start Oscar Piastri made to the Japanese Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve questions why McLaren didn’t learn from Lando Norris pitstop. Jacques Villeneuve spoke on the F1 post-race show about the success McLaren had during the Japanese Grand Prix, and where exactly they went wrong.

More than the ill-timed safety car, Villeneuve questioned why McLaren chose to pit Oscar Piastri when they saw Lando Norris struggling on the hard tyres early on. “Yes, and it looked like Piastri could have stayed ahead in front. They were managing their batteries in different areas on the track. It doesn’t look like the Mercedes way was the right way in the race. It was good to do lap times, because once he was alone, he was flying, but not in a battle, not in the field.”

“So, the McLaren could have stayed ahead. What I did not understand is why pitting Piastri after having pitted Norris, the team should have realised that the new tyres didn’t work for two or three laps. So why don’t you read what’s already happened and wait an extra two or three laps because the undercut did not work. There was no point pitting first.”

‘Jacques Villeneuve blasts McLaren’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jac...oscar-piastri/


Heartbreak for Oscar Piastri as surprise Suzuka win slips away
29 Mar 2026
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Oscar Piastri believes McLaren’s disappointment at finishing second in Japan shows just how far the team has come, even if he did miss out on the victory. “It would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without that [the Safety Car],” he told 1996 world champion Damon Hill during the post-race parc ferme interviews.

“I thought I could keep George behind. And just before the stops we were actually pulling away a little bit again. So, yeah, a shame that we never got to see what would have happened. I think for us at this point to be disappointed about finishing second is a pretty good place to be,” Piastri continued.

“So yeah, massive thanks to the team. I think we did a really good job of executing with what we had. I think we clearly still need to find a bit of performance. But we took every opportunity we had.”

‘Heartbreak’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/oscar-...tolen-lost-win


Oscar Piastri gets 'robbed' of F1 win at Japanese Grand Prix - but still calls it one of the best races of his career
McLaren driver started a Grand Prix for the first time in 2026
30 Mar 2026
MICHAEL PONTICELLO FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and IAN CHADBAND FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
MailOnline

Despite missing out on a first win of the 2026 season at the Japanese Grand Prix, Aussie F1 star Oscar Piastri is ecstatic with his second-place finish at Suzuka. The McLaren driver crossed the line 13.7 seconds behind Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli, with an ill-timed safety car ruining his chances of taking the chequered flag.

It's still a major step forward for the Melburnian, who crashed out of his home grand prix before it even began, then failed to start the main race in China due to mechanical problems. After completing a rocket start from third on the grid, Piastri overtook both George Russell and Antonelli to lead the race in Suzuka, until he came into the pits on lap 19.

Piastri was off the race track for about 23 seconds, with McLaren producing a quick 2.4-second pit stop. Unfortunately for the Aussie, when British driver Oliver Bearman crashed a few laps later, Antonelli was able to pit and lose around 10 seconds less than Piastri did thanks to the safety car being deployed.

'Robbed';

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...es-career.html


Piastri: Mercedes beatable – but we still have a ‘pretty big gap to fill’
29/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Speaking to reporters after the race, the McLaren charger speculated how his race would have unfolded with the Safety Car. “I would have loved to have seen how it would have panned out,” he said. “I think you know I need to look back and see how you know whether Kimi was quicker than George or similar pace. I think if he was the same pace as George then it would have been a pretty stressful afternoon.”

“I probably would have had both of them right on my gearbox but yeah I mean I think once Kimi had clean air clearly he was a lot faster than me so I’m not sure we would have won the race but I certainly would have loved to have found out.” “Yes,” he said when asked if Mercedes were beatable this year. “I think we know from last year that even when you have the best car you still need to operate it at an incredibly high level.”

“I think today on our side we did a really good job of that but I think it’s yeah it’s interesting to see you know when someone else has the fastest car that it’s not that straightforward. The fact that I could keep George behind for so long was really encouraging but you know we’re under no illusion we did everything right this weekend and we still got beaten by 15 seconds. So, we’ve got a pretty big gap to fill, I’m confident that we can get there but yeah we’ve still got some work to do.”

‘Piastri: Mercedes beatable’;

https://f1i.com/news/562125-piastri-...p-to-fill.html


Toto Wolff says McLaren have finally ‘understood’ how to fight Mercedes after Oscar Piastri podium
29 Mar 2026
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Toto Wolff says Mercedes are losing the advantage of their works status in their F1 battle with McLaren. Oscar Piastri challenged for the win at the Japanese Grand Prix before finishing second. Toto Wolff says McLaren have worked out how to optimise Mercedes power unit. No Mercedes one-two in Japan! Oscar Piastri takes second, with Charles Leclerc third.

Toto Wolff says McLaren are starting to understand how they can nullify that advantage. “Andrea said at the beginning of the season that as a works team, you have a little bit of an advantage,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “The other teams are catching up, how to harvest, how to deploy the energy. You could see today, we couldn’t get past the McLarens because they understood, and also the Ferraris had the right strategy in energy deployment. I think it’s good to watch.”

‘Toto Wolff says McLaren have finally understood’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/tot...iastri-podium/


Oscar Piastri delivers ‘beatable’ Mercedes verdict after F1 Japanese GP
29 Mar 2026
Anirban Aly Mandal
Motorsport Week

Mercedes are ‘beatable’ says Oscar Piastri after F1 Japanese GP. The W17 has arguably been the benchmark for the field so far. That said, the Japanese GP did end a particular streak for the Silver Arrows. Russell and Antonelli had scored consecutive one-twos in Australia and China until Piastri ended that run on Sunday.

The McLaren driver is “confident” his team can out-develop its rivals throughout 2026 and catch up to the German marque on track. “Yes,” Piastri replied when asked if he feels Mercedes were beatable this year.

‘Beatable’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...1-japanese-gp/

‘Finally see what you mean’: How Piastri one-liner and sickening smash exposed F1 flaw.
The speed delta was suddenly a monstrous 50 kilometres per hour — enormous for two drivers at full throttle.
30 Mar 2026
Michael Lamonato from Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)

A sickening crash at the Japanese Grand Prix for Oliver Bearman, who limped away from his smashed-up Haas having sustained a 50 g impact, has added further heat to F1’s new regulations over safety concerns. Bearman left the road at 308 kilometres per hour attempting to avoid what would have been an aeroplane accident with Franco Colapinto.

The Briton was chasing the Argentine for 17th place out of the hairpin. As he rounded turn 12, Colapinto’s rear lights flashed red twice, signifying he was out of battery. Bearman, meanwhile, was holding down his boost button. The speed delta was suddenly a monstrous 50 kilometres per hour — enormous for two drivers at full throttle. Bearman swung left in equal parts to try to make a move and to avoid a crash, but he ended up on the grass, where he lost control of the car and triggered the smash.

In Australia, Charles Leclerc infamously declared that the large speed differentials were akin to deploying the “mushroom” in iconic video game Mario Kart. Watching the Bearman crash in the Japan cooldown room, Oscar Piastri was reminded of his words. “I finally see what you mean now about the mushroom,” Piastri said to Leclerc. “It’s pretty accurate.”

‘Finally see what you mean’;

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsp...1cbc4cbdc2e209


Piastri sees no easy fix for high closing speeds between F1 cars
30th Mar 2026
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

Oscar Piastri foresees difficulty for the FIA in finding a way to prevent the potentially dangerous closing speeds between Formula 1 cars which led to Oliver Bearman’s crash yesterday. “We’ve spoken about that being a possibility since these cars were conceptualised,” said Piastri. F1’s current engine regulations were approved in 2022 and are due to remain in force until at least 2030.

“It’s what we’re stuck with, with the power units,” Oscar Piastri said. “There’s no easy way of getting around it.” He pointed out footage of the crash suggested Colapinto’s car was not ‘super-clipping’ at the time. From what I saw there was no flashing light from Colapinto [on the back of his car], so I don’t even think he was super-clipping either, which is obviously a bit of a concern,” said Piastri.

“I had a pretty close call in free practice with Nico [Hulkenberg] because he caught me about three times as quickly as I expected on the straight, and we were both at full throttle. I think there’s clearly an element of learning for us as drivers, and where the accident happened it’s not a place where you expect someone to come from so far behind and have such a big speed difference. And whilst we’re learning that, unfortunately things like this are probably going to happen, which is a shame.”

‘Dangerous closing speeds’;

https://www.racefans.net/2026/03/30/...tween-f1-cars/


F1 must find answers to safety crisis after Oliver Bearman’s escape but there are no easy fixes
Teams have five weeks before the next race in Miami and they will need every minute to fix a hugely complicated problem
30 Mar 2026
Giles Richards
The Irish Times

Oliver Bearman’s Haas car was travelling at 307km/h (191mp/h) when he was forced to veer off track as he came up behind the relatively slow-moving Alpine of Franco Colapinto. The closing speed between the two cars was 50km/h, a frightening pace. The scenario was one many had been warning about before the season had even begun. With the deployment of electrical energy, and its subsequent recovery now an integral part of F1, Bearman was using his boost mode while Colapinto was recovering energy, hence the big difference in speed.

There was no underhand behaviour. Colapinto was on a defensive line as they came round the right-hand curve toward Spoon corner, but he did not cut across. Bearman simply came up on him so fast he had to swerve off the track to avoid hitting him. He did so and then piled into the barriers with a 50G impact from which he remarkably emerged with only some bruising, although his car was in pieces.

Equally, as the Williams driver Carlos Sainz said, it was lucky it happened at Suzuka where there was wide space and run-off for Bearman to take to before he hit the barriers. What, Sainz wondered, would have been the result on high-speed circuits such as Baku, Singapore or Las Vegas, where walls that are feet away, rather than grass and gravel, delineate the track.

‘Andrea Stella: “I don’t think a simple solution exists”’;

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/202...no-easy-fixes/


Carlos Sainz Leads F1 Drivers' Call For Safety Changes After Oliver Bearman's Japanese GP Crash
29 Mar 2026
Agence-France Presse
NDTV.com

Formula 1 drivers called for changes to protect their safety after Haas's Ollie Bearman slammed into a barrier at high speed at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. Williams driver Carlos Sainz called on racing authorities to make sure there was no repeat of the incident.

"As drivers, we have been extremely vocal that the problem is not only qualifying, it's also racing, and we were warning this type of accident was always going to happen," said the Spaniard. "Here we were lucky there was an escape road -- now imagine going to Baku, Singapore, Las Vegas and having this type of closing speeds, crashes next to the walls."

‘Make sure there was no repeat of the incident’;

https://sports.ndtv.com/formula-1/ca...crash-11282241


F1 must listen to drivers not just teams over safety concerns - Sainz
29 Mar 2026
JOSH SUTTILL, SCOTT MITCHELL-MALM, JON NOBLE
The Race

Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director Carlos Sainz says he’s surprised fixing qualifying is F1’s main priority rather than addressing drivers’ concerns about the racing too. “That’s why I was so surprised when they said ‘no, we will sort out qualifying and leave the racing alone because it's exciting',” Sainz added. “As drivers, we've been extremely vocal that the problem is not only qualifying, it's also racing.”

“Here we were lucky there was an escape road. Now imagine going to Baku or going to Singapore or going to Vegas and having these kind of closing speeds and crashes next to the walls. I, or we as GPDA, we've warned the FIA these actions are going to happen a lot with this set of regulations and we need to change something soon if we don't want them to happen.

“It was 50G I heard, higher than my crash in Russia in 2015, I was 46G. Just in my mind what kind of crash would you have in Vegas, Baku, etc? I hope it serves as an example…to the teams and people that said the racing was OK, because the racing is not OK.”

‘Mushroom mode causing problems’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...oncerns-sainz/


Liam Lawson reveals major safety issue with 2026 F1 regulations
23 Mar 2026
Tiana Soans
Motorsport Week

The difference in speed on track can sometimes leave drivers with a limited opportunity to react, resulting in a collision. Whilst this is yet to happen this season, Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson warns that avoiding contact is incredibly difficult and extremely dangerous. Despite this, Liam Lawson believes teams will continue to do their own thing until the FIA steps in.

“I mean, at the moment, it’s sort of very inconsistent,” Liam Lawson highlighted “We’re doing lot. We obviously make our own decisions on when we charge and deploy, and it’s quite different between teams and engines. So, yeah, it obviously depends on what the FIA decide to do. But right now, there are a lot of differences that we have to be quite careful of. Because you can be having quite a good run on a car, and all of a sudden they start charging, and you’re right behind them with SLM open.”

It’s not a lot you can do to avoid them.” Lawson’s gripe with the new cars is yet another driver adding their name to the growing list on the grid that are unhappy with the new technical regulations. The drivers will be waiting for the data gathered by the FIA and the next steps as F1’s most political issue continues to divide the grid.


‘Major safety issue’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...1-regulations/


Ecclestone Predicts Crash As Fears Over New Regs Grow
12 Mar 2026
GrandPrix.com

Bernie Ecclestone has warned that Formula 1's new regulations will eventually cause a serious accident, joining a growing chorus of voices - from drivers to team principals to former champions - expressing alarm about the safety and sporting character of the 2026 cars. The 95-year-old former F1 supremo told Swiss newspaper Blick he was already convinced after just one race.

"There's going to be a real crash soon. The speed differences during battery charging - braking on the straights - will eventually surprise the driver behind, and then we'll have a big accident”, said Ecclestone. “I just hope I'm wrong this time.”

‘Convinced after just one race’;

https://www.grandprix.com/news/eccle...regs-grow.html

Leclerc told “you’ve got balls of steel” after stunning overtake on Russell in Japan.
Charles Leclerc received praise in a rather unusual fashion from his race engineer Bryan Bozzi following his superb overtake on George Russell.
29 Mar 2026
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com

Charles Leclerc found himself on the wrong side of the timing when the VSC was deployed following Oliver Bearman’s heavy crash, rejoining the track after his stop behind both his team-mate and George Russell.

However, a bold double move around the outside at Turn 1 - first on Lewis Hamilton and then on George Russell, after initially being passed by the latter - earned him high praise from Bozzi.

“You’ve got balls of steel,” was the Italian engineer’s blunt reaction, underlining the brilliance of the move pulled off by the number 16, reminiscent of a similar overtake seen in 2023.

“Balls of steel”;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/lecle...ssell-in-japan


Timo Glock urges Ferrari to ‘intervene’ into Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s battles
30 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Timo Glock believes Ferrari need to take action to ensure Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton don’t cost each other in future races. After Charles Leclerc managed to secure P3 at the Japanese Grand Prix, an irate Lewis Hamilton demanded an explanation as to why he experienced power issues that Leclerc didn’t. Lewis Hamilton wasn’t the only one unhappy with Ferrari, as Leclerc wanted to see massive improvement in the SF-26 over the five-week hiatus this season.

“The limit must be clearly there if the team finds itself at a disadvantage. If the two are fighting at the front, getting in each other’s way, and losing places as a result, then the team has to intervene somewhere. Charles Leclerc is still a bit more consistent, but Lewis Hamilton is definitely back where we all want to see him – with confidence and fun racing.” While Ferrari didn’t admonish either driver for their battle after the race, Hamilton possibly getting a new race engineer ahead of the Miami Grand Prix is a sign that they’re addressing the matter internally.

‘Ferrari need to take action’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/tim...ltons-battles/


Leclerc outsmarted ‘cheeky’ Mercedes tactics to secure Suzuka podium
29/03/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Reflecting on the early laps, the Ferrari driver noted the difficulty of keeping pace with the leader. “I mean, I was happy then, I was obviously focusing on Oscar,” Leclerc explained in the post-race press conference. Yet, the gap began to stretch almost immediately. But Oscar was very strong, actually, especially in the first lap. In the first lap, I was very surprised by how much he pulled away,” he added.

As the race settled into a rhythmic grind, Leclerc opted for a patient approach, hoping the aerodynamic benefits of clear track would eventually swing the pendulum back toward the Scuderia. “After that, I was just trying to be as close as possible to him, but he had a bit more pace,” he said. “I thought also the free air was making a bit of a difference, so I was just trying to wait for later on in the race, but it didn’t happen.”

‘Leclerc outsmarted ‘cheeky’ Mercedes tactics’;

https://f1i.com/news/562130-leclerc-...ka-podium.html


Charles Leclerc says George Russell’s Mercedes engineer was ‘being quite cheeky’ during Japanese GP
29 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Charles Leclerc revealed that Russell and his engineer intentionally misrepresented their strategy to confuse Ferrari, and while he didn’t fall for it, his lapse near the end almost cost him the race. “They (George and his engineer) were also being quite cheeky. His engineer was telling him things on the radio, my engineer was telling me what his engineer was telling him, but he was doing then the opposite.”

“That put me into quite a bit of pressure at one point. I think they told me, ‘Oh, he’s being told to use everything in the back straight,’ or maybe in the main straight, and he was doing the opposite of that. So, I understood pretty quickly and could defend, but at one point I got surprised in the last corner.”

‘Intentionally misrepresented their strategy’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/cha...g-japanese-gp/


Leclerc: ‘Cannot stand’ new F1 qualifying rules after mistake costs him on straight
28 Mar 2026
Laurence Edmondson
TSN

Charles Leclerc vented his frustration at Formula 1's new rules after a mistake in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix upset his power unit's energy deployment and cost him dear. "I honestly cannot stand these rules in qualifying," Leclerc said over team radio as he returned to the pits after his lap. "It's a f------ joke. I go faster in corners, I go on throttle earlier, for f---- sake, I lose everything in the straight."

"It's a f------ joke”;

https://www.tsn.ca/motorsports/artic...t-n1-48328483/


Charles Leclerc’s latest foul-mouthed rant over Ferrari radio in F1 Japanese GP qualifying
Charles Leclerc vents over team radio as F1 qualifying annoyance continues in Japan.
28 Mar 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Charles Leclerc has once again raged about his Formula 1 qualifying frustrations in a foul-mouthed rant over team radio at the Japanese Grand Prix. stayed pretty calm I would say it [heart rate] was a little bit higher when on the straights you start losing time because you are flat out and that’s where my heart rate goes particularly high,” he explained. “In the corner itself, these are kind of things that happen in Q3, especially with my driving style.”

“I know it happens very often in the past but it pays off more than it hurts, apart from with these cars, where it seems to bite you more than it pays off. I lost a big amount of speed in the straight. Not a huge amount, nothing close to what I had in Shanghai, but still I lost some time compared to my Q2 lap, which is very frustrating and something we will look at and try to understand.”

‘Vents over team radio’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109234...-f1-qualifying


Charles Leclerc praised for unseen Japanese GP gesture no other driver performed
Leclerc's gesture on the podium in Japan has been applauded.
30 Mar 2026
Jack Kenmare
SPORTbible

Charles Leclerc has received widespread praise following Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix after fan footage emerged of his gesture towards Princess Akiko of Japan. Away from the track, Leclerc showed his class on the Suzuka podium, when he took off his cap and respectfully bowed his head to greet Princess Akiko of Japan.

Akiko, who is the oldest daughter of Prince and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa and the niece of former Prime Minister Taro Aso, was in attendance for the race, just days after making a rare public appearance at the Monaco Rose Ball. Leclerc's gesture towards the princess has been praised by many.

One fan on social media wrote: "He's from Monaco. He knows how to interact with royalty," while another commented: "Such a class person. I hope he can fight for a championship this season.' A third said: "I mean he’s the only one on the podium who has a monarchy in his birth country, makes sense that he knows the etiquette." A fourth wrote: "A true gentlemen. Leclerc is a good dude," and a fifth added: "He's such a prince. What a gentleman."

‘Gesture towards Princess Akiko of Japan’;

https://www.sportbible.com/f1/charle...98665-20260330

George Russell laments 'one thing after another' following Suzuka disaster.
George Russell was not pleased with the series of unfortunate events he endured during the Japanese Grand Prix.
30 Mar 2026
Samuel Coop & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Reflecting on his misfortune, the six-time grand prix winner told media, including RacingNews365: "Obviously, our starts: normal, poor, Safety car, one lap different, and we'd have won the race. So that's still part of racing, but thereafter, everything was just issues after one another."

"I couldn't recharge my battery at the safety car restart, so Lewis just flew by me, and then obviously had the issue later in the race with Charles and the battery, where I just had no speed, and obviously passed me," he said. "So yeah, just one thing after another."

'One thing after another';

https://racingnews365.com/george-rus...uzuka-disaster


George Russell details how Safety Car and battery issues derailed Suzuka win chance.
30 Mar 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

George Russell rued a Japanese Grand Prix where he felt that everything which could go wrong, did go wrong for him. “I mean, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” said Russell of his race. “Obviously, we both made bad starts. Mine was slightly less bad. Safety Car timing.”

“Restart, I got a harvest limit, which meant I couldn’t recharge my battery, similar to what’s happened to some drivers at their race starts. I had no battery to restart. Lewis passed me, and then faced another battery problem when Charles passed me. So as I said, one lap different, and we’d be having probably a very different conversation.”

‘Derailed’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/george...ssues-mercedes


Mercedes reveals software bug behind Russell’s Suzuka setback.
29 Mar 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Mercedes left Suzuka with another victory in hand but also with a clear list of technical lessons to absorb, as Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin dissected a Japanese Grand Prix that delivered both triumph and frustration for the team. George Russell pitted just before the Safety Car was deployed, rejoining behind both Antonelli and Oscar Piastri. The restart then triggered a cascade of issues. “As it happened, he dropped to P3 and lost a further place to Lewis when he hit the harvesting limit too early in the lap and had insufficient battery for the restart.”

What followed was even more unusual — and far more costly. Shovlin revealed that Russell’s sudden loss of power, which allowed Charles Leclerc to sweep past, was caused by a rare software glitch. “He then had another frustrating issue where a bug in the software code, triggered by a button press and a gear shift at the same time, caused the power unit to go into superclip and charge the battery which allowed Charles to pass.” Russell fought back to fourth, but the team acknowledged the sting of a lost podium — and potentially a lost victory — after a weekend where the Briton had shown strong pace.

Looking ahead, Shovlin made clear that Mercedes has work to do. “Clearly there is a lot that we need to work on and understand in the next few weeks. We've made a great start to the season, but our competitors are closing in.” The upcoming break before Miami offers a valuable window. “Happily, we have several areas of improvement and we will make the maximum use of the gap in the calendar to develop in the places where we are not strong enough.”

‘Software bug’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28398


George Russell delivers 'no momentum' verdict after recent painful ordeals.
George Russell has lost control of the F1 drivers' championship battle — but he is not worried.
31 Mar 2026
Samuel Coop & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

George Russell insists there is "no momentum to be carried" into the Miami Grand Prix, as there is now a five-week break beforehand. Despite the loss of points, Russell is not concerned with the situation, given how much racing is left over the remainder of the campaign.

"It's three races down in 22, and, as I said, one lap different, and the victory would have been on my side, and I'm confident of that," the British driver told media, including RacingNews365. "And in China, without the qualifying issue, maybe... You know, I was three-tenths ahead in sprint qualifying, so maybe I could have been on pole there and won that race."

He also highlighted how the lack of Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix also means there is a circuit break in momentum, too, with a "reset" ahead of the trip to Florida. "So it's just how it turns out; that's racing," the 28-year-old said. "There's now a four-week break, so there's no momentum to be carried, reset and go again for the next race."

'No momentum';

https://racingnews365.com/george-rus...ainful-ordeals


British media tear into Russell’s 'miserable afternoon' at Suzuka.
30 Mar 2026
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com

The British media have weighed in on George Russell’s poor Suzuka weekend, where he also lost the championship lead to his team-mate.

The Guardian: The Guardian, the very outlet at the centre of the Suzuka weekend controversy after Max Verstappen abruptly brushed off one of its journalists during Thursday’s media session, underlined how Russell now needs to be wary of his team-mate, with Antonelli riding a wave of momentum and confidence.

The Sun: The Sun highlighted the frustration of the British driver, who came into the season as the clear title favourite, and how misfortune has dealt him a cruel blow over the past two races.
Daily Mail: The Daily Mail pointed out how Russell endured a “miserable afternoon” in Suzuka, having hoped to halt his team-mate’s momentum, which instead only continued to build

‘British media’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/briti...tle-lead-slips


Mercedes are being slammed for the video they posted of George Russell & Toto Wolff after Japan …
30 Mar 2026
Adam Conroy
Give Me Sport

Mercedes have been slammed by fans after they released a post-race 'debrief' on their social media, with George Russell and boss Toto Wolff discussing the issues experienced during the race. Having started from second place on the grid, Russell would finish the race at Suzuka in fourth and aired some of his grievances in the debrief video, which fans have labelled as "embarrassing" and a "PR disaster."

The video begins with Russell commenting, "So that was a terrible day," with Wolff in agreement, believing that the problems started in qualifying. This has led fans to call out the Mercedes principal for not fixing the problems prior to the race, with one claiming: "Only conversation required should be on the set-up before qualifying. Cost him [Russell] in qualifying and then in the race."

‘Slammed’;

https://www.givemesport.com/mercedes...f-japan-gp-f1/

Norris reveals how McLaren managed to up its game in Suzuka following a tough start to the season.
McLaren arrived at Suzuka simply relieved to have both cars on the grid after a turbulent build up — and left with a haul of points, a near miss at victory, and a clear sense that their 2026 package is beginning to bite.
29 Mar 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Lando Norris highlighted his launch as a key moment. “I got a great start, and we managed to show a bit more of our competitive pace, especially in clean air.” That pace became more evident as the race unfolded, particularly once he settled into tyre management and began closing on the Ferraris. “I'm pleased with how we managed the tyres and that we managed to pass Lewis in the final laps.”

One of the most encouraging signs for McLaren was the progress in power unit deployment — an area that had previously held them back. Norris made a point of acknowledging it: “We've clearly made significant progress with our power unit deployment, and this track suited our car well.”

With Piastri finishing second and Norris fifth, the team banked a strong result that reflects both performance and resilience. “Second and fifth is a good result, and a sign of the hard work the team is putting in, so thanks to them,” Norris said. “It’s a sign we're heading in the right direction.”

‘2026 package is beginning to bite’;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28399


Lando Norris reveals why he struggled more than Oscar Piastri in Japan
Lando Norris on what hampered him at the Japanese Grand Prix.
1 Apr 2026
Lewis Larkam , Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Lando Norris says getting caught up in dirty air cost him a better finish during Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix. “It was a good race from my side,” Norris told media including Crash.net. “Of course, it looks like it maybe could have been better with Oscar finishing second.”

“That's a very good thing for the team. He drove a very good race, and probably deserved to win the race, honestly, if it wasn't for the safety car. So unfortunate from that side, that would have been good to see.”

“I think I was just more in the mess. With Oscar in clean air, the clean air around here was crazy strong. Even when I overtook Lewis at the end, I expected to not really go much quicker and I went like fifth or six tenths quicker quite easily, so it’s crazy how much that helps.”

‘What hampered him’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109282...-piastri-japan


Lando Norris questions driver influence as F1 2026 regulation talks loom
30 Mar 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

With crunch talks looming over the F1 2026 regulations, Lando Norris claimed that it “doesn’t matter” what the drivers say. As the sport heads into its April break, Norris was asked by Viaplay what he wants to see change in the regulations, by the time that the Miami Grand Prix comes around.

“There’s no point in saying it, honestly,” he replied. “It doesn’t matter what we say.” Norris was asked why he believes that to be the case. “Because as long as the fans enjoy it, that’s all that matters.” Told by the interviewer that ‘the drivers need to enjoy it was well’, Norris replied: “Clearly not,” laughing as he walked away.

“It doesn’t matter what we say”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-...er-what-we-say


Norris slams ‘yo-yo’ racing as drivers lose control
31/03/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Reigning F1 world champion Lando Norris has sounded the alarm over the sport’s new-era power units, painting a picture of a sport slipping out of the drivers’ hands and into the control of unpredictable energy systems. The sophisticated battery deployment of the new-generation power units has become a ghost in the machine, acting with a mind of its own.

“I mean, you have two sides of it,” Norris explained when pressed on necessary rule changes. “From a race point of view, we have more of the safety side, which might have been the cause of today. There’s the racing point of view, and honestly, some of the racing… I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis, it’s just the battery deploys when I don’t want it to deploy, and I can’t control it. So, I overtake him, and then I have no battery, so he just flies past. This is not racing. This yo-yoing, even if he says it’s not.”

‘‘yo-yo’ racing’;

https://f1i.com/news/562300-norris-s...e-control.html


McLaren addresses major flaw flagged by Verstappen and Norris under regulation
1 Apr 2026
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has addressed the overtaking flaw highlighted by both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen during the Japanese Grand Prix. What happens on a track like this, where you have three straights one after the other, is that you won’t have enough energy for all three. So you kind of have to pick when you want to attack or defend,” Stella said.

“We saw today that, for instance, when following Ferrari, the right place to attack was between Spoon and the chicane. There, if you press the boost button, you’re going to have an extension of the MGU-K deployment. This will use a lot of your energy and make the speed approaching 130R very high. We’re talking about 340 km/h,” he further explained.

“At 340, 130R is no longer a flat-out corner. So you don’t only lift because you want to recharge; you lift because otherwise you would have a problem from a stability point of view. So lifting in 130R is not only related to energy management, it’s a grip-limited condition. Once you lift, and, for instance, you have not been able to overtake, then if you go back on power, you will have to comply with some regulations that force you to deploy the electrical engine,” he continued.

‘McLaren addresses major flaw’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/mclar...der-regulation

Jacques Villeneuve claims Lewis Hamilton ‘paid the price’ for Ferrari issue he saw in Japanese GP.
Jacques Villeneuve claims Ferrari didn’t exploit ‘race craft’ advantage over Mercedes.
31 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Jacques Villeneuve spoke on the F1 post-race show after the Japanese Grand Prix, where he questioned why Ferrari weren’t able to deliver against Mercedes. He noted that Ferrari’s cars being racier gives the drivers an advantage which they weren’t able to exploit, primarily due to the lightness of the rear, pointing out how it cost Lewis Hamilton and almost Charles Leclerc as well.

“That car is very racy. The drivers can play with it, they can fight, and it reacts very quickly even to acceleration. So, it gives them a better sense of race craft than the two Mercedes drivers. Because every time the Mercedes got in a fight, the two of them, they would either lose out, or lose an extra position with a car that’s a lot faster, and that’s the odd thing.”

“But we see the Ferrari has got a much lighter rear end. And sometimes they get caught out with that. You could see Leclerc sliding out of the corners more. Lewis, as well, a little bit too much, and he had to pay the price at the end of the race. And that’s a trend we have from the beginning of the season with the Ferrari, and that will carry on. Now, we’re getting on tracks that are very different, less high-speed corners, and it should help them.”

‘Lewis Hamilton paid the price’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jac...n-japanese-gp/


Hamilton’s Japanese GP struggle diagnosed by Ferrari in key assessment
30 Mar 2026
Samson Ero
GPblog.com

Frederic Vasseur has identified the reason behind Lewis Hamilton’s loss of competitiveness during the final stretch of the Japanese Grand Prix. “What is clear this season is that as soon as you are no longer in overtake mode, you lose a bit of pace, and you end up in a train on track,” Vasseur explained.

“When he lost the one-second gap on the car ahead, it became a bit more difficult. We know that we have a deficit of performance in the straight line and that we have to work on it. But it is what it is,” he concluded.

‘Struggle diagnosed’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/hamil...key-assessment


Ferrari’s Miami Grand Prix engine update could fix Lewis Hamilton’s ‘severe’ superclipping issue
2 April 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Ferrari set to introduce engine software upgrade at Miami Grand Prix. Paolo Filisetti of Gazetta is reporting that Ferrari are looking to make a software upgrade for the engine ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. This update, which will improve the team’s battery management, charging strategies, and energy deployment, could help address Ferrari’s superclipping concerns.

“In time for Miami, Ferrari will bring a profoundly revised and corrected software in terms of electric charge management, charging strategies and the use of stored energy. Essentially, new algorithms that can give Leclerc and Hamilton the tools to avoid seeing the SF-26’s potential performance severely sacrificed due to superclipping…” Paolo Filisetti of Gazetta added that Ferrari are facing a time crunch ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to get the update ready.

Paolo Filisetti added that work at Maranello is ongoing, as Ferrari staffers are working tirelessly to get it done. “As mentioned, the implementation of new algorithms will therefore be, at the PU level, the only cause for concern is whether the Scuderia will be able to carry out the change in time for Miami. For this reason, Ferrari’s engine department and electronics department are working vigorously to also arrive at an on-track verification of the validity of the new algorithms before the race in Florida.”

‘Lewis Hamilton’s ‘severe’ superclipping issue’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fer...lipping-issue/


Christijan Albers thinks Ferrari gave Lewis Hamilton ‘a slap on the wrist’ for ‘funeral’ interview
31 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

After Lewis Hamilton went on a rant about Ferrari not addressing his battery issues during the Japanese Grand Prix, Christijan Albers expects some repercussions. Hamilton demanded an explanation for his battery issues, especially after seeing Charles Leclerc seemingly not suffer the same fate. This frustration with the possibly preferential treatment could lead to Ferrari intervening between Leclerc and Hamilton.

Speaking on the De Telegraaf F1 podcast, Albers noted that Ferrari are likely to punish Hamilton for his comments, as they would likely face the same issue with the FIA. “I don’t think that’s very strong of him. He’s happy in China, for example, and then we come to Japan, he has an interview, and it feels like conducting a funeral. The coffin is coming…”

“That is clear (Ferrari need to be positive) because at some point you also have to get out of that negative environment. We can keep whining about that battery and all those things. On the other hand, at some point, we can hardly analyse a race anymore. They are getting a slap on the wrist from above. Ferrari naturally have to be careful. They also want to maintain that positivity.”

‘Funeral interview’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/chr...ral-interview/


Hamilton questions Ferrari after mysterious power loss costs him Suzuka podium
29 Mar 2026
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com

Lewis Hamilton has revealed a mysterious power loss cost him a shot at the podium in the closing laps of the Japanese Grand Prix. The Briton wants answers from Ferrari as he doesn’t understand why his SF-26 was lacking power compared to Leclerc’s car.

“I just struggled with power in the race. Some reason I was just down,” he said. “I was in a defense. I was defending the whole time. The guys all around me, just seemed to have more power today.”

“So I need to try and understand why that is the case, whether my engine was down or what. I need to understand that. Somehow, Charles had more power than me today, in the same car. So I need to understand why that is. He did a good job to get to third place. But, yeah, lacking power.”

“Somehow, Charles had more power than me today, in the same car”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lewis-...ferrari-podium


Jolyon Palmer says Kimi Antonelli made Lewis Hamilton look like a ‘backmarker’ in Japan
2 Apr 2026
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Speaking in commentary for F1TV, Palmer said he was reminded of the 2014 season, the start of the turbo/hybrid era. Mercedes won 16 out of 19 races with an average gap of more than 20 seconds to the rest of the field. Jolyon Palmer alarmed by ease of Mercedes’ overtakes in Japan. Antonelli re-passed Hamilton almost immediately at the start of the race, cruising by on the pit straight on lap two with the aid of his battery. “It’s like 2014 again, isn’t it?” Palmer said. “The Mercedes look like they’ve got a second on anyone, the way they are cruising past a car a lap. These are their nearest rivals!”

“They can’t muck around, Russell and Antonelli, because they’re racing each other. It’s like they’re clearing backmarkers at this stage, but it’s just frontrunning positions. They have to do it efficiently, because everytime Russell doesn’t make the move, there’s the risk that Antonelli will make the move and get onto his gearbox.” There is a school of thought that Mercedes are holding back some engine performance to deny their rivals development aids. The ADUO system is available to teams who are more than two percent behind in the engine department.

While this is unlikely to work, the idea that Mercedes have speed in reserve, despite taking every pole position, every win and five out of six possible podiums, is ominous. One alternative motive might be reliability. Rumours in China suggested Mercedes were only at 70% capacity because they aren’t yet sure the power unit can cope with maximum attack. During the first stint of the Japanese GP, it felt as if Mercedes were laying down their authority. But while Antonelli built a commanding 13.7-second lead after the safety car, Russell was unable to pass Leclerc for the final podium place, which offers some hope to the chasing pack.

“It’s like 2014 again, isn’t it?”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jol...rker-in-japan/

Gasly held off Verstappen at Suzuka with ‘best car of my career’.
“I think, for now, this is the best car I’ve had in my career, perhaps alongside the 2021 AlphaTauri,” he pondered.
31/03/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

The sparks were flying at Suzuka – and right in the thick of it, Pierre Gasly delivered one of the most defiant drives of the season, fending off none other than Max Verstappen in a frantic duel that left the paddock buzzing. It was a long race, I must say, with a lot of pressure,” Gasly told Canal+. “Early in the race, I was quite comfortable with the mediums. But there have been many safety cars this year, so I knew it was bound to happen at some point.”

“The second part of the race was a bit different. He put huge pressure on me throughout the race, so I really had to focus to try and be as fast as possible – there was no management with those tyres – and make no mistake, because he was very, very close. He managed to stay quite close, so they did a bit better than us on hard tyres. But in the end, we managed to keep him behind and get that seventh place.”

“I think we’ve got a good baseline,” Gasly continued. “I’m quite happy to see that the car has seemed to work well over the first few weekends, we’ve managed to have performance all around. We know our limitations and what we need to work on. But we have one month ahead of us, we’re working on stuff for Miami, so overall it bodes well.”

‘Best car of my career’;

https://f1i.com/news/562331-gasly-he...my-career.html


Alpine’s 2026 reset delivers as Pierre Gasly leads stunning rise past Red Bull
2 Apr 2026
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com

After spending F1 2025 propping up the back of the pack, Alpine has even bested Red Bull at the start of 2026 as Team Enstone eyes a potential fourth-place turnaround. Noises heading into the winter were positive: both Nielsen and racing director Dave Greenwood expressed some confidence that things would look better in ’26, as the A526 project was hitting its performance and weight targets.

Of course, given Alpine finished well adrift of the rest in 2025, 48 points behind the ninth-placed team, almost anything would represent a step forward, but the start to 2026 has vindicated much of the decision-making last year, as Team Enstone has vaulted up the rankings to place fifth overall after the first three rounds. There hasn’t been any luck involved in this either. In fact, Alpine could very well have been fourth if it hadn’t been for Franco Colapinto being knocked down a few spots by Haas’ Esteban Ocon during the Chinese Grand Prix, having put in a storming weekend in Shanghai after a quiet first round in Australia netted Pierre Gasly 10th place.

Given that the aim for this year was merely to close the gap and re-establish itself in the midfield, Briatore’s latest stated aims as of the Chinese Grand Prix suggest Alpine is even outperforming its own expectations. “To finish in front of [Audi], if it is possible [and] close to [Red Bull], if it’s possible!” Briatore said of the team’s mindset for the year. “This is what we’re looking for. We’re looking to be P7, P8, P6, this range, this range of the competition we have. We have the top four teams, they are very, very strong, and after that is all the rest. So fighting to be in front of all the rest.”

‘Alpine’s 2026 reset’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/pierre...paces-red-bull


Questionable Pierre Gasly decision suddenly starting to make sense
Despite the massive struggles from Alpine in recent Formula 1 seasons, Pierre Gasly was quick to extend his contract into 2028.
22 Mar 2026
Siddharth Bharani-Dharan|
Beyond the Flag (Weblog)

Since joining Alpine for the 2023 Formula 1 season, Pierre Gasly has consistently outperformed his teammates, shining even though Alpine have had one of the slowest cars on the grid. Through the struggles, the French driver still chose to extend his contract by two years this past September.

The French driver’s contract was set to expire at the end of the 2026 season. However, Gasly appeared quite keen to extend his contract through 2028, a decision that many questioned at the time. But perhaps reviewing data on A526 and the Mercedes engine were convincing factors in committing to two more seasons with a struggling team.

Nevertheless, the A526 is quite an improvement over its predecessors. With the Enstone-based team having gotten this regulation set right, the hope is that they can maintain this level and even push themselves forward over the next few seasons of Gasly’s tenure.

‘Questionable Pierre Gasly decision’;

https://beyondtheflag.com/questionab...e-01km1gjpatmz


Pierre Gasly’s bold aims highlight Alpine’s stunning F1 rebound
Pierre Gasly has set his sights high after a strong start to the 2026 Formula 1 season for Alpine.
4 Apr 2026
Sam Hall , Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Pierre Gasly has set the ambitious target of mixing it with McLaren and Ferrari at the front of the Formula 1 field with a raft of mid-season updates at Alpine. “I think to me, it’s not going to happen over the course of a month, but I would like to see ourselves after the summer break being a bit more of a player in that group with McLaren and Ferrari,” said Gasly.

“In Japan, the gap was still too big for me to really take part in that fight, but seven seconds over 28 laps, you’re looking at three-fourth tenths, and I think that’s where we need to look at. The car was a bit tricky in the race, I wasn’t as comfortable as in quali. I was struggling a bit in high speed, which we know is a bit of a limitation for us at the moment.”

“So we know what we’ve got to improve, which is good. We know we don’t need to care about the power unit, we get the best of what is out there, and we just need to focus on our chassis and what we do. I think we’ve got a good package, we’ve just got to make it better. I’m just happy because the car seems to work on all types of tracks really, so I think there’s definitely a good boost of confidence,” added Gasly.

‘Ambitious target of mixing it with McLaren and Ferrari’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109286...ing-f1-rebound


Gasly consistency sparking Alpine betting boost
Three races down and Gasly has picked up points in every one this season.
3 April 2026
Formula One - Official Site

Pierre Gasly is currently priced at 25/1 (26.0, +2500) to win a Grand Prix this season, which shows plenty of respect for a man who seems to make the best of chaotic situations, including his victory in the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

However, Gasly should continue to be of interest in the top six finish market for individual Grand Prix races, while a podium isn’t out of the question at some point and could be worth a speculative bet in races where rain is forecast.

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix is not until November 8, but that could be a date to circle on the calendar with regards to backing Gasly. The Frenchman has picked up points in five of his last six visits, including two podium finishes.

‘Alpine betting boost’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...d6wpVB9GZUN9gB


Sunday league football team in Stratford-upon-Avon stunned after Formula One star SPONSORS them for the season - as surprise link is revealed
28 March 2026
LEWIS BROWNING, SPORTS REPORTER
MailOnline

A Sunday league football team with a little over 400 followers on social media has been sponsored by Formula One driver Pierre Gasly in a bizarre move. It appears, though, that he has interests away from racing. As of this season, the Frenchman has been sponsoring Stratford-upon-Avon-based weekend league team Shottery United, who play in the Evesham & District Sunday Football League Division Two.

Announcing the news to their 431 followers on Instagram, the club wrote: 'Shottery United FC are proud to announce its new kit, sponsored by Formula 1 Driver Pierre Gasly! 'Thank you Pierre and his team for making this happen and for the continued support.' Fans in the comments were left stunned, with one writing: 'Crazy,' accompanied by two laughing face emojis. 'Play up shottery blues!'

Sam Weaver, who co-runs the club, said: 'Alpine are our local Formula One team and a few of our lads work there in various roles. 'Pierre loves his football and he decided to sponsor us, so we managed to place his name on our new kit.' Gasly also reportedly sends the team video messages and voice notes to offer his support, while he intends to attend a match when he can.

‘Formula 1 Driver Pierre Gasly sponsoring Shottery United’;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-revealed.html

Verstappen’s ignored 2023 warning as Piastri responds to ‘close call’ – roundup.
Max Verstappen’s 2023 warning about the F1 2026 rules resurfacing as Oscar Piastri responds after a “pretty close call” saw the McLaren driver hit with an official warning from the FIA.
4 Apr 2026
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Saturday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Max Verstappen’s 2023 warning about the F1 2026 rules resurfacing as Oscar Piastri responds after a “pretty close call” saw the McLaren driver hit with an official warning from the FIA.

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has been a vocal critic of the F1 2026 rules, warning that his unhappiness with the regulations could drive him away from Formula 1. Sour grapes? Not when he’s been complaining about the regulations for nearly three years. Revisit what Verstappen said about the rules back in the summer of 2023.

‘Close call’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...tri-punishment


‘Mushroom mode’ – Max Verstappen weighs in on ‘very dangerous’ Bearman crash
3 Apr 2026
Oliver Harden
PlanetF1.com

Max Verstappen says Oliver Bearman’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix is simply “what you get” when the F1 2026 cars enter “mushroom mode.” Bearman was taken to the medical centre at Suzuka last weekend after a terrifying accident at Spoon Curve.

Verstappen said of Bearman’s accident: “It’s what you get with these things. One guy is completely stuck with no power, basically, and then the other one uses the mushroom mode. It can be 50-60 kilometres difference. Really big.” Asked if he experienced similar incidents with deployment at Suzuka, he added: “I don’t think so. I had a few moments when I boosted past very heavily, but luckily I was already committed to one side.”

Put to him that drivers must reconsider how they approach racing situations given the extreme closing speeds in 2026, Verstappen replied: “Yeah, I know. It can be very dangerous. It looks like moving in the braking zone or moving in general, but it also happens when you have that quick acceleration. You can have a big crash.”

‘Mushroom mode’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/max-ve...crash-reaction


Max Verstappen handed important backing as FIA and F1 face fresh criticism
Max Verstappen's open criticism of the new F1 rules has ruffled feathers inside the paddock, but a crucial ally is standing by his side.
4 Apr 2026
RacingNews365 Staff
RacingNews365

Not everyone in F1 has welcomed Max Verstappen’s outspoken criticism of the new regulations, but Alex Wurz says he fully understands the four-time world champion's position. "Max is actually one of the best members of the GPDA," Wurz (former F1 driver and current chairperson of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA))said on the Lift and Roast podcast. "He's also clear that he wants to stay, because he truly cares about this sport. He loves it.”

"Within the GPDA, all 22 drivers are members, so in that sense, there's not much disagreement. But our platform is now being used purely to let them speak with one voice, and the rule-makers need to listen to that. The drivers do it because they are athletes, because they are ambitious and want to win. And winning means working hard and giving everything. Whether one says it's enjoyable and another says it's hard work doesn't matter much.”

“They're there because they have talent and want to win — it's the pinnacle of motorsport. These are still the fastest cars." Even so, Wurz made it clear he sides with Verstappen's overall stance. "But I understand Max as well, 100%," the Austrian added. "I've said it before, but we all need to listen to him. I'm on his side. We're only at the beginning, so there's still a lot of discussion. We all need to get used to it, the teams as well. But it will improve."

‘Important backing’;

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...resh-criticism


F1 journalist apologised to Max Verstappen after his head ‘dropped’ in Japanese GP media pen
30 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Max Verstappen ‘dropped’ his head when asked about motivation during difficult season. According to The Race, after the Japanese Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had an uncomfortable exchange with yet another reporter. While not as hostile as his previous exchanges, Verstappen visibly showed his disappointment when a local reporter asked him how he keeps his motivation during this difficult portion of his career.

“After being asked for probably the umpteenth time about his motivation post-race, Verstappen’s head briefly dropped. And when the Japanese journalist who asked the question apologised, Verstappen replied: ‘No, it’s a valid question. Every day I wake up, I convince myself again. And I try.'”

‘Verstappen visibly showed his disappointment’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/f1-...-gp-media-pen/


Max Verstappen sends clear message: 'You don't need to feel sorry for me'
Max Verstappen is not enjoying the new F1 regulations, and his Red Bull is far from competitive. However, he does not want sympathy.
1 Apr 2026
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Max Verstappen insists people need not "feel sorry" for him amid his tortured start to the F1 season, with the four-time drivers' champion yet to finish inside the top five. Three rounds into the campaign, the Dutchman finds himself languishing in ninth in the standings, unfamiliar territory for him.

Not only has the RB22 proven difficult to tame, but Verstappen has also been consistently outspoken over his vehement dislike of the new F1 regulations. His criticisms have been nothing short of abject since pre-season testing, contending that he has not enjoyed a single lap in the new cars.

However, he is adamant that he will "be fine" regardless of what decision he makes in the coming months, with retirement at the end of 2026 seemingly suddenly an option on the table. "But it's a bit sad to be honest that we're even talking about this. It is what it is. You don't need to feel sorry for me. I'll be fine."

‘Not enjoyed a single lap in the new cars’;

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...l-sorry-for-me


Red Bull do not have the budget to fix Max Verstappen’s 2026 car without sacrificing 2027.
Red Bull have not allocated a large enough slice of their cost cap budget to resolve all of the issues with the RB22, without it affecting the development of their 2027 F1 car.
3 Apr 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Max Verstappen called his Red Bull RB22 “undriveable” after qualifying in Japan, as he only came P11 due to his car’s horrendous balance problems. A round earlier, Verstappen called Sprint Qualifying in China a “disaster”, as well, because of Red Bull’s lack of balance in the corners. But Mekies is now facing having to weigh up Red Bull investing in developing a B-spec RB22 or writing off the 2026 campaign already and making 2027 their focus. That is according to SoyMotor, which claims Red Bull view their chassis and aero package as the priorities to fix.

F1 increased the cost cap for the 2026 season, given this season marked the start of a new regulations era with new engine, chassis, aero and tyre rules. The 11 teams can spend up to $215m (£163m) in 2026 on funding their efforts, excluding a few aspects like driver salaries. Driver wages and the wages of the three highest-paid staff members are two of the aspects omitted from the F1 cost cap, along with marketing and hospitality costs. And on top of the cost cap, Red Bull also need to weigh up how much of their wind tunnel time they will use.

Only McLaren (224) and Mercedes (240) are allowed fewer wind tunnel runs in the first half of 2026 than Red Bull (256), as the allocations are based on their final positions in the 2025 constructors’ standings. Alpine, who finished last in the 2025 standings, can enjoy 368 runs.

‘Red Bull RB22 “undriveable”’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/red...rificing-2027/

Martin Brundle claims driver safety is the FIA’s ‘fourth’ priority after Oliver Bearman crash.
Brundle claimed that the FIA have prioritised the fans, the marshals, and the pitstop crew far more than the drivers.
2 April 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Martin Brundle suggests FIA has not prioritised driver safety with new regulations. Speaking on Sky Sports’ F1 show, Martin Brundle spoke about Oliver Bearman’s crash and how the FIA is going to respond to these concerns. Brundle claimed that the FIA have prioritised the fans, the marshals, and the pitstop crew far more than the drivers.

“It’s a big issue for the FIA. Driver safety is sacrosanct, of course. But I think they’re fourth in line in terms of priorities. The top priority is the fans because they’re paying to be there. They haven’t bought into any element of risk. And they have to be protected. Next up is the marshals, the corner workers, because they’re not being paid to be there, but they assume an element of risk because they’re trackside. Next are the pitstop crew. And finally, the drivers.”

“The cars are pretty safe. Everybody’s health and safety is sacrosanct, but the FIA will now have to make a change for Miami because the drivers have voiced this. It’s very much out there. I would be pretty certain that they’ve put that in writing through the Grand Prix drivers’ association as well. If a car flies into the crowd now and they haven’t done something, shown some due diligence on this, then the FIA will be in for the high jump. They will not have to do something, listen to the drivers and take away some of it…”

‘Driver safety is the FIA’s ‘fourth’ priority’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mar...bearman-crash/


Brundle EXPOSES The FIA! - His SHOCKING Discovery On The 2026 Cars PROVES It!
Apr 4, 2026
Slipstream Stories and Grid Scope

Martin Brundle just invoked one of the oldest rules in Formula One and aimed it directly at the 2026 cars. Nine words that have ended careers, banned technology, and thrown teams out of Grands Prix are now being applied to a power unit that overrides the driver's own throttle input. The Suzuka incident with Norris and Hamilton was the spark. What Brundle built from it might be the most serious legal challenge the sport has faced in thirty years. Thirty Years of Article 27.1

You Tube Comments [Without Prejudice]
@kdfox2007: This is the first explanation that makes sense to me. If I were an F1 driver right now, I’d refuse to drive. Someone is going to be killed
@ermarch: Bearman owes his life to the fact that it happened on a dry track.
@AG_Nex: Not even is F1 a mario kart joke now, but flat dangerous... it is just a matter of time until someone dies.
@tonyc4950: Everyone makes mistakes but for the FIA to not listen is just arrogance
@LimitPro1: Liberty Media too

@badwolf7777: The FIA have been a disgrace for years, fixing races, fixing championships, obfuscating and letting some car owners bully them.
@BrokenBoomBap: After watching Bearmans crash, I think there will be fatal incident this year.
@UnimatrixOne: Disaster is waiting...
@PetervanGinneken: All very true, but this bit of kit was not developed by any one team. It was done by the FIA.

‘SHOCKING Discovery’;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuRezW7YeWY


Brundle warns FIA must act after Norris ‘uncontrolled’ overtake claim on Hamilton
2 Apr 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, issued a statement at Suzuka, spelling out its plans to evaluate the regulations over April, after Haas’ Oliver Bearman crashed out heavily at Spoon during the race. Bearman had closed in rapidly on a slower-moving Franco Colapinto in the Alpine.

But rather than this incident, it was something else that “really worried” Brundle, the former F1 driver turned Sky F1 pundit, was Norris commenting that he had unwillingly overtaken Hamilton’s Ferrari. “I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis, it’s just about the battery deploys, and I don’t want it to deploy, but I can’t control it. So I overtake him, and then I have no battery, so he just flies past.”

With a section of the drivers having put concerns over F1 2026 into the public domain, Brundle says that the FIA must ensure change for the season resumption in Miami. Speaking on Sky F1’s ‘The F1 Show’ podcast, Brundle said: “One thing that really worried me was Lando Norris sang, ‘I didn’t want to overtake Lewis Hamilton, but my battery decided it did, and then I had nothing to defend with’. “Now, there’s a regulation in Formula 1. It’s been around forever. It’s very simple and far reaching. The driver must drive the car alone and unaided.” Article 27.1.

‘Article 27.1’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-202...lewis-hamilton


Martin Brundle is ‘really worried’ about 2026 F1 rules after Lando Norris showed ‘fundamental’ issue
1 April 2026
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

“Some of the overtakes, obviously, were too battery-driven,” he told the F1 Show. “Others, I really enjoyed the action. I enjoyed, once again, seeing the Ferraris pouring into turn one side-by-side, almost touching, really good, clean, hard racing. It’s in there, it’s available if we can just get it right, get the battery, the deployment and all the words we hate actually using sorted out.”

“I’m really pleased I got up early in the morning to watch the race… but overall: good, can do better. The big standout, and the thing that has been done well, is the cars do follow each other much more closely, and the tyres are hanging on, so that’s one big upside if we can sort the batteries out. One thing that really worried me is Lando Norris saying, ‘I didn’t want to overtake Lewis Hamilton, but then my battery decided it did, and then I had nothing to defend with.’

“There’s a regulation in Formula 1 that’s been around forever. It’s very simple and far-reaching. The driver must drive the car alone and unaided. The driver shouldn’t have any surprises from a self-learning car. They’ve got to get rid of that. I’m sure it’s not the work of a moment, but the power delivery must be proportional to what the driver’s doing with the throttle. That’s fundamental.”

‘Martin Brundle is really worried’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/mar...amental-issue/


Jos Verstappen hits out at new F1 era: 'Creating chaos but nothing to do with racing'
Jos Verstappen has criticised F1’s regulations, arguing that the new cars prioritise chaotic overtaking over pure racing
28 Mar 2026
Lydia Mee
Motorsport.com

“I was there at the end of January during private test days in Barcelona” Jos Verstappen Sr told De Telegraaf.

“On the one hand, you have huge respect for Red Bull and what they’ve achieved with their own engine. But then Max goes out on track, and you quickly notice that he doesn’t enjoy driving these cars at all. And I completely understand his frustration.”

‘Chaotic overtaking over pure racing’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/j...cing/10809202/


Verstappen takes fresh swipe at F1 2026 rules during livestream
02 APR 2026
Olly Darcy
GPblog.com

Max Verstappen's dislike for the 2026 machines and regulations has continued away from the track, with the Dutchman expressing his views during a recent livestream.

As a result, Verstappen has been highly critical of the new 50/50 split between engine and electrical power, continually likening F1 racing to a game of Mario Kart.
Now, the 28-year-old has continued to comment on battery power and ‘Mario Kart’-style elements in 2026 racing during a livestream.

Throughout his online broadcast, Verstappen took many digs at F1, including lines like: "Full push, no lift. You can't do that in F1, though!", and "He used the mushroom button," joking about the overtake and boost buttons used by drivers.formu

‘Mario Kart-style elements’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/verst...from-the-track


F1's plan for six 2026 rules fixes revealed
2 Apr 2026
JON NOBLE
The Race

Formula 1 stakeholders are gathering for a crunch meeting next week to try to solve the biggest problems with the 2026 rules formula, and The Race understands there are six key solutions in play. The first three races have laid bare the good, the bad, and the ugly of F1's new rules era, and a big push is under way to fix some obvious problems.

Those problems don't include the new yo-yo style of racing, which has prompted love and loathing in equal measure from drivers and fans, as F1 doesn't see it needing any urgent action. But there is paddock consensus that a number of other areas do need urgent attention via rule changes.

So, team technical chiefs, as well as representatives of the engine manufacturers, are to gather with heads of the FIA and F1 on April 9 to discuss tweaks. They hope to agree on a raft of rule changes to come into play before the next race, the Miami Grand Prix on May 3. We’ve learned the three priority areas for the meeting and the potential rule changes that could be brought in.

‘Crunch meeting ‘;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...xes-explained/

Liam Lawson airs concern over 'unfortunate' F1 rule change.
Liam Lawson believes F1's new style of qualifying can be "extremely" mentally tough for drivers as they can no longer push flat-out.
3 Apr 2026
Jake Nichol & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Liam Lawson believes F1's new qualifying style is "unfortunate" and "strange." With the new batteries not having enough energy to complete a full lap at usual qualifying speed, drivers are having to adapt their styles over a flying lap, much to their dismay. "It is not like it used to be, it is quite different, quite frustrating in some cases when you're trying to extract everything out of the corners," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365.

"You're finding time through the corners, but you're using more energy, and then you end up being slow trying to find the balance and drive under the limit. It is a strange way of driving. It is unfortunately processing more rules to follow when qualifying, where previously you were flat-out trying to extract everything from the car.”

"Sometimes you will find the time, and feel like you are on the limit, and then you've actually spent more energy by doing that in the corners. It is extremely [tough mentally] because in qualifying, you're trying to go as fast as you can, so it is just about trusting the methods we have and following them."

'Unfortunate F1 rule change’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...f1-rule-change


Liam Lawson puts ball in FIA court over F1 2026 safety fears
24 Mar 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

Liam Lawson said it is over to the FIA to act or hold station, as he raised safety concerns over the new F1 2026 regulations. Reflecting on his near-miss with Franco Colapinto at the start in Melbourne, and experiences that weekend of being around other cars of varying energy status, Lawson said that drivers will continue to raise concerns, and the FIA will respond how it sees fit.

Lawson had a particularly close shave in Melbourne, as Franco Colapinto showed some razor sharp evasive action to miss Lawson’s slow starting Racing Bulls car. “It’s just very complicated,” Lawson said of F1 2026 race starts, as he spoke ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. “You see us sitting there for sort of 10 seconds, trying to start our pre-start procedure, and the starts are very inconsistent.”

“And it’s a new car, but still, it’s very tricky at the moment. We’ll talk about it more anyway. There’s a lot of things that we’re probably talking about now anyway, that haven’t been amazing about the cars. But that’s something that will obviously keep improving.”

‘Ball in FIA court’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/f1-202...urne-near-miss


Liam Lawson hands FIA rule adjustment blow after Suzuka change
The FIA is aiming to address qualifying issues in meetings this month, with its rule adjustment for the Japanese Grand Prix having failed to deliver the hoped-for results.
5 Apr 2026
Nick Golding & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Asked if the FIA rule changes affected qualifying, Lawson told select media, including RacingNews365: "It's hard to know, because every track is very, very different at the moment. So I haven't driven with the previous settings you’re referring to, so it's very hard for me to tell. But it didn't feel like it."

Across the Japanese Grand Prix, many comparisons were made by fans to Super Formula, an elite Japanese single-seater series. While its machinery has less horsepower than F1, it is renowned for its exceptional cornering speeds—something Lawson described as "very, very high".

Discussing Super Formula at Suzuka, Lawson said: "Yeah, the car here is something special. It's a very fun car to drive—low, comparatively, in horsepower to Formula 1, but the corner speeds are very, very high. My last experience of Super Formula was at this track, and it’s very, very enjoyable. It's still a great track."

‘FIA rule adjustment’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...-suzuka-change


Liam Lawson admits he was left “mentally drained” by F1’s new 2026 cars after Japanese GP
31 Mar 2026
Lydia Mee
Motorsport.com

Liam Lawson was left mentally exhausted after the Japanese GP as he explained the intense challenge of adapting to the new regulations. Liam Lawson revealed he was left “mentally drained” following the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix.

“Godd, a little bit mentally drained,” he told F1TV after the race. “It’s very intense this year. You have a lot more that you’re thinking about when you’re driving. So, it was actually quite a tough race.”

‘Left “mentally drained” by F1’s new 2026 cars’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/l...e-gp/10809853/


Liam Lawson reveals 'confusing' moment ahead of 'hardest' race
Two points at least for Liam Lawson that did not seem on the cards early on.
29 Mar 2026
Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

From 13th on the grid at the Suzuka, Lawson was helped by the safety car surrounding Oliver Bearman's 50g crash on lap 22 of the 53-lap race that helped him finish ninth and collect a valuable two points for Racing Bulls. Whilst Lance Stroll's lap 10 stoppage in the Chinese GP worked against him a fortnight ago, even though he worked his way back to claim seventh, on this occasion, early race struggles were predominantly ended by the five-lap SC intervention.

Lawson's relatively lowly grid slot, though, and initial midfield struggles were due to changes made to the car coming into the race weekend. "The safety car wasn't ideal in China, and then here [Suzuka], it definitely helped us," said Lawson, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365. "To come away with points is very, very positive.”

"But we definitely struggled at the start. We have to look over how we ended qualifying, with the wing we put on the car. It was not where we expected it to be. It was definitely quite confusing there. And starting the race as well, it was also quite difficult to drive, so we'll look over everything and learn from it going forward."

‘Did not seem on the cards early on’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...f-hardest-race


Liam Lawson 'bore brunt' of Helmut Marko treatment before brutal axing
Liam Lawson was discarded by Red Bull after just two races of the 2025 season.
25 Mar 2026
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Throughout his time in F1, Liam Lawson has garnered a reputation as a hard-racer, with Palmer believing that the New Zealander was actually harmed by Marko's no-nonsense approach, something lifted by the Austrian stepping back from his duties ahead of the 2026 season. "I think he was a big presence that could be really hard on young drivers coming through, to the benefit of those who could thrive and become world champion," Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast.

"Liam obviously saw the brunt of that last year, but it did remind me as well about the resilience he's got, and you have to say that he is a tough guy. We've seen it in his wheel-to-wheel battles; he is not afraid to flip the bird to whoever does him wrong in a grand prix, and it also took him a while to get up to speed in the Racing Bulls last year.”

"It wasn't instantaneous, but he got there, had some good drives, and it was the same thing in Melbourne. It could have been really easy for him to say: 'Oh, Lindblad is here and getting all the credit from Australia, but he drove really well in China, getting points in the Sprint and grand prix, and that will settle him down for the year."

‘Helmut Marko treatment’;

https://racingnews365.com/liam-lawso...e-brutal-axing

F1 urged to make immediate changes following frightening crash.
F1 and the FIA have been urged to make immediate changes to the new regulations for this season following Oliver Bearman's frightening crash during the recent Japanese Grand Prix.
7 Apr 2026
RacingNews365 Staff
RacingNews365

Oliver Bearman was fortunate to escape with nothing worse than a contusion to his right knee following a 50g impact with a barrier at Sukuka after avoiding running into the back of Franco Colapinto in his Alpine. The incident threw an uncomfortable spotlight on an area of racing that the FIA, in particular, opted to ignore heading into the race in Japan despite repeated warnings from the drivers.

Bearman was caught out by the significant closing-speed difference between himself and Colapinto as they used different energy deployment settings at that moment in the race. The Haas driver was travelling 50 km/h faster than his rival and felt he was not given adequate room on the inside before skating across the grass and into the barrier at high speed.

Post-race, the F1 drivers highlighted the seriousness of the incident and the dangers posed by the new power units in wheel-to-wheel action. F1 fans have also had their say in a RacingNews365 poll, and the overwhelming majority have made it clear that the FIA needs to react swiftly before the next race in Miami in early May to avoid a repeat situation.

‘F1 and the FIA have been urged to make immediate changes’;

https://racingnews365.com/f1-urged-t...ghtening-crash


Damon Hill says 2026 F1 cars are ‘highly dangerous’ after Oliver Bearman’s Japanese GP crash
30 Mar 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Damon Hill claims ‘safety issue’ with new F1 regulations has been exposed. In response to the FIA’s post on X, where they defended the new regulations and vowed to look into the safety concerns, Damon Hill responded that there is a safety issue at play.

“I think we have a safety issue. Cars suddenly slowing at high speed is highly dangerous.” When informed of Carlos Sainz’s criticism of the new regulations, Hill agreed and noted that these concerns from him and other drivers are completely valid. “I think he’s right to be concerned. Cars unexpectedly slowing on the fastest parts of any circuit is tantamount to being ‘brake tested’. Lights are slightly too late to give enough warning.”

‘Highly dangerous’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/dam...nese-gp-crash/


Martin Brundle questions legality of 2026 F1 cars
8 Apr 2026
James Phillips
Motorsport Week

Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle outlined his displeasure and alarm with the discovery, calling into question the car’s legality, believing the cars are becoming “self-learning” “Now, there’s a regulation in Formula 1, it’s been around for forever, it’s very simple and far-reaching,” he said on The F1 Show. “The driver must drive the car alone and unaided,” Brundle insists.

And article 27.1 of the sporting regulations does indeed mandate that a driver must pilot their vehicle independently, yet the current power units are overriding their input. “I think the problem the drivers have got; one thing that really worried me was Lando Norris saying ‘I didn’t want to overtake Lewis Hamilton, but my battery decided it did, and then I had nothing to defend with’.”

“The drivers shouldn’t have any surprises by a self-learning car. They’ve got to get rid of that. I’m sure it’s not the work of a moment, but the power delivery must be proportional to what the drivers are doing with the throttle. That’s the fundamental. It has to be linear. It’s a big issue for the FIA.”

‘Legality of 2026 F1 cars’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...-2026-f1-cars/


Marko urges FIA action: ‘The driving aspect needs to come back’
5 Apr 2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Former Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has delivered a blunt warning to Formula 1’s leadership and to the FIA, insisting urgent action is needed to rein in the sport’s increasingly complex regulations in a bid to bring the drivers back to the forefront of the competition.

At the heart of the issue lies the heavy reliance on hybrid systems, with battery deployment and software strategy often overshadowing driver input. For Marko, that balance has tipped too far. "On the chassis side, the deficit is quite large," the Austrian told Kleine Zeitung. "But Red Bull has a tradition of turning things like that around. It’s just all too complicated, and the software plays an overly dominant role."

Marko’s call to action is as direct as it is urgent. "Whether you can correct that within a single season, I don’t know," Marko continued. "Something has to be done, and the driving aspect needs to come back to the forefront. The mood among the drivers is negative. Adjustments need to be made now, and hopefully, the FIA will do everything it can to reduce the role of the battery and place more emphasis on the combustion engine."

‘Blunt warning’;

https://f1i.com/news/562492-marko-ur...come-back.html


Can F1 navigate its crossroads crisis?
7 Apr 2026
James Phillips and Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

Crisis talks are scheduled this week between the FIA and the teams to address the 2026 F1 regulations. These meetings will prove crucial on the long road to securing the sport’s future and moving it away from the constant mocking, meming, and savage takedowns it has endured in the open races of the season.

Why change regulations when all that money is coming in, benefiting a select few, [most importantly you] and politically, you hold all the cards in the sport? And so, what if no one likes the new rules? Shareholders are delighted, and the $5k suits can be worn in the paddock, with the surplus income made can continue to be flaunted while fans pay big bucks to watch a substandard, dreadful and soul-destroying product.

Except, as with all gouging and asset extraction, there comes a point at which this becomes noticeable to the average consumer, and they lose interest. At this point, they stop paying with their wallets, while mocking the increasingly poor attempts by those involved to justify their decisions as the world begins to criticise and distance itself, interest rapidly declining. The wider world knows it’s a terrible choice, and even those responsible know, but they are forced to carry on regardless.

‘Crisis talks’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...sroads-crisis/


Lewis Hamilton: F1 drivers “have no voting rights” as FIA “only listening to teams”
F1 drivers are calling for rule changes to the 2026 cars, but FIA only listening to teams so far
29 Mar 2026
Lewis Duncan , Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Complaints over F1’s new power unit regulations and the energy management required have continued to draw criticism from drivers at the Japanese Grand Prix. These have only been intensified following Ollie Bearman’s crash in Sunday’s race, when he was caught out by a 50km/h speed differential with Franco Colapinto’s Alpine.

While the drivers have been voicing their suggestions and feedback to the FIA, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton shot down suggestions on Sunday that they will hold any real influence. “The drivers don’t have a say,” he told the media, including Crash.net. “We have no power. We’re not on the committee; we have no voting rights.”


Stefano Domenicali has changed his mind about 2026 F1 rules after seeing Oliver Bearman crash
8 April 2026
Aaditya Krishnamurthy
F1 Oversteer

Stefano Domenicali and FIA reportedly refused to make changes to 2026 regulations till Hungarian GP. Speaking on the Nailing the Apex podcast, F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli revealed that she had spoken to Stefano Domenicali and other members of the FIA prior to the Japanese Grand Prix.

Domenicali was reportedly bullish about the new regulations, refusing to make a change as he didn’t see any issues with the racing, and admitting that any changes would come only after the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I was talking to people from teams, and I spoke to Stefano (Domenicali), and spoke to the FIA. And they’re all saying, ‘No, the racing is fine. There are no issues with the racing.”

“We are only going to address qualifying because qualifying is absolutely ridiculous. For racing, we just need people to be more adjusted to the regulations, and all the stuff that you’re seeing that maybe isn’t right. It’s because of that nobody is optimising anything. So let’s wait until Hungary.’ That’s what I was hearing. Now, after what happened with Bearman, I think they will do something for Miami.”

‘Changed his mind’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/ste...bearman-crash/

Esteban Ocon admits F1 career ‘disappointing’ despite win and podiums.
While Esteban Ocon is proud to be a grand prix winner, he made the honest admission that, to his mind, he has not “achieved enough” in the sport.
4 Apr 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

After almost 10 years on the F1 grid, one grand prix victory and a further three podiums does not cut it for Ocon. But, the Frenchman assured that he will keep striving to find the F1 success which he craves. At the F1 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Ocon was asked by PlanetF1.com and other accredited media, whether he thought he would have been World Champion 10 years into his F1 journey.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I think it’s fair to say that I’m happy with what I’ve achieved in terms of podiums and wins, and I’m proud of those, but I haven’t achieved enough in F1. I’ve won in every category that I’ve driven in the past, apart from DTM maybe, with my half a year, but from karting to single seater, I’ve won everywhere.”

“And yes, I’ve won one race in F1, but it’s not enough. Out of 180 races, to my standard, it’s disappointing so far. So, I hope that this will change in the near future, but I will work hard for that to change.”

‘Disappointing’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/esteba...win-not-enough


Haas score again amid Bearman’s 50kph overspeed crash and Ocon’s first point of the season
30 Mar 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Haas endured a turbulent but ultimately rewarding Japanese Grand Prix, marked by Esteban Ocon’s first point of the season and Oliver Bearman’s frightening high speed crash — a violent incident caused by an enormous closing speed that highlighted the challenges of Formula 1’s 2026 regulations. Ocon: “Overall, it was a positive weekend… we got the maximum out of the car.” Ocon’s race was shaped by the Safety Car, which cost him positions he had earned through a strong opening stint. Reflecting on the chaotic afternoon, he began with what mattered most.

“First of all, I'm glad that Ollie is okay.” But the Frenchman also acknowledged the frustration of repeated bad timing. “Unfortunately, though, it has been three out of three races where the Safety Car timing has been bad for us.” He described the ebb and flow of his race: “We had a decent start and it was going okay, then we lost to Gabi and Liam. I managed to overtake Gabi on track, but with Liam it wasn't possible.”

Ocon had hoped to join the thrilling battle unfolding ahead. “There was a nice fight between Max and Pierre ahead, so I would've liked to have been part of that, however, I got stuck behind Liam, so we'll never know if I could've been a part of it or not.” Despite the setbacks, he was satisfied with the team’s execution. “Overall, it was a positive weekend on our side and we got the maximum out of the car in every situation. It could've been a few positions better, but we can't control everything.”

“First of all, I'm glad that Ollie is okay”;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28411


"Nightmare" F1 overtaking aid that 'sends you backwards' criticised
Esteban Ocon has been left frustrated by changes for the 2026 Formula 1 season, describing the boost as a "nightmare" that makes drivers "go backwards".
2 Apr 2026
Sam Hall
Crash.Net

Esteban Ocon has labelled Formula 1’s overtake “boost” system a “nightmare” after struggling to make progress at the Japanese Grand Prix. “Boost usage has been a nightmare, if you use it, you actually go backwards. So we just tried to stay on the baseline and keep pushing.”

F1 and the FIA has so far been focused improving the obvious problems in qualifying, with drivers being forced to lift and coast on what are supposed to be flat-out efforts to achieve the ultimate lap time. For Ocon, the focus of these talks needs to be the racing. He added: “I think it’s better to have bigger capacity in the tank, a bit more like last year.”

“To me, it’s energy hungry all of the time, and you can’t really plan anything, you can’t really try and get a move somewhere while overtaking, and it’s too much on the limit really. So, I think the fixes I understand for the lift and coast in quali, but it’s maybe 1% of the fix. There’s 99% that’s left on the table.”

"Nightmare";

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109284...w-era-problems


Japanese Grand Prix: Race Recap
29 Mar 2026
Haas F1 Team - Official Site

TGR Haas F1 Team finished with Esteban Ocon 10th, while Ollie Bearman retired, at the Japanese Grand Prix, held Sunday at the Suzuka Circuit. Ocon started from 12th place on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and picked up a spot through the opening lap, before slotting into the top 10 at the expense of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. Ocon then passed Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad on lap six for ninth place, before pitting on lap 19 for White hard tires.

Ocon missed out on track position due to the timing of a subsequent safety car phase, allowing rivals to pit at reduced racing speed, and re-emerged P11. Ocon overhauled Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto to return to the top 10 and gave chase to Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, eventually taking the checkered flag in tenth. Ocon’s result ensured TGR Haas F1 Team has finished in the points at each race so far in 2026.

Esteban Ocon: "First of all, I'm glad that Ollie is okay. Unfortunately, though, it has been three out of three races where the safety car timing has been bad for us. We had a decent start and it was going okay, then we lost to Gabi and Liam. I managed to overtake Gabi on track, but with Liam it wasn't possible. There was a nice fight between Max and Pierre ahead, so I would've liked to have been part of that, however, I got stuck behind Liam, so we'll never know if I could've been a part of it or not. Overall, it was a positive weekend on our side and we got the maximum out of the car in every situation. It could've been a few positions better, but we can't control everything."

‘Race Recap’;

https://www.haasf1team.com/news/japa...x-race-recap-6


F1 oddity surprise as new unwanted record claimed
There is a major statistical oddity in the F1 record books as a new unwanted record has been claimed.
17 Mar 2026
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Esteban Ocon has claimed ownership of an unwanted F1 record after the Chinese Grand Prix: the most races without a pole position. Ocon has taken the record from a fellow Frenchman of this generation of driver, with Romain Grosjean managing a best of second on the grid from his 181 attempts, this coming at the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Check out the top 10 below!
Most F1 races without a pole position
F1 oddity surprise as new unwanted record claimed
Driver Number of races Best grid result
Esteban Ocon 182 3rd
Romain Grosjean 181 2nd
Pierre Gasly 180 2nd
Martin Brundle 165 3rd
Johnny Herbert 165 4th
Derek Warwick 164 3rd
Olivier Panis 158 3rd
Eddie Irvine 148 2nd
Eddie Cheever 143 2nd
Alex Albon 132 4th

‘F1 oddity surprise’;

https://racingnews365.com/f1-oddity-...record-claimed

FIA reports 'constructive dialogue' in initial F1 rules meeting.
Formula One's governing body reported "constructive dialogue on difficult topics" in an initial meeting of technical experts on Thursday to discuss possible changes to the 2026 regulations.
10 Apr 2026
REUTERS
The Straits Times

The meeting in London was convened by the FIA and brought together representatives of the teams and power unit manufacturers to assess the situation after three races of the sport's new era. "It was generally agreed that although the events to date have provided exciting racing, there was a commitment to making tweaks to some aspects of the regulations in the area of energy management," the FIA said in a statement.

"There was constructive dialogue on difficult topics especially when considering the competitive nature of the stakeholders." Formula One has undergone the biggest change in decades with new chassis and engine rules. The new power units, split roughly 50-50 between electric and combustion power, have brought fresh challenges with drivers having to ease off the throttle early and coast into high-speed corners so the combustion engine can recharge the battery.

The FIA mapped out the schedule leading up to the next race in Miami in May, with a Sporting Regulations meeting on April 15 and another technical session on April 16. There will then be a "high-level meeting with representation from all stakeholders" on April 20 where preferred options proposed by the technical teams will be considered and a consensus sought.

'Constructive dialogue';

https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/f...-rules-meeting


FIA, manufacturers open ‘constructive dialogue’ on F1 engine rules
09/04/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

The FIA has laid out a rigorous timeline to ensure these changes are ratified swiftly. A Sporting Regulations meeting is set for April 15 to facilitate necessary technical shifts, followed by a second technical session on April 16 to finalize specific proposals. The process will culminate in a high-level summit on April 20, involving teams, F1 management, and OEM representatives.

The FIA detailed the collaborative spirit of the journey: "As part of the round of collaborative discussions, further meetings are planned over the coming fortnight... A high-level meeting with representation from all stakeholders is scheduled for April 20 where it is anticipated that preferred options jointly proposed by the technical teams will be considered and a consensus sought on the way forward." The governing body concluded by reaffirming the unity of the paddock.

"The 2026 regulations were developed and agreed in close partnership with teams, OEMs, Power Unit Manufacturers, the commercial rights holder and the FIA all at the table. It is in this spirit of collaboration that potential changes are being discussed,” it said. Once a consensus is reached, an e-vote will take place, with the final changes ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, likely in time for the summer stretch.

‘Constructive dialogue’;

https://f1i.com/news/562669-fia-manu...ine-rules.html


F1's plan for immediate rule tweaks after key summit - what we know
9 Apr 2026
JON NOBLE
The Race

A statement issued by the FIA afterwards made clear that the focus of debate was not about changes to improve the racing, but more about the energy starvation problems that have triggered wider issues. While there is a sense that opinions may not necessarily be aligned in terms of what needs to change and how it should be changed, there does appear to be consensus that some form of action needs to be taken.

The FIA said: “It was generally agreed that although the events to date have provided exciting racing, there was a commitment to making tweaks to some aspects of the regulations in the area of energy management. “There was constructive dialogue on difficult topics especially when considering the competitive nature of the stakeholders.” The FIA has laid out the framework for the process that will now take place before the next race.

A sporting regulations meeting is scheduled for April 15 to discuss any elements that are linked to that section of the rule book that would need to be altered to accommodate revised technical modifications. Then a further session of technical experts has been lined up for the following day, April 16, to follow up discussions from today's initial meeting as well as air any fresh topics that come up as a consequence of further evaluation. After that, team bosses will meet with senior figures from F1 and the FIA on April 20 to evaluate any agreed proposals with a view to getting them voted through the F1 Commission.

‘What we know’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/f...fficult-talks/


FIA issues statement following urgent meeting on future of 2026 F1 regulations
10 Apr 2026
James Phillips
Motorsport Week

The FIA has issued a statement following the inaugural meeting between the governing body and Formula 1 teams over potential changes to the F1 regulations. F1 has come under fire since the new 2026 regulations were introduced, with claims of artificial racing due to the extreme battery-management requirements of the power units.

Safety concerns about differences in closing speeds across the available power modes then became impossible to ignore following Oliver Bearman’s horror crash at Suzuka. The FIA announced that it would engage in dialogue with the teams as speculation mounted that urgent changes are being considered to improve the racing spectacle, with a particular focus on qualifying.

‘FIA issues statement’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...1-regulations/


Revealed: What happened in first F1 rule change meeting
The FIA has revealed what went down in the first meeting about F1 rule tweaks for 2026.
09 Apr 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Formula 1's governing body the FIA has revealed what happened in the first round of talks to tweak the much-maligned new 2026 regulations. The first of a series of meetings aimed at deciding potential changes to F1's rules took place on Thursday, with senior technical figures involved in the initial discussion of ideas that could be implemented to address some issues that arose across the opening three race weekends.

In Thursday's meeting the FIA said "constructive dialogue" took place and revealed "it was generally agreed that although the events to date have provided exciting racing, there was a commitment to making tweaks to some aspects of the regulations in the area of energy management."

‘What happened’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109295...change-meeting


F1 2026 regulations: FIA confirm 'commitment to making tweaks to some aspects of regulations' after meeting
FIA have revealed their commitment to making 'tweaks' to energy management regulations following a meeting on Thursday; This was the first of the pre-arranged meetings with two more confirmed for April ahead of Miami Grand Prix
10 April 2026
Sky Sports

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz have been particularly vocal about their disapproval, with the four-time world champion claiming he is considering leaving the sport. Sainz, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, revealed that the drivers held a meeting with the FIA in Suzuka where single-seater director Nicolas Tombazis said changes would be made for the next round in Miami in early May. Carlos Sainz says he's hopeful the FIA will come up with 'better regulations' ahead of Miami after Ollie Bearman suffered a big crash during the Japanese Grand Prix.

"I was so surprised when they said 'we will sort out qualifying and leave the racing alone because it's exciting'. As drivers, we have been extremely vocal that the problem is not only qualifying, but also racing," Sainz said. "We have been warning this kind of accident will always happen. In Suzuka, we were lucky there was an escape road. Imagine going to Baku or Singapore, or Las Vegas and having these kind of closing speeds.”

"As the GPDA, we have warned the FIA these accidents will happen a lot with this set of regulations and we need to change something soon if we don't want it to happen. I hope it serves as an example and the teams listen to the drivers and not so much to the teams and some people that said 'the racing is OK', because the racing is not OK."

‘Nicolas Tombazis said changes would be made for the next round in Miami in early May’;

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...-after-meeting

Reason for Gianpiero Lambiase Red Bull exit revealed: ‘GP has been offered a fortune to go’.
“GP has been offered a fortune to go and that is understandable,” an anonymous insider told the Daily Mail. “Max supports GP fully, seeing his decision as sensible and fair, with no objection whatsoever from his side.”
10 April 2026
Brandon Sutton
Total Motorsport

Red Bull confirmed Lambiase will depart to join McLaren when his current contract with the team ends. The reason for the exit of Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer and Red Bull’s Head of Racing, to join McLaren as Chief Racing Officer, has been revealed as he receives a lucrative financial offer that few in Formula 1 could refuse.

The move reflects Lambiase’s value in the paddock, having guided Verstappen since 2016 from Toro Rosso promotion to four world championships, 71 Grand Prix wins, 48 poles, and 127 podiums as a central part of the Dutchman’s success.

And since the 2022 F1 season, he has been moving increasingly into the executive management roles of his team by first becoming Head of Race Engineering and secondly Head of Racing in 2025, demonstrating Milton Keynes’ confidence in the British-Italian.

‘Fortune to go’;

https://www.total-motorsport.com/rea...exit-revealed/


Max Verstappen's emotional partnership with GP Lambiase: 'Like my brother'
10 Apr 2026
Kada Sarkozi
GPblog.com

With Gianpiero Lambiase joining McLaren no later than 2028, Max Verstappen's key ally is set to leave Red Bull Racing. The two went through a lot together, and became inseparable, they explained multiple times. In 2021, speaking to Viaplay, when he was asked about GP's importance, Verstappen said: "I told him that I only work with him. As soon as he quits, I'll quit too. Yeah."

'Like my brother';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/max-v...ike-my-brother


How Gianpiero Lambiase’s McLaren move could cause seismic F1 earthquake
9 Apr 2026
James Phillips and Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

The major talking point is the knock-on effect and implication for F1’s most talked-about figure: Max Verstappen. If Lambiase is indeed defecting to the team that Red Bull lost both titles to last year, Verstappen’s time in the sport could be nearing its end. The right time for Verstappen and Lambiase to divorce Red Bull?

This move is poetic, but in this case, far from elegant. Verstappen has made no secret of his hatred of the 2026 cars, publicly stating he no longer enjoys driving. He has been visibly wrestling with his emotions and conscience during media sessions, dropping his head at points when asked about his future. Given his ventures away from the sport, it does seem that the four-time World Champion is seriously considering a trial separation from F1, speculation rife that his priorities have shifted.

Lambiase’s stock has grown over the last few seasons through his work with Verstappen, and now it seems he is ready for a change of scenery and responsibility. This would not be happening unless Verstappen has indicated his time is up. Verstappen just wants to drive cars, without politics or drama. He lives on anything on four wheels. He has always been honest that F1 is not his sole interest, now evident by his racing team exploits in GT3.

‘Seismic F1 earthquake’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...appen-f1-exit/


Zak Brown shares feelings over shock Gianpiero Lambiase coup
Zak Brown has reacted to McLaren securing the services of Max Verstappen's F1 race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase.
10 April 2026
RacingNews365 Staff
RacingNews365

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has expressed his excitement after the team secured the appointment of Max Verstappen's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, as chief racing officer for 2028. Writing on X, the American announced: "Happy to share that Gianpiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting into Team Principal Andrea Stella, when his contract ends no later than 2028.

"He joins an incredible team under Andrea's leadership, and I'm excited about what we can achieve together." Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay also left for McLaren in senior roles, as chief designer and sporting director, respectively.

The chief racing officer role already exists within McLaren's structure, but has been managed by Stella alongside his team principal duties. Lambiase's appointment is designed to allow Stella to focus more broadly on his principal responsibilities whilst providing strategic leadership of the race team.

‘Expressed his excitement’;

https://racingnews365.com/zak-brown-...-lambiase-coup


Max Verstappen hit with another senior Red Bull departure after Gianpiero Lambiase’s McLaren move
10 Apr 2026
Marcus Chan
F1 Oversteer

Max Verstappen hit with senior Red Bull departure after Gianpiero Lambiase blow. Following the Lambiase news, it has been reported that another senior Red Bull figure could be on his way out. As reported by Planet F1, Max Verstappen’s number one mechanic, Jon Caller, has decided to leave Red Bull.

It has been claimed that Caller has ‘opted’ to join twin brother Matt in leaving the Milton Keynes-based outfit. He wrote on Instagram: “After an incredible journey that began in 2015, today marks my final day with @redbullracing. What a ride it has been.”

“Being part of this journey has been nothing short of amazing. Thank you to everyone at the team who made it so special. I’m proud to have been part of it. Now I’m excited to begin a new chapter, joining @audif1 team as Chief Mechanic. I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead and to being part of building something new. On to the next chapter.”

‘Max Verstappen’s number one mechanic’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/max...-mclaren-move/


Jos Verstappen: ‘We knew about Lambiase move to McLaren'
10/04/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

While the announcement sent ripples through the Formula 1 world, Jos Verstappen made it clear that those closest to the situation had already seen it coming. "We knew for a while and we also knew when it was going to happen," Jos told RaceXpress.

"We have another year and a half to two years to work with him. It's a huge opportunity for him, so we understand. We also told him to do it and grab it with both hands. Beyond that, it's up to Red Bull to replace him. We will see."

The comments paint a picture of a transition handled with pragmatism rather than panic – an acknowledgment of both Lambiase’s value and his ambitions beyond Red Bull.

‘Already seen it coming’;

https://f1i.com/news/562681-jos-vers...o-mclaren.html


Jos Verstappen provides update on Max’s F1 future after Gianpiero Lambiase exit
Max Verstappen has openly flirted with retiring from F1 due to his feelings over the new regulations. Now that his Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is confirmed to be joining McLaren, Jos Verstappen has shared an update on his son's future.
10 Apr 2026
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

"It looks like Formula 1 and the FIA are going to change the regulations after all," Jos Verstappen said to RaceXpress. "What they can do this year will help. But I think everyone, the fans, but also the drivers, are complaining a lot." Max Verstappen has been the most vocal critic of the new F1 rules, decrying his lack of enjoyment and branding the era "anti-racing" amongst other things.

It is not just the 28-year-old who is struggling with the new rules set, with his father also unenthused by what he sees. "As a driver, I don't enjoy it as much either," the two-time podium finisher stated. "Occasionally, I have gone to watch, and then I just turn off the television because it interests me less. It's not the Formula 1 that Formula 1 stands for, where a lot is demanded of the driver.”

"Now it's more of an engineering competition where the driver has to lift a lot, and they can't make the difference as a driver anymore. I think that's a shame for Formula 1. You have to brake late, but then again you can't brake too late. Especially in fast corners, that's where you have to be able to make the difference, like in the first sector in Japan, for example."

‘Update on Max’s F1 future’;

https://racingnews365.com/jos-versta...-lambiase-exit

Todt rewrites Schumacher’s history with shock admission.
Jean Todt, the man who stood as the iron-willed guardian of Ferrari’s secrets for over a decade, has finally broken his silence on two dark chapters of Michael Schumacher’s legacy.
11/04/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Time in Formula 1 has a way of softening edges. Rivalries fade, controversies blur, and legends grow larger than the missteps that once threatened to define them. Nearly two decades after fiercely defending Schumacher, the former Ferrari boss has offered a dramatically revised account – one that cuts against the narrative he once championed from the pit wall.

In 2006, the streets of Monte Carlo produced one of Formula 1’s most infamous qualifying controversies. Schumacher, holding provisional pole, famously “parked” his Ferrari at the tight Rascasse corner… At the time, Todt insisted his driver had simply committed an “honest mistake”. Today, the story has changed. Speaking on Jake Humphrey’s High Performance podcast, Todt openly labeled the move as a deliberate tactical foul that backfired spectacularly. The admission marks a striking reversal from Ferrari’s original stance, which had framed the incident as a simple driver error under pressure.

If Monaco was controversial, the 1997 title decider at Jerez remains seismic. Locked in a championship battle with Jacques Villeneuve, Schumacher made a split-second decision that would echo through motorsport history – turning into his rival as the Canadian attempted an overtake. At the time, Ferrari’s defense was robust. Now, Todt’s tone is markedly different. “He crashed [into] him purposely, but he did it badly,” admitted the former FIA president. “In fact you know, Michael was an amazing guy, every time he lost control, he paid [for] it very expensively.”

‘Two dark chapters of Michael Schumacher’s legacy’;

https://f1i.com/news/562713-todt-rew...admission.html


Ex-Ferrari CEO: How I Built Schumacher's ICONIC Era | Jean Todt
Apr 9, 2026
High Performance

Chapters ��
00:00 Intro
00:38 Senna vs Schumacher
08:45 Schumacher’s personality
17:45 THAT ’97 crash
23:24 His greatest race?
24:33 Building a winning team
30:44 Schumacher vs Barrichello
41:29 Bianchi & Senna’s passing
45:31 Road safety
50:02 Quickfire questions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6502af7O3wo


Michael Schumacher cost himself two F1 titles after 'losing control'
Michael Schumacher could have been a nine-time champion if he had not "lost control."
11 Apr 2026
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt believes Michael Schumacher lost two F1 world titles after he "lost control" in key moments. The seven-time world champion was not far from controversial moments in his career, with two of the most high-profile being the 1997 title-deciding European Grand Prix and qualifying for the 2006 Monaco GP.

"Slowly we rebuilt the team in 1996, we won three grands prix, and in 1997, we lost the drivers' championship at the last race with the controversial overtaking move on Villeneuve, where Michael made a mistake," Todt told the High Performance Podcast. "I mean, he crashed into him purposely, but he did it badly, and Michael was an amazing guy.”

"But every time he lost control, he paid for it very expensively, as it cost him the championship. Like in 2006 in Monaco qualifying with Alonso, he had to start at the back of the grid, and it cost him the championship. So the two mistakes he made cost him the championship."

“Every time he lost control”;

https://racingnews365.com/michael-sc...losing-control


Jean Todt says people have ‘completely wrong’ perception of ‘shy’ Michael Schumacher
11 April 2026
Marcus Chan
F1 Oversteer

Former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has claimed that people have the ‘completely wrong’ perception of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher. Schumacher, 57, is one of the best drivers in F1 history, having set countless records and won seven world titles.

Jean Todt says people have the wrong perception of Michael Schumacher. Appearing on the High Performance podcast, Schumacher’s former team boss, Todt, claimed that people have the wrong perception of the F1 legend. The Frenchman, who worked at Ferrari from 1994 to 2009, stated that Schumacher is ‘shy’ and ‘generous’.

When asked if Schumacher is an arrogant person, Todt said: “They’re completely wrong. He’s shy and generous. He hides his shyness by appearing arrogant. You don’t do that to get help; it’s just his personality. We were protecting each other. That’s how a professional relationship turned into a friendship. Michael Schumacher didn’t know how to cheat.”

‘Shy Michael Schumacher’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/jea...el-schumacher/


Michael Schumacher ‘did not know how to cheat’, but did it ‘badly’ – Jean Todt
12 Apr 2026
Jamie Woodhouse
PlanetF1.com

“’97, we lost the Drivers’ Championship at the last race with his controversial overtaking to Villeneuve, where Michael unfortunately did a mistake,” recalled Jean Todt, the Ferrari team boss at the time, as he spoke on the High Performance podcast.

“But probably, the mistake demonstrated a very strong solidarity, because you see the strength of a group of people when things don’t go well. When all goes well, everybody’s friends.” Asked if he was branding that a mistake, Todt clarified: “I mean, he crashed into him purposely. But he did it badly.”

‘Michael Schumacher ‘did not know how to cheat’, but did it ‘badly’ – Jean Todt’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/michae...aims-jean-todt


Ex-Ferrari boss makes stunning Michael Schumacher F1 ‘mistakes’ claim
11 Apr 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

Former Ferrari Formula 1 boss and FIA president Jean Todt has made the claim that Michael Schumacher lost two World Championships due to two errors which he has admitted were deliberate. … But Schumacher was also known for a number of high-profile controversies, which many believed were several blots on his copybook. And Todt has now claimed that two of them, that he originally defended, were indeed deliberate acts to sabotage another competitor.

Michael Schumacher Jerez and Monaco incidents put down to ‘just an emotion’. Todt still defended Schumacher however, making the point that it is hard for anyone who is not a racer to understand a driver’s mentality in the midst of battle.

“It was just an emotion,” he said. “That’s why you must be, when you judge somebody in action, you must be very indulgent. It’s easy around the table, to say ‘you should do that’, ‘you should that’. But when you are in the action, you must understand that your brain is reacting differently.”

‘Blots on his copybook’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...cher-f1-claim/


Todt admits Schumacher crashed on purpose – but did it really cost him two titles?
11th April 2026
Keith Collantine
RaceFans

In Todt’s revised assessment of both incidents, Schumacher committed two deliberate fouls. Moreover, Todt believes the incidents cost Schumacher a pair of titles on top of the seven he won during his career. Schumacher was pilloried over his Rascassegate stunt. For some, that incident made it harder to view previous Schumacher controversies such as Jerez 1997 and Adelaide 1994 as misjudgements rather than intentional acts.

It is remarkable to see Todt, one of few who defended him at the time, now expressing a totally contrary view. All the more so given the revelation six years ago by Schumacher’s 2006 team mate, Felipe Massa, that the possibility of interfering with the new qualifying format was jokingly discussed within Ferrari prior to the session.

That said, I would hesitate to chalk up either incident as examples of Schumacher costing himself a title. Both were undoubtedly egregious moves, but that alone doesn’t make the numbers add up. Unlike, for example, last year’s obviously comparable situation.

‘Todt’s revised assessment of both incidents’;

https://www.racefans.net/2026/04/11/...im-two-titles/

Nico Hulkenberg: My mother’s shock text message revealed Jonathan Wheatley Audi exit.
“I was in the sim that day, and my mom sent me an article while I was looking at my phone. I’m like, ‘Oh, sh*t!'” Nico Hulkenberg.
26 Mar 2026
Thomas Maher
PlanetF1.com

The sudden loss of the team boss hasn’t been a major disruption for Audi, given the continuance of Mattia Binotto as leader of the F1 project – several sources have indicated to PlanetF1.com that friction between Binotto and Wheatley, as well as personal life considerations, fuelled the Englishman into seeking an exit.

“It’s not a setback,” Hulkenberg said of Wheatley’s departure. “An F1 team is made of many people. We need strong people but, with Mattia obviously still a leader, it’s not like we’re without leadership, without structure, and without a plan.”

“So, whilst it has changed unexpectedly, everything else is on target. Everything else on target is as we planned and intended before. So, on the operational side, on a race weekend, I don’t think it’s gonna change too much. Formula 1 teams, and generally Formula 1, are bigger than one person.”

“I’m like, ‘Oh, sh*t!'”;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/nico-h...ssage-reaction


Nico Hulkenberg appears to confirm Audi rift rumours with ‘fundamental problem’ admission
26 Mar 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

There was also a philosophical acceptance of the issue from the 38-year-old, who seemed to take the view that such problems would be a restriction for the team. “I mean, it’s part of the business. If you look up and down, every team has that,” Hulkenberg said. “And there are sometimes these phases.”

“But if there is a problem, a fundamental problem, with one of the central leaders of the team, then you have to take action. Obviously, here there was a problem. I don’t know the exact details. I haven’t really spoken to him in depth yet.”

“But if there’s an issue, you also need to act and react. Otherwise, that’s no good either. Having said all that, focus goes back to racing, to driving tomorrow. And once this race weekend goes on the way, it’s back to business as usual.”

‘Hulkenberg reveals internal Audi struggles’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...-rift-rumours/


‘WE DEFINITELY HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD’ – HULKENBERG RUES ‘FRUSTRATING’ STARTS THAT COST AUDI POINTS
Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto missed out on the opportunity to score points in the Japanese Grand Prix.
2 April 2026
Formula One - Official Site

After qualifying in 13th place, Hulkenberg tumbled down the order on the opening lap and found himself as far back as 19th, leaving him with a considerable battle to take P11 at the chequered flag. “It’s difficult to make progress now still with these cars, with the whole Overtake Mode and energy.”

“It’s been interesting and fun but also frustrating at times when you make a great move but then the next straight, you’re a sitting duck and you get repassed. I think the start was not great but we knew it was something we needed to work on in the team,” he explained.

“For me and Nico, we have been struggling a lot since race one. We are working on it – the team is working hard on that. We just need time to put things in place. We still need to investigate some other things but I think the start was nothing compared to the other problems we had through the race. Let’s keep our heads down and go to the next one.”

‘Hulkenberg rues ‘frustrating’ starts that cost Audi points’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...i5Q96JmadcI26L


Why Nico Hulkenberg stands conflicted over 2026 F1 cars
7 Apr 2026
Anirban Aly Mandal
Motorsport Week

Nico Hulkenberg has said he finds Formula 1‘s latest energy management gimmick both “fun” and “frustrating” at the same time. “With the energy stuff, in a way, it’s interesting and fun, but at the same time, it’s also weird and frustrating,” he told media including Motorsport Week. “You do the move, but you’re just; you really have to pick your fights, and it’s so easy to overspend and get a big de-rate and be a sitting duck.”

“Sometimes, the closing speeds are really immense. So I don’t know. The race was probably entertaining on TV, there was probably lots going on, but it’s different. I think with a regular start, there were obviously points on the table, which is disappointing and frustrating,” he explained.

“So, we need to get on top of that. It’s a work in progress and more work on that side, for sure. I know I had a poor start, but I don’t know the particulars, the ins and outs. I need to have a look and speak with the engineers, but it’s obviously a thing.”

‘Stands conflicted’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...-2026-f1-cars/


Hülkenberg on why F1’s hidden struggle is both ‘fun and frustrating’
07/04/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg doesn’t entirely disagree with either driver’s characterization – but the F1 veteran’s take cuts deeper. “With the energy stuff, in a way, it’s interesting and fun, but at the same time, it’s also weird and frustrating,” he said in Suzuka, last time out. “You do the move, but you’re just.”

“You really have to pick your fights, and it’s so easy to overspend and get a big de-rate and be a sitting duck. Sometimes, the closing speeds are really immense. So I don’t know. The race was probably entertaining on TV, there was probably lots going on, but it’s different.” In terms of his personal efforts so far this season with Audi, Hülkenberg has been circling the points but never quite seizing them.

Three races in, his tally remains stubbornly at zero – a frustrating statistic that doesn’t tell the full story. Twice, he’s finished just outside the top 10. Once, he didn’t even start. And at the Japanese Grand Prix, opportunity slipped through his fingers almost immediately after a disastrous getaway.

‘F1’s hidden struggle’;

https://f1i.com/news/562563-hulkenbe...ustrating.html


The unfortunate Audi failure that cost Nico Hulkenberg €200,000
Nico Hulkenberg saw a healthy bonus cheque disappear during a 16-second Chinese GP pit stop.
9 April 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

An unfortunate Audi equipment failure cost Nico Hulkenberg a €200,000 bonus, based on reports surrounding the terms of his contract with the German manufacturer. According to OE24, the German earns €5 million per season at Audi, the equivalent of £4.3 million. However, he also has a bonus clause in his contract for each point scored.

Hulkenberg is reported to earn an extra €50,000 (roughly £43,000) per point he scores in 2026, with an equipment failure at the Shanghai International Circuit having cost him a possible €200,000 (£174,000) bonus. During the Chinese Grand Prix, the 38-year-old was running comfortably in eighth when he pitted at the end of lap 35, before encountering a 16-second pit stop.

The long stop was caused by a right-rear wheel gun failure, dropping him outside the points. Ultimately, Hulkenberg had to settle for 11th, when finishing in eighth had been a real possibility. It was a hugely unfortunate outcome for Hulkenberg in what was the first grand prix he had been able to start in 2026.

‘16-second pit stop, cost him a possible €200,000 (£174,000) bonus’;

https://racingnews365.com/the-unfort...erg-eur200-000

Hadjar admits mood at Red Bull is ‘not good’ after tricky start to 2026.
"It’s not good," said Hadjar about the mood. "But everyone’s got their heads down to understand what’s going on. Hopefully the next version of the car really makes an effect. That’s it."
March 31, 2026
Formula One - Official Site

Red Bull find themselves in a midfield battle after another difficult weekend in Japan. The Frenchman endured a frustrating 53-lap race at the Suzuka Circuit that ultimately resulted in a point-less P12 finish, as Red Bull continued their difficult start to the 2026 campaign.

Isack Hadjar started P8 having out-qualified team mate Max Verstappen for the second time this season after the Dutchman failed to reach the final segment of Qualifying.
But he lost several positions over the opening laps having depleted his battery and spent the first stage of the race becoming frustrated behind Arvid Lindblad's Racing Bulls machine.

After finding himself down in P13 after the sole Safety Car period, Hadjar only improved one further position by the chequered flag after a difficult race.
"It was just a really long race. I had a good start and was fighting Pierre [Gasly] just like I wanted to on Lap 1," he said post-race.

‘Next version of the car’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...kseqjlTLjN7dyE


Isack Hadjar warns no fix in sight for ‘terrible’ Red Bull RB22
31 Mar 2026
Sam Cooper
PlanetF1.com

Isack Hadjar said Red Bull’s power unit is not to blame for their underwhelming performance but instead a “terrible” chassis, warning the team has “no lead” on how to fix it. “The only positive right now is that we can drive the car fast, but we have no lead on how we can make a fast one,” he said. “We have a good power unit. Engine’s good. It is just the chassis side is terrible, just slow in the corners.”

‘Terrible chassis’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bu...-issues-hadjar


What was the main lesson for Red Bull after tough Suzuka race?
Mekies: “We learned a lot more about where our car’s limitations are.”
30 Mar 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical

Team Principal Laurent Mekies offered a candid assessment of Red Bull’s situation. “Today we learned a lot more about where our car’s current limitations are.” Completing the race distance with both cars was a priority. “It was important for us to get involved in those battles and for both Max and Isack to complete the race distance, so we could continue to gather more data.”

But the work ahead is substantial. “Of course, we have a lot of work to do and we now have a few weeks to try and find some fixes for those limitations.” The deficit to the front is not rooted in a single flaw. “At the moment, what is important is to work on the performance gap to the guys ahead of us. There is not just one area we can pinpoint as being the cause of our difficulties and we need to work on all areas.” Despite the tough weekend, Mekies remains confident. “It feels bad now, but I have full confidence in the Team.”

The break will be used aggressively. “During the break, we are going to take a deep dive into our data, and take it to our simulator. We won’t have solved everything by the next race, but the Team will do the heavy lifting and get to the bottom of our difficulties.” And he closed with a message of belief. “I have full confidence that, with everyone giving a massive push in Milton Keynes, we will make the most of the coming weeks to move forward and bring improvements to Miami.”

“I have full confidence in the Team”;

https://www.f1technical.net/news/28404


Red Bull drivers handed crucial promise after 'fundamental issues' revealed
Red Bull finds itself several tenths adrift of its normal F1 rivals, frustrating Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
27 Mar 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Team principal Laurent Mekies conceded that the car is not performing at an adequate level, with problems still needing to be solved, before stressing that the team will get on top of the situation. "We are far off and missing quite a bit of performance," Mekies told Sky DE. "I think you can hear that in the reactions of our drivers as well.”

"So far, we haven’t managed to give them a car they can push with. So we have a number of fundamental issues to resolve on our end. That’s part of the start of the season. Of course, you don’t want to go through a problem-solving phase like this, but it’s part of the process. We need to understand the core of our limitations as soon as possible and take the necessary steps.”

“Today is a bit of a frustrating day because our drivers can’t push, and you can see that on the track as well. But we are confident. It is not the first time we have gone through difficulties to understand our limitations. We have done that in the past as well. We will resolve this quickly and bring performance back."

‘Crucial promise’;

https://racingnews365.com/red-bull-d...ssues-revealed


For the first time in years, Verstappen trails teammate in a head-to-head battle
28 Mar 2026
Kada Sárközi
Tim Kraaij
GPblog.com

For the first time in years, Max Verstappen trails his teammate in their qualifying head-to-head. The Dutchman was beaten by Isack Hadjar and now lags the Frenchman in terms of average gap. In the qualifying duel between Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, it’s still 1-1. Although some count the Australia qualifying as a win for the Frenchman, GPblog never counts technical issues for a driver as a loss in the qualifying or race duel. As a result, Hadjar and Verstappen are still level.

Of the two qualifying sessions where the drivers could be directly compared, Hadjar opened up the bigger gap. In Japan, Hadjar was 0.158s faster than Verstappen. Max was 0.119s quicker than Hadjar in China, which means the Frenchman now leads by an average of 0.020s in their head-to-head qualifying gap, an area where Verstappen hasn’t lost to a teammate since 2018.

‘Head-to-head battle’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/analysis/f...to-head-battle


Red Bull see five reasons Isack Hadjar is doing better than Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen’s teammate
8 April 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Red Bull believe Isack Hadjar has so far succeeded where Liam Lawson and more have failed as Max Verstappen’s teammate, with his pace and mentality proving to be vital. The Milton Keynes natives promoted Hadjar from their junior team Racing Bulls for the 2026 F1 season in their quest to finally find a driver who can handle the task of sharing the garage with Verstappen. Hadjar is the sixth driver to join Red Bull since Daniel Ricciardo left in 2018.

Red Bull think Isack Hadjar’s speed, mentality and adaptability have made him a successful teammate for Max Verstappen. Hadjar, however, has so far survived the task of sharing the Red Bull garage with Verstappen at the start of F1’s 2026 regulations era. The 21-year-old has already recorded four points to the 28-year-old’s 12 to secure 12th and ninth in the F1 drivers’ standings after three rounds.

James Hinchcliffe believes Hadjar has solved Red Bull’s “second car blues” with his form so far this year, which RacingNews365 also reports has really impressed the Red Bull hierarchy. Red Bull, including team boss Laurent Mekies, really admire how Hadjar has kicked off 2026. Hadjar has impressed Red Bull with his ‘pure speed’, which was already evident with Racing Bulls last year when he reached Q3 16 times over 24 rounds. The Frenchman has also had a ‘very direct’ approach in the garage, and has shown himself to be very ‘motivated’ this year.

‘Five reasons’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/red...pens-teammate/


Max Verstappen warned of inner Red Bull threat
Max Verstappen's negative attacks on the F1 technical regulations could have a negative effect for him.
8 Apr 2026
Jake Nichol
RacingNews365

Max Verstappen has been warned that his oozing of "negativity" about F1's new technical regulations could allow Isack Hadjar to establish a stronghold at Red Bull. Former F1 driver and GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer believes that Verstappen's constant attacks on the regulations could actually hand new team-mate Hadjar a golden opportunity to establish himself within the team after a strong start, including qualifying third in Australia on his team debut.

"He's just not enjoying anything about it; he's not enjoying racing the car, not enjoying driving the cars and the patience, the different tactics and management you need behind the wheel is not what he inherently wants to do," Palmer told the F1 Nation podcast. "The pace of the Red Bull is also not good, so if he does well, he can qualify seventh or eighth, and he just wants to get in the car and drive it the old school way.”

"With these regulations, you need to adapt a lot and do things which drivers won't be used to from behind the wheel, and small techniques make a big difference, and he's not in the right headspace for it. He's still doing a solid job, but if you think about Red Bull, it is a good time for Hadjar. I'm impressed with how he's started, and then you're looking across at the main guy not enjoying things.”

‘Isack Hadjar to establish a stronghold at Red Bull’;

https://racingnews365.com/max-versta...ed-bull-threat

Feature: Gabriel Bortoleto and Brazil's long road back to Formula 1.
The drought lasted seven years, save for a couple of stand-in drives… Then Gabriel Bortoleto arrived.
16 Mar 2026
XINHUA
The Star, Kenya

For a country that once treated Formula 1 like a second religion, Brazil's absence from the grid had begun to feel strangely normal. Between the days of Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa, Brazil regularly churned out F1 champions and race winners. Grand Prix Sundays were national events, as Interlagos became a cathedral of noise and emotion. The idea that the country might one day have no driver on the grid seemed absurd. Yet by 2018, for the first time since 1969, Brazil had disappeared from F1 entirely.

The drought lasted seven years, save for a couple of stand-in drives for Pietro Fittipaldi in 2020. Then Gabriel Bortoleto arrived. “My idol was always Senna," Gabriel Bortoleto said. "Obviously I wasn't lucky enough to watch him race because I was born ten years after he died, but there are so many videos and interviews you can learn from." Like many Brazilian drivers of his generation, his early inspirations came through a mixture of history and proximity. While Senna has long been written into legend, Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa were the drivers he could actually watch, and the examples that made the dream feel real.

"It's a big responsibility," he tells Xinhua. "Brazil has had great drivers in F1. For me it's about starting my career now and hopefully fighting for wins and championships in the future, and making my country proud in a sport where they have been so successful in the past. They were always references," Bortoleto said. "Any Formula One driver is a reference when you're in karting. You look at them and think, they're in the best series available and you want to be like them. Felipe and I have been in touch for a few years. He was very helpful at many moments of my career with advice."

"It's a big responsibility";

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/worl...k-to-formula-1


Why Bortoleto was 'not surprised' by timing of Wheatley's Audi exit
Gabriel Bortoleto has praised the impact of Jonathan Wheatley during his short stay with the Audi Formula 1 team.
26 Mar 2026
Sam Hall, Adam Cooper
Crash.Net

Having worked previously with multiple world champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, the Briton had a keen eye for what makes a successful F1 driver, and had been forthright in his praise of Bortoleto. “Well, he spoke really good things about me, so I’m grateful for that, and I spent good time with him as well when we were on track, and I learned good things,” said the Brazilian.

“It’s still in the very early stages as well. It’s the first race we are going to do that he’s out, but I hope the best for him in his future.” He added: “He was a good team principal within the team. People liked him, he did a very good job in structuring things here, so he was good while it lasted.”

Pressed by Crash.net on any conversations he has shared with Wheatley following the announcement, Bortoleto added: “I haven’t talked much with him, just a little chat after the announcement. As he made public as well, he couldn’t commit to the project because of personal issues, personal things, that obviously, I didn’t go into detail with him exactly what it is. It’s his problem, whatever it is, and I keep it like this.”

‘Praised the impact of Jonathan Wheatley’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109194...s-audi-f1-exit


Bortoleto "not surprised" by Wheatley's departure from Audi F1
26 Mar 2026
Owen Bradley
GPblog.com

Gabriel Bortoleto has commented on Jonathan Wheatley departing Audi F1 as Team Principal, amidst rumours that Wheatley will join Audi rivals, Aston Martin. Bortoleto and Wheatley only shared one full racing season together, but the former Team Principal was full of praise for the Brazilian, which was particularly poignant, given that he has worked with star drivers such as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel.

Speaking about their professional relationship over 2025-2026, Bortoleto said: "Well, he spoke really good things about me, so I’m grateful for that, and I spent good time with him as well when we were on track, and I learned good things. It’s still in the very early stages as well. It’s the first race we are going to do that he’s out, but I hope the best for him in his future."

"Not surprised";

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/borto...e-from-audi-f1


Gabriel Bortoleto just shared exactly why Aston Martin want his former Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley
26 Mar 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Aston Martin are interested in appointing Jonathan Wheatley as their team principal, and the praise that Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto has just shared in Japan shows why. Bortoleto saw first-hand what Wheatley provided in the role of team principal at Audi, after working together since April 2025. The Briton took charge in Hinwil, Switzerland last year to help reshape Sauber ahead of Audi taking the outfit over to make their debut in F1 in 2026.

Reports began to surface last Thursday suggesting Wheatley has already agreed to become Aston Martin’s new team principal, just 10 months after he joined Audi and just three after Newey added the role to his duties as the Silverstone natives’ managing technical partner. Bortoleto said ahead of the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, via the official F1 website: “He did a very good job last year, and this year as well, I think. Everything was going quite smooth. He put everyone in a good place, [and] we were improving in a lot of areas.”

“I think he brought some positivity to the team. And I think one of the things we always aim inside this team, not only with one person but with everyone, is that we are a team and we do things as a team, so we don’t depend on one person. Whatever he has done last year, whatever he has done this year, it doesn’t depend on one person. It’s going to keep going in this direction, I would say.”

“He put everyone in a good place, [and] we were improving in a lot of areas”;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/gab...than-wheatley/


Bortoleto praises Wheatley, but not ‘surprised’ by Audi exit
26/03/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Gabriel Bortoleto has praised the work done by former Audi team boss Jonathan Wheatley during his brief tenure with the team, but insists he wasn’t surprised by the Briton’s departure. If Bortoleto offered calm acceptance, teammate Nico Hulkenberg delivered something even cooler: indifference.

“It’s not a setback. A Formula 1 team is made of many people. We need strong people but we have, with Mattia, still a leader,” commented the German. "It’s not like we’re without leadership and without structure and without a plan. So whilst it has changed unexpectedly, everything else is on target as we planned and intended before.”

“So on the operations side on a race weekend, I don’t think it is going to change too much. Formula 1 teams are bigger than one person.”

‘Indifference’;

https://f1i.com/news/561722-bortolet...audi-exit.html


Audi name 'top priority' after 'terrible' driver feedback.
"Starts are certainly not one of our strengths at the moment, and the reason it has not been addressed so far is because it is not an obvious thing to be fixed," Binotto told media, including RacingNews365.
7 Apr 2026
Jake Nichol & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Audi is carrying a big weakness in its package and has not been able to implement changes yet. Implementing a fix during the April break in time for F1's return at the Miami GP, what Binotto called a "top priority" for a team only "reactive" and not proactive. "Starts are certainly not one of our strengths at the moment…”

"But on the other side, it is a top priority for us because we had a good qualifying [in Japan], and you are losing all the positions on the start, so it is not worthwhile. It is good for us that a couple of races have been cancelled because, as a team, we will have more time to reflect on the start of the season.”

"It has been very reactive at the moment because, since winter testing as a brand-new team, there has been so much to learn, fixing reliability problems, and we've had no time to start thinking about developments. So that will be one of the focuses over the next few weeks to be better prepared for Miami."

"Starts are certainly not one of our strengths at the moment”;

https://racingnews365.com/audi-name-...river-feedback

Arvid Lindblad Red Bull influence reduced: 'He’s him’.
Arvid Lindblad has made an instant impact in Formula 1, despite still being just a teenager.
24 Mar 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Oliver Rowland, reigning Formula E champion and manager of Arvid Lindblad, has insisted the F1 rookie is "beyond his years" when it comes to maturity. "I mean, it was a dream start in Australia — on the first lap, I had the hairs standing up on the back of my head," Rowland told RacingNews365. "He did a great job. Every time I see him, the guy is maturing beyond his years, and I'm really proud of him, to be honest.”

"Obviously, he just needs to keep his feet on the ground and make sure he doesn't fly off anywhere." Asked who has made Lindblad so mature at such a young age, Rowland explained: "Me or Red Bull, I don't think we have any [influence]. He's him, you know. The day I met him, when he was seven, he was already beyond his years.”

"He's just maintained that delta, to be honest, so I think that's down to him. And yes, the grounding from myself and Red Bull probably helps, because we're focused on trying to mature him, and Red Bull has done an absolutely incredible job with him. But it's mainly down to him, to be honest."

‘Instant impact’;

https://racingnews365.com/arvid-lind...iate-f1-impact


Arvid Lindblad compared to Lewis Hamilton by former coach
Arvid Lindblad has begun his Formula 1 career strongly, and has now been compared to Lewis Hamilton by his former coach.
5 Apr 2026
Sam Hall
Crash.Net

Arvid Lindblad has been compared favourably to seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton by a man who coached both drivers, Dino Chiesa. “He learns quickly and is a technical driver, adapting his braking or style to suit different tyres or chassis," Chiesa told The Sun. "He is also very quick in the rain.”

“I would say he is more like Lewis. Nico was very polite and more willing to accept a second-place finish than Lewis or Arvid. Arvid is really aggressive in races; he doesn’t wait or calculate everything. When he reaches another driver, he overtakes immediately. However, because he is clever, he doesn’t get involved in many incidents or big crashes.”

“He will be good for Red Bull, but sometimes he needs to learn to count to ten before he says something because he can be really passionate and maybe say the wrong thing. You have to be polite when you arrive in F1. When you become a Verstappen or Hamilton, you can say what you want, but until then, you have to be more political, and Arvid is no politician.”

“Learns quickly and is a technical driver”;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/109287...n-former-coach


Arvid Lindblad stuns Verstappen in Japan Grand Prix
Racing Bulls driver, the only rookie on the 2026 grid, beats Red Bull's Verstappen to the final Q3 spot at Suzuka
28 Mar 2026
Pramod Thomas
EasternEye

For BRITAIN's Arvid Lindblad, it was the latest chapter in a rise through the sport that has been swift by any standard. Born on August 8, 2007, in Virginia Water, Surrey, to a Swedish father and a British Indian mother, he began competitive karting aged five and was signed by the Red Bull junior programme at 13. He spent just one year in each junior category, Italian F4, Formula 3 and Formula 2, before stepping up to Formula One, becoming the fourth-youngest driver in the sport's history.

He is only the third driver of Indian heritage to compete in Formula One, following Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. At the opening race in Australia, he qualified in the top 10 and finished eighth, briefly moving up to third at the start after battling the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Verstappen himself.

Racing Bulls chief executive Peter Bayer said afterwards he was "very impressed" with Lindblad's composure, adding: "The engineers love him. He's very focused. He's a hard worker. He's sitting down learning the whole engine stuff, the switches, the modes. Very, very impressive."

‘A rise through the sport that has been swift by any standard’;

https://www.easterneye.biz/arvid-lin...se-grand-prix/


Arvid Lindblad earns major fan praise after "standout" Japanese GP qualifying
28 Mar 2026
Lydia Mee Ronald Young
Motorsport.com

Formula 1 fans have applauded Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad after an impressive qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix.

‘Major fan praise’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/a...ying/10809002/


Arvid Lindblad advised to ‘stay humble’ with F1 career off to ‘amazing’ start
28 Mar 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

Arvid Lindblad’s rise has been sensational. After winning races in Formula 3 in 2024, progression to Formula 2 followed, with more wins and FP1 appearances for Red Bull coming next. Perhaps many might question the rapidity of his promotion to the Faenza-based squad’s F1 ranks but is so far meeting the task with speed and maturity.

Ahead of the previous Formula E weekend in Jeddah, amid F1’s pre-season testing programme in Bahrain, Rowland exclusively told Motorsport Week that his obvious talent is why he is devoting plenty of his free time to Lindblad’s progression.

“I wouldn’t spend so much of my time with him if I didn’t think the same,” he said when asked about fellow FE champion Antonio Felix da Costa’s assessment that Lindblad is “the real deal”. “Yeah, he needs to keep his feet on the ground, however. Stay humble, but I agree,” he said.

‘Stay humble’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...amazing-start/


F1's only rookie Arvid Lindblad settles in: "Why should there be pressure? I'm living the dream"
10 Apr 2026
Filip Cleeren
Motorsport.com

Hot off the heels of a large 2025 rookie class that featured Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman, who have all managed to establish themselves, Lindblad is the only newcomer this year. But you wouldn’t have figured looking at both his on-track performances and off-track demeanour.

“I'm living the dream";

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f...ream/10811920/

Carlos Sainz reveals he could ‘smell’ Williams issues in ‘shocking’ admission.
“I think it’s no secret that it’s been tough, and I could already smell it coming in December, January.” Carlos Sainz.
10 Apr 2026
Jack Oliver Smith
Motorsport Week

Carlos Sainz has revealed that he could “smell” the problems Williams is now facing as early as the end of 2025, admitting the process has been “a shock” for him and the whole team. “I started bracing for the bump, because we already started having these conversations of delays; not arriving at that first test, starting here in the overweight numbers.”

Carlos Sainz ready to face the bump ‘bigger’ than Williams expected. Sainz continued that he was always prepared to face issues, but also admitted that the “bump” the team must overcome is a larger one than it initially realised.

“I said it doesn’t look very promising to start, but, for me, like I said from the beginning of the bump, I knew at some point Williams was going to hit a bump,” he said. “Not all the roads to success are linear. There was always going to be a bump. This bump is big, probably even bigger than what I expected.”

‘Could ‘smell’ Williams issues’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...roblems-early/


Carlos Sainz: Williams investigating after long-term problem ‘flared up again’
7 Apr 2026
Henry Valantine
PlanetF1.com

Both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have elaborated on a long-running car characteristic at Williams, which Sainz admitted came as a surprise when he joined the team. … car had been experiencing a ‘three-wheeling’ sensation… “Yes, it is actually a comment I gave to the team all the way back in 2025 as soon as I jumped in a Williams,” Carlos Sainz explained.

“It seemed like the Williams had this vehicle dynamic characteristic that, let’s say, surprised me from the first lap I did in Abu Dhabi, and I had to get my head around it at the beginning of the season, drive around it, set the car up around it, and we managed to obviously get it better and develop it over the last year.”

“But as soon as we changed regs and the downforce of the car came down overall with these new regulations, the problem flared up again, and it’s something we are trying to address, investigate. I think, as drivers, we’ve given very clear directions of when it’s happening, how it’s happening, and what we feel when it’s happening. The team is doing everything they can now to try and understand it, to see what’s embedded into the car that might be creating this phenomenon.”

‘Long-term problem, ‘three-wheeling’ sensation, ‘flared up again’!’;

https://www.planetf1.com/news/carlos...ide-front-grip


Sainz flags return of old Williams demon in FW48
08/04/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

Amid the challenges faced by Williams from the outset this season, Carlos Sainz has noted the return of a long-standing technical flaw that has impacted the Grove-based outfit’s cars in the past. The issue centers on a bizarre vehicle dynamic that creates a terrifying sensation for the drivers. It is a deficiency in inside-front tyre load that effectively makes the car feel as though it is navigating high-speed bends on only three wheels.

The unexpected April hiatus, following the cancellation of rounds in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, has provided a desperate window for analysis. While other teams are focusing on pure performance, Williams is stuck in a race to fix its very foundation. Alex Albon has echoed these worries, noting that while the tyre isn't literally lifting off the tarmac, the lack of a proper contact patch makes the FW48 treacherous to drive, particularly in corners that have historically exposed the team's weaknesses.

‘Bizarre vehicle dynamic’;

https://f1i.com/news/562619-sainz-fl...n-in-fw48.html


Williams drivers raise concerns over reoccurring historic car flaw
7 Apr 2026
James Phillips
Motorsport Week

Carlos Sainz has raised concerns that a historic car flaw is plaguing Williams again in Formula 1 2026, impacting competitiveness on track. Asked if the FW48 is exhibiting the same symptoms at Suzuka, Albon hinted the issue has been “exacerbated”.

“I think lack of inside front grip has been an issue on our car since I’ve been in the car, so that’s nothing new. It’s just that I think some of the issues that we had were exacerbating that problem,” he said to media, including Motorsport Week.

Sainz reveals Williams issues “flaring up again”. Sainz also confirmed the reapparence of the three w… “Yes, it is actually a comment I gave to the team all the way back in 2025 as soon as I jumped in a Williams,” he explained.

‘Historic car flaw is plaguing Williams’;

https://www.motorsportweek.com/2026/...oric-car-flaw/


Williams plan ‘major’ FW48 upgrade that could save Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz 0.5 seconds every lap
1 Apr 2026, Updated 2 Apr 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Williams intend to make full use of the April break by developing a lighter chassis for the FW48 that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz can race at the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix. Delays with Williams’ FW48 project put the Grove outfit on the back foot in January, as they had to sit out the Barcelona shakedown. While reliability has largely not been an issue since then, the Williams FW48 remained an uncompetitive package in Australia, China and Japan.

Ralf Schumacher has called Williams his “biggest flop” so far in 2026, too, as the team have the so far dominant Mercedes engine but only sit above debutants Audi and Aston Martin in the constructors’ standings. Sainz’s P9 in the Chinese Grand Prix is also Williams’ top result. The Williams FW48 chassis being massively overweight is considered the ‘only reason’ why Albon and Sainz have struggled to have a strong start to the 2026 season. That is according to Blick, which suggests that Williams’ first 2026 rules car is around 15 to 20kg overweight.

Vowles told the Williams website after the Japanese GP: “Right now, what I can really forecast forward is we have a huge amount of work going all the way through and beyond the August break to effectively add performance to the car. Now, other teams will, as well. It’s a relative gain. Some of that performance, I think on the stronger end, will be coming post-August break.”

‘FW48 upgrade’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/wil...nds-every-lap/


Carlos Sainz facing major F1 career problem: 'He's up against it'
Carlos Sainz was given several promises upon joining Williams, yet he now finds himself in an extremely difficult car and situation.
5 Apr 2026
Nick Golding
RacingNews365

Asked if Carlos Sainz could leave Williams, former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle replied on the Sky F1 podcast: "Where would Carlos go? He's been at McLaren. He's been at Red Bull with Toro Rosso, as it was back then. He's been at Ferrari and Williams. "There's no room at Mercedes. He's obviously done a stint at Renault as well—that's now Alpine.”

“It's difficult to know where he'd go to get something better without revisiting places where, for whatever reason, he wasn't invited to stay. So it's really hard for him. I feel for him, because while I don't think he's got the absolute talent of a Verstappen and co., he is a fighter. He's like his dad—relentless—and that plays out quite frequently.”

"Some of the races he's won have been absolutely outstanding, so it would be a shame. He's up against it, because he's driven for nearly half the teams on the grid already in his career. And so, unless a gap opens up unexpectedly—unless Red Bull suddenly needs somebody because Max has decided to go GT racing and sim racing, or whatever, for a year or two—I don't know what else he would do."

'He's up against it';

https://racingnews365.com/carlos-sai...-up-against-it


Red Bull more likely to sign Carlos Sainz than Charles Leclerc if Max Verstappen retires
9 Apr 2026
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Speaking on the Chequered Flag podcast, Andrew Benson said Red Bull wouldn’t consider one of their junior drivers from the lower categories to replace a superstar like Verstappen… Ideally, Red Bull would recruit an A-lister like Leclerc or George Russell, but Benson says they will struggle to attract that calibre of driver given their current struggles.

A driver like Carlos Sainz, who used to race for Racing Bulls forerunners Toro Rosso, is a more realistic signing. He offers Red Bull race-winning pedigree but might also be unhappy at Williams, who themselves have regressed this year.

‘Red Bull more likely to sign Carlos Sainz’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/red...appen-retires/

Franco Colapinto tested Alpine’s aero upgrades in Silverstone filming day after ‘promising’ CFD data.
Alpine chiefs think there is more to gain with the A525’s aerodynamic platform, according to Autosport Web, which reports that Colapinto tested Alpine’s latest aero updates during a filming day at Silverstone this Wednesday.
17 Apr 2026
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Alpine’s wind tunnel, CFD and simulator tests had all yielded ‘promising results’, which they wanted to check in real-world conditions before unleashing them in a race weekend. Alpine also utilised the filming day to conduct further tests on utilising their Mercedes power unit. After the Renault Group closed the French brand’s factory F1 engine programme, Alpine set foot into new territory this year by becoming a Mercedes PU customer. Alpine are still trying to fully understand Mercedes’ engine, owing to changes brought by the 2026 F1 regulations.

It has also been said that Alpine viewed their filming day at Silverstone as a training exercise for Colapinto, given that Gasly has earned 15 of their 16 points to sit eighth in the F1 drivers’ standings. The Argentine ranks in just 16th place after three rounds with his one point so far. Colapinto is the lowest-ranked driver to have earned a point over the opening three rounds, with Haas’ Esteban Ocon boasting a superior second-best finish to sit in 15th place with one point.

Ocon took P11 in Australia and P14 in China before taking his point with P10 in Japan. Alpine will now want to see Colapinto make full use of their new aero updates at the Miami Grand Prix to help Gasly fend off Haas for the best midfield team status. Colapinto only took P14 in Australia and P16 in Japan, 33.433s behind Gasly, on either side of his P10 in China.

‘Promising results’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fra...sing-cfd-data/


Flavio Briatore schedules extra ‘training’ for Franco Colapinto as Alpine struggles continue
16 Apr 2026
David Comerford
F1 Oversteer

Flavio Briatore lines up Alpine test for Franco Colapinto. Alpine used their second permitted filming day at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix, on Wednesday. Their programme was capped at 200km by the regulations, but they were able to test their upgrade package for the Miami GP.

According to Motorsport IT, Briatore chose Colapinto over Gasly for the test because he knows that he ‘needs the most training’. Gasly is in ‘excellent form’ but the Argentine is lagging behind. Even at the season opener in Australia, one Alpine insider said Colapinto is not ‘on the same level’ as Gasly. With the team battling for a top-five spot in the constructors’, they need production from both drivers.

Briatore is notoriously impatient with drivers but he has given Colapinto the best part of a year since he replaced Jack Doohan. The Argentine survived a scoreless 2025, partly due to Alpine having the slowest car on the grid, but expectations have increased, in line with the team’s improvements. Colapinto has not met that standard so far.

‘Not ‘on the same level’ as Gasly’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/fla...gles-continue/


Colapinto to drive F1 car on the streets of Buenos Aires
31 Mar 2026
Toshifumi KITAMURA / AFP
Buenos Aires Times

Argentine driver Franco Colapinto confirmed Tuesday that he will perform a special driving "road show" demonstration in a Formula 1 car on the streets of Buenos Aires on April 26, ahead of competing in the Miami Grand Prix in May. “See you at home, everyone come along!” wrote the 22-year-old driver on Instagram on Tuesday as he announced the event. The event will turn Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Sarmiento, in the tourist district of Palermo, into a two-kilometre street circuit. He will drive 2012 E20, powered by a Renault V8 engine, fully branded with the Alpine team’s livery. It will be the first time a Formula 1 car has been driven in Buenos Aires in 14 years.

“Driving a Formula 1 car at home will be one of the most special moments of my life. It’s my way of giving back, even if only a little, all the support and affection I’ve received since I was very young, which drives me every day to keep dreaming of achieving all my career goals. Every message, every flag and every word of encouragement has always been there for me. This is for all of you, so we can enjoy this special moment together,” said Colapinto in a statement.

‘F1 car on the streets of Buenos Aires’;

https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/spor...os-aires.phtml


Alpine publish 11-page letter over Colapinto ‘sabotage’ accusations
2 Apr 2026
Kieran Jackson
The Independent

Alpine’s F1 team have published a unique 11-page letter on Thursday after accusations of “sabotage” towards their driver Franco Colapinto on social media.

‘Unique 11-page letter’;

https://www.independent.co.uk/f1/alp...-b2950747.html


Alpine highlight “equal opportunity for both drivers to be competitive,” in open letter addressing online abuse
6 April 2026
Jawad Yaqub
F1 Chronicle

Alpine have issued an open letter highlighting their commitment to providing “equal opportunity for both drivers to be competitive,” following online abuse accusing the team of sabotaging Franco Colapinto’s car. The sabotage claims emerged during the Shanghai weekend, where it was alleged that Pierre Gasly’s car was deliberately superior in performance to Colapinto’s.

This claim was ultimately rebuked by Alpine, who addressed the issue of low-performance-impacting parts used in China. “The team endeavours to put the two fastest cars on track and provide equal opportunity for both drivers to be competitive and score important points for the team in the championship,” said the open letter.

“This has remained the case this year and both Pierre and Franco have been running with the same equipment, barring some small low-performance impacting parts in China due to switching gearbox components. Any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car are completely unfounded, which is why the team felt the need to speak out.”

‘Sabotage claims’;

https://f1chronicle.com/alpine-highl.../?nowprocket=1


Alpine rejects ‘sabotage’ accusations in strong Colapinto defence
3 Apr 2026
Tobia Elia
GPblog.com

Alpine moved to shut down any speculation over a disparity in equipment between its two drivers. "Any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car are completely unfounded, which is why the team felt the need to speak out. There might be times this year when pushing in the development race that upgrades come to one car first, which the team will communicate and be completely transparent about. That being said, the aim will always remain to bring upgrades to both cars where possible."

The note finally reads: "It’s absolutely not in the team’s interests to not score points and any suggestion of self sabotage isn’t conducive to that ultimate end goal. From the opening races, the team finds itself in a strong position and the team is not counting on its laurels and is staying grounded. At the last two races, the team has been the fourth fastest car and we know we have to work incredibly hard to stay there and have two cars regularly in with a chance of scoring points."

‘Alpine rejects ‘sabotage’ accusations’;

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/alpin...apinto-defence


Alpine have a new off-track ‘problem’ with Franco Colapinto and his F1 future is in doubt
13 Apr 2026
Tyler Rowlinson
F1 Oversteer

Franco Colapinto is facing pressure from Alpine to keep his seat in Formula 1 in 2026, and the Enstone outfit are finding more issues with the Argentine. Since replacing Jack Doohan six races into 2025, Colapinto has struggled to match the pace of teammate Pierre Gasly.

In 2026, the Frenchman has finished in the points in every race so far, while the 21-year-old only scored his first points for Alpine in Shanghai. The pace deficit between the two drivers, notably in qualifying, has been a real issue. Alpine insiders say Colapinto is not on Gasly’s level, and now the team could have a problem with the Argentine off the track.

‘Franco Colapinto is facing pressure’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/alp...e-is-in-doubt/


Franco Colapinto sends defiant message amid rapid Alpine improvement
5 Apr 2026
Samuel Coop
RacingNews365

Franco Colapinto has explained how Alpine's resurgence in F1 this season has made him "happier" and feeling "more confident" compared to the torrid campaign the team endured last year. "I'm happier, of course," he told media, including RacingNews365. "When you can fight a bit further up, it makes you feel more confident, makes you give that extra little bit in different situations.”

"I think when you are so close to Q3, when you're in the fight, it is different. Last year, unfortunately, we didn't have that. This year, it's looking much better, and of course, the car did steps, and it's looking much closer to the other teams."

‘Defiant message’;

https://racingnews365.com/franco-col...ne-improvement