Mercedes impresses with first race sim at F1’s Barcelona shakedown
Mercedes has delivered a strong start to the 2026 Formula 1 pre-season as Andrea Kimi Antonelli completed a full race simulation on day two. The Mercedes W17 ran reliably on both Monday and Wednesday, with George Russell having completed 92 laps by lunchtime yesterday before handing over the car to Antonelli. The youngster then reeled […]
«Surreal» to see number 1 on my car as McLaren kicks off F1 2026 testing
Lando Norris says driving around as the reigning Formula 1 world champion was a «surreal» feeling as he took to the track in Barcelona for a day of discovering his 2026 McLaren MCL40. McLaren delayed its start to pre-season testing until Wednesday, the third of five shakedown days at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. With […]
Williams missed Barcelona F1 test due to production delays, denies significant weight issue
Williams Formula 1 team boss James Vowles says it is «incredibly painful» for his squad to miss out the Barcelona shakedown test this week, but denies rumours the team’s car will be significantly overweight. Last week Williams abandoned its plans to attend F1’s first testing opportunity of the 2026 pre-season in Barcelona, losing three days […]
What happened on day two of F1’s secret 2026 test
The second day of Formula 1’s secretive ‘shakedown week’ at the Circuit de Catalunya proved much quieter as only two teams took to the track. Ferrari, like McLaren, had signalled its intention to miss the opening day but the reigning constructors’ champion also did not appear on the second. Each team is permitted three days […]
Red Bull undecided on third Barcelona F1 test day after «very unfortunate» Hadjar crash
The Red Bull Formula 1 team is still evaluating its plans for a final day of Barcelona running after Isack Hadjar suffered a crash with the new RB22 on Tuesday. In tricky wet conditions, Hadjar spun backwards into the wall at Barcelona’s final corner, damaging the rear of Red Bull’s 2026 challenger in the process […]
Horner interested in Otro’s Alpine F1 team stake
Flavio Briatore has said Christian Horner is one of the interested parties in buying Otro Capital’s stake in the Alpine Formula 1 team. Since being sacked as Red Bull F1 team boss last July, Horner’s future has been the subject of numerous rumours and he has been linked to several teams. Horner had been in […]
Why there are «no excuses» for Alpine in F1 2026
As Flavio Briatore said at Alpine’s 2026 launch in Barcelona, his team has no more excuses. But rather than dreading the added pressure, a character-building 2025 has meant the team has been counting the days until it could finally show what it can do. It was hard not to notice Alpine was in a buoyant […]
Haas completes 2026 F1 car shakedown ahead of Barcelona test
Haas has become the latest team to shake down its 2026 Formula 1 car, as the grid makes their final preparations for the first official test under the new regulations. F1 sophomore Oliver Bearman turned the first laps in the Haas VF-26 at Ferrari’sFiorano circuit on Saturday, running Pirelli’s special demonstration tyres as part of […]
Audi launches its own F1 young driver programme
In the same week it confirmed a five-year plan to win the world championship by 2030, Audi has announced a driver development programme which will scout and nurture young talent from karting through the single-seater ladder, and perhaps ultimately to Formula 1. The move places Audi in the mainstream of F1 teams, the majority of […]