Motoring News

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella has set out the factors that he believes helped the squad to “stay in the race” in Japan, with the Italian admitting that there is one particular area where the team “have to improve”.

Why are there no races in April? How is the break in the calendar different to the enforced summer and winter ‘shutdowns’? What will the teams be working on during this period? F1.com answers all of these questions and more in a special explainer…

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports analyst Martin Brundle believes empliying Jonathan Wheatley would be a "smart move" for Aston Martin, though he cautioned that the Silverstone outfit must stabilise its management structure.
Audi confirmed on 20 March that Wheatley had left his role as team principal with immediate effect due to personal reasons. While the 58-year-old is yet to confirm his ...Keep reading

Max Verstappen has expressed interest in racing in Super GT, but admits the lack of a true blue riband event makes a guest appearance difficult to justify.
The four-time Formula 1 champion turned his first laps in a Nissan Z GT500 car at Fuji Speedway last month, as part of a promotional shoot organised by his employer Red Bull.
It marked only his second in a contemporary Super GT prototype ...Keep reading

Alexander Albon has weighed in on the impact of Formula 1’s 2026 regulations, which he said were discussed in the drivers’ briefing.
Closing speed between cars deploying energy and others harvesting it has been a hot topic since pre-season testing and was thrust under the spotlight by Oliver Bearman’s hefty Suzuka crash, when the young Briton lost control of his Haas car at 308km/h when ...Keep reading

Charles Leclerc believes “huge gains” are within reach in all compartments of Ferrari’s 2026 Formula 1 car – including its power unit, chassis, aerodynamics and tyre management.
Ferrari has emerged as Mercedes’ main challenger so far this season, but failed to prevent the Silver Arrows from winning the opening three grands prix following front-row lockouts.
The Scuderia has made ...Keep reading

Haas Formula 1 team principal Ayao Komatsu has made an unexpected appearance at Coventry City Football Club.
Komatsu, who took the reins at the American F1 team ahead of the 2024 season, took advantage of a rare gap in the race calendar after the Japanese Grand Prix to return to his old stomping ground.
Speaking previously to Autosport about his passion for football, the Japanese team chief ...Keep reading

Andrew Benson analyses what we have learned during the first month of the new F1 rules, and the problems that need to be addressed.

Andrew Benson analyses what we have learned during the first month of the new F1 rules, and the problems that need to be addressed.

Daniel Ricciardo has shed light on the origins of his iconic 'Shoey' podium celebrations.
During an interview with Ford CEO Jim Farley, who compared Ricciardo's 'Shoey' to Dan Gurney's inaugural champagne spray at Le Mans in 1966, the Australian explained that he adopted the move as a nod to his home country.
"I believe when I did it, a friend of mine kind of did some history on it and I ...Keep reading

F1 Academy has confirmed a three-race weekend structure for specific rounds of its 2026 season.
The all-female racing series will debut the expanded schedule in Montreal for the second round, before bringing it back for the fifth round in Austin, Texas. The change has been introduced so that the season can continue to consist of 14 races after the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian round in ...Keep reading

Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles has revealed that Alex Albon's unusual burst of late pitstops during the Japanese Grand Prix was a deliberate decision to transform the final laps of the race at Suzuka into a live testing session. 
The Grove outfit has had a troublesome start to the 2026 season after it missed private testing in Barcelona and arrived at the season-opening ...Keep reading

The national average for diesel fuel on April 1 was $5.490 and that is a strain to NASCAR teams like Kaulig Racing who say it has taken a toll on its intended budget before the season began in February.
The military conflict in Iran has led to a surge in prices, and while it dropped to just over $5 on April 2 following a national address by the President of the United States, stating that the ...Keep reading

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says everyone in the Formula 1 paddock agrees the world championship needs to return to "flat-out qualifying” as soon as possible.
F1’s new power units, with nearly 50% electrical power, mean energy management has become a key factor of performance. In qualifying, this translates into downshifting and/or lifting and coasting before corners, and ...Keep reading

Former Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has opened up about knowing when it was the right time to retire from the championship in a candid interview with Ford CEO Jim Farley.
The Australian driver made his F1 debut in 2011 when he was loaned out by Red Bull to Hispania Racing to replace Narain Karthikeyan for the remaining 11 races of the season. By the end of the year he was promoted to a ...Keep reading

Joe Gibbs Racing wants the Western District of North Carolina Court to compel Chris Gabehart and Spire Motorsports to immediately produce any documents related to deleted text messages to each other but also a third-party subpoena to get those deleted communications from the cell phone service providers.
“The nature and significance of the irreparable harm JGR is experiencing cannot be ...Keep reading

It was at the Japanese Grand Prix last year that Jonathan Wheatley made his first appearance as team principal of what is now Audi's works Formula 1 team. After two decades as sporting director of Red Bull, he gave all the indications of being massively enthusiastic about an ambition fulfilled – and delighted to move to Switzerland.
Less than 12 months on, Mattia Binotto – the ‘head of ...Keep reading

With Alpine climbing from the bottom of the pack in 2025 to battling with Red Bull during the opening rounds of 2026, F1.com takes a closer look at the factors behind their upward trajectory.

He was a clear favourite to win the F1 Drivers’ Championship in the summer.

Carlos Sainz admitted he was “satisfied” with his 15th place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix, with his Williams not capable of finishing any higher on a day where only two cars retired. With Alex Albon coming home in 20th, it meant no points for Williams as their early season struggles continue – something James Vowles called “painful.”