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

There’s a very curious aspect of Alex Albon’s Japanese Grand Prix that largely went unnoticed. It’s no secret that Williams is paying a high price for the extra weight of its Formula 1 car, estimated at over 20kg, which has delayed development in several areas. This is a condition that penalises the FW47, and one the team hopes to mitigate with a gradual weight-reduction programme.
While ...Keep reading

The Alpine Formula 1 team has denied claims that it has been sabotaging its second driver Franco Colapinto’s car.
Autosport understands the claims were made on social media by primarily Argentinian fans and gained traction due to a difference in car specification at the Chinese Grand Prix.
After finishing 10th in the main Shanghai race, 49 seconds behind team-mate Pierre Gasly – which ...Keep reading

Red Bull is ‘paying the price’ for its 2025 Formula 1 title bid with Max Verstappen, as resources were diverted from its 2026 challenger, team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted.
Last season, Verstappen managed to overturn Oscar Piastri’s 104-point championship lead in the last nine grands prix of the season, falling just two points short of the Australian’s McLaren team-mate Lando ...Keep reading

Lance Stroll will take advantage of an unexpected break in the Formula 1 calendar to contest his maiden GT race.
The Canadian is named on the entry list for the opening round of the GT World Challenge Europe at Paul Ricard on 11-12 April.
Stroll will drive an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 entered by Comtoyou Racing, sharing the driving duties with former Manor grand prix driver Roberto Merhi and ...Keep reading

After another disappointing Formula 1 qualifying session, Max Verstappen appeared in the Suzuka media pen on Saturday afternoon. Of course, being knocked out in Q2 did not help, but he found what he had experienced an hour earlier even more disappointing. A qualifying session that, despite an FIA intervention that made things slightly better, was in his view still not as it should ...Keep reading

Ferrari Formula 1 team boss Fred Vasseur believes May's Miami Grand Prix will be the start of a "new championship" as teams "push like crazy" for a first real opportunity to roll out major upgrades.
Some teams had already trickled out upgrades at last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, but most frontrunners are keeping their powder dry for Miami on the first weekend of May. In some cases, their ...Keep reading

Formula 1 race starts in 2026 come freighted with many uncertainties, but one thing is virtually guaranteed: the sight of both Audis, having qualified well, falling off faster than John Lithgow at the end of the movie Cliffhanger.
Poor starts are just one symptom of an issue that affects all aspects of the Audi power unit’s performance, and the team has acknowledged there is no short-term ...Keep reading

Suzuka has two sides to it. It’s a stunning track, one of the most captivating on the calendar and a true gem on the calendar. But, especially in recent years, overtakes has become extremely difficult here due to a layout that offers few real opportunities to attack and the lack of multiple DRS zones from the previous rules era to facilitate such manoeuvres.
However, the new 2026 regulations ...Keep reading

Betteridge's law of headlines dictates that any headline phrased as a question can be answered with a hard ‘no', and disregarded. Certainly a cursory perusal of the odds being offered by various bookmakers reveals that long-time favourite George Russell remains the choice of the turf accountancy trade – if by a diminishing margin.
We may only be three grand prix weekends into a 22-round ...Keep reading