You can read more on the changes here<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFP1 in Miami will be extended to ninety minutes on Friday, following the regulation changes announced this week. The session will start half an hour earlier, at 12:00 EDT \/ 17:00 BST. \u00a0meaning that all other track sessions scheduled prior to FP1 will also move forward by thirty minutes.<\/p>\n
A statement from the FIA confirming the news reads: \u201cThis decision has been taken in recognition of the gap since the last Grand Prix, the recently announced regulatory and technical adjustments, and the fact that, as the Miami Grand Prix operates under the Sprint format, which reduces the amount of practice time available over the course of the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remainder of the event will run as originally planned, with Sprint Qualifying being held at 16:30 \/ 21:30 time later on Friday, before the second Sprint of the season takes place at 12:00 \/ 17:00 and Grand Prix qualifying at 16:00 \/ 21:00 on Saturday. With the Grand 16:00 \/ 21:00 on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Istanbul will return to the calendar permanently from 2027 after signing a new five-year deal. The race was last held in 2020-21, having been brought in as a stand-in race for those that were cancelled during the COVID pandemic, with the last regular Grands Prix being held in 2011.<\/p>\n
The addition of Turkey does not mean that the F1 calendar will expand beyond twenty-four races. The event will slot in as contracts for other races expire, or move to a rotational basis.<\/p>\n
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Formula One ranks among the world’s foremost sporting events, distinguished by its spectacle, its young fan base, and its leadership in automotive technologies. In our country, too, Formula One enjoys a broad following across all age groups – especially among our youth – with a truly passionate fanbase.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI regard Turkey’s return to the Formula 1 calendar as a clear reflection of the strong confidence placed in our country – in our robust organisational capacity, in our modern sports and healthcare infrastructure, and, of course, in the renowned hospitality of the Turkish nation.”<\/p>\n
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “We are delighted to be returning to the incredible and vibrant city of Istanbul from 2027 to thrill all our fans in Turkey and around the world on one of the most exciting and challenging circuits in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
“As a city, Istanbul represents a cultural gateway between Europe and Asia, offering a unique blend of history and tradition with a forward-thinking approach to sport, business, and entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Istanbul Park was one of the new generation of tracks during the 2000s, it has been popular with both drivers and fans. It\u2019s best known for its Diabolica (Turn Eight), which is a fast sweeping multi-apex corner, as well as what\u2019s dubbed the Corkscrew and Eau Rouge, famous corners at Laguna Seca and Spa. It\u2019s become a tradition for circuits in Austin and New Delhi.<\/p>\n
McLaren<\/h4>\n
McLaren says it is planning to bring a \u201ccompletely new car\u201d by the end of May as they are looking to close the gap. The world champions started the season with an underdeveloped car, having focused on winning both championships last year, 2026 has placed them on the back foot with this season, including failing to start the Chinese Grand Prix with either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri.<\/p>\n
However, they made superb progress in understanding their overall package for Japan, where Piastri was in contention for the win before finishing second to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. They have since used the unexpected five-week gap to focus on refining an upgrade package in a bid to take advantage of the huge development potential offered by the new aerodynamic rules.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the media, Team Principal Andrea Stella said, \u201cIn our intent, there was always the idea to deliver a completely new car, especially from an aerodynamic upgrades point of view, for the North American races, so we could keep up with this plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could say overall that, across Miami and Canada, we will see an entirely new MCL40. Again, I would like to stress that this is what I would expect of most of our competitors so [it is] not necessarily going to be a shift in the pecking order, it will be effectively just a check who has been able to add more performance within the same time frame.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also have some performance to recover if we look at Mercedes, and to some extent Ferrari as well, but we are quite happy with the development that we’ve been able to manage in the background.\u201d McLaren is looking to be more competitive, building on the stronger weekend in Suzuka.<\/p>\n
McLaren, who sit third in the championship, eighty-nine points behind leaders Mercedes, have made gains with their understanding of the new-for-2026 power units, with Stella hopeful they will be able to extract the maximum going forward.<\/p>\n
Norris was among the winners on a star-studded night at the prestigious Laureus World Sport Awards on Monday. The world champion was awarded the Breakthrough of the Year award, following the incredible fight with teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen as he fought for his first championship.<\/p>\n
Norris said, \u201cThank you to the Laureus Academy for selecting me as their World Breakthrough of the Year winner. It’s an honour to be recognised by many legendary athletes who have achieved so much in their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning the world championship is something I dreamed about since I was young, so to win my first in 2025 is pretty special. It’s far from being an individual achievement, without my team, who were also nominated for a Laureus Team of the Year Award, I wouldn’t be where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s pretty incredible to have my name added to the list of winners of this Award, joining athletes like Lewis Hamilton to Jude Bellingham. I hope to also inspire young drivers coming through. This Laureus is a reminder of everything that went into our win last season, and everything still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLaren didn\u2019t win the team of the year award, which went to the football club Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n
The team has also signed their youngest driver to their driver academy eleven-year-old Harry Williams. Williams is two years younger than F1 great Lewis Hamilton was when he joined the team in 1998.<\/p>\n
Ella Hakkinen, daughter of two-time world champion Mika, was the youngest driver currently on the McLaren driver development programme, having joined last year aged fourteen. Current world champion Norris joined the programme when he was seventeen.<\/p>\n
Williams first started karting in 2021 and was the 2025 British Open Champion, O plate winner in the Italian Waterswift Series and was fifth in the European Waterswift Championship.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cI am really excited to join the McLaren driver development programme. They’re known for developing talent, so it’s great to join the team as I continue to progress in karting and into single-seater racing in the future.<\/p>\n
Alessandro Aluni Bravi, McLaren’s chief business affairs officer, added, \u201cOur goal is to build a consistent pipeline, laddering into our race programmes in F1, IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship for many years to come, and adding Harry as a talented young karter demonstrates this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor this driver, I think there is no target, no pressure other than enjoy karting to get maximum experience, but also to understand what does it mean to be a McLaren driver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercedes<\/h4>\n
Mercedes has learned a lot about handling its two drivers, both fighting for the championship, but CEO and team principal Toto Wolff says the team are approaching this fight with an \u2018always to let them race\u2019 mindset, but the team always comes first.<\/p>\n
Kimi Antonelli and teammate George Russell have won all three of the Grands Prix so far this season, with the Italian leading the championship, having followed up a maiden win in China with victory in Japan. Mercedes also leads the constructors by forty-five points.<\/p>\n
Wolff says, despite his experience of the Lewis Hamilton \u2013 Nico Rosberg fight between 2014 and 2016, he is confident that his drivers\u2019 individual interests will never be greater than those of the team.<\/p>\n
He told F1.com, \u201cThe oddity in F1 is that the two teammates are also the biggest competitors. We have learned a lot over the last ten-plus years in how to best handle these situations. But best handle means also letting them race and acknowledging the fact that they race.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certain values that we stand for in the team. The team is always bigger than the drivers. It is Mercedes, one of the most formidable brands in the world, the best car brand in the world. Having the opportunity to race to be one of the few selected racers for Mercedes also comes with a responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolff says he would never allow a driver to think it\u2019s \u2018all about him\u2019, given the way this has played out in the past. Saying he would rather have one car fighting.<\/p>\n
After an encouraging but mixed debut season, Antonelli has appeared to have levelled up with his more experienced teammate Russell. But Russell has been hampered by unreliability and, in Japan, he lost out with the timing of the Safety Car, but Antonelli has taken all of the chances laid out in front of him, and is delivering as Mercedes hoped he would.<\/p>\n
Wolff said, \u201cBearing in mind his age and his relative lack of experience, it would take at least a season to find his feet, and that’s happening. But at the same time, [we are] not expecting now an all-year miracle. We’ve seen some very good racing [from him] so far this season \u2013 and fewer mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s benefited from certain racing outcome strategies \u2013 Safety Cars \u2013 but that’s going to swing both directions. That goes for you, that goes against you all year. So he’s on the trajectory that we were hoping that he has.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrari<\/h4>\n
Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has \u201cmade good progress with the car.\u201d The Monegasque driver currently sits third in the drivers’ standings with forty-nine points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli and his Mercedes teammate George Russell.<\/p>\n
The team has seen a jump in performance following the regulation change, after a underwhelming 2025, it is currently second behind Mercedes in the constructors following the opening races. Speaking on the BMST podcast, Leclerc said, \u201cI think we made some good progress with the car. I think we have a good car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment, I’m enjoying it. I think the team’s working very well with the updates. The engineers are doing a great job. And I’m enjoying driving it. I think we have the potential to be competitive. I think it’s a car that allows me to express myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the pace, the pace is there, it’s me now, I have to maximise the opportunities, I have to be consistent, I have to not make mistakes, and I think if I do that I can be competitive.\u201d Leclerc says that he is pleased with the progress made, however, he pointed out that fortunes can easily change over the course of a season.<\/p>\n
He believes that it is important to focus on what you can control, like performance and consistency. With the latter meaning you can be there at the end of the season. Leclerc added he feels like he is working well with engineer Bryan Bozzi and they are on the same page.<\/p>\n
Asked if he could fight for the championship, the Ferrari driver added: “Yes, I think we can. I think if we have the pace, if we have the car, and we execute well, then yes, we can fight for it. I’m optimistic. I think we have the tools to do it. I really believe in the team, and I think if we work well together, we can achieve something really good. So that’s what I’m aiming for.”<\/p>\n
The team are to bring substantial upgrades for next weekend\u2019s race in Miami, as we know the teams have had to adjust there cycles with upgrades which were due to be brought in Bahrain pushed back because of the Iran War.<\/p>\n
It has been working on the rotating rear wing, which has been dubbed the Macarena rear wing, which first appeared at the Sakhir test in February and then in practice in China ahead of its planned debut later in the season. That’s why Ferrari tested its updated wing in Monza, with the endplate area, which houses the actuator, also largely redesigned. The endplates’ geometry is now more angular and less rounded at the top near the Italian flag.<\/p>\n
The most interesting change concerns the position of the actuator within the endplate: the protrusion is now more oblique and closer to the main plane, enabling a different management of the air flow.<\/p>\n
This is an area many teams have been focusing on, giving the endplate profile a three-dimensional shape to alter the air flow. The side view shows that the mounts connecting the first movable element to the mainplane when the wing is closed have been retained. The structural aerodynamic pillar has been streamlined to bring more depth.<\/p>\n
Another new, intriguing feature is the presence of a vertical element positioned centrally above the second movable flap; its function has left room for speculation. Two small aerodynamic appendages have reappeared on both sides of the halo to manage airflow around the cockpit and the driver’s helmet, an area where turbulence easily forms.<\/p>\n
There are also tweaks to the front wing and floor, which are key areas under these new regulations where improvements can be made.<\/p>\n
Williams<\/h4>\n
James Vowles has revealed why he chose to sign with Williams as team principal over other opportunities. Vowles joined the team in 2023 following over two decades with the Brackley team, having served as de facto deputy team principal to Toto Wolff and as motorsport strategy director between 2019 and 2022.<\/p>\n
Having realised that, in order to progress at Mercedes, he would need Wolff to leave his role, Vowles decided to look for opportunities elsewhere. Speaking in an interview with former Padel player Frankie Langan, he said, \u201cAt the end of ’22 there really was not just Williams, there were four different opportunities on the table.<\/p>\n
Explaining why he chose to take the opportunity at the Grove outfit, he continued: “It was the one that resonated with me the most. I mean, to the extent where after the meeting with Williams, I signed the contract in seven days, which is, in any circumstance, really quick, it was just a gelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s such a legendary brand. When I was a kid that was a team that I followed. I just feel really connected to it. I love the independence. I love what it stands for.\u201d He says joining Williams was an opportunity to bring a team back to the front.<\/p>\n
Vowles also said following the team\u2019s rocky start to the season, he has set realistic targets. After missing private testing in Barcelona and battling against an overweight car, the team currently sits ninth in the constructors’ standings with two points, earned by Carlos Sainz at the Chinese Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Asked by Langham if Williams could be fighting for the championship this year, he replied, \u201cThere is no chance that we’ll be in that position this year, I’d love it to be, but I want to say to everyone’s realistic expectations, that we have a long way to go to achieve that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a more realistic goal, which is how I phrased it last year, was a line in the sand we don’t go behind that anymore, continuously treat that as the bare minimum we need to do. So it’s points-scoring every race with podiums being picked up, and keep building on that and the momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vowles says that the realistic goal is to be challenging for championships by 2030, when the investments start coming to fruition.<\/p>\n
Racing Bulls<\/h4>\n
Team principal Alan Permane has given insight into the team’s “strange” upgrade plans, with the F1 paddock in the midst of an April break due to the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix not taking place this month. Most teams have been forced to bring forward upgrades to Suzuka or delay to Miami.<\/p>\n
The team had planned to bring their first big package of parts to Bahrain in early April, these will instead come to Miami, but it leaves the team facing a situation where that part will effectively be “almost replaced” for the next round in Montreal. Permane explained to the media, \u201cWe had a pretty decent upgrade planned for Bahrain, which of course we will see in Miami. We had another upgrade planned for Montreal, so we will have a sort of quick double hit there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s no way to bring them both. The Montreal one, we can’t bring earlier. So, it’s a slightly strange situation where we’ll bring a new quite decent upgrade and new component, and then almost replace it straight away \u2013 that’s just the way the calendar’s fallen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to take the opportunity to do some unplanned work on the chassis, so there’s some bits and bobs to do, there’s some upgrades there that weren’t actually planned in until the end of this flyaway sequence so that’s helped us there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I expected this kind of problem as while the break has given the teams normall have the year mapped out and they don\u2019t have unlimited financial and wind tunnel resources. But there\u2019s always that trade off and the teams wont get this opportunity again.<\/p>\n
Audi<\/h4>\n
Audi has appointed Allan McNish as racing director and de facto deputy team principal after confirming Mattia Binotto has taken over team principal duties following Jonathan Wheatley\u2019s departure. McNish had formerly been the manufacturer\u2019s team principal in Formula E, 2013 WEC Champion and a three-time Le Mans winner.<\/p>\n
More recently, he had been leading Audi\u2019s Driver Development Programme, and will retain that responsibility as part of his new role.<\/p>\n
McNish added: \u201cThis is an exciting challenge at a pivotal moment in the history of Audi and Formula 1, and I am looking forward to contributing even more directly to our trackside performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe project we are building is ambitious, and my focus will be on ensuring that all aspects of our race operations are delivering at their most competitive level and continuously improving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Binotto said: \u201cAllan brings an exceptional combination of racing experience, technical understanding and leadership to this role. This appointment strengthens our trackside leadership at a crucial stage of our project. Allan\u2019s ability to connect all performance-related areas \u2013 from sporting operations to driver development \u2013 will be fundamental as we continue to build our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Binotto was appointed originally as chief operating and technical officer when he joined in 2024, but was later made \u2018head of F1 project\u2019 in an apparent move to clarify his position above Wheatley following the latter\u2019s arrival from Red Bull.<\/p>\n
Following Wheatley\u2019s departure, Binotto\u2019s role has been renamed chief executive and technical officer, as well as team principal<\/p>\n
Cadillac<\/h4>\n
Valtteri Bottas has explained some of the work he has done with Cadillac has been work he has never been able to do before, and is finding plenty of positives from the team. After time at Williams, Mercedes and Sauber the Finn has a decade of experience of racing and fighting for championships.<\/p>\n
But joining Cadillac was a move to a wholly new team meaning that he has been able to get more heavily involved in the design of the car \u2013 something he had never previously experienced. He told Sky Sports, \u201cI\u2019ve never been part of designing a steering wheel layout, or you know, choosing the exact buttons for the wheels. For example, choosing the very own steering ratio I want, stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much more you can do when you are starting as a new team, when you are not carrying any habits or bits from the past. You can really be part of designing everything in the car, which is super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US owned team has made a solid start given they had only eighteen months to build the team, though they haven\u2019t yet scored points they appear to have a strong foundation with both cars finishing the races in two of the first three Grands Prix. Many new teams, have struggled with reliability, getting two cars to the flag in China and Japan represents a strong foundation from which to build.<\/p>\n
Bottas added, \u201cWe have both seen the good and bad. I think we have a good understanding of what the team needs, what the car needs to operate to be at the best level. So, I think together, especially with the mindset we both have, we are definitely putting the team first ahead of us. That will hopefully help us to improve quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are back in two weeks\u2019 time due to the time difference between the UK and Miami, but we will have full coverage of round four of the 2026 season.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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