The eighth round of the 2026 season takes place at the Red Bull Ring, nestled in the Styrian Mountains of Austria at approximately 2,297 feet above sea level.

The circuit is one of the highest-altitude tracks on the F1 calendar, with extreme elevation changes at Turn 1 and Turn 3 presenting significant engineering challenges for all competitors.

The track features a total elevation change of over 200 feet from its lowest point on the start-finish straight up to the crest near Turn 2, placing unique demands on both the cars and power units.

Those challenges are intensified this season following the removal of the MGU-H under the 2026 technical regulations, a component that had been central to F1 hybrid power units since 2014.

The MGU-H converted exhaust thermal energy into electricity and controlled turbocharger speed, effectively helping engines cope with the thinner air conditions found at altitude.

With that component gone and the MGU-K now considerably more powerful in its place, teams must find new ways to manage turbocharger behaviour when the air is thinner than at most other circuits.

Honda’s Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer, Shintaro Orihara, addressed the concern directly in the team’s Austrian Grand Prix weekend preview, offering a candid assessment of the challenge ahead.

“The Red Bull Ring is in the mountains, located at a high altitude. This means that the turbocharger is required to work harder compared to other races,” Orihara said.

“When we had the MGU-H, we had an impact on the harvesting power at this circuit. However, as this component is no longer part of the 2026 regulations, we no longer have the MGU-H to assist the turbocharger, which may make it more challenging to operate both the turbocharger and the engine correctly at high altitude.”

Orihara also noted that high temperatures expected across the race weekend will add another layer of difficulty for the Honda-powered Aston Martin team to manage.

“The first thing we will do in FP1 is to check the behaviour of both the turbocharger and the engine. Moreover, this week, we will expect high temperature at the track so cooling will also be an important topic to factor in,” he explained.

Weather warnings are already in place for the three days of track action in Spielberg, with temperatures forecast to reach 35 degrees Celsius as June’s European heatwave continues to grip the region.

Orihara went on to highlight the specific demands of the Red Bull Ring’s layout, pointing to its short circuit length and three significant straights as additional pressure points for the power unit.

“The reality is that we may see a deficit here to other PU manufacturers, but we will adapt elements like our energy management strategy and driveability to maximise our package for the weekend,” he added.

Red Bull, who are bringing a major upgrade to the Austrian round in the hope of keeping Max Verstappen committed to the team, will face the same altitude difficulties as every team on the grid.

Even if the team has successfully shed the reported extra 12 kilograms from their RB22, managing the turbocharger without MGU-H assistance in the Styrian mountains remains a significant challenge for all 11 teams and five power unit suppliers.

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The Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities mechanism exists specifically to help engine suppliers who are judged to be lacking in power compared to their rivals.

The first ADUO review period concluded after the Canadian Grand Prix, with the FIA releasing its findings to manufacturers in Monaco after assessing every power unit’s performance level.

Red Bull Powertrains was identified by the FIA as the benchmark for internal combustion engines, a verdict that prompted the team to challenge the governing body’s conclusions.

Red Bull raised concerns about the methodology, leading the FIA to review its process, though the initial results remained valid while the federation considered any further action.

What came as a genuine surprise to competitors was how quickly one of the ADUO-eligible manufacturers could move to capitalise on the concession granted to them.

An FIA document published during practice at Barcelona confirmed that both Audi cars were fitted with new internal combustion engines and turbochargers, though the significance of this largely went unnoticed at the time.

The updated power units featured a number of tweaks, though nothing described as a major overhaul, with improvements primarily focused on enhancing driveability rather than outright performance gains.

Audi’s rapid deployment of the upgrade highlights how far advanced the development programme already was at its facilities in Ingolstadt and Hinwil before regulatory approval was even granted.

The revised engines were effectively ready and waiting, needing only the green light from the FIA before being shipped directly to the Barcelona paddock for installation.

This upgrade is understood to represent only the opening step in a much broader development programme that Audi intends to pursue throughout the remainder of the season.

The speed of the response will likely put rival manufacturers on notice that Audi is serious about closing the gap across the 2026 campaign using every regulatory avenue available to it.

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Representing The Heart of Racing Team alongside teammates Gray Newell and Jonny Adam, the Brazilian driver played a key role in guiding the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage through 24 demanding hours at Circuit de la Sarthe. The trio crossed the finish line third in class, delivering a standout result in one of motorsport’s most prestigious events.

Adding further significance to the achievement, Barrichello was behind the wheel for the race’s final stint, taking the checkered flag and securing the LMGT3 podium finish for the team.

For Coinspaid, which partners with Barrichello as a brand ambassador, the result marks another milestone in a season that has established the young Brazilian as one of endurance racing’s most consistent performers.

Podium at Endurance Racing’s Biggest Event

The 24 Hours of Le Mans remains the crown jewel of endurance racing, testing not only outright speed but also reliability, strategy, teamwork, and mental resilience across a full day and night of competition. The result continues a trajectory that has seen the Brazilian steadily establish himself on some of the sport’s biggest stages.

Three Drivers, One Result

Success at Le Mans is always a collective effort. In the LMGT3 category, teams rely on three drivers sharing a single car, balancing performance and consistency across multiple stints.

The No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage was driven by:

• Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello
• Gray Newell
• Jonny Adam

Throughout the race, the trio maintained a competitive pace while avoiding the pitfalls that often define endurance racing, ultimately securing a place on the podium for both Aston Martin and The Heart of Racing Team.

Wingfoot Award Recognition

Barrichello’s Le Mans weekend delivered more than a podium finish.

The Brazilian was also awarded the Wingfoot Award, a fan-voted accolade recognizing the driver who best embodies the spirit of endurance racing through consistency, pace, racecraft, and overall performance.

The award reflects the impression Barrichello made throughout the event and highlights the growing support he continues to attract from endurance racing fans worldwide.

A Season Defined by Consistency

The Le Mans podium adds to an already impressive endurance racing campaign.

Barrichello has now reached the podium in all three of endurance racing’s most iconic long-distance events this season:

• IMSA 24 Hours of Daytona – 3rd Place
• IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring – 2nd Place
• WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans – 3rd Place

Achieving podium finishes at Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans within the same season is a rare accomplishment and underlines the consistency that has become a hallmark of Barrichello’s performances.

A Family Effort

The Le Mans result was also a memorable moment for the Barrichello family.

Former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello was present throughout the entire race, supporting his son and The Heart of Racing Team from the garage. According to the team, the F1 veteran remained with the crew for the full duration of the event, sharing every challenge and triumph across the 24-hour contest.

The image of father and son celebrating together after the finish added an emotional dimension to one of the biggest achievements of Dudu’s career to date.

Another Milestone for the Coinspaid Ambassador

Barrichello’s latest success further strengthens the partnership between the Brazilian driver and Coinspaid, whose ambassador program focuses on individuals demonstrating ambition, discipline, and high performance in their respective fields.

With podium finishes at Daytona, Sebring, and now Le Mans, Barrichello continues to build one of the strongest endurance racing campaigns of his career.

The Le Mans result may not be the final chapter of the season, but it is already a defining moment, one that confirms Dudu Barrichello’s status as a rising force in global endurance racing and provides another proud milestone for his partners at Coinspaid.

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The Brazilian driver made his comments in reference to the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities programme, known as ADUO, which the FIA introduced to help underperforming power unit manufacturers close the gap to their rivals.

The FIA has yet to officially confirm the full ADUO rankings, with the governing body still assessing findings and discussing results with teams and manufacturers ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

What has emerged is that Red Bull Powertrains has been labelled the benchmark engine for the 2026 regulations, a conclusion that reportedly surprised even the energy drink giants themselves.

With Red Bull Powertrains-Ford setting the standard, Audi, Honda, and Ferrari have all been ranked among the lowest of the sport’s five power unit providers, each earning two upgrade opportunities.

Reports in foreign media suggest Audi are planning to introduce an ADUO-related upgrade at the Austrian Grand Prix, raising hopes among fans that the team could see a meaningful step forward.

However, Bortoleto quickly set the record straight, telling Julianne Cerasoli’s Pole Position column for UOL Esporte that the team intends to take a measured and gradual approach to the upgrades.

“We’ll bring things in gradually,” Bortoleto said, before adding: “But I don’t think anything big will happen this year.”

The Audi driver also made clear that the real benefit of the ADUO tokens is unlikely to materialise until the following seasons, stating: “Whatever we use from ADUO, I believe it will come in 2027 and 2028.”

Bortoleto described it as a focused effort, explaining: “That’s our task force, to put everything we have into it.”

He was candid about the limited short-term impact, noting: “For this year it will bring a little something here or there, but nothing that will change our lives.”

Mercedes currently sits between Red Bull and the bottom three manufacturers in the ADUO rankings, having been allocated one upgrade opportunity, while Ferrari, Audi, and Honda each received two.

The rankings mean that McLaren, Williams, Mercedes, and Alpine are all supplied by an engine classed as requiring one upgrade, adding further competitive intrigue to the midfield battle.

Audi’s situation is unique among the ADUO recipients, as the German manufacturer is the sole team running their own power unit with no other constructor relying on their engine supply.

With 2027 firmly in Bortoleto’s sights as the true horizon for ADUO gains, Audi appear to be taking a long-term view of their Formula 1 project rather than chasing short-term performance at the expense of future development.

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Thompson established TC Prototypes, known as TCP, in 1970 with just £100 in the bank and a partner named Chris Charles, from whom the company took its initials.

His Northamptonshire-based workshops produced chassis, suspension components, and sometimes complete cars for scores of teams and manufacturers across multiple motorsport disciplines.

Ferrari was among his most notable clients, with Thompson producing the three monocoque tubs used in the Scuderia’s 312 B3 during the 1973 Formula 1 season.

The official reason Ferrari gave for outsourcing the work was industrial action in Italy, but Thompson was always sceptical of that explanation.

“I think that was just an excuse. The truth is that they had never done a monocoque and didn’t know how to,” Thompson said.

Tyre supplier Firestone had been pushing Ferrari to adopt monocoque technology, first used in F1 by Lotus with the type 25 in 1962, and with Mauro Forghieri sidelined, Sandro Colombo was able to act on the request.

Thompson charged just £400 per tub, and later reflected that much of the profit was swallowed up by the need to invest in metric equipment, as Ferrari’s drawings were not in Imperial measurements.

The second and third chassis were delivered by Thompson personally, strapped to the roof rack of his Ford Cortina on a family road trip to Italy.

“We threw the kids in the car, and off we went. I’m not sure we even had a map,” he recalled, noting the journey also introduced him to his first ever croissant.

Beyond Ferrari, TCP was a prolific builder of Porsche 962 Group C monocoques, produced bodywork for the first Tom Walkinshaw Racing Group C Jaguars, and developed three generations of NSX GT racer for Honda.

Thompson also built the chassis for the one-off Tecno E731 and suspension components for the Shadow DN1, making TCP a quiet but significant presence across the 1973 F1 grid.

A decade later in 1983, TCP produced the second Osella FA1E, a car designed by Tony Southgate incorporating the complete rear end from the previous year’s Alfa Romeo 182.

The TCP and Southgate partnership, operating under the Auto Racing Technology banner, also designed and built the Ford RS200 Group B rally car, with the first eight examples produced at Thompson’s Wellingborough workshops.

“John’s place was never the smartest, a bit junk on junk in places,” Southgate recalled, noting that Ford’s Stuart Turner had expressed reservations about TCP representing the Ford Motor Company.

“But I told him that John would get the cars out the door on time, for a good price and at good quality,” Southgate added, vindicating Thompson’s no-frills approach to the business.

TCP also built an Indycar based on the Williams FW07, which Thompson said he developed after scaling up a line drawing seen in the pages of Autosport, with the car raced by Tom Sneva, Gordon Johncock, and Kevin Cogan.

Thompson retired in the mid-2000s but continued working as a consultant for a subcontract company known as EY3 Engineering, with yet more Porsche 962 tubs following in his retirement years.

“John was happy to stay in the background; he was never one to blow his own trumpet,” said Southgate. “John was just ace at making things, anything out of sheet metal, that was what he was best at.”

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Bezzecchi crashed out of the sprint race at the Masaryk Circuit and then stormed toward a marshal who was attempting to safely clear his motorcycle from the gravel.

The Italian rider pushed and slapped the face of the marshal, an act that was captured on camera and quickly spread across the internet.

Bezzecchi was understood to be angered by the fact that his bike was still revving while marshals attempted to move it to safety, though his behaviour was widely condemned.

His Aprilia Racing team initially appealed the ban that was handed to Bezzecchi, but the appeal was unsuccessful and he was excluded from the remainder of the weekend’s action.

Bezzecchi later appeared at the circuit and was seen embracing the marshal and handing him a personal gift as a gesture of apology.

He also took to Instagram to issue a public apology following the incident, which drew widespread attention from fans and officials around the world.

Now the marshal at the centre of the incident, a volunteer named Ladja, has spoken publicly about the ordeal for the first time in an interview with TNT Sports.

Ladja explained: “I’m ok. At that moment I was a bit shocked, and at night when the wave of the video and all of the seeing it, I mean the whole world, I was really down because it’s something new for me.”

He went on to describe what actually happened with the motorcycle, saying: “I pressed the clutch and tried to pick it up because it was still on and the bike started rolling so I wanted to put it back down and it revved up.”

Ladja made clear the incident was entirely unintentional, stating: “He probably thought that I did it on purpose, it was a pure accident and then everyone saw what happened.”

Despite the shocking nature of the assault, Ladja expressed understanding for Bezzecchi’s emotional state in the heat of the moment, noting the pressure of crashing out of a race.

When asked about the personal apology, Ladja responded warmly: “Yes I have seen it, and he just came and apologised to me in person.”

He concluded with a gracious message toward the rider, saying: “So, I mean, I understand him and I wish him the best of luck. It really matters to me that he apologised.”

The post Slapped Marshal Breaks Silence After Shocking MotoGP Incident Involving Bezzecchi appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The dispute stems from the Monaco Grand Prix, where several drivers including Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were penalised for exceeding pitlane speed limits.

It later emerged that those penalties were caused by a timing loop error at the start of Monaco’s unique pit entry, making them entirely false flags.

All affected drivers except Gasly had already served their time penalties during the race, while the Frenchman received a double five-second penalty at the flag, dropping him from third to seventh.

Alpine subsequently requested a Right of Review, and over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend the stewards rescinded both of Gasly’s penalties, restoring his podium finish.

That decision demoted Isack Hadjar to fourth and also bumped Piastri further down the order, despite the Australian having already served his erroneous penalty on track during the race itself.

McLaren formally appealed against documents 99, 100 and 101 of the Monaco Grand Prix, covering the reinstatement of Gasly’s podium, the updated race classification and revised championship standings.

“The subsequent removal of penalties creates a situation in which some competitors are disadvantaged by having acted in accordance with the rules and the stewards’ decisions,” McLaren stated in their official response to the ruling.

Red Bull also lodged an appeal against the amended result amid concerns over the sporting implications of what is considered an unprecedented stewards’ decision.

Wider concern has spread across the paddock, with fears that the Monaco precedent now incentivises drivers not to serve penalties during a race and protest afterwards instead, potentially affecting strategy across multiple situations.

Mercedes separately filed a Right of Review to explore whether Russell’s penalties could also be undone, given that his Monaco race spiralled entirely out of control after he was hit with a time penalty.

However, following discussions with the FIA and Formula 1 management, Mercedes withdrew its application by Thursday night, accepting that unpicking Russell’s penalties was not achievable.

“Our subsequent collaborative discussion with FIA and Formula 1 has shown their determination to review the unique circumstances arising from the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that caused them,” a Mercedes statement confirmed.

By lodging their appeals and paying the required €5,000 appeal fee and €20,000 deposit, McLaren and Red Bull have now taken the matter to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal in Geneva.

The ICA is an independent body composed of 36 judges elected at the FIA General Assembly, with at least three judges assigned per case by ICA president Lauren Anselmi from Monaco.

Both teams had up to 15 days to submit their grounds for appeal in French and English, with the FIA as respondent then receiving another 15 days to submit a formal response.

A hearing is expected to take place sometime in July, after which the court will deliberate and deliver a verdict that could confirm, alter or waive Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix penalty.

The post McLaren And Red Bull Head To Court Over Gasly Monaco Podium Reinstatement appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The deal between F1 and Apple TV was struck at the beginning of 2026, off the back of the hugely successful F1 movie, which was an Apple TV production.

Under the partnership, Apple TV is showing all races during the 2026 season, though the service is currently limited to viewers in the US only.

A standard subscription to Apple TV costs $12.99 per month, giving subscribers access to the platform’s full library of movies and TV shows alongside F1 coverage.

However, ahead of the eighth round of the season at the Red Bull Ring, Apple TV has opened up its coverage of the Austrian GP to non-subscribers completely free of charge.

The Austrian GP arrives at a critical point in the 2026 drivers’ championship, with the title battle beginning to intensify following a dramatic Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had won five consecutive grands prix before suffering a retirement in Barcelona due to a mechanical failure, handing his rivals a vital opportunity to close the gap.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton took full advantage by winning in Barcelona, cutting Antonelli’s championship lead to just 41 points heading into Austria.

Antonelli’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell is a further nine points behind Hamilton, making the intra-team dynamics at Mercedes one of the most compelling storylines of the season.

The Austrian GP will be a significant test of whether Hamilton and Ferrari are genuine title contenders in 2026, or whether Barcelona was simply an opportunistic result from a struggling rival’s misfortune.

With Antonelli having retaken the lead over Russell before his Barcelona retirement, the battle within Mercedes also remains very much alive and unresolved heading to the Red Bull Ring.

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The Silver Arrows addressed the rumours directly through their Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, an unusual move that reflects how widely the favouritism narrative had spread among fans and followers of the sport.

Various accusations have circulated online suggesting Mercedes has been tilting support toward both drivers at different points, a contradiction that Allison was quick to highlight as evidence of how misguided the speculation truly is.

Mercedes has previous experience navigating a fractious intra-team battle, having famously managed the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during their dominant championship years together.

Team principal Toto Wolff has already made clear that team orders will not be used unless a rival outside the Mercedes garage poses a genuine mathematical threat to one of the drivers’ championship bids.

Wolff’s position was tested at the Barcelona Grand Prix, where Russell and Antonelli lost valuable time fighting each other on track, allowing Hamilton to capitalise and claim victory for Ferrari.

“People are very invested in the people that they support and they want their driver to prosper above all others,” Allison said. “All I can say is if you ever wanted to understand where it sits on our psyche, you’d need to come and work in a team.”

Allison went further in explaining how deep the team-first culture runs inside Mercedes, stressing that anyone who worked there would immediately understand how foreign the concept of favouritism actually is to the entire operation.

“Because if you were lucky enough to come and work in a team, you would instantly be imbued with the culture of that team and you would understand how utterly alien that thought is to anyone in the team,” he said. “And when we hear it, it’s like we’re hearing another language.”

Allison also provided a clear financial reason why favouritism makes no logical sense, explaining that prize money is distributed based on the constructors’ championship standings rather than the drivers’ title, meaning both cars must score maximum points at every race.

“It is in all of our interests that both our drivers prosper,” he said. “Actually, we’re ambivalent about which one is better than the other. We want a 1-2 in every race and we don’t care the order.”

The technical director acknowledged there is only one scenario in which Mercedes would feel justified in expressing a preference, and that is when one driver is mathematically eliminated from championship contention while the other is locked in a fight with a rival from another team.

“So, everything we care about is constructors-oriented and favouritism makes zero sense to us in that respect. We just want maximum points from both the drivers at all times,” Allison added.

Currently, Antonelli leads the drivers’ standings by 41 points from Hamilton, with Russell a further nine points behind, meaning all three title contenders remain very much in the fight heading into the next round.

Mercedes also leads the constructors’ championship by 72 points over Ferrari, though Allison acknowledged the Barcelona result was a setback, with Ferrari’s upgrade package closing the gap between the two leading squads considerably.

“The overall thought is of a disappointing weekend. OK, we got a strong podium, but after winning all of the opening races to have a DNF with one car and a P2, it’s definitely not the weekend we were hoping for,” Allison said.

Allison admitted Mercedes simply lacked the outright pace to respond to Ferrari’s three-stop strategy and conceded the timing of the virtual safety car played a significant role in Hamilton’s victory charge for the Scuderia.

“If the virtual safety car had not come out when it came out, then it probably still would have been a very tall ask for Lewis to have got the win,” he said, adding that the team would not want to rely on such circumstances going forward.

Looking ahead, Allison expressed confidence that Mercedes would respond with their own upgrades, warning rivals that the factory’s development rate remains strong and the team intends to re-establish the performance advantage it held at the start of the season.

The post James Allison Dismisses Mercedes Driver Favouritism Claims As “Utterly Alien” appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The 2026 season has set up one of the most intriguing title battles in recent memory, with Hamilton pitted directly against the Silver Arrows in the standings.

Mercedes currently hold the upper hand in power unit performance, sitting top of the class in that regard regardless of the ADUO ruling’s implications.

Ferrari, however, have been widely regarded as the superior package when it comes to the car’s chassis, keeping Hamilton and the Scuderia firmly in championship contention.

The key vulnerability for Mercedes throughout the season has been reliability, with both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli suffering damaging DNFs at crucial moments.

That weakness now appears to be closing, with Toto Wolff’s team identifying the root cause of the terminal failures that have affected their cars this season.

Technical director James Allison addressed the issue openly on the team’s Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show, expressing cautious confidence that the problems are now understood.

“I think anyone who’s a keen watcher of the sport will have seen that this has laid a few Mercedes engine cars low over the season so far,” Allison said.

He added: “They’re not all identical, but they do sort of originate in the same broad part of the battery, and I think that most of the areas of risk have been understood.”

Allison explained that the team refers to the battery as the “module” and indicated that phasing in new modules during the racing season should help improve reliability across the fleet.

“Obviously for us, that’s an important thing. These DNFs are very, very painful,” the technical director confirmed.

In the drivers’ championship, Antonelli leads the way on 156 points, with Hamilton second on 115 and Russell third on 106, meaning the gaps remain very much closeable.

In the constructors’ standings, Mercedes hold a 72-point advantage over Ferrari, a buffer that could grow considerably if the battery issues are truly resolved.

The next opportunity for both teams to make their mark comes at the Austrian Grand Prix, scheduled for June 26 to 28.

The post Mercedes Battery Fix Threatens Lewis Hamilton’s F1 Championship Ambitions appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Back-to-back difficult results at Monaco and Barcelona, two circuits with contrasting characteristics, have confirmed the team’s problems extend well beyond a single area.

Honda’s power unit deficit remains the primary concern, but recent rounds have made clear the chassis is not compensating for that shortfall in any meaningful way.

“The track character cannot be more different here to Monaco,” Krack said after the Barcelona race, noting the contrast between high-speed demands in Spain and the low-speed nature of the street circuit.

“In Monaco, you struggle to make the tyres work. Here, you try to cool the tyres. It is really very different. But the fact that we are behind on both circuits, shows you that it is all areas that we have to work on.”

Monaco had briefly appeared to offer Aston Martin a slight reprieve, given the circuit traditionally reduces the influence of raw engine power, but both drivers qualified at the rear of the grid, behind even Cadillac.

Fernando Alonso did manage to score a single point in Monaco, though that result owed much to retirements and rival penalties, including Sergio Perez being demoted from tenth to fifteenth after a post-race penalty.

Barcelona proved even more punishing, with Alonso and Lance Stroll again starting from the back row, the pair finishing a full second behind the Ferrari-powered Cadillacs in qualifying.

It was in Barcelona that Alonso publicly declared Aston Martin had “the worst car” and “the worst engine” on the grid, a damning verdict from one of the sport’s most experienced drivers.

Both cars then retired from the race on Sunday, compounding what had already been an extremely difficult weekend for the Silverstone-based outfit.

Krack acknowledged there is no straightforward fix available, saying “I think it is everything” when asked what was causing the team’s stark lack of pace compared to the competition.

“If it was only one thing, it would be quite easy,” he added, underscoring just how widespread the team’s technical challenges currently are.

Rather than rushing upgrades to the circuit, Aston Martin has committed to holding back a significant development package until the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa in mid-July.

“It is weighing on everyone,” Krack said candidly, pointing to the visible pressure felt across the garage and especially among the drivers as the wait for improvements continues.

Krack did reference the team’s leadership structure as a source of stability, noting “we have a strong leader in Adrian Newey” and calling on the entire team to stay committed to the upgrade timeline even amid the difficulties.

The only tangible positive Krack could identify from Barcelona was the execution of a single pit stop, admitting “it is difficult to see them” when pressed on what the team did well across the weekend.

This difficult run marks Aston Martin’s worst opening to a season since the team rejoined Formula 1 under Lawrence Stroll’s ownership in 2021, a stark contrast to the high expectations that surrounded the AMR26 as the first car developed under Adrian Newey’s leadership.

The post Aston Martin’s AMR26 Crisis Deepens As Monaco And Barcelona Expose Full Extent Of Struggles appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Red Bull are bringing a significant upgrade to Austria for the eighth round of the 2026 season, with the team hoping it will represent a step forward after a deeply disappointing start to the campaign.

The team currently sits fourth in the constructors’ championship, a stark contrast to the dominant form that helped Max Verstappen claim four consecutive world titles.

Verstappen himself is seventh in the drivers’ standings and has yet to secure a single race win in 2026, raising serious questions about the team’s competitiveness under the new regulations.

The four-time champion’s future at Red Bull has been under intense scrutiny, with reports suggesting his contract contains an exit clause that could allow him to seek pastures new.

German media reports following the Barcelona Grand Prix indicated the clause allows Verstappen to leave if he is not within the top two of the drivers’ championship by July 1, a deadline that falls immediately after the Austrian race weekend.

With Lewis Hamilton currently sitting 60 points ahead of Verstappen in the standings, it is now mathematically impossible for the Dutchman to reach the top two before that deadline expires.

Speaking after Barcelona, Mekies was refreshingly candid about where Red Bull currently stand: “The picture of the season is these performance variations based on who is bringing an upgrade. Ferrari made a big step forward.”

“Obviously, our next big one is in Austria, but it’s only as good as the real lap time it brings on track. Everyone in Milton Keynes has been working very hard on that package, and there is no doubt that the Austrian upgrade alone will not be enough,” Mekies admitted.

Despite that sobering reality, the Red Bull team principal did express some optimism about the trajectory of the team’s development as the season progresses.

Mekies added: “We know we’ll need some further steps, but what is important is that we stay on this continuous, closing-the-gap trajectory that we have been on since post-Japan.”

He also outlined the specific performance target the team is working toward, stating: “We need to continue to get closer, so that we don’t talk anymore about four tenths, but hopefully about less.”

Whether those words will be enough to convince Verstappen to remain at Red Bull is a different matter entirely, with German outlet Bild reporting the exit clause window remains open until October following the July 1 trigger date.

Verstappen has made no public indication that he intends to leave the team, though this marks the third consecutive season in which his future has been the subject of widespread speculation.

The situation is further complicated by Verstappen’s well-documented dissatisfaction with the 2026 regulations, having previously described the new cars as not fun to drive.

Back in April, reports even suggested Verstappen was seriously considering retirement from the sport at the age of just 28, though that prospect appears to have receded for the time being.

Red Bull will be hoping the Austrian Grand Prix, held at the Red Bull Ring, can serve as a turning point and provide their star driver with enough encouragement to commit his future to the team.

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The FIA announced on Thursday that Mercedes had withdrawn the submission, with the team officially confirming the decision in a statement released on Friday morning.

Mercedes explained that, following discussions with the FIA and Formula One Management, pursuing the request would not achieve any positive outcome for either the team or the sport.

The controversy stems from the reinstatement of Pierre Gasly’s third-place finish after Alpine successfully challenged the penalties Gasly received for pitlane speeding during the race.

Alpine’s challenge proved successful after FOM, the official timing systems supplier of the championship, admitted that the speed measurements used in Monaco were incorrect.

That revelation sparked wider controversy, as four other drivers had also been penalised for the same offence during the race, including Mercedes’ George Russell.

Russell’s situation was made considerably more difficult by the fact he received a drive-through penalty while attempting to serve his original punishment, dropping him outside the top ten.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had already admitted he saw very little chance of getting Russell’s result overturned, but the team still filed the Right of Review request to protect its position.

“We had a limited time window in which to apply for the Right of Review during the race weekend in Barcelona, and did so in order to reserve our position in this regard,” the team’s statement read.

Following conversations with the FIA and Formula One Management, Mercedes concluded that cancelling Russell’s drive-through penalty or receiving any form of sporting compensation was simply not possible.

“Our subsequent collaborative discussion with FIA and Formula One has shown their determination to review the unique circumstances arising from the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that caused them,” Mercedes said.

“In the face of this clear determination, we have concluded that further pursuit of our Right of Review application will not serve our team or the sport and thus we have withdrawn our submission.”

The controversy surrounding the Monaco Grand Prix results is not yet resolved, however, as both Red Bull and McLaren have protested the reinstatement of Gasly’s podium finish, with that matter now heading to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal.

The post Mercedes Drops Right Of Review Bid Over George Russell’s Monaco Grand Prix Penalties appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The 1997 world champion has called on Ferrari to commit fully to Lewis Hamilton as their title contender, prioritising him over Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton joined Ferrari in January 2025 as a seven-time world champion, creating one of the most talked-about driver pairings in modern Formula 1 history.

Leclerc appeared to have the upper hand in their first season together, finishing 86 points clear of Hamilton while claiming seven podiums to Hamilton’s none.

The dynamic has shifted dramatically in 2026, with Hamilton now sitting 40 points ahead of Leclerc in the drivers’ standings heading into the summer portion of the season.

Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix made him the first Ferrari driver to win a grand prix since Carlos Sainz’s triumph at the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix.

He had already demonstrated his resurgence with back-to-back second-place finishes at the Canadian and Monaco Grands Prix, lifting him to second in the championship above Mercedes’ George Russell.

Hamilton now trails championship leader Kimi Antonelli by just 41 points as he hunts what would be an unprecedented eighth world drivers’ title.

Villeneuve, speaking on Sky Sports’ F1 Show, was direct in his assessment, saying: “Lewis knows how to win, and he knows what it takes. And if he gets a sniff of it, there won’t be any quarters.”

The Canadian added: “I think that’s where he can make the difference. Mercedes right now are not in a position to be even able or allowed to choose a driver over another.”

Villeneuve concluded his argument clearly, stating: “Ferrari is because Ferrari has to focus on Lewis if they want a small chance of winning, so the decision is easy to make because Leclerc is quite far back [in the championship].”

Ferrari’s last drivers’ world championship came with Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, while their most recent constructors’ title dates back to 2008, making the pressure to end that drought considerable.

Mercedes, meanwhile, have both Russell and Antonelli fighting for the crown, and the Silver Arrows appear content to allow their drivers to continue racing each other freely for now.

The situation draws comparisons to last season’s title battle, when McLaren’s refusal to prioritise either of their drivers allowed Max Verstappen to benefit from their indecision and remain competitive.

Whether Hamilton can bridge the gap to Antonelli over the remaining races remains the biggest question, but his form gives Ferrari genuine reason to believe a first drivers’ title in nearly two decades is possible.

The post Villeneuve Urges Ferrari To Back Hamilton Over Leclerc In 2026 Title Fight appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The updated engine pushes the concept of its steel-alloy cylinder head even further than before, allowing combustion chamber temperatures to reach levels that would cause structural failures in a conventional aluminium design.

Shell has developed a new fuel specifically for this configuration, working in close collaboration with Enrico Gualtieri’s engine department at Maranello.

The team will ship the third version of its 067/6 power unit to Spielberg, featuring modifications permitted under the ADUO, or Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities regulations.

Ferrari has so far been running a so-called hot engine, with intake air entering the intercooler at temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Celsius, compared to the typical 60 to 70 degrees seen in conventional designs.

From the Austrian Grand Prix onward, that thermal limit is set to be pushed beyond 115 degrees Celsius, representing a significant step in the engine’s operating parameters.

The higher temperature and pressure inside the combustion chamber will allow a greater proportion of fuel particles to burn, producing a more efficient combustion process and more mechanical work from the same energy.

The combined effect of the new fuel and engine modifications is expected to help reduce Ferrari’s horsepower deficit, though it remains difficult to isolate how much performance each element individually contributes.

Lewis Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona provided a major morale boost for the Maranello outfit, with Ferrari also introducing its second aerodynamic upgrade package of the season at that race, following the one first seen in Miami.

The updated aerodynamic configuration, developed under Loic Serra, helped Ferrari demonstrate superior tyre management over the Barcelona race distance, ending a run of six consecutive victories for Mercedes.

Ferrari will nonetheless face stiff competition in Styria, with Red Bull having scheduled the debut of a major upgrade package at its home circuit in Austria.

The team is also working to understand the electronic failure that left Charles Leclerc without power steering, brake-by-wire, and active aerodynamic systems during the Spanish Grand Prix, with engineers examining potential links to an incident at Antony Noghes in Monaco.

The post Ferrari Brings Shell Fuel And Engine Upgrade To Austrian Grand Prix appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Russell crossed the line in second place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, claiming his third podium finish under Formula 1’s new regulations cycle.

The result was also a landmark occasion for the Brackley-based driver, as it marked his 100th grand prix competing for the Mercedes outfit.

Despite that milestone, the Silver Arrows social team chose instead to celebrate former driver Lewis Hamilton, who won the race for Ferrari nearly 20 seconds ahead of Russell.

The Mercedes LinkedIn post also offered commiserations to Kimi Antonelli, who suffered an electrical shutdown with four laps remaining, ending his race prematurely.

Antonelli’s retirement in Spain was his first DNF of the season, halting an extraordinary run of five consecutive grand prix victories for the Italian teenager.

In full, the Mercedes post read: “A tough day for the Team, but fantastic to see our old friend Lewis Hamilton take his first win in Red for our oldest rivals Scuderia Ferrari HP.”

The statement continued: “We’re disappointed that another reliability issue has cost us valuable points with Kimi and it’s clear we need to strengthen in this area.”

Mercedes closed their statement by pledging to “regroup and refocus back home at Lauda Drive and come back stronger in Austria in just a few weeks.”

While images within the post did show Russell pouring champagne and posing with fellow podium finisher Lando Norris, the 28-year-old was not mentioned by name anywhere in the text.

Fans quickly flooded the comments section to express their frustration at the omission, with many pointing to Russell’s 100th race for the team as context that made the snub feel even more glaring.

One commenter wrote: “I’m not sure I see the fairness in this approach. I don’t know the full context behind your team’s decision, but I hope future posts can provide a more balanced perspective.”

Another fan remarked: “Congratulations to Lewis on a well-deserved victory. That said, George also delivered a strong performance, securing P2 in his 100th Grand Prix with Mercedes. It would have been nice to see that acknowledged in the team’s statement as well.”

A more blunt response simply stated: “Wow not mentioning your other driver that finished second, poor.”

One commenter tried to offer a defence of Mercedes given Russell started from pole and finished second, but that view was quickly challenged by another fan who replied: “So why mention Kimi’s DNF then? Completely ignoring your driver getting on the podium in his 100th race for the team is diabolical.”

Another pointed out what they saw as a contradictory tone in the post: “I think a very tongue in cheek post, *disappointed you’ve no mention of your second driver, the VSC wouldn’t of made a difference… it’s like a bitter well done.”

Russell had started the 66-lap race from pole position before ultimately finishing behind Hamilton, whose Ferrari victory came with the help of a Virtual Safety Car at his final pit stop.

Earlier in the season, Russell claimed victory at the Australian Grand Prix in March, though team-mate Antonelli has since emerged as the front-runner for the drivers’ championship.

GPFans contacted Mercedes for comment following the backlash generated by the post.

The post Mercedes Fans Furious As Team Ignores Russell’s Barcelona Podium While Celebrating Hamilton’s Ferrari Win appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli have been victims of the issue, with Russell retiring from the Canadian Grand Prix while leading and Antonelli suffering the same fate while running second in Barcelona.

The team’s technical director James Allison confirmed after diagnosing Antonelli’s car that the problem has been traced back to the power unit’s battery module.

“I think anyone who’s a keen watcher of the sport will have seen that this has laid a few Mercedes engine cars low over the season so far,” Allison said on Mercedes’ Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show.

Allison was careful to note the failures share a common origin without being entirely identical in nature, pointing to one broad area of the battery as the source.

“They’re not all identical, but they do sort of originate in the same broad part of the battery,” he added, offering reassurance that most areas of risk have now been understood.

Customer team McLaren has also experienced a run of electrical trouble this season, with Lando Norris requiring a battery change at Monaco before retiring from that race with power unit-related issues.

Both Norris and Oscar Piastri also failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix due to separate electrical problems, further highlighting the scale of reliability concerns surrounding Mercedes power units.

Allison explained that Mercedes designs its components with failure prevention in mind, aiming to expose weaknesses during testing or on engine rigs rather than during race conditions.

“You accept that there will be failure. We try to make sure that failure happens in testing or on rigs and that it happens as little as possible when you’re out there trying to earn championship points,” Allison said.

When a failure does occur, the team’s immediate response is to take a cautious step back with the equipment while a separate group investigates the root cause to design it out entirely.

“You do a first intervention that is just to try to sort of give the vulnerable thing an easier life while then working on a proper cure that lets you really cane it,” Allison explained.

Team principal Toto Wolff had spoken immediately after Barcelona, warning the team could not afford further retirements in the championship fight and would “leave no stone unturned to understand” the cause.

“Obviously for us, that’s an important thing. These DNFs are very, very painful,” Allison confirmed, underlining just how damaging the failures have been to the team’s title aspirations.

The two retirements in Canada and Barcelona have effectively cost Mercedes 43 points, with Ferrari reducing the gap in the constructors’ championship to just 72 points.

No timeline has been provided for when the permanent fix will be introduced as Mercedes prepares for a demanding run of four races across five weeks, beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix.

The post Mercedes Pinpoints Battery Fault Behind Season’s Costly Race Retirements appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

F1 legend Rob Smedley has told the struggling Silverstone-based outfit to simply “get the f*** on with it” and sort out their internal problems before it is too late.

The team collected just one point from their opening seven grand prix weekends, a deeply troubling return for a team that has invested heavily in talent and infrastructure in recent years.

The Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix proved to be a particular low point, with both Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso qualifying in 21st and 22nd respectively before retiring from the race entirely.

Adrian Newey joined the team in March 2025 and carries enormous expectations, though both the power unit and chassis are widely considered to be well below the standard required to compete at the front.

Honda, who supply Aston Martin’s power unit, have been handed two extra homologations under the FIA’s additional development and upgrade opportunities scheme, offering some relief on the engine side.

However, one F1 expert has suggested that even if Aston Martin had a Mercedes power unit, their chassis limitations would still see them fighting around the level of Haas in the competitive order.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast with Jake Humphrey, Smedley urged the team to come together, be honest, and deliver the significant upgrade package expected ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

“They started the season with a really slow car, with not the best power unit, they’ve got some very clever people there, they just have to work together and get themselves out the s***, it’s as simple as that, right?” Smedley said.

“You’ve got to get in a meeting. You’ve got to get direction. You’ve got to disagree and commit in that meeting and just get the f** on with it, right? That’s what they’re all paid for. So, just go and get on with it and act like a team and stop blaming each other.”

Smedley also expressed cautious optimism that a meaningful upgrade could still reshape Aston Martin’s season before the summer break arrives.

“In Belgium, so pre-summer. We don’t have to wait that long, so six weeks time. We will see and I think you can judge it on that. I mean, they have to make a step forward from where they are now,” he added.

Former F1 team boss Otmar Szafnauer also weighed in, suggesting the team had deliberately held back smaller updates in favour of concentrating resources on one larger package.

“They said, ‘No, no, no. We’re not doing any of that.’ Probably to save their cost-cap money for one big B-spec car and let’s see what happens in Spa. But from what I hear internally, it’s going to be tough,” Szafnauer said.

The Belgian Grand Prix now looms as a critical moment for Aston Martin, with Newey, Enrico Cardile, and the wider technical team all under pressure to demonstrate genuine progress.

The post Rob Smedley Tells Aston Martin To Stop Blaming Each Other And Deliver At Spa appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The team has been on a steady trajectory of closing the gap to frontrunners Mercedes and Ferrari since the post-Japan period of the season.

Team principal Laurent Mekies has been clear-eyed about what the upgrade can and cannot achieve in the fiercely competitive development war that has defined 2026.

“The picture of the season is these performance variations based on who is bringing his upgrade,” said Mekies. “Ferrari made a big step forward. Obviously, our next big one is in Austria. But it’s only as good as the real lap time on track it brings. Everyone in Milton Keynes has been working very hard for that package.”

Ferrari’s upgrade in Barcelona proved transformative enough to deliver Lewis Hamilton a race victory, raising the bar for what a well-executed package can achieve.

Red Bull’s first major upgrade in Miami featured a complete redesign of the RB22’s sidepods alongside the team’s own version of a rotary rear wing, a concept Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur labelled “Macarena.”

Mekies estimates Red Bull still needs to find around four tenths of a second per lap relative to its rivals, having reportedly halved the gap with the Miami upgrade.

“There is no doubt that the Austrian package alone will not be enough,” Mekies stated. “We know we’ll have some further steps needed. But what is important is that on that continuous closing-the-gap trajectory that we have been onto since post-Japan, is that we continue to get closer, that we don’t talk anymore about four tenths, but hopefully about less.”

Weight reduction is another area where the Austrian package could deliver meaningful gains, with Red Bull still believed to be running above the 768kg minimum weight limit permitted under current regulations.

When asked directly in Barcelona whether the weight reduction plan remained on track, Mekies responded with characteristic humour: “Eat less. That’s my plan. That’s my plan for Austria! And hopefully we get lighter there. Austrian food is good, I know. But the plan is to get the car to eat a little bit less there and to get on a bit of a diet.”

Barcelona exposed some of the RB22’s ongoing weaknesses, with Max Verstappen finishing fourth almost 20 seconds behind Lando Norris in a race where the team lacked pace against Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.

Isack Hadjar lost ground at the start but recovered to sixth, with Red Bull clearly outpaced by the top three teams while remaining comfortably clear of the midfield.

Mekies acknowledged the Barcelona result was an expected reality check, given the circuit’s long straight and mix of mid-speed and high-speed corners exposing the car’s current limitations.

“I think we were expecting that reality check in Barcelona,” he said, pointing out it was the first such circuit since China and Japan where the team faced that particular performance profile.

Mekies was nonetheless encouraged by the broader competitive picture, noting that Ferrari’s strong step forward has contributed to a gradual erosion of the advantage Mercedes held earlier in the season.

“Ferrari has done a very good step forward with their package,” he said. “And, you know, for them to win a race on a track like Barcelona, it says a lot about the quality of chassis plus PU.”

He remained measured about Red Bull’s immediate ceiling, noting the team could fight for podiums in Monaco and Canada but not in Spain, describing the gap as now being about incremental gains across multiple areas rather than one single fix.

“Now it’s not about one single thing anymore,” Mekies said. “It’s about finding a little bit of performance in mid-speed corner, in high-speed corner, on the straight line.”

The post Red Bull’s Austria Upgrade Targets Weight And Lap Time Gains In 2026 Development War appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.

The footage is accompanied only by ambient sound, including the wind blowing across the famous principality’s waterfront.

In reality, the video is approximately 15 minutes of footage looped 32 times to produce the full eight-hour runtime.

Attentive viewers will notice continuity oddities, as the boats in the background sometimes change position and colour between loops while Hamilton remains still.

Ferrari’s YouTube description for the video invites viewers to “step into a quieter side of Monaco with Lewis Hamilton.”

The full description reads: “Enjoy 8 hours of uninterrupted 4K ambience featuring Lewis taking in the view over Monaco’s famous harbour.”

Ferrari adds that the video is “perfect as a background video for work, studying, relaxing, reading, gaming, or simply escaping to Monaco for a few hours.”

The suggestion of using the footage as a background for gaming is perhaps the most curious use case Ferrari proposes in the description.

The video arrives in the wake of Hamilton’s high-profile Monaco Grand Prix win, which generated enormous attention for both the driver and the Scuderia.

Ferrari’s social media team has clearly moved quickly to capitalise on Hamilton’s popularity with a piece of content designed for the lo-fi ambience video audience.

The format, which involves long-duration looping footage with calming audio, has become increasingly popular on YouTube as background content for study and relaxation.

Whether Ferrari plans further entries in what could loosely be called their ambient content series remains to be seen, but this one is certainly a first for the sport.

The post Ferrari Drops Eight-Hour Lewis Hamilton Monaco Ambience Video And It Is Exactly What You Think appeared first on Formula1News.co.uk.