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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… Why is there a calendar gap in April? It was confirmed mid-March that, due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix will not take place in April.While several alternatives were considered by stakeholders, it was ultimately decided that no substitutions would be made. The decision was taken…
Alpine have condemned social media abuse targeted at Franco Colapinto and dismissed the “completely unfounded” suggestion they are favouring his team-mate Pierre Gasly.Alpine said in an open letter that the team “condemns the hateful messages” aimed at Colapinto after the 22-year-old was involved in Oliver Bearman’s high-speed crash in Japan.The Haas driver’s accident was a result of the near 30mph speed differential between his car and Colapinto’s Alpine, with the Argentine entering energy harvesting mode approaching Spoon curve while Bearman used the boost button.While Colapinto has picked up just one point from the first three Formula 1 races of the…
David Coulthard believes George Russell needs to “start eroding” his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli’s confidence in order to fight for his first drivers’ championship. Russell was tipped as a favourite for the 2026 drivers’ championship title ahead of the season, but Antonelli’s strong streak, which has included two grand prix wins in the first three rounds, has dented the Briton’s title bid. Antonelli’s win at the Japanese Grand Prix placed him as the youngest championship leader in the history of the series, and he now has a nine-point lead over Russell. “I think George is realising this is his opportunity and any advantage…
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 was partly down to Esteban Ocon colliding into him – Colapinto said: “We need to understand a few things on the high-speed corners that we lack and also get more performance on my car. The bits I…
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”. After two challenging weekends in Australia and China – the latter being particularly difficult, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both unable to start the race – the papaya outfit enjoyed a better outing in Suzuka. Piastri spent the early stages of the race in the lead and, while he lost out somewhat owing to the timing of the Safety Car,…
28 years ago today, McLaren placed an audacious bet on a 13-year-old karter that would alter the F1 history books forever.On April 3, 1998, Ron Dennis announced Lewis Hamilton’s signing to the McLaren-Mercedes Young Driver Support Programme, a decision that seemed remarkable at the time and proved transformative in hindsight. The youngster had already won the British Cadet Karting Championship, but McLaren was backing him based purely on potential, raw talent detected in a child barely into his teenage years.The story had begun three years earlier at the 1995 Autosport Awards, when 10-year-old Hamilton approached Dennis and declared his ambition: “I…
There are two ways of looking at a racing driver’s job.Primarily, it is to get whatever car they have been given around a lap as fast as possible. In that sense, nothing has changed.But on a more philosophical level, F1 is meant to be the ultimate challenge – the driver taking their machine and themselves to the limit of what is possible. In that sense, it very much has changed.There is almost unanimous agreement that the challenge of a flat-out qualifying lap has diminished as a consequence of the demand for energy management. To the extent there is no longer…
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 following an initial outing behind the wheel of a Honda NSX-GT at Motegi in 2022 during the Japanese manufacturer’s end-of -season event. Super GT is considered the fastest championship for grand touring…
Our F1 correspondent Andrew Benson is doing a weekly Q&A this season, so get your questions in now.
Charles Leclerc and his wife Alexandra have shared their wedding gift from Prince Albert of Monaco after the couple tied the knot ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Leclercs got married in a small, private civil ceremony in Monaco before a larger celebration with their extended friends and family next year. While they initially kept the ceremony quiet, news quickly spread of their milestone moment when they were seen driving through Monaco in a stunning 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. Prince Albert of Monaco presented the Ferrari F1 driver with a bespoke scale model of a classic Ferrari with…