Wet conditions
- Tyre blanket temps increased for intermediates
- Maximum ERS deployment reduced
- Rear light systems simplified "with clearer and more consistent visual cues to improve visibility and reaction time for following drivers in poor conditions." #F1
Races
- Boost mode capped at +150kW.
- MGU-K deployment limited to 250kW in parts of the lap to reduce the possibility of differing closing speeds (i.e COL/BEA).
Race starts
- New 'low power start detection' system to be tested in Miami that automatically deploys the MGU-K after slow getaway. #F1
The FIA and F1 teams have agreed to introduce tweaks to the 2026 regulations from Miami:
Qualifying
- Changes to encourage more flat-out laps and less battery harvesting.
- Maximum battery recharge limit will be reduced from 8MJ to 7MJ.
- Peak superclip power increased to 350kW (from 250kW). #F1
Mercedes says Pin completed 76 laps of the Silverstone National Circuit, totalling 200km of running.
Pin said: “Driving an F1 car for the first time today was unreal. Whilst being a female driver doesn’t define me, it was great to show what we can do." #F1
Doriane Pin driving the Mercedes W12.
Doriane Pin driving the Mercedes W12 at Silverstone.
Doriane Pin driving the Mercedes W12 at Silverstone.
Doriane Pin in Mercedes garage at Silverstone with Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord during F1 test.
F1 Academy champion Doriane Pin had her first go in F1 machinery this morning at Silverstone.
She drove Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes W12 from the 2021 season. #F1
There is no showmanship or sincerity with any of them. When Sam Altman argued that 'training' a human over 20 years is just as wasteful as AI, it made me want to quit using tech altogether.
Colton Herta announced as FP1 driver for Cadillac at Barcelona-Cataluna Grand Prix.
Colton Herta will make his F1 practice debut with Cadillac during FP1 for the Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
Team principal Graeme Lowdon also said the plan is for Herta to complete all four mandatory FP1 rookie outings for Cadillac this season. #F1
Slight change in technical leadership at Red Bull. Andrea Landi has joined from Racing Bulls as head of performance.
He will report to Ben Waterhouse, who is now in an expanded role as chief performance and design engineer, and will report to Pierre Wache. #F1
Lando Norris driving the McLaren MCL40 during the closed Pirelli test at the Nurburgring.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli driving the Mercedes W17 during the closed Pirelli test at the Nurburgring.
Norris and Antonelli wrapped up the Pirelli tyre test at the Nurburgring today. Norris completed 108 laps, while Antonelli did 109 laps. The fastest time was 1:32.990s from Antonelli.
In another old F1 track revival, the next Pirelli test takes place at Magny-Cours in mid-May! #F1
George Russell on track during a Pirelli tyre test at the Nurburgring.
George Russell on track during a Pirelli tyre test at the Nurburgring.
George Russell speaks to Pirelli engineers during a test at the Nurburgring.
Oscar Piastri on track during a Pirelli tyre test at the Nurburgring.
F1 cars returned to the Nurburgring today, with George Russell and Oscar Piastri taking part in a Pirelli tyre test on the GP circuit. #F1
Yeah, it used to be an airport for a reason...
AI-generated image of the Pop Up hospitality that will be at this year's British GP.
Costa del Northampton?
One of the hospitality options for this year's British GP will feature a pool trackside that "combines a Riviera retreat with a yacht." #F1
That's prize money distributed only to F1 teams. They use it to cover their operating costs (few make a profit), and the bonuses you get in the finishing order inform staff wages, capital expenditure, etc...
Its 'value' is €13.2m, but the FIA's report also notes that, to ensure a "well-trained volunteer cohort" for F1, it invests roughly €11.1m. The High Performance Programme alone is €350,000 annually.
Ever wondered how many volunteers are required to safely and efficiently organise every race in an F1 season?
A new report from the FIA claims a staggering 20,000 volunteers supported all 24 rounds of the 2025 season. #F1
There will be another meeting on April 16th between technical experts to follow up on today's discussion points.
A high-level meeting will take place on April 20th where proposals will be brought forward for the F1 Commission. They will then need to be approved by the FIA WMSC before Miami. #F1
The FIA has said F1 teams and PU makers are commited to "making tweaks to some aspects of the regulations in the area of energy management" following a technical meeting today on the 2026 cars.
This follows concerns over safety and the qualifying spectacle after the first three Grands Prix. #F1
Worth noting that Rennie also returned to engineer Alex Albon in 2020, but left that trackside role again when he was replaced by Sergio Perez. In the races he did with Verstappen last year, Austria and Belgium, it was pretty seamless. Might play a role in Verstappen's future at the team. #F1
Verstappen has worked with Simon Rennie, Daniel Ricciardo's former race engineer, after Lambiase was absent from a couple of races last year.
Rennie was keen to travel less when he took a factory job heading their simulation operations in 2018, which was also a contributor to Ricciardo's exit. #F1
McLaren Racing is pleased to announce that GianPiero Lambiase will join the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team as Chief Racing Officer, reporting to Team Principal, Andrea Stella. The role of the Chief Racing Officer already exists within the team’s structure, with overall leadership of the race team. These duties are currently managed by Andrea Stella in addition to his role as Team Principal. Lambiase is the latest hire designed to strengthen and support the talent pool that exists at McLaren Mastercard, while also reaffirming the team’s long-term commitment to confirming its position as a Championship-winning team. The team’s ability to attract and secure top talent, like Lambiase, and previously Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay, alongside the retention and promotion of highly-talented people already within the team, is a testament to the strategic vision and culture that are integrally embodied in the McLaren Mastercard F1 Team under the leadership of Zak Brown and Andrea Stella, who are also both on long-term contracts. The team look forward to welcoming GianPiero Lambiase when his existing contract ends, no later than 2028.
McLaren shortly follows with a statement confirming Lambiase will join them as chief racing officer, reporting to Andrea Stella.
They also take a dig at Red Bull, naming hires Rob Marshall and Will Courtenay as testament to the "strategic vision and culture" at the team. #F1
Oracle Red Bull Racing confirms that Gianpiero Lambiase will leave the Team in 2028, when his current contract expires. "GP" is a valued member of the Team, which he joined in 2015. Until his planned departure, "GP" continues in his roles as Head of Racing and as Race Engineer to Max Verstappen. The Team and he are fully committed to add more success to our strong track record together.
Red Bull confirms Gianpiero Lambiase will leave the team in 2028. #F1
The move will bring an end to one of F1's most successful driver/engineer partnerships, which has so far yielded four titles and 71 Grand Prix victories.
It's also the latest high-profile exit for Red Bull, following the loss of key figures in leadership, race operations, and strategy. #F1
Verstappen's longtime race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, is set to leave Red Bull for a multi-million-pound deal with McLaren. He will take on a senior role supporting team principal Andrea Stella. #F1
sector.world/2026/04/vers...
Ferguson had a day out just to watch Liverpool get humiliated. No honour on that pitch at the minute. With all of the clubs top class facilities, how can they be so flat?
Beyond The Grid is a profile of an individual. It is a form of journalism because it involves interviewing stalwarts about their job and history in F1.
RE: 'doing journalism' - the Piastri contract, Red Bull cost cap, and Horner saga are all examples of it in action. Everything has its place.
Having reviewed the reaction online and on social media after the Japanese Grand Prix, as a team, we feel we owe it to our fans to address certain points and questions being raised, and also once again speak out against the hate and abuse being aimed at not just one of our own drivers, but also aimed towards our racing counterparts and other members of the Formula One family. The team has previously taken a strong stance condemning any hateful behaviour, abuse, threats or bullying online and on social media, and issuing statements to not only condemn it but also encourage people to enjoy social media responsibly and follow community guidelines. Our stance on this hasn’t changed and remains the same. Social media should be a place to bring people together, share in experiences and encourage healthy debate. In a highly competitive and complex sport, people will always have differences of opinion and disagree, but we encourage all fans of every team and driver to do it in a kind and respectful way. This isn’t about one particular fanbase, it’s about the entire Formula One community coming together to enjoy the sport we all love and are passionate about. The team condemns the hateful messages aimed towards Franco after last weekend’s race in Japan, the same way it condemns the abuse and threats that were aimed towards Esteban Ocon following a collision between the two cars at the Chinese Grand Prix. The two drivers were racing hard and fighting for position and Esteban took full responsibility and apologised to Franco, actively seeking him out in the media pen and also apologising on social media. The resulting abuse that followed was not in the spirit of the sport and was an oversight not to call it out sooner. Abuse of any kind to all drivers is unacceptable and it was especially disappointing that it comes from a minority of fans of the team towards a driver who has given so much to the team in the past and is a Grand Prix winner for Alpine.
Subsequently, the team also condemns the hateful behaviour towards Franco following the incident with Ollie Bearman at Suzuka. First of all, the most important thing is the safety and wellbeing of the drivers and thankfully Ollie is OK. The closing speeds are a characteristic of these cars and as stated by the FIA, it’s something that will be closely reviewed in the coming weeks. The FIA also reviewed the incident involving Franco and Ollie during the race and deemed that no further action was necessary. The team closely monitors its channels and uses certain tools to moderate comments that don’t meet the criteria of our community guidelines. It’s something we as a team also remain in regular dialogue with Formula One and the FIA about and collectively want to tackle and mitigate in future. As the team and the sport enters a short break and reflects on the first three races of the new season, the team would also like to clarify the concern of some fans regarding parity between both our cars. The team endeavours to put the two fastest cars on track and provide equal opportunity for both drivers to be competitive and score important points for the team in the championship. In some instances, given the need to fast-track parts and carefully manage the manufacturing process, the team is only able to bring select parts or upgrades to some events. However, that is never the intended or desired approach, as, if the part is a performance upgrade as we hope and intend, then we want it available on both cars immediately. This has remained the case this year and both Pierre and Franco have been running with the same equipment, barring some small low-performance impacting parts in China due to switching gearbox components. Franco is our driver and the team has placed its trust in him, just as he has with the team. That is an indication of the commitment we have to Franco and his place in the team with equal footing alongside Pierre.
Any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car are completely unfounded, which is why the team felt the need to speak out. There might be times this year when pushing in the development race that upgrades come to one car first, which the team will communicate and be completely transparent about. That being said, the aim will always remain to bring upgrades to both cars where possible. It’s absolutely not in the team’s interests to not score points and any suggestion of self sabotage isn’t conducive to that ultimate end goal. From the opening races, the team finds itself in a strong position and the team is not counting on its laurels and is staying grounded. At the last two races, the team has been the fourth fastest car and we know we have to work incredibly hard to stay there and have two cars regularly in with a chance of scoring points. The team back at Enstone are working incredibly hard and are fuelled by you, the fans, to keep pushing in the hope of more good results. Both Pierre and Franco are also working very hard and will be at Enstone during the break with the engineers and on the simulator, finding every last bit of performance. One of the things that goes unnoticed and isn’t seen often enough is how hard the drivers work together and share information. Pierre and Franco regularly come to each other’s desks in the engineering office to share data and feedback. As a team, we’re fortunate to have someone of Pierre’s experience and, as can be seen from his performances in the first few races, he’s a class act and can perform at an incredibly high level on a consistent basis. The engineering group is very much united and all pulling in the same direction. That includes both Pierre and Franco. There’s no withholding of information or keeping performance tricks hidden away. That is very much a thing of the past and not part of modern Formula One, where you need every bit of input and data to be successful as a team. This is especially the …
Alpine has issued an open letter to fans condemning online abuse directed at the team and its fellow competitors following the Japanese GP.
One line reads: "Any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car [as Gasly] are completely unfounded." #F1
Environmental responsibility in #F1 isn't simply a matter of fitting bigger batteries into the cars and running them on sustainable fuels.
I've spoken to the FIA's F1 and Sport Sustainability lead about how it is using science-led action points to help all stakeholders reduce their carbon impact.
Europe and the UAE should sanction the US and Israel. Those in charge have given those lunatics free rein and must face consequences. It may play into the hands of Russia and China, but in three months, Trump threatened NATO territory and caused global economic hardship. It's inconceivable.
We can confirm that 12T of KitKat products were stolen while in transit between our factory in Central ltaly and their destination in Poland. We are working closely with local authorities and supply chain partners to investigate. The good news: there are no concerns for consumer safety, and supply is not affected.
Bizzare #F1 story of the season?
A statement from KitKat after 12 tonnes of their F1 chocolate bars were stolen while enroute to Poland.
Antonelli is right not to get caught up in the hype of title talk, but his last stint in Suzuka was impressive.
Although car issues held Russell back, the performance from his 19-year-old teammate shows he won't be sailing to a championship in 2026. #F1 #JapaneseGP