Grid News F1

Vasseur believes Ferrari’s technical development is the key to beating rivals in 2026.  Ferrari, unlike in 2025, started the 2026 season very optimistically, as Frédéric Vasseur stated, saying that the team is in a strong position for 2026 based on the initial results of this year. So far, Ferrari has maintained remarkable consistency, achieving podium finishes in every race held. This performance positions the team as one of the main forces on the current grid. Charles Leclerc was responsible for podium finishes in Australia and Japan, while Lewis Hamilton achieved his first top-3 finish for the Italian team during the Chinese Grand Prix. The Formula 1 calendar now features an unusual gap of more than a month before the race in Miami. This hiatus occurred due to the cancellation of the races scheduled for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Vasseur pointed out that the restart of the championship in the United States could mark a new phase in the competition. According to him, the standings...

  Oscar Piastri surprises the paddock by topping the Friday practice sessions at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix. The first day of track action for the 2026 Japanese GP brought an unexpected scenario for Formula 1 fans. After Mercedes dominated the first free practice (FP1) with a 1-2 finish by George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri’s McLaren stole the show in FP2. The Australian driver clocked a 1:30.133, edging out the Mercedes duo by less than a tenth of a second. This result raises a red flag for the Brackley team, which previously seemed unbeatable on high-speed tracks under these new regulations. McLaren’s FP2 performance is a shot in the arm for the Woking squad, which had a troubled start to the 2026 season with electrical issues in Australia and China. Piastri showed impressive top speed on the main straight, suggesting that the energy mapping of the McLaren/Mercedes engine is finally being mastered by the engineers. Lando Norris also posted a solid pace, finishing ...

The MGU-K will be the key component for extra power in 2026.   Under current regulations, the MGU-K is almost a silent supporting actor, but in 2026, it becomes the protagonist. With the removal of the MGU-H (which recovered energy from turbo heat), the full responsibility for charging the batteries will fall on the MGU-K during braking. This creates a fascinating technical problem: on tracks with few heavy braking zones, like Spa-Francorchamps or Monza, cars could run out of energy in the middle of the straights. This will force teams to adopt the "Manual Override Mode," where the driver must decide exactly when to spend the available 350kW. It will no longer be just about pinning the throttle; it will be about managing the electrical discharge to avoid becoming a "sitting duck" at the end of the lap. Engineers from Red Bull Powertrains and Audi are already focused on how to optimize this recovery without upsetting the car's balance on corner entry. The driver ...