Motoring News

Friday practice for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was atypical in several respects. Lap times turned out to be four and a half seconds slower than expected due to the poor track surface, Mercedes did not impress as much as perhaps expected and the run plans were rather unusual.
The latter was perhaps most evident with Max Verstappen. Normally, drivers complete their qualifying ...Keep reading

Friday practice for Formula 1's one-off return to Malaysia, following a nine-year hiatus, was always going to throw a few curveballs the paddock's way.
But while Malaysia's daily monsoons missed the track, instead it was the Sepang circuit itself that proved tough to tame. Thursday's track walks had already indicated that the "sandpaper" tarmac, as Oscar Piastri described it, would lead to ...Keep reading

Lewis Hamilton has been warned for impeding Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto in Bahrain Grand Prix practice in Malaysia, escaping with a warning as his Ferrari Formula 1 team received a €10,000 fine.
Halfway through second free practice session on a sweltering Sepang circuit, Hamilton blocked Bortoleto on the entry to Turn 9 as he suffered damage to his right-hand side mirror, resulting in a scary ...Keep reading

The drivers and teams report back on all the action from Friday practice for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia at the Sepang International Circuit.

Charles Leclerc topped FP2 on Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia weekend, but namechecked two rivals as standouts instead.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have given their take on the first day of track action at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with the Dutchman having topped the timesheets in FP1.

Friday saw Mercedes’ new package of upgrades break cover in Malaysia, but the day did not go entirely to plan for the Silver Arrows, with some of their rivals getting out of the blocks faster in both practice sessions.

There looked to be mixed fortunes for McLaren on Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Oscar Piastri admitting that the team appeared to have taken a step through the day.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of Friday's second practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Max Verstappen emerged as the fastest driver in the long runs during the second free practice session for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Red Bull driver was running on medium tyres and, after adjusting for the different stint lengths and tyre compounds, came out ahead of the competition.
 
George Russell (+0.19s) in the Mercedes and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (+0.32s) ...Keep reading

Adrien Fourmaux has moved into the lead of Rally Italy Sardinia to head a Hyundai 1-2 after a punishing opening loop that featured several punctures for World Rally Championship Rally1 crews.
Fourmaux was among those who managed to avoid tyre dramas and reached Friday’s midday service with a 4.6s advantage over team-mate Thierry Neuville.
Fourmaux claimed the opening stage of the day which ...Keep reading

George Russell reckons he needs to make a tweak to his Mercedes Formula 1 car as he believes it is “off the pace” at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Mercedes driver finished second and seventh in the two Friday practice sessions, respectively 0.383s and 0.492s off pacesetters Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
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Formula 1Mercedes reveals F1 Bahrain GP ...Keep reading

The crash suffered by Takaaki Nakagami at Motegi on Friday carries a significant degree of drama, both for the rider and for Honda, which has seen the development of next year's MotoGP prototype seriously compromised.
Nakagami was due to contest what was very likely to have been his final wild-card outing, given that the exemptions allowing test riders to return to racing will be banned from ...Keep reading

Sky Sports Formula 1 commentator and former driver Martin Brundle has dismissed recent paddock speculation linking former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to a management role at Ferrari, following direct contact with the Briton.
Rumours surrounding Horner's future surfaced after he told The Times that Ferrari would be the only team he would work for without having an ownership stake ...Keep reading

Marco Bezzecchi admitted he had to head back to the pitlane and wait for the conditions to improve after nearly crashing in the opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.
Heading out at the recently resurfaced Motegi track for the first time on Friday morning, Bezzecchi had a big scare as he almost highsided off his factory Aprilia exiting Turn 11.
The Italian was able to save a crash ...Keep reading

Formula 1's return to Sepang International Circuit saw Max Verstappen topping Friday's FP1, and that was enough to get fans buzzing about a repeat of his 2017 win at this track. Then FP2 ended, and the Dutchman finished fourth on the timesheets. Obvious practice caveats apply, but let's jump into what the four-time champion thought of his performance today.
Why no soft tyre stint?
Verstappen ...Keep reading

Marc Marquez says he will go on the “attack” from Saturday onwards at the Japanese Grand Prix, admitting he faces a deficit to KTM rival Pedro Acosta.
A year after wrapping up his seventh MotoGP title at Motegi, the factory Ducati rider ended the opening day of running in third place, behind his younger brother Alex Marquez and Austrian GP winner Acosta.
Although the younger Marquez ...Keep reading

With seven or eight Formula 1 weekends remaining in 2026 – depending on the situation in the Middle East – Red Bull has just two objectives left: preventing 2026 from becoming the team’s first winless year since 2015 and, secondly, learning as much as possible ahead of next season.
Regarding the first objective, Verstappen has said on multiple occasions that Baku was theoretically Red ...Keep reading

Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar has revealed that he still does not have full movement of his wrist, but says his condition is "good enough" and joked he did a "good job" during his time out of the race seat.
The French-Algerian driver was forced to sit out the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix after sustaining a fracture during the summer break.
Hadjar made his racing return at ...Keep reading

Alpine Formula 1 chief Flavio Briatore says his team will move on from Franco Colapinto's collision with team-mate Pierre Gasly as the squad fights Racing Bulls in the championship.
Colapinto triggered a three-car accident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, involving Gasly and McLaren's Lando Norris, with all three drivers retiring from the event. Both Alpine drivers were on for valuable points ...Keep reading