Motoring News

As Formula 1's pre-season testing ends in Bahrain, here are all key figures from the last day of running ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Read Also:


Formula 1F1 Bahrain pre-season test: Ferrari tops testing overall by 0.8s



Mileage per ...Keep reading

Honda’s 2026 Formula 1 power unit lacks performance as well as reliability, the Japanese manufacturer has admitted.
Honda’s sole customer and de facto works team, Aston Martin, was slowest of all in the Bahrain pre-season test and completed much fewer laps than any other outfit – 334 in six days.
That is down to a number of technical issues, with an unspecified problem and a “data ...Keep reading

Trackhouse boss Davide Brivio has suggested a change to the way MotoGP weekends are structured, arguing the current format places too much emphasis on Fridays.
Since 2023, each MotoGP round has featured a sprint race on Saturday ahead of the grand prix itself on Sunday. The concept is also used in Formula 1, but there are notable differences in how the two championships have implemented ...Keep reading

Ferrari has achieved the fastest lap in Formula 1’s 2026 pre-season testing, courtesy of Charles Leclerc.
The eight-time grand prix winner topped the timesheet throughout the day. He was quickest in the morning with a 1m33.689s; in the afternoon, he successively brought this benchmark down to 1m33.629s, 1m33.162s and 1m32.655s with C3 rubber.
Leclerc then bolted on C4 tyres and lapped in ...Keep reading

George Russell believes that Mercedes need to “keep on improving reliability” after experiencing some gremlins during the Bahrain test, with the Briton also suggesting that race starts could be the “tallest hurdle” to the team’s potential.

It was continued progress for Mick Schumacher at the Unser IndyCar Open Test at Phoenix Raceway.
The 26-year-old German had a busy two days, logging 222 laps (fifth most) over the three sessions on the 1-mile tri-oval. He ended up 18th overall on the combined speedchart with a flying lap of 171.076 mph (21.0408 seconds).
“It was good,” Schumacher said. “We got not as much running (on ...Keep reading

Kimi Antonelli has confirmed that Mercedes has already identified the issue that caused him to stop on track during the morning session of the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The 19-year-old remains optimistic for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from 6-8 March as the Brackley outfit was able to begin work to fix the issue.
"Yeah, it hasn't been the smoothest of testing ...Keep reading

Lawrence Stroll is purchasing the Aston Martin Formula 1 team's naming rights for £50million.
The British manufacturer made the move to sell the naming rights to its majority shareholder as it works to stabilise its finances. According to The Guardian, Aston Martin said "its earnings for 2025 would be worse than City forecasts, its fifth profit warning since September 2024."
The deal ...Keep reading

Oscar Piastri has addressed his personal management change ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Heading into the new season, the Australian driver confirmed that he had made changes to his management team. While Mark Webber is still Piastri's manager, he will take a step back from his trackside support role and put his focus instead on commercial matters.
Joining the 24-year-old at the track ...Keep reading

Aston Martin curtailed its Formula 1 pre-season testing programme in Bahrain as an after-effect of earlier technical issues.
Having switched to a Honda engine supply for F1’s new era, Aston Martin is the only team to use the Japanese power units and has struggled so far.
Regardless of its mediocre pace, the AMR26’s unreliability has been the biggest issue at Sakhir.
The Adrian ...Keep reading

Tyler Reddick leads the championship standings after winning the 68th running of the Daytona 500 for 23XI Racing, avoiding two last-lap crashes and surging from third to first in the final seconds of the race.
NASCAR now heads to EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) for a triple-header weekend. Christopher Bell is the defending winner of this event, while Chase Elliott is the most recent winner at ...Keep reading

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes that Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen won't like the new 2026 regulations because they "almost have to be mechanical" inside the car rather than driving on instinct.
The 2026 regulations include an almost 50-50 split between internal combustion and electric power, smaller, lighter cars and other changes, such as active ...Keep reading

Charles Leclerc posted the fastest time as pre-season testing continued at the Bahrain International Circuit on Friday, slotting ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri in the morning session.

Aston Martin Team Representative Pedro de la Rosa has made clear that Aston Martin are “not where they want to be” amid a difficult pre-season period, with the squad working “flat-out” to get on top of their issues.

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali believes the new MotoGP technical regulations for 2027 are aimed at simplifying the series and “preventing Ducati from inventing something strange”. 
The 2026 season marks the last under the current technical regulations, an era that has seen Ducati emerge as a clear dominant force. The Borgo Panigale marque began making strides as far back as 2015, and by ...Keep reading

Charles Leclerc significantly impressed by topping the final morning of pre-season testing for the 2026 Formula 1 campaign, while further problems struck Aston Martin in Bahrain.
The Ferrari driver set a 1m33.689s lap on the C3 tyre inside the opening hour, and that is the third session Leclerc has topped across the last two weeks.
Alongside going fastest, the Monegasque completed the ...Keep reading

Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has backed George Russell for the 2026 drivers' championship title.
The 2026 F1 season brings in a new set of regulations that will effectively reset the order of the grid, meaning as pre-season testing nears its end in Bahrain, the usual testing caveats remain and the final pecking order still eludes us.
While weighing up which drivers could ...Keep reading

Broc Feeney has won the opening race of the 2026 Supercars Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park and given Triple Eight the perfect start to its new relationship with Ford.
A Feeney victory may not have been unexpected, but the manner by which he won certainly was. From the second row of the grid, he settled into third early on and chose to make his compulsory pitstop exactly midway through ...Keep reading

Aston Martin’s new power unit partner, Honda, have released a statement following the disruptions to the team’s programme on the second day of the final pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit.

After Formula 1’s first on-track action of 2026, the reactions from drivers on 2026-spec machinery have been mixed. Lando Norris and George Russell have spoken positively, while Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have been more critical.
The Red Bull racer even said that the drivers who are positive could fit into a small “easy-up tent” and that those with objections form ...Keep reading