Author Archives: PressBox

Lewis Hamilton has entered this season at Ferrari determined to revive his form after a disappointing 2025. That year he finished sixth in the drivers’ standings, did not record a single grand prix podium and was frequently eliminated in Q1. His intra-team duel with Charles Leclerc remains the clearest measure of recovery: Leclerc outqualified Hamilton 23 times to seven, took seven podiums and finished 86 points ahead in 2025. Some critics have been blunt — Roberto Boccafogli called Hamilton ‘clearly outclassed’ — and Ralf Schumacher warned Hamilton could ‘pull the plug’ on his F1 career if he cannot match Leclerc in the opening three or four races. Hamilton has publicly ruled out retirement and his Ferrari contract runs until the end of 2027; figures such as Bernie Ecclestone have reportedly urged him privately to retire.

Ferrari and Hamilton are relying on this season’s regulation overhaul and encouraging pre-season testing to deliver improvement. Ferrari topped running in Barcelona and Bahrain, with Leclerc posting the fastest test time and the SF-26’s revised rear-wing package praised for its straight-line speed. F1 presenter Will Buxton highlighted Hamilton’s strong showings in testing and predicted he can return to winning ways. Ferrari CEO Stefano Domenicali said Hamilton felt confident ahead of the rule changes.

Behind the scenes, Ferrari has reshuffled engineering support — Riccardo Adami moved into a different role and Hamilton has a new race engineer — as the team seeks clearer communication and technical gains. Observers warn that if meaningful improvement does not arrive with the new regulations, Ferrari’s high-profile signing could be seen as a gamble that backfired, adding pressure on team principal Fred Vasseur and potentially jeopardizing Leclerc’s long-term commitment.

Isack Hadjar, 21, has been promoted into a full-time race seat at Red Bull Racing and will partner four-time world champion Max Verstappen for the 2026 F1 season. The move was announced ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale and was reported again as the paddock headed to the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The appointment makes Verstappen’s fourth different teammate in 16 months.

Hadjar earned the promotion after a strong rookie campaign that included a podium at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix and an impressive qualifying and race record; he outscored Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda across 2025. His first season also featured notable errors — a formation-lap crash in Australia, a collision with Kimi Antonelli in Britain and costly mistakes in Baku. Hadjar joined Red Bull’s junior programme in 2021, carried out FP1 outings in 2023 and 2024 and provided simulator support; Red Bull credited Lawson as a “senior figure” who helped mentor Hadjar, and team boss Laurent Mekies and prior FP1 sessions were said to have smoothed his transition into the senior Milton Keynes operation.

Team and paddock voices framed the timing as opportune. Sergio Perez called the promotion a “massive opportunity,” while Alex Albon and others suggested the 2026 regulation changes will act as a reset likely to suit a young driver stepping into Red Bull’s high-performance environment. Verstappen described their early working relationship after Bahrain testing as “very open,” said Hadjar should enter 2026 with confidence, and — speaking of his own mindset — added, “I can beat anyone.” Hadjar did suffer a wet-weather crash during a closed-door Red Bull test in January 2026. The move comes as Red Bull prepares to start 2026 with a new Red Bull–Ford engine, a technical change that has prompted questions about the team’s title prospects and underscored the significance of integrating a young teammate.

Cadillac is framing its Formula 1 entry with a high-profile marketing push alongside a multi-year technical program. The brand will unveil its debut livery in a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl (scheduled to air around 3:00 a.m. GMT in the U.K. and Europe) and teased the reveal in Times Square with a frosted-glass car replica that gradually “thaws.” The campaign pairs the Super Bowl ad buy with a Times Square activation and online distribution; Cadillac will post the ad to its social channels after the broadcast.

CEO Dan Towriss described the dual launches as an invitation for fans to join the team’s journey. In the U.K., Channel 5 will show the Super Bowl free-to-air and Sky Sports will provide full coverage, giving Cadillac broad exposure as it moves into the season.

On the sporting and technical side, Cadillac will join F1 as the sport’s 11th team and its first expansion entry since Haas a decade ago, operating as a works operation under new technical regulations intended to tighten competition. The team will be based in both Indianapolis and Silverstone, will initially run Ferrari power units, and will simultaneously develop a General Motors engine targeted for 2029 — a multi-year plan meant to balance visibility this season with future powertrain development. Team principal Graeme Lowdon tempered expectations, stressing execution and earning respect while acknowledging logistical and technical hurdles ahead of the season-opener in Melbourne in March. Drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, who together have 16 grand prix wins, said the objective is steady progress and to “try not to finish last,” underscoring Cadillac’s cautious approach as it shifts from a high-visibility launch to the practical challenges of competing in F1.

Cadillac’s newly formed Formula 1 team moved from planning into on-track reality with shakedowns that began at Silverstone and continued at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, where the American entry completed its first meaningful running against rival squads. The rookie outfit, and the 11th team on the grid in 2026, has signed Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, two mid-thirties veterans who bring a combined 16 grand prix wins and wide experience. Team principal Graeme Lowdon said recruiting experienced drivers would help unify the engineering group and garage, and Bottas summed the short-term aim as “try not to be last.”

The Barcelona shakedown was framed as a debugging and data-gathering exercise. Bottas handled the morning running, completing 33 laps, and Pérez completed 11 in the afternoon, 44 laps in total. Many of them had installation and systems-check laps. Running was curtailed at times by minor technical issues, and the team again struggled to accumulate mileage.

Drivers and engineers described a learning curve under the major 2026 regulation changes. Bottas said the car felt different, with less aerodynamic load in high-speed corners, more torque on corner exit, and increased battery-management demands. Pérez called the new engine “massively different” and said, “It’s always challenging when there is a massive rule change.” Lowdon and the drivers emphasized that the priority was to debug systems, build mileage, and establish team procedures, with plans to use further permitted test days and upcoming sessions in Bahrain to work through gremlins rather than chase immediate lap-time performance.