Author Archives: PressBox

February 23, 2026

Piastri Says Webber will Step Back, Eyes Melbourne Test

Oscar Piastri reshuffled his management and trackside support for the 2026 Formula 1 season, with long-time manager Mark Webber stepping back from regular trackside duties to concentrate on commercial matters while remaining part of the driver’s management. Piastri confirmed the change during pre-season testing in Bahrain, describing it as a planned shift that will see Webber attend fewer events and saying that “there wasn’t anything specific, we just made a decision for things to look a bit different.”

The reorganization places engineer Pedro Matos as Piastri’s main presence at grand prix weekends. Matos worked with Piastri as his race engineer at Prema when the Aussie won the 2021 FIA Formula 2 title and earlier in British F4 in 2017, and will now take on weekend engineering duties. Australian mental-performance coach Emma Murray will increase her involvement during race weekends, and is best known for her work with three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin. Piastri framed the changes as practical adjustments to support on-track performance as drivers and teams adapt to the sport’s new technical cycle.

Piastri credited Webber with playing a key part in his move from Alpine to McLaren and said Webber had been a steady presence across his first three F1 seasons. He denied any dramatic fallout from the reshuffle and said the revamped support team and car will face their first true test at his home race in Melbourne (March 6–8). Separately, commentators, including former driver Ralf Schumacher and unnamed podcast hosts, suggested McLaren had instigated some restructuring to restore calm after Piastri’s difficult second half of the 2025 season. He led the championship for 15 rounds but ultimately finished third behind teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, an assertion presented as outside commentary rather than Piastri’s account.
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February 20, 2026

Buddy Kofoid rebounds into 2026 World of Outlaws contention

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid, 24, returned to form after a serious off‑season illness that began while he was training and competing in Australia. He suffered a severe parasitic infection that inflamed his appendix and small bowel, required hospitalization and caused pronounced lethargy, headaches, nausea and notable weight loss; the illness nearly required surgery. One report did not provide a specific diagnosis, while other accounts said the infection was likely contracted in Australia. Kofoid has since regained weight and fitness, easing concerns about lingering effects.

Recovered and racing for Roth Motorsports, the driver who joined Dennis and Teresa Roth’s team in mid‑2023 quickly showed speed at the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park: he won the half‑mile on the second night and charged from 21st to fourth in the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator, nearly capturing that win. Those early results left Kofoid tied with two‑time defending champion David Gravel atop the standings. His crew of Dylan Buswell, Nate Knotts and Gage Tyra has been part of that rebound.

Kofoid arrived in 2026 with strong recent form — he finished fourth in his rookie World of Outlaws campaign and was runner‑up in 2025 — and said his focus is on winning the Outlaws title and becoming the Roths’ first Outlaw champion. He acknowledged stiff competition from the likes of David Gravel, Carson Macedo, Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart and Sheldon Haudenschild as he heads into a March stretch that includes Volusia’s Bike Week Jamboree (March 1–2), Talladega Short Track (March 6) and Magnolia Motor Speedway (March 7).
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February 20, 2026

FIA orders extra starts, blue-light alerts for Mercedes W17

Mercedes has acknowledged a growing problem with race starts on its new W17 under the 2026 regulation changes, with George Russell warning the team was “stumbling” and saying two of his practice starts were “worse than my worst-ever start in Formula 1.”
Russell said poor starts in Bahrain had cost positions, even causing him to spin his tires and be overtaken by teammate Lewis Hamilton before Turn 1, and he warned that fixing launches was the “tallest hurdle” the team must clear to avoid losing races.
The issue prompted the FIA to organize extra practice starts during the Bahrain weekend and introduce blue-light warnings to improve safety around launches.
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February 20, 2026

F1 Teams Adapt to Sustainable Fuel and Power Unit Changes

The three-day final pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit was teams’ last intensive on-track assessment before the season opener in Melbourne. Run under a new technical rule set — including major changes to chassis, aerodynamics and power units plus the introduction of sustainable fuels — the test imposed a steep learning curve across the F1 paddock. Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull arrived with significant updates and much of the running focused on systems integration: revised hybrid energy harvesting and deployment, new software and cooling maps, reliability work and race-management procedures.

On-track sessions ran daily from 07:00–16:00 local time. Early indicators showed the front-running teams operating in a similar performance window, but lap times were considered deceptive because squads used different fuel loads, tire compounds and bespoke run programmes. Midfield teams concentrated on extracting gains from fresh upgrades while adapting to the broader technical changes.

Live paddock coverage accompanied the running: PlanetF1 provided session-by-session updates and flagged that fans could stream all laps (some reports suggested using a VPN such as ExpressVPN to follow the feeds), while F1i and other outlets published curated photo galleries. A number of outlets used inconsistent day labels in their pictorial recaps, sometimes describing sessions as “penultimate.” Teams balanced aggressive data collection with deliberate concealment of detailed setup and outright-pace information — keeping ballast, setups and full programmes under wraps and leaving open the possibility of late low-fuel runs. Testing concluded after the three-day session; squads will return to base to analyze the collected data and finalize preparations ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
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February 20, 2026

Mack Leopard joins Chase McDermand for 2026 midget season

Mack Leopard is joining Chase McDermand Racing for a full 2026 national midget campaign. The team will contest both the USAC National Midget Series and the POWRi National Midget League, a combined slate that exceeds 50 races. Leopard will run the full USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget Championship schedule, which is scheduled to begin April 24–25 at Kokomo Speedway; this will be Leopard’s first full USAC midget season and Chase McDermand described the effort as development-focused to give Leopard consistent seat time and the best chance to contend for national victories.

Leopard joins the program after a standout run at the January Chili Bowl Nationals. Reports differ on some details: some accounts credited him with 73 passes and four feature wins, while others said he tied a record by racing into nine features or set three event records and moved through from the N‑Main to the F‑Main while winning four features. Those performances, together with earlier success — including sweeping two MARA events in September 2025 for Chase McDermand Racing — helped prompt the decision to run a full national campaign.

Sources list Leopard’s age as either 15 or 16 and identify him as a native of Beavercreek, Ohio. He began racing quarter midgets at age nine and captured two Midwest Thunder championships in that class, had success in micro sprints in 2023 and posted marquee wins in 2024, including the Tom Rieck Memorial. In 2025 he made 11 USAC starts, earning fast qualifying honors and recording an eighth-place finish at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Nebraska. Leopard expressed excitement about returning to the team and publicly thanked his family, friends and partners for their support; the announcement also noted his great-grandfather, Nelson Leopard, worked as a scorer in the sport in the 1950s–60s, underscoring family ties as he begins the full-season effort.
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February 20, 2026

Graham Webber named MotoGP Race Director for 2026

Dorna Sports confirmed a revised MotoGP Race Direction leadership lineup for the 2026 season, appointing Graham Webber as MotoGP Race Director and naming Jack Gorst as deputy Race Director while long-time MotoGP Race Director Mike Webb moves into a newly created Race Direction Coordinator role. Webb will remain based on site at Grands Prix and in the control room, and will serve as IRTA representative and secretary. The three will jointly lead a centralized Race Direction team that will operate across the 22-round 2026 calendar.

The reshuffle preserves continuity while introducing new primary decision-makers: Webber, who had served as deputy race director and previously directed Moto2, Moto3 and MotoE race direction, will helm MotoGP race direction in 2026; Webb has led MotoGP race direction since 2012 and maintained the post through the FIM stewards restructuring after the 2015 Sepang fallout. Jack Gorst, who joins the Event Management Committee alongside Webber, will serve as deputy. The Race Direction remit covers all Grand Prix classes and other on-track competitions staged at MotoGP events, including the newly listed Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup.

Dorna and the FIM also confirmed the wider Race Direction and governance team: Bartolome Alfonso will continue as FIM representative and Safety Officer, Loris Capirossi as MotoGP SEG representative, and Danny Aldridge remains GP Technical Director. The FIM MotoGP stewards panel will be chaired by Simon Crafar, with Andrés Somolinos as FIM MotoGP Chief Steward and Tamara Matko serving as a steward. The FIM Appeals Panel is composed of Ralph Bohnhorst, Raffaele De Fabritiis, Stuart Higgs and Franco Uncini, with Paul Duparc and Paul King named as reserves. Event Management Committee members include Giancarlo di Filippo (FIM Medical Director) and Dominique Hebrard (FIM GP Technical Representative). The Grand Prix Commission is led by MotoGP SEG CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta and the FIM Permanent Bureau by FIM President Jorge Viegas. Dorna noted the 22-round calendar opens Feb. 27–Mar. 1 at Chang International Circuit in Buriram, with a final pre-season test the weekend before and round two scheduled Mar. 20–22 at the Goiânia International Racetrack Ayrton Senna following circuit upgrades.
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February 20, 2026

Sheppard Rallies from Sixth to Win Wieland Winter Nationals

Brandon Sheppard won the 2026 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season opener at the Wieland Winter Nationals at All-Tech Raceway, charging from sixth to take the lead on lap 16 and never looking back. Sheppard said his team’s setup work and a precautionary motor change helped the effort, and he protected the bottom-to-middle groove to secure the victory. The win was his 36th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory and his first series triumph since Aug. 15 at Batesville Motor Speedway, setting Sheppard and his team off to a strong start in the 2026 season.

Defending series champion Devin Moran moved into second on lap 30 and pressured Sheppard in the closing laps, finishing 0.544 seconds behind. Hudson O’Neal, the pole-sitter, slipped as far back as sixth before rallying to finish third, while Brandon Overton led the opening 15 laps before fading to fourth.

Carson Ferguson climbed from 19th to fifth and earned the Hoker Trucking Hard Charger recognition. Clay Harris struck the turn-two wall on lap 29 and was forced out of the race.
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February 20, 2026

Mat Williamson Ties Wight with Third Big Gator at Volusia

Mat Williamson captured his third Big Gator Championship at the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia, tying Larry Wight’s all-time record and giving him his third Big Gator title in four years.

Driving for Buzz Chew Racing, Williamson opened the four-race Nationals with a fourth-place finish, won the next two features, and closed the miniseries with two wins and four top-five results. He entered the final night with a 20-point cushion over challenger Alex Payne and needed only a 12th-place finish to clinch the title.

The team credited week-long reliability, including no DNFs, and an effective restart strategy amid volatile cautions, noting the emphasis on avoiding DNFs and major mechanical problems after losing a championship by three points in 2025 because of a flat tire. The Big Gator victory came three months after Williamson secured his third Super DIRTcar Series championship and gives Buzz Chew Racing momentum heading into the championship season opener, the Delaware Diamond at Georgetown Speedway on March 28. The team said it will undertake heavy preparation for the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Oswego from October 5–10 and plans to prioritize that event as a season objective.
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February 20, 2026

Norris Leads Bahrain Test but McLaren Race Pace Trails Rivals

McLaren arrived at Bahrain pre-season testing with a stark contrast between single-lap pace and race-distance concerns. Lando Norris set the session benchmark with a 1:33.453 lap, edging George Russell by 0.006s and Max Verstappen by 0.131s, while teammate Oscar Piastri also showed strong one-lap speed. Reports varied on the tire compound used for Norris’s flyer (sources cited C3 and C4). Most teams, including McLaren, spent the latter part of the test on race simulations and systems checks rather than chasing outright lap times, and no driver improved on the fastest marks in the second half of the session.

Despite the single-lap headline, McLaren’s long-run work was notably less convincing. Team feedback and testing programs, including extended race-distance stints, pointed to a missing technical or set-up characteristic compared with the 2025 car, a shortfall Norris said has given rivals an edge. Independent timing analysis of comparable simulations (runs by Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, and Oscar Piastri) suggested McLaren may be roughly one second a lap slower in race pace than Mercedes and Ferrari. Those same windows also showed Red Bull and Max Verstappen looking strong. If that gap holds into the Australian season opener, McLaren risks starting as low as fourth on the grid, a scenario that could jeopardize its bid to retain both World Championship titles.

The test also delivered early technical signals from other teams: Ferrari debuted a 180° rotating rear wing under the new active-aero rules (reports said it reverted to a standard position under braking) but largely stayed off track and returned late for standing-start practice. Reliability checks dominated the program, as Lewis Hamilton was limited to five laps by a chassis issue before returning to complete FIA systems checks and practice starts. One more round of Bahrain running remains before the Australian Grand Prix, giving McLaren another opportunity to close the observed race-pace gap.
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