Kimi Antonelli converted pole position into victory at Spa-Francorchamps, overcoming a virtual safety car setback and a brief loss of the lead to Charles Leclerc before passing him again to seal his sixth win of the 2026 season. The Mercedes driver stretched his championship lead to 45 points over Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth and moved back into second in the standings. Leclerc finished second and Max Verstappen was third, while George Russell retired on the opening lap after a battery deployment problem left him vulnerable before contact with Hamilton ended his race.

The Belgian Grand Prix weekend was dominated by complaints about Formula 1’s 2026 power units and energy deployment. Russell said he was 30 to 40 percent down on battery out of Turn 1, Toto Wolff said Mercedes could not fully explain the fluctuations, and both Mercedes and McLaren drivers said the systems were leaving performance outside the driver’s control. Antonelli, Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Verstappen all criticized the unpredictability, with Piastri saying qualifying grids were being decided by computers behaving or misbehaving and Verstappen saying drivers were using Formula 3 levels of power through parts of Spa.

McLaren also left Spa frustrated after strategy and damage cost both cars stronger results. Norris started 13th because of a grid penalty, briefly led on an alternate strategy, then finished seventh after a poorly timed virtual safety car and a slow pit stop. Piastri finished fifth after floor damage from contact with Leclerc. Hamilton’s weekend was also complicated by a crash in final practice, a five-second penalty for his opening-lap clash with Russell, and a pit-lane unsafe release investigation, though he still recovered to fourth.

Racing Bulls has denied reports that it has already committed Formula 2 driver Nikola Tsolov to a Formula 1 seat for 2027, even as speculation over Liam Lawson’s future with the team has intensified. Team principal Alan Permane said the team has not discussed a 2027 lineup change and is satisfied with the current driver pairing, while a Red Bull insider described the chatter as part of Formula 1’s traditional silly season.

Lawson, who was demoted from Red Bull after only two races in 2025, said ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix that it was too early to talk about 2027 and that he was focused on the present. He said he felt he was in a strong position, with his performances at Racing Bulls improving his case. Lawson is 10th in the drivers’ standings, has scored points in five of the first seven rounds this season and has collected 28 of Racing Bulls’ 41 points in 2026.

The rumors have centered on Tsolov, a 19-year-old Red Bull junior who is in his rookie Formula 2 season and second in the standings with three wins, including feature-race victories in Melbourne and Monaco. Permane said Tsolov does not yet have the super license required for Formula 1, which is why Ayumu Iwasa was used in FP1 sessions instead. Racing Bulls also said no formal agreement exists for 2027, and Permane said both current drivers are meeting the team’s expectations.

Leonardo Fornaroli is set for another step in his Formula 1 climb this week, with Haas scheduled to run the 21-year-old McLaren reserve driver in a two-day Testing of Previous Cars session at Jerez on Wednesday and Thursday. The test, which will use Haas’s VF-25, is being treated by the team as an appraisal of Fornaroli and a chance for him to build more F1 mileage. Haas reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa is also expected to take part.

The Jerez outing comes as Fornaroli’s profile rises after a rapid run through the junior categories. He won back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in 2024 and 2025, putting him in a small group of drivers to achieve the same feat as Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Bortoleto. He has already done Testing of Previous Car runs for McLaren at Silverstone and the Circuit of the Americas, and McLaren does not have an obvious opening for him in 2027 because Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are both on long-term contracts.

Fornaroli’s recent McLaren debut in Formula 1 practice at Barcelona added to the interest around him. He drove Lando Norris’s car in FP1, finished fifth fastest, and was praised by McLaren for his pace and professionalism. Team principal Andrea Stella said Fornaroli’s speed, consistency and professionalism made him an asset for the future, and said McLaren is working to find him a race seat. The Haas test now gives him another opportunity to strengthen his case for a Formula 1 drive.

Ollie Bearman called his surprise 2024 Ferrari debut in Saudi Arabia a brutal reality check, saying the jump from Formula 2 to Formula 1 “hurt” and left his neck “gone.” The 18-year-old reserve was pressed into action after Carlos Sainz was ruled out with appendicitis and had roughly one hour of practice in the SF-24 before his first FP3 run, which he said felt about 12 seconds faster than his F2 pole lap. Teammate Esteban Ocon echoed that no amount of preparation can fully replicate F1’s demands.

Bearman qualified 11th at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, missing Q3 by 0.036 seconds, then finished seventh in the race after holding off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. The outing made him the youngest driver to race for Ferrari and was made special for him by his father watching from the back of the garage. The SF-24, a race-winning, title-challenging car during 2024, provided a competitive platform for the high-pressure debut.

The performance in Jeddah helped raise Bearman’s profile and helped pave the way to a confirmed full-time seat with Haas for 2025. His showing in that night race was credited with increasing his stock and he later made a strong impression in his 2025 rookie season.

Cadillac F1 Team announced a targeted FP1 program that will give Colton Herta four Free Practice 1 appearances during the 2026 season as part of his role as the team’s designated rookie and Test Driver. His first outing in current F1 machinery is scheduled for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on June 12, with three further FP1 appearances to be confirmed. Cadillac said the sessions will satisfy the mandatory rookie quota and described the initiative as balancing on-track exposure with integration into the team environment, a point reinforced by CEO Dan Towriss and team principal Graeme Lowdon.

Lowdon pointed to Herta’s NTT IndyCar Series record and his strong start to Formula 2 as the rationale for the FP1 opportunities, and Towriss said the runs will aid Herta’s development both on and off track and help him learn Grand Prix operations. Herta, 26, said he “can’t wait to get behind the wheel,” that he was eager to learn from every appearance, and that he hopes to support the team and teammates “Checo and Valtteri.” Cadillac has already completed a seat fitting with Herta and run him in simulators at its Charlotte headquarters as part of his preparation.

Herta is combining the FP1 program with a rookie Formula 2 campaign after switching from IndyCar, where he is a nine-time race winner and finished runner-up in the 2024 championship. He races for Hitech in F2, placed seventh in the Australia feature on his series debut and sat 10th in the F2 Drivers’ Championship after the opening weekend as the series heads to Round 2 in Miami. Cadillac said the FP1 outings will accelerate Herta’s acclimatization to Formula 1 race weekends while formalizing a pathway for his development within the Silverstone-based outfit.

McLaren said it accelerated the testing and development of 21-year-old Italian Leonardo Fornaroli after he did not secure a 2026 race seat, signing him over the winter as a reserve driver for 2026. Fornaroli, the reigning FIA Formula 2 champion who won consecutive FIA F3 and F2 titles without prior backing from an F1 junior program, will share reserve duties with IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward. Regulations require teams to give rookies two FP1 sessions, and McLaren expects Fornaroli to make his official F1 debut later in 2026.

Fornaroli completed his first on-track F1 tests in McLaren’s 2023 MCL60 recently at Barcelona and Silverstone, covering more than 900 kilometers in total, with 112 laps (512 km) at Barcelona and 68 laps (393 km) at Silverstone. McLaren described the Silverstone outing as a full-day session and an evolution of the earlier program. The tests focused on long stints with lower fuel and evaluations on hard and soft tire compounds to simulate race conditions; Fornaroli said the sessions helped him try different setups and build comfort with F1 machinery, and he reported noticeable improvements after the longer runs and setup work. McLaren noted the Silverstone run included 16 more laps than F1 drivers managed at last year’s British Grand Prix.

The team called the outings part of a structured Driver Development Program that pairs on-track work with simulator sessions at McLaren’s Woking base and trackside exposure, including attendance at the Japanese Grand Prix. Sporting director Alessandro Alunni Bravi said Fornaroli “made fantastic progress throughout” and showed consistency and a quick ability to learn. McLaren said he will have additional track outings across a variety of circuits and will support the team both trackside and in the simulator, providing significant seat time and data on how he adapts to the MCL60 under varied fuel and tire conditions.

The 2026 F1 season will open in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, running across the March long weekend, March 6–8 (organizers list March 5–8). The race is scheduled to start at 15:00 AEDT on Sunday, March 8. Albert Park is a 5.278 km, 14-corner semi-permanent street circuit first used for F1 in 1996; the grand prix will run 58 laps (just over 306 km). Teams will arrive to debut F1’s new-generation cars, and support categories FIA Formula 2 (F2) and FIA Formula 3 (F3) will each run two races during the weekend.

On-track running is scheduled across Friday–Sunday. Session times listed by most sources are: FP1 — March 6, 12:30–13:30 AEDT; FP2 — March 6, 16:00–17:00 AEDT; FP3 — March 7, 12:30 AEDT (some sources give only a start time); qualifying — March 7, 16:00 AEDT; grand prix — March 8, 15:00 AEDT. Broadcasters for the Australian opener include Sky Sports F1 in the U.K. (live, with a 04:00 UK start for the race), Channel 4 highlights, Apple TV and U.S. linear partners including ESPN/ESPN+, Fox Sports in Australia, and radio/independent coverage such as BBC Radio 5 Live and RaceFans Live.

Off-track activity will spread beyond Albert Park, with organizers and local venues staging fan zones, pop-ups, street-side activations and waterfront events across the Melbourne CBD and the St Kilda foreshore. The program includes ticketed and free experiences; organizers say it will turn the city into a “motorsport playground” and boost foot traffic over the long weekend. Pre-season testing in Barcelona and Bahrain saw Ferrari set the pace — Charles Leclerc posted a 1:31.992 in Bahrain — while Red Bull’s power unit kept Max Verstappen competitive; Alpine and Haas showed promising multi-stint form, and Aston Martin reported battery issues.

The season starts amid a major technical and regulatory overhaul: shorter, lighter cars with active aerodynamics; roughly 50/50 electric/internal-combustion power units running on sustainable fuels; expanded energy-recovery systems; and the replacement of DRS with an electrical “overtake mode.” The 24-race calendar moves next to Shanghai (March 13–15), which will host the year’s first sprint. Cadillac joins as the 11th constructor, with Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas named to its entry. The 2026 grid includes one rookie, Arvid Lindblad, and features the returns of Bottas and Pérez.