Ferrari confirmed recently that Riccardo Adami has moved into a new role and that it has not yet named a permanent replacement for Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer. Charles Leclerc’s race engineer, Bryan Bozzi, will split duties and work with both drivers during the Barcelona pre-season shakedown while staffing is finalized. Reports say there is “no chance” of signing Peter Bonnington, Hamilton’s long-time race engineer at Mercedes, as a replacement.

Former driver and commentator Martin Brundle said he was surprised the change had not been made earlier and warned the timing is risky given upcoming pre-season running. Brundle emphasized that Hamilton benefits from engineers who understand his “Lewis speak” to interpret feedback and extract performance. The pundit cited several terse radio exchanges between Hamilton and Adami during 2025 as evidence that communication and rapport needed addressing.

Ferrari framed the engineering change as part of preparations for the new 2026 technical regulations and to improve in-race communication. The team has scheduled the SF-26 launch and planned two three-day tests in Bahrain in February as it prepares for the regulation change. The Barcelona shakedown, the lack of a named permanent race engineer, and the temporary split of Bozzi’s duties will be watched closely for signs of Hamilton’s readiness with the new car.

The 2026 season begins at Albert Park and will include a new Madrid event in September, before concluding in Abu Dhabi.

Rival manufacturers raised alarms about a perceived loophole in the new 16:1 compression-ratio limit after reports suggested Mercedes and, to a lesser extent, Red Bull, had found a way to pass ambient, stationary FIA checks while running an effectively higher compression on track. Industry estimates put the potential benefit at roughly 10–15 bhp (commonly expressed as about 0.3–0.4 seconds per lap), and observers warned that customer teams using Mercedes power units, namely McLaren, Williams, and Alpine, could also gain.

Ferrari, Audi, and Honda formally pressed the FIA for clarity. Audi’s F1 project chief Mattia Binotto urged a measurement method that captures operating (hot) conditions and warned against filing protests without clear evidence. Audi technical director James Key called for decisive action to preserve the rules’ intent. Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) technical director Ben Hodgkinson described its unit’s compliance as “crystal clear” and downplayed the controversy. The dispute focused on whether rule C5.4.3, which defines compression under ambient conditions, could be exploited through thermal expansion during the engine’s working cycle.

Teams discussed responses ranging from formal protests to attempts to replicate the approach under the 2026 in-season development framework. The FIA convened engine technical experts and manufacturer representatives earlier this week to resolve the interpretation.

Attendees agreed on a technical route to measure compression ratios at operating (hot) temperatures, creating a clear path to close the perceived loophole. However, ambient-temperature measurements remain the official standard for now; any formal change to testing or enforcement will require consultation with manufacturer principals and a vote in the F1 Commission. That Commission includes several Mercedes-powered teams and two Red Bull squads, so immediate implementation for the 2026 season was not expected.

The meeting established a future measurement methodology and clarified enforcement intentions, but the timing and adoption of a hot-temperature testing regime for 2026 remain uncertain. Teams will watch the consultation and Commission process closely for any binding change.

Mercedes completed the first shakedown of the W17 at Silverstone on Thursday, hours after unveiling the car in render form. Using one of its two permitted filming days, the team ran the full chassis-and-engine package for 67 laps, just under the 200 km promotional-day limit, in wet, cold conditions on the Silverstone International Circuit. George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli split driving duties; Mercedes ran on Pirelli’s grooved demo tyres and released footage that included shots of team principal Toto Wolff.

Head of trackside engineering Andrew Shovlin described the outing as a sensible first step focused on safety, reliability, and driver familiarisation. The team prioritized basic systems checks and baseline data over performance runs.

The session followed Alpine’s engine-only fire-up of Mercedes’ V6 hybrid at Silverstone the previous day and was Mercedes’ first on-track check of the complete car-and-engine combination. Mercedes said it will head to Barcelona to extend running and further acquaint both drivers with the W17 ahead of the pre-season test from January 26–30. The FIA granted extra testing scope this winter because chassis and engine rules are changing together for the first time since 2014, and nearly half of the 11-team grid had already completed early shakedowns. Mercedes positioned the Silverstone outing as a cautious, low-speed validation of hardware and software integration, a productive step ahead of broader pre-season running.

Mercedes unveiled the W17, releasing official renders that offer the first visual preview of its clean-sheet car built to F1’s new 2026 chassis and engine regulations. The team presented the W17 as a technical response to rules that introduce roughly 50 percent electrification, fully sustainable fuels, and active aerodynamic elements; the images showed a largely black-and-silver livery with Petronas turquoise accents and new Microsoft branding on the airbox and front‑wing endplates. Mercedes confirmed George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli as its drivers and described the render release as an early strategic milestone rather than a final competitive statement.

Mercedes outlined an intensive, staged development programme: detailed aerodynamic visuals were withheld ahead of a fuller season launch on Feb 2, and closed pre‑season testing in Barcelona is scheduled to run Jan 26–30. Technical chief James Allison has prioritised resources for the W17 while the team’s in‑house power unit programme continues development at Mercedes facilities in Brixworth and Brackley. The team signalled close collaboration with Petronas on advanced sustainable fuels and called the power unit programme a key pillar of the campaign; paddock observers noted progress under the new engine rules but stopped short of predicting a dominant advantage.

Mercedes framed the W17, and its engine work as the foundation for rebuilding competitiveness after a modest seven‑win run during the 2022–2025 ground‑effect era and a recent constructors’ runners‑up finish. On‑track expectations rest on Russell converting results into a sustained title challenge and on Antonelli turning rookie promise into consistency; the W17’s first on‑track appearance is scheduled for the Barcelona test on Jan 26–30, with the Feb 2 launch planned to reveal more detailed aerodynamic and technical information once competitive secrecy eases.

McLaren will not run the new MCL40 on the opening day of the five-day closed Barcelona pre-season shakedown (January 26–30). Instead, the Woking garage will delay on-track running until day two or three while still using the three permitted test days. The car was started up late last week and is undergoing dyno and systems reliability work at AVL in Graz, Austria. McLaren will perform its on-track shakedown directly at Barcelona rather than hold a prior private run. Team principal Andrea Stella called the decision ‘plan A’, saying the deliberate delay is intended to maximize development time and ensure the car is properly built and signed off amid what he described as ‘almost unprecedented’ regulation changes.

Technical staff framed the rollout as cautious and data-driven. Chief designer Rob Marshall said the Barcelona car will be ‘pretty much’ the package McLaren takes to the season opener. Only incremental updates are expected before the official pre-season tests in Bahrain. Technical director Mark Temple and Stella stressed the scale of the rule changes, noting that new electrical hybrid systems and tighter energy-management constraints will make battery use and recovery central to performance and strategy.

McLaren will limit public visuals early, publishing a silhouette until the eve of Barcelona and holding a full livery reveal on February 9. The move underscores the team’s focus on internal validation before public exposure.

The decision trades immediate on-track mileage for additional factory development and reliability validation, a calculated choice shaped by logistics (the car’s dyno programme in Austria) and cost-cap considerations. Several rivals, including Audi, Cadillac, Racing Bulls, Alpine, Mercedes, and Ferrari, have already completed or scheduled early shakedowns or filming days and could run on day one. McLaren’s later start reduces early running but keeps the team within regulatory allowances.

Overall, the reigning Constructor Champions presented the approach as a strategic effort to protect long-term performance and preserve flexibility across the Barcelona test and the lead-up to the season opener. It allows McLaren to prioritize a controlled rollout of this season’s package over chasing early mileage.

Netflix announced today that Season 8 of Drive to Survive will be released on February 27, arriving on Netflix alongside the previous seven seasons.

Netflix and the producers say Season 8 will offer behind-the-scenes access to the major storylines that shaped the 2025 F1 season. The latest installment will cover Lando Norris’s maiden drivers’ championship and McLaren’s constructors’ title, after Norris edged Max Verstappen by two points in a title fight that went down to the final race. The series will also address Lewis Hamilton’s first year at Ferrari, the dismissal of Christian Horner from Red Bull after two decades, Nico Hülkenberg’s first F1 podium, and Oscar Piastri’s role in the title battle.

Netflix timed the release for about a week before the 2026 F1 season opens at the Australian Grand Prix, positioning the series as both a retrospective on 2025 and a promotional lead-in to the new campaign. Observers point to Drive to Survive’s role in growing F1’s global audience, citing attendance surges at races such as Austin, Miami, and Las Vegas, and related projects like the companion series F1: The Academy and the 2025 F1 film. Season 8 is expected to run about ten episodes of roughly 30 minutes to an hour each, continuing to blend on-track outcomes with off-track narratives that broaden mainstream interest in the sport.