Mercedes Chief Communications Officer Bradley Lord has named the biggest “challenge” the team is gearing up to face with the 2026 Formula 1 engine regulations.

The latest power unit rule-set is set to completely overhaul the engine formula – with the removal of the MGU-H and a 50-50 hybrid propulsion system.

Naturally, one of the biggest factors in deciding which engine manufacturer has the legs over its rivals is the reliability and performance it can derive from its power unit.

In the past, this has boiled down to how quickly a team can extract data and convert it into solutions.

For Mercedes, who are tipped to lead the engine race from the start, Lord believes that its position as an engine supplier in the paddock is one of the biggest advantages.

“I think supplying multiple teams as a power unit manufacturer, the reason you do it is because it gives you exactly that [an advantage], particularly on reliability and proving our technology,” he said.

This season, the German marque supplies engines to Williams, Aston Martin and reigning Constructors’ champions McLaren.

From 2026 onwards, Aston Martin will be replaced by Alpine. And while having three teams feeding back essential data to boost Mercedes’ engine development, Lord also envisaged a logistical hurdle that could pose a “challenge”.

“There’s an advantage to that. It also comes at a… cost is the wrong word, but it brings with it the challenge of needing to have more parts ready, more power units ready, more products ready sooner, in order to enable those four teams to go testing and go racing and things like that,” he continued.

“So it’s not without challenge, but one of the upsides is certainly that you get more extensive prove-out mileage, and you’re learning at a faster rate thanks to the mileage that all eight power units will be doing at the first race weekend.

“That will certainly be positive. Equally, if you find challenges, you have eight sets of solutions that you need to deliver, not just two or four or six.

“So there are sort of upsides and downsides to it, but we believe that the upside of that learning outweighs the downsides.”

What Mercedes expects with 2026 regulations

The 50-50 split between the internal cumbstion unit and electric output has raised a few concerns in the paddock about the drivability of the 2026 cars.

Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll have been vocal about how they feel that the technical regulations will impede drivers in fast, flowing circuits like Suzuka or Spa Francorchamps.

However, Lord relayed the initial feelings the team’s reserve driver Valtteri Bottas had to deliver after testing a prototype of the 2026 F1 car on the simulator.

“He said that, by the time we get to the start of next season, actually, it won’t be the same as it has been this year, but we’ll be in a situation where it will be something that feels very familiar,” revealed Lord.

“The focus is on how to extract more performance. How can we overtake here? How can we optimise lap time rather than anything else?

“So I think we will all be going on a journey as stakeholders in and fans of Formula 1, to understand the racing and to explain that to the fans as well, what’s changing and why it’s changing.

“But Melbourne 2026, it will be Formula 1 as we know it, and when the lights go out, it will be racing as we know it, and we will see people fighting tooth and nail to win the grand prix.”

READ MORE – FIA keen to avoid ‘overburdening’ F1 drivers with 2026 regulations

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Pierre Gasly has revealed how he and Flavio Briatore have created a “stronger bond” the longer they work together, as Alpine aim to reach the top of Formula 1.

The Italian re-entered the F1 fold as Executive Advisor at the Enstone-based squad last May, where he enjoyed successful stints at the helm of Benetton and Renault.

Since this May, Briatore has been back in his usual territory on the pit wall, acting as de facto Team Principal, after the resignation of former boss Oliver Oakes.

But the team has not enjoyed a happy season, failing to capitalise on its late-season surge in 2024, in which it snatched sixth in the Constructors’ Championship from Haas.

The A525 challenger has been the runt of the F1 litter this year, and Gasly has worked minor miracles to secure all the 20 points it has secured so far.

It appears that Gasly and Briatore are enjoying a healthy working relationship, something he has confirmed, praising his unlimited quest for putting the team in the big time.

“I must say, [the media] probably knows him and has more stories than I because I only really got to know him since he arrived last year,” Gasly told RacingNews365.

“You need time to open up and understand each other’s personalities, and at the start, it was all-track focused. 

“The more we work together, we create a stronger bond and now we have started to know a bit more about each person and how we act.

“He invited me onto his boat, and I spent some time with him, and it is good to see what his vision is, what he wants from the team. He’s been a very successful businessman and has a lot of experience in F1, but also outside of F1. He is a true leader.”

Gasly said that his and Briatore’s goals are very much aligned, saying that he wants to help create an Alpine team that will ultimately enable him to challenge for victories.

“That is what I want at the end of the day, I want to win, and that is what I want in my career,” he said.

“I want to finish my career knowing I don’t want to compete in F1, I want to win in F1, and I want to build a team that can give me a car to race and fight for wins.

“Some teams, obviously, want it, but the reality is they’ll always settle for the midfield. Flavio doesn’t have any limits, not even the sky is the limit for Flavio. 

“He is really committed to Formula 1 and the team to put Enstone back on top as he did some years ago, and obviously things have evolved, but he’s very much aware of that and he wants to make it happen, and is putting the work in.”

Gasly believes Alpine is ‘in a decent place’ for 2026

Gasly expanded on how he is observing Briatore oversee a change of mentality within Enstone, further aided by the arrival of new personnel, including Steve Nielsen as Managing Director.

“I have a very good relationship with Flavio and the key management in the team, and I can really see where their mindset is, the processes that are changing and what is actually evolving,” he said.

“I would be worried right now if nothing changed because we’re obviously not in a good place, but we have a lot of great people, we have great staff, and we are adding key people to the factory. 

“We are starting with brand-new regulations, and fortunately, with the situation we are in, we have more wind-tunnel time for next season compared to the other teams.”

Gasly acknowledged that there will have to be a time to adapt from being a works team to a customer, as it will be with Mercedes next year, but believes there are good foundations in place for the year ahead.

“We have the change of engine manufacturer, which is going to take some adaptation, but we know that on paper, we are in a decent place for next year,” he explained.

“So for me, I’m just trying to grind my way through 2025, keeping my motivation up, and whenever I have a steering wheel in my hands, I need to give my best to deliver the best job I can.”

“It can be finding personal challenges to keep me motivated and also building the team that I need next year if we have a car which can fight for the top five or podiums or wins”

READ MORE – The revised role Pierre Gasly is revelling in at Alpine in F1 2025

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Lewis Hamilton has vowed to “keep going, even when it’s difficult” in a social media post ahead of Formula 1‘s return from its summer break this weekend.

The Brit has cut a miserable figure for much of his first season with Ferrari, amid a string of poor results by his own usually high standard.

Hamilton has encountered a plethora of issues with the Scuderia’s SF-25 this year, seeing him take just one solitary victory, coming in the China Sprint Race.

In a full Grand Prix, Hamilton has yet to take a podium finish, with four fourth-place finishes the best he has offered so far.

Over much of the season, he has been unable to match team-mate Charles Leclerc, his misery culminating in a Q2 exit from qualifying for the last round in Hungary.

It was this that led to a shocking post-qualifying comment that Ferrari should “change driver” after his “useless” performance, with Leclerc taking pole position in the same car.

Some have also speculated whether the 40-year-old’s time in the sport is at an end, with former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggesting possible replacements for him.

But taking to his Instagram ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton conveyed a sense of rediscovered motivation.

“I’m always so grateful for this time, for the opportunity to rest and recharge,” he wrote.

“There’s a lot I’ve been meditating on. Every one of us is up against so much, both individually and globally.

“It’s so important that we embrace the light of truth and love and take care of ourselves so that we can better take care of others.

“We can’t look away. We have to keep going, even when it’s difficult.”

Ferrari, which has managed to produce an upgrade for its floor and rear suspension – two areas causing performance and results to suffer – will be hopeful of giving Hamilton a car able to compete starting in Zandvoort.

Hamilton currently sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship with 109 points, 40 off fifth-placed Leclerc.

READ MORE – Ferrari teases possible historic F1 celebration at Italian GP

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The FIA‘s Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis has said Formula 1‘s upcoming regulation changes are not designed to “overburden” drivers.

2026 will see some of the most radical technical regulation changes in F1’s history, and the topic has already drawn contrasting opinions across the board.

Further electrification and aerodynamic changes will see a contrast from current machines, leading to a change in how drivers will tackle the cars.

Regardless of personal opinion, F1 drivers have indicated that there will be a significant challenge from the new cars, with further onus on their skill than the car.

Williams’ Alex Albon has discussed the complexities of the 2026 cars, and said that the most intelligent drivers will be able to “abuse the system”.

His Team Principal James Vowles has also been vocal in his assertion that drivers are going to experience a “very difficult” workload behind the wheel.

Tombazis, in an interview with Autosport, appeared to attempt to quell any potential worry from the drivers, a reiteration of previous comments the Greek has given.

“But firstly, Albon and other drivers haven’t driven the final rules yet, by definition, because they’re not done yet,” he said.

“Secondly, for sure if you don’t automate certain parts, there will be an increased burden on the drivers. That is true.”

Tombazis added that this is an area of the regulations that the sport’s governing body is currently still trying to determine with definition.

“Part of the work that still needs to be done between now and the start of next season is to determine how much of that stuff will be in the background, let’s say more automatic, versus how much the driver will have to control.”

Tombazis keen to avoid an unnecessary F1 ‘chess game’

One of F1’s big changes is the removal of DRS, to be replaced by a system that resembles IndyCar’s ‘push to pass’ button.

The additional removal of some of the intricacies that aids the drivers is seen, from Tombazis’ perspective at least, a return to drivers having more “control” than before.

“We don’t want to overburden the driver with something,” he said. “But at the same time there has to be a degree of freedom, to make sure that he can attack, defend and have some of that stuff under his control.

“But there will for sure be some part of it which will be managed transparently to him, so he doesn’t have to think about it when cornering or something like that.”

Another huge aspect of the 2026 cars will be the constant energy conservation that will have to be at the forefront of the drivers’ minds all of the time.

Tombazis was keen to stress that he would like to see a somewhat happy medium between it playing a key part of a driver’s race, but not that it takes away the organic nature of the racing itself.

“I think there’s a balance to strike between driving like a chess game of energy management, which we don’t want as one extreme, and then the other extreme where driving is just a steering wheel, a throttle pedal and a brake pedal,” he said, adding: “We need to find a good way in the middle.”

On the topic of Albon’s previous statement of abusing the system, Tombazis believes that current F1 is already placed in such a way that drivers with the most intelligence will rise to the top.

“But I think smart drivers already prevail,” he said. “The difference in performance that we see nowadays in F1 includes a percentage of that,” he added, citing his times spent as an aerodynamicist with Michael Schumacher at both Benetton and Ferrari.

“And that’s not only now, the mental bandwidth of drivers has been a factor for the last 20 years already – also in the younger days of my career, when I was working with Schumacher for example.

“I mean, obviously he was phenomenally talented, but a big part of what set him apart was that he could also think of all these other things during a race.

“You know that amongst the current drivers there are some who seem to have a bit extra to think about other things as well, while some others have to use all their CPU to drive the car.”

F1 drivers will need ‘understanding of the parameters’ of 2026 cars

Tombazis is trusting of the drivers’ mental capacity to deal with the challenges ahead, stating they “have quite a high bandwidth of intellect.

“They can deal with certain problems.”

Tombazis concluded that whilst there will be a new level of skills they will need to hone and develop, the 2026 cars will still show the wheat from the chaff by little more than the basic requirements of an F1 driver.

“There’s a level of understanding they need to have of these parameters,” he said.

“We think that’s part of what a top driver has to do. It’s not, however, and we will make sure it isn’t, the main skill.

“The main skill is still to be able to brake at the right point, to go fast around the corner, to find the limit, select the right lines, etc.

“That will still be the main parameter that controls who’s good and who’s bad. I wouldn’t be able to drive the car!”

READ MORE – How Aston Martin is preparing for the challenge of F1 2026

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Esteban Ocon has outlined how his time with Haas in Formula 1 has “incredibly surprised” him so far after spending a stint at Alpine that ultimately ended in disarray.

The Frenchman spent five years at the Enstone-based team between 2020 and 2024, famously taking his maiden race victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021.

But despite his dependable results, his time with long-time karting rival Pierre Gasly last year meant he was unceremoniously ousted from the team at the end of 2024.

Following contact with Gasly in Monaco, then Team Principal Bruno Famin had threatened Ocon with “consequences”. A month later, it was announced he would be leaving.

However, he quickly signed with Haas for 2025 and beyond, partnering rookie Oliver Bearman in a brand-new line-up at the team.

And looking back at the 14 races he has raced to date with the Kannapolis-based squad, Ocon was quick to draw a contrasting parallel between the two outfits.

“Compared to my previous experience, it’s a healthy environment,” Ocon told Motorsport.com.

“As I said, no one’s hiding behind anything. If we don’t do something right, we talk about it and hope not to do it again. And we talk about it straight away at the end of the race.

“And that’s good, because if you don’t talk about it – which is what I’ve experienced before – then you [are] going to do it again. That’s the main thing.

“This team is incredibly motivated. It can sound crazy, but I’ve seen some people not motivated in the past, even working in the Formula 1 paddock. That’s probably the worst thing.

“As a driver like me – who puts his heart and sweat into the work, to do everything perfect before I get to the track – when you turn up and you see somebody looking at his check-in on Monday, it’s quite tough. And I’ve seen that in the past.”

Ocon Hails Haas’ fighting mentality

Since the team’s debut on the grid in 2016, Haas has been one of the smallest outfits in the paddock in terms of budget.

Yet, Ocon, who has only been with the team since December last year, and has worked with teams like Mercedes in the past, was surprised by how innovative and steadfast the team is.

“Now, I’m not going to say everything’s perfect. There are things that we need to improve, obviously. But we have a very solid base to work on since I joined, and we are moving forward. And I’m glad with the way it’s going,” Ocon continued.

“Designing a steering wheel with a double clutch, it took them a month, which was ridiculous.

“I was incredibly surprised with that, and I’ve never seen any other team do that, even the big ones that I worked with. Normally it takes a lot of time for that to come.

“We were claimed to be the smallest team. We are. But, you know, some of these reactions are top class.”

READ MORE – FIA releases statement in response to ‘baseless and untrue’ allegations made by GPDA chairman

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Red Bull is eyeing a move for IndyCar champion Alex Palou to join Max Verstappen in the team’s Formula 1 ranks, according to a report in America.

The Milton Keynes-based squad has returned to struggling with its second seat alongside Verstappen, after firing Sergio Perez at the end of last year.

Liam Lawson lasted just two races at the start of this year and was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, who has also struggled to score points in the tricky RB21.

Meanwhile, Palou’s stock has continued to rise Stateside, as he took his third straight IndyCar title just two weeks ago, his fourth overall.

It would not be the first time that Palou has been linked to F1, after an initial and contentious connection via McLaren.

The Woking-based outfit filed a lawsuit in 2023, which is ongoing, regarding an alleged breach of contract, after having tested its F1 challengers in a reserve driver role.

And earlier this summer, Williams Team Principal James Vowles revealed that the Spaniard was on its shortlist of candidates for a drive alongside Alex Albon this year.

Immediately after his first Indy 500 win this year, Palou revealed to the Indianapolis Star newspaper that F1 was not “calling him” anymore.

He added that his focus was now away from F1 after his long and successful stint across the pond, and that he “[liked] winning races”, seeking glory rather than fame.

But now the same publication is reporting that Red Bull’s hierarchy may now be able to tempt his attention back to F1.

However, the supposed terms of Palou’s current contract with Chip Ganassi Racing could see Red Bull required to pay a hefty release clause to spring the 28-year-old from it.

Unlike other IndyCar drivers rumoured to be seeking the challenge of F1, Palou has the required Super Licence points in order to race.

And his glowing profile as one of the world’s best drivers might also tempt Red Bull into a potential play for his signature, particularly given the sport’s growing popularity in the country.

READ MORE – IndyCar star Colton Herta yet to rule out F2 switch to help secure F1 drive

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Ferrari is reportedly set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the most momentous moments in the Formula 1 team’s history at next week’s Italian Grand Prix.

The Scuderia has not enjoyed the happiest of seasons in 2025, with the team so far yet to score a single Grand Prix victory.

Ferrari’s SF-25 challenger has been a continuing source of problems for the team, with Lewis Hamilton’s China Sprint Race win the team’s only triumph of the year.

Despite lying second in the Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari is currently a whopping 299 points behind runaway leaders McLaren.

But the team will be buoyed by its usual partisan support at Monza, where F1 arrives next after this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

According to Italian publication Auto Racer, the team is set to mark 50 years since the late Niki Lauda won the World Championship in its colours.

It was at Monza that year that Lauda finished third to secure the first of his three Drivers’ championships, with team-mate Clay Regazzoni winning the race.

Across the summer break, Ferrari has been documenting Lauda’s triumph on its social media platforms, further hinting that the celebration will take place.

Its content was concluded with a brief clip of Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc, followed by the caption: “Monza 2025: Coming soon.”

“When I got to Monza, it was different,” the Monegasque says in the video.

Hamilton, whose decision to join Mercedes was largely down to Lauda’s influence and to whom he was close, added: “The tifosi are just… you see them there in the biggest and fullest force.

“It’s such a privilege and an honour to be able to be racing for this team.”

Ferrari may sport a special livery for the race, a tradition of the previous two seasons. In 2023, a special colour scheme was released to celebrate its Le Mans 24 Hours triumph.

And in 2024, a tweaked livery was used along with Leclerc and then-team-mate Carlos Sainz sporting black overalls to celebrate the use of carbon fibre in F1.

READ MORE – Ex-F1 chief urges Ferrari to sign rookie as long-term successor to Lewis Hamilton

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Cadillac board member and former Formula 1 champion Mario Andretti has broken his silence regarding the team’s 2026 driver line-up.

With the 2026 season just months away, all eyes are on the 11th team on the grid for the upcoming season: Cadillac.

The General Motors-backed project will begin life on the grid as a Ferrari customer team, with the understanding that it will start producing its own engines from 2028 onwards.

And while the team has already sorted out stuff on the chassis and powertrain side, it is yet to announce arguably the most important piece of the puzzle: its driver line-up.

The likes of Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, and Mick Schumacher had all been in the running, as per reports.

That said, earlier this week, it seems that the duo of Bottas and Perez have agreed a deal, at least in principle, to race for the American outfit.

Andretti breaks silence on Cadillac reports

Andretti has been keen to get back into the sport, this time in an owner role.

His bid to introduce the Andretti brand into the paddock failed, but he has clawed his way back onto the grid with Cadillac.

The 1978 F1 World Champion was signed up by Cadillac as an advisor and board member.

And despite all the signals pointing towards the duo of Perez and Bottas to kick off Cadillac’s venture, the 85-year-old urged fans to only believe what the team officially puts out.

While speaking to German publication BILD, Andretti kept his cards close to his chest as he did not divulge any expected date or time period for the team’s driver announcement.

“Just believe what we communicate,” he said.

Perez’s former boss, Otmar Szafnauer, is confident that Cadillac has rightly placed its faith in experience over youth as the team begins life at the pinnacle of single-seaters.

“If he [Perez] finds the right environment, with all of his experience at both smaller teams with less budget [than] Red Bull, he definitely has something to offer,” he told PlanetF1.

“Especially perhaps, a new team coming in that needs an experienced driver for the first couple of years, Checo would be a good addition.”

READ MORE – Why Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez is the sensible debut F1 driver line-up for Cadillac

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IndyCar star Colton Herta has failed to rule out a potential move to Formula 2 in order to secure a Formula 1 drive in the future.

The American, who drives for the Andretti Global squad, has been the subject of longstanding rumours about a possible switch to F1, which began in 2021.

Amid Andretti’s interest in purchasing Sauber, Herta’s name was banded around, and was said to have had a seat fitting, but the sale fell through.

The 25-year-old was then handed a TPC test car Portimao with McLaren, which encompassed speculation about a move to Racing Bulls, then AlphaTauri.

But the FIA was said not to be prepared to make an exception of Herta, as he did not possess the sufficient Super Licence points to gain entry.

Herta would have been able to have achieved that this year should he have been able to have completed a top four finish in the IndyCar standings.

But with one round to go and in sixth place, he is now mathematically unable to reach the required 40 licence points needed to be deemed qualified for F1.

This has now led to speculation that he may be willing to take a seat in F2, which would potentially create an easier passage to F1 should he desire it.

Ahead of the Snap-On 250 at the Milwaukee Mile, Herta said that it was purely speculation, intimating he knew nothing more than anyone else at this moment.

“I’ve heard those rumours, too,” Herta told the IndyStar. “That’s all it is right now, is rumours.”

Herta admits an IndyCar to F1 switch would be something ‘to think about’

Such is the length of time he has been linked with a move to F1, Herta acknowledged that he is not trying to force one, but said earlier in the year that he would “think about it” if an opportunity arose.

“I’ve been dragged around in these talks for, like, half a decade now,” he said.

“I’ve had the carrot in front of me for a while, and I’m kind of tired of that being the case, and I just want to drive at this point and focus on IndyCar this year and focus on winning the championship, and if something arises out of that, I’d still have to think about it.”

Herta recognised the personal commitments it would require for him to make such a jump, including an upheaval of his life from the States to Europe.

“All my friends and family are here in the US, and I don’t know anybody where I would be going, so it’s a big decision to make if I have to make that decision.”

READ MORE – The rising star who could be ‘deal of the century’ for F1 teams

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Alex Albon has admitted that next year’s Formula 1 rule changes could prove to be a hurdle to current progress shown by Williams, citing Mercedes as an example.

The Grove-based squad is enjoying its best F1 season for some time, currently heading up the midfield battle, sitting fifth in the the Constructors’ Championship.

18 points clear of Aston Martin in sixth, Williams has been able to boast top 10 finishes in all but four of the 14 rounds so far, with 54 of those points scored by Albon.

After being one of F1’s most competitive teams after Mercedes when the V6 hybrid era began in 2014, the team began to suffer a significant lull amid its sale by the Williams family.

The ground effect period of this era, which commenced in 2022, has seen little progress either, but Williams have now begun to crack the code.

However, next year sees the introduction of some of F1’s most radical technical regulation changes in its 75-year history, something that concerns the Anglo-Thai driver.

“It is, it is [a concern],” Albon told RacingNews365./

“A good example would be Mercedes. On the last generation of cars, they had a car that they dominated, and then they didn’t.

“I think the best teams still find a way. They still seem to be able to get everyone together, be adaptable, go up and still fight their way back up to the top.”

Williams ‘have foundations to bounce back’

Albon is natrually chomping at the bit to get the team back to where it used to proudly place itself – at the very top of F1.

The 29-year-old has been a focal part of its steady progress towards the midfield, having impressed amid its difficult periods since joining the team in 2022.

But Albon believes that even if the rule changes may truncate the team’s current upward trajectory, there is a good platform which should make it just a temporary blip.

“I think as a team, if I look at where we were three years ago and you asked me, ‘what happens if you plateau? What would happen there?’” he said.

“I would be like ‘yeah, that’s a talking point’. But now, we’re not there yet, but we’re in such a healthier position.

“Even if next year is not where we want to be, I still feel like we’ve got good foundations to bounce back.

“We still want to improve [the foundations], and we are.

“The amount of movement at Grove is huge, so as long as I still believe in the project, I’m happy to. I don’t want it to wait, but I’m happy to wait.”

READ MORE – How Aston Martin is preparing for the challenge of F1 2026

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