Category: Motor Sports

• Relationship between pair had appeared fractious

• New race engineer to be named ‘in due course’

Ferrari have announced they are to replace Riccardo Adami as Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer for the 2026 Formula One season, after the pair endured what appeared to be a fractious and testing relationship during the seven-time world champion’s first season with the Scuderia.

Ferrari issued a statement on Friday stating Adami would be moved to a new role with the team’s driver academy as academy and test previous cars manager, adding that his replacement as Hamilton’s race engineer, the crucial link between team and driver on the pit wall, would be announced in due course.

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• Red Bull first to launch 2026 car under new regulations

• Row brewing over possible loophole in engine rules

Red Bull formally began their tilt at the forthcoming Formula One season, unveiling the livery for their challenger, the RB22, in a showcase event in Detroit on Thursday, with Max Verstappen admitting the sweeping regulation changes for 2026 will be a step into the “unknown”.

Before a highly anticipated season, with a swathe of big rule changes presenting a challenge across the grid, Red Bull are the first in what is due to be a hectic period of launches before pre-season testing begins.

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Formula One writer who wrote classic biographies, including a remarkable account from Ayrton Senna of his experiences

When Ayrton Senna decided to tell a journalist what he felt while driving a racing car, and what it meant, it was Gerald Donaldson who provided his audience of one. Senna chose wisely. The Canadian writer and broadcaster, who has died aged 87, was a sympathetic listener who could be relied on to ask the sort of questions that encouraged interesting answers.

During Donaldson’s career as an observer of Formula One racing, reporting for daily newspapers and national TV and radio stations, Senna had provided him with his outstanding memory. It was that of the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park, Derby, where the Brazilian, on a wet and treacherous track, overtook five rivals on the opening lap to seize a lead he would never relinquish.

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• Austrian key to Vettel and Verstappen world title wins

• ‘Now is the right moment,’ says influential 82-year-old

Red Bull’s influential auto racing adviser Helmut Marko is retiring from his role at the age of 82, ending a 20-year stint in which he helped Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen develop into four-time Formula One world champions.

Marko’s departure leaves Red Bull without the two main guiding personalities from its 2005 entry into F1 after the team principal Christian Horner was ousted in July and replaced by Laurent Mekies.

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McLaren were the obvious choice for team of the year but Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari were a big disappointment while Williams exceeded expectations

Lando Norris had gone into the season as favourite and he emerged on top after a gruelling contest. Securing his maiden world drivers’ title was no easy feat given how hard he had been pushed by his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Closing it out was testament to a driver who maintained his nerve and confidence even as at times it seemed the title had slipped from his reach.

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• ‘I drove at a level I don’t think other people can match’

• Driver apologises to Hamilton over Hungarian GP spat

Lando Norris said he performed at a level his rivals could not match this season after he was crowned Formula One world champion for the first time.

Norris celebrated at a glitzy afterparty at the W Hotel which sits on top of the Yas Marina Circuit, where only hours earlier he realised his childhood dream, becoming the 11th driver from Britain to win an F1 title.

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• Australian ends 2025 season third in driver standings

• McLaren driver determined to learn lessons from low points

Just as calm and measured amid his obvious disappointment as he’s been level-headed during the highest points of a remarkable season, Oscar Piastri is confident of rediscovering that giddy feeling of being “unstoppable” behind the wheel of his McLaren.

Taking his title disappointment on the chin on Sunday after finishing runner-up in Abu Dhabi and third in the championship race, the Australian said he was ready to use any sense of anti-climax to fuel a push to become a world champion of the future.

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• Hadjar replaces Yuki Tsunoda after impressive 2025

• British teenager Arvid Lindblad to join Racing Bulls

Red Bull have announced they are to sign Isack Hadjar to drive alongside Max Verstappen at the team next year. The 20-year-old Frenchman is being promoted from sister squad Racing Bulls after only one season in F1 to replace Yuki Tsunoda in 2026, while the 18-year-old British driver Arvid Lindblad is to join Racing Bulls to make his F1 debut.

Hadjar has been impressive in his rookie year in the sport, taking his debut podium at the Dutch GP and a series of points finishes that have moved him up to 10th in the drivers’ championship. He has demonstrated confidence and assurance, outscoring and repeatedly out qualifying the New Zealander Liam Lawson who will continue at Racing Bulls.

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• Norris passed Mercedes driver near finish of Qatar GP

• Red Bull had initially hinted at foul play in title fight

The Mercedes teenage driver Kimi Antonelli has been subjected to death threats after Red Bull suggested he deliberately moved out of Lando Norris’s way in the closing stages of the Qatar Grand Prix.

Norris was elevated to fourth after Antonelli ran wide on the penultimate lap of Sunday’s race. Norris gained two points from Antonelli’s mistake which means he now can finish third, rather than runner-up at this weekend’s season finale in Abu Dhabi, to be assured of beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to the title.

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A tactical howler by McLaren handed Max Verstappen and Red Bull victory and set up a title showdown in Abu Dhabi

John Brewin has West Ham v Liverpool here, by the way:

If Norris outscores his teammate Piastri by four points, he’s the champ.

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