03 October 2026 15:03
Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell caused a stir in some quarters by appearing to suggest the FIA should protect teams against themselves by ensuring cooling vests are commonly used in hot races.
Driver comfort in hot climates has been a topic since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, when several drivers experienced heat exhaustion symptoms during the Doha race, which was held October before ...
03 October 2026 14:58
Qualifying wasn't easy for Kimi Antonelli as he struggled to extract the level of performance he's got used to from his Mercedes machinery. Finishing five-tenths off polesitter Max Verstappen, he stood in front of microphones thinking he was indeed fourth on the grid. But, thanks to a grid-place penalty for Isack Hadjar ahead of him, he was promoted to third. This resulted in a brilliant reaction ...
03 October 2026 14:44
The McLaren Formula 1 team has shared a heartwarming moment between Oscar Piastri and a young fan named Harry.
During the busy Bahrain Grand Prix schedule, the Woking outfit arranged for the young fan, who has beaten leukaemia twice and currently competes in two-stroke karting, to meet his racing hero.
The Australian driver gave Harry a tour of the McLaren garage, talked him through his F1 ...
03 October 2026 14:37
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has clarified the issues with Lando Norris' current Mercedes power unit, as the reigning champion rued the lack of straightline speed in Formula 1 qualifying for the second week running.
Although McLaren is known to be missing straightline speed versus its other Mercedes-powered counterparts owing to its selected gear ratios being lower, Norris had a deficit ...
03 October 2026 14:10
Lewis Hamilton reckons he produced the “best lap” of his 2026 Formula 1 season to take a front row start alongside Max Verstappen at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Ferrari driver set a 1m35.428s at Sepang and that put him 0.298s off polesitter Verstappen, whose Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar completed the top three on Saturday.
It certainly came as a surprise to Hamilton, as he ...
03 October 2026 14:03
Max Verstappen hasn't sat on pole since the 2025 Formula 1 season closed at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. So watching him place his car at the top of the time sheets today in Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix was a special moment for fans of the four-time champion. Following his performance, he hailed his team's improvements as he looks forward to Sunday's race.
Beating Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton by ...
03 October 2026 14:00
A "wholesome" moment between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton has gone viral after qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Verstappen secured the first non-Mercedes-powered pole position of the 2026 season at the Sepang International Circuit. Hamilton qualified second for Ferrari, marking his fifth consecutive front-row start at the circuit.
Despite their contentious history ...
03 October 2026 13:56
It is less than a month since Max Verstappen qualified sixth at Monza and afterwards spoke about a Red Bull car "made of paper". Admittedly, that comment specifically concerned the "car degradation" issue – components that sometimes deteriorate over the course of a race – and according to Verstappen and team principal Laurent Mekies, that issue can no longer be fully resolved in 2026.
But ...
03 October 2026 13:24
Mika Hakkinen returns to the Formula 1 cockpit today at the Allwyn x McLaren Racing: Live in Athens event outside the Olympic Athletic Center (OAKA).
The two-time champion will drive around a bespoke track layout in Ayrton Senna's iconic McLaren MP4/6, and fans will have the opportunity to see the 2025 constructors' championship-winning MCL39.
"We are here with a great event with McLaren ...
03 October 2026 13:21
The Mercedes team has taken a big swing by introducing a substantial aerodynamic update package at a circuit Formula 1 hasn't visited since 2017. Has it missed?
Probably not – but, because the upgrade is a major one, Mercedes has committed to it on both cars so it has been unable to run back-to-back comparisons between old and new in identical conditions. This has added to the challenges of ...
03 October 2026 13:03
Kimi Antonelli will start third on the Bahrain Grand Prix grid thanks to Isack Hadjar's five-place grid penalty, but after Mercedes introduced a seven-piece upgrade package at Sepang, the driver's expectations were much higher before he started driving. He now places his hopes on using the powerful undercut this circuit may have to offer.
Antonelli looked like the man to beat after what ...
03 October 2026 12:44
Lando Norris was left frustrated by a power unit problem that left him just sixth on the grid for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The McLaren driver was six tenths off Red Bull’s polesitter Max Verstappen at Sepang on Saturday, setting a 1m35.757s that put Norris just 0.005s ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri in seventh.
Norris reckons his deficit came via a lack of speed on ...
03 October 2026 12:09
Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) is handed a 5-place penalty for using a new power unit element outside his allocation.
Franco Colapinto (Alpine) is handed a 15-place penalty: 5 for the collision he caused in Baku, 10 for using a new V6 outside his allocation.
Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) is handed a 30-place penalty for using several new power unit elements outside his ...
03 October 2026 11:58
Mercedes brought a substantial upgrade package to Sepang for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix, and pace was supposed to be strong for the Silver Arrows. Kimi Antonelli teased something special after he topped FP3, but qualifying proved to be difficult. Toto Wolff believes there is "something else is going on" that is hindering his team's pace.
Championship leader Antonelli qualified on the second ...
03 October 2026 11:45
After every Formula 1 qualifying session, Motorsport.com publishes each team's qualifying record in terms of team-mate battles.
This record is based exclusively on qualifying results so that grid penalties don't alter the statistics.
When a driver can't put in a representative lap time due to a technical issue or an incident, this will be mentioned in the table.
Read ...
03 October 2026 11:41
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will share the front row for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, setting up a race start that has fans excited to see their former rivalry reignite.
Verstappen secured pole position for the race at the Sepang International Circuit, edging out Hamilton by 0.298 seconds. Rounding out the top five in qualifying were Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Mercedes' Kimi ...
03 October 2026 11:17
Max Verstappen took his first pole of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign to deliver on his early weekend promise by dominating qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Red Bull driver was fastest in all three sessions after also topping FP1 on Friday to take his first pole since the 2025 Abu Dhabi finale with a 1m35.130s at Sepang.
Verstappen will be joined on the front row by Lewis ...
03 October 2026 10:58
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc has revealed that hand-drawn pictures from young supporters are the fan gifts that affect him the most.
Speaking in a social media video posted by the Maranello outfit, Leclerc opened up about his relationship with the passionate Tifosi and the special gifts he receives.
When asked if he has a favourite gift or one that has made him emotional, the ...
03 October 2026 10:41
Formula 1 will race in conditions hot enough to force the FIA to declare this weekend in Malaysia a heat hazard. For that reason, drivers can choose to use a cooling vest during sessions - a tool that helps regulate their body temperature. But George Russell won't be doing that, as he blames the cost cap for Mercedes not having the funds to develop it under the restrictions.
The Bahrain Grand ...
03 October 2026 10:12
As Formula 1 descends on Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix this Saturday, the grid's watch game was on full display. Richard Mille, TAG Heuer, IWC, Tudor, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, and H. Moser & Cie. all had skin in the game trackside, and with prices ranging from high four figures to $2.2million for Lewis Hamilton's, there's plenty to love.
Lewis Hamilton's watch sits at the very top as ...
03 October 2026 10:04
Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton says a secluded trip to the mountains with his dogs Roscoe and Coco during the COVID-19 pandemic is the single day of his life he would most like to relive.
In a recent social media video, the 41-year-old Ferrari driver was asked to choose one day from his past to experience again. Bypassing his 106 grand prix victories and seven drivers' ...
03 October 2026 07:40
Kimi Antonelli topped final practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia to recover from a disappointing Friday for the championship-leading Mercedes outfit.
The Silver Arrows brought a heavily upgraded W17 to Sepang, but only managed second and fifth in FP1 and seventh and eighth in FP2 with other teams looking stronger.
But the dominant outfit of 2026 responded perfectly on Saturday ...
02 October 2026 23:45
Details about the outfit Lewis Hamilton wore during his iconic arrival at the Italian Grand Prix in September have been revealed.
The seven-time champion immediately turned heads at the Monza circuit as he rolled up in his restored Ferrari F40 and stepped out in a black suit with a tan overcoat. He later posed in a custom-made Khaite look.
While Khaite does not produce a dedicated menswear ...
02 October 2026 23:06
Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has drawn widespread praise across social media for his comments about Fernando Alonso's contract extension with Aston Martin.
Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, held in Malaysia, the Spaniard signed a contract extension with the Silverstone outfit that will keep him with the team until at least the end of 2027.
Naturally, the two-time champion's ...
02 October 2026 20:44
Formula 1 is back at Sepang International Circuit for the first time in nine years, and the homecoming came with a gift for Mercedes driver George Russell. A video posted to the team's social media channels this week shows Russell holding a scrapbook so thick it looks like it belongs in a library. The group behind it calls itself 'Team GR63, Malaysia', and judging by his reaction, they did a good ...
02 October 2026 19:13
Formula 1 heads into Saturday at Sepang with Charles Leclerc fastest after second practice for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia.
The Ferrari driver edged Isack Hadjar by just 0.099s in FP2, with Lando Norris third for McLaren. Max Verstappen was fourth after setting his quickest time on the medium tyre, while Lewis Hamilton completed the top five.
Mercedes had a more difficult session after ...
02 October 2026 15:42
Friday practice for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia was atypical in several respects. Lap times turned out to be four and a half seconds slower than expected due to the poor track surface, Mercedes did not impress as much as perhaps expected and the run plans were rather unusual.
The latter was perhaps most evident with Max Verstappen. Normally, drivers complete their qualifying ...
02 October 2026 14:57
Friday practice for Formula 1's one-off return to Malaysia, following a nine-year hiatus, was always going to throw a few curveballs the paddock's way.
But while Malaysia's daily monsoons missed the track, instead it was the Sepang circuit itself that proved tough to tame. Thursday's track walks had already indicated that the "sandpaper" tarmac, as Oscar Piastri described it, would lead to ...
02 October 2026 14:46
Lewis Hamilton has been warned for impeding Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto in Bahrain Grand Prix practice in Malaysia, escaping with a warning as his Ferrari Formula 1 team received a €10,000 fine.
Halfway through second free practice session on a sweltering Sepang circuit, Hamilton blocked Bortoleto on the entry to Turn 9 as he suffered damage to his right-hand side mirror, resulting in a scary ...
02 October 2026 13:49
Max Verstappen emerged as the fastest driver in the long runs during the second free practice session for the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. The Red Bull driver was running on medium tyres and, after adjusting for the different stint lengths and tyre compounds, came out ahead of the competition.
George Russell (+0.19s) in the Mercedes and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc (+0.32s) ...
02 October 2026 13:18
George Russell reckons he needs to make a tweak to his Mercedes Formula 1 car as he believes it is “off the pace” at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Mercedes driver finished second and seventh in the two Friday practice sessions, respectively 0.383s and 0.492s off pacesetters Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
Read Also:
Formula 1Mercedes reveals F1 Bahrain GP ...
02 October 2026 12:36
Sky Sports Formula 1 commentator and former driver Martin Brundle has dismissed recent paddock speculation linking former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to a management role at Ferrari, following direct contact with the Briton.
Rumours surrounding Horner's future surfaced after he told The Times that Ferrari would be the only team he would work for without having an ownership stake ...
02 October 2026 12:10
Formula 1's return to Sepang International Circuit saw Max Verstappen topping Friday's FP1, and that was enough to get fans buzzing about a repeat of his 2017 win at this track. Then FP2 ended, and the Dutchman finished fourth on the timesheets. Obvious practice caveats apply, but let's jump into what the four-time champion thought of his performance today.
Why no soft tyre stint?
Verstappen ...
02 October 2026 11:49
With seven or eight Formula 1 weekends remaining in 2026 – depending on the situation in the Middle East – Red Bull has just two objectives left: preventing 2026 from becoming the team’s first winless year since 2015 and, secondly, learning as much as possible ahead of next season.
Regarding the first objective, Verstappen has said on multiple occasions that Baku was theoretically Red ...
02 October 2026 11:37
Red Bull Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar has revealed that he still does not have full movement of his wrist, but says his condition is "good enough" and joked he did a "good job" during his time out of the race seat.
The French-Algerian driver was forced to sit out the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix after sustaining a fracture during the summer break.
Hadjar made his racing return at ...
02 October 2026 11:37
Alpine Formula 1 chief Flavio Briatore says his team will move on from Franco Colapinto's collision with team-mate Pierre Gasly as the squad fights Racing Bulls in the championship.
Colapinto triggered a three-car accident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, involving Gasly and McLaren's Lando Norris, with all three drivers retiring from the event. Both Alpine drivers were on for valuable points ...
02 October 2026 11:29
Sepang has returned to the Formula 1 calendar for the 2026 season after almost a decade's absence, and more than half of the grid has never turned a wheel in anger on the iconic circuit. Oscar Piastri is one of these drivers. But when talking about how long it would take him to learn, he made a comment about the current cars that many fans believe prove his distaste for the 2026 ...
02 October 2026 11:13
Charles Leclerc went fastest in second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia as the 90% threat of rain didn’t come to fruition during the Formula 1 outing.
The Ferrari driver set a 1m37.528s at Sepang that put him 0.099s quicker than second-placed Isack Hadjar, who finished third in FP1, with Lando Norris completing the top three.
It’s come on the weekend that Sepang has ...
02 October 2026 10:48
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has given an insight into what fans of the Maranello outfit should expect from this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Frenchman explained that the team must focus its set-up entirely on race pace to combat severe tyre degradation.
Following a run of low-degradation street circuits and high-speed tracks, Formula 1's return to the Sepang ...
02 October 2026 10:05
Ferrari Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have completed a track test of the new Ferrari 12Cilindri Manuale at Fiorano.
The time on track allowed both drivers the opportunity to share their feedback on the new super GT, which is powered by a front-mid-mounted 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine producing 830 hp.
The 12Cilindri Manuale was unveiled in July 2026 and is ...
02 October 2026 09:59
Fred Vasseur has addressed the speculation surrounding his role as Ferrari team principal following FP1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Rumours of his future at the Italian outfit have been building for days and further fuelled by Christian Horner's musing about wanting the role. Today, Vasseur revealed that attacks on his character became "a bit personal."
It's been a weekend of damage ...
02 October 2026 09:51
Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has welcomed the public backing of his bosses and called on his team to remain united rather than point fingers and get distracted by outside noise.
While Ferrari has enjoyed an upturn in form under the new 2026 regulations, Vasseur's position returned to the centre of media speculation earlier this week. The cause was an interview in The Times in which former ...
02 October 2026 08:27
Franco Colapinto has claimed that “no one ever talks about” how he also receives lots of social media abuse, following the fallout to his clash at the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Alpine driver locked up from deep into Turn 1 at a safety car restart in Baku last weekend, colliding into team-mate Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
It caused an angry Norris who, before ...
02 October 2026 08:10
Mercedes went five months without touching the W17 and still built a 160-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors' championship. Six wins in ten races will do that. So when the team finally rolled out a serious upgrade package at Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the question isn't about whether it will be fast, it's how fast.
This upgrade package is the first serious change Mercedes has ...
02 October 2026 07:43
Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has revealed that he took his son, Leonard, for a lap in a go-kart at just two months old.
The Aston Martin driver opened up about adapting to fatherhood alongside his ongoing F1 commitments during an interview with Spanish radio sports programme El Larguero.
Alonso revealed that his son, who is now six months old, has already been introduced to ...
02 October 2026 07:38
Max Verstappen topped opening practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia aboard a highly competitive 2026 Red Bull Formula 1 car in an uninterrupted session at Sepang.
The four-time world champion posted a 1m37.520s to go 0.383s quicker than second-placed George Russell of Mercedes, with Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar completing the top three on a 1m38.303s.
It came on F1’s ...
02 October 2026 07:23
Press conferences in Formula 1 can come with plenty of rehearsed answers - we all saw Yuki Tsunoda's briefing sheet when he temporarily took Liam Lawson's seat a month ago. These filters can sometimes tame what could be an exciting answer, but it's safe to say Max Verstappen has no such filter as one of his answers on Thursday at Sepang won over fans.
F1 has returned to the legendary track ...
02 October 2026 07:16
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto is set for an additional grid penalty at Formula 1's Bahrain GP in Malaysia after taking a new Mercedes V6 engine.
Colapinto was set for a five-place grid drop at Sepang, which he carried over from last weekend as a punishment for causing a collision with Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris in Baku.
The Argentinian will now be demoted further for taking a fifth ...
02 October 2026 06:12
Mercedes has revealed its updates for Formula 1's Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, introducing a vastly reworked floor and sidepods as it seeks to increase its control in both 2026 championships.
The W17 has been the class of the field so far in 2026, although has faced competition from Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull intermittently throughout the season.
Although none of them has been able to ...
01 October 2026 23:18
Max Verstappen hasn't sat in a GT3 car since leading his class at the Nurburgring 24 Hours back in May, and he's about to jump into one against Valentino Rossi with very little lead time. On October 17, he'll climb into the No. 3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for the GT World Challenge Europe finale at Portimao, sharing driving duties with Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat.
The seat opened up because ...
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