Jeppe H. Olesen

The stewards for the Chinese GP:

Nish Shetty
Matthew Selley
Pedro Lamy
Zheng Honghai

Friday, 13:30 local:
- Steve Nielsen (Alpine)
- Jonathan Wheatley (Audi)
- Laurent Mekies (Red Bull)

2/2

Schedule for the official press conferences at the Chinese GP:

Thursday, 12:30 local:
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Esteban Ocon (Haas)

Thursday, 13:00 local:
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Alex Albon (Williams)

1/2

F1 measures in thousandths. Qualifying, lap times, photo finishes. The precision exists.

Just use it.

2/2

F1's new 1-decimal gap display isn't just dumbing down the data. It creates a rounding problem that actually matters.

Overtake mode activates within a second of the car ahead. So is 0.950 shown as 1.0? Is 1.049 shown as 1.0? Cars could look out of range or in range when they're not.

1/2

Hopefully the talk of a return to racing as a team in 2027 materialises. Time will tell.

6/6

The statement says "our engines will never slow down" - but right now, there aren't many engines running under the DCRS banner. Hard not to wonder whether the pivot to "movement" is less about evolution and more about financial reality.

5/6

Meanwhile Iron Dames itself has stepped back from WEC, ELMS, Le Mans Cup and IMSA as a standalone team. The focus has shifted to supporting individual drivers rather than running its own cars.

4/6

But it's worth noting the wider context. Mayer's parent company DCRS also owns Prema, which has had a turbulent few months. The Rosin family departing after 40 years, reported funding issues, missed engine lease deadlines, and absence from the IndyCar season opener at St. Pete.

3/6

The statement from founder Deborah Mayer is full of admirable sentiment about ambition, empowerment and challenging perceptions. And the social mission genuinely is worthwhile.

2/6

This one seems to have slipped under the radar a bit, but Iron Dames has announced it's evolving from a racing team into a "global movement" in 2026.

1/6 🧵

James Wharton and Louis Sharp of Prema come together on lap 1 of the Formula 3 sprint race.

With a team that's extremely strapped for cash at the moment, having two of your cars crash into each other is really not what you want to see.

That is not the case with Aston Martin. They are two separate and distinct organisations, working both with and against each other, navigating a crisis neither fully controls.

It has all the hallmarks of the McLaren Honda relationship.

And it carries all the same risks of the same ending.

5/5

When something goes wrong at these teams, the same organisation that built the problem fixes it. The chain of command is short and communication is internal.

4/5

While technically a works team, the Aston Martin and Honda partnership is structurally different to every other works outfit on the grid. Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and Audi all control their engine programmes in-house. Cadillac are building towards the same with their GM unit.

3/5

He detailed the crisis they are facing. Vibrations. Lack of parts. Organisational shortcomings. Discovering Honda would miss their power targets only in November. And the most telling of all: a fundamental breakdown in communication and cooperation between orgs that should be working as one.

2/5

While it may not seem like it, Newey's comments in yesterday's press conference were a broadside against Honda. And it is coming on the eve of the very first race of their partnership.

1/5 🧵

Yep. The red markings are the zones where cars can activate straight mode - the low drag aero configuration.

The blue markings are where straight mode can be activated if low grip conditions are declared.

The power and energy restrictions for the Australian GP:

Sky Sports have unveiled their plans for the 2026 Formula 1 coverage.

Experts and analysts: Martin Brundle, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Jacques Villeneuve, Naomi Schiff, Bernie Collins, Karun Chandhok, Jamie Chadwick and Anthony Davidson.

Danica Patrick is no longer part of the lineup.

The stewards for the Australian GP will be Nish Shetty, Mathieu Remmerie, Pedro Lamy and Matthey Selley.

Friday, 14:30 local:
- Adrian Newey (Aston Martin)
- Grame Lowdon (Cadillac)
- Toto Wolff (Mercedes)

2/2

Schedule for the first official press conferences of the Formula 1 season:

Thursday, 13:30 local:
- Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
- George Russell (Mercedes)

Thursday, 14:00 local:
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Arvid Lindblad (VCARB)

1/2

If war risk premiums become unaffordable, or cover gets pulled entirely, the decision essentially makes itself, regardless of what F1 or the FIA want.

Sometimes the most pragmatic force in the room ends up doing what principle alone couldn't.

6/6

Now there's an active regional conflict, Iranian missiles have landed close to the Bahrain circuit, airspace across the Gulf has been closed, and the situation isn't showing signs of calming down. That's a very different risk profile for insurers, both for assets and for people.

5/6

Teams ship hundreds of millions in cars, parts, infrastructure, and hospitality setups to every race. Every team also carries liability and personal insurance for hundreds of staff, drivers, media, and contractors on the ground. Insurers were already uneasy after Jeddah in '22.

4/6

What might actually force the decision is something more practical: Insurance.

3/6

That set a pretty clear precedent for how F1 handles these situations.

So while there's understandable debate about whether the Bahrain and Saudi GPs should go ahead, history suggests that ethical concerns and even safety worries alone probably won't be what tips the balance.

2/6

In 2022, a missile hit an Aramco facility close enough to the Jeddah circuit that drivers could see smoke from the cockpit during FP1. There was a tense crisis meeting, several drivers expressed serious concerns about safety, and ultimately the decision was made to race anyway.

1/6

Airspace closures and shipping lane disruptions are already causing logistical problems.

The FIA, F1, and other series will need to make decisions very soon on how to respond.

5/5