Motor Sport

Formula 1's greatest team debuts as Audi scores in first race From Fangio's dominant Mercedes to Button's miracle Brawn, Formula 1 has a proud tradition of strong debuts - and Audi is the latest team to arrive in style

Audi marked its arrival in #F1 with an impressive points finish. How does it compare with the greatest GP debuts of the past, including Mercedes, Wolf, Brawn and Haas?
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Matt Bishop: 'Alonso has begun his final act in F1. Don't expect a fairytale ending' Two decades ago, Fernando Alonso looked set to rule F1 for years. But in the twilight of his F1 career, he has taken on the role of tragic hero: still razor-sharp but burdened with a car that's farcically uncompetitive

A futile end to a frustrating career?
Fernando Alonso looked set to rule #F1 for years in 2006, writes @thebishf1.bsky.social
20 years on, he's still razor sharp but saddled with a car that's farcically uncompetitive
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4u...

Mario Kart and the identity debate at the heart of F1 2026 Melbourne's season-opener delivered spectacular racing - but raised uncomfortable questions about what Formula 1 has become

🗣️ "If the point of #F1 is entertainment, then the #AustralianGP was a success. If not, then Charles Leclerc's Mario Kart comparison has done real damage"
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Mark Hughes: 'There's no skill in F1 overtaking - it's like passing a car on the motorway' The 2026 Formula 1 season roared into life with a whirlwind of overtaking at the front. But, in the excitement of the lead battle between George Russell and Charles Leclerc, one key element looks to have been lost

The lead battle looked exciting at the #AustralianGP , but #F1 overtaking has been stripped of its skill, says Mark Hughes
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Will Ferrari startline advantage make up for lack of puff in Melbourne? Why did Ferrari’s pre-season promise disappear in qualifying for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix? Mark Hughes has a theory that we may soon see it again

Mercedes was class of the #F1 field in Melbourne qualifying. But Mark Hughes has seen signs that Ferrari is far from beaten
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4r...

Who will be F1 champion in 2026? Vote now to win Competition: Win a half-scale model helmet and model car by correctly picking the 2026 Formula 1 world champions

Can you predict this year's #F1 champion? Get it right and you'll be in with a chance of some fantastic prizes.
Enter now before voting closes tonight!
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F1 season openers ranked: Buenos Aires to Melbourne classics McLaren’s Lando Norris begins his Formula 1 title defence in Melbourne on March 8 – but where does the home of the Aussie Grand Prix rank in our table of Round 1 circuits?

Fan-favourite Melbourne is once again hosting the #F1 season-opener. But where does the home of the #AustralianGP rank in our table of Round 1 circuits?
(from our latest issue)
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4b...

Why Bottas's penalty threat vanished ahead of Australian GP Valtteri Bottas had been expecting to serve a penalty from the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP when he returned to the Formula 1 grid with Cadillac. But an unexpected rule change has given him a clean sheet

Valtteri Bottas has dodged a longstanding #F1 penalty thanks to an unexpected rule change. And that's not the only reason the Cadillac driver has a spring in his step...
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Podcast: Aston F1 disaster reveals Newey's ambition Motor Sport F1 Show with Mark Hughes Why Adrian Newey's towering ambitions could come good. Plus: what to look for at the Australian GP; F1 contingencies if Bahrain GP is cancelled; and Mark answers your questions

Aston Martin's cars can't complete a race distance and its drivers fear injury.
For Mark Hughes, this isn't a sign of disaster, but evidence of Adrian Newey's towering ambition - which may well come good.
Watch this week's #F1 show now: go.motorsportmagazine.com/4u...

What a lap of Albert Park might actually look like with F1's 2026 cars Formula 1 has never asked this much of a driver in a single lap. Albert Park is where we find out if anyone has the answers to the new 2026 regulations

🗣️ " #F1 is at the beginning of something it has not yet fully understood"
GP racing has never asked this much of a driver in a single lap — here's what they'll be juggling on each Albert Park lap
go.motorsportmagazine.com/3N...

Will new F1 wow or flop in Melbourne? Australian GP briefing The new era begins in Melbourne this weekend - but will F1's boldest gamble in decades deliver?

The 2026 season represents F1's boldest gamble in decades. Will it pay off?
There's a lot to look out for in Australia...
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4l...

From DRS to Straight Mode: How Melbourne's overtaking zones have been reinvented The Albert Park circuit map looks familiar, but a closer look at the annotations ahead of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix shows how F1's new active aero modes are likely to shape the racing

An updated Albert Park map shows five 'straight mode' zones for the Australian GP. Here's how the new zones, combined with 2026 cars' active aero, are likely to shape #F1 racing
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4r...

MPH: Laughing at Aston's F1 troubles? That's a low-intelligence take It'd be easy to laugh at Aston Martin's disastrous start to 2026 after owner Lawrence Stroll invested millions into making it an F1 super-team. But don't mock, writes Mark Hughes. Adrian Newey's ambitious design could well come good

It's easy to laugh at Aston Martin's disastrous 2026 start after Lawrence Stroll invested millions into making it an #F1 super-team.
But don't mock, says Mark Hughes - Adrian Newey's bold design could well come good
go.motorsportmagazine.com/3O...

Who will be F1 champion in 2026? Vote now to win Competition: Win a half-scale model helmet and model car by correctly picking the 2026 Formula 1 world champions

Can you predict this year's #F1 champions? Vote now for a chance to win — if you get it right....
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4r...

Matt Bishop: 'Skill, courage and V10s: Albert Park's first GP showed what F1 used to be' Australia's Grand Prix moved to Albert Park 30 years ago when the sport seemed purer and simpler, writes Matt Bishop. But underneath modern wizardry, drivers in this weekend's season-opener will find plenty in common with the 'antique' grid of 1996

Almost 30 years ago, Albert Park erupted to the spine-tingling roar of V10 engines as it hosted the Australian GP for the first time. It almost feels like an antique era of #F1, says @thebishf1.bsky.social
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4s...

Politics over sport: Formula 1's timeless complaint Colin Chapman wrote a letter in 1981 to complain about the state of Formula 1. The letter could have been written this year

🗣️ “Formula 1 will end up in a quagmire of plagiarism, chicanery and petty rule interpretation”
No, it's not another complaint about the 2026 #F1 rules but the words of Colin Chapman, written 35 years ago, which could just as easily apply now
go.motorsportmagazine.com/47...

Will F1 have to cancel the Bahrain Grand Prix after Iranian missile attacks? Formula 1 could be facing another Middle East dilemma following the US-Israeli military operation

The #WEC season is due to start in Bahrain in 20 days... #F1 is meant to be racing there in six weeks — on the same weekend #MotoGP has a Qatar round.
What happens now that both countries are under attack by Iran?
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4s...

Did Thai GP show MotoGP's new order? The Thai MotoGP season-opener was full of surprises, but was Buriram a blueprint for 2026 or a mirage?

The Thai #MotoGP season-opener was full of surprises, but was Buriram a blueprint for 2026 or a mirage?

Mat Oxley's take on the first race weekend of the year 👇

go.motorsportmagazine.com/4b...

Mario Andretti's greatest racing cars – Indy, F1 and Le Mans From sprint cars to two-seater Indy machines, there isn't much Mario Andretti hasn't driven – we look back on his best and most infamous competition cars

A happy 86th birthday to Mario Andretti, whose initials will be carried by Cadillac's new #F1 car.
Will he get a chance behind the wheel? No doubt he'll be hoping so. After all, there isn't much he hasn't already raced...
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4c...

'I was given the wrong advice': Alex Palou regrets contract battle with McLaren as case is settled Months after attacking McLaren in court, IndyCar champion Alex Palou praises the team after reaching a final settlement in the breach of contract case

4 months ago, Alex Palou was attacking McLaren in court.
Today, the 4x #IndyCar champion praised the team, saying it had gone "above and beyond" before he reneged on his contract.
Don't miss the final twist in the fiery contract saga
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4b...

The mountain Hamilton must climb to win over the tifosi in 2026 At 41 and fresh from a bruising first year at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton must rediscover the mental steel and on-track authority that once defined his era

Lewis Hamilton's title-winning years were defined by mental steel and on-track authority.
After a bruising first year at Ferrari, can the seven-time #F1 champ bounce back?
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4b...

The man who designed Senna's MP4/4 has built his own supercar — and it's a monster Steve Nichols, who designed the McLaren MP4/4 and worked alongside Senna, has built a 730bhp Can-Am-inspired road-legal trackday car

Steve Nichols designed the McLaren MP4/4 and worked with Ayrton Senna.
Now he's designed a 730bhp Can-Am-inspired road car. And we got behind the wheel...
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4k...

Podcast: Ferrari F1 trick that's left rivals scratching their heads Motor Sport F1 Show with Mark Hughes Ferrari's ingenious diffuser design — and how it works. Plus: why F1 may water down its green ambitions and Mark gives his early predictions for the 2026 season

Has Ferrari found the cleverest trick on the #F1 grid?
Don't miss The Motor Sport F1 Show with Mark Hughes on how Ferrari has got its mojo back, plus predictions for the 2026 season ahead
go.motorsportmagazine.com/47...

Here comes MotoGP's longest, weirdest season How MotoGP’s volatile rider market will play havoc with riders and manufacturers working to develop their all-new 850s for 2027

Get ready for a bumpy ride.... 2026 will see the longest #MotoGP campaign in history; the death of one era; the genesis of another; and the most volatile rider market in world championship history.
So it's lucky that @matoxley.bsky.social is once more your guide
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4b...

Out now - Bumper #F1 2026 season preview 🏋️‍♀️🏎️💨

👩‍🔬 What you need to know on hi-tech new cars
📝 Trackside at testing
🇮🇹 What the Italians think of Lewis Hamilton
🏆 How Zak Brown fixed McLaren: "It was chaos when I arrived"

Read the new issue now: go.motorsportmagazine.com/46...

MPH: F1 design innovations revealed - which will make the difference in 2026? As F1's all-new cars emerged for the final Bahrain test, the different design choices taken by each team revealed themselves. Mark Hughes dissects the loophole-hunting ingenuity and calculated compromises that are beginning to define an early pecking order

Loophole-hunting #F1 teams revealed more design innovations in Bahrain testing, as explained by
Mark Hughes
Will an ingenious feature make the difference this season? go.motorsportmagazine.com/4b...

Le Mans Classic Legend: 'more modern, more funky' celebration makes its debut in 2026 The Le Mans Classic is going through the biggest shift in its history this year. Robert Ladbrook catches up with the organisers to find out what’s new.

It's the Le Mans Classic... just 'more modern, more funky'
Le Mans Classic Legend will roar on to the full La Sarthe circuit this summer and tickets are on sale now!
www.motorsportmagazine.com/a...
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Matt Bishop: 'I'm backing Russell to beat Verstappen in bitter 2026 F1 title duel' Pre-season testing suggests the 2026 Formula 1 title race could come down to a duel between Max Verstappen and George Russell. Our F1 columnist is buckling up for a fiery contest from which he sees the Mercedes driver emerging triumphant

What if pre-season rule wrangling gave way to an epic, fiery #F1 title battle between Max Verstappen and George Russell?
Not only does @thebishf1.bsky.social think it could happen, he's tipping Russell to take the championship
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4c...

Every F1 team assessed ahead of the 2026 Australian GP Pre-season Formula 1 testing rarely tells us nothing - and in 2026, it may have revealed more about the competitive order than usual

Some #F1 teams finished testing feeling hopeful. Others emerged shell-shocked. A couple are already in damage-limitation mode.
Here's how they stand after an unusually revealing pre-season
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4k...

Adelaide at last: F1 survivor Martin Donnelly to finally complete the 1990 season Thirty-six years after a near-fatal crash ended his Formula 1 career, Martin Donnelly is finally set to drive at Adelaide, where he should have completed his first full grand prix season

36 years ago, Martin Donnelly's #F1 career ended in a horrific crash, later shown in Brad Pitt's movie.
This weekend, the former Lotus driver will finally reach closure by driving an F1 car on the track where he should have closed the 1990 season
go.motorsportmagazine.com/4k...