The 7th stage of Dakar 2026, which returned after a one-day break, took place today, January 11. Ford driver Matthias Ekstrjom won the stage after race leader Henk Lategan had a problem in the last part of the stage and lost more than 10 minutes.

Lategan, who was 1 minute and 46 seconds ahead of Ekstrjom before the last checkpoint, had the chance to win the stage and become the leader in the general classification. However, he lost all his advantage in the 459 km distance between Riyadh and Wadi Ad-Dawasir due to shock absorber failure and finished only 13th, 8 minutes and 35 seconds behind Ekstrjom.

Ekstrom won the stage by 4 minutes and 27 seconds over Toyota driver Joao Ferreira, while his Ford teammate Mitch Guthrie finished third. Toyota’s Toby Price lost just six seconds on lap four, ahead of Dacia duo Lucas Moraes and Sebastien Loeb.

Implications for the general classification: Dacia driver Nasser Al-Attiyah maintained his lead by taking 11th place in the stage, but his advantage fell to 4 minutes and 47 seconds ahead of Ekstrjem, who is now his main pursuer. While Ford driver Nani Roma took the third place in the general classification, Lategan fell to the fourth place, 7 minutes and 21 seconds behind. Carlos Sainz Sr. He finished the stage in fifth place with Ford.

Results of stage 7:

Score after stage 7:

Italian sources say that the changes to the Ferrari SF-26 for the 2026 season could be good news for Lewis Hamilton.

The seven-time champion in his first season with the Scuderia could only reach the top step of the podium after the sprint in China; His teammate Charles Leclerc reached the podium seven times in 2025.

Despite the Monegasque’s relative success last season, both he and Hamilton have repeatedly criticized the SF-25. Pilots complained about problems with the steering wheel, unbalanced clutch and the chassis as a whole. At one stage in 2025, Leclerc described the car as “uncontrollable” at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari’s new 2026 car is designed primarily to solve last season’s key problems, including difficulties warming up tires and a chronic lack of grip in critical conditions.

Another plus for Hamilton is that the SF-26 is the first car he and former Mercedes technical director Loïc Serra had the opportunity to work on after joining Ferrari.

The team’s aim is to create a predictable and stable car that does not lose performance and remains controllable when grip levels on the track change. This is expected to have a positive impact on both Hamilton and Leclerc.

Hamilton’s age (41) means he is just a few seasons away from winning his eighth world title, so the success of the Ferrari SF-26 will be critical for the Briton.

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda has expressed his desire to continue his collaboration with Honda even after losing his place in the Red Bull squad.

Tsunoda will be the reserve driver of the Milton Keynes team in 2026, assisting Max Verstappen and Isak Hajjar.

At the same time, Honda officially returns to Formula 1 as Aston Martin’s power unit supplier and ends its technical partnership with Red Bull.

Honda played an important role in Tsunoda’s career, supporting him in the junior series and on his path to F1. The pilot thanked the Japanese manufacturer for its support for many years.

“I appreciate your support over the years. We’ll see how it goes, but I really appreciate how many people have supported me.”

“Next year we will go a little bit different way. But we will still be close and see how we can continue the collaboration.”