Thomas Berman, the younger brother of Haas Formula 1 team driver Oliver Berman, will officially take part in Italian Formula 4 and Euro 4 in the 2026 season.

Thomas will represent the VAR team colours.

The 16-year-old Briton spent last year in British Formula 4, where he scored one win and finished eighth in the final season standings.

But the ones that are considered the most prestigious and promising are the Italian and European Formula 4 championships. They are often chosen by young pilots for further career advancement. In addition, Thomas’ older brother Oliver Berman also competed in these series and became the Italian Formula 4 champion in 2021 with 11 wins.

Let us also remind you that Ukrainian Alexander Bondarev will compete in the same championships with the Prima Racing team in the 2026 season. The Ukrainian pilot does not hide his ambitions and has repeatedly expressed his intention to fight for the championship title.

Bondarev now participates in Middle East Formula 4 in preparation for the European leg of the season. After the first stage, he took first place in the general rankings and became the leader in the rankings.

Thomas Berman will compete in the Formula Winter Series as part of his preparations.

The competition between the current “four” promises to be extremely high, and the appearance of the younger brother of the Formula 1 pilot will only increase interest in the series.

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Formula 1 is preparing to enter a new era of regulations. Starting from the 2026 season, the aerodynamics and power plants of the vehicles will change significantly. Many people are already calling these innovations the biggest in the history of the championship.

In addition, the physical parameters of the machines will also change. The cars will become smaller: 10 cm narrower, 20 cm shorter and also 32 kg lighter; minimum weight will drop to 768 kg.

However, reaching this new cap will be extremely difficult for most teams. New power plants include a significantly larger share of the electrical component – with the internal combustion engine the ratio will now be 50/50, which will make the unit heavier. From the new season, there will also be a rule requiring at least 55% of the vehicle area to be painted, and new active aerodynamic features with real-time mode switching will be introduced.

All of this increases the weight of the car, and teams will need to simultaneously work to increase efficiency, reliability and reduce the weight of the cars. Audi is reportedly already the first team to reach the minimum points mark. Earlier, information also appeared that the German manufacturer replaced the mechanism for switching active aerodynamic modes with an electronic one.

There have been recent reports that Alpin can also reach a minimum weight of 768 kg. Of course, the lower the mass, the faster the car. But the question remains whether this will compromise reliability in the early stages of the new regulation. We will learn the answer to this very soon.

Max Verstappen has said he does not pay much attention to rumors that some teams may have possible technical advantages in their new Formula 1 power units.

It has recently been claimed that Mercedes and Red Bull have found a way to further increase engine power, while other teams are trying to eliminate this possible advantage. The FIA ​​will meet with power unit manufacturers on January 22 to discuss the issue before the season starts.

Rumor has it that such optimization could produce around 15 hp, which is a significant figure at the beginning of a new era in technical regulations.

When asked whether Red Bull had an advantage in the pre-season, Verstappen replied:

“It’s impossible to know. Everyone is trying to do the best they can and I, especially me, have to focus on driving the car. I’m not here to be an engine engineer and explain all the details. Ultimately, this is a matter between the FIA ​​and the engine manufacturers. I drive the car and I believe we always do everything we can to get the best out of the engine.”