Motorsports
McLaren makes an important decision at the start of the 2026 season
The McLaren team has decided not to follow the approach of most of its rivals and not prepare an update to its 2026 season car for the opening stage of the championship in Australia.
All 11 Formula 1 teams will test for five days in Barcelona next week, followed by two three-day testing blocks in Bahrain before the season opener in Melbourne (6-8 March). For most teams, the important thing will be the speed at which the cars are developed between testing and the first race.
However, McLaren decided not to rush into technical innovations. Rob Marshall, the team’s chief designer, emphasized that the priority now is to fully understand the new vehicle rather than making immediate design changes.
“Between Barcelona and Melbourne, I think you’ll see approximately the same package as we would going into the first race. We’ll direct a significant portion of our efforts towards understanding the machine,” Marshall said.
“We also need to consider what the competitors are doing; we need to be inspired by what they’ve achieved, what they haven’t achieved and what they choose to show. We really need to focus on mastering this car as much as possible. It’s very complex. It’s completely new.”
“There are a lot of things that need to be tuned and perfected, so introducing many new parts too early will only complicate the process. We prefer to understand our platform before we start redesigning, before the car has even completed its first lap.”
Therefore, McLaren is deliberately sacrificing an early update of the car in favor of a deeper understanding of the new technical platform in the face of a radical change in the rules.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
French team Alpin will show its 2026 season jersey at a presentation in Barcelona on Friday, January 23, at 12:30 Kiev time.
2026 will mark the beginning of a new multi-year collaboration between Alpin and Mercedes, following the completion of Renault’s own powertrain programme. The team confirmed that Mercedes will supply Alpine engines during the new technical regulations period from 2026 to 2030.
In addition to the engines, the team will also receive gearboxes from Mercedes. Alpin will focus on performing as efficiently as possible in 2024 and 2025.
The presentation can be watched online on the team’s YouTube channel.
The team will retain its current driver lineup, with French driver Pierre Gasly and Argentinian Franco Colapinto expected to be present at the event.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Cadillac Formula 1 crew chief Graham Loudon said the team is prohibited from using the “Formula 1” name in open job positions until participation is officially confirmed.
In 2023, General Motors and Andretti Global announced their intention to bring the Cadillac brand to Formula 1, but the championship rejected their application. Despite this, the team continued to seek staff until Andretti Global CEO Michael Andretti resigned in October 2024.
In November 2024, GM confirmed that it had reached an agreement with Formula 1 for Cadillac to enter the championship as the 11th team in 2026. Official confirmation of Cadillac’s entry into F1 from the FIA and Formula 1 took place in March 2025.
Graham Loudon talked about the recruitment process and restrictions on the use of the Formula 1 name.
Loudon said: “We advertised a lot of vacancies before we officially joined, but we couldn’t use the word ‘Formula 1’ because we didn’t have the right to do so. So they wrote ‘position at the highest level of motorsport’ and that became the secret word of Formula 1.”
The team aimed to hire 525 people by December 31, 2025 and advertised 595 positions.
“We received 143,265 applications. It was incredible,” the Cadillac executive added.
The American team is preparing for the first official tests in Barcelona, which are scheduled to begin on January 26, 2026. Drivers include Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Formula 1 team Williams Racing may miss the first block of pre-season testing, which will be held in closed format in Barcelona from January 26-30. This was due to problems with the new car during mandatory safety checks.
According to journalist Jorge Peiro, the Grove team recently failed a crash test, without which it was impossible to participate in the tests. In his opinion, the situation has either not changed at all or progress has been minimal since the receipt of this information.
The crash test failure is forcing Williams to urgently improve its chassis design, which could significantly impact the season’s preparation programme. Under the new technical regulations of 2026, testing every day is critical to collect data and tune the machine.
Williams Racing risks entering the pre-season program seriously behind its rivals unless the team quickly fixes the problems and fails FIA inspection again.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
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