It’s felt like a long time since Formula 1 cars were last racing ontrack, but in the intervening five-week period much has been happening in the background to review how well the all-new regulations for 2026 have worked during the opening three race weekends of the year. F1’s CEO and president, Stefano Domenicali, has led this process. The highly experienced Italian is likeable, intelligent and approachable, while being aware that he heads a sport which is growing exponentially on the global stage, with four sell-out events already this year and with viewing figures continuously growing and including a younger audience than ever before.

Domenicali has been having detailed discussions with his F1 management colleagues, representatives of the FIA governing body and, of course, all eleven teams and their drivers, singling out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for particular praise after the multiple champion raised numerous positive suggestions for potential improvements to the new regulations to make Formula 1 racing more like it used to be.

Domenicali has also rightly reminded all drivers that they must respect the sport and jointly contribute to its growth, as it is one of its “jewels” and star attractions, while having fun and with the potential to earn an awful lot of money if good enough.

The new regulations have attracted limited praise but also plenty of criticism from all concerned, and it has been crucial that careful analysis be undertaken before any knee-jerk adjustments are implemented. However, Domenicali fully understood that, at the very least, energy management changes needed to be made to ensure that qualifying again becomes closer to the ultimate on-the-limit flat-out test of man and machine that it always used to be and also to address the understandable safety concerns of drivers about the at times significantly increased closing speeds between cars ontrack. Further changes to be implemented in 2027 are due to be revealed later this month, and Domenicali has also indicated that it would be preferable for all involved parties to agree before the end of this year about what the next generation of F1 power units should be with effect from 2031, suggesting a need for lighter, simpler and less expensive ones, perhaps featuring a greater role for internal combustion engines fed by sustainable fuel and much less electrical power.



On a separate front, last year the Mercedes F1 part owner and team principal, Toto Wolff, was very keen to court Verstappen as a potential, if very expensive, replacement for either George Russell or the then yet-to-be-proven young Kimi Antonelli, but with the team now having arguably the best power unit and with both drivers performing well for far less money, the need to bring in a high-cost big-name replacement has reduced, for now at least. Verstappen, though, still quietly remains on Wolff’s admitted wish list, and, if Antonelli continues to improve and Russell reaches a plateau, who knows what the outcome may be? The Dutch racer has a clause in his current Red Bull contract, which lasts until 2028, that would allow him to leave at the end of this year if he isn’t in the top two in the Drivers’ championship by the summer break.

However, the news that Red Bull’s Gianpiero Lambiase is set to join McLaren as its chief racing officer with effect from the 2028 season (and possibly earlier) has led to speculation that, should Verstappen choose to remain in F1 beyond this season, he might seek to join McLaren and team up again with his close friend and long-time ally, Lambiase. Such is their relationship that Lambiase asked Verstappen recently for his approval before accepting the high-value offer from McLaren, and the Dutch ace told Lambiase he simply had to say yes to give his family the future financial security they deserve. Interestingly, Verstappen also very cryptically added that they are both still young and could well perhaps work together again in F1 in the future. The McLaren CEO, Zak Brown, has long been a big admirer of Verstappen, just like Wolff. Therefore, Lambiase and Verstappen joining McLaren is a distinct possibility unless Red Bull can make their car more competitive and persuade their lead driver to stay.



It’s also significant that McLaren enjoys the same superb Mercedes power unit used by the works team, albeit at a substantial cost. Any arrival of the four-time world champion Verstappen would of course also raise the intriguing question as to whether the team would drop Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri to make room for him.

On a related front, McLaren’s Italian team principal, Andrea Stella, has been quietly doing an excellent job for the Bahraini-owned and Woking-based outfit and has recently had to deny unsubstantiated rumours that he may be contemplating a return to Ferrari, where, much earlier in his F1 career, he had enjoyed significant success working alongside the likes of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen. Such a move could lead to him replacing the current team principal, Fred Vasseur, who as yet has failed to deliver regular success for the iconic team, in direct contrast to what Stella has achieved at McLaren. For so many years Ferrari has been the perpetual bridesmaid and never the bride, with its latest Drivers’ title being won by Räikkönen way back in 2007 and its latest Constructors’ one just one year later than that.

If Stella, as a proud Italian, does return to Ferrari at some point, the key question would be who would then replace him as team principal at McLaren, and the Red Bull team principal, Laurent Mekies, claimed in Miami that Lambiase is due to take the role. Time will tell on that front. Meanwhile, the highly experienced former racing driver Allan McNish has been appointed by Audi as its F1 Racing Director with effect from the Miami weekend.



A few other news snippets to close with. On the subject of this year’s calendar, once it had become clear that Formula 1 would not be visiting the two Middle East countries last month, the Australian city of Adelaide, which had previously hosted successful F1 events from 1985 to 1995, had put itself forward to Domenicali as a potentially viable venue for a replacement round, but the offer was ultimately declined after due consideration. Furthermore, Formula 1’s current tyre supplier, Pirelli, grasped the opportunity to undertake some wet-weather compound testing with Ferrari at its private Italian track, Fiorano, on 9/10 April, while Mercedes and McLaren tried out some dry-weather alternatives at Germany’s Nürburgring circuit during the following week on 14/15 April.

Elsewhere, Turkey’s excellent Istanbul Park circuit will return to the F1 calendar with effect from next year, with an initial five-year deal, having last hosted a Grand Prix in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turning to the size of the Formula 1 grid, the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has announced that he would be in favour of the Chinese automotive giant, BYD, pursuing its avowed interest in joining F1 as a 12th team if it can prove it would add value to the sport and, of course, not diminish the potential end-of-season financial rewards for the existing competitors. The all-new Cadillac outfit became Formula 1’s 11th team with effect from the start of the current campaign, and Audi now also lines up under its own name, having taken over the long-time Sauber entry.



Lastly, Aston Martin’s 44-year-old Fernando Alonso is F1’s oldest current driver, having made his debut for Minardi way back in 2001, and retirement must loom at some stage. However, during the build-up to the Miami round, the Spaniard, who recently celebrated fatherhood for the first time with his partner, Melissa Jiménez, and her three children from a previous marriage, indicated that he hopes to compete in Formula 1 beyond the end of the current season, as he still sees it as unfinished business.