🏁 F1 Daily Digest — Saturday 25 April 2026

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Technical & FIA

FIA extends Miami FP1 to 90 minutes as revised 2026 regs get first outing — The five-week April hiatus ends next weekend in Miami, and the FIA is giving teams extra track time to get to grips with the in-season regulatory tweaks that address early-season complaints about qualifying behaviour. The extended FP1 session is a smart move — with so many teams bringing significant upgrade packages, the extra 30 minutes of rubber on track should help engineers correlate wind tunnel data with reality. Read more

Ferrari validates updated 'Macarena' rear wing at Monza filming day — Ferrari ran its SF-26 at Monza this week, using the 200km filming day allowance to shake down a substantially revised rear wing concept ahead of Miami. The cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi rounds due to the Iran conflict has scrambled the development calendar, giving the Scuderia extra factory time to push upgrades forward. Read more

Red Bull becomes first team to copy Ferrari's 'Macarena' concept — Not to be outdone, Red Bull completed its own filming day at Silverstone, where Verstappen tested a rotating rear wing clearly inspired by Ferrari's design. It's a notable philosophical shift for Red Bull — historically they've led aero innovation rather than followed, but the RB22 clearly needs answers after a rough start to the new era. Read more | More details

McLaren promises "an entirely new" car for Miami — Andrea Stella's squad is bringing a comprehensive upgrade package to the Hard Rock Stadium, but expects every rival to do the same. McLaren's track record of mid-season transformations in 2023 and 2024 makes them the team to watch when it comes to in-season development execution. Read more

Floor designs emerge as key 2026 aero battleground — An area of regulatory freedom not previously available has led to divergent floor concepts from Alpine, Ferrari, and Red Bull. The variation in philosophy suggests we're in the early exploratory phase of these regulations, with convergence likely still a long way off. Read more

F1 and FIA applauded for rapid response to 2026 regulation complaints — Will Buxton praised the governing body and FOM for listening to driver and team feedback about qualifying behaviour under the new rules and implementing changes quickly. David Coulthard, however, cautions that Miami alone won't reveal whether the tweaks have truly fixed the issues. Read more

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Qualifying & Grid

Norris reveals why losing "1-2%" in qualifying has been so frustrating — The McLaren driver explained the unique challenge of the 2026 cars in qualifying trim, where the energy deployment characteristics have made the cars feel fundamentally different on a single-lap push. It's a nuance the casual viewer might miss, but for drivers operating at the absolute limit, even a small percentage changes everything. Read more

Piastri hopeful FIA tweaks restore 'normal' qualifying feel — The Australian admitted the current qualifying format has allowed mistakes to go relatively unpunished — a bizarre artefact of the energy management rules. Piastri is optimistic the Miami tweaks will restore the traditional risk-reward dynamic of a hot lap. Read more

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Driver News

Zak Brown squashes Stella-to-Ferrari rumours as "total nonsense" — Following McLaren's signing of GianPiero Lambiase from Red Bull, speculation mounted that Andrea Stella could be lured to Maranello. Brown left zero room for interpretation, firmly shutting down the rumours and backing his team principal. Read more

Lindblad opens up on "fun" Lawson partnership at Racing Bulls — The grid's only 2026 rookie has settled in quickly alongside Liam Lawson, praising the working relationship between them. Early impressions suggest Red Bull's junior pipeline continues to deliver genuine talent. Read more

Audi makes major leadership appointment after Wheatley exit — The Hinwil operation has moved swiftly to restructure after Jonathan Wheatley's brief and turbulent stint as team principal, appointing Allan McNish as racing director. The team desperately needs stability after a chaotic entry into the sport. Read more

Palmer names Leclerc as ideal Verstappen replacement at Red Bull — With Verstappen openly critical of the RB22 and Red Bull's direction, Jolyon Palmer suggests Charles Leclerc should top their list if the four-time champion walks. It's still speculative, but the paddock smoke around Verstappen's future refuses to clear. Read more

Marko links his Red Bull exit to Verstappen missing Schumacher's five-title record — Helmut Marko has revealed the "huge disappointment" of failing to deliver a fifth consecutive title for Verstappen was a key factor in his departure from Red Bull. A fascinating insight into how the power dynamics shifted at Milton Keynes. Read more

Szafnauer questions whether Mercedes is sandbagging — The former Alpine boss suspects Mercedes may be hiding true pace, and notes the cost cap means rivals can't simply spend their way to a response. If the Silver Arrows have been playing possum through the first three rounds, Miami could be very interesting. Read more

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Championship Picture

Red Bull's state of play after three rounds: work to do — The official F1 site takes a deep dive into what's gone wrong at Milton Keynes, where the team hasn't had the start they'd hoped for under the new regulations. With Verstappen testing experimental aero at Silverstone, the urgency is clear. Read more

Williams facing early FW48 headaches — Carlos Sainz and the Grove team are battling an overweight car and a pace deficit after missing pre-season testing. James Vowles has set "realistic expectations," which in team principal speak means buckle in for a long development road. Read more | Read more

Championship odds shift after three races — Australia, China, and Japan have reshuffled the betting markets. With Miami's regulation tweaks and a wave of upgrades incoming, the picture could look very different by this time next week. Read more

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Race Weekend Preview

Miami GP (1-4 May): The great reset — The first race back from the April break doubles as the effective re-launch of the 2026 regulations. With an extended 90-minute FP1, revised qualifying energy rules, and virtually every team bringing major upgrades, this is as close to a second season opener as you'll get. Ferrari's 'Macarena' wing, Red Bull's response to it, and McLaren's "entirely new" car make this the most anticipated upgrade weekend since... well, maybe ever. Piastri's admission that McLaren's chassis is strong but the Mercedes power unit may be the "bigger piece of the puzzle" adds an extra layer. Read more

Istanbul Park confirmed for 2027-2031! — Brilliant news for fans of proper old-school circuits: the Turkish Grand Prix returns on a five-year deal starting in 2027. Turn 8 — that magnificent multi-apex left-hander — is back on the calendar, and the 2027 schedule is really starting to take shape. Read more

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Coulthard stat of the day: DC estimates it now costs £8 million to fund a junior career all the way to an F1 seat. The sport's accessibility problem isn't going away. Read more