MOTORSPORTS

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Formula 1 design icon Adrian Newey believes Aston Martin has taken one of the most daring approaches to the sport’s latest technical regulations, describing the team’s new car as an extreme and distinctive interpretation of the rules introduced for this season. Speaking after Aston Martin’s official launch, Newey made it clear that the team has chosen a path that sets it apart from several of its rivals, while accepting that only performance on track will determine whether the concept is a success.

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Formula One champion Lando Norris said he’d enjoyed a “decent day” in his new McLaren after completing 77 ‍laps at the Barcelona shakedown test on Wednesday.

The Briton will hand over the MCL40 to Australian teammate Oscar Piastri for Thursday’s session before getting back in on Friday for the team’s third and final day at the Circuit de Catalunya.”It was just nice to be back, nice to see a number one on my car, pretty cool and pretty surreal still. It’s a good feeling,” said the 26-year-old after lapping in cold temperatures at the Spanish Grand Prix track.

“Our first day on track, first time everyone gets to see the car in one piece. It’s literally not been built until this morning… nice to ⁠see it all come together.

“And then I go and have some fun driving it which turned out to be a decent day. Today was really just a first understanding of the whole car, understanding just how it works really, going through the manual.”

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Oscar Piastri accepts McLaren gave him a “fair shot” at the Formula 1 title last season and expects the same this year against champion teammate Lando Norris.

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Lewis Hamilton hailed an “amazing” amount of mileage on a productive morning ‍for Ferrari on day four of Formula 1’s pre-season shakedown at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

Ferrari failed to win a race last year, dropping to fourth overall, and seven-times world champion Hamilton suffered his first season without a single podium appearance. They are hoping to be far more competitive this year, the start of a new engine era with the biggest rules reset that any of the drivers have ⁠experienced, although Mercedes are already looking ominously reliable.

“When you come to the test you always want to get a lot of mileage,” said Hamilton in an interview with Formula One television on Thursday. “Like, today I did 85 laps in the morning which is amazing.

“Last year we had a worse start to testing. So this, considering it’s a completely new band of rules, it’s better than we’ve experienced in the past. So I’m really hopeful that continues.” All teams must choose ⁠three of five days to run their new car in the behind-closed-doors test in Barcelona, with Ferrari opting for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

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Formula 1 champion Lando Norris says pre-season favourite George Russell is hungry to take his title and “giddy” at the prospect.

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Formula 1 endured a rainy second day of private testing in Barcelona on Tuesday, with only Red Bull and Ferrari braving the wet conditions.

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Australian Jack Doohan will be a ‍reserve driver for the Haas Formula One team this season after his split from Renault-owned Alpine.

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Formula 1 will see a significant change to its safety car and medical car arrangements from the 2026 season, with Mercedes becoming the sole supplier after Aston Martin confirmed it will step back from the role. This marks the end of a partnership that began in 2021, when Aston Martin and Mercedes started sharing responsibility for providing safety vehicles on the grid.

The decision was first revealed by The Race and later confirmed by Aston Martin, which stated that the agreement had simply concluded at the end of the 2025 season. While no detailed explanation has been offered, it is believed the move may be driven by commercial considerations rather than performance or operational concerns. Aston Martin also stressed that the partnership had been valuable during its early years back in Formula 1.