FORMULA1 WKLY Issue #7 | Everything But Racing in 2026
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TURKEY IS BACK
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Istanbul Park is back. From 2027, the Turkish Grand Prix returns to the F1 calendar on a five-year deal that runs through 2031.
It is a track that has been missed. The last race there was 2021, when Bottas won for Mercedes. The year before, Hamilton clinched his seventh title in the rain. Turn 8 alone is reason to celebrate. A multi-apex left-hander that has separated drivers since the circuit first appeared in 2005.
Nine Grands Prix have been held there. The 5.33km layout has elevation, character, and a fanbase that grew while the circuit was off the calendar. F1 says Turkey now has more than 19 million fans, and YouTube views from the country are up 107% year-on-year.
Six years away. Five years back.
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ALONSO NOT DONE YET
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A year ago, Alonso said 2026 would probably be his last season if the car was good. The car has not been good. And his answer has changed.
Speaking at the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco this past weekend, the 44-year-old said he feels competitive, motivated, and happy when he drives. His words: "Hopefully not the last season."
Aston Martin have had a rough start. Neither Alonso nor Stroll were classified in Australia or China. Reliability ate both weekends. Suzuka was better. Alonso ran all 52 laps and brought it home P18.
A formal call on 2027 is expected later in the year. For now, the door is open.
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MCNISH TAKES THE WHEEL AT AUDI
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Audi have a new Racing Director. Allan McNish steps in from Miami onwards, reporting to Mattia Binotto.
It is a promotion from inside the team. The 56-year-old Scot has been embedded in Audi motorsport for years and was already running their Driver Development Programme. He keeps that role too.
The move follows Jonathan Wheatley's departure as Team Principal earlier this season. Binotto had been covering both jobs. Now he hands trackside operations to McNish: sporting matters, engineering coordination, race strategy, and driver management. Binotto refocuses on what matters most: the chassis project in Hinwil and the power unit programme in Neuberg.
A clean structure heading into a long build to 2030.
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A NEW MCL40
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McLaren are not bringing an upgrade to Miami. They are bringing a new car.
Andrea Stella confirmed it himself this week. Speaking from the team's Woking headquarters, the Team Principal said the upgrade package across Miami and Canada will deliver "an entirely new MCL40." Almost every aerodynamic surface has been redesigned. The plan was always to load the early-season effort into a North American push, and the schedule gap helped them get there.
The reasoning is honest. McLaren started 2026 on the back foot. The fight to the final race in 2025 meant they kept developing the old car longer than rivals. They were also a customer team adapting to a brand-new Mercedes power unit. China was a disaster (neither car started). Japan was the first sign of life. Piastri ran second to Antonelli and was in the fight for the win.
Now the development ceiling under the new aero rules gets opened up. Stella was careful to manage expectations. Every team is bringing big upgrades. Miami is not necessarily a reset of the order. But McLaren currently sit P3 in the constructors, 89 points behind Mercedes. If the new car works, that gap is the one to watch shrink.
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FP1 EXTENDED IN MIAMI
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A small change with real consequences. The FIA has extended FP1 to 90 minutes. It now runs 12:00 to 13:30 local time, with everything before it pushed forward by 30 minutes.
The reasoning is straightforward. Five weeks since the last race. New regulations to test. And a Sprint format that already cuts practice time in half. Teams need the extra running.
The rest of the schedule stays the same. Sprint Qualifying at 16:30 Friday. Sprint at 12:00 Saturday. Qualifying at 16:00 Saturday. Grand Prix at 16:00 Sunday.
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MIAMI GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
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May 1-3 · Miami International Autodrome · Round 4 · Sprint Weekend
Round 4. Second Sprint of the year. And the first race under the new regulations.
Mercedes arrive as the team to beat. Antonelli leads the championship at 19. Two wins, three starts. Russell is nine points back and the silver cars have not put a wheel wrong all season.
McLaren need this one. Norris sits fifth with no podiums and the new car has to deliver from the moment it rolls out of the garage.
Ferrari sit closest to the front of the chasing pack. Leclerc is P4 and is the only non-Mercedes driver who has genuinely threatened up top. A narrower energy window in qualifying could be the opening they need.
Then there is Red Bull. Verstappen is P8. Zero podiums. Lambiase announced his 2028 exit during the break. Verstappen is also out of contract that year. Five weeks in the simulator should have produced something. Miami will show what.
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WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN MIAMI
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The Sprint format. Only 90 minutes of practice before parc fermé locks the cars in. Get the setup right early on Friday and you carry it all weekend. Get it wrong and there is no second chance.
McLaren's upgrade. The pace has been there in flashes. The reliability has not. This new package needs to deliver on both.
The race start system. Miami is the live test. If a car bogs off the line, it gets an automatic power boost. Red Bull have lost positions at the start all year. Watch turn one.
Antonelli under the spotlight. Two from three. Championship leader at 19. First Miami weekend with the target on his back.
The rear warning lights. The new flashing system for energy recovery debuts here. Drivers reacting to it for the first time in race conditions. Watch for hesitation in opening-lap battles.
The weather. Miami in May can flip fast. Rain brings the updated wet weather rules into play.
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ABOUT THAT CALENDAR
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After waiting five weeks for Miami, fans get another three-week gap before Canada on May 22-24. The 2026 calendar is doing nobody any favours. Whatever momentum Miami builds will have to survive the wait.
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FAST FACTS — MIAMI
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Sprint Distance 19 laps
Circuit Length 5.412km
First Grand Prix 2022
Number of Laps 57
Race Distance 308.326km
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Made by a fan, for the fans.