Lewis Hamilton's relationship with Ferrari is much less strained than it appears, according to the team's head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli, although the Formula 1 squad nonetheless feels it "under evaluated" the adaptation period needed for both sides.

In the early part of 2025, Hamilton had to clear up the perception of the occasionally terse radio messages between himself and new race engineer Riccardo Adami, stating that there were "no issues" between them.

However, continued moments of occasional curtness over the radio led people to suggest that the pair have not necessarily gelled, but Hamilton reacted by suggesting Max Verstappen is equally abrupt with his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. 

Offering his view of the situation, Togninalli explained that Ferrari and the seven-time world champion might have underestimated the time taken to adapt, but feels that the media's view of the situation is "much worse" than the real relationship at play.

"Changing drivers and changing teams, mainly for a driver like Lewis, who has spent 10 years in the same team, has a certain level of experience, is very difficult from both sides, for the driver and for the team," said Togninalli, as Hamilton moved to Ferrari from Mercedes this year, after 12 seasons at the Silver Arrows.

"Every team is operating in a slightly different way, you are used to certain people, things in a central way. Then, if you put this in context, that you have the fact that Lewis was winning world championships, and it's a fact this year, we didn't achieve the target of fighting for the world championship, so you have the frustration creating the situation.

"I think what you see from outside is quite worse than what it is. I think the relationship with Lewis, what we are building with Lewis, is extremely positive. He spent 10 years in the same team, with the same people, and after 10 months, I think we have already a very, very strong link with him.

"Nevertheless, the frustration, the results, are creating this image of ourselves and of him in Ferrari, that I believe is much, much worse than what it is in reality.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

"Why [is he] struggling? Again, I think part is the frustration, part is as I said that we need some time to adapt to each other, and maybe we both, the team and Lewis, under evaluated this at the beginning. [But] I'm confident, as I said, I don't think the relationship is as bad as you all guys think. But I'm sure with time we'll improve."

Ferrari failed to win a grand prix in 2025, finishing fourth in the championship and 435 points behind champions McLaren with Charles Leclerc and Hamilton respectively fifth and sixth in the drivers' standings. 

Togninalli explained that the majority of Ferrari's issues stem from struggling with tyre preparation in qualifying; while the SF-25's race pace has been generally strong through the season, qualifying performances have been inconsistent at best.

He explained that this year's Pirelli compounds, which have been more durable but also more prone to overheating, have made it difficult to get the balance right ahead of a hot lap.

"90% of the job this year is done in qualifying; if you start in front, you finish in front," Togninalli explained, as 16 of the 24 grands prix were won from pole.

"If you start behind, unless you do something very different than what you only if you are last, it is extremely difficult to overtake. I think point number one, tyres this year are extremely sensitive in the single lap. You can see in Brazil with Verstappen - in the sprint quali, he is in front - and then he is in P16.

"You can move around 2-3 tenths only with the preparation of the tyres in qualifying. This is where we have been focusing. This is where I think we improved. And then it's a lot of situations.

"If we take Vegas, the bollard with Lewis cost us the qualifying. If you look at it, it is a bit situational. With Charles we didn't get the last lap in Q3. I am sure we could perform better. If you freeze the Q3 quali two minutes earlier, it was P3.

"I think the key factor are the tyres. I think everybody is struggling with that. If you look, there is a lot of variability. We are all within two tenths. So a small difference makes a lot of difference. Some quali we have 10 cars in a tenth."

Charles Leclerc: "It's now or never" for Ferrari as 2026 F1 chance looms

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The test vehicle shows increased dimensions and ride height compared with the electric-only V23.

The post Chery’s iCaur V25 spotted testing as a larger extended-range SUV above V23 appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.

Formula E’s Gen4 car which was unveiled last month represents a major step forward across every performance parameter for when it makes its debut in the 2026/27 campaign.

The all-electric series predicts it will deliver 600kW of power - over 800hp - marking a substantial increase over current cars, with the Gen3 Evo peaking at 350kW (469hp).

The Gen4 package will also introduce permanent four-wheel drive, where the system is only activated in qualifying duels, at the start, and in attack mode.

It will additionally feature two aerodynamic configurations - a high-downforce spec for qualifying and a low-downforce alternative designed for race running - and the car itself will be noticeably larger and wider than its predecessor.

Together, these changes support one of Formula E’s long-standing ambitions: establishing a world-class motorsport platform capable of competing with Formula 1.

Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told Motorsport.com: “The jump we’re making with Gen4 over Gen3 is bigger than any single jump we’ve ever made in a generation. All-wheel drive, 71% more power, about 10 seconds a lap faster than the current Gen3 car. So there’s no question it shuts the gap right down on Formula 1.

F1 Dutch Grand Prix

“And actually, the next car for Formula 1 probably gets a bit slower, by the way. So the gap will be very small. But the cost of investing in building the car and owning a race team is a fraction of a Formula 1 team.

“So you’re basically getting 95% or 98% of the performance for a fraction of the investment. I think Gen4 gets us right on the heels (of F1), and Gen5 is probably faster.”

The mention of Gen5 is deliberate, as early development work on the car that will follow Gen4 is already under way.

“Of course, the thinking never stops,” Dodds said, expressing early enthusiasm for what lies ahead. “We don’t even race on slick tyres. We’re racing on road tyres. We don’t have a lot of aerodynamic downforce - we’re not in wind tunnels, and the teams aren’t developing different aero packages.

“We’re achieving this speed on the basis of the battery, the powertrain and the software. So yes, Gen5 will benefit from better battery development and battery development is incredible at the moment.”

Gen4 car will attract “best drivers in the world”

Formula E has recently attracted talents such as Taylor Barnard and Zane Maloney directly from Formula 2. This season, Pepe Marti and Felipe Drugovich will make a similar transition - although the Brazilian made the switch three years after winning the F2 title, having waited on the sidelines as Aston Martin’s reserve driver for an F1 opportunity that never came.

Taylor Barnard, DS Penske

But with the Gen4 package, Dodds expects drivers to begin viewing Formula E as a destination rather than a fallback.

“I could talk about lots of drivers, but the two I think are particularly interesting are Taylor Barnard, who made the decision to come straight from F2 to Formula E and not really look at F1. And you have Felipe Drugovich, who was obviously Aston Martin’s reserve driver and has come across and they’re doing that in anticipation of the next car,” he said.

“I think when people see the car and have the chance to drive it, you’re going to have a number of F1 drivers - the best drivers in the world - seeing this as a potential place to build their future.”

Coincidentally, Dodds believes the same logic applies to fans, as the series looks to expand its following heading into the Gen4 era.

“In the end, we can do a lot of things right, but motorsport fans want to see the fastest, they want to see speed,” he added. “So the fact that we can show a material jump in speed and power in this car, I think it’s just more exciting for everyone.”

Felipe Drugovich at peace as he starts his Formula E journey in Sao Paulo

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Nick Cassidy says his move to the World Endurance Championship has been eased by simpler hypercar systems, which he claims is "like a bit of a holiday” compared to Formula E machinery.

Cassidy will combine his Citroen Formula E commitments with a full campaign in the WEC’s top category at the factory Peugeot team in 2026.

It will mark just the second season in the WEC for the Kiwi, who previously raced a Ferrari 488 GTE for AF Corse in the final year of the GTE Am class in 2022.

Modern LMH and LMDh prototypes remain complex in their own right, featuring hybrid systems that pair an electric motor with an internal combustion engine. 

But for Cassidy, learning hypercar software has been relatively straightforward after five seasons in Formula E, where drivers constantly manage energy, regeneration and a wide range of system settings.

“I'm just going to grow in confidence all the time, and I hope that I'm just going to continue improving. But I’m happy with my initial level,” he said following his second test with the Peugeot 9X8 in Bahrain.

“In terms of the complexities and systems, it's probably 30% now of what we have in Formula E. So it's almost like a bit of a holiday for me in terms of systems.”

Nick Cassidy, Citroen Racing

Cassidy arrives in the WEC with extensive experience in both single-seaters and high-downforce sportscars. 

During the second half of the 2010s, he raced in Japan’s two biggest categories, winning titles in both Super Formula and Super GT’s GT500 class before switching to Formula E in 2021.

While the WEC’s top class once featured the fastest prototypes in the world, current-generation hypercars are notably slower than the LMP1 machines they replaced.

Asked to compare hypercars with the GT500s he raced in the past, Cassidy said: “I think the actual manoeuvring through traffic or the lap time difference to GT3 is similar. I hope that's going to make the adaptation for [multi-class] racing easier. I'm quite comfortable with that.

“The mechanical grip, the tyre grip and the downforce level is just quite a lot lower in hypercars. As a driver, you don't have the feeling you are attacking the car. You're almost driving on eggshells.”

He added: “I've been very surprised by the lack of grip in hypercars these days, and the lack of downforce performance.

“If you look at hypercars now, not to sound negative, but compared to what I was used to in Super GT or Super Formula, it's a different world.

“It's almost more in line with Formula E than the adaptation I've done in the past [when I first moved to Formula E after racing in Japan]. It helps me to have two categories that are similar.”

Cassidy faces a packed schedule in 2026 as he balances his new WEC programme with another season in Formula E. He is also adjusting to a new environment in the all-electric series after leaving Jaguar to join Citroen, which previously competed under the Maserati banner.

Formula E commitments will occupy even more of his time as the year progresses, with manufacturers already starting to shift resources to Gen4 powertrain development.

The 31-year-old admitted time isn’t on his side as he prepares for 2026, but credited Peugeot for helping him balance the two championships.

“I'm blown away [by Peugeot]. They've been super great to work with, super kind in terms of understanding my schedule. Doing their best to integrate me with the almost limited time I have.

“I'm trying at the moment to give full focus to two programs. But it's true, with Gen 4 coming in Formula E, with the current season in Formula E, and making that move across, that's been extremely busy. And obviously with WEC as well to integrate.

"I'm short on time, in terms of days I can spend on simulators, in meetings and things. But I'm [working] five days a week across all programs for the last two-and-a-half months just to make sure I can be prepared for both championships.”

Peugeot appoints new Hypercar team principal for WEC 2026

From DNFs to Bahrain podium: Inside Mercedes’ turbulent first WEC season

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ESPN closed the final season of its coverage of Formula 1 in the United States with an all-time viewership record.

The broadcaster has revealed that it experienced an average of 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC for each race in 2025.

The 2025 season featured a tense intra-team battle between McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. A late surge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen added to the excitement at the end of the season, with the drivers' championship coming down to the wire at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. While the Red Bull driver took the final victory of the year, Norris's third-place finish at the Yas Marina Circuit was enough to clinch his first drivers' title.

For ESPN, the tense season finale in Abu Dhabi brought in an average of 1.5 million viewers, peaking at 1.8 million, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data.

Average ESPN race viewership per F1 season

2018 – 554,000
2019 – 672,000
2020 – 608,000
2021 – 948,000
2022 – 1.21 million
2023 – 1.1 million
2024 – 1.1 million
2025 – 1.3 million

It was announced in October 2025 that F1 had signed a new US broadcasting rights deal, which would see the coverage move in the United States to Apple TV from 2026.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

The Disney-owned broadcaster had held the broadcasting rights to F1 in the US since 2018 and also had a stint of broadcasting the championship from 1984 to 1997.

"We’re incredibly proud of what we and Formula 1 accomplished together in the United States and look forward to a strong finish in this final season. We wish F1 well in the future," a statement from ESPN read at the time.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali added: "I think that our duty is to look into the future and try to make sure that F1 can have the right platform of developing our growth. And therefore I really want to thank ESPN for what they did today together, because they invested in us when no one was really ready to invest in us many, many years ago."

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Honda's 2026 Formula 1 engine is almost here, but before we slip into our Christmas food comas, the Japanese manufacturer has offered the first hint at what next year's power unit will sound like. 

An audio clip, posted by Honda and shared by Aston Martin on social media, has received huge praise after the sound of the 1.6-litre turbo V6 was recorded on a test stand. You can cleanly hear the honky bark of Honda's power unit as it rips through its rev range. On the downshift - lightning quick - burbles can be heard as the revs blip.

Within hours, the video received over 200,000 likes on the Aston Martin Formula 1 team's Instagram account, with it also collecting over 2000 comments. "Okayyyy Honda we hear you LOUD & CLEAR," one commenter posted as another added: "Best sounding engine since the V8 era."

Unfortunately, Honda and Aston Martin failed to give any more information on the build, but the sound was good enough to keep us all going for the time being.

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A post shared by Honda Racing F1 (@hondaracingf1)

From 2026, F1 will see a substantial change in the regulations. One of these changes sees powertrains increasing their reliance on electrical power, and many fans have been worried that this would result in a softened soundtrack on track. Fortunately, Honda's tease has partly put this worry to bed, with it suggesting that these new powertrains will have plenty of character when the time comes while also being more sustainable. 

With the 2025 season coming to an end, Honda will join Aston Martin, which will become a works team for the 2026 season. This comes after a long stint of success with Red Bull, with the pairing achieving four drivers' and two constructors' championships. Red Bull will instead bring Red Bull Powertrains, backed by Ford, into 2026.

As with everything in F1, Honda's time in the championship has been mixed overall, but its peaks have been incredible. It won its first grand prix in 1965 and saw success through the late 1980s and early 1990s with Williams and McLaren. 

The Red Bull Racing team celebrate and Thank Honda

Since then, Honda struggled when it powered McLaren in 2015, but its partnership with Red Bull was a prosperous one, with it powering all of Max Verstappen's championship wins. 

With Aston Martin now adopting what has been a very successful manufacturer, supporters of the team will be more than happy with what they're now seeing - and hearing. 

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Türkiyəli futbol mütəxəssisi Recep Uçar Super Liqada mübarizə aparan “Rizəspor” komandasının baş məşqçisi təyin edilib.

Arena.az xəbər verir ki, bu barədə klubun sosial şəbəkə hesablarında məlumat yayılıb.

Türkiyəli mütəxəssislə müqavilənin detalları barədə qarşıdakı günlərdə məlumat veriləcəyi diqqətə çatdırılıb.

Xatırladaq ki, Recep Uçar son olaraq “Konyaspor” komandasını çalışdırıb. 50 yaşlı mütəxəssis daha öncə “Kayserispor”, “Ümraniyəspor” kimi komandalarda da baş məşqçi olub, “Beşiktaş”da baş məşqçinin köməkçisi olub.

Uçar “Rizəspor”da bir neçə gün öncə istefaya göndərilmiş İlhan Palutu əvəz edib. O, 2023-cü ilin iyul ayından “Rizəspor”a rəhbərlik edirdi. Bu müddətdə o, Rizə təmsilçisini 96 oyuna çıxarıb, 37 qələbə, 17 heç-heçə və 42 məğlubiyyət görüb.

“Rizəspor” Türkiyə Super Liqasında 14 turdan sonra 14 xalla 12-ci sırada qərarlaşıb. Komanda bu görüşlərdə 3 qələbə qazanıb, 5 heç-heçə edib, 6 məğlubiyyətə üzülüb.