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Viktor Marten will continue his career in the WEC.
Victor Marten will continue his career in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The French driver has signed a contract with Alpine’s factory team for 2026.

Victor Marten was part of Alpine’s junior program for several years and became the Formula 3 champion in 2022. After winning the title, Marten moved up to Formula 2, where he competed with Alpine’s support for two seasons.

In 2025, Victor joined Williams’ junior program and made his Formula 1 debut during an official race weekend in the first practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix. However, after just one season with Williams he returned to Alpine.

The team has not yet announced which of the two A424 LMDh prototypes Marten will drive, but there are two vacancies in the squad following the departures of Mick Schumacher and Paul-Loup Chatin.
Last week Mick Schumacher began the active stage of preparation for his debut in the American IndyCar series. The son of the seven-time world champion arrived at the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) base, had a seat fitting, practiced pit stops, and spoke with the engineers and mechanics who will work on his No. 47 car.

“Thanks for the warm welcome!” Mick wrote on his social media pages. “It was a great week I spent with the RLL team — now let’s see what we can achieve together!”

The team also shared a couple of photos taken at its Indiana base, as well as a short video capturing the pit-stop practice. Its comment was equally brief: “IndyCar debut soon!”

Less than a month from now, on February 9, Mick is set to drive the team’s car for the first time — a Dallara DW12 with a Honda hybrid power unit — at the official pre-season tests in Sebring.
For several years Mercedes team engineers provided technical support to the Ineos Britannia yacht team competing in the America's Cup — one of the most prestigious regattas in the world. However, team principal Toto Wolff has now confirmed that the collaboration has ended, as Mercedes wants to focus entirely on its Formula 1 efforts.

"We no longer want to be involved in this project," Toto Wolff told Forbes. "We have a Formula 1 team, and we don't want to be involved in sailing or any other sport. All our efforts must be fully focused solely on Formula 1. A new season lies ahead, and we have new goals. We're looking forward and are ready for the upcoming challenges and new opportunities. In 2026 we will not just have a new Formula 1 season; we will transition to a new generation of cars."
Button admitted that he was wrong about Lando Norris.
Jenson Button admitted he was wrong when he had been skeptical about Lando Norris’s chances of winning the championship, because he thought the 26-year-old McLaren driver would not withstand the psychological pressure that inevitably accompanies a title fight.

And yet Lando coped, although he ultimately won the championship by a very slim margin over Max Verstappen, who put in an excellent final part of the season and clawed back more than a hundred points over nine races.

Norris became the 11th British driver to claim the coveted title, and the first from the United Kingdom to win his maiden title since Button, the 2009 world champion.

“I have to admit this: you know Lando is a very sincere and open person, and I was wrong to think that would let him down,” Jenson shared in an interview with Britain’s Radio Somerset.
Wolff may prevent Horner's return to Formula 1.
Rumours of Christian Horner’s imminent return to Formula 1 surfaced almost immediately after news of his dismissal from Red Bull Racing. At present the scenario considered realistic is that Horner will buy a stake in Alpine and head the Enstone-based team. However, as became known last week, Horner will not be able to buy Alpine shares before September 2026, when the three-year moratorium on the sale of the stake held by the investment company Otro Capital expires. Another unexpected obstacle to Horner’s return to Formula 1 via Alpine could be Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. From 2026 Mercedes will be Alpine’s power unit supplier. According to the Austrian outlet OE24, Mercedes in general and Toto Wolff in particular will have a say in whether Christian Horner can lead the Alpine team.
Williams continued their collaboration with Marten.
Today Alpine announced a contract with Victor Marten to race for the factory team in the FIA WEC, but his racing duties in 2026 will not be limited to that.
The French driver will combine competing in the World Endurance Championship with a role as test driver and development driver for the Williams team. In 2025 Marten already worked with the Grove outfit as a member of the Racing Academy, and he sat in the FW47 during the first practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Victor Marten: “Williams is a legendary team with a rich history, and I am happy to be part of the project to return the team to the front. I already have experience working with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz during race weekends, and I look forward to continuing this work with the team in 2026.
Thanks to James Vowles, Sven Smits and everyone at Williams for the opportunity.
Ferrari's preparations for the season are behind schedule.
The 2025 season proved disastrous for Ferrari – Charles Leclerc did not win a single race, Lewis Hamilton for the first time in his career failed to reach the podium, and the team fell from second to fourth in the Constructors' Championship. Scuderia management promised to close the gap in 2026, but worrying news is coming from Italy for fans of the Maranello team.

According to the local press, Ferrari is behind its own schedule in preparing for the new season. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have already had seat fittings, the official chassis specifications have been approved, but the first start of the new engine has not yet taken place.

A recent Auto Racer article says: "Our sources point to a delay behind schedule. We will know more in the near future, but some sources indicate that chaos already reigns within the team.
Honda acknowledged difficulties in developing the engine.
The Aston Martin–Honda partnership for 2026 is being touted as potentially championship-winning, and there is no doubt that team owner Lawrence Stroll, who has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the project, is expecting strong results on track. However, Koji Watanabe, president of Honda Racing Corporation, tried to temper expectations ahead of the start of the season, admitting that engineers have encountered certain difficulties in developing the new engine.

"Given that we don't know what progress the power unit developers competing with us have made, at the moment it's difficult to determine how close we'll be able to get to the targets we've set," Watanabe told Japanese publication Sportiva. "In the development process we are constantly assessing performance gains from integrating various components. Some prove successful, others do not.
In the new season two German factory teams — Mercedes and Audi — will take the start in Formula 1, but the last time a championship round was held in Germany was in 2020 at the Nürburgring. Formula 1 president and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali said that the German Grand Prix could return, but only if certain financial conditions are met by the promoters.
Stefano Domenicali: "We are open and ready for any discussions, and I even see some signs that make me optimistic. I hope this matter will develop in the coming months.
We are interested in returning to Germany, but with the right organizers and an interesting offer.
Formula 1 is in a position where we receive requests to hold races from all over the world. So if the return of Formula 1 is not a priority for the German market, we will accept that and continue to look ahead."
Hill: Hadjar will have to admit that Max is in charge of everything.
Isack Hadjar became one of the best, if not the best, rookies of last season, and he was rightfully promoted from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing. On the one hand, the 21-year-old driver from Paris insists that his dream has come true; on the other hand, it remains an open question to what extent he will cope with the pressure that inevitably comes with the duties of being Max Verstappen's teammate.

Few have managed to compete with him on equal terms — perhaps Daniel Ricciardo comes to mind — but, first, that was a long time ago, and second, it ended with the Australian leaving Red Bull Racing. And he left voluntarily.

Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion and now an expert for The Race, believes Hadjar faces a very difficult psychological task.
Wittich 'still remains unsure' about the reasons behind his dismissal by the FIA.
"I lost my job at the end of the meeting."

Former Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich states that he was let go by the FIA without any explanation, referring to his abrupt dismissal as "the disappointing truth" regarding how senior officials are treated under the organization's leadership. In an interview with DPA news agency, Wittich shared that he was called to Geneva during a break in the racing schedule late in the 2024 season, anticipating a standard coordination meeting. Instead, he left Switzerland without his position.

"That’s not unusual in itself; it had happened before that we consulted or coordinated with colleagues on site," Wittich explained. "However, without any specific incident occurring between the FIA and me, at least as I remember it, I lost my job at the conclusion of the meeting.
Dakar: Saud Variava secured his second stage victory.
Today Saud Variava, a 20-year-old racer from South Africa, confirmed that last year he did not accidentally become the youngest stage winner in Dakar history in the Cars category. On his four-wheel-drive prototype Toyota Hilux IMT Evo he again reached the finish first, although he beat Henk Lategan, his teammate at Toyota Gazoo Racing and compatriot, by only three seconds. And that after more than 480 km of special stages! More detailed statistics clearly reflect the dynamics of Saud’s progress toward today’s success: after 382 km of the route he was sixth, after 414 km — third, six kilometres later he moved up to second and ultimately won.

Of course, Lategan worked hard to recover after yesterday’s mistake, which cost him the overall lead, and he did claw back one minute on Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Former Formula 1 driver Antonio Pizzonia has been arrested in the United States on assault charges. According to TMZ, the Brazilian was taken to a Texas jail as early as Saturday evening local time.

Details of the arrest have not been released yet, but it is known that on Saturday Pizzonia was at the Speedsportz Racing Park track in Montgomery County, where his son Antonio Pizzonia Neto was competing in a race of the Superkarts! USA Winter Series youth series and finished ninth.

Antonio Pizzonia made his Formula 1 debut in 2003 with Jaguar, but after eleven races he lost his seat because the team was unhappy with his results. In 2004 and 2005 the Brazilian competed in a total of nine Grands Prix for Williams, after which he left Formula 1.

Pizzonia is not the first former Formula 1 driver to have recently run into legal trouble. At the end of last year Adrian Sutil was taken into custody in Germany on charges of "particularly serious fraud and theft committed by a group of persons by prior agreement."
2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg said that his venture firm, Rosberg Ventures, has raised $100 million from investors for its third investment fund. As a result, the company’s total assets under management have exceeded $200 million. Nico added that investor interest turned out to be even higher than he expected. On social media Rosberg thanked the investors and said he greatly values their trust.

“We have just closed the raise for the third Rosberg Ventures fund, having managed to attract $100 million,” Nico Rosberg wrote. “Demand exceeded all expectations, so we limited the investment amounts to optimize returns. I am very impressed by the support we have received again. I sincerely thank all our long-standing partners for their trust.”

Nico Rosberg founded the venture firm after retiring from Formula 1. Initially Rosberg Ventures invested in other investment funds to reduce risk, but over time it began investing directly in companies. Among them is ClickHouse, which develops digital analytics. Rosberg Ventures mainly invests in startups in artificial intelligence and software. Nico has repeatedly said that the experience he gained in Formula 1, especially in risk management and decision-making, helped him succeed in the investment business.
Next week, on January 20, Honda Racing Corporation will hold a presentation in Tokyo to mark the start of its collaboration with Aston Martin and will unveil a next-generation power unit.
Honda will not only outline the main differences between the new engines and those used in Formula 1 from 2014 to 2025, but will also showcase the 2026 power unit. The event is expected to be attended by Honda Motor Co. Ltd. president Toshihiro Mibe, Formula 1 president Stefano Domenicali, and Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll.
Considering the time difference, the presentation will start at 07:00 Moscow time. You can watch the live stream of the presentation on YouTube or on this page.
Alpine has officially announced the end of its collaboration with Jack Doohan.
The Australian driver competed for Alpine in a total of seven Grands Prix in 2024 and 2025, but after the Miami Grand Prix he was replaced by Franco Colapinto. Jack still had an active contract with the Enstone-based team, but that has now been officially terminated.
“Alpine confirms it has reached a mutual agreement with Jack Doohan to end his collaboration with the team for the 2026 Formula 1 season and to allow him to pursue other career projects,” Alpine said in an official statement. “Jack became the first member of the Alpine Academy to make his Formula 1 debut with the team at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The team thanks Jack for his dedication and professionalism over the past four years both on and off track and wishes him all the best for the future.”
Isack Hadjar performed so well in his debut Formula 1 season that Red Bull Racing invited him to the team to become Max Verstappen’s teammate. The 21-year-old driver said that the first person he told about the contract was his mother Randa, who, as Isack revealed, is also his manager.
“I rang my mum as soon as I found out about the contract,” Hadjar said on the Talking Bull podcast. “She said she already knew because they called her before they called me. She’s my manager and knows more than I do.
Honestly, the contract with Red Bull Racing is so cool. I’m only 21, and I only started my career in formula racing in 2019, and now I’ve become the teammate of the best driver in Formula 1. For me it’s a huge privilege.
There are moments when I understand what’s going on and I feel ready for the challenge, but sometimes I still think, ‘What am I even doing here?’ What’s happening now is very far from the days when I was karting.”
Two days remain until the joint presentation of Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls in Detroit, at which both teams will unveil the cars' livery for the 2026 season.
The Red Bull Racing press office hinted at a possible color scheme for the cars of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar. The team's social media posted a photo of David Coulthard testing behind the wheel of the very first Red Bull RB1 from 2005 with the caption "Remembering our first livery."
However, it should be noted that the livery shown in the picture was used only during the January tests in Valencia. At the February tests in Jerez the Red Bull Racing car had already been painted in more traditional dark-blue colors.
From January 26 to 30, closed tests will be held in Barcelona where Formula 1 teams will, for the first time, work fully with their 2026 cars. According to the Italian press, several teams may miss the start of the tests. On the one hand, this should not be a serious problem, since of the five days of testing each team will be able to run on track for no more than three days. On the other hand, one or two teams will arrive at the tests later not because they are deliberately planning a flexible testing schedule, but because they physically cannot prepare their cars in time for the first day. Rumour has it that one of the leading teams is among them. Given that the press recently wrote about Ferrari falling behind in preparation for the season, it could well be that it is the Scuderia. Maranello is not commenting.
Chapter 23. The click of the stopwatch...
At the end of 2024 Nyck de Vries unexpectedly returned behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, conducting tests at the Paul Ricard circuit during which he drove the MCL36, McLaren's 2022 car. The British team were pleased with Nyck's work and signed a contract with him – last season de Vries was McLaren's test driver and worked on the simulator at the Woking base.
The Dutchman combined his Formula E commitments with this work, helping Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri choose car setups on race weekends.
According to GPBlog, the parties will continue their cooperation in 2026. Nyck will remain one of the drivers McLaren will rotate in to work on the simulator at Grand Prix events.
In 2026 Nyck de Vries will continue to race in Formula E for Mahindra Racing and in the FIA WEC behind the wheel of a Toyota.