Sports news
#Turkish #government #Formula #returning #season #5year #deal">Turkish government says Formula 1 is returning next season on 5-year deal The Turkish government says Formula 1 is to return to the country next season for the first time since 2021, on a five-year agreement.
The government said the agreement was due to be announced on Friday at an event featuring Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Erdogan said the deal would be for “at least five years”.
The Istanbul Park circuit first hosted F1 from 2005 through 2011, and next year’s race would be the first since Turkey returned to the calendar in 2020 and 2021 during disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Valtteri Bottas won the most recent race for Mercedes.
Hosting F1 would “demonstrate to the world that our country is the safe haven of its region,” Erdogan said.
The news comes after the Iran war caused widespread disruption to sports in the region and forced F1 to call off races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled for this month.
That left a large gap in this year’s schedule. The Miami Grand Prix next week will be the first F1 race since the Japanese Grand Prix on March 29.
F1’s return to Istanbul had been widely expected since Domenicali said in February that it was a candidate to return.
He added venues like Istanbul Park and the Portimão circuit, which will host the returning Portuguese Grand Prix next year, show F1 is not focusing too much on street races in glamorous locations.
Those can be some of F1’s most lucrative events, like the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but are generally less popular with drivers than purpose-built race tracks.
“Turkey is not 100% confirmed. Stay tuned on Turkey, let me put it this way,” Domenicali said at the time. “This is also to answer to the people that were saying there were too many street races. The new ones that are coming are tracks, not street races.”
Published on Apr 24, 2026
The Turkish government says Formula 1 is to return to the country next season for…
Sports news
#technical #heads #meet #discuss #engine #rules">F1 technical heads to meet, discuss new engine rules
Formula One’s top technical minds will get together on Thursday for the first of a series of meetings to discuss the sport’s new engine rules and what tweaks need to be made after three races.
Insiders expect energy management, the need to ‘lift and coast’ and ‘super clipping’ to dominate the initial agenda in London.
There is unlikely to be much immediate news from what will be an extended discussion over the next few weeks before any decisions, including likely software changes to the energy equation, are taken.
The new power units, split roughly 50-50 between electric and combustion power, have brought fresh challenges.
Drivers are having to tactically ease off the throttle early and coast into high-speed corners that would normally be a big test of bravery so the combustion engine can recharge the battery.
‘Super-clipping’ is when energy is automatically diverted from engine to battery, with the effect of slowing a car on the straight even if the driver wants to be on full throttle.
The sport has time to take stock of the biggest rule change in at least a generation because April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled due to the Iran war and conflict in the region.
“It has been the consistent position of all stakeholders that a structured review would take place after the opening phase of the season, to allow for sufficient data to be gathered and analysed,” the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said after last month’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS
“A number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.
“Any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis,” it added.
Thursday’s meeting of technical boffins, without team principals present, will discuss ideas and options with a further gathering a week later.
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote.
Insiders cautioned that significant change could still be elusive, with various vested interests at play and a consensus required.
The drivers have been consulted for their input with some speaking out in favour of the new form of racing while others, including Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, have been highly critical.
While there has been more overtaking, with drivers passing and repassing each other as their cars take turns deploying and harvesting electrical energy, some such as Verstappen argue that the racing has become “a joke” and “fundamentally flawed”.
There have also been concerns about safety with cars circulating at significantly different speeds and the effect on qualifying.
The next race is the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
Published on Apr 08, 2026
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Formula One’s top technical minds will get together on Thursday for the first of a series of meetings to discuss the sport’s new engine rules and what tweaks need to be made after three races.
Insiders expect energy management, the need to ‘lift and coast’ and ‘super clipping’ to dominate the initial agenda in London.
There is unlikely to be much immediate news from what will be an extended discussion over the next few weeks before any decisions, including likely software changes to the energy equation, are taken.
The new power units, split roughly 50-50 between electric and combustion power, have brought fresh challenges.
Drivers are having to tactically ease off the throttle early and coast into high-speed corners that would normally be a big test of bravery so the combustion engine can recharge the battery.
‘Super-clipping’ is when energy is automatically diverted from engine to battery, with the effect of slowing a car on the straight even if the driver wants to be on full throttle.
The sport has time to take stock of the biggest rule change in at least a generation because April races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled due to the Iran war and conflict in the region.
“It has been the consistent position of all stakeholders that a structured review would take place after the opening phase of the season, to allow for sufficient data to be gathered and analysed,” the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said after last month’s Japanese Grand Prix.
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
“A number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.
“Any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis,” it added.
Thursday’s meeting of technical boffins, without team principals present, will discuss ideas and options with a further gathering a week later.
The team principals, FIA and Formula One bosses will then meet on April 20 with proposals expected to emerge and be put to an online e-vote.
Insiders cautioned that significant change could still be elusive, with various vested interests at play and a consensus required.
The drivers have been consulted for their input with some speaking out in favour of the new form of racing while others, including Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen, have been highly critical.
While there has been more overtaking, with drivers passing and repassing each other as their cars take turns deploying and harvesting electrical energy, some such as Verstappen argue that the racing has become “a joke” and “fundamentally flawed”.
There have also been concerns about safety with cars circulating at significantly different speeds and the effect on qualifying.
The next race is the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
Published on Apr 08, 2026
Formula One’s top technical minds will get together on Thursday for the first of a…