Honda announces restructuring
Honda has just announced an internal restructuring. In a statement from the Japanese company, it says: “The Honda Racing Corporation will make a change in the leadership of its F1 power unit development program (PU) effective October 1, 2026.”
The change is happening “to further accelerate PU development and ensure a smooth transition to the next generation of engineers. Yoichiro Fukao, currently Assistant LPL (Deputy Head of the F1 project, Head of the Software Department), will take over the role of LPL (Large Project Leader), succeeding Tetsushi Kakuda, who has led PU development so far.”
Honda emphasizes: “This organizational change is a planned transition to ensure the reliable transfer of technical expertise to the next generation of engineers.”
“After the introduction of the new regulations in 2026 and considering further expected rule changes from 2027, Honda aims to establish a robust development framework through the early transition to the new structure and deliver a highly competitive PU.”
Read more Missed by 2 seconds: How did Lando Norris lose the win in Madrid?
- oldest first
- latest first
- 8
- 16
- 32
No decision on Hadjar yet
The Frenchman has now missed three races. And according to Red Bull, it is still not certain whether he can sit in the car again at the Grand Prix in Baku in two weeks.
“We will maintain the same approach,” announces team principal Laurent Mekies. Meaning: “We will reassess the situation in a week.”
Because now there is a short break, the team does not want to rush anything and wants to take as much time as possible to observe Hadjar’s progress.
He will only drive “if he feels almost 100 percent fit,” says Mekies, who adds: “If he feels that the recovery is not yet complete, we will stick to our approach of prioritizing his recovery.”
In this case, Liam Lawson would sit in the Red Bull once again in Baku.
Streak broken
Until yesterday, Lewis Hamilton was the only driver to have scored points in every race in 2026. That streak is now broken. The record world champion himself says about his brake failure: “I was lucky to make it [back to the pits].“
“In such a crazy race, it made no sense to stay on track. We didn’t want to take any risks,” explains Hamilton. Therefore, he parked the Ferrari in the garage after a few laps.
Bad sleep?
Ferrari remained without a podium for the fourth race in a row yesterday. So things are not going well currently, but in our popular Monday column, Christian Nimmervoll has nevertheless chosen a different protagonist this time. You can find it here:
Who slept the worst last night: Carlos Sainz
Who slept the best last night: Lando Norris
Video analysis Madrid 2026
Read more «Simply too many mistakes»: Does the 15-second penalty cost Engel the DTM title?
How the wrong winner won the GP of Spain | Race F1 Madrid 2026
Qualifying remains Ferrari’s big weakness
Ferrari remained without a podium at the premiere on the Madring – which according to Frederic Vasseur was mainly due to qualifying. “We have to improve that, because if you look at the pace, you see that it is there during the race,” says the team principal.
In qualifying, however, Lewis Hamilton led the field after the first Q3 runs, but in the end it was only P4 and P5 for Ferrari. “We have to do a better job in qualifying,” emphasizes Vasseur.
Because overtaking was so difficult in Madrid, they ultimately could not get beyond P4 in the race either. This annoys Vasseur especially because the race pace of the Scuderia is regularly better than the pace in qualifying.
It was already the case in Zandvoort that Ferrari had a deficit in qualifying “and [we] then had strong pace in the race,” recalls the team principal. But even there it was not enough for a podium.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to a new edition of our Formula 1 live ticker. The premier class is taking a break this week, but we are still here for you.
In the coming hours, we want to look back once again at the premiere of the premier class on the Madring and work through some exciting topics from the Spanish Grand Prix.
Ruben Zimmermann will accompany you here throughout the day and for questions, suggestions or complaints you can use our contact form. You can also find us on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
Here is our live ticker from yesterday again for reading.
Read more Nico Rosberg criticizes Madring: Sainz must take co-responsibility
