11th Team to join F1 in 2026

The new Cadillac team will join the grid from the 2026 season after the General Motors-backed entry was approved by the FIA and F1.

The confirmation of the entry of American car giant GM’s luxury brand into the sport means the Formula 1 grid will expand to 11 teams from next year.

It was announced last November that Cadillac had secured an agreement in principle to join the grid as part of a revised offering from GM in conjunction with US group TWG Motorsports, which sees General Motors committed to running its own works engine by the end of the decade.

Before its work engine is ready to use, the Cadillac team has secured a deal to initially run Ferrari’s engine and gearbox from its first season in a deal announced in December.

GM has set up its own engine company to develop its first F1 power unit.

A short joint statement read: “The FIA and Formula 1 can confirm that, following the completion of their respective sporting, technical and commercial assessments, the application by General Motors and TWG Motorsports to bring a Cadillac team to the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2026 has been approved.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali said: “As we said in November, the commitment by General Motors to bring a Cadillac team to Formula 1 was an important and positive demonstration of the evolution of our sport.

Lewis Hamilton’s ‘trouble’ with Charles Leclerc joke after ‘seamless’ Ferrari start

Hamilton is preparing for his first season as a Ferrari driver, having joined the Italian team from Mercedes on a multi-year contract.

The move sees the most decorated driver in F1 history, with 105 race wins and seven World Championships to his name, join forces with the sport’s most successful team.

It marks only the second team switch of Hamilton’s illustrious career with his only previous transfer occurring in 2013 when he swapped McLaren for Mercedes.

Hamilton’s move to Ferrari sees him link up with Leclerc, widely regarded as the fastest driver on the current grid who is entering his seventh full season with the Scuderia.

Speaking after the launch of the SF-25, Hamilton revealed that he has established a good rapport with Leclerc with the pair having shared interests in music and fashion.

He quipped that the Ferrari drivers will “definitely get into some trouble” during their time together at Maranello.

He said: “It’s seamless. Working with Charles, there’s been no dramas.

Haas reveals 2025 F1 look as new car spotted at Silverstone

The first images of Haas’s 2025 Formula 1 car have leaked on social media after Esteban Ocon conducted a private shakedown filming day at Silverstone on Sunday.

At the same time as the American-owned squad released official pictures of its new-look race suits for 2025, spy shots taken at Silverstone showed off its new VF-25 for the first time.

This comes ahead of the official reveal of its new livery at the F1 season launch event at the O2 in London on Tuesday – when proper images of its new car are also expected to be made public.

While the spy shots, taken from the Hilton Hotel opposite the pits at Silverstone, are not super close up, they do point to the car being a step on from its 2024 challenger.

Photo by Cameron Hardy

McLaren become first F1 team to reveal 2025 car

Reigning constructors’ champions McLaren have become the first Formula 1 team to reveal their 2025 car ahead of the start of the new season.

McLaren ran the MCL39 in a shakedown at Silverstone on Thursday morning, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

10 of the sport’s teams obliged to reveal their 2025 liveries at F1’s special 75th anniversary launch event at The O2 arena in London next Tuesday, McLaren ran the car with an alternative ‘geometric camo design’ in shades of papaya and black.

McLaren ended a 26-year wait for a constructors’ title by coming from behind to finish ahead of Ferrari and Red Bull, and will go into pre-season testing later this month – ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16 – as the favourites to retain their crown.

McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown said: “Today is a big milestone in our journey in the fight for the 2025 title. It’s great to get our championship challenger, the MCL39, on track for the first time and to launch the culmination of the team’s hard work.

The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has unveiled its new C43, the last Sauber-built car to carry the name of the Italian manufacturer.

Describing the car as ‘lean and mean’ in a launch held jointly in Zurich and Sauber’s nearby headquarters in Hinwil, Alfa have ditched their red and white livery from previous years in favour of an ‘aggressive’ red and black look, with new title partner Stake prominent throughout.

“I really like our new livery,” said Valtteri Bottas, who again partners Zhou Guanyu in 2023. “I think it’s stunning, and a fine evolution from last year.”

The car will be shaken down in Barcelona this week before it hits the track at pre-season testing on February 23-25 in Bahrain, all live on Sky Sports F1. The season starts a week later with the Bahrain GP on March 5.

2023 marks the final season for the team as we know it, with Swiss-based Sauber – who have raced under the Alfa guise for the last four years – going it alone becoming the Audi works team in 2026.

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Daniel Ricciardo has denied that he has signed a Formula 1 reserve deal for 2023
Daniel Ricciardo has denied that he has signed a Formula 1 reserve deal for 2023, but says he is in talks to ensure he will “still be around” the paddock.
Ricciardo has been considering his future options after confirming back in August that he would be leaving McLaren at the end of the season, one year before the end of his contract.
The eight-time grand prix winner has since accepted he won’t be racing in F1 next year but has been linked with a potential reserve role to support one of the existing teams.
Asked after the session if he had an agreement to become a reserve driver for a team next season, Ricciardo replied: “I don’t, I don’t. For now, everything is just rumours.
“Am I talking? Yes. But there’s no pen on paper or anything like that yet.”
Ricciardo said he would “still be around” as “I still have ambitions for 2024” when he will look to make a full-time return to racing.
“So I won’t completely disconnect from the sport, but obviously nothing’s guaranteed for ’24,” he added. “Like, I don’t have a seat that I can say I’m definitely going to be driving.
“But I’ll still be around and trying to put work in to be back.”
When Ricciardo’s McLaren exit was announced, a number of teams still had vacant seats for 2023, but the driver market has since moved and filled up the drives.
With Williams revealing on Saturday that it plans to field Logan Sargeant in 2023 if he gains enough points for an FIA superlicence, it leaves Haas as the only team with a free seat.
But Ricciardo appeared to distance himself from possibly making a switch to the American team, saying: “With what’s currently available, I feel like I’m better off sticking to the plan I have and aiming for something else.”