Formula 1 News - Formula Live Pulse

February 17, 2026

Aston Martin set for six-month gearbox rebuild to meet 2026 powertrain demands

Aston Martin’s 2026 F1 plans face a major setback as their first in-house gearbox may require a six-month rebuild to meet new 2026 powertrain demands, risking the first half of the season despite Adrian Newey’s arrival.

February 17, 2026

Barcelona secures F1 future through historic Spa rotation deal through 2032

Barcelona confirms its Formula 1 future through 2032 via a rotation deal with Spa-Francorchamps, backed by major circuit upgrades and significant economic impact for Catalonia.

February 16, 2026

Oscar Piastri warns that new F1 race start procedure might cost seven places

Oscar Piastri warns that poor race starts in 2026 F1 could cost drivers up to seven grid positions—a dramatic shift that threatens chaos on the opening lap of every grand prix.

February 16, 2026

The bizarre new reality of Formula 1 race starts: what is happening in 2026?

F1 2026 race starts are becoming unpredictable as the removal of the MGU-H forces drivers to rev for 10–15 seconds to spool the turbo, raising safety concerns and prompting the FIA to consider extending the pre-start timing.

February 15, 2026

Pirelli's wants to bring wet conditions in Bahrain to test next-generation rain tyres

Pirelli will run an unprecedented wet-weather tyre test at Bahrain by using sprinklers to create consistent rain conditions on the desert circuit, helping refine 2026 F1 wet tyres and reduce the crossover gap to intermediates.

February 15, 2026

Energy management over driver skill: why 2026 F1 corner speed is 50km/h slower

Fernando Alonso explains how 2026 F1 regulations force drivers to trade corner speed for energy conservation, as a 50/50 ICE-electric power split makes strategic deployment on straights more valuable than flat-out high-speed corners.

February 14, 2026

F1 legend proposes game-changing fix to the 2026 F1 regulations crisis

Heinz-Harald Frentzen proposes larger retractable wings and manual, driver-controlled energy recovery to counter growing driver backlash over F1’s 2026 energy-management-heavy regulations.

February 14, 2026

McLaren demands urgent safety overhaul for 2026 F1 season opener

McLaren boss Andrea Stella urges urgent safety and operational fixes to 2026 F1 rules after Bahrain testing revealed grid start turbo-spooling risks, dangerous lift-and-coast scenarios, and an overtaking problem tied to DRS removal and active aero.

February 14, 2026

Formula E champion Di Grassi says F1 2026 rules are "extremely badly designed"

Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi calls F1’s 2026 hybrid rules “extremely badly designed,” warning that energy-management-heavy regulations could hurt racing quality and even open the door for Formula E to surpass F1 on performance.

February 13, 2026

Alpine breaks the Active Aero mold: the new rear wing is making the management nervous

Alpine’s A526 debuts an inverted rear-wing actuation concept for 2026, diverging from the grid’s standard active-aero approach. Here’s why the team is uneasy about being the lone outlier and what the design could mean for stability, simulation risk, and their season-long evaluation strategy.

February 13, 2026

Bahrain testing - Day 3: Mercedes leads the morning session, but Ferrari is strong

Russell tops Bahrain 2026 F1 test as Mercedes finds pace, Ferrari shines, and teams adapt to new active aero rules.

February 13, 2026

Verstappen dismisses Wolff's engine claims: Mercedes "sandbagging" ahead of critical FIA decision

Max Verstappen disputes Toto Wolff’s claim that Mercedes’ compression-ratio technique is worth only 2–3hp, alleging the team is sandbagging in Bahrain testing and downplaying a major power advantage as the FIA nears a key decision ahead of the 2026 homologation deadline.