Welcome to Friday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Formula 1’s single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis admitted the FIA’s rule changes will not produce a dramatic shift — but is that enough?
That’s precisely the complaint many critics have: the adjustments are minimal, more fine-tuning than a real redesign aimed at fixing the sport’s more obvious faults.
I’m open to seeing how things develop. Teams will likely find clever ways to work around current limitations on the cars and drivers. Still, a large portion of fans — and some drivers and commentators — remain deeply sceptical about whether this rule set will benefit the sport in the long run.
@BasCB
Social media and links
McLaren will have ‘completely new’ car for Miami GP (Reuters)
McLaren says it plans to introduce an essentially new car for the North American races, driven largely by aerodynamic upgrades intended to improve performance.
Brown: McLaren waiting on driver market to set full line-up (Sportscar 365)
McLaren’s leadership stresses the importance of assembling the strongest possible driver line-up. They view a top team and car as essential, but emphasise that outstanding drivers are equally crucial to success.
F1 risks driving away core fans – you need a degree to understand new rules (The Telegraph)
Some commentators argue Formula 1 has become overly complex, making it harder for casual fans to follow and appreciate what happens on track. Resetting that balance could take time.
The best and the worst: Bourdais on the highs and lows from a hall of fame career (Racer)
Sébastien Bourdais reflects on a career that included painful setbacks as well as triumphs. One setback in particular — a controversial decision at Le Mans — remained a difficult moment to overcome.
Ride on-board for the first (Williams-Honda) FW11 lap of Fuji (Honda)
Can confirm no Andretti driver used P2P on the restart… But we would have if we knew it was available for everyone 😂 https://t.co/3HNqKUjUb4
— Kyle M. Kirkwood (@KKirkwoodRacing) April 21, 2026
I didn’t press it
— Callum Ilott (@callum_ilott) April 22, 2026
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the RaceFans F1 social media directory
Happy birthday!
Best wishes to Mags, Tim and Pete Walker on their birthdays today.
On this day in motorsport
- 43 years ago, former F1 driver and multiple Daytona 24 Hours winner Rolf Stommelen was killed in a sportscar crash at Riverside.
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