It’s hard to believe that it’s only been two weeks since the 2025 Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, but, as always, there has already been a flurry of postseason news stories, so here’s a short summary of the leading ones before we approach an exciting new era for the sport with effect from early next year.

A key, if unsurprising, development has been that Helmut Marko is set to leave Red Bull at the end of this year after a quarter of a century as the team’s renowned motorsport advisor, and this is despite the Austrian still having another year to run on his current contract. The Red Bull parent company has referred to his departure as his own decision to retire, which is understandable considering he is 82, but eventually it was far more their decision than his, fitting with how the owners want their Red Bull and sister Racing Bulls outfits to progress into the future. In line with this, Red Bull has revealed that Marko’s role will not be filled by any new incumbent, although it remains unclear as to whether Sebastian Vettel, who won four titles for Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, may return in some capacity.

Marko was instrumental in pushing for Max Verstappen’s F1 debut in 2015 for the then Toro Rosso sister team and then being promoted to the main Red Bull outfit the following year, with Marko and the four-time champion having been very close for a long time. As such, it’s unclear if Marko’s departure will affect Verstappen’s thoughts about the ultimate direction of his future.



Elsewhere, McLaren’s Lando Norris has chosen to race with number one on his car next year, as is his right as the new 2025 world champion, and, for now at least, he will no longer use his preferred number four. The British driver received his trophy as the FIA governing body’s latest Formula 1 world champion at its annual prize-giving ceremony, held this year in Azerbaijan’s Tashkent, but had to apologise for using an f-word during his acceptance speech!

This means that Max Verstappen will lose his right to use number one and is set to take Daniel Ricciardo’s former number three. On this theme, Lewis Hamilton has, of course, always preferred to remain with number 44 throughout his career to date rather than adopt number one after each of his seven titles.



There’s already an eager anticipation about the arrival of the major new F1 technical regulations for next season, and further details about the dramatically different cars for 2026 were revealed by the FIA last Wednesday, with the intention of making it easier for fans to understand what is being referred to. I’ll provide more detailed information prior to the start of next season, but, in short, the new hybrid cars will feature a 50/50 petrol/electric power split and active front and rear aerodynamics, while being a little smaller in terms of weight and dimensions. The existing DRS drag reduction system is now history and will be replaced by an overtaking mode available from the power unit, with the new breed of cars set for an initial one-week pre-season test behind closed doors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya starting on 26 January.

With Renault now no longer building Formula 1 power units, Alpine is becoming a customer team of Mercedes along with McLaren and Williams, meaning that the Brackley-based team will be building units for four outfits including itself. In contrast, Honda will supply only one team, Aston Martin, while Mercedes F1’s Toto Wolff has revealed that he has been in discussions with the Daimler-Benz board in Stuttgart about the best way forward, which may include a reduction from four teams in the future.



In the Ferrari camp, Charles Leclerc has referred to 2026 as a now-or-never opportunity for the Maranello-based team after its ongoing failure to achieve Constructors’ and Drivers‘ titles since the first decade of the current century and with Lewis Hamilton’s vastly expensive arrival from Mercedes having failed to halt the decline in terms of ultimate success at F1’s top table. In 2025, the seven-time champion endured his worst-ever season in his 19-year F1 career. Although Leclerc managed to achieve seven Grand Prix podium finishes, Hamilton, in the same car, failed to achieve any. This leaves his legacy in grave danger of being further tarnished if he doesn’t choose to retire before next season, when he’s again very likely to be consistently outpaced by his younger and faster teammate.

The longstanding Sauber F1 outfit has been purchased by the major automotive brand, Audi, and, with effect from next season, it will be known as the Audi Revolut F1 team. It’s just been announced that Audi will hold a global launch in Berlin on January 20, with the centrepiece being the official unveiling of the car’s full race livery. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto will continue as its drivers.



Meanwhile, Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been re-elected unopposed for a second four-year term as the FIA’s president, although an ongoing French court case challenging the related electoral procedures may possibly change this next year.

On the calendar front, it has also just been revealed that a Grand Prix in Portugal will return for at least the 2027 and 2028 seasons, replacing the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after the latter had opted to make 2026 its final year. The venue for the Portuguese races will be the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, located near Portimão in the south of the country, and it’s a track which hosted Formula 1 rounds during the COVID-impacted 2020 and 2021 campaigns. Before this, Portugal had enjoyed an excellent, if intermittent, F1 history at Estoril, Porto and Lisbon's Monsanto Park facilities.

Finally, Aston Martin’s 44-year-old Fernando Alonso has revealed that he is expecting his first child with his F1 presenter girlfriend, Melissa Jimenez. The 38-year-old is due to give birth next March, and this will be her fourth child, having had three previous children during her marriage to former Barcelona footballer Marc Bartra. Alonso, a Spanish double F1 world champion back in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, hasn’t won a Grand Prix since 2013 and has indicated that next season may be his last at the peak of global motorsport.