F1 News Today: The weird detail in Lewis Hamilton Ferrari contract as car issues cut Barcelona testing short

lewis hamilton, fred vasseur, ferrari, graphic — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News Today

F1 News Today: The weird detail in Lewis Hamilton Ferrari contract as car issues cut Barcelona testing short

All the latest F1 news after the first day of Barcelona testing

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 28 January 2026 17:03

Lewis Hamilton's F1 boss Fred Vasseur has spoken out about a 'complete reset' for his Ferrari driver duo ahead of the upcoming 2026 championship.

With less than two months to go until the first grand prix of the year, Vasseur has admitted the new regulations will provide a huge challenge to convert his two racers to a new way of working, with the Frenchman suggesting Hamilton and Leclerc must 'completely change' their race weekend approach.

Vasseur told media at the Ferrari car launch: "The biggest challenge will probably be integrating all the systems together, including the drivers... It will be a complete reset for them in their approach."

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Lewis Hamilton reveals the wild location where he signed his Ferrari contract

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has revealed that he signed his Ferrari contract in an unusual location.

Hamilton joined Ferrari in January 2025, but had already signed his contract back in 2024, with the Brit still having a full season at Mercedes to see out first before moving to the Maranello-based outfit.

His move has not had the effect that he hoped it would, with Hamilton not even claiming a single grand prix podium in 2025 with his new team, and finishing down in sixth in the drivers' championship.

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Red Bull out of testing after Barcelona crash

Red Bull will reportedly miss day three (Wednesday, January 28) of F1 testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were out on track in the RB22 on Monday and Tuesday, and over those two days, collectively, the pair have covered 192 laps, 165 of which have been completed by Hadjar.

On Monday, Hadjar set a (all times are unofficial) a time of 1:18.159 and on Tuesday a 1:31.891. Verstappen set a time of 1:19.578 on Tuesday.

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Audi hit by problems as F1 testing cut short in Barcelona

F1 driver Gabriel Bortoleto has revealed his new Audi team were forced to stop running during the first day of testing at this week's Barcelona shakedown due to car problems.

The German manufacturers are all set for their first season in the sport both as a power unit manufacturer and as a team, having completed their Sauber takeover last year.

Now, as pre-season testing gets underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bortoleto has given his first impressions of Audi's first F1 car, revealing issues with the R26 that forced the team to stop their day's running on Monday.

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'Just ridiculous' F1 fans RAGE after seeing testing feed axed

F1 fans were overjoyed to see the end of the winter break on Monday but their elation was quickly crushed when live streams from content creators on the pre-season testing event in Barcelona were cut.

Monday marked the first day of the five-day 2026 shakedown event in Spain where seven teams took to the track.

Williams already confirmed they would not be attending, instead conducting their own tests to ensure they were ready for the official pre-season testing in Bahrain next month.

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Aston Martin confirm they will run only TWO days in F1 testing

There was even more drama off the track as Aston Martin confirmed they would not be meeting the permitted three days of testing in Barcelona.

The Silverstone-based squad will only run their cars on track at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for two days this week.

Adrian Newey's team confirmed the absence of the AMR26 for a further two days following Monday's absence, with an official statement reading: "Our intention is to run Thursday and Friday."

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Audi announce 'remarkable' driver signing

Audi F1 team have announced the first signing to their new driver academy ahead of their first official campaign in the sport.

The German giants completed their takeover of Sauber last year but the 2026 championship will mark their first season as an F1 team.

Alongside their F1 driver duo of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg, the team have now added an exciting British prospect to their ranks.

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Daniel Ricciardo on Max Verstappen Red Bull reunion

Ex-F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has opened up on a recent reunion with Max Verstappen following the Aussie driver's untimely exit from the sport.

After being dropped by Racing Bulls in 2024, Ricciardo has largely shied away from public appearances, but the fan favourite F1 personality appears to be coming back out of his shell in his new ambassadorial role with Ford.

Former team-mates Riccardo and Verstappen recently reunited and the 36-year-old has now spoken about what a pleasure it was to hand his driver number over to the Dutchman.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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