Fernando Alonso faces Honda reality check as Red Bull star backed for promotion: F1 News Recap

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Recap

Fernando Alonso faces Honda reality check as Red Bull star backed for promotion: F1 News Recap

Recapping the biggest stories of the last 24 hours

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Monday 17 August 2026 22:30

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Fernando Alonso's hopes of winning more F1 races and titles with Aston Martin have been dealt a blow by a reality check from Chief Honda engineer Shintaro Orihara.

Before the summer break, a major upgrade package offered hope that the team could be more competitive for the remainder of the season, with an upgrade to their Honda power unit set to come into play at the Dutch Grand Prix next weekend.

However, Orihara has warned that it won't fix all of the team's problems, and that it could be a long time before they are a top competitor in terms of power.

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Red Bull star reacts to team boss' unexpected backing for F1 promotion

Red Bull star Nikola Tsolov has reacted to his F2 team boss hyping him up for a promotion to F1, as rumours of a Racing Bulls move continue to swirl.

F2 team owner Adrian Campos said after a fantastic weekend at Silverstone earlier in the summer that Tsolov 'really deserves' a chance to prove himself against the best of the best, comments which the Bulgarian admitted took him by surprise.

Tsolov's sweep of the sprint and feature races at the British Grand Prix weekend helped him to his current spot at the very top of the standings as just a 19-year-old rookie, with his progress being closely monitored by a number of key figures in the sport.

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Max Verstappen ‘fed up’ after being proved right as F1 future hangs in the balance

Max Verstappen is fed up of having to criticise F1's new regulations / Credit: Imago

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has been a vocal critic of F1's new regulations, but the Red Bull star says he is 'fed up' of talking about them as he considers his next steps in the sport.

Ahead of the 2026 campaign, F1 had a huge overhaul with new aerodynamic and power unit regulations having been introduced simultaneously, and they have come in for a lot of criticism since.

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Verstappen McLaren warning, Audi statement and FOURTEEN seats still open - F1 Transfer Roundup

F1 Silly Season 2026 is now in full swing and we have all the latest news and rumours as we wait for the biggest chips to fall this summer.

Our latest edition includes updates on Max Verstappen and McLaren, confirmation of the lineup at Audi and an official note from F1 on just how many seats are still not 100 percent confirmed on the 2027 grid. Spoiler alert, there are a LOT.

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F1 2026 Dutch Grand Prix weather forecast - danger of rain for Zandvoort farewell

F1 is finally back from its summer break this weekend, and it's kicking off with what might well be the sport's last ever race at Zandvoort.

The Dutch track first held an F1 world championship race all the way back in 1952, with well over 30 races being held over the years up to Sunday's farewell.

It could – just could – be a spectacular farewell though, with the weather forecasts indicating that fans could see the 2026 spec F1 cars run in wet weather conditions for the very first time.

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F1 Max Verstappen Aston Martin Fernando Alonso