F1 Gossip: 2026 engine regulations open the door for Audi & Porsche

- Formula 1’s 2026 engine regulations are taking shape with the MGU-H being scrapped, while energy recovery will be increased from 120 to 350 kW - on the rear axle only.

100% CO2 neutral fuels will be used from 2026 onwards, while these changes are expected to appeal to Audi and Porsche. (AMuS)

- A Saudi Arabia official has admitted that it is in a “race against time” to get its Jeddah circuit ready for the grand prix later this year. (France24.com)

- Local promoters remain confident that F1 will return to the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore for 2022. (SpeedCafe)

- Should the Chinese GP not go ahead next year, Imola is the leading contender to replace it, while Turkey could deputise for Singapore. (AMuS)

- Michael Masi has revealed the Istanbul Park track surface has been treated to avoid having a ridiculously low grip surface as seen in the 2020 race.

He told Race Fans: “We do regularly, each season, send an update to the teams of any circuit changes for upcoming events, be they barriers, fences, gates, whatever it may be, areas of resurfacing,” he said.

“The surface in Turkey has been effectively water-blasted, that probably would be the best way to put it. [This] is a regular treatment that happens, we’ve seen it regularly used in Singapore as an example where the public roads that are used, they resurface quite regularly because of the movement. So that’s what’s happened there, along with a few other changes.”

- Lewis Hamilton has admitted that it's “crazy to think” that he's never driven for Ferrari in F1. (Sky Sports F1)

"it's definitely going to be crazy to think that I never drove for Ferrari".

"Of course I look at the colour and the red, it's just... it's still the red. I have a couple of Ferraris at home, so I do get to drive a Ferrari, just not the one!

"For everyone that's a dream position to be in. It was just never really fully on the cards for me.

"I'll never know fully exactly why, but I wish them all the best and I'm going to spend the next bit of my time stopping them from winning the championship!"