Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2026 i Motor Sport Magazine

I wouldn’t usually feel it necessary to tell you about our office Christmas party, but this year’s Motor Sport celebration was more noteworthy than usual and there wasn’t a novelty jumper in sight (bah, humbug!). We were joined by stars from track and TV to mark not just the beginning of the festive season and the end of a pulsating Formula 1 season but also to celebrate one of the all time greats: Alain Prost. In the evocative surrounds of the Old War Office in Whitehall, now converted into the Raffles London hotel, guests were treated to a champagne reception and a stage show hosted by Formula E and BTCC anchor Nicki Shields and Sky commentator and Motor Sport columnist Karun Chandhok. Guests included magazine proprietor Edward Atkin, Haas F1…

I haven’t spotted this on the school run! And chances are you won’t – unless your kids happen to be educated in the wilds of Saudi Arabia’s desert. This is the Defender Rally team’s new Dakar challenger, and it’s quite a thing to behold. Called the D7X-R, it’s a pumped-up, specced-out development of the Defender OCTA… …The Defender what? OCTA – the ultimate road-going Defender. That arrived somewhat under the radar earlier this year as a more hardcore Chelsea tractor; taller, wider, faster, etc… Mind you, it did become the first Defender ever to conquer every one of Jaguar Land Rover’s demanding test trails at its Eastnor Castle test centre in Herefordshire, so it has something extra about it. What’s new, then? The factory-backed Defender Rally team has taken the…

A lain Prost took centre stage at the Motor Sport annual dinner in December at Raffles London as guests honoured the four-time Formula 1 champion on the 40th anniversary of his first F1 world title. The event was attended by the great and good of motor sport including Martin Brundle, Richard Attwood, Frank Dernie, Jonathan Palmer, Claire Williams and Jo Ramirez. Hosts Nicki Shields and Karun Chandhok welcomed a succession of racing legends to the stage to talk about the past, present and future of racing. In our Season Review Awards, Isack Hadjar was named Rookie of the Year by readers via our online poll, and Robert Kubica’s epic Le Mans win was crowned Moment of the Year. The headline partner was Richard Mille, while footage, including a lost TV…

Of late, there’s been a steady trickle of hardbacks promising to take you inside the world of contemporary Formula 1. Here’s another, and the most engaging of the lot. Sky F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz is at first glance the ‘F1 Insider’ referred to in the title – although as it turns out, it’s actually you, the reader, that Ted is talking about. Twenty-four years since he first stepped in front of the camera, Kravitz maintains an earnest but genuine desire to make us all F1 insiders, via the insights he gleans in pits and paddocks around the world. It’s no exaggeration to describe his approach to TV reporting as vocational – even if Sky F1 colleague and ex-F1 driver Anthony Davidson reckons he’s holding down “a made-up job”. As…

LETTER FROM EUROPE JULY 1968 Motor Sport’s famed continental correspondent Denis Jenkinson – or ‘DSJ’ as he was known in these pages – famously sent his account of the 1955 Mille Miglia, arguably the greatest report in our sport’s history, by post from Italy to the magazine’s London office. Incredibly, he had made no copy of it. Thirteen years later, with France in the midst of social unrest and political protest, ‘Jenks’ simply went on another long drive following the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix – albeit ‘only’ half the length of his victorious marathon with Stirling Moss and Mercedes-Benz – to deliver his copy. “Being in France on the day the strikes began was an odd experience, with no telephones, telegrams or post, and the only way to contact the…

The surface colours of the season constantly changed but the background of its canvas was always papaya as McLaren delivered a formidable weapon for its drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri; the unvarying competitive constant that was the MCL39. In the season’s first half Max Verstappen and Red Bull would occasionally appear, Jackson Pollock-like, to throw a splash of blue and yellow, making a mess of McLaren’s weekend, before retreating once more to plan some later ambush. There’d then be a few races where McLaren could relax into an apparently safe run to both titles. But those blue ambushes came more regularly after the summer break and their intensity and relentlessness prised apart the previously hidden weakness at McLaren. When Verstappen and Red Bull applied the strain, the McLaren facade…

The World Rally Championship in 2025 stood out for its records. And from the start it was clear that we were in for something very different. Expanded to 14 rounds for the first time since 2008, there were three new rallies: in the Canary Islands, Paraguay and the season finale in Saudi Arabia. By contrast, the controversial hybrid powertrains were gone – replaced by traditional 1.6-litre turbo units, albeit powered by biofuel – while Hankook took over from Pirelli as the sole tyre supplier. The points system was simplified again after a controversial overhaul in 2024, with full points now awarded at the rally finish (plus Power Stage and Sunday bonuses). Right from the beginning, those records began to crumble. Sébastien Ogier became the first person to win the season-opening…

Two things have become abundantly apparent about Álex Palou over the last couple of years: he’s mastered the current hybrid-powered generation of Indycars better than any other driver, and he’s extremely good at compartmentalising. It’s the latter talent that has allowed the 28-year-old Spaniard to maximise the former. While embroiled off-track in a long-running and yet-to-be-resolved legal saga between the Chip Ganassi Racing and McLaren teams over his services that could cost him millions, Palou still established himself as the best IndyCar driver of his generation. He started 2025 by winning five of the first six races, including the Indianapolis 500, and ended the season victorious eight times in 17 starts to claim his third consecutive IndyCar Series championship and fourth in the last five years. Palou’s most recent title…

Tom Ingram frequently employs the words ‘enjoy’ and ‘enjoyment’. As well he might. After all, in early October 2025 he became the king of the British Touring Car Championship for the second time. This crown, following three years after his first conquering of the UK’s most-popular car-racing series, was far more, ahem, ‘enjoyable’. “Winning the first title you get so caught up in the emotions of trying to do it that you don’t actually enjoy it,” reasons the 32-year-old, who has been part of the BTCC since his 2014 debut, aged 20. “Winning it this year, we just had a bloody good time. And you know what? This time around felt more like I remember the early Speedworks days [Ingram’s BTCC team from 2014-20], where you’re just having a laugh…

As the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix drew to a close under the floodlights of Yas Marina, a little bit of history was made. With new regulations arriving in Formula 1 for 2026, this was the swansong for the DRS overtaking aid. And the last driver to press it was Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, striving for one last time to relieve the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda from 14th place as they raced up to the long Turn 9 left-hander. DRS was introduced 15 years ago at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix. Although Jenson Button is widely reported to be the first to use it to make a pass in his McLaren, others claim that there was prior unbroadcasted usage in that race. Whatever, Button famously used its perceived effect…

DATSUN DECEIT February 1970 Datsun gets a slap for its misleading ad “How come that lady’s driving the winner of the Safari Rally?” It was a class win! We also rebuke a Sunday Express story on Jackie Stewart: “‘On the straight I pushed the needle past 150mph.’ When did you last see an F1 car with a speedo?” WHIRLWIND COLIN February 1983 The sudden death of Colin Chapman is, as we state, “Lotus’s great loss. He was not known as ‘the white tornado’ for nothing.” Seatbelts are compulsory, to editor Bill Boddy’s alarm. “We’ve been receiving news of persons injured due to being belted-in,” he gravely reports. BRASS ACT February 2011 Damon Hill tells us of being a young driver: “I was boring. All I talked about was how I…

10 Pierre Gasly He never gave anything less than his all in an outclassed, underpowered car. But Pierre Gasly’s fast corner prowess combined with the Alpine’s good high-speed downforce could occasionally transcend the limited competitive circumstances. He got the car through to Q3 more times than it deserved even if at other times it was often hanging off the back of Q1. He’s talked of how good he believes the 2026 Alpine-Mercedes is going to be almost as a mantra. If it actually is, he will be fully deserving of it. 9 Alex Albon There were times when Alex Albon was making the difference for Williams, particularly early season. His drives at Miami and Imola were especially finely judged. But as Carlos Sainz’s pace became more consistent and the competition…

After a Le Mans 24 Hours victory in each of its first two campaigns with the 499P Le Mans Hypercar, Ferrari had an avowed aim for 2025: to win a maiden World Endurance Championship title with the car. Target number one was the manufacturers’ crown. Come the end of the season, it achieved that goal — and also won the other big prizes on offer. The Prancing Horse collected the drivers’ trophy with James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi and made it three in a row at Le Mans, though with a difference. The difference was that victory at the centrepiece round of the WEC went not to one of the blood red factory 499Ps run by AF Corse, but to the yellow car entered on a satellite…

Tom Ingram’s rivalry with Jake Hill will be no more in 2026. That’s because Hill, the 2024 BTCC champion, is heading into the world of international endurance racing. Their proximity to each other on track has been a recurring theme since 2010, when both were 16 years old, and Ingram beat Hill to the title in the BTCC-supporting Ginetta Junior series. And it even featured at the 2024 Goodwood Revival, when the TVR Griffith-mounted Ingram pipped the AC Cobra of Hill to the flag in the RAC TT Celebration – one of the best races seen at the event. “Jake has been a thorn in my side as long I have his,” reflects Ingram. “He’s the person you would always somehow be on circuit with, no matter what happens. In…

● Let’s say it’s the 1960s and you’re a two-time winner of the British Saloon Car Championship. You’ve spent far too much time away from home and you want to say sorry to the wife. This automatic 1969 MERCEDES-BENZ 280 SL, inset, right, was JACK SEARS’ apology to the missus. Now on sale at SL SHOP in Stratford-upon-Avon, it’s “as-new from badge to boot”. £199,995. ● Showrooms still matter, according to research by MARKET DELIVERY. The automotive marketing software firm asked 1000 car owners to respond to the question: “When I next shop for a new vehicle, I would prefer not to visit a showroom.” Just 7% agreed; 56% disagreed. “It’s a positive signal for retailers that have a physical presence,” said director Charlotte Murray. ● Originally delivered to HOGAN…

Were we betting types, we might be tempted to place a few shillings on the likelihood of this becoming the most expensive car to be sold at auction in 2026 – even if the sale is happening in the third week of January. With rumours that another of the 36 250 GTOs created fetched as much as £55m in recent years, it’s not unrealistic to suggest that this example might well sell for more – not least since it’s the only white one ever to leave the factory. And then there’s the remarkable provenance. It was bought new by Jaguar racing guru John Coombs, allegedly to compare against his race-prepared E-types. In the first three years of its life, chassis 3279GT worked hard for its living at race meetings up…

A drian Newey a team boss? That really was not on anyone’s bingo card. Ever. But it came to pass on the eve of the Qatar Grand Prix as Aston Martin announced that team CEO Andy Cowell was stepping away from the team principal role and technical chief Newey was taking it up. This followed reported disagreements between Newey and Cowell behind the scenes as the empowerment of their roles overlapped. Newey has the surface temperament of a quiet, reflective, gentle artist but beneath that is bubbling a cauldron of competitive desire. It’s what has driven him to be arguably the greatest technical maestro the sport has ever seen. He’s certainly the most enduring, his designs having dominated over four decades, the teams he’s joined invariably becoming the standard setters.…

The Singapore Grand Prix is, for many, a highlight of the Formula 1 calendar, an unforgiving circuit through the streets providing plenty of floodlit drama. The history of the sport in Singapore, however, goes back to 1961 when the Thomson Road track brought racing on both four wheels and two. Winter weather in Europe meant that racers came to Asia, with events at Macau, the Tasman Series in Australia and New Zealand, and the grands prix in Malaysia and Singapore. This was a road circuit, covering just over three miles, and was immediately popular with the bike-racing fraternity, especially those who enjoyed the road races on the Isle of Man. It was a track that rewarded the brave, featuring a series of corners known as The Snakes and Devil’s Bend,…

For a driver who never finished better than sixth in a Formula 1 grand prix, Mick Schumacher received a hero’s welcome from the IndyCar community when he announced his intention to race in the American open-wheel series in 2026. But this might be the rare case where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The 26-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher can rightfully be disappointed by his 2021-22 run with the Haas F1 team, which now seems an awfully long time ago. After a sabbatical year, Mick rescued his reputation in a two-year stint in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Alpine and had the opportunity to continue in WEC with Cadillac while serving as one of the marque’s F1 reserve drivers. Then Jay Frye,…

The Bamford name has been inextricably linked with classic cars since the 1960s, which is when JCB chairman Lord (Anthony) Bamford set out on a collecting path that has since seen some of the world’s most valuable exotica pass through his hands. Renowned for his love of Ferraris, Lord Bamford currently owns two GTOs, rarities from the 1950s and ’60s such as a 166 MM, 250 Testa Rossa and a 275 GTB/4 Spider, as well as blue-chip examples of some of the most sought-after Jaguars, Alfas, Astons and Rolls-Royces. Perhaps inevitably his youngest son, George, inherited a love for all things mechanical and has successfully furrowed his own path both as an independent car collector and as a serious player in the watch world. Bamford Jr, 45, founded his Bamford…

The lightweight Jaguar E-type has enjoyed successes in later life far beyond the imaginings of what it achieved in period. When we think of them, it’s usually duking it out for the lead of the TT Celebration race at Goodwood, scaring GT40s at the Spa 6 Hours or similar. But it wasn’t always like that. It’s possible I’ve missed something, but I don’t recall any lightweight E ever winning anything important in period and certainly never the GT category in a round of the World Sportscar Championship. They were not as quick as the GTOs and could be duffed up by Cobras and even 2-litre Porsches too. Third for Roy Salvadori at the ’63 TT is, I think, the best result it achieved. But you only have to look at…

Las Vegas GP Qatar GP Abu Dhabi GP The season ended rapid-fire on consecutive weekends and amid those shots a new world champion was crowned. In Vegas Max Verstappen re-lit the dying embers of his title challenge with a victory around the cold desert night-time track, one which was decided in the opening seconds after he suckered the pole-sitting Lando Norris into a Turn 1 error. Things got yet better for the Red Bull driver post-race as runner-up Norris, together with his fourth-placed McLaren team-mate and title rival Oscar Piastri, were disqualified for excessive plank wear. Although this left Norris still 24 points clear with two races to go, it brought Verstappen level with Piastri. The competitive dynamic which had brought Verstappen within McLaren’s panic range had been driven by…

F1 final standings Who finished where in the final points……

Seldom has there been so much change and upheaval in historic racing as there was across the 2025 season. It was a case of shifting sands as prime promoters came under new ownership, clubs changed focus, championships and categories moved around and rival series proliferated. All of this came against a background of challenging financial times and generally smaller grids than anyone would have liked. Despite the general unease, the positives included a more concerted effort to push back on the excesses of car development in historic racing and the creation of new initiatives like the Motor Racing Legends Generations Cup and the development of the Equipe Classic Racing 6 Hours. At a fairly grassroots level, the excellent Classic Touring Car Racing Club marked half a century since the inaugural…

De Tomaso may not have enjoyed the success of fellow Italian marques Ferrari or Maserati, but its founder Alejandro de Tomaso certainly had a knack for choosing model names – after all, who wouldn’t want to own a car called Vallelunga, Mangusta or Pantera? Or what about a Guarà? Named after a South American canine (aka maned wolf), the Guarà was De Tomaso’s swansong model and was first seen at the Geneva Motor Show in 1993, making it a contemporary of the McLaren F1 that had entered production the previous year. The Guarà was certainly no competitor to the McLaren, but it did offer some interesting similarities: rear, mid-mounted BMW V8 power, a composite body incorporating Kevlar and glass fibre, and several race-inspired features, such as F1-style inboard suspension and…

1994 McLAREN F1 SOLD BY RM SOTHEBY’S, £19M This was the 14th of the 64 road-spec F1s produced and was originally delivered to the Brunei royal family in Titan Yellow. It subsequently passed through the hands of six owners, the fifth of which sent it back to McLaren for a ground-up rebuild during which it was repainted white, fitted with a high downforce kit, had its interior converted to LM specification – and was signed on the left-hand-side luggage compartment by Lewis Hamilton. All that, plus some other mods, cost a cool £265,000 in 2007. As demonstrated by the sale price, F1 values have gone through the roof. 2026 McLAREN F1 MCL40A SOLD BY RM SOTHEBY’S, £8.6M For the first time, a future F1 car has been made available for…