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FIA president receives official letter from 20 drivers demanding change including former F1 stars

Published

4 weeks ago

March 18, 2026

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FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has received a letter from the entire grid requesting a complete re-evaluation of the sporting regulations and race direction, as well as an independent review into stewarding consistency.

All 20 drivers on the 2025/2026 grid of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship have arranged, signed and sent a letter to Ben Sulayem, requesting that action be taken for the good of the sport after the drivers felt ‘unheard in the paddock’.

The letter was sent on March 11 by the Formula E drivers’ group representatives Lucas di Grassi and reigning champion Oliver Rowland, citing on-track incidents and what the drivers believe to be a general lack of understanding of the style of racing seen in the all-electric series.

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Motorsport publication The Race have revealed the contents of the letter and reported that Ben Sulayem is set to make a ‘rare appearance’ at the sixth round of the season 12 championship for a new race in Jarama this weekend following the bombshell correspondence.

Several drivers who wished to remain anonymous also told the above publication they have ‘little or no professional faith’ in multiple senior officials within Formula E.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the FIA said the governing body are: “In regular correspondence with ABB FIA Formula E World Championship manufacturers, teams and drivers on a variety of topics.

“We are reviewing the comments on sporting matters raised recently by drivers, and will continue with the same proactive approach to develop and invest in this championship, ensuring the highest standards are maintained.”

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Formula E grid demand independent review into stewarding consistency

All 20 drivers competing in this year’s Formula E championship have signed the letter, including former F1 stars Nyck de Vries, Stoffel Vandoorne, Jean-Eric Vergne, Sebastien Buemi, Pascal Wehrlein and Lucas di Grassi, who earned the nickname ‘Mr. Formula E’ having competed in every championship of the electric series since its inception in 2014.

The letter sets out a worrying list of concerns felt among the drivers for some time, with a lack of confidence in the experience of some of the figures working in the sport as well as dissatisfaction over ‘substandard stewarding’.

The letter addressed to the FIA president started off on a positive note, stating that the drivers: “see a lot of effort and improvement year over year with the local ASNs, marshalling, safety, track conditions, technical fairness and general protocols”.

But the letter continued, saying that the drivers wanted to: “formally express our shared and growing concern regarding the current standard, consistency, and procedural coherence of stewarding and race direction within the championship”.

Among the topics raised that the drivers wish to see improvements made in were inconsistency in decision-making and penalty application, a lack of continuity in stewarding panels, the assignment of driver advisors and championship-specific expertise, and improvements in race director logic, leadership, communication and transparency.

A specific enquiry was also raised concerning FIA Formula E race director, Marek Hanaczewski, who the drivers believe should face an “internal evaluation of (the) race director (sic) understanding and reasoning of the sporting rules”, adding “without the capacity – and humility – to acknowledge and learn from mistakes, there is little evidence of continuous improvement”.

Drivers ‘risk losing pay’ over demanding FIA letter

Whilst all 20 drivers on this year’s Formula E grid have put their names to the bold letter, none of the 10 team principals have spoken out about the correspondence directly, with it being said that the majority of the Formula E bosses were completely unaware of the drivers’ intention to send the demands to Ben Sulayem.

Though no Formula E team principal is yet to go on record, some have moved to distance themselves and their team’s from the direct actions of their drivers.

Reports have also suggested that at least two teams are considering withholding this month’s driver bonus payments, whilst others are believed to be taking a potential driver fine into consideration.

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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Mercedes F1 star Kimi Antonelli feeling the pressure after Italian heartbreak

Published

8 hours ago

April 13, 2026

Maria Nicolau

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Italian F1 star Kimi Antonelli has vowed to try and bring sporting glory to his country after a recent heartbreak.

The Italian teenager currently leads the drivers’ championship after back-to-back grand prix victories in China and Japan, and he’s the youngest ever driver to have topped the F1 drivers’ championship standings.

His most recent victory in Japan, however, came in the same week as an Italian sporting nightmare.

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The national football team failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the third World Cup in a row that they have not qualified for.

Italy won the 2020 European Championships, but have struggled in terms of European qualification groups for World Cups.

Their underperformance has not been lost on Antonelli, who is determined to do his country proud by continuing to be victorious in F1 as the 2026 season progresses.

“Obviously, it’s a shame we’re not going to the World Cup this year,” Antonelli told Tuttosport. “I have wonderful memories of the European Championships.

“I remember being at the European Championship race in Naples, in Sarno, and after winning the race, my mother and I rushed to the car and drove home as quickly as possible because we wanted to watch the European Championship final.

“That was a wonderful time, because seeing the national team play in the European Championships was truly beautiful.

“Obviously, I was really disappointed not to see the national team qualify for the World Cup. It’s one more reason to try to continue to bring Italy to the top in my field.”

Can Antonelli bring Italy the championship?

While Italian football fans are likely in despair at their country’s failure, Italian F1 fans are riding the crest of a wave at the moment, with Antonelli and Ferrari performing so well in F1 2026.

Italy has not had a serious contender for the drivers’ championship arguably since Alberto Ascari won it back in 1953.

Riccardo Patrese came a very distant second in the 1992 standings, while 1978 world champion Mario Andretti was born in Italy but was a US citizen and represented the US when racing in the sport.

Antonelli has the tools to become world champion, with Mercedes the dominant team in 2026, but time will tell as to whether he can sustain a challenge all-season long against his much more experienced team-mate George Russell, and with the Ferraris and McLarens closing behind.

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Lance Stroll GT3 Results: Qualifying times and grid order at Paul Ricard

Published

2 days ago

April 11, 2026

Elsa Garcia de BlasManuel Vicente Gomez Gomez

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Where did Lance Stroll and his team qualifying ahead of Saturday’s race at Paul Ricard?

Qualifying for the first round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe took place today (Saturday, April 11) with F1 star Lance Stroll taking to the track with Aston Martin ahead of the main night race.

The Canadian driver made his GT3 debut at Paul Ricard, piloting the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Comtoyou Racing on Saturday, alongside team-mates Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya.

The F1 2026 campaign is currently undergoing an enforced break after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were both cancelled due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with Stroll taking advantage of his newfound free time by making a series switch.

Qualifying at Paul Ricard was split into three sessions (Qualifying 1, Qualifying 2 and Qualifying 3), with Merhi, Stroll and Boya splitting driving duties across the sessions in the PRO class.

The Canadian F1 star revealed lofty ambitions ahead of qualifying in the South of France, stating his belief that he and his Comtoyou Racing squad could even compete for the win, something his Aston Martin F1 team have been far from doing so far after a disastrous start to the 2026 campaign.

But after the 27-year-old’s qualifying stint, the *No.18 Aston Martin sat down in P19, with the trio only able to improve up to P15, where they will start Saturday’s six-hour event from.

Though four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen will not be competing at Paul Ricard or at the Nurburgring for the NLS3 race this weekend, his Verstappen Racing team qualified P8 thanks to Dani Juncadella, Chris Lulham and Jules Gounon in the **No.3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi was also in play on Saturday, with his Team WRT qualifying in P11 after taking to the track in a BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

See the top 20 combined qualifying classification below.

GT World Challenge Europe Qualifying Results: Paul Ricard 2026

Paul Ricard Qualifying Results
Position	Entry	Car	Time/Status
1	No.48	Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO	1:53.622
2	No.58	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	+0.054
3	No.7	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO	+0.064
4	No.59	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	+0.068
5	No.80	Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO	+0.102
6	No.17	Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO	+0.114
7	No.111	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	+0.182
8	**No.3	Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO	+0.206
9	No.51	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	+0.211
10	No.32	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	+0.326
11	No.46	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	+0.395
12	No.71	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	+0.396
13	No.21	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO	+0.545
14	No.50	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	+0.569
15	*No.18	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO	+0.583
16	No.555	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	+0.592
17	No.99	Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II	+0.597
18	No.998	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	+0.621
19	No.10	Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO	+0.676
20	No.65	Ford Mustang GT3 EVO	+0.716

How to watch Stroll’s GT3 race

You can watch Stroll’s GT racing exploits right here on GPFans, with the below stream set to go live at around 17:30 (CEST) 16:30 (BST) on Saturday, April 11 for the main event.

Alternatively, you can catch all the action on the GTWorld YouTube channel or on the GT World Challenge website.

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F1 champion Lando Norris spotted with model after split with ex-girlfriend

Published

3 days ago

April 10, 2026

Javier Gonzalez Cuesta Guillermo Abril

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2025 F1 world champion Lando Norris has been spotted at a football match this week, with his ex-girlfriend Magui Corceiro.

Portuguese actress and fashion model Corceiro had been Norris’ partner since May 2023, regularly appearing at race weekends and celebrating his 2025 world championship victory at the Abu Dhabi GP last December.

But, following that championship victory, it was reported in early 2026 that the couple had separated, although those rumours were never confirmed.

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Now, Norris has been spotted with Corceiro at a football match in Corceiro’s home country of Portugal.

The pair were spotted in the crowd at Sporting CP’s Champions League last-16 first leg tie against Arsenal at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon on Tuesday night.

Corceiro posted the stadium on her Instagram story, with a picture of the two teams lining up for the Champions League anthem, while the pair were also pictured together.

Magui Corceiro's Instagram story from Tuesday night — Magui Corceiro’s Instagram story from Tuesday night

Who is Magui Corceiro?

The glare of the publicity focused on Corceiro has ramped up significantly during the past 12 months.

Since the age of 17, she has starred in Portuguese television dramas and even their own version of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars) during the 2020 series.

As a model, she has featured on the cover of Vogue Portugal and has worked with high-profile brands such as Intimissimi, Alo Yoga and Kerastase.

Corceiro also co-founded the eco-conscious swimwear brand Missu, and was named by Forbes as the most influential person on Instagram in Portugal.