Chemistry issues at Ferrari? What chemistry issues at Ferrari!

The team has issued an ‘unofficial statement’ on social media, after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton hijacked their social media accounts for a few hours – causing particular chaos on Instagram.

One video saw Hamilton telling his team-mate ‘Charles, we’re supposed to be taking over socials, I don’t really know how to do it’, before the Monegasque said that he didn’t either – ‘but we’ll find a way’.

What followed was a series of selfies and bizarrely filtered videos, many of which had at least one of the Scuderia drivers giggling audibly behind the camera, and a video of the pair taking a new profile picture for the team’s Instagram page – a profile picture which has since been returned to the famous prancing horse logo, with the social team wresting back control.

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Hamilton and Leclerc unleash chaos online

The team continued to play up the joke, putting out their ‘unofficial statement’ a few hours later to say ‘two individuals within the organisation gained unauthorised control’ of their social accounts.

Their ‘highly questionable editorial decisions’ were noted, which included that profile picture change.

The chaos was less severe on Twitter, but there were still signs of the pair’s mischief with a couple of videos people uploaded, and an all-caps plea to follow Leclerc’s account on the site.

Hi this is Charles

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 8, 2026

Ferrari statement on social chaos

Ferrari’s ‘unofficial statement’ read: “Scuderia Ferrari HP confirms that, over the past two hours, two individuals within the organisation gained unauthorised control of our social media channels.

“During this period, a series of highly questionable editorial decisions were made, including changes to our profile picture and the publication of content that did not undergo our standard approval procedures.

“We can confirm that the two suspects have been identified and the situation has now been contained. Full control of our accounts has been restored.

“We thank our fans for their understanding during this unprecedented incident.”

Leclerc and Hamilton will return to their actual day jobs on Friday as Free Practice 1 and Sprint Qualifying kick off Singapore Grand Prix weekend at the Marina Bay circuit.

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Fernando Alonso is ready to test the motor racing waters outside of F1 with a reported return to the Dakar Rally.

The 45-year-old’s future has been subject of speculation throughout much of 2026, but he recently ended that by signing for Aston Martin for another F1 season in 2027.

Trying to fire the Silverstone team back up the grid isn’t the only thing the two-time world champion will be focusing on though, as he seeks a return to the Dakar Rally.

According to Spanish outlet SoyMotor, Alonso will be competing in the world famous and notoriously hazardous Dakar Rally next year.

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The developments follow the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, where during the weekend Alonso let slip he made more projects than F1 on his mind, saying: “Perhaps there will be more surprises in the coming weeks , there are things that people probably think are impossible, but I want to find the limits of what is possible.”

What is the Dakar Rally?

The Dakar Rally is one of the world’s toughest motorsport events, combining long-distance racing with extreme off-road terrain, navigation and endurance.

It was first held in 1978, and the modern Dakar is based in Saudi Arabia and features cars, motorbikes, trucks and other specialised vehicles competing over roughly two weeks.

The 2027 edition is scheduled to take place between January 1st and 15th, therefore it will not interrupt Alonso’s F1 season or even preparation for it.

Where will the 2027 Dakar Rally take place?

However, doubts remain over the location of the race. Saudi Arabia is Plan A and has hosted the last seven editions but due to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, teams could decide to pull out or not have enough money to cover insurance policies.

An alternative would be the Morocco where organisers can be more certain of a full field.

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F1 driver Valtteri Bottas loves cycling. That’s not news to anyone who’s remotely aware of him out of the cockpit, but it’s true.

This, however, was a little unexpected. F1 will move from Sepang, Malaysia to Marina Bay, Singapore this week to close off a triple-header with a spectacular night race, and the Finn decided to make the journey…unconventionally.

You’ve probably guessed how at this point. Yep, Bottas is cycling to the next race on the calendar.

The Cadillac driver set off after the race on Sunday evening, handily tracking his rides (as ever) on Strava. That’s how we know that he covered off 35 miles of the journey before he found somewhere to sleep for the night, on the road (and we use ‘road’ advisedly, looking at some of the pictures he’s uploaded) for just two hours.

F1 HEADLINES: Charles Leclerc‘s flight was turned back after he missed his landing time (likely due to the 90-minute delay to Sunday’s race start) and the Ferrari star had to take a four-hour road trip instead.

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