New Ferrari F1 2027 announcement; Lewis Hamilton under major scrutiny

Friday’s fast-paced F1 news includes Kimi Antonelli refusing to rule out leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in the future as the Scuderia makes a new sponsor announcement for the F1 2027 season.

With Lewis Hamilton under scrutiny after a tense few weeks and Fernando Alonso treating himself to a new $5million supercar, here’s today’s roundup…

Kimi Antonelli refusing to rule out future Ferrari move

Kimi Antonelli says he will not rule out a move to Ferrari in the future, but insists his current goal is winning “as much as possible with Mercedes.”

The only Italian driver on the F1 2026 grid, the championship leader has been linked with a move to Maranello in the future.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, admitted earlier this year that he is “aware” of Ferrari’s interest in Antonelli, admitting the Scuderia will “do everything to get an Italian driver.”

Opinion: The great Lewis Hamilton delusion of 2026

The relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari never looked stronger than after his first win for the team in Barcelona in June.

So why, three months later, have the same old cracks between team and driver reopened?

Hamilton appeared to become convinced that he was a genuine contender for the title after Barcelona… at the same time he realised that Ferrari is not yet in a position to deliver a championship.

That reality, writes Oliver Harden, seems to be at the heart of renewed tensions at Maranello.

Fernando Alonso adds $5million Bugatti to car collection

Aston Martin driver and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has bought a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse worth $5million, it has emerged.

A clip has surfaced of Alonso, who turned 45 in July, collecting his new purchase in Monaco.

Alonso, who has scored all of Aston Martin’s three points this season, has an estimated net worth of $260m.

Watch: Is AI racing the future of motorsport?

PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher recently travelled to Imola to watch the machines of A2RL in action.

The self-driving cars are capable of lapping anything between one and five seconds of the pace of a human racer, with the advancements noticeable following a chaotic debut in Abu Dhabi two years ago.

Ferrari confirms arrival of Rakuten as new sponsor for F1 2027 season

Ferrari is to enter a multi-year partnership with Japanese technology company Rakuten from the F1 2027 season, the team has announced.

Rakuten was previously linked with a title sponsorship deal with McLaren in 2014, but an agreement was not reached.

Ferrari sits second in the constructors’ standings with a maximum of nine races remaining in F1 2026.

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