It\u2019s the first weekend of 2026, and we\u2019re counting down the days until the first car launches of the year \u2013 with less than two weeks until Red Bull and Racing Bulls show their next liveries.<\/p>\n
Red Bull has been among the F1 news headlines, too, so let us catch you up with all the big news from the day.<\/p>\n
Verstappen: Horner \u2018went through fire for me\u2019<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen revealed he still keeps in regular contact with former Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, explaining that they speak at every race weekend on an informal basis.<\/p>\n
He thanked his former boss for the work he put in with him, with Horner having been at the helm for all four of Verstappen\u2019s Red Bull titles to date.<\/p>\n
Read more:\u00a0Christian Horner \u2018went through fire for me\u2019 as Verstappen opens up on Red Bull sack<\/a><\/p>\n Red Bull RB17 design update<\/p>\n Adrian Newey, prior to his move to Aston Martin, had been working on Red Bull\u2019s first hypercar, the RB17 \u2013 and Red Bull Advanced Technologies has revealed the final design moving forward.<\/p>\n RBAT\u2019s technical director, Rob Gray, revealed Newey was only a call away if needed in the latter stages, but also explained that Newey\u2019s influence has naturally waned somewhat as his plans were put into action and his Aston Martin switch took effect.<\/p>\n The car is set to produce Formula 1 levels of power, with a 15,000rpm Cosworth V10 engine to match, and only 50 will be made.<\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0Red Bull reveals final hypercar design as Adrian Newey influence revisited<\/a><\/p>\n Vowles: Sainz influence \u2018even better than expected\u2019<\/p>\n Williams team principal James Vowles sang the praises of Carlos Sainz as he came to the end of his first season with the team.<\/p>\n While admitting it took longer than both he and the Spanish driver expected to get to grips with the FW47, Vowles went into detail about the work Sainz does behind the scenes, including his \u201cvery rare\u201d ability to go above and beyond in his pinpoint analysis of data.<\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0Main Carlos Sainz influence at Williams revealed in glittering Vowles verdict<\/a><\/p>\n Why Mercedes went back on F1 2025 upgrade<\/p>\n Mercedes trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, offered insight into why the team reversed a decision over a suspension update mid-season.<\/p>\n Having spotted the data was trending in the wrong direction in an initial effort to improve the car, he went into detail about how this particular move did not have the desired effect.<\/p>\n