Mercedes delivered new engines this weekend, but Honda postponed the decision for another round. This means that for the French Grand Prix we can expect more reliability and thus more power from the Japanese.
Before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Mercedes announced that new engines were being delivered to all teams. Not much can be changed to the engines during the season, but the extra reliability of the new engine will indirectly deliver more power. That is what Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri missed last weekend.
According to Auto, Motor und Sport Honda will supply a new engine for AlphaTauri and Red Bull. With improved reliability that will mean that the engine can also be upgraded. For Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez that comes in handy, because in France they can use every bit of extra power in the attack on Mercedes.
Kimi Antonelli capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car to edge Lando Norris before holding off Max Verstappen to win the inaugural Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix at Madring
Complete F1 2026 Driver standings after Spanish GP: Kimi Antonelli extended his lead to 81 points over Mercedes teammate George Russell, Lewis Hamilton title chances
Full F1 2026 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results, Madring: 1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes; 2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +4.351s; 3. Lando Norris, McLaren, +5.089s; 4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +29.116s
Full 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying Results: Lando Norris snatched the first-ever pole position at Madring from Kimi Antonelli by just 0.011s in a dramatic final-lap showdown