In this article we take you through the F1 news of Friday 28 August 2026 so you are up to speed again. Ferrari dominates the agenda with a new engine and a Schumacher tribute for Monza, while Mercedes deals with a double engine-penalty headache and a fresh round of driver speculation, and further down the order Williams, Cadillac and BMW all had something to say for themselves.
Ferrari’s new engine arrives with a side of nostalgia
Ferrari has been cleared to run its upgraded 067/7 power unit at Monza, a reworked combustion chamber and turbo that the team reckons is worth around 15 horsepower after the FIA confirmed the Scuderia trailed Red Bull by four percent. Alongside it comes a heavy dose of sentiment, with Hamilton and Leclerc set to wear race suits carrying seven Schumacher stars to mark 30 years since his first Ferrari win. Whether the hardware or the nostalgia does more for morale at Maranello remains to be seen.
Mercedes hands out grid penalties nobody at the team wanted to give
Mercedes has confirmed both its drivers will exceed their power unit allocation, meaning George Russell faces a still-undecided grid penalty on top of Bottas comparisons doing the rounds. Kimi Antonelli gets the worse end of it, with Toto Wolff bluntly explaining why the championship leader starts his home race from the back. Algorithms, Wolff says, don’t do sentiment, even at Monza.
Wheatley’s Zandvoort stroll raises more questions than it answers
Jonathan Wheatley made his first paddock appearance since leaving Audi, but instead of Aston Martin colours he was seen wandering into Alpine’s hospitality unit, visiting old colleague Steve Nielsen. It was described as purely social. Convenient timing all the same for the man still tipped to succeed Adrian Newey at Aston Martin.
Leclerc isn’t buying Mercedes’ slump
Mercedes has lost the last two races and admits it is baffled by a weakness through fast corners, yet Charles Leclerc reckons a Silver Arrows response is coming and says as much to media questioning the recent form dip. Toto Wolff’s claim that the development budget has run dry gets a similarly sceptical shrug from the Ferrari driver.
Sainz says Williams can no longer live with Aston Martin
Carlos Sainz gave an unusually blunt assessment after Zandvoort, admitting his own team is now only quicker than a winless Cadillac. Aston Martin’s Hungary upgrade and new Honda engine have clearly changed the pecking order.
Honda’s driveability headache lingers despite Aston Martin’s gains
Aston Martin has found three seconds of lap time in two race weekends and Alonso is scoring points again, but Honda’s own engineers admit the driveability problem still needs fixing. Until it is, nobody quite knows how good the new engine really is.
Perez ends the Williams speculation
Sergio Perez has confirmed he is seeing out his contract, telling reporters his Cadillac future was never really in doubt. Separately he has floated a personal timeline, saying he wants three more seasons to build the project despite Cadillac’s pointless start.
BMW says F1 still isn’t for them
While rivals queue up to join the grid, BMW has confirmed it remains uninterested in an F1 entry, arguing the sport doesn’t feed useful technology back into road cars.
Qatar’s season finale looks shakier by the day
MotoGP has quietly abandoned its own rescheduled Qatar race with no replacement lined up, a decision that casts doubt over F1’s own Qatar finale given both series share the same troubled region.
Williams admits the spares cupboard is bare
James Vowles has conceded Williams will arrive at Monza and Madrid short of parts, with resources diverted toward a Baku upgrade instead.
Verstappen makes peace, sort of, with hybrid power
Max Verstappen has accepted there is no quick fix to the engines he despises, but talks with the FIA leave him eyeing a possible V8 return in 2030, conveniently the same year his new Red Bull deal expires.
All of this sets up a busy build-up to the Pirelli Gran Premio d’Italia next week, with Ferrari’s tribute, Mercedes’ penalties and Williams’ spares crisis all due to collide at Monza; check the F1 calendar for the full schedule.
