Overview
- Kimi Antonelli won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to become the youngest Formula 1 championship leader, extending Mercedes’ early‑season run of poles and victories.
- The FIA said it will hold meetings to assess the 2026 regulations after Oliver Bearman’s heavy Suzuka crash, citing dangerous closing speeds created by battery‑driven power surges.
- Drivers say the new cars can deliver electrical boosts they do not command because an algorithm manages most deployment, which has led to surprise passes and safety worries.
- Max Verstappen told BBC radio he is weighing retirement at the end of the year, saying he is not enjoying how the 2026 cars race even as he accepts running in the midfield.
- In NASCAR, Chase Elliott used a short‑pit strategy and controlled the late restart to beat Denny Hamlin at Martinsville, and a separate Bubba Wallace–Carson Hocevar clash on a restart cost Wallace points.