Get to grips with active aero, boost mode and super-clipping as the adoption of new hybrid engines shakes up the sport before the new season begins next weekend

In a week’s time, a new era will begin in Formula One as a major shift in regulations brings with it an air of unpredictability when the Australian Grand Prix gets under way in Melbourne.

The cars have been made smaller and lighter with the intent of making them more nimble and better to drive, and to facilitate improved racing. The wheelbase has been reduced by 20cm to 340cm and the width by 10cm to 190cm. Across changes in the chassis and to the engine, the overall weight has been reduced by 30kg. Drivers such as Lewis Hamilton have declared themselves generally pleased with the improved handling characteristics of their more sprightly rides, which will operate with approximately 40% less drag, but they will not enjoy the same downforce or pace as with last year’s models and are expected to open the season a second or two slower per lap than last year.

Eight months after departing Dior, Chiuri’s return to fashion’s front bench was stamped with her identity and values

A big name designer’s first catwalk show in a new job is a drumroll moment of pure ego: Maria Grazia Chiuri, who joins Fendi after leaving Dior, is a headline-making hire with main character energy.

The first surprise, as Milan fashion week began, was a catwalk painted with the motto: “Less I, more us.”

• Funds promised for security have not been received

• Officials warn of potential cancellations to fan festivals

Local and national officials expressed concern on Tuesday that the ongoing partial government shutdown in the United States could adversely affect planning and preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which is just over 100 days away.

In a hearing before the House committee on homeland security, representatives from Miami, Kansas City and New Jersey – three locations that will host a combined total of 21 matches in the tournament, including the final – said they are still waiting on federal funds to be released to their respective local agencies. Last July, lawmakers pledged $625m in federal assistance toward World Cup security via the Trump administration’s “big beautiful” policy bill.

George Russell has been purring in a balanced car in pre-season while Aston Martin are still hunting for power

The big four – Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren – have been at pains throughout testing to claim they are not the top dog, in something of an inverse Mexican standoff, each decrying their own strengths. Undeniably, however, Mercedes emerge from the three pre-season tests looking strong.

• Lando Norris second fastest; Max Verstappen third

• Aston Martin completed just six laps after problems

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took the bragging rights with the quickest time at the final Formula One test before the season proper begins in Australia in just two weeks, while Aston Martin endured a horror show.

At the end of the final day of the third test, some of the cars were let off the leash to put in some runs on soft tyres with lower fuel loads and Leclerc looked very much at home as he hurled his Ferrari around the circuit in Bahrain. He set a time of 1min 31.992sec, eight-tenths clear of the second-placed McLaren of Lando Norris and a second up on Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell.

• Seven-time world champion upbeat for 2026

• ‘I’m more connected to this car for sure,’ he says

Lewis Hamilton believes he is in the “best place” he has been at Ferrari, with a new car that carries his “DNA”.

The seven-time champion failed to take a podium place for the first time and finished sixth in the drivers’ championship, behind his teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth in his debut season. By the end, he was clearly disenchanted, describing his first year at Ferrari as a “nightmare”.

Seit 2018 ist Adam Mosseri Chef der Social-Media-Plattform und musste jetzt vor Gericht aussagen. In einem wegweisenden Prozess geht es um die Suchtgefahr und psychischen Folgen der App. Sein Auftritt: mindestens verblüffend.

A look at each team’s choice of colours and designs ahead of the new F1 season

Nur noch maximal 40 Touristen pro Gruppe sind auf der beliebten Mittelmeerinsel ab dieser Saison erlaubt. Im Kampf gegen „Overtourism“ treten auf Capri noch weitere neue Regeln in Kraft.

Subdued tone as political leaders spoke on eve of Waitangi Day amid some fatigue in Māori communities over divisive coalition policies

When New Zealand’s political leaders gathered to speak at the Waitangi treaty grounds where Māori chiefs and the British Crown forged a nation 186 years ago there was a striking absence: the public.

As a light rain fell on the green peninsula in the far north of New Zealand on Thursday, fewer than 100 people gathered to watch the leaders welcomed onto the grounds, and only a handful of people heckled ministers as they spoke.