Formula One to revise controversial rule at centre of Mercedes engine row
Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, and rival engine manufacturers have reached a compromise solution to tackle the controversy surrounding Mercedes that had threatened to overshadow next week’s start of the season in Australia,The sport is entering a new era with the biggest changes in decades to the engine and chassis regulations,Engine compression ratios have been a major talking point, with Mercedes suspected of exploiting a loophole to gain performance through the thermal expansion of components and there is talk of possible protests after the Melbourne race,Mercedes have said any change will make no difference to them,The FIA said in a statement on Saturday that amendments to the 2026 regulations had been approved unanimously by an e-vote of its World Motor Sport Council.
“A significant effort has been invested in finding a solution to the topic of the compression ratio,” it said.“The FIA has worked to find a compromise solution which determines that the compression ratio will be controlled in both hot and cold conditions from 1 June 2026 and subsequently only in the operating conditions … from 2027 onwards.”The governing body had initially proposed voting on compliance “not only at ambient conditions but also at a representative operating temperature of 130 degrees Celsius” from 1 August.An August date would have covered more than half the 24-race season before any change was implemented.Mercedes supply V6 engines to four of the 11 teams – the 2025 champions, McLaren, as well as their own works team, Williams and Renault-owned Alpine.
The remaining manufacturers are Red Bull, who are now making their own engines and supply their sister team, Racing Bulls, plus Audi, Honda (Aston Martin) and Ferrari, who also supply Haas and the newcomers Cadillac,The compression ratio of the engines is limited in the regulations to 16:1, measured in cold conditions,While all engines comply with that measurement, Mercedes are suspected of having gained a significant advantage by finding a way to expand the ratio when the engine is running hot,“The regulations introduced for 2026 represent one of the biggest changes in recent memory,” the FIA said,“All parties acknowledge that with the introduction of such significant regulatory changes, there are collective learnings to be taken from pre-season testing and the initial rounds of the 2026 championship.
Further evaluation and technical checks on energy management matters are ongoing,”The FIA said additional amendments to the sporting and financial regulations were also approved,Meanwhile, F1 has said it is “closely monitoring” the situation in the Middle East for the upcoming races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,Missile strikes continue to rock the region after United States and Israeli forces attacked Iran with several countries closing their airspace,A number of F1’s vast travelling circus were scheduled to head to Australia for next weekend’s opening race via the Middle East, with some now having to reroute their flights.
It is understood F1 chiefs are confident the season-opener in Melbourne a week on Sunday will be unaffected,However, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are due to host the fourth and fifth rounds of the new campaign on 12 and 19 April respectively,An F1 spokesperson said: “Our next three races are in Australia, China and Japan and not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks,As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities,”Last summer, F1’s chief, Stefano Domenicali, admitted the sport had a contingency plan in place for the final two rounds of the season – in Qatar on 30 November and in Abu Dhabi a week later – amid political tensions in the Middle East.
Both races went ahead as planned.
Rachel Reeves ‘to give go-ahead’ for £1bn military helicopter deal
Rachel Reeves is to approve a £1bn deal to build military helicopters in Yeovil, saving about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, according to reports.The chancellor is expected to sign a contract with Leonardo – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – to build the new battlefield helicopters, after months of speculation as to whether the historical site would survive.Workers had feared the company would follow through on threats to close the facility at the end of March if the government failed to place an order for new helicopters in time.Leonardo was the only bidder for the UK’s £1bn “new medium helicopter” contract that was launched in February 2024, after the US aerospace company Lockheed Martin and Europe’s Airbus pulled out.The new aircraft will replace the Royal Air Force’s ageing fleet of Puma helicopters, which had been in service since the 1970s
Dissatisfaction with life in UK unchanged since Covid, official data shows
The proportion of people in the UK who feel dissatisfied with life has failed to improve since the pandemic despite the economic outlook improving, official figures show.The Office for National Statistics said a survey of personal wellbeing in the UK showed average life satisfaction remained below its pre-pandemic peak, despite the rate of gross domestic product per person rising since 2021.The report also flagged the more recent decline in living standards, pointing out that UK GDP per person fell in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.The ONS also said trust in the UK government remained low, with about one in five adults (21.9%) in Great Britain reporting trust in December 2025 to January 2026
Netflix quits Warner Bros takeover battle; FTSE 100 ends week at record high – as it happened
The market reaction to Netflix walking away from Warner Brothers indicates all sides have done well, suggests Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.With Netflix and Paramount’s shares both up almost 9% in pre-market trading, Britzman says:double quotation markThe streaming takeover saga took a dramatic turn after Warner Bros. Discovery formally recognised Paramount Skydance’s offer as the superior bid, prompting Netflix to walk away almost immediately. After weeks of drama, meetings and speculation, Netflix’s decision to step aside brought an abrupt end to what had been one of the market’s most closely watched corporate chess matches. In the end, it underlined just how fast things can move when big money, regulators and strategic pride collide
BA owner’s profits rise by 20% despite drop in passenger numbers last year
British Airways’ owner, International Airlines Group, has announced a sharp rise in annual profits to almost £4bn despite a slight fall in passenger numbers in 2025.Pre-tax profits across IAG increased by 20% to €4.5bn (£3.9bn), with record operating profits on margins of more than 15% at BA and its sister airline Iberia.The group’s chief executive, Luis Gallego, said the lucrative transatlantic market, also served by IAG’s Aer Lingus and Level airlines, remained robust, after warnings of softening demand in the autumn
Sainsbury’s to cut 300 jobs as it restructures tech team and Argos deliveries
Sainsbury’s is cutting 300 head office jobs as it restructures its technology team and Argos delivery network, creating more separation between the two businesses.The London-based retail group said most of the job cuts would be in technology and data, where it was “consolidating routine reporting tasks” and creating dedicated teams for Argos and the supermarket.The changes also include restructuring the local delivery hubs for Argos, where teams’ shifts will change so they are working more regular hours with less overtime.Regional store directors for the Sainsbury’s Local convenience store chain are also being introduced to help drive that part of the business.The latest changes come after Sainsbury’s decided to invest more in technology to improve efficiency at its business, including AI forecasting tools and warehouse robotics
Trump says affordability crisis is over. Voters and data disagree
The affordability crisis is over, Donald Trump told the US on Tuesday. The president’s state of the union address put the blame for soaring prices squarely on the “dirty, rotten” lies of the Democrats and claimed prices were now “plummeting downward”.“Soon you will see numbers that few people would think were possible to achieve just a short time ago,” Trump said.But more than a year since he was sworn in to office, stubborn inflation and Trump’s chaotic trade policies, have done little to assuage consumers’ fears about the cost of living. Poll after poll shows that, as far as voters are concerned, “affordability” is still very much an issue
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