Mercedes-Benz 1-2 at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix, 2026

 

Double victory in China: Kimi makes history with his first victory

• Kimi Antonelli became the second-youngest Grand Prix winner in the history of the premier class with his first F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.
• His teammate George Russell finished second, giving the team another one-two.
• The front row of the grid was completely occupied by Mercedes: Kimi started from pole position, George was next to him in second place on the grid. Both drivers started the race on the medium tyres.
• As in Australia, the Ferrari drivers had the best start. Lewis Hamilton took the lead, Charles Leclerc moved up to third place, while Kimi was second and George fourth.
• Kimi and George, however, kept their nerve, moved ahead of the two Ferrari drivers in first and second place and defended these positions before a safety car deployment neutralised the field.
• Both drivers decided to make a pit stop and switched to the hard tyre compound. However, in the cool conditions, they struggled to get the tyres up to temperature.
• This allowed the Ferrari drivers to put pressure on our duo again. George was forced to fight his way past Hamilton and Leclerc again.
• He managed to do so after a few laps, while Kimi extended his lead at the front.
• Both drivers managed their cars and tyres until the end, which gave Kimi his first F1 victory. George finished second behind him ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who completed the podium in third place.
• The team was represented on the podium by Head of Race Engineering and Kimi's race engineer Peter "Bono" Bonnington.
• George continues to lead the drivers' championship, Kimi is in second place, four points behind.
• The next race is the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka from March 27 to 29.
• On Sunday morning, the team's F1 Academy driver, Payton Westcott, finished third in the main race with a controlled performance to secure her first podium finish in the series.

Driver	Start	Result	Schn. Runde	Starting Tyres	Stop 1
Kimi Antonelli	P1	P1	1:35.275	Medium	Hard (R11)
George Russell	P2	P2	1:35.400	Medium	Hard (R11)

Kimi Antonelli

What an incredible day! This victory is the fulfillment of a dream I've had since I first drove a go-kart. I would like to thank my amazing family as well as the incredible team at Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive. I couldn't have done it without her. It means a lot to me to get my first win in F1. It was a very special moment for all of us.

The race itself was not easy. I lost a position at the start and had to fight my way back to the front. Then we had to master the restart after the safety car period, which wasn't easy on the hard tyres. It was difficult to get the tyres up to temperature, but luckily we managed to do so before the pursuers put us under pressure.

It was a great way to end the first double-header of the season, but there's still a lot of work to do. We don't take anything for granted and will work hard to compete in Japan in the best possible position.

George Russell

First of all, congratulations to Kimi on his first victory in F1! He drove a great race and it was fantastic to be on the podium with him. I'm sure he'll never forget that moment. The fact that we managed to do that with a one-two victory for the team is simply great.

My own race didn't go entirely smoothly. Both at the start and at the restart after the safety car period, I lost positions because we had problems getting the hard tyres up to temperature. The Ferraris were fast, especially in the early stages, and we had to pass them twice. They were fast in the right places, which made our task much more difficult. Fortunately, we managed to do it every time, but that meant we missed the chance to fight for the win.

It's been a great start to the season and we're definitely the team to beat right now. We were under a lot of pressure in these first two races and we have to keep pushing hard. However, our package is strong, so I'm looking forward to the next race in Japan.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and Managing Director

For Kimi, this moment was never in question. Ever since his karting days, we knew that he had the talent to become a Grand Prix winner. His family and team have done an excellent job of nurturing this talent – and it's paying off today. There were so many doubters who wrote him off because it was supposedly too early and he didn't have the necessary composure. But Kimi proved them all wrong. This is just the beginning for him. He'll keep his feet on the ground and continue to work hard, but tonight he can definitely enjoy it.

Despite the result, it was not an easy afternoon for the team. The Ferraris kept us on our toes, but George did a good job of fighting back and finishing ahead of them. It was also great to see Lewis (Hamilton) on the podium with Kimi, George and Bono. All four are such an important part of this team's history, and it was great to see them all up there together.

We've made a good start to the season, but there's still a lot of work ahead of us. We'll stay focused, keep pushing and hopefully continue to fight for wins over the course of the season.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Congratulations to Kimi on his first win! His first test in an F1 car was less than two years ago. The fact that he won today shows how far he has come in this short time. He's always had pure speed, but both he and the team have worked hard to refine it. It continues to develop positively. Today is another step on this path, and we are all very happy for him.

We're also very happy to take home our second one-two at the start of the season. It wasn't an easy weekend: we had some problems with the cars and were very lucky that George was able to take part in Q3 yesterday. Nonetheless, it was a great example of this team never giving up. Despite the setbacks, we took full risks and got the maximum number of points.

Now we have a week to regroup before we go to Japan. There is a lot to do, because we know that there are more challenges ahead. That's what we're going to focus on. But as we leave Shanghai and complete this first double-header, it's wonderful to be able to enjoy the results of the last two weeks – after all the work that has gone into the development and racing of the W17 on both Lauda Drive and Morgan Drive.

Notable recent fiction where the automobile is central (as plot engine, setting, or symbol), mostly from the last ~10–15 years

 Notable recent fiction where the automobile is central (as plot engine, setting, or symbol), mostly from the last ~10–15 years:

Road-trip / driving as the story

• Hernan Diaz — Trust (2022): includes memorable driving/automobility motifs tied to wealth, control, and modernity. Hernan Diaz’s Trust (2022) is a novel told in four linked texts, each offering a different version of the same people and events, so the “plot” is also an argument about who gets to write history and how wealth controls narrative.

  In broad strokes:

  1. A novel-within-the-novel (“Bonds”) depicts a legendary Wall Street tycoon and his enigmatic wife during the early 20th century. It reads like a dramatized exposé of how money, ambition, and a marriage intertwine with the rise of modern finance.

  2. A memoir by the tycoon responds to that portrayal, insisting the earlier book distorted the truth. He tries to reclaim his reputation and explain his success on his own terms—while still keeping key parts of his private life carefully managed.

  3. A ghostwriter’s account follows the woman hired to shape that memoir. Through her perspective you see how the tycoon’s “truth” is manufactured—what he wants emphasized, what he refuses to say, and how the act of writing becomes a power struggle.

  4. A final document (connected to the wife) reframes everything again, revealing what earlier versions obscured about her inner life, her agency, and the costs of being turned into a symbol in other people’s stories.

  The forward motion comes from the reader assembling these pieces—spotting contradictions, understanding motivations, and realizing how each narrator’s incentives distort what “really” happened.

• Lauren Groff — Florida (2018, stories): several pieces use cars and driving as pressure-cookers for intimacy, threat, and escape.

Lauren Groff’s Florida (2018) isn’t a single continuous plot—it’s a collection of short stories. What ties them together is the setting (Florida in many forms: swamps, suburbs, coasts, heat, storms) and recurring concerns: marriage and parenting, vulnerability, class, desire, violence, and the thin line between safety and threat.

A few of the best-known story through-lines:

• In “Ghosts and Empties,” a mother slips out at night and walks through her town, cataloging homes and strangers with a mix of exhaustion, longing, and sharp social observation.
• In “The Midnight Zone,” a woman on a family trip experiences a sudden, intense attraction that unsettles her sense of self and stability.
• In “Eyewall,” a married couple rides out a hurricane while their relationship strains under fear, boredom, and resentment.
• In “Above and Below,” a woman repeatedly escapes into the wilderness, pushing herself into hunger and danger as a kind of self-erasure and rebirth.

So the “plot” of Florida is cumulative rather than linear: across the stories, Florida’s climate and wildness become a pressure system that exposes what the characters can’t easily admit about their lives.

Crime / noir where cars matter

• S.A. Cosby — Blacktop Wasteland (2020): a heist novel rooted in car culture—mechanics, fast driving, and the emotional pull of “one last job.”

• S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland (2020) is a crime novel about a talented former getaway driver who’s pulled back into the life he tried to leave.

  Beauregard “Bug” Montage runs an auto-repair shop in rural Virginia. He’s skilled, proud, and determined to provide for his family, but money is tight—his business is failing, bills are mounting, and he’s carrying the weight of a criminal past tied to his late father’s reputation.

  A friend comes to him with an offer to drive for a big score. Bug refuses at first, but financial pressure and pride box him in, and he agrees. Once he’s back behind the wheel, the job—and the violence around it—starts to spiral. Bug has to balance loyalty and survival while fighting the fear that the part of him that was “made” for fast, illegal work is the truest part of him.

  The plot builds toward the heist and its fallout, with the car culture/getaway driving not just as action, but as the novel’s emotional core: speed as temptation, escape, and destiny.

• Attica Locke — Bluebird, Bluebird (2017): Texas highways and car travel as the connective tissue of investigation and place.

• Attica Locke’s Bluebird, Bluebird (2017) is a crime novel set in East Texas that follows a Black Texas Ranger investigating two murders in a small town where racial history and local loyalties shape what can be said out loud.

  Darren Mathews, the Ranger, is sent to Lark, Texas after:

  • a Black man from Chicago is found dead, and
  • soon after, a white woman is also killed.

  As Mathews starts asking questions, he runs into a wall of silence and competing power centers—especially around a local bar that functions as the town’s social hub. The investigation forces him to navigate tense dynamics between the Black community and white authorities, and it also intersects with his own personal troubles: he’s trying to hold onto his career while dealing with a failing marriage and risky choices that could ruin him.

  The plot moves as Mathews uncovers how the two killings connect to long-standing grudges and present-day corruption, pushing him toward a dangerous truth that many people in Lark would rather keep buried.

• Don Winslow — The Cartel (2015) / ** The Border (2019)**: cross-border movement, surveillance, convoys—automobility as infrastructure of power.

• Don Winslow’s The Cartel (2015) is a crime epic about the escalation of Mexico’s drug war, told through a long, violent struggle between two men on opposite sides.

  After the events of The Power of the Dog, Adán Barrera—a major cartel boss—escapes prison and reasserts control, using terror, corruption, and alliances to expand his organization. On the other side is Art Keller, the U.S. DEA agent who has spent his life pursuing Barrera. Keller is pulled back into the fight as the conflict grows into a multi-front war involving rival cartels, Mexican politicians and police, U.S. agencies, and the media.

  The novel tracks:

  • the cartel’s strategy (bribery, assassinations, propaganda, internecine warfare),
  • Keller’s increasingly personal, morally compromised pursuit,
  • and the broader human cost—mass killings, disappeared people, journalists targeted, and communities hollowed out.

  Rather than a single heist-style plot, it’s structured as an interlocking series of campaigns and crises that show how the war feeds on itself and how “winning” becomes ambiguous when the system is soaked in money and fear.

Speculative / near-future automobility

• Cory Doctorow — Walkaway (2017): not strictly “car fiction,” but transportation systems and mobility politics are central.
• Ling Ma — Severance (2018): features long drives and highway drift that capture late-capitalist emptiness.

Literary fiction where cars are symbolic, not just props

• Colson Whitehead — The Nickel Boys (2019): cars appear as instruments of authority/escape in a historically grounded narrative.
• Tommy Orange — There There (2018): cars and transit underpin movement, precarity, and urban geography.

The Most Important Design Features in a Formula 1 Car, 2026

 

Aerodynamics (the whole car is an aero device)

• Front wing (multi-element) & endplates: sets up the airflow for everything behind it; balances front downforce vs. drag and controls outwash/tyre wake.
• Ground-effect floor / venturi tunnels: the primary downforce producer in current-era cars; geometry, edge sealing, and stiffness are critical.
• Floor edges + vortex control (edge wing, fences): manages sealing vortices to keep low-pressure under the car stable, especially in yaw and ride-height changes.
• Diffuser: expands underfloor flow at the rear to extract more downforce; highly sensitive to ride height and floor condition.
• Sidepods, undercut, and “coke bottle” packaging: shapes how air is driven toward the floor, diffuser, and rear wing; tightly linked to cooling layout.
• Rear wing + beam wing: tunes rear downforce/drag and interacts strongly with diffuser flow.
• DRS (drag reduction system): adjustable rear-wing flap to cut drag for overtaking/defending; impacts wing design and operating window.

Vehicle dynamics & structure

• Suspension geometry (pushrod/pullrod, anti-dive/anti-squat): controls platform (ride height, pitch, roll) to keep the floor in its best aero window.
• Dampers/third elements: manage heave and pitch; crucial for maintaining stable underfloor performance over kerbs and at speed.
• Monocoque (carbon-fiber survival cell): ultra-stiff and light, designed around crash structures and driver safety; also the backbone for aero consistency.
• Weight distribution & ballast placement: cars run near minimum weight; ballast is used to hit an optimal center of gravity and balance within regulations.

Power unit & energy systems (hybrid performance management)

• 1.6L turbo V6 + ERS: overall lap time depends heavily on how efficiently energy is harvested and deployed.
• Energy store (battery) + MGU-K control: determines acceleration, deployment strategy, and how the car behaves at corner exit.
• Turbo/compressor packaging & intercooling: affects response, cooling drag, and car packaging (which in turn affects aero).

Cooling and packaging (performance vs. drag trade)

• Radiator/intercooler layout and ducting: cooling demand forces inlets/outlets that add drag; the best designs minimize inlet size while staying within temperature limits.
• Engine cover and heat management: influences rear-body airflow and reliability; tight packaging improves aero but raises thermal risk.

Brakes and wheels (aero + thermal management)

• Brake ducts: not just cooling—also used to manage airflow around the front wheels and reduce turbulence.
• Wheel rims and fairings (within rules): help control tyre wake and improve aero consistency.

Controls and reliability as “design features”

• Steering wheel systems & brake-by-wire (rear): complex control interfaces to manage ERS, brake balance, and modes.
• Materials, manufacturing, and QA: with minimal testing and tight cost caps, reliability engineering and repeatable aero surfaces matter as much as peak concepts.

SUV Crossover Design Aesthetics of the past Five Years -- Elements of Design and an Evaluation of the "Best" Among Chief Competitors

 

Most striking SUV/crossover design aesthetics (roughly 2021–2026 models)

Hyundai Ioniq 5 (2022–present)

The most distinctive “retro-future” look in the segment: sharp origami-like creases, pixel lighting, and a squared-off hatchback/SUV hybrid profile that reads like an 80s concept car made real. It stands out because it’s coherent from the smallest details (lights) to the overall silhouette.

Kia EV6 (2022–present)

More “athletic coupe-crossover” than upright SUV: long wheelbase, low roofline, aggressive stance, and a dramatic rear light bar. Its design is striking because it looks fast even parked, without needing huge grilles or busy surfacing.

Hyundai Santa Fe (redesign, 2024–present)

A bold pivot to boxy and architectural: upright greenhouse, flat surfaces, and the controversial “H” motif lighting. It’s striking because it rejects the curvy, generic crossover template and aims for a modern utilitarian vibe.

Kia Telluride (2021–present, incl. refresh)

Not flashy, but “commanding”: squared proportions, clean lines, and a premium, confident face. Striking in a different way—because it looks expensive and composed without gimmicks, which is rare in mainstream three-row SUVs.

Land Rover Defender (2021–present)

A modern icon: utilitarian massing, high shoulders, alpine windows, and exposed-feeling details that signal capability. It’s striking because it balances nostalgia with crisp modern execution; it looks purpose-built rather than styled.

Ford Bronco (2021–present)

The clearest retro design success of the last few years: circular headlamps, flat body sides, removable elements, and a “tool-like” aesthetic. It’s striking because it communicates function and identity instantly—very few vehicles do that now.

Rivian R1S (2022–present)

Minimalist but unmistakable: the oval “stadium” headlights and full-width light bar are instantly recognizable, and the body reads clean and friendly rather than aggressive. Striking because it built a new brand identity without copying legacy cues.

BMW iX (2022–present)

Polarizing by design: oversized grille treatment, unusual proportions, and sculptural surfacing. It’s striking because it’s intentionally disruptive—people notice it immediately, for better or worse.

Genesis GV70 (2021–present)

A “scaled luxury” look: quad light signatures, elegant surfacing, and a strong crest grille. Striking because it looks genuinely upscale and tailored compared with many similarly priced competitors.

Toyota Crown Signia (2025–present)

A wagon-like crossover silhouette with a sleek, understated premium vibe. Striking because it leans into a long-roof, road-focused aesthetic instead of the usual tall, rugged cues.

My “best looking” SUV/crossover picks from roughly the last 5 years (about 2021–2026) prioritize clean proportions, distinctive lighting/signatures, and designs that will age well.

Mainstream

• Rivian R1S — minimalist, instantly recognizable lighting, friendly-but-purposeful stance.
• Hyundai Ioniq 5 — retro-futurist shape that’s cohesive and bold without looking faddish.
• Kia EV6 — sleek, athletic proportions; looks genuinely fast for a crossover.
• Mazda CX-50 — rugged-but-refined; great surfacing and stance without visual clutter.
• Kia Telluride (incl. refresh) — squared, premium presence; very well resolved.

Luxury

• Genesis GV70 — arguably the prettiest “compact luxury crossover” shape; elegant details.
• Range Rover (2022–present) — modern, reductive luxury; very clean and confident.
• Land Rover Defender — iconic utilitarian design executed in a modern way.
• Porsche Macan (late ICE years) / Macan EV (if you include newest) — taut proportions and restraint that read expensive.
• Volvo XC60 / XC90 (recent years/refreshes) — calm Scandinavian design that ages extremely well.

1992 Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II

 

Stuttgart sports badge: Powerful spoilers and aprons, large wheels in flared wheel arches and a huge rear aerofoil: The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II, known to fans as the ‘EVO II’ for short, clearly demonstrates its sporting potential even when stationary. This high-performance saloon with road approval finally catapulted the 201 model series into the realm of motor racing. In the 1990s, it was an absolute cult car and today it is an extremely rare and valuable younger dream car.

Characteristic features: The series’ top model is immediately recognisable thanks to its body modifications. On the right-hand side of the boot lid, the exhibit sports the iconic number sequence 2.5-16 – a reference to the 2.5-litre high-performance engine with four-valve technology. The discreet badges with the word “evolution” on the wings of this compact class definitively identify the exact model. Only the 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II has them.

Number 222: Exactly 502 examples of the EVO II were produced as an exclusive series in 1990. They served to homologate the DTM racing touring car, which was put to extremely successful use in the popular racing series from July 1990 and with which Klaus Ludwig became DTM champion in 1992. The special “Youngtimer” exhibition shows vehicle number 222. This is revealed by the individual “222/500” badge on the shift lever of the five-speed transmission. Why the extra two vehicles? To be on the safe side, two more vehicles were built at the time, in order to fulfil the requirements for the homologation of this development stage of the DTM racing touring cars – the requirement was at least 500 units. All EVO IIs were painted in the colour blue-black metallic (colour code DB 199).

Compact power pack: The EVO II was a super-sporty statement from Mercedes-Benz. Its engine delivers 173 kW (235 hp) at 7,200 rpm, with a top speed of up to 250 km/h – the speedometer scale even goes up to 260 km/h. The M 102 E 25/2 engine is installed at an angle of 15 degrees and designed in line with the DTM technology of the time: the road version of the EVO II has a slightly smaller displacement (bore × stroke: 97.3 × 82.8 millimetres) than the DTM racing touring car (bore × stroke: 97.8 × 82.8 millimetres) – however, both are configured with a shorter stroke than the engine in the 190 E 2.5-16 presented in 1988 (bore × stroke: 95.5 × 87.2 millimetres). In the EVO II racing car, the engine initially produced 245 kW (333 hp) at 8,500 rpm and revved up to 9,500 rpm – in the 1992 master vehicle, it produced up to 274 kW (373 hp).

Optimisation in the wind tunnel: The EVO II was a sensation at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 1990. The sheer size of the light-alloy rear aerofoil was unusual for road-legal vehicles in 1990, and noticeable even to the layman. The aerodynamics of the wing can be finely adjusted using several screws. The rear window is partially covered to improve the airflow. A contemporary comparative photo of the 190 E 2.5-16, EVO and EVO II clearly shows how the body attachments become larger with each stage of development. This superlative car aroused a desire that continues to this day.

Subtle changes: A look at other details on the vehicle in the special exhibition reveals the considerable improvements compared to other “190s”. Some of these are quite discreet and hardly noticeable at first. The Mercedes star is several centimetres further down owing to the large rear aerofoil. The lock in the boot lid of the EVO II is therefore located in the brand logo – a very unusual position.

Roman wheels: The EVO II rides on mighty wheels. They fill out the heavily flared wheel arches – especially when the suspension’s three-stage hydraulic levelling system is set to maximum lowering. The 8.5 × 17-inch six-spoke light-alloy wheels with 245/40 ZR 17 low-profile tyres are legendary. Bruno Sacco, head of design at Mercedes-Benz from 1975 to 1999, is said to have commented as follows: “They remind me of a Roman chariot.” This gave the rims the nickname “combat wheels”. Not an entirely inappropriate comparison, as chariot races with modified chariots were among the most popular sporting events in ancient Rome. In a way, these racetracks were the early forerunners of modern circuits.

A Delightful 1942 Film of a trip to Alsace in a Peugeot 202

  I found this film enchanting and wanted to share it with you. A beautiful young woman in a classic car in 1942.  An Agfacolor film highlighting gorgeous scenery and classic architecture, including some with strong religious themes. Peaceful scenes that belie a Europe in a most deadly war -- what irony.

If only the world could live in the peace expressed in this film!

Note the Peugeot 202 takes its styling cues from Chrysler of the period.  The 202 was made beginning in 1938. Note the interesting way gas is filled up through the spare wheel.