Issue #660: Shanghai Surprise

Kimi Antonelli has cometh of age in Shanghai this week, as the Italian teenager took his maiden Formula 1 win at the Chinese Grand Prix after becoming the youngest ever pole-sitter. Graham Harris, Jack Oliver Smith and James Phillips have the words, and James Moy has the images on a historic weekend for F1. Politics in the paddock is rife as always, as James and Jack explore the ramifications awaiting the grid should Toto Wolff succeed in purchasing a minority stake in Alpine in this week’s Start Your Engines. The F1 Academy got its 2026 campaign off to a dramatic start, with two races packed with intrigue, with Tiana Soans covering all the action of the vital support series. Journeying on to Kenya, David Ledbitter brings us all the action from an exciting WRC Rally that featured a few surprises with Toyota winning but who was driving the leading Yaris? It wasn’t any of the usual suspects... Meanwhile over in the United States, IndyCar had its third race of the, the Grand Prix of Arlington featuring a third different winner in as many races, at the brand-new street circuit. Kevin Dejewski has all the action and all the photos. And always, we have all the news, views and stories in this week's edition of the most widely read weekly motorsport magazine in the world!