From Lewis Hamilton’s emotional tribute following his brother Nicolas’ first-ever BTCC victory, to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali backing a return to V8 engines, here are the main stories from today, May 26.
It’s safe to say it was a special weekend of action for the Hamilton family. Not only did Lewis Hamilton secure his best-ever result for Ferrari in Montreal, finishing P2 after an impressive overtake on Max Verstappen, but the Briton’s brother Nicolas achieved his first ever British Touring Car Championship race win on the same day.
Nicolas has had a number of stints in the BTCC since 2015, but now driving in the Hyundai i30 Fastback N for Team VERTU, run by reigning champions EXCELR8, he finally has a competitive package capable of fighting further up the grid on paper.
Encouraged by Lewis to start racing in 2011, Nicolas is a history maker in his own right – becoming the first ever disabled driver to compete in the BTCC in 2015. The 34-year-old’s cerebral palsy diagnosis has certainly not stopped him impressing in motorsport, achieving a major milestone in his career by securing his first BTCC podium as well as victory in the Jack Sears Trophy classification on Sunday.
Writing an emotional tribute on Instagram, Lewis congratulated his brother on the result. He said: “I could not be more proud of my brother. Seeing the passion and emotion on his face as he stood on his first podium was such a beautiful moment. For us both to be on podiums on the same day was huge. I called him the second the race ended.
“Motorsport is not built to be inclusive. There is little to no access for people with disabilities, and no support systems to level the playing field. This is something so many people take for granted. Despite that, despite the barriers and the people who told him it wasn’t possible, he never stopped. He fought. He adapted. He proved them wrong.
“While he will always be my kid brother, I am profoundly proud of the leader, the athlete and the man he has become. He inspires me just as much as he inspires everyone following his journey. No matter how hard it has been, he has never given up. What he’s achieved is massive and I’m so happy for him. Love you bro, keep going.”
Meanwhile, F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali has become the latest high-profile figure to support the sport’s potential return to V8 engines.
Noise surrounding a potential move back to V8 engines, not used in F1 since 2013, has only increased after comments made by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem in Miami. The Emirati claimed the “V8 is coming” possibly as early as 2030, and even if F1’s power unit manufacturers do not all approve.
Also in Miami, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also supported the idea, telling GPblog and others: “Long-term, I think from a Mercedes standpoint we are open to new engine regulations. We love V8s, that has only great memories. From our perspective it’s a pure Mercedes engine, it revs high.”
Wolff added: “If it’s well planned and executed, we Mercedes, count us in to come back with a real, real racing engine.” Rival team principal Laurent Mekies of Red Bull also backed the V8’s return, teasing an early advantage thanks to the team’s power train partnership with Ford.
And now, the F1 CEO and President himself has spoken positively on that possibility. In an interview with French publication L’Equipe, Domenicali said he was “1000 percent in favour of the V8,” before describing lighter cars and simpler engines as “the pure essence of motor racing”.
