MOTORGP: TECH3 KTM CONFIRM LUCA MARINI SIGNING FOR 2027 SEASON

 

Luca Marini will swap red for orange in MotoGP next season

Luca Marini will join Tech3 KTM for the 2027 MotoGP season after spending the last three years with Honda.

The Italian has played an integral role in Honda’s MotoGP project since he joined them in 2024, proving to be a valuable asset on the technical development of the RC213V, whilst being a trustworthy, consistent rider on the track.

Marini takes the spot vacated by Enea Bastianini, who confirmed earlier this week that he would be racing for Trackhouse Aprilia next year alongside Raul Fernandez.

Luca Marini onboard the Honda RC213V during the 2026 MotoGP season

“Luca is a rider we have been watching closely, and we are very pleased to welcome him to Tech3 from 2027,” team CEO Guenther Steiner said. “He brings a huge amount of experience, but also the right mentality and approach for what we are building here.

“2027 will be a big reset for MotoGP, so having a rider who can contribute to our progress in this new era will be important.”

2027 will be Marini’s seventh season in the premier class. The 29-year-old spent the first half of his MotoGP career with Ducati power, first via an Esponsorama Ducati partnership with Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team, and then as a full VR46 Ducati rider once Rossi’s team made the move to the premier class on a full-scale basis.

Marini celebrated his maiden podium at the Circuit of the Americas in 2023, before going on to secure Sprint podiums later that year in Indonesia and Thailand. Marini also broke the lap record in Indonesia to take his first pole.

More success followed in 2023 when Marini secured pole position in Qatar and followed this up with a Sprint and GP podium at the Lusail International Circuit.

Advice from The Doctor and brother, Valentino Rossi for Luca Marini

Given his success in 2023, it came as a surprise to many that Marini chose to depart not only Ducati, but his brother’s team in favour of the struggling factory Honda team.

Whilst there have been no podiums during his time with HRC, Marini’s results have continued to improve as the bike becomes more competitive.

“We are very happy to have Luca joining us from 2027,” Tech3 KTM team manager, Nicolas Goyon said. “He has already shown his ability to perform at the highest level, and his experience in MotoGP will be extremely valuable as we enter this new chapter.

“He has a strong understanding of what is required from both the rider and technical side, and we are confident that he will be an important part of our progress with KTM. We are looking forward to working with him and seeing what we can achieve together.”

Marini is expected to be joined inside the Tech3 KTM garage by current Moto2 frontrunner Senna Agius.

- Josh Close

MEN'S RUGBY 🏉 WORLD CUP 2027 DRAW

 

OSCAR PIASTRI HAS 'ALREADY SET HIS SIGHT' ON LEAVING MCLAREN FOR £3.8BN -VALUED F1 TEAM IN 2027

Photo by Wan Mikhail Roslan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri was far from happy at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix.

For the first time in more than 30 years, McLaren have won back-to-back constructors’ championships, doing so with six race weekends to spare.

Lando Norris stood on the podium for the 14th time this season at the Singapore Grand Prix, alongside George Russell and Max Verstappen.

And while a group of McLaren staff celebrated on the rostrum with him, Oscar Piastri was doing his media duties and was facing some difficult questions.

Piastri felt hard done by after Norris bumped his and Verstappen’s cars on the opening lap to move from fifth to third.

Over the team radio, Piastri asked McLaren to swap positions, but Andrea Stella’s team agreed with the stewards that no further action was needed.

It created a tense atmosphere and has made the drivers’ championship even more exciting, with Piastri’s lead cut to just 22 points.

Norris didn’t believe he had done anything wrong in his battle with Piastri, but it has raised questions about their long-term future as teammates.

It turns out Piastri and his camp might already be exploring other options in the paddock after 2026.

Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images

Oscar Piastri has ‘already set his sights’ on swapping McLaren for Ferrari in 2027

A report from the Swiss outlet Blick has shared more details about the Formula 1 driver market

.The report suggests that both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are considering their futures at Ferrari beyond next year.

Leclerc has recently been linked with Red Bull among other teams, while Hamilton could retire after 2026 unless he activates an extension in his contract.

This potentially opens up two seats at Ferrari, although the Singapore Grand Prix highlighted the current problems Fred Vasseur’s team are facing.

The £3.8bn-valued Ferrari team had to watch as both of their drivers suffered with brake issues, causing Fernando Alonso to go on a rant about Hamilton’s corner-cutting on the final lap.

The report suggests that while Norris and Piastri are staying at McLaren for 2026, the 24-year-old has ‘already set his sights on Ferrari for 2027’.

This would mean Leclerc or Hamilton having to make way, and creating a vacancy at F1’s most dominant team after just one year of the upcoming regulation changes.

What Lewis Hamilton has said about Oscar Piastri’s 2025 season at McLaren

If Leclerc does decide to leave Ferrari, then there’s a chance in 2027 that Piastri and Hamilton would be teammates.

The seven-time world champion has been through what Piastri is dealing with right now, having won his first title with McLaren in 2008.

Speaking about the Australian earlier in the season, via GPBlog, Hamilton said: “I don’t know him a huge amount. We sometimes talk a little bit on the parades, but he’s always been very easy to approach, easy to speak to. He’s clearly a nice lad.

“I think the job he’s doing is fantastic. It’s mega for me to see McLaren doing so well, because that’s where I started, and also to see them so close, him and Lando, two great drivers, the pressure on both of them will be unimaginable, I would say, for most people who are not experiencing it, and who have not experienced it.

“We’ve seen both, and obviously, particularly Oscar, doing a great, great job weekend in, weekend out, delivering, qualifying, and everything you need to do to win a world championship.”

Hamilton and Piastri would be one of the most chilled pairings in the paddock if they did end up together at Ferrari.

Who would come out on top if they were in the same machinery would be fascinating to see.

- Ben Evans

MCLAREN MAKE WITHDRAWAL DECISION WITH MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT EXPECTED - REPORT

McLaren are one of the most successful and respected teams in F1 history

Reigning F1 Constructors’ Champions McLaren have decided to withdraw from the all-electric Formula E category, it has been claimed.

It comes just weeks after the manufacturer announced plans to enter the World Endurance Championship, featuring the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours race, from 2027.

McLaren set to exit Formula E after Le Mans return announcement

McLaren have had a presence in Formula E since rebranding the former Mercedes team ahead of the 2022/23 season.

The team, which is supported by Saudi Arabian firm NEOM, has had limited success since McLaren’s involvement, winning just a single race over the last three seasons.

Sam Bird, a Formula E regular and a former Mercedes F1 tester, and Taylor Barnard are currently racing for the team.

Lando Norris vs Oscar Piastri: McLaren head-to-head scores for F1 2025

A report by The Race has claimed that Zak Brown, the McLaren chief executive, informed team principal Ian James that the manufacturer will end their support of the team ahead of the 2026/27 season.

The decision was reportedly communicated at the Jeddah E-Prix in February, an event that took place on a heavily modified version of the circuit which hosted last week’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

McLaren’s decision to withdraw has left James with the task of finding ‘alternative commercial, naming and manufacturer’ partners ahead of the 2026/27 era, which will mark the beginning of Formula E’s so-called ‘Gen4’ era featuring new cars.

The news of McLaren’s expected Formula E exit comes a fortnight after the Woking-based team announced that they will enter the WEC, the top tier of endurance racing, in 2027.

McLaren previously won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1995, with the WEC welcoming a swarm of new manufacturers since the hypercar rules came into force.

McLaren’s F1 rivals Ferrari, Aston Martin and Alpine currently compete in the hypercar class, along with Porsche, Toyota, BMW, Peugeot and F1 2026 entrants Cadillac.

In a statement confirming McLaren’s WEC entry, Brown declared that the team hope to win all three races comprising motorsport’s triple crown – the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500 – in the same year from 2027.

He said: “We’re back to the World Endurance Championship and competing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall win.

“In 2027, we will be entering the Hypercar class – we’re very excited.

“Thirty years ago, we won on our debut at Le Mans, in a car that wasn’t even supposed to race, and that sealed for us being the only team in history to have ever won the triple crown: the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Now, with this exciting news, we’re going to try and win all three of these big races in the same year.

“We’re up for it, we’re ready, we’ll see you at the track.”

McLaren are expected to provide more details of their WEC plans at this year’s Le Mans race in June, with outgoing Jaguar Formula E team principal James Barclay expected to lead the endurance team.

- Oliver Harden