Even as there is a renewed push to bring Formula One back to India, FMSCI president Arindam Ghosh said the federation is also pursuing opportunities to bring the World Rally Championship (WRC) to the country.

“F1 won’t happen before 2029, but I am pushing for WRC before that. You don’t need huge infrastructure for that. What we need is road sanitisation and government administration support. The government is supportive of it,” said Arindam on the sidelines of the launch of the Chennai Turbo Riders-JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2026 here on Wednesday.

“I won’t be shocked if, instead of BIC, we are having a street circuit as we don’t have a maintenance issue right through the year,” he added.

The logo of the new National championship was launched by A. Srinath, Minister of Fisheries & Fisherman Welfare, Govt. of TN.

“I would like to express my gratitude to CTR and JK Tyre for their support and commitment to promoting motorsport in the country, and creating a road safety awareness,” said Srinath.

Akbar Ebrahim, Member, FIA World Motor Sport Council and President, FIA International Karting Commission, said: “Indian motorsport is being keenly viewed and watched by the FIA as it is a very important country at the global level.”

The first two rounds of the four-round season will be held at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore (Sept. 11-13 and Oct. 23-25).

The third round will be run at BREN Raceway in Bengaluru (Nov. 13-15) while the final round will be at the Madras International Circuit (Dec. 11-13).

There will be seven categories in the National championship: Indian Super Touring Cars, Indian Touring Cars, Indian Junior Touring Cars, Super Stock, Levitas Cup, Formula LGB F4 and Formula 1300.

Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways in Formula 1 with a sprint race victory and pole position for the British Grand Prix on a day of struggles for his title rival George Russell.

After overtaking Lewis Hamilton to deny the British star a crowd-pleasing victory in the sprint, Antonelli doubled up with pole position for Sunday’s race.

He went fastest on his last lap by 0.175 of a second from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Hamilton third.

Russell was fourth in the sprint and then again in qualifying, after contact with the wall early on, and will start Sunday’s race behind the two Ferraris.

Hamilton started on pole and held off Antonelli until lap eight of 17, when the Italian swept past with the help of electrical power.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Antonelli told the team over the radio after taking the win.

“It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis, we were both pushing very hard,” Antonelli added later. “Obviously the momentum is there and we are doing a great job together with the team.”

The race was a prime example of F1 in 2026, with the strategy of charging and deploying electrical power central to the battles on track.

It allowed drivers like Lando Norris to swap places with rivals lap after lap but also meant drivers lifting off through Silverstone’s best-known fast corners to recharge power.

Hamilton was back fighting for a win again after a breakthrough victory last month at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, his first since moving to Ferrari last year.

“I was pushing as hard as I could, I gave it absolutely everything,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got a bit of work to do to try and close that gap.”

Lando Norris took third in McLaren’s white-and-green throwback livery after briefly running second at the start and then winning a thrilling back-and-forth battle with Russell and Max Verstappen for third.

Antonelli’s first win since last month’s Monaco Grand Prix stretched his Formula 1 standings lead to 43 points over Russell, who was fourth after starting fifth.

Russell had been complaining of a “strange” lack of pace in qualifying the day before, a setback after his win at the Austrian Grand Prix last week had boosted the British driver’s title chances.

Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari, Verstappen sixth for Red Bull, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri seventh. Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls and got away with a warning in a post-race investigation into his battle for position with Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar.

Qualifying results: 1. Antonelli (Mercedes); 2. Leclerc (Ferrari); 3. Hamilton (Ferrari); 4. Russell (Mercedes); 5. Hadjar (Red Bull); 6. Norris (McLaren); 7. Verstappen (Red Bull); 8. Piastri (McLaren); 9. Lindblad (Racing Bulls); 10. Lawson (Racing Bulls); 11. Borteleto (Audi); 12. Gasly (Alpine); 13. Hülkenberg (Audi); 14. Bearman (Haas); 15. Sainz (Williams); 16. Albon (Williams); 17. Ocon (Haas); 18. Bottas (Cadillac); 19. Colapinto (Alpine); 20. Pérez (Cadillac); 21. Stroll (Aston Martin); 22. Alonso (Aston Martin).

Indian racer Kush Maini will get the taste of a modern Formula 1 machinery for the very first time when he takes the wheel of the current Alpine car in the Young Driver Test at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

The test will take place next Tuesday (December 9, 2025), two days after the 2025 Formula 1 World Champion is decided on the same track.

“Following the race weekend, Kush will take part in Tuesday’s (December 9) post-season Young Driver Test, following the conclusion of the Formula 2 race weekend, for his first appearance in modern Formula One machinery in an official Formula One session,” read a statement from Alpine Formula 1 team.

The 25-year-old from Bengaluru has previously driven in the team’s Testing Previous Cars (TPC) programme and simulator as part of his role in the Alpine Academy. He is also one of the reserve drivers at the Enstone based outfit.

Nearing the end of his third Formula 2 season, Maini is understandably thrilled about getting in the cockpit of the latest Formula 1 car.

“I can’t wait to take part in the post-season Abu Dhabi test and to have my first proper experience of the A525. The Yas Marina Circuit is one I know well from Formula 2 and it will be impressive to see the level of performance Formula One cars have around this track.

“I’m very appreciative of the team for trusting me in this role and will aim to do the best job possible with the programme the team gives me,” said Maini.

Maini, who is aiming to become the third Indian to compete in Formula 1 after Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok, will be sharing the track with current Alpine driver Pierre Gasly who will be testing with Pirelli compounds for the 2026 season alongside other established drivers holding a super license.

Maini will be in the other car which will be used for the young driver test. A young driver is defined as someone with fewer than two Formula 1 starts.

Maini will be competing in his fourth Formula 2 season in 2026, effectively his last shot at a Formula 1 race seat for 2027.

A season in Formula 2 costs more than ₹20 crore while the budget is much higher for Formula 1.

Ahead of the final race weekend in Abu Dhabi, Maini is 16th in the drivers’ standings with 26 points.