British GP or Le Mans Classic?

What the racing gods give with one hand they take with the other. Earlier this summer the FIA announced that the historic date clash between the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco GP would be remedied for 2026 by moving the principality weekend into June, rather than the traditional late-May date.

A few weeks later though and a new calendar clash appeared – this time perhaps not one that will make quite the same headlines: with the Le Mans Classic now set to be run annually instead of every other year it will take place on the same July weekend as the British GP. That was certainly the case this year – and will be in 2026 too – forcing the Venn diagram segment of fans who love modern F1 and the races of old equally, to choose between two incredible events.

“It is far too early to write-off the seven-time world champion”

I attended the Le Mans Classic this year (at the expense of Silverstone) and wasn’t disappointed. The sheer variety of each plateaux is unparalleled and imbued with a uniquely French atmosphere. I was ‘off-duty’ but Motor Sport was in attendance in a more official capacity too: we were partnering Alex Brundle, son of Martin but a successful LMP2 racer in his own right and F1TV commentator, as he took on the famous old circuit in his Ford GT40. His report of how he got on, which starts on page 118, also reveals how he had to re-learn the circuit after so many years of competing there in modern machinery. As he says: “In a classic racer, corners ‘sprout’ that you previously hadn’t noticed. The kinks on the run to Indianapolis are barely noticeable in an LMP car – but boy, do you have to think hard about those in a GT40.” You can watch a video of his races on our website as well.

Elsewhere in the issue we take a look at the two biggest stories of the current F1 season: the extraordinary drama behind the sacking of Christian Horner and Lewis Hamilton’s lacklustre start to his time at Ferrari. As Mark Hughes argues in his feature on page 64, the defenestration of Horner has been a long time coming – but it is hardly the end of the story. As for Lewis, it is too early to write-off the seven-time world champion; it will be next year rather than this one that defines his time at Ferrari. And already whispers are starting about how the coincidence of timings might just mean a Horner/Hamilton partnership at Maranello is not off the cards either. Those racing gods again.

Joe Dunn, editor
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