Why hiding the first 2026 test is a wrong move by F1 teams
Keeping the first F1 2026 testing session private may protect appearances, but it also deprives the series of a rare opportunity to show how a new era truly begins
Most of you will know Simon Taylor as the man behind Motor Sport‘s ‘Lunch With’ series – one that has included 125 lunch-based interviews with the sport’s biggest names. He first sat down for ‘Lunch With’ in June 2006. The subject was Max Mosley and the pair ate at the Café de Paris where the then-president of the FIA ate “a tiny lobster mousse, green salad, still water and an espresso”.
As the issues rolled on Simon had lunch with a huge array of names from Tyler Alexander to Alex Wurz via Ross Brawn, Richard Petty, Ron Dennis and the late Chris Amon.
After 10 years of lunches Simon has decided to call it a day (he’ll still write for Motor Sport, but he’s stepping down from Lunch With) and to honour what Damien Smith describes as “the greatest series of interviews in motor sport publishing” we decided to sit the man himself down for a bite to eat. Want to know what all these big names were like to interview? Enjoy.
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