# F1 testing surprise: why F1 drivers love new 2026 cars Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/motor-sport-f1-show-with-mark-hughes-415301/f1-testing-surprise-why-f1-drivers-love-new-2026-cars Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/motor-sport-f1-show-with-mark-hughes-415301/f1-testing-surprise-why-f1-drivers-love-new-2026-cars.md Podcast: [Motor Sport F1 Show with Mark Hughes](https://stenobird.com/podcast/motor-sport-f1-show-with-mark-hughes-415301) Published: 2026-01-29T16:09:02+00:00 Episode link: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/motorsportmagazine/e/697b593dfbdedf64045e5175/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/motor-sport-f1-show-with-mark-hughes-415301/episodes/f1-testing-surprise-why-f1-drivers-love-new-2026-cars Duration seconds: 2243 ## Resource The surprise verdict from the first days of 2026 Formula 1 testing; the mood at McLaren; how good really is Mercedes' power unit; and what next for Lewis Hamilton? In the very first episode of the Motor Sport F1 Show, Mark Hughes and Bryn Lucas explore what's going on behind the stories that really matter. Subscribe now for every weekly episode in what looks set to be a thrilling 2026 Formula 1 season, and tell us what you want to know from Mark Send us a message on social media or find this podcast at https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ and drop your questions in the comments: Mark will answer a selection of the best every week. Read Mark's column every Wednesday at https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/motor-sport-f1-show-with-mark-hughes-415301/episodes/f1-testing-surprise-why-f1-drivers-love-new-2026-cars/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/motor-sport-f1-show-with-mark-hughes-415301/f1-testing-surprise-why-f1-drivers-love-new-2026-cars.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.