Fred’s Diary:

Le Mans, Goodwood, and Trying the 2026 F1 Car in the Sim!

The first thing to say is that I have driven a LOT of different cars lately. I’ll get to those in more detail later, but probably the most important car I’ve got to grips with is one that doesn’t technically exist yet.

Recently, together with the team at Brackley, we have been driving a model based around the 2026 regulations in the simulator.

The team has been putting in a great deal of work into next year and it has been cool to see that coming to life in the simulator. So many people are dedicated to making this process a successful one.

Hitting the ground running is everyone’s goal right now. We are learning and exploring together, and that is a really fun experience.

Speaking of fun experiences, that brings me nicely to Goodwood. Firstly, it’s such a pleasure to work with the heritage team at that event.

They are our most experienced mechanics who have been with the team for many years and watching them do what they do best is always special.

The Festival of Speed, just like in 2024, was awesome. 250,000 fans who share the same passion for motorsport in the same place, under a British summer heatwave – what more could you ask for?!

Getting to drive the W13 – the first F1 car I ever drove in Abu Dhabi in 2022 – was very cool.

Goodwood is all about history, and this year, I got up close and personal with some epic Mercedes cars from over the years.

All the classic cars are museum pieces, but it’s so cool that Mercedes put these on track for the fans to see them in their natural habitat.

Last year, in a social media video at Goodwood, I said if I could choose any car from Mercedes history to take up the hill, it would be the C11. Well, guess what car I got behind the wheel of this time around…

You don’t just get into the drivers’ seat and go in those things either, it took a lot of learning, and Goodwood isn’t exactly the place to go full throttle, but it was incredible to feel it.

That era of cars is known for the turbo boost, and I definitely got to feel that. One moment you have no power and the next it just kicks in!

Earlier in the day I got a bit of a practice run up the hill in the 1952 Le Mans-winning Mercedes 300 SLR.

Speaking of Le Mans, even though June feels like a lifetime ago already, I really enjoyed my second crack at La Sarthe this year.

Moving up to the Hypercar class this time around was special, it was a step up in terms of competition and fans – the whole event just gets so crazy when you’re in that top class.

We were pushing hard for two weeks to get everything out of the car, and I think we did the team proud, even though we DNF’d with eight hours to go.

We were up there fighting those who were contending for the win for much of the race and loved every single minute, especially the laps at night.

At night you lose all sense of everything. You’re doing 340km/h like you do in the day but when the sun has gone down you just have this tunnel vision that makes everything seem 100km/h faster.

I mentioned earlier that everything is quieter during shutdown, but that’s not the case for me.

I will obviously be taking some downtime, but I will also be doing my first half Ironman in France at the end of the break.

Swimming is my weakest area, but I’ve been working hard in the pool to get better. That is exactly why I am doing this, to challenge myself and get better every day. It’s the new things that keep me going.

It’s going to be hot, and I’m not looking forward to the swim (even if I have been training in the British sea to practice!)

As for the heat, I like to think I am well trained. Driving FP1 in Bahrain and driving a closed-roof Hypercar with no ventilation at Le Mans should serve me well.

Something that makes a big difference is your heart rate. If your heart rate is 120 or 180 beats per minute in a race car, you will feel completely different.

Your focus will also be different. Any training you can do to lower the heart rate and be more in control is something really useful. I believe that triathlon can help me with that.

When I’ve rested up from the Ironman, I’ll be looking at finishing the year as strong as I can. That means more intense sim work, and a few weekends trackside with the team in the garage.

Then two more IMSA races at Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. I have never raced at Indy, so that will be another new challenge.

Petit Le Mans is an event all endurance racers want to win, so that will be our goal.

That’s all from me for now. Three weeks without racing is never easy for us motorheads, so I hope you’re all finding something to help fill the time!

When we next catch up, we’ll be back on track and 2026 will be drawing ever closer. Now that IS something to look forward to.

Talk soon, Fred.