Indonesia sends home 2 Dutch nationals convicted of drug trafficking

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Two Dutch nationals imprisoned in Indonesia on drug trafficking convictions were repatriated to the Netherlands on Monday evening, following an agreement between the two countries.

Indonesian authorities handed over the two prisoners, including one who had been sentenced to death, to Dutch authorities at a prison in Jakarta, ahead of the evening flight.

The men wore baseball caps and bright green T-shirts at the handover. They were being treated for health problems, and the Netherlands had requested their repatriation on humanitarian grounds.

Indonesia's deputy minister for immigration and correctional coordination, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, said at a news conference in Jakarta that the two men would continue to serve their prison sentences in the Netherlands.

Siegfried Mets, 74, the prisoner on death row, was convicted of involvement in the shipment of 600,000 ecstasy pills from the Netherlands to Indonesia. He has been held in a prison in Jakarta since February 2008.

Another prisoner, Ali Tokman, 65, was taken into custody at Surabaya airport in December 2014 after customs officers found slightly more than 6 kilograms (13.5 pounds) of brown-colored MDMA, a psychoactive drug. He has served 11 years of a life sentence.

Indonesia, under President Prabowo Subianto's administration, has sent several foreign prisoners to their home countries under bilateral agreements. They included a Filipina who faced the death penalty for drugs, five Australians convicted of heroin trafficking, and two British nationals who also faced the death penalty and a life sentence for smuggling drugs to Indonesia.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug smuggling hub despite having some of the strictest drug laws in the world, in part because international drug syndicates target its young population.

About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including nearly 100 foreigners, the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections’ data showed last month. Indonesia’s last executions, of a citizen and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.

Dutch nationals facing death row Siegfried Mets, right, and serving life in prison, Ali Tokman, left, attend the handover ceremony between the representatives of Indonesian and Dutch government before their repatriation to the Netherlands, at Cipinang Prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Dutch nationals facing death row Siegfried Mets, right, and serving life in prison, Ali Tokman, left, attend the handover ceremony between the representatives of Indonesian and Dutch government before their repatriation to the Netherlands, at Cipinang Prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Dutch nationals facing death row Siegfried Mets, rear, and serving life in prison, Ali Tokman, left, attend the handover ceremony between the representatives of Indonesian and Dutch government before their repatriation to the Netherlands, at Cipinang Prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Dutch nationals facing death row Siegfried Mets, right, and serving life in prison, Ali Tokman, left, attend the handover ceremony between the representatives of Indonesian and Dutch government before their repatriation to the Netherlands, at Cipinang Prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Say goodbye to DRS, and hello to an electrical power boost.

Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the last time Formula 1 uses the Drag Reduction System overtaking aid, introduced in 2011. Next year, drivers will have to manage the car's systems more closely than ever with a more visible role for aerodynamic and electrical technology.

After a season-long title battle ended with Lando Norris' first title, here's what to expect in 2026:

The biggest regulation changes in years make cars shorter, narrower and lighter, with movable “active aerodynamics” — X-mode for straight-line speed, Z-mode for cornering — and more reliance on electric hybrid power.

The FIA's target was for electrical power to make up half of total output along with a traditional V6 turbo engine. Instead of DRS, drivers can deploy extra electrical power at key moments. That makes driving even more strategic but could lead to drivers lifting off the power and coasting on some straights to allow the electrical systems to harvest energy.

The FIA claims the rules emphasize driver skill but there have been mixed reviews from those who've tried 2026 designs in their teams' simulators.

Smaller, more agile cars could help overtaking but the fastest and slowest cars may be up to four seconds per lap apart on pace, tire supplier Pirelli has reported. In F1 terms, that's an eternity. Expect to see more engine failures as teams balance reliability with performance.

Could this be the year Lewis Hamilton finds his form again at Ferrari and chases an eighth title? Maybe not.

Even though he never got on with the 2022-25 cars, Hamilton told the BBC he was “not looking forward” to 2026 after the Las Vegas Grand Prix last month, yet another disappointment since he joined Ferrari.

Mercedes has designed some of F1's most dominant engines before, but its eye-catching “zero-pod” aerodynamic concept was a bust when the last regulation period began in 2022. Get both aspects right this time and George Russell could be a title contender after two wins in 2025. Mercedes also supplies engines to McLaren and Alpine.

Another team to watch is Aston Martin, which has its first car created with design great Adrian Newey in charge, now with Honda power, and is hoping it can make two-time champion Fernando Alonso an F1 race winner for the first time in 13 years. Williams too could make a step forward after abandoning its 2025 projects early to focus on 2026.

The F1 grid expands to 22 cars for the first time since 2016 as Cadillac becomes the 11th team with backing from General Motors.

The newest team will have two of the most experienced drivers as Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez return, with a combined 16 wins and 527 starts between them.

The American team has been taking lessons from NASA space programs and has a British boss who compares himself to an “inverse Ted Lasso” for the culture shock of working in U.S. auto racing.

British 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad will be the only rookie in 2026 at Racing Bulls. Eight of 10 existing teams have played it safe with the same driver lineup so the only other change is Isack Hadjar moving up to Red Bull to join Verstappen. Yuki Tsunoda drops into a reserve role.

The Madring is the one new circuit on the 2026 calendar. The Madrid street circuit takes over the Spanish Grand Prix title from Barcelona, which stays on the calendar as Spain gets a second race for the first time since 2012.

That means no space for Italy's second F1, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit, which has held five races since 2020.

The season's over but there's one more day of driving left in 2025. Tuesday sees a single day of testing in Abu Dhabi with teams using modified “mule” cars to try out next year's tires, along with F1's usual test day for young drivers.

After 2025's red-carpet season launch show in London, the start of the 2026 season will be low-key.

The new cars hit the track for the first time at a private test in Spain starting Jan. 26.

There are two more open testing sessions in Bahrain in February before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 8.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates after becoming a world champion after the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Crowd erupts as McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts on the podium after becoming the Formula One world champion following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, as the sun sets behind the track. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)