Formula 1 is revving up to start the 2026 season in Melbourne, Australia, on March 7.
The 2025 season proved to be an exciting year for F1, with the championship battle heading into the last race in Abu Dhabi between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
It ended with McLaren as the Constructors Champion and Lando Norris as the champion driver.
However, 2026 may prove to be another exciting year for the pinnacle of motorsport. A new street circuit has been added to the 24-race schedule in Madrid, making two races in Spain.
But most importantly, the biggest talking point this season is the regulation changes. The new rules provide a season of uncertainty as every team is adjusting to the new setups.
This season, cars are narrower and lighter in weight, which should increase speeds but also allow for more opportunities for close racing and overtaking in hopes of eliminating some of the processional races that often became boring to watch.
Active Aero is another new element added to the cars. Depending on where the car is on the track, they can adjust the angle of their front and rear wing elements, which means the Drag Reduction System is officially gone. Introduced in 2011, DRS allowed drivers to overtake when they were within a second of another driver on certain parts of the track. It gave them a boost to overtake by opening the rear-wing, reducing drag and giving them increased speed.
To accommodate the new hybrid engine and Active Aero, Overtake Mode is the new DRS. It gives the cars extra energy, allowing a driver to attack and apply pressure to the driver ahead when they are within a second.
Eleven teams and 22 drivers will take the grid this season with the entrance of Cadillac, the first team to join F1 since Haas in 2016. This marks the return of Sergio Pérez and Valterri Bottas, who were left without a seat last season. Overall excitement surrounds the team, but questions linger on how well they will adapt, especially in a season of regulation change.
Red Bull Racing has once again failed to commit to a balanced driver pairing. At the beginning of last season, four-time champion Max Verstappen was paired with Liam Lawson for two races before Lawson was demoted to Red Bull’s junior team, Racing Bulls, and Yuki Tsunoda was promoted to Red Bull. This season, Tsunoda is left without a seat and Isack Hadjar was promoted in his after a successful rookie season. Rookie Arvid Linblad joins Lawson at Racing Bulls. So far, Red Bull seems to be committed to this line-up for the long term, but in the past the chopping and changing to favor Verstappen above everything else has cost Red Bull in the constructors race.
Former Red Bull engineer Adrian Newey will have his first season with Aston Martin. Newey is known for his impressive championship-winning cars, which Aston Martin believe is a step in the right direction. However, worries arose after Aston Martin finished in last place, below Cadillac, in pre-season testing. Newey was meant to be the answer to all of Aston Martin’s problems, but it seems the team has more unresolved issues.
We can say goodbye to the bright green Kick Sauber car. Following the team’s acquisition, they have rebranded themselves as Audi F1 Team. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg will continue as the team’s drivers.
Mercedes driver George Russell is proving to be a favorite during pre-season testing, creating a threat for McLaren and reigning champion Lando Norris. Ferrari has high hopes for this season, as they also topped a day of pre-season testing. Lewis Hamilton faced a brutal season with Ferrari last year, missing out on his eighth championship. The British driver is currently in his 20th F1 season and still motivated, but is this his final shot at the coveted eighth?
Racing isn’t the only major change in F1, as there is a new official streamer. F1 TV Pro will integrate into Apple TV for subscribers. This change comes after the success of the movie “F1,” which was distributed by Apple Original Films.
F1 hopes it will attract more viewers, as anyone with an Apple TV subscription will automatically have access to all the races.
The opening race in Melbourne will air at 10 p.m. CST, March 7.
Can Lando Norris continue his championship campaign this season? Or will someone new rise to the top spot? The F1 season races until Dec. 6 in Abu Dhabi. This year could be another season down to the last lap.