Formula 1 Returns: What Can We Expect in 2026?
Image credit: Audi F1 Media Centre
When the lights go out signalling the start of the Australian Grand Prix and the 2026 Formula 1 Season, it will have been just ninety-one days since last year’s season finale in Abu Dhabi. But it will have also been 1,449 days since the start of the 2022 season in Bahrain that brought with it the possibility of something drastically new in Formula 1, as this year does, as a new set of regulations were brought to life.
Looking back, it’s interesting to note some similarities to what’s on our minds in 2026. Ferrari looked to have cracked the formula for success, Haas appeared to be on an upward trajectory and both McLaren and Red Bull appeared to be very firmly in the mix. Since then though, Max Verstappen has won three World Championships, Red Bull pulled off the most dominant season in history and McLaren went from zero to hero as they transitioned from mid-field contender to back-to-back Constructor’s Champions and won the World Championship with Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari and Carlos Sainz moved to Williams while established drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were unceremoniously cast aside as a new stable of drivers, including the likes of Kimi Antonelli and Ollie Bearman entered the picture. George Russell, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri are now all multiple Grand Prix winners and 2023 saw Fernando Alonso back on the podium on multiple occasions.
Still under the firm control of Liberty Media and Stefano Dominicali, Formula 1 celebrated its seventy-fifth birthday and continued to grow, as did the fanbase, as teams now became worth over a billion dollars. Miami and Las Vegas became the latest additions to the F1 calendar as the sport built on its strengthening foundations in America while traditional circuits such as Spa, Imola and Zandvoort came under threat. Fred Vasseur took over at Ferrari, Christian Horner was fired from Red Bull and Adrian Newey was given the reins both of the team and the car design at Aston Martin. As ever, the only constant in Formula 1 is change. Needless to say things didn’t pan out as anyone was expecting them to when F1 got underway four years ago.
Image credit: Mercedes F1 Media Centre
So what can we expect this time around in 2026? That’s the million dollar question.
Once again, Ferrari appears to have gotten their act together and both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc look resurgent. Either driver in their prime is a scary prospect for their competitors - but the potential of both of them at the same time is downright terrifying. That being said, with the exception of Aston Martin who appear currently set for another tough season, every team on the grid looks like they have an ace or two up their sleeves. Red Bull are now powered by Ford, Audi has absorbed Sauber and taken the team on as its own and we even have a brand new team on the grid in the form of Cadillac. Bottas and Perez return to the fold with the aforementioned American outfit while Arvid Lindblad steps into Racing Bulls as the sole rookie for the year ahead.
The schedule for the year is set to be another long one - but we may yet see further changes there too. Madrid makes its Formula 1 debut with a street race in September while the recent conflict in the Middle East means that both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, at least, are at risk. If they don’t go ahead, might we see the return of circuits like Mugello and the Nurburgring to fill in the gap?
Image credit: Red Bull Content Pool
On top of that, just what kind of impact will the new regulations have on the pecking order in 2026?
We just don’t know yet and we may not find out until the summer break at the earliest, especially with the recent news of the changes to come for the compression ratios that got the entire paddock talking in pre-season testing. Energy saving and strategy appear to be more crucial than ever if teams and drivers want to succeed. If so, here’s hoping we get to see some more outrageously brilliant strategic moves from the mind of Hannah Schmitz play out on track.
But how will that mesh with the individual abilities of the drivers in the cars? Will experience be the natural advantage over youth or will the opposite be true? Will Formula 1 become a technical arms race where the most advanced parts make the difference instead of the drivers?
Image credit: Haas F1 Media Centre
In the wise words of Murray Walker, the only thing we know for certain this year, as in any other, is that “Anything happens in Grand Prix racing and it usually does.”
For me, that means once again hoping for a tight Championship battle between multiple teams - and not just the top dogs. It means Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin somehow figuring out their woes and fighting back in style to deliver the Spaniard his first win since 2013. It means Williams fighting for podiums regularly while Haas get their first.
It means getting genuinely excited for the weekend to arrive so that the next chapter in the Formula 1 saga can be witnessed and being utterly consumed by all the details of what’s happening on and off track. New winners, shock results, intense battles and proper old school racing where team orders don’t get in the way - that’s what I, and many others, would love to see in 2026.
Image credit: Audi F1 Media Centre
As always, much like being a Ferrari fan, we’ll enter the season with a renewed sense of hope and optimism for the year to come, and then take everything that unfolds one weekend at a time. But maybe - just maybe - this year as Formula 1 fans is going to be the best one yet. The good news is, there’s not long to find out.