New Year, New Everything
We're coming up on the start of the 2026 season of Formula 1, and this year should be interesting. There are the usual driver changes, plus there is the addition of a new team. There will be a total of 11 teams and 22 drivers on the grid this year, for the first time since 2012, when there were 12 teams and 24 cars. Surely even bigger is the regulation changes for 2026, which are already a topic of controversy, but more on that farther down.
New Teams and Driver Lineups
First let's run through the 11 teams and their 22 drivers for 2026.
Team | Drivers |
Alpine | Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto |
Aston Martin | Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll |
Audi | Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg |
Cadillac | Sergio Perez, Valterri Bottas |
Ferrari | Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton |
Haas | Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman |
McLaren | Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri |
Mercedes | Kimi Antonelli, George Russell |
Racing Bulls | Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad |
Red Bull | Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar |
Williams | Alexander Albon, Carlos Sainz Jr. |
New Rules and Regulations
The cars are changing this year. For one thing, the chassis are a bit smaller. They've grown quite a bit over the decades, but now we're seeing that dialed back in favor of being lighter and more agile. The wheelbase is being reduced by 200mm, and the width is being reduced by 100mm. Minimum weight is also being reduced by 30kg to 770kg. Narrower front wings, narrower floors, and removal of the front wing arches aim for significant reduction in aerodynamic drag. Floors are being simplified to be flatter, with the effect of reducing downforce by 30%. DRS is being replaced with active aero, adjusting wing angles automatically for reduced drag on straights and more downforce in corners.
Power units are going to a 50/50 hybrid with 50% coming from the ICU and 50% electric. DRS is being replaced with an overtake mode, whereby a driver gets an added electrical boost for one lap if within a second of the car ahead, which can be used all at once or in multiple bursts. There is also a boost mode, wherewith the driver can deploy additional battery power for either overtake or for defense, but with a limit on total energy.
Hot Topic
The big point of controversy, as of this writing, involves a loophole evidently being exploited by Mercedes and Red Bull. Now, let's not pretend that exploiting loopholes is a new thing. Teams are always looking for an edge over the competition, and they are more than happy to exploit loopholes or for creative interpretations of the rules. A big one was the "double diffuser" in 2009, where all the teams save for Brawn GP were present for regulation meetings and understood the rules as intended, whereas Brawn just took the notes and interpreted based on technical wording, as I recall it. This resulted in them coming up with a different rear end from the other teams, effectively giving them a lot more diffuser for significant downforce gains.
This time the loophole involves compression ratios. They are supposed to be limited to a 16:1 compression ratio, but use of materials that expand when hot allows for compression closer to 18:1 under race conditions. The idea here is to technically comply when tested cold, but then gain extra power under race conditions. As of this writing, the FIA is to meet on January 22 to discuss this issue with technical experts representing all 2026 manufacturers.
What to Expect
I have no expectations, really. It's not exactly a clean slate but with the regulation changes I wouldn't wager a guess at how the teams will stack up when they hit the track in a couple months. We haven't even reached the pre-season testing dates yet, and I don't read too much into pre-season testing results. In my experience, they don't seem to be a very good indicator of relative performance come the season proper. As cliche as it is, only time will tell, but I can't wait to see how things play out.
