STORYLINES FOR THE 2026 SEASON

Last season we were treated to a mixture of highs and lows. The excitement certainly came in waves through outcomes of first-time podiums or questionable team calls. We said goodbye to Jack Doohan, Christian Horner, Helmut Marko, Yuki Tsunoda and hello to a new world champion in Lando Norris. 2025 also marks the end of the ‘downforce era’ as we transition swiftly into a brand-new set of car regulations. This brings on a whole new wave of excitement as the order reshuffles again and we have no idea what to expect this year.

The winter break has been shorter this year with teams already releasing their new liveries for the season. The Barcelona shakedown has occurred and was an exclusive test allowing teams 3 out of 5 days to drive their new designs on track. Despite the secrecy, fans have been treated with a few videos and images of the new cars online. While there were initial fears over the reliability of the new power units, the Barcelona shakedown has proven any doubts wrong with teams performing hundreds of laps in the days allocated. All but one team that is as Williams have suffered a setback and were not present in Barcelona. Bahrain is the next stop as the teams get two weekends to continue testing their new designs before the season officially starts in Australia.

A complete reset in team standings and car designs leave fans with a lot to talk about for the coming season. I for one, have a lot of stories I cannot wait to unfold as the season starts, but for this piece, let’s delve into three storylines for the season on my mind today.

New year, new regulations – will there be better racing this year?

 The biggest questions are, how are these new cars going to perform? And are we going to be able to see more racing?

2026 concept car

Every four to five years the sport encounters a car regulation overhaul, and this year can be said to be one of the biggest refurbishments in a while. F1 released a video explaining the technical changes which I have linked here. In summary though, this year the cars will be smaller and lighter, a higher ride height is required, there is a more balanced hybrid usage, advanced sustainable fuel usage and no more DRS. Instead of DRS (Drag reduction system), drivers have an ‘overtake button’ which will allow the rear wing flaps to be opened on the straights, however the driver does not need to be within 1 second of the driver in front of them. It can be used anywhere on the straights.  The boost button can also be activated giving them extra electrical energy which can be used anywhere on the lap.

We also welcome new power unit manufacturer ‘Red Bull Powertrains’ who have teamed up with Ford and we welcome Audi who will also be manufacturing their own power units. Ferrari will continue manufacturing for themselves as well as the teams Haas and Cadillac, while Mercedes will manufacture for themselves, McLaren, Alpine and Williams. Aston Martin have begun their new partnership with Honda and Adrian Newey.

These changes are certainly a fresh slate for all 11 teams this season; so which team will get it right and which team will struggle? It is hard to say now, but from the rumours swirling around the paddock, it seems that these cars are performing better so I can only hope this translates into better racing and more exciting overtaking opportunities.

Williams suffer an unfortunate déjà vu but will they be able to get back to the front of the midfield as the season progresses?

Unfortunately, after a comeback season, it is Williams who are behind on their development of the 2026 car. In 2019, the Williams team suffered devastating news that their car would not be ready for testing. While the last season saw a huge leap in progress, the British team have suddenly found themselves back in that same spot for 2026.

In a statement the team wrote that the cars would not be ready for Barcelona shakedown “following delays in the FW48 programme as we continue to push for maximum car performance”.

The rumours strongly suggest that the team had failed their FIA crash tests 3 times and have since had to amend the chassis to the car. This has led to an extensive weight gain of the car. This is a problem, as a significantly heavy car can leave them trailing behind the rest of the grid – something Alpine suffered in their 2024 season.

This set back is frustrating, but it does not seal their fate for the rest of the season as upgrades can be made. It does however put them behind the rest of the grid already in terms of data collection as they are the only team to have not taken part in testing. They were spotted recently doing a shakedown in Silverstone and they will need to ensure their testing in Bahrain go according to plan to be prepared for the first race of the season.

As the season progresses, it will be a story of whether James Vowles can bring the team back to the front of the midfield.

Will this be Charles Leclerc’s final season with Ferrari?

For now, no. But the questions were consistently present as the 2025 car got worse and worse to drive. The answer lies in whether Ferrari have produced a championship winning car for this era or not. Leclerc has remained loyal to the Ferrari brand through good and bad, but as the driver has matured and developed in terms of his talent, the cars and the team haven’t been able to accommodate.

He mentioned in a quote in December to the media that 2026 would be “now or never… so I really hope that we will start this new era on the right foot, because, yeah, it’s important for the four years after”. In October of 2025, his manager Nicholas Todt had said, “he has spent many seasons with Ferrari, and he needs a winning car now”.

Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

Despite everything being speculative, I do believe the signs are there that 2026 may be the make it or break it year for the Monegasque driver. If Ferrari don’t match up to his expectations, will we start hearing more talk of his management team speaking to other teams? If Charles Leclerc leaves Ferrari then what are the domino effects to occur? If how

ever Ferrari have produced a championship winning car, then are we going to witness the driver fight for the prestigious crown of world champion? We will just have to wait and see which way this story goes.

What else can we look forward to this season?

Let us not forget we have an extra team on the grid this year, F1 hasn't seen 11 teams competiting in a decade. Cadillac have worked hard to enter the sport and now we finally get to see Checo Perez and Valterri Bottas on the grid again.

Arvid Lindblad - Racing Bulls

18 year old Arvid Lindblad will be the new rookie on the grid joining Liam Lawson to race for visa cash app racing bulls. There has been a lot of impressive talk about the young driver and he will definetely be a driver to watch out for - especially with how well the rookies have been performing in the last few seasons. Isaac Hadjar will be racing alongside Max Verstappen for Red Bull Racing and it will be interesting to see how well he can handle the second seat that his predecessors could not. As well as this of course the orange army will be very curious as to whether Max Verstappen can win his championship crown back.

George Russel - Mercedes

If Mercedes are as good as they have been preaching, then could we see George Russel and Kimi Antonelli fight for the drivers championship? This has certainly been a hot topic that many fans are curious about. If the Mercedes engine is the winning power unit then can McLaren retain their constructors championship streak. Will Lando Norris manage to maintain his championship crown or will Oscar Piastri come back to the grid a stronger driver and win it all? A reset means, anything is possible.