McLaren could start slowly, Mercedes may set the pace, while newcomers – and returning heroes – add huge interest

A Formula 1 rules revolution is making cars lighter and smaller for 2026, with more electrical power. After the biggest changes in years, F1 teams are dealing with a whole new driving style and trying to find innovations that are within the letter of the rules.

Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Sona Maleterova, Ahmad AlShehab / The Athletic has live coverage from first round of the F1 Australian Grand Prix. Forget everything you thought you knew. That’s not a cliché — in 2026,

Formula One will undergo one of the biggest overhauls in its 75-year history in 2026. Arguably its biggest ever. Never before has there been such a fundamental redesign of both power units and chassis in the same season.

Five top car manufacturers supply the engines for 2026’s new generation of Formula One

Upon hearing a V12 engine for the very first time at a classic F1 car show at Brands Hatch in England, the sound reverberated through my body. The smell of being in a paddock is visceral, the oil and fuel hanging in the air as amateur racers proudly worked away on their cars before going onto the track.

Cadillac unveiled its first ever Formula 1 livery in an advert during the 2026 Super Bowl. The Ferrari-powered car, which has not yet been named, will be driven by veteran racers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas in the team's debut F1 season.

Although Formula 1 racing is known for being on the cutting edge of automotive engineering today, it didn't get started that way. When the cars lined up for the first modern Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1950 — as part of the first series to determine F1's ...