F1’s new regulations that were brought in for the 2026 season have received mixed reviews so far, but the start of the 2026 season has been much more exciting than the whole of 2025!
Ahead of the season, new rules were brought in both on the power unit side of things, and when it comes to the actual cars.
The hybrid power units now have triple the amount of electrical energy than they did in 2025, making it more important for drivers to harvest as much energy as possible via their MGU-K, and more battery management responsibility has been placed on the drivers.
This has led to complaints from the likes of Max Verstappen, who has said – among plenty of other things – that the new cars are like ‘Formula E on steroids’, they’re ‘not fun’ to drive and that F1 is becoming like ‘Mario Kart’.
But come on, who doesn’t like Mario Kart?
The fact is that Verstappen’s grumblings are from a man who is currently sat down in ninth in the drivers’ championship and looking like he has no chance of claiming a fifth world championship title. Of course he would love for the regulations to change so that Red Bull have a chance to catch up to the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
It’s the same logic that has caused Lewis Hamilton – who is driving a much-improved Ferrari in 2026 – to say that it is the ‘best racing’ he has been a part of in his long, illustrious F1 career.
F1 2026 is probably somewhere in between those two statements, but it’s a hell of a lot more exciting than 2023, 2024 (barring the off-track chaos) and 2025.
If we just stay away from the contentious issue of the power units for now, F1’s decision to make cars smaller, lighter and more nimble is absolutely paying off.
These aerodynamic tweaks were designed to allow closer racing between the cars, while also encouraging more overtaking, particularly around narrow street circuits.
We haven’t had any bona fide street circuits on the 2026 calendar as of yet, but we have already seen cars able to run closely behind one another much better than in 2025 and, crucially, we have seen more overtakes at all three of the grands prix so far compared to the same events in 2025.
At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, there were 125 overtakes, while the 2025 event saw just 45.
The Japanese GP has been one of the most boring races of the season in each of the past few years – with 2025 seeing just 28 overtakes – yet even on this circuit in 2026 we saw a thrilling race with 106 overtakes.
What’s more, all four races that have taken place so far have seen multiple lead changes, unlike in 2025 when so many of the races were blitzed by whoever started on pole. Yes I know all three of the grands prix so far have been won by the pole sitter, but lead changes have been a feature of each of the races, and Kimi Antonelli had to recover from sixth in Japan.
I also think that we should enjoy it while it lasts, because the 2022 season saw similar close racing between drivers and lead changes galore at the start of the year, but as drivers got used to the new regulations and learned that they needed to manage their tyres a bit more, we started seeing more ‘normal’ racing. That will happen in 2026, too, as the drivers become more and more knowledgeable on their new cars with each passing race weekend.
Power unit concerns
Of course, there is the argument that drivers should not have to manage their battery and should be racing flat out all of the time.
But that’s never been a thing in F1. Whether it be for fuel management, tyre management or harvesting energy to a battery, F1 drivers have always had to manage a 60-odd lap grand prix.
The latest super clipping and lift and coast measures that we are seeing are just more of that, although admittedly it is disheartening to see those methods of management even in qualifying.
Throwing another aspect into the mix to try and throw F1 drivers off their game is something we should always look to try and do, they are the 22 best racers in the world, things should not be easy and familiar for them.
The same goes when it comes to the geniuses who are creating the power units back at the factory. Give them something that will force them to come up with solutions to stay ahead of the rest of their rivals. We know Ferrari can build a high-performance petrol-powered V10 engine. Give them a challenge, like building a 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid that has 350kW-worth of electrical power, and an internal combustion engine that runs entirely off sustainable fuels.
There’s also the argument of environmental impact, and how these new power units release much less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than even the 2025 power units, as F1 tries to reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2030.
Forcing power unit manufacturers to think about how to make such high-performance, reliable power units that can run off 100 per cent sustainable fuels will only benefit us and our planet, with a lot of the new technology being able to be transferred to road cars.
Drivers’ safety concerns need addressing by the FIA
So far, this piece has just focused on the enjoyment levels of F1 for fans and the spectacle of the sport.
But last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix highlighted that some changes must be made to the new regulations for safety reasons.
The closing speeds that we have between a car that has boost mode activated and a car that is harvesting energy are too radical, and could cause some potentially dangerous situations for the drivers.
Oliver Bearman’s crash in Suzuka highlighted this. Bearman appeared to be caught out by how quickly his car caught up to the back of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, whose car was harvesting energy at a usually high-speed section of the track.
In order to avoid Colapinto, Bearman swerved onto the grass, but this caused his car to spiral out of control and into the barriers.
Key F1 figures such as Carlos Sainz and Martin Brundle have called on the FIA to make the necessary changes to the rules in order to protect the drivers, and F1’s governing body are meeting on April 9 to discuss what changes need to be made.
I just hope that we do not go back to the kind of frustratingly boring racing that we had in 2025, and that a sensible balance can be found between safety and excitement.
Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.
If you’re a Mercedes F1 reserve driver then look away, because a Hollywood star has already volunteered themselves to replace George Russell, should the need arise.
Another race weekend, another hoard of celebrities ushered through the F1 paddock and at the most recent Japanese Grand Prix it was the turn of the ‘Super Mario’ cast.
A-list stars such as Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Pratt and Jack Black were all in attendance and treated to tip-top hospitality, with Taylor-Joy sharing enough tit-bits about Lewis Hamilton to sustain Team LH through the spring break.
Jack Black on the other hand, was…well…his usual buoyant self as he bounded about the paddock, eventually ending up back in the Mercedes garage to watch the race.
And it was here where Black volunteered himself as a replacement for Russell, should Mercedes need him of course.
Black was presented with Russell’s helmet, over which a large amount of fuss and noise was made, and the actor said: “If you need to change driver, I’m the guy. I’ve got the helmet. I’m ready to go.”
Mercedes have mastered the wholesale regulation changes, just like they did in 2014, and their drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli look set for a drivers’ championship battle much like the old Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg battles.
But unlike in 2014, Mercedes’ dominance this time around might be short lived, and the likes of Ferrari and McLaren could well have caught up to them as early as the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
And that’s because of a double whammy heading their way from the FIA, which could just impact the whole 2026 season and beyond.
The off-season ahead of 2026 was filled with reports that Mercedes had found a trick within their power unit regarding geometric compression ratios, which is said to be worth around 0.3 seconds per lap.
While Mercedes boss Toto Wolff tried to downplay it and suggest that it was only worth two of three brake horsepower (bhp), Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said that it was more like 20-30 bhp.
The trick involves being able to have the geometric compression ratio at the previously allowed 18:1 while the engine was running, but then come down to the new allowed rate of 16:1 when the power unit was at an ambient temperature.
FIA sporting regulations at the start of the season conceded that the geometric compression ratio would only be measured on the cars at ambient temperatures.
However, following a vote between the five power unit manufacturers in February which only required a 4-1 majority, the sporting regulations were changed to state that the ratios would be measured at both ambient and operational temperatures from June 1 onwards.
That means that Mercedes are having to change their power unit in time for the Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place on June 7.
If reports are right that this is worth 0.3 seconds per lap, then a huge chunk of Mercedes’ advantage over their rivals will be wiped out, although the rule change will also affect their customer teams McLaren, Alpine and Williams.
But this isn’t the only bit of possible bad news for Mercedes.
ADUO
Ahead of the 2026 season, it was announced by the FIA that struggling power unit manufacturers would be given a safety net of the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO), which allows them to bring upgrades at three different periods within the F1 season.
These periods occur after races six, 12 and 18, meaning that the first opportunity will come after the Monaco GP and ahead of the Spanish GP in mid-June.
It has not been officially confirmed which of the power unit manufacturers will receive this ADUO opportunity just yet, but reports in Italian media this week have suggested that Ferrari will be one of those to be given the opportunity to bring upgrades.
According to Article 4 of Appendix 4 of the new FIA technical regulations, a manufacturer qualifies for the upgrades if their: “ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) Performance Index is at least two per cent but less than four per cent below the best-performing ICE.”
This would give Ferrari a great opportunity to make gains on Mercedes, and there is every reason to suggest that Mercedes really need to maximise their results at the upcoming Miami and Canadian Grands Prix in order to maintain their comfortable position in the constructors’ championship.
Things might be looking rosy for the Silver Arrows right now, but that could all be about to change.
Spending €120,000 on a helmet is a bold move, even though F1 lids aren’t cheap at the best of times – somewhere in the 4-7k range every time a driver needs a new one.
However…what if that helmet had actually belonged to a driver, and you were buying it as a collector’s item? And what if the proceeds were going to charity? And what if, say, you were worth about €350m?
All of this is to say, Alpine F1 supremo Flavio Briatore bought Charles Leclerc’s helmet at a charity auction in Monaco, and Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari team-mate seemed to find the whole thing incredibly funny.
Leclercs get unique wedding gift
The event on Thursday was the Goodwill Ambassadors Award Gala, where Leclerc was honoured with this year’s Goodwill Ambassador Award.
The Ferrari driver was greeted at the gala by Prince Albert II, with whom he has crossed paths a number of times before (there is, it turns out, a pretty small Monegasque social scene).
The prince also had a surprise gift for Leclerc and his new bride Alexandra – a miniature Ferrari replica of the car from Stewart Little 2 that the new Mrs Leclerc had posted a picture of online to mark their wedding.
How the other half live, eh? Spending a decade’s rent on a driver’s helmet (when he does not, has not, and will not drive for your team), getting custom wedding gifts from princes, and going to galas? F1 hasn’t forgotten its roots as a plaything for the insanely wealthy after all!
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