2026 Watch

[ched999uk]

First livery launch from Red Bull at 03:00 16th Jan UK time.
I doubt it will be interesting though as it's just the livery.

I'm interested to see Cadillac launch on 8th Feb as they don't have a 2025 car to tart up to display the livery. I would be surprised if it was a real or even mock up of the car, I'm expecting it to just be a digital render.

Only 50 days to go to the start of the 2026 season!

 

[Sportista]

Obviously nothing to learn from the 2 RedBull launches in terms of their cars, the liveries look ok and in RedBull’s case it’s probably about time we had a change - although honestly I probably preferred last year’s version of both. RedBull seem to have gone back to a glossy paint, which is interesting because I thought one benefit of the matte finish was weight saving.

With the focus being on the Powertrains, I did think that the wording being used was positive, they seem somewhat confident they’ve done a decent job performance wise, but realistic that reliability/performance longevity is going to be a challenge in the short term. In terms of this being the first car from RedBull 3.0, I think that’s what success looks like this year, producing a quick package and being consistently near the front, but likely not in championship contention, because of a high attrition rate.

 

[ched999uk]

Obviously nothing to learn from the 2 RedBull launches in terms of their cars, the liveries look ok and in RedBull’s case it’s probably about time we had a change - although honestly I probably preferred last year’s version of both. RedBull seem to have gone back to a glossy paint, which is interesting because I thought one benefit of the matte finish was weight saving.

From what I have read they are going to have difficulty getting anywhere close to the minimum weight limits. So I would agree that it's surprising that they have gone for a glossy finish. It seems like it will be gloss too as Max even commented on it being gloss and he likes the shine.

 

[ched999uk]

Just noticed quite a few teams are not officially launching cars or liveries till after the first test (closed doors but what's the betting some images come out).
The first is a behind-closed-doors event in Barcelona from January 26-30, before two tests follow in Bahrain from February 11-13 and 18-20.

 

[Mark Blow]

Lewis’s race engineer Riccardo Adami has now been made the new Manager of the Ferrari driving academy so Lewis will hopefully get someone who knows what they are doing.. Come over to the Red side Bono, you know it makes sense.

 

[Sportista]

Just noticed quite a few teams are not officially launching cars or liveries till after the first test (closed doors but what's the betting some images come out).
The first is a behind-closed-doors event in Barcelona from January 26-30, before two tests follow in Bahrain from February 11-13 and 18-20.

I reckon we’ll see quite a lot of testing / stealth liveries, with the first test being behind closed doors I assume there won’t be any contractual obligations to run sponsor logos.

 

[Sportista]

Lewis’s race engineer Riccardo Adam has now been made the new Manager of the Ferrari driving academy so Lewis will hopefully get someone who knows what they are doing.. Come over to the Red side Bono, you know it makes sense.

I assume this has been the plan for a while, but they decided not to change mid-season and have kept it quiet to avoid speculation. Adami was pretty experienced, and had worked reasonably effectively with Vettel (twice) and Sainz - unless Ferrari hire someone externally you’d assume the replacement will be less experienced, but maybe will gel better with Hamilton.

 

[Sportista]

Before info starts leaking out I figured it might be fun to speculate on what might happen this year. I put my RedBull hopes/expectations above, but here’s the rest of my wild guesses.

Common wisdom suggests that the Merc PU will be the benchmark, McLaren stopped development early last year and I see no reason they’ll slip back from having a leading chassis, I think they’ll fight for the Championship and that Piastri will beat Norris.

Merc never seemed to get on top of the ground effect cars, but there’s good talent in the team still, if someone challenges McLaren for the championships I think it will be them.

Ferrari also gave upon their 2025 early, so other than being Ferrari, they don’t really have any excuses. I half expect them to start well and fade, the other half of me thinks they’re actually in a bit of a shambles and expects them to underperform expectations and be in a similar position to last year.

RedBull put a lot into 2025, I think they’ll start slow (say around Williams) and unreliable - the key will be if they’ve missed something fundamental and can’t change in season, if not I think they’ll develop over the year to trouble the front runners.

Williams I think will lead class B, they’re on a good trajectory from a team perspective, should have a good engine and I think the formula will suit Sainz who will prove to be a real advantage for them.

I had hoped Aston would join the leaders at this time, but they’ve really stagnated since 2023 and it feels like they’re still trying to find the right recipe for the premium ingredients they now have and the wavering Honda commitment in the early engine development phases likely means they’re still playing catch up. I expect them to be competitive in class B, but if there’s a step change in competitiveness coming I think it’s not before 2027.

Audi feels like a really safe project, and good progress was finally made last year, but they had a really good opportunity to build Sauber up in 2024 and 2025 and it seems like they’re wasted about half of that. Safe in F1 usually means uncompetitive and I think we’ll see something that’s ok for Sauber, but a bit disappointing viewed through an Audi lens. I think they’ll make good progress through the next few years, but wouldn’t be surprised if they struggle to make the jump to Class A.

Haas, seems to slowly be morphing into Toyota, but I think we won’t see the effects of that yet this year. Has become a solid outfit under Komatsu and it’s a key year for Bearman, I think they’ll be fighting with Audi and Aston.

RB - last year’s car was great and Hadjar proved to be a big asset. Success would be a Class B version of RedBull, but I think that will prove beyond them this year and they’ll generally trail class B.

Alpine - who knows? Merc engine will surely be a plus and they focussed early on 2026. Could be anywhere behind Williams in class B, but - similar to Ferrari, I just fear things aren’t right and I think most likely towards the back fighting with RB.

Cadillac - I’m expecting them to be Class C on their own this year. To be on a trajectory where it seems possible that’s just a 1 year thing, would be amazing, most likely they’re in for a couple of years of public testing.


I look forward to laughing at how spectacularly wrong this was come the end of the year!

 

[Saf]

I know nothing about the sport but my mate works for Red Bull, he said this is the new car for 2026

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[Number 1 Jasper]

I know nothing about the sport but my mate works for Red Bull, he said this is the new car for 2026

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Hello Saf .
Hope you’re keeping well

 

[Sportista]

I know nothing about the sport but my mate works for Red Bull, he said this is the new car for 2026

You must log in or register to see images

Really confused as to what this really is - it’s not the car they revealed for 2026 (which is acknowledged as a concept and not their actual car). It’s the 2026 livery, but the majority of the car looks like one from (early in) the 2022 ruleset, front wing, rear wing, floor and the wheels are all designs from that era. In terms of the upper body, the side pod inlets look a bit like the 2023 design, the side pods themselves could be basic versions from any era, but don’t have any traits RedBull used in the last ruleset, the upper body however has elements of a 2026 car with an apparent shark fin.

I know they did have an event at Milton Keynes alongside the Detroit launch, so my best guess is that it’s something they’ve cobbled together from old parts for that. The other option is AI, but if it’s AI generated it is really good and I assume that’s your mate so it would also be bespoke. Sadly I’m doubtful their 2026 car will look like this at all (please come back and laugh at me I’m totally wrong and you do have an amazing scoop!).

 

[ched999uk]

I'm a little confused by the specs of the electrical system:
MGU-K Power: Increases dramatically from 120kW to 350kW (around 475 hp).
Energy Recovery (Regen): Doubled to 8-9 Megajoules (MJ) per lap during braking.
Energy Store (Battery): Capacity around 9 MJ, with a focus on a minimum weight of 35kg.
Power Split: A 50/50 balance between the combustion engine (400kW) and the electric system (350kW).

Here is my confusion:
9MJ = 2.5Kwh
If the MGU-K is rated at 350Kw that means the battery will only give full power for 2.5/350 = 0.007 of an hour = 25.5 seconds.
At a track like Monza, 80% is full throttle and in 2025 pole lap was about 78 seconds which gives about 62 seconds at full throttle.
So with a 2.5Kw battery only able to achieve 25.5 seconds that leaves 37 seconds just on the ice engine at about half power!

Any thoughts?

 

[Sportista]

I think this is really complicated, with lots of interactions with the effects of the active aero.

Remember an accelerator pedal isn’t a request for power, it’s a request for torque. 100% pedal is give me all the torque available (mapped) in the current condition. At different speeds the proportion will be different (low speed mostly from motor, high speed mostly from engine). The 50/50 number is just a figure at peak power.

It maybe helps to think about an engine only formula and fuel as an energy flow. As you exit the corner you floor the throttle, you add fuel and as the engine speed increases you add it more frequently, so more energy is flowing into the engine, the energy flow isn’t constant, but the pedal demand is.

 

[ched999uk]

Just trying to have more of a look into this stuff and found this:

• Fuel Efficiency: The cars will use 100% sustainable fuels, with a reduced fuel load of approximately 70kg, down from 100kg.

I hadn't realised that they had cut the fuel by 30%! That's quite a bit although we don't really know how much they actually used last year.
I also read that during the pre season testing they don't have to use the synthetic fuels! I would be they will though as it's false test using 'normal' fuel. Wouldn't they feel stupid to arrive at first race with synthetic fuel and have issues!!!!

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

All I know is my head hurts .

 

[Big Ern]

With the way the engines work it's going to be an interesting first few races, then it'll probably turn into a bit of a procession. No idea at all about the running order, until we see them on track properly it's all speculation fueled on rumour.

 

[ched999uk]

Reading up and there are a few interesting rules.
The battery power isn't allowed to be used on a start until the speed is above 50kph.
The battery power usage drops with speed, at 340kph (211mph) it drops to zero unless you are within 1 sec of the car in front and using the overtake button them power doesn't start dropping till about 340kph and drops to zero at 350kph (217mph).

 

[Sportista]

F1 Fuel has essentially been pump fuel for ages, I guess with these manufactured fuels they can be a lot more energy dense, which is why the fuel mass has decreased. It’s a good thing for the weight of the cars at least.

The thing about having to use the combustion engine at low speed is interesting, there’s quite a lot you could do from an efficiency perspective if you didn’t need the low end torque and could use the motor instead.

 

[ched999uk]

F1 Fuel has essentially been pump fuel for ages, I guess with these manufactured fuels they can be a lot more energy dense, which is why the fuel mass has decreased. It’s a good thing for the weight of the cars at least.

I believe that they will now measure fuel flow in energy units (kJ I think). So they have closed the loophole with fuel density vs energy density.
The regs are very complex re how much energy can de used and when. Some of it is vehicle speed related, some is how close you are to the car in front etc...

 

[TopClass]

Not sure how much to read into it but some (unverified) rumour that Audi used 3 PUs on their shakedown last week due to reliability issues.

There was chatter that Cadillac (Ferrari PU) may have had a bit of challenge too.

Might all just be a slow January giving rise to BS stories but one to monitor once we go testing.

Enjoying the break from it all actually so be nice to see what the initial picture looks like once they go to race one.