As Formula 1 gears up for the 2026 season, it marks the sport’s most dramatic shift in a decade, introducing new teams Cadillac and Audi, the return of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas and an overhaul of the defining technical regulations of recent years.

The biggest of these changes is the overhaul to the technical regulations. While the years since 2022 have been marked by the presence of aerodynamics on the underside of the cars – a period referred to as the ground effect era – starting from this year, car design will shift to be more nimble.

​​Regulation changes have made the cars significantly lighter, thinner and shorter and have placed an increased importance on “active aerodynamics” on the front and rear wings.

Drivers will be able to utilize moving components on the car’s front and rear wings to affect drag, creating room for new design philosophies. In turn, the floors of the cars–the main focus of development during the ground-effect era–will be partially flat, simplifying their design and leaving room for design development on active aerodynamics.

The Drag Reduction System will be replaced by the Manual Override System. It functions similarly to DRS in that it is activated at certain spots during a lap, but rather than reducing drag, the manual override mode will temporarily provide an electrical power boost to aid overtaking. The changes to the regulations overall will mean a drastically different looking Formula 1 car this year than the ones fans have been used to since 2022.

The grid has also undergone significant changes, one of which is the arrival of teams Cadillac and Audi. Audi will effectively replace the Sauber team, retaining the same drivers. However, Cadillac is an entirely new 11th team on the grid.

Under the guidance of Team Principal Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac hosts two notably experienced drivers in the form of Perez and Bottas. Whether their experience will be able to center Cadillac as a standout team in their early years, however, remains to be seen.

The last changes to the grid involve the Red Bull and Racing Bulls teams. The newest arrival is Arvid Lindblad, having risen through the junior ranks surprisingly quickly. He takes a seat next to Liam Lawson, as Isack Hadjar–the driver previously in the seat–is promoted to Red Bull Racing. 

Yuki Tsunoda’s challenging season last year led him to be demoted to reserve driver. Hadjar will be the seventh driver to step up to the challenge of being four-time champion Max Verstappen’s teammate.

Finally, fans can expect to see important new partnerships. Legendary aerodynamics engineer Adrian Newey has joined Aston Martin, and the team has additionally partnered with engine manufacturer Honda. 

Red Bull has also made a new partnership with Ford for their powertrains, an experimental move as the team begins manufacturing its own engines.

As attention turns to a new era of the sport, the 2026 season promises to shake things up in ways fans have not seen in years. The only certainty will be that this year, Formula 1 will look very different.