A new season of Formula 1 is upon us, and thanks to new technical regulations and the introduction of a completely new team to the grid, 2026 is bound to surprise even the most hardcore fans.

Where to find it: Keep up with all the action, from the first race weekend in Australia to the final round in Abu Dhabi, right here:

This year ushers in an entirely new era in Formula 1 due to significant changes in technical regulations. Cars for this season are smaller, lighter and will sport completely new engines.

These engines will now use more power from the battery, with an almost even split between combustion and electric power. This means that all teams will start nearly from scratch in car development, making the start of the season extra exciting: Who will manage to squeeze the most power out of these new units?

The new engines and car designs also allow for new strategic opportunities. For example, the front and rear wings of the cars are now active, meaning they can open to offer more straight-line speed or close to give more grip in corners. Drivers are in control of the change in specific sections of every track.

Also in drivers’ hands are the Boost, Overtake and Recharge controls. Using the onboard battery, drivers can press the boost button to get more power from the engine. They can choose to deploy this boost anywhere they want, to either attack or defend.

When a car is within one second of the car in front of them, Overtake mode becomes available, giving drivers a little more speed so they can... well, overtake! While this sounds like the DRS system of previous years, there is one big difference. With DRS, there were multiple points on each track where that one-second gap was measured. With Overtake, there is only one measuring point per track, giving drivers more control over when to deploy the extra power throughout the lap.

Finally, there’s a Recharge mode, which will use engine and braking power to recharge the battery for use in the previously mentioned modes.

For the first time in a decade, there will be more than ten teams on the starting grid, with the introduction of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team – yes, that Cadillac. What may be even more surprising is that the team recruited two veteran drivers that F1 fans are sure to recognise: Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. Both drivers have illustrious histories at top teams: Mercedes and Red Bull, respectively.

Another new name, though not quite a new team, is Audi. The German car manufacturer is the new owner of Kick Sauber, now renamed to Audi Revolut F1 Team. Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto remain their drivers, but the car is powered by an Audi-built engine, making them one of the new engine manufacturers on the grid. This year also sees Red Bull switching to its own engine, which is developed in collaboration with Ford.

Finally, the only other new name on the grid is Arvid Lindblad, who will take a seat in a Racing Bull car, while ex-Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar has been promoted to Red Bull to be Max Verstappen’s teammate, replacing Yuki Tsunoda.