Formula 1 2026 Season

2026 brings one of F1's biggest rule resets in years. The cars are shorter, lighter and nimbler; the power units split roughly 50/50 between combustion and electric power and run on Advanced Sustainable Fuels; DRS is replaced by Overtake Mode; and active aerodynamics adjust the wings between corners and straights.

Overtake Mode replaces DRS. When a driver is within one second of the car ahead, they can deploy a burst of extra electrical power to help attack, used all at once or spread across a lap. It is designed to make overtaking more skill-based than the old rear-wing flap.

Two. Audi enters as a works team after taking over Sauber, with its own power unit and the same drivers as before, Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Cadillac debuts as an 11th team using Ferrari power units, the first eleventh team on the grid since 2016, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez.

Active aerodynamics let cars change the front and rear wing between a high-downforce Corner Mode and a low-drag Straight Mode depending on where they are on track. It replaces the fixed-wing philosophy and works alongside Overtake Mode to shape the racing.

Eleven, up from ten, thanks to Cadillac's arrival. That is the largest grid in years and the first time an eleventh team has raced since 2016, meaning 22 full-time cars.

Not fully. The 2026 power units are hybrids that draw about half their power from electricity and half from the internal combustion engine, which runs on 100% sustainable fuel. So they are far more electrified than before, but still hybrids, not pure EVs.

It combines a sweeping technical rule change, new-look cars and racing mechanics, with the arrival of two major manufacturers (Audi and Cadillac). That mix scrambles the competitive order, which teams nail the new rules first is the season's central question.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) leads the 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship with 219 points after 11 rounds (through the Hungarian Grand Prix, July 26), 50 points clear of Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who sits second on 169. Antonelli finished third in Hungary, solid damage control on a weekend McLaren won. In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes lead on 379 points from Ferrari (307) and McLaren (220). The season is now in the summer break. Sources: RacingNews365, Forbes, Crash.net.

Lando Norris (McLaren) won the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring (Round 11, July 26), his first victory of the season, the twelfth of his career and his first since becoming World Champion. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second and championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) third after fighting back through the 70-lap race. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line fourth but a five-second penalty for pit-lane speeding dropped him to fifth, behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. It was the last race before the summer break. Sources: formula1.com, GPFans, The Race.

With the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, August 21-23, 2026 (Round 12 of 22). It is a milestone weekend twice over: the first Sprint weekend ever held at Zandvoort, and the circuit's final F1 race for now, as the Dutch GP leaves the calendar after 2026. Sources: formula1.com, RacingNews365, dutchgp.com.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 F1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on July 19, his sixth win of the season. He overtook early leader Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in the closing laps. Full podium: 1. Antonelli (Mercedes), 2. Leclerc (Ferrari, +1.9s), 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull, +11.5s), 4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, +17.2s). George Russell (Mercedes) retired from lap 1 after contact with Hamilton. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) finished 8th, a strong result for the new team. Sources: formula1.com, The Race, Bleacher Report.