Overview
- Confirmed unveilings span Red Bull and Racing Bulls on 15 January in Detroit with Ford, Audi on 20 January in Berlin, Ferrari/Alpine/Haas on 23 January, Cadillac’s first livery on 8 February during the Super Bowl, and Aston Martin’s AMR26 on 9 February.
- The grid expands to 22 cars as Cadillac joins as the 11th team, Audi takes over Sauber with a Neuberg-built power unit, Honda returns as Aston Martin’s exclusive supplier, and Red Bull debuts its Ford-partnered in-house power unit.
- New rules introduce a 50/50 thermal–electric power split, remove the MGU‑H, enable active aero in place of DRS, add an Overtake Mode for passing, and trim car size and weight.
- Teams refresh identities ahead of the new era, with updated logos from Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams—now entered as the Atlassian Williams F1 Team—and Haas incorporating Toyota Gazoo Racing branding.
- Pre-season running increases with a closed Barcelona shakedown followed by Bahrain tests, technical debate persists over full-lap energy recovery on fast circuits, and Ferrari’s Fred Vasseur cautions that Melbourne will not define the pecking order.