Overview
- Starting in 2026, race control may extend the single Friday practice at sprint events to recover time lost to red flags, ensuring teams get the intended running.
- The limit on operational staff at the circuit increases from 58 to 60 for 2026, and the FIA says race suspension and restart procedures have been simplified.
- Pre-season preparation expands to three weeks in 2026 — five private days in Barcelona followed by two sessions in Bahrain — before returning to a single test in 2027.
- Power-unit alignments for the new era are set: Honda will supply Aston Martin with winning ambitions voiced by CEO Koji Watanabe, and Alpine will switch from Renault to Mercedes.
- Teams and drivers are setting stakes ahead of early 2026 running, with Mercedes’ Toto Wolff downplaying 2014-style dominance talk and Charles Leclerc framing next year as Ferrari’s “now or never.”