F1’s new era: what to look out for

The first real signs of who is actually where in Formula 1 this year can already be seen. Even before this story’s app notification went out at 7am GMT (and thanks to the 11-hour time difference between here and Melbourne) the first two practice sessions of the 2026 F1 season had already been completed.

So with so much talk, scepticism and curiosity about the new regulations, I thought there could be no better time to take you through it and try to help you understand what it all could, and indeed should, mean.

At various points in the past couple of years, I have written in stories and said on television that my gut feeling was that these regulations weren’t good for the sport. In my opinion F1 should be about the fastest cars and the fastest drivers being challenged to their physical limit, and I’m afraid that’s not what we’re going to have. Instead, the challenge is going to be far more cerebral. Indeed the drivers are going to be mentally taxed like never before.