The 2026 F1 season begins in Australia on Sunday and Racing Post's Phil Agius expects a fascinating season from a new generation of cars with four-time champion Max Verstappen having a strong chance of reclaiming the title.
Mercedes, whose challenge will be led by George Russell, have long been expected to set the pace in 2026, but pre-season testing suggested a much-improved season can be anticipated from Ferrari, with Red Bull and defending constructors' champions McLaren in the mix too.
There's also a new team on the grid, with Cadillac becoming the 11th constructor in the field, meaning there will be 22 cars at each race instead of 20.
2026 F1 Season Tips and Predictions
Outright Prediction: Max Verstappen (3/1)
Alternative Tip: Charles Leclerc (5/1)
Dark Horse Tip: Lando Norris (10/1)
New F1 Format
The F1 regulations have had a major revamp this season for the first time since ground-effect cars were introduced in 2022.
The main change for 2026 is to the power units, which now have to feature a 50–50 split between the combustion engine and electrical energy.
The DRS system used to aid overtaking has gone but instead all drivers can now open flaps in their front and rear wings on straights in Active Aero Mode while maintaining full downforce around corners.
A Boost button provides a short power increase as does Overtake Mode, which can be activated if a driver is within a second of the car ahead at a detection point. The cars will also use new advanced sustainable fuel.
2026 F1 Season Driver Line-Up
Alpine
- Pierre Gasly
- Franco Colapinto
Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
Audi
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Gabriel Bortoleto
Cadillac
- Valtteri Bottas
- Sergio Perez
Ferrari
- Charles Leclerc
- Lewis Hamilton
Haas
- Esteban Ocon
- Oliver Bearman
McLaren
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
Mercedes
- George Russell
- Kimi Antonelli
Racing Bulls
- Liam Lawson
- Arvid Lindblad
Red Bull Racing
- Max Verstappen
- Isack Hadjar
Williams
- Alex Albon
- Carlos Sainz
There are relatively few changes to the driver line-up this season. New team Cadillac have plumped for experience with a veteran pairing of former race winners Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
The only rookie on the grid this year is British teenager Arvid Lindblad, who takes the seat at Racing Bulls that was vacated by Isack Hadjar on his promotion to become Max Verstappen's new team-mate at Red Bull.
2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship Favourites
George Russell of Mercedes is favourite to win his first world title this season with Max Verstappen, who finished just two points behind Lando Norris last season, close up as second favourite.
They are followed in the betting by the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli next and the two McLarens of Norris and Oscar Piastri completing the main seven title contenders.
2026 F1 Constructors’ Championship Favourites
McLaren have won the team title for the last two seasons but Mercedes are favourites this time around, with Ferrari and McLaren the joint-second favourites.
Red Bull are fourth in the betting to regain the constructors crown they last won in 2023.
Data-Led F1 Predictions & Analytics
Data on the 2026 cars is in extremely short supply as the new generation have run for only a handful of days in a shakedown at Barcelona and two pre-season tests in Bahrain.
However there have been some clues as to which of the new breed of cars are showing the most early promise.
Here’s what the data tells us:
- Charles Leclerc of Ferrari recorded the fastest time in the final test in Bahrain, with a lap of 1:31.992
- Analysis of potential race simulation runs in Bahrain suggests Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari were the most impressive teams
- Arvid Lindblad completed more laps in the final test than any other driver with 240.
- Aston Martin did the least overall pre-season running of any team with 2,111km, compared to 6,193km by leaders Mercedes.
2026 F1 Season Outright Prediction
The 2026 F1 season looks like it might be the most competitive for many years and that is supported by six drivers being quoted at single-figure odds for the title and very little in the betting between the top three contenders of George Russell, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
While that theory could be blown out of the water by a dominant performance from any team in Australia - teams often do their best to disguise their true pace in pre-season and have spent the winter insisting their rivals have the edge - that makes Russell a tough favourite to love as there are several plausible alternatives at bigger prices.
The British driver has twice finished fourth in the championship but has never truly been involved in a title fight and the added pressure he could face is an unknown factor.
Similarly, Leclerc's talent has never been in doubt but he has won only three races in the last three seasons. His Ferrari has a number of design innovations and could be the ace in the pack, but his team does not have a recent history of being properly cohesive, let alone successful.
That makes Max Verstappen hard to ignore. Few would dispute that the Dutch driver has the most natural talent on the grid and while he has griped about the new generation of cars and the change in driving style they require, he was able to make the one he was supplied with look good in testing.
The Red Bull may not be the fastest car on the grid in 2026, but Verstappen showed last season that he doesn't need the best car to challenge for a title. He was 100 points off the lead at one point in 2025 but lost by just two after winning six of the final nine races.
Red Bull appear to have done a fantastic job in their first season of manufacturing their own engines and if the car is anywhere near the pace, Verstappen's talent should give him a chance of landing his fifth world title.
Dark Horses to Watch
It may seem ridiculous to call the defending world champion an outsider but Lando Norris is double-figure odds and only sixth favourite for a second successive title and he should not be written off.
McLaren have shown over the last two seasons that they are superb at improving their car over a season and while they may not be quite at the front of the pack in raw pace yet they are clearly not too far away.
With the confidence boost of his title success, Norris - and team mate Oscar Piastri - could still make their mark on the 2026 championship.
Kimi Antonelli in Mercedes looks set to at least claim his first win, but is likely to play a supporting role to Russell and Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull could outperform his lowly pre-season expectations and be involved in the hunt for podium finishes. He is 11/4 to win a race this season and that may not be beyond him.
Alternative Tip - Charles Leclerc
Ferrari really caught the eye in testing, with Charles Leclerc setting the fastest overall lap time and they really stood out with some lightning-fast getaways on their practice starts.
Despite criticisms of their team operation and harmony in recent campaigns, the slick new Ferrari has taken some very different design directions to their rivals and if it turns out they got it right, Leclerc has the talent to go close to a first title success.
Who Wins the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship?
The 2026 F1 season looks set to be a must-watch affair with four teams appearing to be closely matched.
The battle between Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren could see multiple swings over the season as teams make breakthroughs on the new generation of cars and drivers find the best techniques to use for energy deployment, but when all's said and done you write off Max Verstappen at your peril.
Red Bull were not expected to be close to Mercedes in their first year making their own power units but they appear to be much more competitive than anticipated and that provides an opportunity for Verstappen to make up any shortfall with his driving talent and land a fifth title.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
