2026 F1 General Discussion Thread

I don't think it'll be Red Bull anyway - from reports throughout the latter part of the season they were still developing after other teams had stopped.

As far as I know the likes of Sauber, Alpine and Williams stopped development very early in the season so they could be in with a shout - if Audi get their engine spot on maybe they'll be in with a shout?

Without a shred of evidence though, it does feel like it'll be Mercedes to the fore next season.

Some super high-level expectations for next year before we've seen a car:

1. McLaren: Won't repeat. New regs, more focus on engines. They'll still be strong, but will slip back. I am biased towards Piastri, so all I'll say is I hope he pushes on now and gets the better of Norris.
2. Mercedes: I suspect will be back on top. George Russell has this season to prove himself - if Mercedes is best car by a distance there's a decent chance Verstappen will want in, so Russell will need to make this team his own.
3. Red Bull: I don't see them competing. New engine regs, their first attempt at one. No Newey. If they are clever they'll not concentrate on the one car or the short term gains, but could likely be Verstappen's last season there if the team struggles.
4. Ferrari: Who knows. Could be amazing, could be terrible. If terrible, I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton walks mid-season, Bearman has shown enough in Haas that he is ready to take over. If they are excellent, I still see Leclerc beating Hamilton.
5. Williams: They were best of the rest this year, and apparently stopped development very early, so they need to perform. Alex Albon needs to be worried by the form of Sainz towards the end of the 2025 season, if that continues into 2026 he risks becoming a clear number 2 (hope not, he's great).
6. VCARB: Who knows how Lindblad will do. They are also hamstrung by the new Red Bull engine, so if it's bad they could easily slip back to 9th or 10th. I don't see Lawson doing anything too extreme, he won't be terrible, he won't be excellent. With the new leadership at Red Bull now, you'd think that unless Lindblad is ridiculously poor he'll stay in the car for the season.
7. Aston Martin: The big unknown. Daddy Stroll's money has built a formidable team up, but they only have 1 driver and he's 44. In one sense, I'd love to see Team Silverstone make the leap up to title contenders, and would love to see Alonso get win #33. But Stroll isn't the most appealing of owners, I'm not a fan of Newey personally (I read his book, he comes across as an awful character in my mind) and they persist in giving Lance a drive. Honda should be powerful for them though.
8. Haas: Who knows? Bearman has been excellent, Ocon was good at start of season and they have shown progress in recent years. I'd like to see them make a push up the ladder, but no idea if they'll be able to.
9. Audi: Great final season as Sauber. Risky because first engine, and the drivers are solid but not amazing. I think they'd be disappointed if they don't compete for podiums though.
10. Alpine: New engine will help. One great driver in Pierre Gasly. I think Colapinto is a waste of a seat though. Sad to see Renault exit, but the Mercedes engine plus a full year of development should drag them back up the standings again.
11. Cadillac: They'll surely be last, right? Be nice to see Bottas back, and Checo too I guess.

It's not great though, is it? Screaming v10s are what I still hear in my head when I think f1, even though they're long gone.

It's not a question of available resources, it's a question of the cost cap and atr regulations. Teams can't spend as much as they want on development as they'll just hit the cost cap. I believe all teams spend the full cost cap amount available to them now, so if red bull were spending time and money later into season on 2025 car they won't easily be able to make that up for 2026...

Not for 2026, but Portimao is going to be back on the calendar for 2027 and 2028, replacing Zandvoort...