The 2026 season brought the most substantial technical overhaul since 2014. The turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 internal combustion engine configuration was retained, but the MGU-H was removed while the MGU-K output rose from 160 bhp to 470 bhp. The combustion engine's contribution fell from around 850 bhp to 540 bhp, with overall power output remaining above 1,000 bhp. Cars use fully sustainable fuel developed by Formula One. The drag reduction system was replaced by active aerodynamics, with moveable front and rear wing elements controlled by the driver via a "boost mode," "recharge" mode, and an "overtake mode" deployable when within one second of the car ahead. Wheelbase was reduced from 360 cm to 340 cm, width from 200 cm to 190 cm, and minimum mass dropped by 30 kg.
Early races exposed a significant issue with the power unit: the speed differential between cars using electrical energy and those harvesting it caused dangerous closing speeds on straights, illustrated by Oliver Bearman's high-speed crash at the Japanese Grand Prix. After four rounds of consultations between the FIA, teams, and power unit manufacturers, changes were introduced at the Miami Grand Prix, raising the super-clipping limit to allow more natural variation in straight-line speeds.
Financial regulations increased the team cost cap from $135 million to $215 million, with inflation adjustments and the inclusion of previously exempted costs. A separate power unit manufacturer cost cap increased from $95 million to $130 million.
Safety regulations introduced a two-stage front impact structure, improved side intrusion protection around the cockpit, and lateral safety lights indicating ERS status when a car stops on track. Roll hoop load requirements increased from 16 g to 20 g.
Active aerodynamics were disabled for the Monaco Grand Prix due to the circuit's tight layout and absence of long straights, the only race where this applied.
Three manufacturers entered as power unit suppliers for the first time under the 2026 regulations. Audi debuted as a works constructor after purchasing the Sauber team in 2024, with the squad having raced as Kick Sauber using Ferrari engines in 2024 and 2025. Ferrari continued to supply Haas and the new Cadillac entry as customer teams.
Cadillac joined as the eleventh team, the first new constructor on the grid since Haas in 2016. The team used Ferrari power units and gearboxes initially, with a transition to an in-house General Motors power unit planned from 2029. Cadillac's arrival ended a decade of ten-team grids.
Ford returned to Formula One as an engine supplier for the first time since 2004, partnering with Red Bull Powertrains to supply Red Bull Racing and their second team Racing Bulls.
Honda relaunched an independent engine program under its Honda Racing Corporation subsidiary, supplying Aston Martin exclusively. Honda had previously partially withdrawn from Formula One in 2021 while remaining with Red Bull Powertrains before the split.
Alpine became a customer team of Mercedes after Renault ceased engine supply, the first season without a Renault-badged engine since 2000 and the first time the Enstone team ran customer Mercedes units since 2015 when it competed as Lotus.
Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas returned to full-time race seats with Cadillac. Isack Hadjar moved from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing, with Arvid Lindblad promoted from Formula 2 to take Hadjar's seat. Kimi Antonelli joined Mercedes.
The season's original twenty-four-race calendar was reduced to twenty-two after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled following the outbreak of the Iran war. The FIA monitored the developing security situation and determined that holding races so early in the season — the events were planned for April — left insufficient time to find replacements.
The Spanish Grand Prix moved from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmelo to a new street circuit in Madrid built around the IFEMA Exhibition Centre. The original circuit retained a race under the name Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola was discontinued after its contract was not renewed.
Six rounds — China, Miami, Canada, Britain, Netherlands, and Singapore — carry the sprint format.
George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix from pole position for Mercedes, with teammate Kimi Antonelli second, completing a Mercedes one-two. Charles Leclerc was third and Lewis Hamilton fourth in his first race for Ferrari.
Antonelli became the youngest Formula One pole-sitter at the Chinese Grand Prix and converted that pole into his maiden victory. He backed that up with victory at the Japanese Grand Prix from a mid-race safety car intervention and again at the Miami Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to convert three consecutive poles at the same events into wins. Antonelli's victories made him the youngest championship leader in Formula One history, and the youngest Italian to lead the standings since Alberto Ascari headed the 1953 championship.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Antonelli took his fourth consecutive race win while Russell was eliminated by a power unit failure. At Monaco, with active aerodynamics disabled, Antonelli won again and became both the youngest Monaco Grand Prix winner and the youngest to achieve a grand chelem — pole, fastest lap, and win without surrendering the lead. Isack Hadjar was initially classified second but was later moved back to fourth when Alpine successfully appealed penalties applied to Pierre Gasly.
Lewis Hamilton took his first victory for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after Fernando Alonso's retirement under a virtual safety car allowed Hamilton to pit for fresh hard tyres and pass Russell for the lead. The race produced the first all-British Formula One podium since the 1968 United States Grand Prix, with Russell second and Lando Norris third.
After the first portion of the season, Kimi Antonelli led the Drivers' Championship while Mercedes led the Constructors' standings.