Its 2026 and F1 is Back

The 2026 Formula One season kicked off in Australia over the weekend to the welcome adoration of fans world wide. The new regulations are here and with it brought interesting new cars and even more interesting ways of racing them.

We saw for the first time, the new cars on track putting in real honest laps. The new racing style is a bit jarring. Battery management, Super Clipping, Boost, and Overtake modes, all new terms for the new season and all new expressions for us all to decipher. Watching cars in Qualifying slow at the end of straights while at full throttle took more than a little effort to wrap my head around, but once you see it, you get just how much the drivers have to account for in putting together fastest laps.

The race opened up with an exciting back and forth battle between the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and George Russel in his Mercedes. The battle highlighted the real difference in car development and how that played out in an exhilarating on track duel. The fast start and quick low speed acceleration of the Ferrari versus the top end speed of the Mercedes. The battle further contested with the various Mario kart like speed boosts of the battery deployment throughout the lap. The leapfrogging may become a point of discussion/ contention through the duration of the season. Is it "real racing?" Kind-of maybe, maybe-not, but you cannot deny it was entertaining. Any time one driver comes into a corner significantly faster than the car he's chasing it presents the possibility for disaster, and we are going to keep watching it from the edge of our seats. Ultimately, like all good things, the battle comes to and end. The pace of the Merc was just too much and there was no turning back. Australia left us with a lot of new things to look forward to or just try to wrap our heads around. Next up is the first sprint weekend of the year and the introduction of a whole new set of variables to add to this equation.

Horses for courses

The difference in approach that was highlighted in Australia might just play out, at least in the short term, with a consistency of certain teams excelling at the different types of tracks. In short, Ferrari doing well on more technical low speed tracks like street races, think Singapore and Jeddah, and Mercedes doing better on the higher speed tracks, Monza, Austria. Now, these are just the early top two teams, maybe someone else will prove they can build a car that will complete for the lead and they will have their specialty. We can always hope, In the meantime, the good news this track specialization can create opportunities for a greater number of grand prix winners, the real issue is how long may this be the case?   

Arms race

With the first race of the season, we got the first REAL look at what everyone brought to the table, except Aston Martin, I’m not sure they know what’s going on yet. The first go at new regulations will show how each team interpreted the new directives, what they did right and what they did wrong. For instance, the most glaring examples of this are the discrepancy in race starts and how the Ferrari, and to a lesser extent the Ferrari customer teams, can get off the line and out front quickly. I can assure you every other team is scrutinizing the footage, coverage shots of the garages, and any technical submissions made by Ferrari to understand and unravel how it’s done. Then the goal is to apply it to their own cars in whatever capacity possible. If history is any example to go by it is only a matter of time before secrets are unlocked and the teams figure out each other’s games. Now, that is not to say teams aren’t making discoveries of their own, I assume most teams already have their first round of “upgrades” just about ready and will be on the car within the next couple of races. We see it every time there is a regulation shake up. Remember how excited we were watching Max and Charles trade overtakes in Bahrain 2022? Then 2023 Max Verstappen happened. The rest did catch up eventually leading to some of the tightest gaps across the entire grid in 2025. Hopefully the excitement of this new generation last more than just the single novelty race, but regardless of how, the Arms Race has begun. The further we go the faster they get.    

Formula E for Experience

One of the issues made apparent in Australia was that ALL of the teams are all still learning about energy deployment and battery management. This is skill the teams and drivers have only now gotten the opportunity to use just ONCE in a real racing scenario. The simulations are one thing, but as the famous Mike Tyson saying goes “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Time and experience is one of the few things where every team is on equal footing. There does however exist a group of drivers with experience driving race cars very heavily dependent on battery management. Those are the drivers of the Formula E series. Formula E is a FIA series featuring all-electric open-wheel formula cars. The bread and butter of skills in Formula E are what F1 is faced with now. High speed power management. Within the ranks of Formula E are a smaller group of drivers that also have experience in F1. Nyck de Vries won the Formula E title before being promoted to the AlphaTauri F1 seat, one might think his experience in both series might suddenly become relatable. The likes of Jak Crawford, Stoffel Vandoorne, or Felipe Drugovich, all saw some success Formula E and served as F1 test and reserve drivers. With just how crucial the electric power in the new F1 generation is proving to be I think teams should give these guys a call to consult with on how to manage a battery during a race.

Still got some Troubles

                Like with anything else revolutionary, new cars bring new problems. Australia wasn't such a fun destination for some and it wasn't by their own doing. During qualifying Max Verstappen found the gravel and met the wall. The concerning part is how he got there. At the end of the pit straight he began "Super Clipping." Super Clipping is a method of harvesting power at the end of a straight when the driver slows the car while still at full throttle engaging the MGU-K that's attached to the rear axle. Well in Max's case the MGU-K engaged the rear axel to harvest but never let go. When he began to take turn one the rear axel was locked and off he went to meet the barrier.

On a pre-race exploratory lap Oscar Piastri managed to spin into the wall ending his race day before it even started. Much like Max's incident, there might have been some gremlins involved. Oscar reported not having any battery power through the first turn complexes and was unable to charge. When he got to turn 4 he went wide but was suddenly graced with far more battery power than what he anticipated was available. The back end broke loose re-entering the track and around he went.

But perhaps one of the most frightening moments was the one excluded from the main broadcast. We wouldn't have seen it were it not for the cameraman in the cool down room post race capturing a replay on the screen set up for the podium sitters. This moment was a lighting fast reaction by Franco Colapinto to get around the stalled Racing Bull of Liam Lawson. This immediately calls to mind incidents of the 80s and 90s where a car would stall on the staring line and be a stationary obstacle for everyone behind to avoid, even proving fatal in 1982 leading to the death of driver Riccardo Paletti. The new engines take more time and coordination to going and while the new starting procedures are in place to help there is also some inherent danger until teams work out all the kinks.

Looking Ahead

                While our first taste of racing looks different than it used to, and there's still a lot of learning to do, we must continue on down the road. The next stop is in Shanghai China, and with an added wrinkle. Its the first sprint weekend of 2026. So remember all the testing and learning all the teams still have to do? In China they wont get to do it. While sprint weekends mean added race session, it also means fewer free practice sessions. Teams will have just on session on Friday to figure out the setup for this new car and then race it in the afternoon for Sprint Qualifying. The circuit in Shanghai is vastly different than what we saw last week in Australia. The first half is a slow speed technical cornering experience, and the second half consists of two long straights. Not much from Albert Park will translate over to this track layout. There might be a real concern that the cars will simply just run out of juice before completing the Start/Finish straight.

Whatever the outcome we will be there to watch it with great anticipation.