Round one of the Formula One 2026 season has been and gone. What did we learn about this year’s championship battle and the new regulations?
First and foremost, Mercedes took control of the field, achieving their first 1-2 since 2024. Russell led from pretty much lap 10 onwards, when further Ferrari strategy woes meant both Prancing Horses stayed out under the VSC. Both the Silver Arrows took advantage of the cheap pitstop and found themselves with a healthy lead after all the stops.
The Mercedes power unit sits in four of the eleven teams, Alpine, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams. The data collected from all the teams has led to a monster of an engine this year.
As Lewis Hamilton alluded to in his post-qualifying interview, the power unit alone gave the Mercedes a 0.2-second advantage over the Ferrari in each sector. That being said, the Ferrari’s race pace was much better than expected after qualifying. Ferrari took advantage of Piastri’s blunder on the formation lap to assert itself as the best of the rest.
It was brilliant to see Lewis Hamilton back in some form, revitalised after the break and despite a difficult qualifying, he really pulled it together for the race. For periods, he was the fastest man on track, and if given a couple extra laps, he would’ve been right on his teammate’s gearbox, battling for the podium.
The Ferrari start procedure is what separates them from the rest of the field; both cars took off like bullets to fly up the grid. Russell suggested that both Mercedes got to the grid with 0% battery, which could be a reason for their sluggish starts, but Ferrari seems to have cracked the code with the Mario Kart-type boost they achieve off the line.
Ferrari fans around the world will be trying their best not to get ahead of themselves, but this is the most promising start they’ve seen for many years. This, paired with Lewis Hamilton’s positivity and a great first drive, is enough to get anyone excited for the season ahead.
Behind the Ferraris came Norris and Verstappen; you would assume that both their teammates would slot in there, too. So, the McLarens and Red Bulls follow Ferrari in performance, but we saw a bit of a down Lando Norris, as he saw a huge drop-off from the space rocket he had his hands on last season. Both Red Bull and McLaren have work to do, but have set themselves up to win some races this season.
It was a very positive weekend for the rookie Arvid Lindblad in his first race in F1. He battled well with fellow Brit Oliver Bearman to secure a well-deserved 8th place, quite a drive. Further down the grid, the Aston Martin showed glimpses of hope in qualifying, with Alonso scrapping through to Q2, but the race would end up just as much of a data collection exercise, with both drivers still struggling with the harsh vibrations caused by the only Honda power unit on the grid. It seems as if Honda’s return to Formula 1 will be just as bad as it was for the McLarens in 2016.
It doesn’t come as a great surprise that the newest team to the sport struggled to get going, with Bottas not finishing and Perez 3 laps behind the leader coming in 16th. For the rebranded Kick Sauber Audi didn’t manage to get Hulkenberg out of the pit lane, but it was a very positive race from Gabriel Bortoletto, who finished in 9th place, making history as Audi’s first points scorer.
Let’s move on to the regulations. This year’s pole lap was 3.4 seconds slower than last season’s! The cars are much, much slower, but we did see more overtakes; this year’s race saw 120 overtakes compared with just 45 last year. Unlike in 2025, when DRS was the main overtaking tool, there is now the use of a manual override, a boost used strategically for closer following.
However, this boost uses battery power and therefore forces drivers to lift and coast during parts of the race to regain this boost option. This means we are faced with more complex overtaking methods that allow overtakes in different areas of the track, not just in DRS zones as previously.
On the one hand, it makes the races more exciting, but it also makes it into a bit of a computer game where you can pick up boosts and completely blow past your opponent without any hassle. I think as the season develops, we will acclimatise to the new changes, but at the moment, it is a lot to take in.
I think for a lot of fans it is strange to change the regulations in a way that stops them from being the fastest cars possible and brings them back a step in terms of flat-out pace, but as I mentioned before, I do think there are opportunities for some great battles and exciting overtakes.
So, the first round is over, with the Chinese Grand Prix up next, a Sprint Weekend where there will be more overtaking and more new information for the fans to absorb.
Will we see a continuation of Russell and Mercedes domination, or will the Prancing Horses and following pack chase them down?