{"id":971,"date":"2026-01-09T06:45:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/?p=971"},"modified":"2026-01-09T06:45:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:45:48","slug":"f1-2026-new-teams-revised-rules-and-a-fresh-era-on-the-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/f1-2026-new-teams-revised-rules-and-a-fresh-era-on-the-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 2026: new teams, revised rules, and a fresh era on the horizon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Formula 1 is set to officially launch its 2026 season with the <strong>first winter test in Barcelona<\/strong>, scheduled for the end of January. This private session will be a crucial opportunity for teams to run <strong>their brand-new cars and power units<\/strong> for the first time, offering the first glimpse of a championship likely to see a significant shake-up in competitive order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Power units 2026: a shift towards sustainability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The headline technical change concerns the <strong>power units<\/strong>. From 2026, the balance between internal combustion and electric power will move from the current <strong>80\/20 split<\/strong> to an even <strong>50\/50<\/strong>, marking a decisive step towards a more sustainable Formula 1. The FIA aims to maintain peak performance and technological innovation while reducing the sport\u2019s environmental impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Two new teams join the grid<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regulatory changes coincide with a major expansion of the grid. In 2026, Formula 1 will welcome <strong>two new entries<\/strong>, bringing the total number of teams to <strong>eleven<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Stake F1<\/strong> will become the <strong>official Audi factory team<\/strong>, marking the German manufacturer\u2019s highly anticipated full works entry into the championship. Meanwhile, <strong>Cadillac F1<\/strong> will make its debut as a completely new team, strengthening F1\u2019s presence in the American market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cadillac will field an experienced driver lineup, with <strong>Sergio P\u00e9rez<\/strong> and <strong>Valtteri Bottas<\/strong> taking the wheel of the new cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Qualifying overhaul for 22 cars<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The expanded grid necessitates a revision of the qualifying format. From 2026, <strong>six drivers<\/strong> will be eliminated in both <strong>Q1 and Q2<\/strong>, compared to five under the previous system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The revised structure is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Q1:<\/strong> 22 drivers \u2192 16 advance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Q2:<\/strong> 16 drivers \u2192 10 advance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Q3:<\/strong> Top 10 fight for pole position<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Session durations remain unchanged: <strong>18 minutes<\/strong> for Q1, <strong>15 minutes<\/strong> for Q2, and <strong>12 minutes<\/strong> for Q3. Breaks between sessions are also the same, with <strong>7 minutes<\/strong> between Q1 and Q2 and <strong>8 minutes<\/strong> between Q2 and Q3. While the format remains familiar, the increased competition will make errors more costly, particularly for midfield teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sprint weekends: same adjustments apply<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The qualifying changes will also be applied to <strong>Sprint weekends<\/strong>, scheduled in 2026 for China, Miami, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, and Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sprint qualifying will also see six drivers eliminated per segment, with shorter session lengths:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>SQ1:<\/strong> 12 minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SQ2:<\/strong> 10 minutes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SQ3:<\/strong> 8 minutes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tire rules remain strict, with <strong>medium tires mandatory<\/strong> in SQ1 and SQ2, while <strong>soft tires<\/strong> will determine the Sprint pole in SQ3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A notable change concerns the <strong>only free practice session<\/strong> during Sprint weekends: from 2026, the clock will <strong>stop during red flags<\/strong>, ensuring teams do not lose valuable track time and allowing Sprint qualifying to be slightly delayed if necessary, while still respecting minimum session gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A fundamentally renewed championship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With new manufacturers, revolutionary technical regulations, and an adapted sporting format to accommodate a larger grid, the 2026 Formula 1 season marks one of the most significant transformations in recent history. The winter tests in Barcelona will provide the first tangible insights into a season that promises to redefine the championship\u2019s competitive landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Formula 1 is set to officially launch its 2026 season with the first winter test in Barcelona, scheduled for the end of January. This private session will be a crucial opportunity for teams to run their brand-new cars and power units for the first time, offering the first glimpse of a championship likely to see [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-f1","tag-f1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":973,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}