The 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship is a motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 77th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship is contested over twenty-three Grands Prix held around the world. It began in March and is scheduled to end in December. Drivers and teams compete for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively. Lando Norris is the reigning World Drivers' Champion, while McLaren-Mercedes are the reigning World Constructors' Champions.
The 2026 season features a major set of regulation changes with a revised power unit configuration and new active aerodynamics along with the addition of an eleventh team competing for the first time since . Audi, who acquired Sauber in , enter as a works team with its own power unit, while Cadillac are making their debut in the championship using Ferrari power units. Honda, through its Honda Racing Corporation subsidiary, entered into an exclusive works team agreement with Aston Martin, and are supplying them with their own power unit after ending its relationship with Red Bull Racing. Ford returned to the sport for the first time since , supporting Red Bull Powertrains in supplying power units to Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls. Renault is no longer an engine supplier as Alpine switched to Mercedes power units.
Entries Each team is required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars. All teams compete with tyres supplied by Pirelli.
+EntrantConstructorChassisPower unitRace driversNo.Driver nameRounds BWT Alpine F1 Team Alpine-Mercedes A526 1043Pierre Gasly1–161–16Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team Aston Martin Aramco-Honda AMR26 Honda RA626H1418Fernando AlonsoLance Stroll1–161–16Atlassian Williams F1 TeamAtlassian Williams-Mercedes FW48 Mercedes-AMG F1 M172355 Carlos Sainz Jr.1–161–16Audi Revolut F1 Team Audi R26 Audi AFR 26 Hybrid527Nico Hülkenberg1–161–16Cadillac Formula 1 Team Cadillac-Ferrari MAC-26Ferrari 067/61177 Sergio Pérez Valtteri Bottas1–161–16Scuderia Ferrari HP Ferrari SF-26 Ferrari 067/61644Charles LeclercLewis Hamilton1–161–16TGR Haas F1 Team Haas-FerrariVF-26 Ferrari 067/63187Esteban OconOliver Bearman1–161–16 McLaren-MercedesMCL40 Mercedes-AMG F1 M17181Lando NorrisOscar Piastri1–161–16 Mercedes F1 W17 Mercedes-AMG F1 M17 1263 Kimi Antonelli George Russell1–161–16Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford 302241 Liam Lawson Yuki Tsunoda Arvid Lindblad1–11, 15–1612–141–16Oracle Red Bull RacingRB22 Red Bull Ford DM013630 Isack Hadjar Liam Lawson1–161–11, 15–1612–14Sources:Official entry lists:
Free practice drivers On four occasions throughout the season (twice for each car), each team must field a driver who has not competed in more than two races in one of the first two free practice sessions of a Grand Prix weekend. Arvid Lindblad's participation at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix fulfilled both of the required rookie sessions for his car at Racing Bulls.
+ ConstructorPractice driversNo.Driver nameRoundsAlpine-Mercedes61Paul Aron11, 13Aston Martin Aramco-Honda34Jak Crawford3, 8, 10Atlassian Williams-Mercedes46Luke Browning7–8, 13Audi97Paul Aron7–8Cadillac-Ferrari25Colton Herta7, 11, 13Ferrari38Dino Beganovic7–8Haas-Ferrari50Ryo Hirakawa8, 11McLaren-Mercedes67Leonardo Fornaroli7, 11Mercedes72Frederik Vesti7, 11Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford90Ayumu Iwasa8 Red Bull Racing-Red Bull Ford36Ayumu Iwasa7, 13Source:
Team changes
Cadillac became the eleventh team, marking Cadillac's first appearance in the series and the first new team on the grid since Haas in . The team, initially using Ferrari power units and gearboxes, would transition to a power unit developed in-house by its parent company, General Motors, in collaboration with TWG Motorsports. This power unit programme has received approval from the FIA and is scheduled to be introduced from the 2029 season. Cadillac had previously tried to enter Formula One in conjunction with Andretti Global.
Three new engine manufacturers entered Formula One, coinciding with the engine regulation changes. Audi entered the sport for the first time, having purchased the existing Sauber team in . Audi's predecessor company Auto Union did compete in Grand Prix racing prior to World War II and the inception of the World Championship in 1950. The team raced in 2024 and as Kick Sauber, using Ferrari engines, before it became the Audi factory team in 2026. Thus, Ferrari is supplying Haas and Cadillac as customer teams.
Ford returned to Formula One as an engine supplier for the first time since it provided engines for its former customer team Jordan in . It formed a partnership with Red Bull Powertrains, which supplies Red Bull Racing and their second team Racing Bulls. Honda, which partially withdrew from Formula One in whilst remaining partners of Red Bull Powertrains, split from the two Red Bull-owned teams and relaunched a fully-independent engine programme supplying Aston Martin under the Honda Racing Corporation subsidiary. Aston Martin had used Mercedes power units since they re-joined the sport, who had supplied engines to Aston Martin's predecessors since . Honda had previously collaborated with Aston Martin's predecessor Jordan from to .
Renault ceased to provide engines for Alpine from 2026 after achieving poor results since the beginning of the hybrid power unit regulations in . 2026 is thus the first season without Renault as engine supplier since the championship. Alpine became a customer team, as opposed to a full works outfit, as had been the case since Renault reacquired Team Enstone ahead of the season. Alpine became a customer team of Mercedes, utilising their engines and gearboxes from this season onwards; up until this point, marked the last time a rendition of Team Enstone used customer Mercedes engines, competing as Lotus.
Driver changes
Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas returned to full time seats with Cadillac. Pérez had previously signed a two-year contract with Red Bull Racing until 2026, but this was terminated by mutual agreement at the end of the season. Bottas last competed with Sauber in 2024 and was one of Mercedes's reserve drivers for . Isack Hadjar moved from Racing Bulls to Red Bull Racing, replacing Yuki Tsunoda, who became Red Bull's test and reserve driver. Hadjar's replacement was Arvid Lindblad, who was promoted from Formula 2.
Mid-season changes
Prior to the Dutch Grand Prix, Isack Hadjar sustained a wrist injury. Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson substituted for him, while Lawson was replaced at Racing Bulls by reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda. Both drivers remained at their respective teams after Hadjar was announced to also miss the Italian and Spanish Grands Prix. Hadjar returned for the following Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Calendar
The 2026 calendar originally comprised twenty-four Grands Prix, as with the previous two seasons. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was cancelled following the outbreak of the Iran war, reducing the count of confirmed Grands Prix to twenty-three. The Chinese, Miami, Canadian, British, Dutch, and Singapore Grands Prix feature the sprint format.
RoundGrand PrixCircuitRace date1Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne8 March2Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai15 March3Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka29 March4Miami Grand Prix Miami International Autodrome, Miami Gardens, Florida3 May5Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal24 May6Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monaco7 June7Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló14 June8Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring, Spielberg28 June9British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone5 July10Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot19 July11Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring, Mogyoród26 July12Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort23 August13Italian Grand Prix Monza Circuit, Monza6 September14Spanish Grand Prix Madring, Madrid13 September15Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit, Baku16Bahrain Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit, Sepang4 October17Singapore Grand Prix Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore11 October18United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas25 October19Mexico City Grand Prix Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City1 November20São Paulo Grand Prix Interlagos Circuit, São Paulo8 November21Las Vegas Grand Prix Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Paradise, Nevada21 November22Qatar Grand Prix Lusail International Circuit, Lusail29 November23Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi6 DecemberSource:
Postponed and cancelled Grands Prix
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were included on the original calendar published by the World Motor Sport Council and were contracted for the 2026 season, but were postponed following the outbreak of the Iran war. Concerns revolving around safety following the breakout of the war were taken into consideration, with the FIA monitoring the situation as it unfolded. Ultimately, it was announced that neither race would take place on its originally scheduled April date. As the Grands Prix were to be held early in the season, replacement races could not be organised in short notice. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was not reinstated, while the Bahrain Grand Prix was rescheduled and relocated to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, rather than being held at its originally planned venue, the Bahrain International Circuit. Despite the venue change, the event retained its original name because the Bahraini government remained the primary financial promoter, rather than this event becoming an instance of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Calendar changes The Spanish Grand Prix moved from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Montmeló to a new street circuit in Madrid built around the IFEMA Exhibition Centre. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya continues to host a race under the name Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola was discontinued after their contract to host their race until was not renewed. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was held on a Saturday following a request from the promoter and relevant government stakeholders to accommodate Azerbaijan's Remembrance Day. The Bahrain Grand Prix was moved from Sakhir to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia due to the Iran war. The circuit had last hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix in .
Regulation changes Financial, power unit, aerodynamic, geometric, and safety regulations were altered for the 2026 season.
Financial regulation For 2026, the Formula One cost cap for team operational expenditures was increased from $135 million to $215 million. This was primarily due to inflation adjustments and the inclusion of costs that were previously exempted from the cap. Key expenses remaining outside the cost cap include driver salaries, the salaries of the three highest-paid team members, marketing, travel and hospitality costs, as well as infrastructure investments. A separate cost cap for power unit manufacturers, which was introduced in , was also increased from $95 million to $130 million from 2026 onwards to support the development of the new hybrid engines.
Technical regulations Power units