There is already news breaking for 2026 so I figured I would go ahead and start this thread.  P88 covered Red Bull in the 2025 thread but here are all the drivers for 2026 including the new Cadillac team.

From Sky Sports F1.

F1 never sleeps!

You finish the last race at Abu Dhabi and crown a World Champion and they turn around and start testing for the next season 2 days later!!!!!!  The article below explains it in good depth:

Post-season Abu Dhabi test takes first steps into F1’s new future

Here is a great article by The Independent regarding the new 2026 regulations and the scuttlebutt on a potential for a new pecking order on the grid, which would be fascinating!

Why F1 will be more unpredictable than ever in 2026

I feel these new engines will all be completely raw in that no team will have any great data to use on how they will perform during a real race.  There are going to be some teams that will have alot of catching up to do.  I have a gut feeling that Mercedes engines will have an advantage out of the gate.  But there are so much unknown that all teams have a shot, so that first race in Australia will be must see TV for sure!

It's less than 90 days away!

I met someone just like this not too long ago, lol.  She was even wearing a Lando shirt.

Suzuka!

On 12/14/2025 at 9:37 PM, theguru said:

Then you get paid less Mr. Verstappen.  Are you ok with them apples?

 

8 minutes ago, Purple88 said:

Then you get paid less Mr. Verstappen.  Are you ok with them apples?

At some point what does it matter, 70 million vs. 80 million and a guy like him could clean up in endorsements.  Now for the bottom of the grid that is grossly underpaid, I think that is an issue. 

12 minutes ago, theguru said:

At some point what does it matter, 70 million vs. 80 million and a guy like him could clean up in endorsements.  Now for the bottom of the grid that is grossly underpaid, I think that is an issue. 

True Dat!  Just Max being Max.  Nothing to see here; look away from the man behind the curtain!

I did read something interesting about the engines for the 2026 season recently.

Ferrari was up in arms about the new Mercedes engines.  From the best I could make out, one stipulation in the new engine regulations dictates the size of an intake port within the primary engine chamber.  Mercedes designed their intake port so that when the port is measured the engine is cool at that time and the port size passes inspection.  BUT when the port is engaged and the engine is live and hot the port actually expands by a few millimeters.  The Ferrari engines don't do this for whatever reason.  And the reason this is a big deal is their engine experts expect the Mercedes engines to out-perform the Ferrari engines on this factor alone by upwards of 4 tenths of a second per lap.  That may not sound like much to regular folks, but in the F1 community that is a BIG deal!  Ferreri has filed a protest of this, but it was ruled unsubstantiated by the FIA.  That ruling is being appealed by Ferrari, and I haven't heard a final ruling, but don't expect Ferrari to be happy about this.  Is it too late for them to re-design their ports as well?  I have no idea!

SO, those teams that will be using a Mercedes engine in 2026 include:

- Mercedes (of course),

- McLaren,

- Williams,

- Aston Martin

Could these teams have the edge out of the gate in 2026?  We are inside of two months (59 days) from the Australian Grand Prix, and I'd say it's going to be a very telling race and can't miss motor sports!

4 minutes ago, Purple88 said:

I did read something interesting about the engines for the 2026 season recently.

Ferrari was up in arms about the new Mercedes engines.  From the best I could make out, one stipulation in the new engine regulations dictates the size of an intake port within the primary engine chamber.  Mercedes designed their intake port so that when the port is measured the engine is cool at that time and the port size passes inspection.  BUT when the port is engaged and the engine is live and hot the port actually expands by a few millimeters.  The Ferrari engines don't do this for whatever reason.  And the reason this is a big deal is their engine experts expect the Mercedes engines to out-perform the Ferrari engines on this factor alone by upwards of 4 tenths of a second per lap.  That may not sound like much to regular folks, but in the F1 community that is a BIG deal!  Ferreri has filed a protest of this, but it was ruled unsubstantiated by the FIA.  That ruling is being appealed by Ferrari, and I haven't heard a final ruling, but don't expect Ferrari to be happy about this.  Is it too late for them to re-design their ports as well?  I have no idea!

SO, those teams that will be using a Mercedes engine in 2026 include:

- Mercedes (of course),

- McLaren,

- Williams,

- Aston Martin

Could these teams have the edge out of the gate in 2026?  We are inside of two months (59 days) from the Australian Grand Prix, and I'd say it's going to be a very telling race and can't miss motor sports!

That is huge and if true Ferrari needs to redesign their engines, at least the intake port.

Also, since I will be rooting for Cadillac, this is not good news.