This may very well be one of many trickiest seasons to foretell for a few years. However we are able to attempt tackling among the many intriguing questions hanging over the upcoming championship.
Will this be the ultimate season for Fernando Alonso? Will Ferrari and Mercedes rebound from their disappointing 2025 campaigns? Give your views on these questions and extra beneath.
Ferrari vindicated
The 2025 season was a grim expertise for Ferrari, particularly for brand spanking new arrival Lewis Hamilton. The workforce went win-less for the primary time since 2021 – with the only real exception of the Shanghai dash race, which proved a false daybreak for its famous person signing.
In line with Ferrari, they downed instruments on their 2025 mission early as a way to enhance their probabilities of success beneath the brand new technical rules which arrive this 12 months. However they aren’t the one workforce to have finished that, and their lack of course final 12 months leaves questions hanging over the effectiveness of their operation. Will they not less than win a race this 12 months?
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Do you agree Ferrari will win a grand prix throughout 2026?
Strongly disagree (5%)
Barely disagree (12%)
Neither agree nor disagree (10%)
Barely agree (45%)
Strongly agree (29%)
Whole Voters: 42
 Loading …Throughout for Alonso
Essentially the most skilled Method 1 driver of all time will have fun his forty fifth birthday this 12 months – and mark the twentieth anniversary of his final world championship win. He has dropped hints he might not proceed past this 12 months no matter how aggressive his Aston Martin is. Will Alonso lastly cling up his helmet?
Do you agree Fernando Alonso will retire from Method 1 on the finish of the 12 months?
Strongly disagree (2%)
Barely disagree (27%)
Neither agree nor disagree (10%)
Barely agree (44%)
Strongly agree (15%)
Whole Voters: 41
 Loading …Horner returns
Christian Horner’s shock ousting from Pink Bull after 20 years in cost was one of many shock tales of final 12 months. Since then rumours have persevered he’ll return with one other workforce.
Ferrari and Aston Martin have denied they’re pursuing the person who moulded Pink Bull into the potent power they’re in the present day. Infinite hypothesis swirls across the chance he might purchase into Alpine’s operation. Will Horner be again on the helm of an F1 workforce earlier than the season is over?
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Do you agree Christian Horner will take cost of a Method 1 workforce earlier than 2026 is over?
Strongly disagree (24%)
Barely disagree (26%)
Neither agree nor disagree (7%)
Barely agree (38%)
Strongly agree (5%)
Whole Voters: 42
 Loading …Bearman banned
Oliver Bearman ended final season with probably the most penalty factors of any driver – and was arguably lucky to not have much more than he did. The Haas driver solely collected a single penalty level for forcing Liam Lawson off on a straight throughout the dash race at Interlagos.
Consequently he ended the 12 months simply two penalty factors away from an automated race ban. The Haas driver should keep away from amassing two additional factors over the primary six rounds if he’s to keep away from triggering a ban. Will he keep away from being dominated out for a race?
Do you agree Oliver Bearman will gather a one-race ban throughout the 2026 season?
Strongly disagree (14%)
Barely disagree (33%)
Neither agree nor disagree (10%)
Barely agree (31%)
Strongly agree (12%)
Whole Voters: 42
 Loading …Factors for Cadillac
Method 1 has a brand new workforce for the primary time in a decade. Cadillac have labored for years on their entry (beforehand beneath the Andretti title) and employed an skilled, race-winning duo in Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. However the usual of competitors in Method 1 has grown remarkably excessive in recent times.
Haas set a excessive bar once they grew to become the final new workforce to enter F1 in 2016, scoring factors on their debut. Nonetheless that they had the benefit of with the ability to supply a major quantity of their components from Ferrari – Cadillac have needed to do extra of their very own growth. Given how shut the sphere was final 12 months, will Cadillac handle to attain a degree of their first season?
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Will Cadillac rating a degree throughout 2026?
Strongly disagree (12%)
Barely disagree (19%)
Neither agree nor disagree (0%)
Barely agree (40%)
Strongly agree (26%)
Whole Voters: 42
 Loading …One other season for Hadjar
This time 12 months in the past we had been questioning whether or not Liam Lawson would safe his future at Pink Bull. He lasted simply two rounds earlier than the workforce dropped him for Yuki Tsunoda, who was additionally not retained.
Throughout that point Pink Bull changed workforce principal Christian Horner with Laurent Mekies. Will he be sufficiently impressed by Hadjar’s efficiency in his second season of F1 to retain him for 2027?
Will Pink Bull give Isack Hadjar a second season on the workforce in 2027?
Strongly disagree (5%)
Barely disagree (10%)
Neither agree nor disagree (0%)
Barely agree (45%)
Strongly agree (40%)
Whole Voters: 40
 Loading …Mercedes again on prime
The workforce which dominated F1 within the years after the V6 hybrid turbo rules had been launched didn’t thrive within the short-lived ‘floor impact’ period. After eight consecutive constructors’ championship titles as much as 2021, Mercedes have received simply seven grands prix over the past 4 years.
Some have prompt the introduction of latest technical rules for 2026 will play to Mercedes’ engine-building strengths. However Mercedes haven’t even been in a position to beat their very own buyer groups not too long ago, lagging behind McLaren. Will the manufacturing unit workforce reassert themselves beneath the brand new guidelines?
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Do you agree Mercedes would be the highest-placed Mercedes-powered workforce in 2026?
Strongly disagree (10%)
Barely disagree (30%)
Neither agree nor disagree (18%)
Barely agree (28%)
Strongly agree (15%)
Whole Voters: 40
 Loading …Herta features superlicence
IndyCar race-winner Colton Herta goes to stunning lengths to spice up his probabilities of gaining an F1 race seat. He has switched from the class, during which he was already a championship runner-up and its youngest ever race-winner, to compete in Method 2, which presents much more FIA superlicence factors.
An eighth-place end within the championship ought to guarantee he passes the 40-point threshold to have the ability to race in F1. Nonetheless even when he finishes decrease than that he might accrue additional superlicence factors by showing in follow classes. If Herta can clear the final hurdle he stands a robust change of gaining a race seat at Cadillac for 2027 – however will he guarantee he will get that probability?
Will Colton Herta acquire the superlicence factors he wants to have the ability to race in F1 in 2027?
Strongly disagree (5%)
Barely disagree (8%)
Neither agree nor disagree (10%)
Barely agree (15%)
Strongly agree (56%)
Whole Voters: 39
 Loading …Extra dash races
F1 appears decided to cram but extra dash races into the schedule. Having elevated the tally to 6, F1 has modified the venues of many dash races this 12 months, seemingly in preparation to extend the rely to as many as 12 in future seasons.
The championship’s enthusiasm is obscure given how processional they’re, however F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali clearly believes they’re the longer term. Will F1 add much more dash races to the calendar for 2027?
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Will FOM put extra dash races on the F1 calendar for 2027?
Strongly disagree (8%)
Barely disagree (3%)
Neither agree nor disagree (3%)
Barely agree (53%)
Strongly agree (26%)
Whole Voters: 38
 Loading …Right down to the ultimate spherical
Final 12 months F1 loved its first championship-deciding season finale involving greater than two drivers since 2010. However this 12 months is probably the toughest season to foretell for a few years: we may very well be about to see a down-to-the-wire title combat between a number of drivers, an utter rout the place the end result is apparent after half-a-dozen occasions, or something in between. Do you may have a hunch we’ll see one other championship showdown in December?
Will the 2026 F1 drivers’ title be determined on the last spherical?
Strongly disagree (42%)
Barely disagree (34%)
Neither agree nor disagree (13%)
Barely agree (5%)
Strongly agree (3%)
Whole Voters: 38
 Loading …I say
Ferrari made a good fist of adapting to the final new set of technical rules in 2022 and I imagine they’re able to doing the identical once more. So I believe they may win not less than one spherical this 12 months, although whether or not they can maintain that as a aggressive power over the next seasons is one other matter. I additionally suspect Mercedes will discover themselves again in entrance of McLaren – to not point out Williams and Alpine – this 12 months.
Fernando Alonso’s comment final 12 months that he’s extra more likely to retire if Aston Martin are aggressive this 12 months struck me as a approach of claiming he expects the workforce will swoop for one more prime driver – probably Max Verstappen – if they begin the brand new guidelines period strongly. Both approach, I really feel the percentages are higher than even that he’ll lastly cling up his helmet on the finish of 2026.
I anticipate Christian Horner will return finally, however when the chance is correct for him to take action, and I’m not satisfied that may occur this 12 months. F1 growing the variety of dash races to 12 seems like a grim inevitability nonetheless.
I don’t charge Oliver Bearman’s probabilities of avoiding a ban as a result of he has so typically complained about clear penalty calls which have gone towards him. Until Haas have locked him in a room with the sporting rules over the low season I wouldn’t guess towards him reaching the dreaded 12 penalty level threshold.
Hadjar impressed me final 12 months so I’ll tip him to get a second season at Pink Bull. The reset within the rules also needs to imply Pink Bull’s automobile is much less finely-honed to his workforce mate’s preferences, not less than to start with. I’ll additionally tip Cadillac to choose up not less than one level, which ought to be potential assuming reliability will likely be removed from excellent for everybody within the first 12 months with new engines, and Herta to qualify for a superlicence.
As for a last spherical title decider, I believe it’s unlikely. When rules modifications like these occur, one workforce tends to achieve an higher hand, and even when they aren’t dominant I think the drivers’ title will likely be determined earlier than Yas Marina.
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