In 2021, a 14-year-old kart driver told Lando Norris, “I will see you in five years.” Arvid Lindblad has been as good as his word. Now 18, he’ll become the fourth-youngest driver in F1 history when he makes his debut for Racing Bulls in Melbourne. Born to a Swedish dad and a mum of Indian heritage in the year Sir Lewis Hamilton made his F1 debut, the British prodigy became the youngest ever winner of an F3 race two years ago. Last year, he became the same thing in F2. This year… he couldn’t, surely. 

For the first time in 45 years, Spain’s capital is hosting an F1 race. Replacing Imola in the 2026 calendar, the Madring will be the 16th race in the 24-race season when the lights go out on Sunday 13th September. Close to Madrid’s main airport, it combines street and circuit racing, and should be easy to reach for the 100,000+ fans expected to turn out for its debut. The racing better be good – this is where the Spanish GP is going to be for at least the next decade.

What do Nigel Mansell and Max Verstappen have in common? They both won world titles in Adrian Newey cars. How about Damon Hill and Sebastian Vettel? Answer’s the same. Alain Prost and Mika Hakkinen? You guessed it. Newey might be the best to ever do it, and he’s not done yet. The most recent car he designed was the 2023 Red Bull, which won 21 of its 22 races. He’s back this season with his first one for Aston Martin. Early signs haven’t been great, but that’s probably Honda’s fault not Newey’s. There’s a reason Fernando Alonso’s still racing at 44 – expect the Astons to get quicker as the season goes on.

There will be 11 teams on starting grids this year – the first time there have been so many since 2016. The newbie is Cadillac, who had to drop almost half a billion dollars on entry fees alone because other teams didn’t immediately take to the idea of sharing prize money with them. Realistically, Cadillac will not be picking up many of the bigger purses this year. They’re playing a longer game. Tapping into burgeoning interest in F1 on the other side of the Atlantic, they announced themselves as America’s team via a hugely expensive Super Bowl commercial last month. That said, it’s a Mexican (Sergio Pérez) and a Finn (Valtteri Bottas) driving them forward this year. By the end of the decade, though, they should have replaced their current Ferrari power unit with something homegrown, and there might be an Indy 500 star or two behind the wheel. 

It’s been simmering for a while. This season might be the one in which Verstappen versus Russell comes to the boil. The antipathy is real – Russell has called the Dutchman a “bully”, Verstappen dubbed the Brit “Princess George” – but the pair have largely been kept apart on the track by competitive differences in their cars. Coming into 2026, it looks as though Russell’s Merc will be at least a match for Max’s Red Bull. Russell has always said he’d never back down against Verstappen. We already know Verstappen never backs down. Perhaps this is the year we find out what happens when two unstoppable forces collide.

There’s another familiar road-going marque on track for the first time this year. Audi has taken over what used to be Sauber, the much-loved name that backmarked its way through three decades of racing before its loyal owner Peter Sauber closed the garage door for the final time last season. Audi have Germany’s own Nico Hülkenberg bringing a steady hand to one car, while the other belongs to Gabriel Bortoleto, the young Brazilian who impressed on debut for Sauber last year. As with Cadillac, no one’s expecting immediate results – the broadly stated aim is to be championship contenders before the decade is out. 

Twenty years in Formula 1. Seven world championships. More race wins than anyone in history. And yet, somehow, there’s a feeling that Sir Lewis Hamilton is coming into the season with something to prove. His first campaign for Ferrari was a disappointment – no podiums, no wins, outscored heavily by his younger teammate. Charles Leclerc is certainly younger, but he is not outright young. After nine years in the sport, eight in the red of Ferrari, the Frenchman is yet to sustain a serious title challenge. That’s not all on him, but he might only have another season or two before unfulfilled talent status is officially conferred. Whether it’s Hamilton or Leclerc in the saddle, it’s time for the Prancing Horse to rear up once more. 

There’s a new way for you to stay ahead of the chasing pack this season. Up To Speed is a twice-weekly podcast featuring Drive To Survive narrator Will Buxton, Sky Sports analyst Naomi Schiff, 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard and presenter Jolie Sharpe. Monday episodes will react to the racing just gone, while Thursday drops will go deeper into the politics, the paddock gossip and the bigger picture. 

The F1 rulebook has been ripped up, its pages fluttering in the wind behind this season’s radically new cars. Engines are now genuine hybrids, as much electric as petrol. The DRS drag reduction system is gone, replaced by ‘Overtake Mode’ – a burst of extra electrical power available to any driver within a second of the car ahead. Smaller and lighter than they have been for years, the cars have active new aerodynamics, their wings opening up on straights to reduce drag and clamping back down for corners. The idea is that all of this will lead to more wheel-to-wheel racing. For now, all we know is that Max Verstappen has called the cars ‘Formula E on steroids’ and Lando Norris has broadly agreed with him. The truth will out in Melbourne.

Everyone wants a piece of F1 right now. While Cadillac has formed an all-American clothing partnership with Tommy Hilfiger, Williams has teamed up with a suitably British institution, Marks & Spencer. McLaren’s Lando Norris has just put his name to a luggage collection by TUMI. We covered a couple of F1-fuelled watch releases very recently. The latest is from TAG Heuer, which is back as the sport’s official timekeeper thanks to last year’s mega-deal involving its parent company LVMH. Its Connected Calibre E5 x Formula 1 is a smartwatch with a unique Race Track dial that changes automatically through the season to display the flag and circuit silhouette of the latest Grand Prix.

Testing is a phoney war, but it’s all we have to go on right now. With the standard caveat about sandbagging, we can say that Mercedes and Ferrari head to Australia looking like the teams who have adjusted quickest to all of the rule changes. The betting markets agree, making George Russell of Mercedes the ante-post favourite to win this season’s Drivers’ Championship. While McLaren and Red Bull don’t look far behind, Aston Martin are in pole position to be the great disappointment of the 2026 season, although that statement comes with another caveat – the one about Adrian Newey above.