Happy New Year to all auto racing fans. (Happy New Year to those of you who are reading this, even if you are not a horse racing fan.)
As is customary around this time of year, I’m making a lazy effort not to come up with new features, so I’d like to make a few requests with an eye toward next season. If you are enduring my musings for the first time, please know that these are not a series of predictions, some of which go a little beyond realistic hopes and border on miracle-seeking.
If you’re thinking of putting money into any of these ideas, you may want to think again. last year’s wish list Sometimes to see it I do You can do whatever you want, so it might be better to back up some yourself…
Regular competition for victory from multiple teams
This is on pretty much every wish list I make, but some might argue that this year it’s an even bigger ask than previous years. New regulations tend to result in a wider field spread, making it more likely that one team will be able to properly operate their new car and extract a significant advantage over the chasing pack.
2014 was definitely one of those years, and 2017 was similar in many ways, with Mercedes dominating in both cases, but Ferrari making two appearances against Red Bull in 2017 and 2022, before falling away from a title challenge.
McLaren’s performance at the start of last year was surprising given the expected convergence, but we still experience many weekends where we are not 100% competitive. Heading into 2026, there may be a chance of gaining an advantage, but the cost cap may only have served to prevent a single power unit manufacturer and team combination from producing too clear a result.
The Mercedes power unit has been consistently referenced as the benchmark over the past 18 months, but even if that were the case, I really hope that since McLaren and Mercedes use the same engine, they are at least roughly equivalent.
perfect world. Make sure at least two teams with different power units are at the forefront of the field. Because it sets the tone not just for the year, but for the entire era.
Norris levels up
Last season’s finish was impressive for Lando Norris (saying the obvious for winning his first World Championship), but it certainly felt like there were parts of him that didn’t get enough credit, and it was because he didn’t consistently perform at the level of his ability that we know he was capable of.
During the first half of the season, Norris struggled to reach the heights each weekend. He did it often enough to show everyone what was in his locker, but not often enough that he didn’t stumble a little and get annoyed.
But confidence plays a huge role in performance and perhaps winning the title will give him the push to perform to the best of his abilities more regularly.
And based on Oscar Piastri’s rate of development so far in his short F1 career, I have the impression that Norris will have to do the same. If McLaren gives these two another title-worthy car, they could be even more formidable contenders than they are this year, and I want to see them perform at their best as often as possible in this battle.
A new set of rules, a new chance for Hamilton to return to the front of Ferrari. Andy Horn/Getty Images
Hamilton and Ferrari (finally) click
This was talked about a year ago, and the hope remains. I’m not a fan of negative stories anywhere in F1 – even though some drama and controversy can generate energy and interest – but I would still argue that Lewis Hamilton’s struggles with his new team were particularly depressing. You might want to support another driver and see them beat Hamilton, but it means a lot more when they can beat such a quality driver when they perform well, just like the McLaren driver did against Max Verstappen.
At times there were signs of life, as Hamilton was very close to Charles Leclerc in terms of qualifying pace (Leclerc’s real strength) and he had some strong races, but it feels like the car that won the race got the best out of the seven-time world champion.
It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Hamilton and Leclerc if Ferrari can once again embark on the new regulations as contenders, but in addition to that, overall interest in the championship will likely increase if the Hamilton-Ferrari partnership starts to yield big results.
When all is said and done, it will soon be Cadillac’s time to show what it’s capable of. Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images
Cadillac isn’t far either.
Please don’t take this subheading too negatively. Because we need to think about what is really realistic for the new teams joining the grid this year.
Cadillac isn’t just building cars to meet new regulations, it’s building a team to build the cars in the first place. It may seem like a long time ago, but it’s been less than 10 months since teams’ entries were finally approved, and since then it’s been a huge amount of work just to get the cars running in pre-season.
This isn’t a Haas-style entry either (the customer partnership with Ferrari should have happened in 2016, but the sport is so different today), and Cadillac has so much of its own making that it would be foolish to expect a competitive Haas-style opener with big results right away.
And some would argue that that’s not good for F1 as a whole. If the standard of the existing 10 teams is so high that a new team finishes last in the constructors’ championship, it’s a sign of the quality of the championship, but it also gives Cadillac even more credit if it starts beating its rivals on a regular basis.
But if Cadillac is far away, it’s going to be a really tough year (or worse) for TWG Motorsports and GM, and I don’t think it’s going to particularly spark fan interest.
In recent years, Cadillac has been trying to get an entry in Andretti’s name, but some rivals said they were desperate for that approval because it would make Michael Andretti realize it would be difficult to even compete in F1. If F1 wants to call itself the pinnacle of motorsport, it’s going to be very tough for new entrants, but I’d still like to see a Cadillac team gain footing and start to shake up the establishment.
