Race fans are getting ready to welcome the return of motorsport’s signature series, Formula 1, without a doubt the pinnacle of open-wheel, single-seater racing.
Its combination of immense investment, celebrity glamour, and extraordinary technology means that it attracts an incredibly wide audience. Global TV coverage on non-specialist channels like the BBC has ensured it is as familiar to non-motorsport fans as other mainstream sports.
So which drivers are tipped for the wins this year, and how will the season play out? This season’s 24-race calendar will span 21 countries with around 6.7 million spectators at the grands prix and more than 440 million watching on TV.
Formula 1 has come a long way from its inaugural season in 1950, which consisted of seven rounds of racing between May and September, primarily staged in Europe. Some things have remained consistent, however, like the high-octane excitement, but even the most famous race – The Monaco Grand Prix – has not been an uninterrupted feature.
Monaco might be famous, but it has its detractors, and drivers have criticized it; Max Verstappen was unimpressed after finishing sixth in 2024. The BBC reported him saying,
“This is really boring… I should’ve brought my pillow.”
Strap in for the excitement
As the last thing anyone wants is a driver asleep at the wheel, let’s hope he finds the 2026 season and racetracks more exciting. The big question as the season revs into action is: who are the favourites?
After returning from the pre-season testing in Bahrain, writers have made their predictions, but how do they match up against the bookies?
Seems as though everyone can agree that Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing are some way ahead of the midfield and back markers. Mercedes is currently 6/5 and expected to adapt best to the new regulations, but never rule out McLaren, which comes in at 5/2 and carries strong momentum from the 2025 season.
Ferrari’s odds are longer at 11/4 as they are always competitive but lack consistency. If you like your odds longer, there’s an outside chance at 33/1 that Alonso could still deliver, but don’t bet your house on it. In fact, don’t bet your house on anything!
Looking at the odds
However, if you do enjoy the racing and a flutter, how are the drivers shaping up in the bookies’ eyes? As only 13 points separated the top three drivers last season, this season is expected to be rather volatile, with anything possible. However, expectations of a Lewis Hamilton comeback are not exciting the bookmakers.
Presently, the bookies are predicting a clear head-to-head between George Russell and Max Verstappen, but our writers have Max in fourth place, so it really is anyone’s game. Once the first races are out of the way, the odds will shift and the picture may (or may not) become clearer. The averages, across 26 bookmakers, are as follows:
- George Russell 2/1
- Max Verstappen 3/1
- Charles Leclerc 5/1
- Lewis Hamilton 7/1
- Kimi Antonelli 8/1
- Lando Norris 9/1
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Not what you might have expected
You might have expected to see the reigning champion, Lando Norris, higher up the ratings, but even he agrees that he should not be the favourite. There is a possibility he is underplaying his hand, but his acknowledgement that Mercedes is likely ahead of McLaren under the new regulations has got the market listening.
McLaren’s testing pace just does not put them in pole position. Ferrari is the fastest and, together with Mercedes, shows the strongest long-run pace.
The 2026 cars are calling for a radically different driving style, and Norris has admitted adaptation issues. He said the car was the “most different” he had ever driven, with lower grip and more power.
Seems like things have gotten trickier for the current champion. George Russell, on the other hand, is quoted as saying that his Mercedes “is feeling nice to drive”.
New rules, new tricks
The rules overhaul is enormous and specifically favours certain teams over others. No matter how great a driver you are, Formula 1 is all about man and machine working in perfect harmony together.
The reduced internal combustion engine (ICE) output and more complex energy management systems constitute a total reset for the sport. The smaller and lighter chassis has completely changed the aerodynamics.
The complexity and novelty of these changes have shown significant differences in reliability and performance. Some of the teams just don’t seem to have perfected their chassis or how they interact with their power trains.
It could be argued that the new cars and rules have made things too complicated. Lewis Hamilton (who is no stranger to winning, with seven Drivers’ Championships to his name) said you need a degree to understand them fully.
Four-time champion Max Verstappen was not complimentary either, likening them to “Formula E cars on steroids”.
But despite the initial gripes, Lewis Hamilton remains a name to watch. He has promised fans that he is “not going anywhere” and has admitted he is excited for what will be “one hell of a season”.
“That’s a wrap on testing,” he posted on social media. “It’s inspiring to watch a team pull out all the stops to build a car. It’s the most fascinating part of this job for me. Everything is built from scratch and designed and redesigned over and over.
“And then there are only a few of us who get to put that machine to the test. That feeling never gets old. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone in the team back at the factory for the hard work to get to this point!! I am truly grateful.”
Room for improvement
Round one of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship kicks off on March 6th at Albert Park in Melbourne, Australia, and while everyone is talking up Russell’s chances, he is taking a more sanguine approach.
As the second and final Bahrain pre-season test drew to a close, he felt that there was still room for improvement from his car. He suggested that Mercedes needed to improve reliability after he experienced some gremlins on the track. He claimed that race starts could be the “tallest hurdle” after he made what he described his test starts as his “worse than my worst-ever start in Formula 1”. But he conceded that the car itself is feeling good and that the new power units are fast.
Coming home
One ex-Champion who definitely won’t be hoisting the cup aloft again is Damon Hill but he is returning to Williams as an Official Ambassador alongside his 1996 teammate, Jacques Villeneuve, 30 years after claiming the title…
