F1 2026: Who’s hot, who’s not… and will the racing be any good?

It’s time for the speculation to end and the racing to get real: The 2026 Formula 1 World Championship begins March 8 with the Australian Grand Prix.

With massive rules changes, shifts in the pecking order, new teams and combos and – a huge pre-season talking point – questions over how the 2026 cars will race and pass, RACER F1 expert Chris Medland joined the RACER Weekly to set the scene, run through the field and, fingers crossed, put our minds at rest on what sort of a show we could get.

Are Mercedes and George Russell the favorites coming in? Can Ferrari pull off a surprise? How much of a mess are Aston Martin and power unit partner Honda in? And what to expect from the new teams? We put Chris on the spot and got some interesting takes from our man on the ground.