Why F1 2026 launch season may be defined by fear
As Formula 1 prepares for its most complex regulation reset in decades, the 2026 launch season may be shaped less by ambition than by a collective determination not to get it wrong
Team Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok is our latest podcast guest. He talks to Nigel Roebuck, Rob Widdows and Damien Smith about the role of the reserve driver, his contribution to Team Lotus’s ongoing development, the upcoming Indian Grand Prix and meeting his great hero, Alain Prost.

As Formula 1 prepares for its most complex regulation reset in decades, the 2026 launch season may be shaped less by ambition than by a collective determination not to get it wrong
Keeping the first F1 2026 testing session private may protect appearances, but it also deprives the series of a rare opportunity to show how a new era truly begins
With more factory-backed teams than customers and a ruleset that rewards integration, 2026 could mark Formula 1's return to a manufacturers' championship
The covers are about to come off the new generation of grand prix racers: F1 2026 car and livery launch dates announced so far