Will F1 fans be able to understand the racing in 2026?
As F1's 2026 revolution starts, the series faces an uncomfortable question: can fans comprehend racing where the most crucial battles are invisible?
Red Bull’s 2019 Formula 1 livery has been unveiled, replacing the one-off paint scheme used for its filming day

Red Bull has unveiled the livery that it will use for the 2019 Formula 1 season before preseason testing in Barcelona, Spain.
The livery looks largely similar to the 2018 car, featuring a red stripe in the middle and a Honda logo to mark its new engine partnership.
This is the fourth season that Red Bull will use matte paint on its car, having unveiled its 2019 challenger sporting a one-off livery.
Ferrari followed suit with a matte red SF90 F1 car, with team principal Mattia Binotto explaining that matte paint gives the team a small performance boost.
“The reason [for matte paint] is not aesthetic, but technical,” explained Binotto.

“Eliminating the shiny element gives us a few hundred grams, which may not sound like much, but when you push everything to the limit even this has an effect.”
Max Verstappen was positive about the Honda power unit after the team’s Silverstone shakedown.
“It felt good and we had no problems, so I’m very happy with that,” said Verstappen. “Now we can go testing properly. We’ll see what we can get out of that and we’ll be able to understand the car and the engine a bit better.”
As F1's 2026 revolution starts, the series faces an uncomfortable question: can fans comprehend racing where the most crucial battles are invisible?
A technical loophole involving thermal expansion has triggered accusations, secret letters to the FIA, and a war of words between teams over who'll dominate the 2026 F1 season
F1’s new '50/50' power units bring the fiendish problem of how to deploy and harvest electrical energy. It's the ideal scenario for AI, writes Mark Hughes. F1 is on the brink of a significant evolution
Newey has opened up on Aston Martin's bold design choices for its 2026 F1 car