Formula 1 is poised to begin a new era of much-changed cars and engines in 2026, making ‘launch season’ one of the most eagerly-anticipated in years.
With pre-season testing beginning at the end of January, initially with behind-closed-doors running in Barcelona, teams will start to show off their 2026 looks and cars several weeks earlier than recent years as they ramp up preparations for the 24-race campaign from March.
Keep up to speed with the latest dates for livery and full-car reveals as they are confirmed below.
January 15 – Red Bull and Racing Bulls
The two Red Bull teams will kick off their new engine era at the Detroit headquarters of partners Ford by revealing their respective 2026 car liveries.
Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls’ colours will be unveiled on Thursday January 15 as part of Ford’s season launch event for their racing entities at the repurposed Michigan Central Station.
Look back at F1’s big O2 launch event ahead of the 2025 season when all 10 liveries for last year were revealed
January 19 – Haas
Haas originally scheduled their launch for Friday January 23 but then changed it to avoid a clash with Ferrari and Alpine.
They move a few days earlier to the Monday January 19, when the livery for their 2026 car, the VF-26, will be unveiled online.
January 20 – Audi
They aren’t a brand new team like Cadillac, but Sauber’s transition to Audi will become official when the German outfit hold a “global launch” event in Berlin on Tuesday January 20.
The team’s 2026 livery will be revealed, while they’ll extend the event into the following day to allow F1 fans in the German capital to come and have a look.
January 20 – Honda engine reveal
In a twist to the normal launch schedule, Aston Martin’s new partners Honda will hold their own event in Tokyo to officially begin their full return to F1 on Tuesday January 20.
The Japanese manufacturer’s launch comes ahead of a new season when F1’s power units are being overhauled to feature a 50-50 split between electrical and the internal combustion engine power.
January 22 – Mercedes
Is this going to be the car and engine combination to beat in the first year of F1’s new era?
Hotly-tipped Mercedes will show off the first renders of their latest challenger, the W17, on Thursday January 22 ahead of a season in which they bid to get back to title-contending ways after disappointment in the ground-effect rules era.
After the behind-closed-doors Barcelona test on January 26-30, the team will then host a season launch event online featuring drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, team boss Toto Wolff and the W17 itself on Monday February 2.
January 23 – Ferrari
After the disappointment of their winless 2025 season, Ferrari will officially launch what they hope will be a big bounce-back year for them on Friday January 23 – three days before the behind-closed-doors first test of pre-season starts in Barcelona.
The Scuderia have given little away so far about the exact nature of the launch but team boss Fred Vasseur said: “We will finish the assembly of the car the day before the launch, the launch will be January 23, which means we will finish the car on the 22nd, and this is to be aggressive.
“But everybody will do the same, now we have a convergence in the approach of the season, and everybody will do the same.” The 2025 car ran for the first time at Fiorano, the team’s own test track, on the day it was officially launched.
January 23 – Alpine
Alpine have promised “we’ve got something to show you” when they too hold an event on Friday January 23.
The team are aiming for a big step forward in F1’s new era having slipped to last in the 2025 constructors’ standings amid an early focus shift to 2026, with Alpine also swapping their own works Renault engines for a customer supply of a Mercedes power unit that is expected to be strong.
February 8 – Cadillac
When better for F1’s new American team to show off their Formula 1 look for the first time than during the country’s biggest and most-famous sporting event?
The team’s maiden car livery will be shown in a TV advert during the Super Bowl, which this year is being staged at California’s Levi’s Stadium, on Sunday February 8.
February 9 – Aston Martin
The eagerly anticipated unveiling of the first Aston Martin car designed by the legendary Adrian Newey will break cover on Monday February 9.
The AMR26, which will be powered by Honda engines, will be shown off two days before the first public test of pre-season begins in Bahrain.
Dates to be confirmed:
McLaren
Williams
What are the new regulations for F1 2026?
The 2026 Formula 1 season will see major changes to the regulations (Credit: F1)
The big change in 2026 will be a complete overhaul of the technical regulations that will see major changes to the power unit, chassis and aerodynamic rules. The cars will be very different to say the least.
New car design rules in F1 almost certainly causes a shake-up to the pecking order. Sky Sports F1‘s Martin Brundle has described the new regulations as the “biggest changes ever” in the sport.
The teams have long been working on their 2026 cars because the regulations are scheduled to be in place for five seasons. Being quick from next year will set you up to be competitive for the years to come. Mercedes’ dominance in 2014, for example, lasted until 2016 before they were finally caught by Ferrari and Red Bull.
Mercedes’ George Russell has his say on the radical new regulations that will be introduced to F1 in 2026
There will be no more DRS, instead we will “Overtake Mode” where the drivers can use more power on designated straights if they are within one second of another car. We will also see “Active Aero” which means the front and rear wings will be moving before and after corners.
It’s expected the cars will be able to follow each other more closely, so there will be more overtaking opportunities.
Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2026 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
link