The Official F1 2026 silly season *contains speculation*

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chriswhitlock said:

Would be interesting for George to take a leap & join Cadillac

Career suicide. At least a months back they weren’t fully staffed against plan.

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FourWheelDrift said:

Kind of reminds me of when Lotus Racing entered F1 in 2010 with Trulli and Kovalainen. Two more seat warmers collecting their pension.

Should be one experienced and one hungry junior from F2, then have the other experienced driver as test driver.

Given every race will be a test session for them, I think they need the experienced driver feedback at least for the first 2 years.

I think they will be lucky to be within the 107% rule and reliant on discretion to compete.

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It will be 3 years before Cadillac are anything but rear end of the grid

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Random grids for sprint races would avoid some of the gaming of the rules. Perfect for the modern f1 spectacle - a lottery machine on the start/finish at Vegas choosing the starting grid…

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kambites said:

Reverse championship order would at least be deterministic and mostly unexploitable.

Random grids over seen by a lottery type operator would be unexploitable, other than viewers not understanding probability.

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kambites said:

Unexploitable yes, but a close championship battle could easily be decided by the random number generator.

It used to be in the glory (rose spectacle) prior years but then it was called mechanical reliability.

Personally I think we shouldn’t make any more changes for 2026; we have an entire new aero and engine. Let’s see where we are at the end of the season…

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Milkyway said:

Cadillac MIGHT get some surprise results in '26... Monaco being their best chance.

I would have thought any wet race with a bold strategy (or last car standing) might be their best bet.

Remember that they are entering with no data points for any track. The other teams don’t have data for the revised regs, but at least they know track characteristics, pits, operations, etc

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thiscocks said:

Was hoping Cadillac would get just one washed up ex F1 driver, not two.

Well they aren’t going to attract a WDC and why would a mid field driver pick them?

No point in having a rookie.

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TheDeuce said:

As a brand, they need redefining I think. F1 could make a lot of sense.

Currently, when I think of Cadillac, I have in mind car types that nobody wants to buy anymore. I expect they want to change that!

Stronger in the americas due to other series?

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spikyone said:

Should Cadillac find themselves hovering around the cutoff, they won't be given an exemption

I bet £10 to the Grand Prix Trust that there are, at least until the summer, providing it is <120%.

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carl_w said:

McLaren has announced Mastercard as "Official Naming Partner"

Can’t wait for the memes if the drivers take each other out.

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Milkyway said:

EDITED.
Surprised that they didn't add some banking to it.

A branch each of HSBC, Santander, etc to allow drivers to check their bank balances. Would be a shock to any British viewer to see a branch.

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Maybe a prelude to Aramco buying F1 and mandating only ICE…

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Milkyway said:

732NM said:

Kimi hasn't shown any proper raw speed in F2 or F1. If it wasn't for him being Toto's golden boy, he would not have got that drive based on merit. He may come good in time, but right now he's not looking like a ballistic driver that needs more time to knock the edges off the mistakes, he just looks too slow in F1 terms. He's not a Lewis or Max based on what he's shown so far.

Hadjar will be in the Red Bull next year.

Only if Jos OK's it.

I don't think Hadjar will have a choice as I think all Red Bull drivers are contracted to an entity that means they decide where you race.

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thegreenhell said:

Maybe the potential is there, but it's too soon for him to be at this level. He just looks out of his depth at the moment. He should have had another year in the juniors, or at least a midfield team where there was less pressure and less of a spotlight on him.

They did all the could with the private tests.

Maybe teams could be allowed a few extra tests in current spec cars - at the circuit of their choice (to keep travel costs down) to run only potential rookies- anyone who has raced in F1 is not allowed.

Or is the issue not ability to drive, but the pressure of an actual race weekend?

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Muzzer79 said:

So, apparently he is going to F2.

I have to say, fair play to Colton.

I'm not his biggest fan in Indycar. He's too inconsistent.

But he's taking a big risk and stepping up to try and get into F1, rather than taking the safe option in his well paid Indycar seat.

A lot of drivers claim they have the dream of F1, but few are willing to put their balls on the line to achieve it once they get into a well paid series outside it.

Will he be a success? I'm sceptical, but at least he's having a go.

Maybe he is just tired of going round and round in circles?

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732NM said:

Biggles Flies Undone said:

Sandpit Steve said:

the-norseman said:

They should just make it a non - championship race.

Drivers turn up for the weekend but have to race either older cars or F2 cars with more power.

I’m sticking with my suggestion that Monaco should be a Superkarts race for F1 drivers. Each team has a £250 budget to design and build two Superkarts to the existing technical regulations and with standard engines, and they all get auctioned off for charity on Sunday evening.

That is by far the best idea I have heard.

Too dangerous, those things are scary on a proper circuit, there would be body parts all over the place.

Agreed. No way would teams allow it.

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vaud said:

Agreed. No way would teams allow it.

That said, something like the LCC rocket with even skinnier tyres might be fun. Narrow enough to open up some overtaking. Add in some super sticky tyres and a pit stop.

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Biggles Flies Undone said:

Still Mulling said:

Gasly extends at Alpine until 2028.

That’s got to have a few exit clauses written into it.

You would have to assume so! Alpine are all over the place at the moment and who knows what will happen to that team over the next 3 years.

Merc customer team from next year, so could be a low risk commit if he has escape clauses.

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Leithen said:

Sorrow all round.

Feel sorry for Hadjar and sorry for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

I guess with a fundamentally new car and systems for next year it might not be fated in the way RB 2nd drivers are?