Formula 1 in 2026 is great, and you know it

The worst thing about motorsports is that there’s no way to agree about whether something is good or not. There are too many interested parties with too many different motivations and preferences, and thus two people can watch the exact same thing and derive opposite opinions about it.

I tend to use a pretty simple heuristic: Was it interesting, yes or no? In fairness, I have almost never watched a race car in motion and not found it interesting, but there are, of course, levels to this. I would put the 2026 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix near the highest end of the highest level.

Oh, one car is way faster than the others and won the race 1-2? How interesting! They must have done a very good job at working around the loopholes in this exceedingly complicated regulation set and built the best race car possible under the circumstances! I wonder what the championship fight between the two Mercedes drivers will be like, and if any of the three other teams with the same engine or Ferraris that embarrassed them off the line at the start might have something to say about it!

Oh, a bunch of cars had serious technical problems? How interesting! As a motor racing enthusiast, I wonder if there are 1,001 or so fascinating technical stories there!

Oh, Oscar Piastri destroyed his car on the recon lap to the grid by getting on the power with his right wheels over the curb? How interesting! I wonder if there will be more mistakes that add drama to the season this year!

Oh, there was a race at the front for the first like 15 laps instead of it being over by turn 3? How interesting! I wonder if the fluctuations in energy available for overtake boosts from lap to lap had anything to do with that!

Oh, Ferrari chose to stay out when most people chose to pit under an early virtual safety car, and for some reason they aren’t apologizing afterwards? How interesting! The fan narrative that “Ferrari is bad at race strategy” might not completely explain the decision-making at the team that beat everyone else except the team with the head-and-shoulders fastest car!

Oh, Fernando Alonso had the Aston Martin in the points for a period of time despite the car being a deathtrap shitbox, Cadillac finished its first Formula 1 race ever, and Gabi Bortoleto got Audi points on debut? How interesting!

Oh, Arvid Lindblad, the season’s only rookie, finished EIGHTH? How interesting!

Oh, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, the dominant drivers of the 2022–2025 ground effect cars, hate the new cars, but Lewis Hamilton, the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time, loves them and thinks they’re “really fun”? How interesting!

Oh, HALF A MILLION PEOPLE went to a motor race this weekend? HOW INTERESTING!

Like, come on. Yes, there are some wrinkles to smooth out after race 1 of year 1 of a completely different car. No, nobody completely understands what the optimal way to use the battery is. Yes, it is possible that some changes to the ICE/electric balance of energy output might help. So, let us sally forth into the Formula 1 season and do those things. If you’re not entertained, I dare say that’s your choice.

Do you like the new cars? That’s a different matter. Personally, I do. I think powerful electric boost and active aero for efficiency is a very interesting combination. There are some things I’d like changed, but they’re all regulatory matters.

I don’t mind the howling turbo spooling long start procedure, but I think they should be allowed to use the instantaneous power delivery of the electric motor to get off the line. Rather than have them clobber each other at the start like Franco Colapinto nearly did to Liam Lawson, have them launch hard into lap 1 with very different energy levels and race it out.

Have a qualifying mode that turns up the ICE fuel flow level or something to make the split less than 50/50. Do I care whether that power goes to the wheels or the battery? No, I just want to make sure they’re making the car go as fast as possible in every part of the track when they don’t have to save tires or race people.

That’s about it, really. The cars are clearly better for racing than before, they look and sound incredible, and personally I am more interested in acceleration than top speed or overall lap time. I go into this season as excited as ever before because even if it’s status quo, it will be better, and it won’t be. There will be massive surprises.