F1 2026 pre-season guide with 10 car launches confirmed and one team missing | F1 | Sport
In the motorsport world, the festive period is the quietest time of the year, but as staff return to work at their factories in January, the F1 paddock turns its attention to the car launches and testing events. With new technical regulations on the horizon, there will be more hype than usual surrounding the sport’s extended pre-season in 2026.
With so many events in the calendar, it can be hard to stay on top of what is happening when in F1 this off-season. Express Sport is on hand to keep you up to date with the significant happenings.
Car launch events
The reigning world champions, McLaren, are yet to announce the launch date of their new challenger as they look to defend both the Constructors’ Championship crown and Lando Norris’ Drivers’ Championship. However, all 10 other teams on the grid have announced their event dates.
Red Bull and Racing Bulls will kick off the launch season action on January 15th with a joint event, held in Detroit, United States. Haas will follow before Audi’s F1 project launches in Berlin. Only one other squad, Alpine, has confirmed the destination for their event, with Team Enstone heading to Barcelona for their reveal.
The full team launch schedule is as follows:
- January 15th: Red Bull and Racing Bulls joint launch
- January 19th: Haas car launch
- January 20th: Audi car launch
- January 23rd: Alpine car launch
- January 23rd: Ferrari car launch
- February 2nd: Mercedes car launch
- February 3rd: Williams car launch
- February 8th: Cadillac car launch
- February 9th: Aston Martin car launch
Special events
Alongside team launches, some organisations are hosting additional events for their new power units. Honda, which is partnering with Aston Martin for the new technical regulations, will livestream an event from Tokyo on January 20th, while Mercedes will release renders of their new car on January 22nd, over a week before their full launch event.
Pre-season testing
With new regulations comes a greater need for pre-season testing, so the schedule is much more eventful in 2026. The first private pre-season test will take place between January 26th and 30th at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Then, between February 11th and 13th, the cars will hit the track at the Bahrain International Circuit for the second test, before returning a week later for a second three-day test, running between February 18th and 20th. When the engines are cut off at the end of the session, the countdown to the Australian Grand Prix, held on March 8th, will begin.
