Position Constructors’ Standings PointsPts 1 559 2 260 3 236 4 194 5 70 6 52 7 51 8 45 9 35 10 20 <\/p>\n
The seven-time champion has not been competitive with this generation of cars, winning just two races since the start of the ground effect era in 2022. Hamilton<\/a> will hope that the 2026 technical regulations<\/a> will better suit his driving style, but there are already concerns.<\/p>\n Reports are suggesting that Ferrari are behind Mercedes and Audi<\/a> with their power unit. Furthermore, the regulation changes have received mixed reviews, with F1 drivers reaching \u2018very critical\u2019 conclusions<\/a> about the new cars after testing in the simulator.<\/p>\n TEAMDRIVER 1DRIVER 2AlpinePierre GaslyN\/AAston MartinFernando AlonsoLance StrollAudiGabriel BortoletoNico HulkenbergCadillacN\/AN\/AFerrariCharles LeclercLewis HamiltonHaasEsteban OconOliver BearmanMcLarenLando NorrisOscar PiastriMercedesN\/AN\/ARacing BullsN\/AN\/ARed Bull RacingMax VerstappenN\/AWilliamsAlex AlbonCarlos Sainz2026 confirmed F1 drivers<\/p>\n There are fears that the 2026 machines will be slower than the current cars and that drivers will have to lift and coast down the straights to recharge the battery. Stefano Domenicali dismissed the claims as \u2018tactical\u2019<\/a>, but drivers still feel that this will happen.<\/p>\n Domenicali<\/a> is remaining optimistic about the new regulations, and he has some exciting changes in mind for the sport over the next few years. However, there has been one proposal that has \u2018never passed\u2019 despite numerous attempts.<\/p>\n Domenicali is keen to improve Sprint races in F1, but many have questioned the impact of these races on the championship. Some solutions have included a separate championship, or increasing the number of races over the year \u2013 there are currently six Sprints on the F1 calendar.<\/p>\n Before Sprint races were introduced in 2021, another option that was tabled was reverse grids. First mentioned back in 2019, the idea, as per a report from ESPN<\/a>, was to have \u2018three or four\u2019 Sprint races replace regular qualifying, with the grid being set as the reverse of the championship standings.<\/p>\n Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 284 2 275 3 187 4 172 5 151 6 109 7 64 8 54 9 37 10 27 11 26 12 26 13 22 14 20 15 20 16 16 17 14 18 10 19 8 20 0 21 0 <\/p>\n For example, taking the 2025 standings, Franco Colapinto would start on pole position and Oscar Piastri would be at the back. The result of said Sprint would determine the grid for Sunday\u2019s race.<\/p>\n This idea was met with widespread criticism and never materialised, but according to journalist Julianne Cerasoli, that has not stopped F1 from trying to implement it.<\/p>\n Speaking via Reddit<\/a> about the future of Sprint races, she says that reverse grids have been proposed \u2018several times\u2019 but have never been approved: \u201cDomenicali wants to increase sprints because they work for promoters, boosting Friday attendance. <\/p>\n \u201cBut there are several issues, such as increased stress on equipment, compensation for budget caps, and so on. So, a consensus is needed to pass. Inverted grid has been tried several times and never passed.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton\u2019s life outside F1 from net worth to family<\/a><\/p>\n The most notable criticism of reverse grids came from the drivers themselves. Speaking during a press conference at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix, Leclerc, Hamilton, who was at Mercedes at the time, and Sebastian Vettel<\/a> (Leclerc\u2019s Ferrari<\/a> teammate) slammed the idea when it was first suggested.<\/p>\n Leclerc said: \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the solution for Formula 1. I think the best should win and start in the best place and not reversing that order. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton was harsher with his assessment as he said: \u201cI don\u2019t really know what to say to it. The people that proposed that don\u2019t really know what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n Vettel then asked Hamilton: \u201cWhat did you say?\u201d The Brit gave a smile to the German, before Vettel hilariously said: \u201cWell, I think it\u2019s complete b\u2014\u2014- to be honest.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to improve things, I think it\u2019s very clear that we need to string the field more together. We need to have better racing. So, it\u2019s just a plaster, I don\u2019t know which genius came up with this, but it\u2019s not the solution. I think it\u2019s completely the wrong approach.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be banking on next season for Ferrari to produce a title-winning car…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[10860,64,63,13275,817,813,816,823,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-84145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-2026-f1-regulations","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-charles-leclerc","12":"tag-f1","13":"tag-formula-1","14":"tag-formula1","15":"tag-lewis-hamilton","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Charles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2228319335-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Clive Rose\/Getty ImagesF1 has tried \u2018several times\u2019 to introduce reverse grids but it has been unsuccessful<\/p>\n![\"Ferrari](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2219850243-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Kym Illman\/Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc heavily opposed reverse grids when it was first introduced<\/p>\n