This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Vic chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Max Verstappen has been dethroned. Lando Norris is the new World Driver’s Champion, ending a 15-year streak of only Mercedes and Red Bull drivers winning. The McLaren Formula 1 Team is the back-to-back winner of the Constructors’ Championship. 

At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Max Verstappen, Oracle Red Bull Racing, won; the McLarens were both disqualified, and Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, got bumped up to third place. As the third-to-last race in the season, it was crucial for points in the championship. 
Thanks to the Vegas DSQ’s, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Norris were all within 16 points of each other, meaning that the World Championship fight came down to the finale in Abu Dhabi, just as it did in 2021. In the end, Norris pulled off the championship even though Verstappen won the race in Abu Dhabi.

Red Bull:

In July, Oracle Red Bull Racing had a massive shake-up in the power structure as Christian Horner, Team Principal and CEO, left the roles he had held for 20 years with immediate effect. Horner was replaced by Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team (Racing Bulls). After 20 years, Dr. Helmut Marko, who oversaw the development of new drivers among other roles, has parted ways with Red Bull (finally).

Red Bull also made quite a few driver changes at the end of the 2025 season, just before the last Grand Prix. Yuki Tsunodais out, Isack Hadjar has been promoted to Red Bull, and Arvid Lindblad has been signed to Racing Bulls. Lindblad was given a Super License before he turned 18, a move by the FIA that shows both his immense speed, talent, and maturity. The now 18-year-old is one to keep an eye on in 2026.

Hulk’s First Podium:

After 239 race starts in Formula One since 2010, Nico Hulkenberg, Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, finally secured his maiden podium at the British GP with a third place finish after starting in 19th. It was a heartwarming moment that was long overdue for Hulkenberg.

Charles Leclerc Is Engaged:

Well, it’s official, I no longer stand a chance of ever dating Charles Leclerc. The 28-year old Monegasque announced his engagement to 24-year-old Alexandra Saint Mleux on Nov. 2 through an Instagram post. Leclerc, a Scuderia Ferrari HP driver, and Saint Mleux, an art historian, fashion muse, and the founder of Corazones Unidos, first sparked dating rumours in March of 2023. These rumours were confirmed in May of 2023, and since then, she has frequently been in the paddock to support Leclerc during race weekends. The happy couple has not yet announced a date for their wedding.

Race Renewals:

Multiple races have been extended. The Miami Grand Prix has been extended until 2041. The Red Bull Ring in Austria will be extended until 2041. Mexico City received a three-year renewal, so F1 will be racing there until 2028. Montreal will remain a Grand Prix track until 2035.

Rookies:

Kimi Antonelli, Ollie Bearman, Isack Hadjar, and Gabriel Bortoleto all proved themselves as drivers during their rookie season in the sport. 

Antonelli was the highest-scoring rookie with 150 points. He became the third-ever youngest podium finisher in F1 when he came third at the Montreal Grand Prix at 18 years and 294 days old. Antonelli finished the season with three podiums, all in third place, and one Sprint podium in second place. Antonelli also became the youngest ever pole-sitter (starting first on the grid) in any format when he managed to get pole in a Sprint Qualifying in Miami.

Bearman, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, finished his season off with 48 points and a best finish of eighth place. He was also the first Haas driver to consistently score points in five consecutive Grands Prix. Bearman even managed to beat his teammate, Esteban Ocon, consistently when compared to him throughout the season.

Hadjar, Racing Bulls, was promoted to the second Red Bull seat after the season ended, and hopefully, the “second seat curse” doesn’t affect his future in F1. Hadjar shone throughout his rookie season, consistently beating out his teammate, Liam Lawson, when compared in stats and results. His best finish was third place at the Dutch Grand Prix. That podium made him the youngest Frenchman ever and the fifth youngest in F1 history, at 20-years-old, to be a podium finisher. 

Bortoleto, Kick Sauber, finished the season in 19th with 19 points to his name. The Brazilian driver was a back-to-back winner of F3 and F2 before joining Sauber. Fernando Alonso even called Bortoleto “the best rookie of this generation.” Sauber was arguably the worst performing team on the grid, but Bortoleto and Hulkenberg were both able to drag the car past its limits to score points.

Alpine:

BWT Alpine Formula One Team had a dramatic start to their season, but then was easily forgotten about as they only scored 22 points thanks to Pierre Gasly. Rookie driver Jack Doohan was replaced just six Grands Prix into the season. Franco Colapinto was then promoted from reserve driver to the second seat for at least the following five races, though he stayed for the remainder of the season. Colapinto ended the season with no points after 18 races.

What’s next:

The 2026 season brings a lot of new changes and regulations. 

Max Verstappen has officially changed his driver’s number as he has given “1” to Norris and will be racing using “3” instead of his iconic “33” he drove with before the 2022 season, when he started using “1” as the then-reigning world champion. With a new rule that drivers are allowed to change their career number, Verstappen quickly took the chance to use his favourite number, which had previously been taken by Daniel Ricciardo. No other drivers are changing their numbers, aside from Norris choosing to change from “4” to “1” as the current champion.

After seven seasons of ten teams on the grid, an eleventh team will be joining. The Cadillac Formula 1 Team will have veteran drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez driving for them. The American team is backed by General Motors and will reveal their livery at the Super Bowl. After many efforts of the Andretti-Cadillac operation to be allowed into F1, it was only after Michael Andretti, Mario Andretti’s son and the Andretti Global chief, stepped back that the FIA allowed Cadillac to enter. The team, supported by General Motors, will be a customer team until 2028, when it will have its own in-house power units ready and will use the Andretti Global project in Silverstone as its headquarters. Mario Andretti has been named as a director on the board, ensuring that the Andretti family is still involved with the team even if their name won’t be on it.

Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber will become Audi and be a power unit supplier as well. The team will officially be called Audi Revolut F1 Team as their title partner is a British financial technology company. Audi will also be manufacturing its own power units and will no longer use Ferrari-made engines.

McLaren sold its naming rights to become the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team starting in 2026.

Atlassian Williams Racing will become the Williams F1 Team next year, so they are refreshing the iconic British squad’s identity. As one of the most successful F1 teams of all time, Williams is in a rebuilding era and scored more points in this season than the last seven combined. 

Toyota Gazoo Racing replaces MoneyGram as Haas’ title sponsor, meaning that the team will be renamed to the TGR Haas F1 Team.

Aside from the changes within teams, there are also new regulations.

With the new regulations, cars will have a minimum weight of 1,693 pounds, which is 66 pounds lighter than the previous year, and will also be eight inches shorter and four inches narrower. These changes are meant to make the cars more agile and allow for more opportunities to pass on the track to create more exciting racing.

There’s new terminology as well. The front and rear wings will also be simpler with the introduction of Active Aero. That means the cars can adjust the angle of both their front and rear wings depending on where they are on the track. That does mean it is the end of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) as we know it, with the introduction of Overtake Mode, which can be used when a driver is within one second of the car ahead. Unlike DRS, Overtake Mode is not tied to specific zones on the track and can be used strategically either all at once or spread out across a lap. 

With so much to learn about the new regulations, there is also lots of F1 content to enjoy over the winter break, such as the Secret Santa that the drivers do each year. There was so much that happened over the season that it would be impossible to cover it all! You’ll just have to watch some of it for yourself.

The 2026 calendar also brings changes as Madrid replaces Imola. Keep an eye on the calendar as the new season starts on March 6 in Australia with the race on March 8, and I, for one, cannot wait! There are so many changes that the first win could go to any team or driver on the grid. It will be a season to watch!