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F1’s 2026 Debut Delivers Overtakes and Division as Mercedes Seizes Early Edge

Officials will review driver feedback on overtaking modes and energy management before Shanghai.

Overview

  • - The sweeping rules reset with roughly half of power from the battery and new boost/straight‑line modes produced about 120–125 passes and frenetic early‑lap duels, making energy strategy pivotal.
  • - Mercedes converted an efficiency advantage into a George RussellKimi Antonelli 1–2, with GPS and team analyses showing the works car quicker in corners yet still strong on the straights.
  • - Reactions split the paddock as Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff praised the spectacle, while Max Verstappen and Lando Norris condemned the racing as chaotic or videogame‑like.
  • - Safety concerns center on large speed differentials from the new deployment modes, with suggestions to allow the straight‑line/overtake systems only after the opening laps.
  • - Ferrari ceded ground by skipping a pit stop under a Virtual Safety Car, and Audi’s works debut mixed a Nico Hülkenberg DNS with Gabriel Bortoleto scoring ninth.