F1 2026 calendar highlights
New team. New race. New rules. The 2026 Formula 1 season, which will feature 24 Grand Prix, is a promising new season.
Cadillac will become the 11th F1 team, bringing the grid to 22 cars. The Spanish capital Madrid will host a brand new Grand Prix, and F1 will introduce major regulations, including new aerodynamic rules and power units running, for the first time in the sport’s history, on 100% advanced sustainable fuels.
Formula 1 has now unveiled the 2026 calendar, here are the highlights.
Read also: Formula 1 reveals the 2026 season calendar
Australia once again hosts the season opener.
The temporary urban circuit in Australia, which winds through the beautiful Albert Park in Melbourne, hosted the opening race this year after being moved to the third round in previous years. It will have this honor again in 2026.
The 2025 event set a new attendance record with 465,498 spectators over the weekend, 13,443 more than in 2024 (which was a record at the time). The 2026 season will begin on March 6-8 in Melbourne — a week earlier than this year, which gives the teams a little less time to fine-tune their new cars.
As in 2025, the Australian race will be directly followed by China, while the Japanese Grand Prix will remain the third race, but this time as a standalone event. The schedule suggests that the cherry blossoms will be visible again in Suzuka.
With Ramadan in February and March, the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will remain in April, this time as a double-header instead of a triple with Japan.
Canada follows Miami.
The famous Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Canada traditionally had a date in June, but in 2026, it will be moved up to May to follow Miami.
This will allow logistical equipment to travel directly from Miami to Canada, rather than returning to Europe before departing again the following month. It is a new step in optimizing the geographical distribution of races and in F1’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030.
Monaco launches the European bloc
With Canada moved to May, Monaco moves back to June. This date change is part of a six-year contract extension that guarantees the presence of F1 on the narrow and winding streets of the Principality until 2031 inclusive.
In 2026, Monaco will thus open the consolidated European series of summer races, in a double-header with Barcelona.
Austria and Great Britain, then Belgium and Hungary, will form double meetings to close the first part of the season before the summer break.
Read also: What is the lifespan of the F1 calendar races?
Madrid makes its debut to close the European season
Last year, F1 announced that the Spanish Grand Prix would be held in Madrid from 2026 until at least the end of 2035.
The construction of a brand new circuit in the Spanish capital began last month, combining urban sections and specially designed layouts.
This new Spanish race — the second in the country in 2026, after Barcelona earlier in the year — will take place in September and will close the European season, as the second leg of a double-header with Monza in Italy.
The Americas and the Middle East close the year
The championship will return to Asia for the races in Azerbaijan and Singapore, before heading west for a series of three races in the Americas.
Austin will open this series with the Circuit of The Americas, followed by Mexico’s Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, then Interlagos in Brazil.
Las Vegas will once again be the 22nd race, before F1 concludes the season in the Middle East, with the Qatar Grand Prix and then Abu Dhabi, the latter ending the campaign on December 6.
A calendar that promises to be thrilling and promises great things on and off the track.
