F1 star 'sad' after driving 2026 car for the first time

Ollie Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Haas, Mercedes, Bahrain, 2025 — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 star 'sad' after driving 2026 car for the first time

Ollie Bearman has given his first impression of the new machinery

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Wednesday 11 February 2026 13:55

An F1 star has made his views clear after driving his team's 2026 car for the first time, and his review is far from glowing.

The 2026 F1 championship introduces a whole host of challenges for the 11 teams and 22 drivers competing in it, regardless of their past experience in the sport.

Veterans of the sport Mercedes have already been tipped as the hot favourites to hit the ground running at the start of the season due to their form of handling regulation changes well in the past.

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The Silver Arrows made history during the turbo-hybrid era by taking home a record breaking eight consecutive constructors' championships between 2014 and 2021, whilst also picking up seven drivers' titles thanks to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

In 2014, F1 welcomed a major engine overhaul when the 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8s that the sport had become accustomed to were swapped out with 1.6-litre V6 turbo-hybrid power units.

What to expect from the F1 2026 cars

F1 cars will retain these engines for 2026 despite the sport welcoming the biggest overhaul in chassis and engine regulations of the modern era. But this year's power units will feature some major differences to the ones that catapulted Mercedes to the top of the standings following the start of the 2014 rules cycle.

A 50/50 split between electric and combustion power is to be expected this year, with the electric MGU-K almost tripling the amount of power it previously had (up to 350kW) and the V6 turbo Internal Combustion Engine power dropping to 400kW. The MGU-H has been removed entirely, hence the decision for the new cars to run on 100 per cent sustainable and hopefully more efficient fuel.

But the change in energy sources for the new power units also demands trickier management from the drivers piloting the machinery, something which has not proved popular with everyone.

Having driven his new 2026 car for the first time, Haas F1 star Ollie Bearman gave an honest verdict of the difficulties that come with having to focus a lot more attention on energy management, including lift-and-coast, something drivers will have to do to save energy.

"The annoying thing is definitely the energy management, the clipping and all of these things," the young Brit said recently, as quoted by Motorsport.com.

"It's definitely more than what we've been used to, but that's a given, considering the reliance on electrical as opposed to the previous generation.

"[It's] To be expected, but actually feeling it in reality for the first time is a little bit sad. One of those things."

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

Bearman will be in action in his Ferrari-powered Haas when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET.

Before then, the first round of pre-season tests in Bahrain kicks off today (February 11) through February 13, and the second round takes place from February 18 until February 20.

F1 TESTING 2026: Key dates, times and how to watch live

F1 2026 regulations Haas Ollie Bearman