New F1 video game confirmed by Lewis Hamilton, but there's one thing wrong with it

An edit of a picture of Lewis Hamilton looking surprised — Photo: © IMAGO

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New F1 video game confirmed by Lewis Hamilton, but there's one thing wrong with it

Lewis Hamilton has unveiled a new F1 video game

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 18 May 2026 18:55

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has teased a new F1 video game, taking to social media today (Monday, May 18) to reveal himself as one of the cover stars.

Last year's release of EA Sports' F1 25 was highly-anticipated, especially for fans of the British racing legend.

The game marked the first opportunity for players to choose to race as Hamilton since his monumental move to Ferrari, with the former Mercedes star having never appeared in red in any of the previous video games.

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With the F1 2026 season now well underway, fans may have been wondering when F1 26 would be released, and in a post on social media platform 'X', Hamilton has provided an answer.

"A New Era," wrote Hamilton, before the caption continued: "@easportsf1 reveal: May 20. #F125SeasonPack"

In the accompanying image, Hamilton stood in the centre, adopting the lead driver role for the promotion, with Gabriel Bortoleto stood beside him in a brand new Audi F1 race suit, with the 'Madring' seen in the background, a new circuit for the 2026 calendar.

In line with true events in F1 2026, Valtteri Bottas was also pictured, reunited with his former Mercedes team-mate Hamilton but this time, wearing the team kit of new American F1 squad Cadillac.

The game is set to be revealed on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, with a teaser trailer premiering at 4PM BST.

But if the game reflects the F1 2026 season and features marketing promotions with Audi and Cadillac, then why is it still called F1 25?

F1 HEADLINES: Hamilton 'now Ferrari No. 2', Horner comments spark driver move rumours

Why are EA Sports no longer releasing standalone F1 games?

Just as Hamilton teased, 2026 has ushered in a 'new era' for the pinnacle of motorsport.

Brand new chassis and power unit regulations, a new rookie driver in the form of fellow Brit Arvid Lindblad, and a much bigger focus on electrical energy.

But despite the new regulations cycle, the official F1 game won't be getting its usual standalone release to celebrate F1 2026.

Instead, players will have access to a new season pack in the form of a DLC (downloadable content) expansion, a choice which has been labelled a, 'strategic reset for the F1 franchise.'

This means gamers will still be able to download an expansion pack which will include the cars, updated teams, liveries and drivers to reflect the real-life F1 2026 championship, but a separate F1 26 game will not be released.

This will be the first year a standalone F1 game has not been released since 2008, with only Wii and PSP editions available in 2009.

In 2007 there was no game released at all, with Codemasters and EA's decision to not produce an F1 26 title the first time they have done so since the former gained control of the franchise in 2009.

But never fear, EA confirmed in November 2025 that 2027 will see the popular video game series return, kicking off the start of a new and more expansive F1 experience, and given the number of 'tweaks' made to the F1 2026 rules by the FIA already, perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea to let the motorsport governing body sort themselves out before releasing video games that align with the new rules.

A New Era.@easportsf1 reveal: May 20.#F125SeasonPack pic.twitter.com/mV6F7TekjI
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 18, 2026

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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