The 2026 Formula 1 season is approaching, and with a radically revised set of regulations, the usual certainties of the sport seem ready to crumble. Lawrence Barretto of F1.com has compiled his five boldest predictions for a year that could completely rewrite the hierarchy of Formula 1, featuring unexpected returns, new champions, and a driver market ready to explode.
Mercedes favored, new champions on the horizon
Barretto starts with a strong prediction: Mercedes will return to winning the Constructors’ Championship. After several challenging years in the ground effect era, the Brackley team enters the new technical cycle with confidence, buoyed by 2025 progress and a growing driver pairing: George Russell, with two wins and seven podiums, and rookie Kimi Antonelli, who impressed in the second half of the season.
According to Barretto, Russell could even fight for the drivers’ title, while Antonelli is expected to claim his first career victory. The combination of a competitive chassis and a potentially dominant Mercedes power unit leads Barretto to predict a return to the top.
A new world champion emerges
The second prediction concerns a brand-new world champion achieving their first career victory. Among the candidates: George Russell, Charles Leclerc — who scored seven podiums in 2025 despite a challenging Ferrari — and Oscar Piastri, determined to turn his 2025 disappointment into a title assault. One of them, Gabriel Barretto predicts, will become the 36th world champion in F1 history.
Williams on the rise, multiple winners, and a volatile driver market
The third prediction is one of the most romantic: Williams will win for the first time since 2012. The 2025 season marked a renaissance for James Vowles’ team, which finished fifth in the championship and showed steady growth thanks to a solid project and a top-tier driver pairing: Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, both still approaching their peak.
Gabriel Barretto also envisions a 2026 season with at least 10 different race winners, driven by regulatory uncertainty and an increasingly competitive grid. Potential victors could include Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, a Williams surprise, a late-season Alonso charge, or perhaps an unexpected result from Pierre Gasly or Isack Hadjar. The possibilities are wide open.
Finally, the fifth prediction concerns the driver market: more than five drivers will change teams in 2027. With numerous contracts expiring, an unpredictable hierarchy, and Max Verstappen’s future once again at the center of speculation, Gabriel Barretto envisions a seat shuffle involving even winning drivers. Aston Martin, with its first car designed by Adrian Newey, could become a highly coveted destination.
With technical revolutions, emerging talents, and a driver market ready to explode, 2026 promises to be one of the most unpredictable seasons of the modern era. Gabriel Barretto’s predictions are bold, perhaps risky, but perfectly capture the spirit of a year that could change everything. And as always in Formula 1, the only certainty is that nothing is truly predictable.
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