Formula 1 has confirmed to PlanetF1.com that there will be no extravagant season launch for F1 2026 as the sport and teams focus on delivering cars to all-new regulations.

The F1 2026 season marks the beginning of a new regulatory era in Formula 1 with new chassis and power unit rules set to come into force, prompting an extended pre-season testing process.

No 2026 season launch planned as teams race the clock in new F1 era

Formula 1 kicked off the F1 2025 season with a lavish all-in launch at London’s O2 Arena in front of a live audience.

The event was streamed globally and proved a huge success, affording each team a platform to showcase their own style and character.

It marked the first time in the sport’s history that the teams had combined their forces for a group event of its sort, coming together under the auspices of the world championship’s 75th anniversary.

But while it is accepted that F1 75 Live was a strong step in the right direction, PlanetF1.com has received confirmation that a similar event won’t take place next year given the significant new challenge facing teams.

Such is the magnitude of the F1 2026 regulation change, which includes active aerodynamics and an increase in hybrid power, that teams are already grappling with next year’s designs.

That will see them slowly move resources away from their current car and onto next year’s model while the F1 2025 championship remains in full swing.

In turn, that will feed into an intensive build programme in the latter stages of the year, spilling into the early weeks of 2026 as teams build not only the chassis but also a cache of spares.

As cars are expected to be notably different visually, teams aren’t able to roll out an older model for demonstration purposes as had been done in the past.

Indeed, it’s expected that teams will need to have their new cars ready by mid-January to begin testing.

The timing of a launch event would fall at a point when teams may not have their drivers available, nor a complete sponsorship roster.

The logistical complexity created by the new regulations, the timing of testing and the opening round, and the lack of a specific milestone for the championship to celebrate means there is no launch event slated for F1 2026.

However, the intention remains to reprise the concept at a future point.

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While the F1 75 Live event was generally considered a success, it wasn’t without its critics.

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen received a hostile reception when presented to the parochial British crowd, the four-time world champion’s father suggesting he wouldn’t feature at future events un the United Kingdom as a result.

“Max has no appetite for that, to be booed like that in front of 25,000 people,” Jos Verstappen told RaceXpress at the time.

“He also says: ‘If this is in England next year, they definitely won’t see me.’

“I couldn’t agree more with him.

“You’re there to promote the sport and showcase the new colour schemes of the cars, but when they go on a rampage like that, the question is: what are you there to do?

“He has to get ready to go there anyway, but then you get booed like that…

“I think they should take a hard look at that because that doesn’t belong in this sport.

“In itself, I thought [the launch event] was a reasonable setup, only I thought it was shameful what happened there with Red Bull Racing,” Verstappen added.

“That Christian Horner was booed like that and Max was booed too,” he added.

“You do it for Formula 1, you are there to promote the sport and then you are booed by the public.

“I don’t think that’s acceptable.

“I get it because Max is the only one who fires up those Englishmen and says exactly where it’s at.

“But I don’t think this is acceptable. It really is a disappointment what happened there.”

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