F1 Breaks Ratings Record, Widespread Changes Coming in 2026

Formula One’s final season on ESPN delivered a viewership record. 

ESPN announced Tuesday that F1 averaged 1.3 million viewers across 24 races this year, up from 1.21 million last year, according to Nielsen. The announcement comes after F1 drew 1.5 million viewers to Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the season, where McLaren’s Lando Norris was crowned the 2025 drivers’ champion.

According to ESPN, F1 has seen a 142% viewership increase since 2018, its first year with the network, driven by the success of the Netflix docuseries Formula One: Drive to Survive, released in 2019.

F1 will move to Apple TV in the U.S. starting next year, a deal reportedly worth $700 million over five years, or about $140 million annually. The expiring deal between ESPN and F1 was a three-year contract worth about $75 to $90 million per year.

But F1 will look significantly different in 2026 outside of a new broadcast partner.

Last year, F1 announced widespread rule changes starting in 2026 that will impact the build of the cars and potentially shake up the championship, including lighter cars, a redesigned power unit, and smaller tires. Teams will also have an increased budget cap of $215 million, up from $135 million, to build their cars.

The expectation is the cars will be slightly slower, but F1 is hoping that the changes create more competition on-track and variability in the standings. McLaren has won the last two constructors’ championships after two consecutive championships from Red Bull. Mercedes had won the previous seven.

The last time a winning team did not repeat was McLaren in 1998.

“If these changes bring closer racing and give more teams a chance to fight at the front, then it’s worth it. That’s what the fans want, and that’s what we want as drivers,” Norris said in August. 

General Motors will join the grid as the 11th constructor next year under the Cadillac brand, the first time since 2012 that Formula One will have more than 10 teams. Cadillac is only the second U.S.-based F1 constructor, joining Haas. 

Cadillac appears to have a desire to challenge in the midfield or even front of the pack immediately after opting to sign two veteran drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez, both of whom will be 36 by the 2026 season.

Audi will be worth watching next year, as it joins the paddock after officially taking full ownership of Sauber Motorsport in January. It will run with its own engine, the only car on track that will be powered by Audi.

There will be six different engine manufacturers next year, up from four this year. Red Bull will be manufacturing its own engine for the first time for both its lead team and junior team, the Racing Bulls. 

It will be crucial for Red Bull to produce a competitive engine immediately if they want to catapult Max Verstappen to his fifth world champion. Verstappen, who lost to Norris by just two points, is still widely considered the best active driver on the grid, especially after nearly knocking off an overpowered McLaren car this year.

But he’ll have to operate without Red Bull’s longtime advisor Helmut Marko, who stepped down from his role Tuesday. The 82-year-old helped sign Verstappen to Red Bull in 2014.