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Up To Speed Podcast Episode Summary
Episode Title
Q&A: Will Huge F1 Changes Cause Bigger Drama?
Episode Overview In this episode of the "Up To Speed" podcast, hosts Will Buxton, Naomi Schiff, and David Coulthard discuss the significant changes coming to Formula One in the 2026 season. With the absence of Jolie Sharpe, the panel addresses various listener questions regarding these changes, including their potential impact on racing dynamics and the new team, Cadillac.
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Key Topics Discussed
- Overview of Changes in F1 for 2026
- Redesign of Cars: Cars will be smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient.
- Elimination of DRS: The traditional Drag Reduction System will be replaced with movable wings for better overtaking dynamics.
- Hybrid Engines: 50% of performance will come from hybrid energy, utilizing 100% renewable fuel.
- Reactions to Changes
- Mixed Opinions from Drivers:
- Max Verstappen: Least favorite era of Formula One.
- Lando Norris: Excited about the changes and believes they will enhance the fun aspect.
- Complexity vs. Excitement
- Concerns About Overcomplication:
- Naomi expresses that while the goal is to enhance racing excitement, the complexity of new technologies may lead to confusion.
- David emphasizes the unpredictability this may introduce into the season.
- Competitiveness and Strategy
- Old Vs. New Drivers: Discussion on how experienced drivers like Lewis Hamilton may adapt versus younger drivers acclimated to complex systems.
- Impact of Weight Regulations: Some teams may struggle with the new minimum weight limit, potentially affecting race performance.
- Cadillac's Entry into Formula One
- Financial Investment: Cadillac reportedly spent $1 billion before even racing.
- Challenges of New Teams:
- Competing against established teams that have rich histories and resources.
- The necessity of a strong foundation (e.g., employing experienced personnel).
- Driver Dynamics
- Bottas vs. Perez:
- Discussion about how two veteran drivers will navigate the competition within the team and hold responsibility for building the team's performance.
- Both drivers have experience but are under different pressures compared to younger competitors.
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Key Takeaways
- Excitement vs. Complexity: While the new regulations aim to create more thrilling races, there are valid concerns about whether the changes may complicate the sport.
- Fresh Opportunity for New Teams: Cadillac's entry is seen as a double-edged sword, with potential for innovation but also the challenge of competing against seasoned teams.
- Relying on Experience: The mix of seasoned drivers and new regulations may lead to an interesting dynamic as the season progresses, with veteran insight playing a crucial role.
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Audience Interaction
- The hosts encourage listeners to engage by submitting questions and sharing their thoughts on social media.
- They emphasize the importance of community feedback as they navigate through the season's new changes.
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Closing Remarks The hosts conclude with excitement about the upcoming racing season, emphasizing the unpredictability and potential for drama in the new era of Formula One. The episode ends with a reminder to follow their social channels for updates and discussions.
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*This summary encapsulates the critical points discussed in the "Up To Speed" episode and highlights the evolving landscape of Formula One racing as it prepares for significant regulatory changes.*
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOUnderstanding the 2026 F1 Regulations
0:46 to 2:33
Explaining the significant changes in Formula One for the 2026 season.
“People keep on saying this is the biggest change F1 has ever seen, but I don't understand what's changing.”
Impact of Car Design Changes
2:34 to 4:04
Discussion on how the new car design may affect racing dynamics and speeds.
“They've got less contact patch from the tyres.”
Sustainability in F1
4:05 to 5:30
Exploration of sustainability goals in Formula One and its impact on racing.
“30 kilos on weight, 20 centimetres on length and 10 centimetres on width.”
Competitiveness and Driver Skills
5:31 to 7:07
Analyzing how new regulations may affect driver performance and competitiveness.
“having new regulations every so often, which is part of the question that we're being asked, is the fact that it brings everybody back to the drawing board and it does make things more competitive.”
Challenges of Overtaking in F1
7:08 to 10:13
Debate on the difficulty of overtaking in F1 and potential improvements with new rules.
“You don't just lose your ability overnight.”
Comparing Formula One and IndyCar
10:14 to 12:32
Comparison of the racing styles and regulations between Formula One and IndyCar.
“a football match, if your team wins 1-0, you go away going, that was a good match.”
Cadillac's Entry into Formula One
12:33 to 14:02
Discussion on the challenges and expectations for Cadillac's new F1 team.
“My question this week is, I know there's lots of new regulations this year, but there's also a new team.”
The Challenges of New F1 Teams
14:02 to 16:41
Explore the financial and operational hurdles faced by Cadillac as a new F1 team.
“So they've spent a load of money because they're basically starting from a blank canvas.”
Driver Dynamics in a New Team
16:41 to 19:15
Understand the importance of driver experience and teamwork in a newly formed F1 team.
“and are the drivers exhausted because I think we calculated it just a little earlier They have, on average, the oldest combination of age.”
Building Foundations for Future Success
19:15 to 20:45
Discuss how current drivers Bottas and Perez can help build a competitive future for Cadillac.
“It is to work together to help to lift this team up, to point it in the right direction and take it to a place where it can fight for points and podiums and wins.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:02Will:This is a Global Player original podcast. The question I think we all get asked more than any other, particularly this time of year, is what is changing in Formula One for the new season and particularly for 2026 because there is a brand new set of regulations.
0:18DC:How are things changing? And most importantly, does it make racing faster, more exciting or just far too complicated?
0:25Naomi:Well, Max Verstappen told us it's his least favourite era of Formula One. But Lando Norris says it's a lot of fun. I can't wait to tell you what I think all about this. It's Will.
0:37DC:It's Naomi.
0:38Naomi:It's David.
0:39DC:Now let's get you up to speed.
0:47DC:Up to speed.
0:52Will:People keep on saying this is the biggest change F1 has ever seen, but I don't understand what's changing. Can you explain it for me in super basic terms? Not my words, the words of Lila on YouTube. It's a great question, Lila. I think there is a lot of maybe confusion because there is such a huge raft of changes going into 2026. So if we're going to break it down in as simple terms as possible, I've written something out here because there's so much that if you don't kind of get it down, I've tried to get it down into a short paragraph.
1:29Will:The cars have been redesigned to be smaller, lighter and more energy efficient, with the intention behind it all being to hopefully ensure close and exciting racing. The cars are going to lose the DRS overtaking aid, which they've had for years now, and which a lot of people felt made overtaking a little bit too easy. So instead of that, there are now movable wings that will switch between low downforce for the straights and high downforce for the corners. Plus, drivers have also now got a button on the steering wheel which they can use for a boost, which they can use to either attack or defend.
2:04Will:They'll still run the similar V6 engines that they had before, but way more electric power. About 50 % of the performance will come from hybrid energy and all of that with 100 % renewable fuel.
2:18DC:I heard that. Oh my God, it was almost like the Cadillac press release.
2:23Naomi:Why have they done all that? I said a lot without saying anything at all. Yes, exactly. Well, no, thank you for bringing us up to speed with that. So smaller, lighter. Are they going to be faster because of that? They've got less contact patch from the tyres. They've got less under downforce, sucking the car to the ground. Where do we think it's going to land?
2:43DC:I think much more than any other season before, this is going to be a season where it takes them a little bit longer to get up to speed. Nice. Ding, ding, ding. Because, of course, they're going back to the drawing board so much. So it takes a little bit of time to get things ironed out. And, of course, as you say, you know, more nimble, lighter. All these things should theoretically make the cars faster, more competitive, etc. But as you say, the battery is the big question mark, isn't it? How much of the time are they going to be harvesting power or deploying that power? I think there's going to be a lot more going on in the car.
3:16Will:It's a little bit like when kids go around on Halloween and they get their bags filled with candy, right? There are different philosophies over the candy. Do you scoff it all as soon as you get home? Do you save it and spread it out over a week or put it to the back of a cupboard and forget you've got it? You know, how you... It's easy to tell. The fat kid is eating it all on the first night. Yeah, but that's like which teams are going to do which.
3:41Naomi:There are some teams overweight. There we go. You know, getting to the weight, this reduced weight limit, has been a huge challenge. And there's rumours of some teams being 20, 30 kilograms overweight, which could be, what, six tenths? Seven tenths of a second?
3:56Will:When the minimum weight has only dropped by, what are we looking at, 60, 70 kilos? No, 30 kilos.
4:02Naomi:30 kilos lighter.
4:03Will:They've only dropped 30 kilos, that's it.
4:05Naomi:30 kilos on weight, 20 centimetres on length and 10 centimetres on width.
4:09DC:Well, it's going to be tricky. And we knew this was going to be a year that comes with a lot of challenges. I hope that this statement ages well. But regardless of which way it goes, whether it's going to be fast or not, I do think it's going to provide a little bit of chaos and a little bit of, you know, inconsistency and whatever. And I think it's going to be a really interesting year. Well, Fred on Instagram. Hopefully that ages well.
4:29Will:Yes, I think it's all going to be about engines. Fred on Instagram was wondering, you know, why they've done it. I guess it's for racing purposes. is?
4:37DC:I think it's more than just that, if I'm honest. I think relevance is important as well. I think there's a huge sustainability angle. Formula One is trying to get to net zero by 2030.
4:47Naomi:Which it will do, because they always achieve their targets.
4:50DC:Exactly. And so there's an element of being relevant there. Of course, motorsport, and especially the pinnacle of motorsport, which is Formula One, they want to be up and keeping with what's going on in the automotive world. And this is very much the direction they're going. So yes, Racing is the forefront and that's the point. But there are other aspects to why we're doing this.
5:08Will:And I think that's going to be fascinating.
5:10DC:And that's why Formula One is the centre of innovation in motorsport.
5:13Naomi:It is. But let's be honest. I couldn't give two hoots about all of that stuff. I care about the racing. Yes. Is the racing going to be interesting? Because, look, I love the world. I think it should be saved. But meanwhile... But not at the expense of racing. Not at the expense of Grand Prix racing.
5:29DC:But let's be honest. having new regulations every so often, which is part of the question that we're being asked, is the fact that it brings everybody back to the drawing board and it does make things more competitive.
5:40Naomi:Well, I love that old school reference, back to the drawing board. I think you'll find it's the CAD CAM systems nowadays. Unless you're Adrian Newey.
5:47Will:Unless you're Adrian Newey, who still draws. But here's the big thing, though, Naomi, as well, is does it make it more competitive or does it actually spread out the competitive order? Because when you have stable rules, everybody starts to catch each other because there's only so much you can do within that rule set.
6:03DC:The law of diminishing returns.
6:05Will:Bingo. With this clean sheet of paper, it is open season.
6:11DC:Well, listen, there's only one way to find that out. It's to watch Formula One and then come and listen to us on Up to Speed and we'll get you up to speed on everything about whether this was worth it or not. But in the meantime, Julia has asked us a question on TikTok.
6:23Naomi:Oh, can I read it? Can I read it, please? You go for it. Because it's very, I think it represents how direct our listeners are. And it's which drivers will be best at it? And who does this screw over?
6:35Will:Who does it screw, Will? Listen, I'm hoping this plays back into the hands of some of the, should we say, more old school drivers who did not enjoy the last generation of car. And people are saying Lewis is washed. He's never going to win another race. He's never going to win a world championship. I don't think you lose the skills and abilities that have turned him into a seven-time world champion overnight. Because what we saw from 21 to 22 was Lewis went from the best in his field to questionable overnight. You don't just lose your ability overnight. That's the car for me.
7:12DC:But I also think that the younger generation who are like a little bit more used to being in their simulators, pressing a thousand buttons at a time, answering their chats while video recording themselves and racing will potentially also cope well with being in the car and having to, you know, open up their wings, close the wings, be consistent, this and that. I think if I have to name one driver that I think will do well, and unfortunately they didn't make it to the first round of testing, I do think it's Carlos Sainz because I think he does handle a lot in the cockpit and he impresses me so much he's busy doing the engineer's job for them oh his capacity is is is vast isn't it
7:49Naomi:it's absolutely huge i i would just back him because he's got a scottish girlfriend right so does that all make sense who do you think will ace these new regulations let us know your thoughts in the comments we are at up to speed show on socials and while you're at it like subscribe and leave a review now stay where you are we will tell you what we actually think of all of this
8:21Naomi:I just can't wait to get on with the racing. I don't care about sustainability and recharge and blah, blah, blah. I think it will forever be, as it's forever been, the fastest driver, the best talent, will take the most out of all of these things. Whether you're pushing a thousand buttons or whether you're pushing one, speed is speed.
8:41DC:So as they say, when the flag drops,
8:44Naomi:the bullshit stops.
Read the full transcript
8:45DC:Thank you. So we're going to wait to see, but what you're saying sounds a little bit more like you're leaning into the likes of a Max, I'm guessing?
8:50Naomi:Yeah, pure speed. I think that... But again,
8:53DC:if that car, as we said earlier, is 20 to 30 kilos overweight, which I'm not saying his is, or that powertrain is not doing what it needs to do, you can be as good as you want to be. You're not necessarily going to come first, are you? Well, look,
9:07Naomi:I think engines will dominate this season. There's no question in my mind about that. But over time, it will level out.
9:15Will:Will this actually make the racing better? Hannah on Facebook is asking this. She says she's bored of no overtaking and people finishing in the same position they qualified. Yeah, but come on. Especially in Monaco.
9:24Naomi:If you have the fastest car qualifying at the front, why would you expect anyone to overtake it? You know, the whole thing about Formula One is fast at the front, slowest at the back. The race starts. The slowest guy is never going to come through and win. So just need to look at the history of the sport. There's a great sales pitch here, DC.
9:41DC:This is why controversial theory. Be the quickest.
9:45Naomi:As a driver, I wanted to be in pole position because especially in Monaco, if I led into the first corner, 90 % of the work was done.
9:53Will:Yeah. I mean, Hannah, we're going to be totally honest with you here. They haven't been able to overtake in Monaco since the 1920s. So 100 years on, there's still not much chance of that happening. But the hope with these new regulations is that overtaking will be a touch easier, that the racing will be a touch more exciting. than it has been.
10:12Naomi:But I don't get it though. I don't, a football match, if your team wins 1-0, you go away going, that was a good match. You don't see 100 goals like, or, you know, the points in basketball and things like that. So it's not about how many things happen. I remember Mansell going around the outside of Gerhard Berger in Mexico in 88. It stands out in my mind because it probably got the year wrong, but it was an amazing overtake. Or I remember Senna's qualifying lap in Monaco being a second quicker than Alan Prost. It's about those memorable moments rather than having so many of them. It's just like a social media feed.
10:50DC:I don't know if I agree with that because I think that the goal that you refer to in the football game is the podium. I think that the interaction that you have between players and, you know, getting the ball from another team in a football game is the overtaking. And you've got to keep it constantly interesting when they're just going around in circles. Not much is happening. I kind of get it. You do want a little bit more of that action happening and you don't want it only happening in the pit stops. But everything they do in Formula One is to get it more interesting. I mean, every regulation change, they try to make the overtaking easier.
11:23DC:But unfortunately, with these winged cars, you want optimum airflow. If you've got a car in front of you, the closer you get to the car in front of you, the worse the performance of your car is. So inevitably, we're going to have to have things like DRS that we had or like what they'll have now. in order for these drivers to get a little bit of an aid to make it easier to overtake. But honestly, I kind of agree with you in that qualifying is what I tune in for. I think I've got a bit of a unique view on this
11:51Will:in that I get to spend a lot of time in the States and doing IndyCar, where there are about as many overtakes in one race day afternoon as there are in about half a season of Formula One. But that is a championship where everyone is in essentially the same car and just different engine providers. And that is a championship that has been designed for the show and for entertainment and to allow the drivers to go out there and prove who's the best driver. Formula One at its heart remains an engineering contest above all. You have to be in the best car in order to have the best shot at winning races and winning the world championship.
12:26Will:They're very different propositions. How do you marry those two together? That's the secret sauce. And that's always been the toughest equation, I think, to get right.
12:36DC:Figuring it out. Still figuring it out.
12:46Will:Up to speed.
12:49Naomi:Now this is from George on TikTok. Hey guys, thank you for the new show. I'm already hooked. My question this week is, I know there's lots of new regulations this year, but there's also a new team. How hard will it be for Cadillac to break in?
13:01Will:So can the new team win?
13:04DC:Of course, Cadillac's entry into the sport is big, big news. and it's going to cost big, big, big bucks, right? So let's talk about it. How hard is it to break into Formula One as a brand new team? Can they win? How hard is it going to be for them to be competitive? And how much is it setting them back?
13:20Will:Let's put a baseline on this right from the outset. They have already spent, and they haven't even turned a wheel in anger yet, $1 billion.
13:30DC:Wow, ouch.
13:31Will:That is what they are believed to have spent up to this point.
13:35DC:Yeah.
13:35Will:That's just to make it to the grid. And they don't have a title sponsor. So, like, that is a huge undertaking, not just for Cadillac and General Motors, for TWG, Dan Towers, that whole group behind the scenes and launching this team. It's a massive financial undertaking. They have three bases, one at Silverstone, one in Indianapolis in America, and one at Charlotte, North Carolina in America.
14:01DC:But like, let's take this as an example to compare the undertaking that they've got as opposed to, let's say, an Audi who's taking over an existing structure. So they've spent a load of money because they're basically starting from a blank canvas. Yes. They've had to throw about 200 million. Is it pounds or dollars at it in terms of anti-dilution fees?
14:21Will:Yes, because in order to be allowed into the sport, you had to ultimately pay off the other teams and say, please let us come and play.
14:28DC:Exactly. Because otherwise you're just cutting into everybody's prize money. And I think that a lot of people weren't convinced of whether they were adding real value, which we'll give it to them. Just by their entrance into the sport, they've already added value. But of course, they had to prove a lot to the FIA to farm in terms of financial stability, in terms of whether they'll actually be competitive and, you know, what they're adding to the sport.
14:48Will:And honestly, who knows if they'll be competitive? A brand new set of regulations. It's a clean sheet for everybody. That has its benefits for a new team in that everyone is starting from scratch. They're taking on Ferrari engines, so they're not trying to do an Audi and create their own engine from scratch. So there's positives. How did that work out for Haas? Positives to all of it. And they've gone and poached the best that they could find from every F1 team, I think, has lost at least somebody.
15:14Naomi:The very best is not going to leave the top teams. You're not getting an Adrian Ewing. This is true. No. You're not getting an Ewing.
15:18DC:But there's a lot of really good people who kind of hide behind those bigger characters because there is no route to promotion that are desperate to break free and go do something somewhere else. I think from an opportunity perspective, it's great. Oh, it's great for the ecosystem of motor racing.
15:32Naomi:They've employed hundreds of people, especially in the UK.
15:35Will:But I wonder how many of them will stay the course. As you both have mentioned, having three bases is potentially not an optimized strategy for any team, let alone a brand new team. And you have two distinct issues, I think, with the way in which a Cadillac as an American team will fare. One is the American work culture, which is that there is no time off. You work, you keep working, you grind yourself into the ground. Family, what family? You work, right?
16:06Naomi:That's the British motor racing culture as well.
16:07Will:But you've also got the F1 mentality, which is don't like it, go do something else. Because we'll find somebody younger and cheaper who will do it, do the job that you don't want to do or you aren't willing to do. if you're based in the UK you're working all the way through the day you've then got to work through most of the night because America is still awake up to that point so you're getting three hours sleep and the season hasn't even started and I have heard from people I know who have moved over to this great new enterprise the team is exhausted like they're done and the season hasn't great starting point
16:40DC:but the season hasn't even started and are the drivers exhausted because I think we calculated it just a little earlier They have, on average, the oldest combination of age.
16:50Will:The oldest lineup in Formula 1.
16:51DC:I mean, I think that there is a benefit to that, particularly given the fact that it is pretty much a blank canvas for them. Of course, you've got a lot of people coming from around the paddock that bring experience, et cetera, et cetera. And I think having these two drivers will help them in the first year when it comes to the experience, for example, Bottas. Lewis named him the best teammate he's ever had because he does the hard work, he sets up the car, He gives back the data feedback. And then, I guess, what's Pairs bringing to the table? I mean, consistency, tyre management. What are his...
17:24DC:Mexican sponsorship.
17:25Naomi:Mexican sponsorship. Yeah, money, money. Yeah, I don't think there's anything wrong with the two drivers they've got. It's not the fastest driver pairing in Formula One, as established by their career so far. But safe pair of hands, they don't need to be braking cars with rookies. They need to be just getting up to speed with operation of the team and new regulations and things like that. So I actually think they've made a smart choice. I think Bottas is better prepared because he's coming with that Mercedes information. He's been working with Mercedes all last year, simulator work and the likes.
17:58Naomi:I'm a little bit concerned for Perez, who's really enjoyed the siesta of a year off. I don't doubt his commitment. But can you switch it back on when you've switched it off? yeah can i ask you a question dc because the strange thing about formula one and motorsport
18:15DC:in general is you want to beat your teammate more than anybody else because it's yes absolutely so your number one target out there is your teammates now we're talking about two drivers bartos who was under the shadow of lewis for a very long time and peres more recently who was in the shadow of max for a very long time they have had some beef in the past the two of them How hard do you think they'll be fighting to be top dog?
18:38Naomi:A hundred percent. A hundred percent. They're old enough to be professional out of the car. They know they've got to work for the greater good of the team, but make no bones about it. Their individual teams, managers, physios, and everybody that works around them, your teammate's success is your failure. You've got to beat your teammate. And I've got a thing, if we were laying it out now, I think Bottas has a better chance of beating Perez just by the fact he's more relevant or more recent, sorry is a better description.
19:06Will:And yet this is a team that isn't, we don't think, going to be fighting for points or podiums or victories this early on. So the role of the driver changes. It is to work together to help to lift this team up, to point it in the right direction and take it to a place where it can fight for points and podiums and wins. So they've got to be, and this is an odd thing for a racing driver, as you two will know, you've got to be selfless.
19:32DC:Well, I don't know. Many racing drivers know anything about that. You try your best. You try your best.
19:40Will:We saw it at McLaren, right? Oscar and Lando worked together while the team was in the doldrums, helped to bring it up. Then as soon as you've got that competitive car,
19:47DC:then the gloves come off, right?
19:49Will:Do we think Perez and Bottas, at their age, have that capability to be selfless and to think wider, bigger picture, right? This is about building the team up, even if they're not going to be there to reap the rewards in three, four years' time when that team finds itself in a place of competitive.
20:06Naomi:Yeah, I see it like this. When I stepped away from McLaren after nine seasons, I just didn't feel done with Formula One. And although I knew the Red Bull scenario was unlikely to bring me any more victories, it meant I could put my energy and anger and frustration and all the things that I carried in my career into helping build a team. That's exactly where I think Bottas and Perez's minds will be. I don't think for one moment they truly believe they're going to win a Grand Prix with Cadillac in the time they have left, unless you have one of these freak races with three cars finish a race in wet conditions or something like that.
20:44Naomi:So it's in many ways, it's fulfilling what they were born to do. It'll be a nice payday for them. And they'll lay the foundations of, let's be honest, it would be nice to see Cadillac in the future being a successful Formula One team.
20:58Will:Do you guys think that all these changes are a good idea? You can, of course, tell us in the comments. And as always, we're here every Monday and Thursday. But if you can't wait until our next episode, make sure you're following us on the socials at UpToSpeedShow. And you can watch and listen to all our past episodes on Global Player, on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Remember to like, subscribe and leave us an excellent review. And we will see you on Thursday.
21:25Will:This has been a Global Player original production.
From the publisher
Everyone’s talking about huge changes in F1 this season, but what’s actually changed? Will it make racing more exciting or just too complicated? And do the new team Cadillac have any hope of winning?
With Jolie away filming, Will, Naomi and DC answer your questions.
Up To Speed is a Global Studios production, available every Monday and Thursday on Global Player, YouTube or wherever you get your shows. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode.
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