Chaotic starts, tricky overtaking, lifting off the gas on straights. Formula 1's new era of regulations could upend the series in unexpected ways when the season begins with the Australian Grand Prix next week.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the two most successful drivers on the grid, were critical in testing of cars whose electrical hybrid systems promote unusual driving styles and make racing more strategic.
Four-time champion Verstappen branded the cars “no fun” and suggested they might be a factor in considering retirement, while seven-time champ Hamilton suggested the rules are too complex for fans to grasp.
It's a crucial season for F1, which expanded rapidly over the last decade by putting drivers' personalities center stage and not focusing on technological detail.
"We need to stay calm because, as always when there is something happening as a new regulation, there’s always the doubt that everything is wrong,” F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said last week at testing.
Despite big changes, the top four teams are the same after Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull all showed promise in testing.
The “big four,” as McLaren boss Zak Brown calls them, seem broadly similar on pace, with Mercedes and Ferrari perhaps having a slight edge in race simulations in testing.
At the final test, Ferrari revealed a rear wing that turns upside down for straight-line speed and an innovative mini-wing behind the exhaust. It also stood out as the fastest in practice starts after other teams, especially Mercedes, were sluggish off the line.
Rivals have praised Red Bull for mastering the electrical power technology, while champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri seem consistently strong again for McLaren, which uses a Mercedes engine.
Mercedes’ mix of power and reliability could make George Russell a true championship contender. There's extra attention on Mercedes' engine, which was fast in testing following weeks of speculation from rivals about its legality. Mercedes says the design is perfectly legal.
Some teams sacrificed the 2025 season to seek big gains in 2026. It hasn't worked.
Even with star designer Adrian Newey in charge, Aston Martin was late to testing, unreliable, and often slower than new team Cadillac. Williams and Alpine have also struggled but Haas may be able to challenge the top teams.
The push by the FIA for a 50-50 split between power from the engine and from electrical hybrid technology means driving in 2026 is all about compromise.
Drivers in preseason testing were revving the engines hard on the grid for a fast getaway, lifting off the gas on straights to charge the on-board battery and shifting down aggressively to first gear in corners. The FIA could intervene to tweak the regulations if the first few races throw up bizarre scenarios.
Standing starts off the grid required a tricky procedure in testing because the hybrid system doesn’t kick in until 50 kph (31 mph). After some sluggish practice starts, tweaks have been made to the procedure, but that might not stop Ferrari, which identified the issue early and designed its engine to be quick off the line. Hamilton delivered one of the most eye-catching moments of preseason by blasting past four cars in a practice start in Bahrain last week.
Fast starts might be extra important if overtaking is as hard as some drivers suspect. Get ready to hear about 2026 cars being “energy-starved” on certain tracks, including Australia, which doesn't have as many heavy braking zones where the battery can charge.
If cars can't make full use of the hybrid system, the new “overtake mode” with extra power might be a waste of limited energy if it needs several laps to hit full charge and still leaves the overtaking car a sitting duck afterward.
There's a new team, a renamed team, a new track and a new broadcaster in the United States.
Cadillac joins as the 11th team with veteran race winners Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, but faces a year of learning after being consistently slow in preseason. Even the Super Bowl ad revealing its eye-catching asymmetric black-and-white livery hit trouble in the form of a lawsuit from Hollywood director Michael Bay.
Sauber is now Audi after a takeover by the German automaker, which is producing its own engines.
The Spanish Grand Prix leaves Barcelona after 35 years for Madrid's new Madring street circuit. Italy's second race at Imola makes way and Barcelona stays on as the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
Apple, whose studio helped to make last year's “F1” movie, takes over the U.S. broadcast rights after the end of ESPN's contract.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares for the Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during a Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
JERUSALEM (AP) — As U.S. forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces the threat of major strikes by the world’s most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure.
Iran has nowhere near the same capabilities, and is even more vulnerable after last year's war launched by Israel and recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic's survival is at stake.
While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel, according to Israel’s estimates. Iran boasts a much larger arsenal of shorter-range missiles capable of hitting U.S. bases in Gulf countries and offshore American forces, soon to be joined by a second aircraft carrier.
Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the global oil trade, and claimed to have done so partially during military drills last week.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that Iran could sink American warships, and top officials have said a U.S. attack would spark regional war. Iran’s U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said “all bases, facilities and assets of the hostile force in the region” would be legitimate targets.
Israel carried out heavy strikes on Iran's longer range missile arsenals — as well as its military leadership and nuclear program — during the 12-day war in June. The U.S. struck Iran's main nuclear sites, and President Donald Trump said at the time that they had been “obliterated.”
But the extent of the damage — and how much has been rebuilt — is still unknown. Iran continued to strike Israel with missiles and drones until the fighting stopped, increasingly eluding its vaunted air defenses.
Iran's shorter-range missile arsenal was largely untouched, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies. That could make Iran more inclined to retaliate against tens of thousands of U.S. forces based in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.
“Iran may be weak. But it still has ways to inflict real pain on the United States — and much more incentive to try than it did before,” Nate Swanson, head of the Atlantic Council’s Iran Strategy Project, wrote in Foreign Affairs. “Iranian officials feel they need to give Trump a bloody nose or they will perpetually be at risk.”
Iran launched missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq after the killing of its top general in 2020 and targeted a U.S. base in Qatar near the end of last year's war. Those strikes, which appeared to have been telegraphed in advance, caused damage but no fatalities, as early warning systems and missile defenses swung into action.
Iran could also carry out attacks farther afield. The country has been accused of using criminal gangs and armed groups to plan or carry out attacks around the world, including on dissidents, Israelis and Jewish targets.
Last year's Israeli strikes killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, revealing major vulnerabilities. At one point, Trump said the U.S. knew where Khamenei was hiding, calling him an " easy target."
Fresh off the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump may consider decapitation strikes aimed at bringing down Iran's decades-old Shiite theocracy, which he recently said “would be the best thing that could happen.”
The Iranians have had eight months to learn from their mistakes and firm up internal security. Citrinowicz said there are likely contingency plans if Khamenei were to be killed. Rather than naming a single successor, power would probably shift to a small committee until hostilities subsided.
Experts say the death of the 86-year-old Khamenei, who has ruled Iran for over three decades, would not in itself spell the end of the Islamic Republic. Power might eventually pass to a member of his inner circle, as it did in Venezuela, or to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
American allies are clearly concerned about a regional war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of a heavy response to any Iranian attack on Israel.
Arab Gulf states have long viewed Iran with concern and leaned on the U.S. for defense, but do not want to be drawn into war. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which host thousands of American troops, have said they would not allow their airspace to be used.
An Arab Gulf diplomat said regional leaders were talking to Iran and the United States to avert war, warning that it could have severe consequences, including a spike in oil prices. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive, closed-door talks.
Iran has its own allies, including Houthi rebels in Yemen, armed groups in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. But its self-described Axis of Resistance suffered major losses in the fighting that rippled across the region after Hamas' October 2023 attack from Gaza.
Another close-in target could allow Iran to inflict wider pain.
Around one-fifth of all traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, just off Iran's shore. The U.S. Navy is committed to keeping it open, but Iranian attacks could disrupt trade, as the far-weaker Houthis managed to do in the Red Sea for much of the past two years.
Iranian officials have not explicitly threatened to target the strait in the current standoff, but Iranian forces partially closed it last week during military drills, signaling it could be vulnerable if war breaks out.
Other critical oil assets would also be within range. In 2019, strikes on oil infrastructure temporarily halved Saudi Arabia’s production. Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility, but U.S. officials later blamed Iran.
After initially threatening military action over Iran's killing of protesters, Trump shifted attention to its nuclear program, warning that “bad things” would happen if Iran doesn't agree to a deal. The two sides are set to hold another round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday.
Iran has always said its nuclear program is peaceful, while the U.S. and others have long suspected that Tehran intends to eventually develop weapons. After Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran ramped up its enrichment of uranium, building up a stockpile of near-weapons grade material.
Iran's biggest sites were hit by U.S. and Israeli strikes, causing significant damage above ground. But it's unclear whether enriched uranium was spirited away before they were hit or buried underground. Iran says it has been unable to enrich since then, but it has also barred inspections.
Iran is still believed to be a long ways from developing a usable nuclear weapon, but radioactive material could pose a risk in the event of widespread strikes.
Associated Press writer Samy Magdy contributed reporting from Cairo.
FILE - Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after a missile launched from Iran struck Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner, File)
FILE - Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
This image provided Thursday Feb. 19, 2026 by the Iranian military and dated Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2025, shows navy ships conducting operations during a join drill by Iranian and Russian forces in the Indian Ocean.(Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)
