The 2025 F1 season has not yet begun.
However, the team is already beginning to think about 2026.
F1 is said to be a race competition that should be won because it is an engineering puzzle that should be solved. That's every season, but that particular mystery will clearly focus next season. The Governing Body of Sports is set to showcase the latest set of technical regulations, changes in sports that could shake up the entire field.
At the dawn of a new era, the team is forced to strike a delicate balance between focusing energy in 2025 and moving ahead in 2026. Adrian Newey is one of the greatest engineers in sports. Newey, who is scheduled to join Aston Martin next month, recently assumed that if the team gets things straight out of the gate, they can control the next few years.
The idea of domination certainly has its appeal.
So the team is trying to get the right balance, but as Alpine Team Principal Owls admitted to me prior to last year's US Grand Prix, 2026 is very important.
“And you're coming into winter, you know, we have it at the moment, how much effort are you putting in the beginning of 2025? Mr. Oaks of Austin last October “But in fact we know 2026 is the most important thing for our team.”
Another team that has turned to 2026? Team Alpine came in sixth in Haas, the place in last year's Constructors Championship.
The team has a whole new lineup of drivers for 2025, but newcomer Oliver Baerman will make the leap from F2, while veteran Esteban Ocon joins from Alpine, making the most of the 2025 Challenger And I'm preparing for 2026.
In a media report following F1 75 Live, technical directors Andrea de Zoro and Aerodymics Davide Paganelli spoke about the technical aspects of the VF-25, the team's challenger for the 2025 season. Part of that discussion? It is recognized that the team has already started working as a challenger next year.
“With FIA regulations, the team is starting work on the car in 2026, as the team can start working seriously on the project from an aerodynamic perspective starting January 2, 2025,” Paganelli said. It states. “We started both simulations and started preparing wind tunnel activities for new cars. The competition is very tight so we need to provide in-season renewals, using the same philosophy as the previous year. I know I can be happy with the direction and see the results before I move on. There will be more updates.”
Both De Zoro and Paganelli are looking forward to a tough battle in 2025, but I wonder how the team will balance their current ambitions with future ambitions.
“I expect it to be a very tough season — tough fields and strong competition,” DeSolo said. “Every point is a fight and we need to be perfect. We need to focus from the start and that costs us so we don't have the opportunity.”
“We want to improve what we did last year and allow us to rebuild as a team. Paganelli is ready for the next challenge that comes in the form of 2026 regulations, which Paganelli added. Because we are, we continued to work on the relationships that we could find by working together better together. “It's not clear at the moment whether the team will push the current car or not. , I highly doubt that other teams will give up. I hope for a very tough competition again.”
Teams like Haas, and the rest of Grid, 2025 balance upgrades and preparations for 2026 are ways to become a big story to watch this F1 season.
