The winter break is now drawing to a close, with two teams already having lifted the covers on their new cars, following the first shakedown outings on track.

While Red Bull and Racing Bulls limited their reveals to liveries for the upcoming season, Audi and Cadillac have already hit the track at Barcelona and Silverstone respectively, logging the first kilometres of the year and offering an initial glimpse of the true shapes of the new-generation cars.

Today, attention shifts to Haas, with the VF-26 of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman set to take centre stage as the team unveils the car’s first shapes.

The week now underway marks the beginning of a long run of launches and events, before attention turns to the first full pre-season testing session, scheduled to take place at Montmeló from 26 to 30 January.

n. As already mentioned, Haas will kick things off today, with Audi following a day later in Berlin, before Mercedes unveil their challenger on January 22 — with huge anticipation surrounding the W17, widely tipped by many as the car to beat for 2026.

Attention then turns to January 23, when both Ferrari and Alpine are scheduled to reveal their cars, rounding off a hectic run of unveilings as the paddock’s focus shifts towards pre-season testing.

The remaining launches will take place in February, ahead of the ‘official’ pre-season tests in Sakhir.

The Barcelona test will represent only the first leg of a triple pre-season testing programme, with the Formula 1 circus then moving on to Bahrain in February.

To give teams the best possible chance to prepare for the season and fully understand the new-generation cars, the FIA has approved two additional test sessions compared to the usual format. From 2027 onwards, the championship is set to revert to the single pre-season test that has become the norm in recent years.