Every F1 season brings with it excitement and a sense of the unknown, but none more so than when the sport has had a major rule or regulation change in its off-season.
We look back at the past six times F1 has gone racing with new rules for the first time, detailing what was new, and who made the most of the opportunity.
What changed: Driver aids – which had come into force in the early 1990s – were banned. These included active suspension, traction control, and anti-lock braking.
On-track, refuelling also returned for the first time in 11 years.
Mercedes-Benz also officially returned to the sport after 39 years away, as an engine manufacturer to the Sauber team.
What happened: Williams had been the ones to beat in 1992 and 1993 and lined up with Damon Hill and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna for the opening race in Brazil.
But it was Benetton’s Michael Schumacher would win the first two races, before Senna’s tragic passing at Imola.
Hill took up the mantle of challenger and pushed Schumacher all the way after disqualifications and even a race ban for the German.
Schumacher sealed his maiden title at the final race in Adelaide, before going on to dominate Hill in 1995 for back-to-back triumphs.
The Briton would secure the first world title for a father and son – emulating dad Graham by winning the 1996 crown – before Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, son of former Ferrari star Gilles, pipped Schumacher to the top spot in 1997.
What changed: Cars became narrower, reduced from 2m to 1.8m wide, and grooves were added to the tyres. Three on the front, four on the back, with the aim of helping drivers control their speed.
What happened: Schumacher was once again a force in his scarlet Ferrari, but even the German could not stop Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren, now with a Mercedes engine and painted to resemble the original Silver Arrows.
Hakkinen retained his title in 1999, holding off Eddie Irvine’s Ferrari and Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan in a topsy-turvy season that went down to the wire. Schumacher looked strong again, before a crash at the British Grand Prix saw the two-time champion miss half the season with a broken leg.
The German would win the next five titles however, becoming an unstoppable force in the sport with Ferrari, and moving ahead in the all-time list with seven championships.
He retired for the first time in 2006, having seen Spaniard Fernando Alonso claim two championships in a row with Renault.
2007 saw Lewis Hamilton burst onto the scene, narrowly missing out on a maiden-season championship with McLaren at the last race to Kimi Raikkonen, before the young Briton dramatically snatched glory on the final lap of the final race in Brazil a year later.
What changed: Aerodynamic devices – such as winglets – were removed for 2009, leaving just re-sized front and rear wings as the only visible aero on the cars. Drivers were now even able to adjust their front wings.
Slick tyres returned for the first time since 1997, and KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) was introduced, meaning energy generated under braking could be used as a boost of power at certain points around a lap.
What happened: The changes were expected to mix things up, but no-one could have predicted what was about to happen.
The debutant Brawn GP team, formed from the ashes of Honda’s F1 team and based here in Brackley with a Brixworth-built Mercedes engine, shocked the world of F1 as Jenson Button won six of the opening seven races. It truly was a modern-day Formula One fairytale.
Button would win the World Championship, getting over the line as Red Bull and rising German star Sebastian Vettel closed in as the season reached its climax.
Vettel would go on to sweep the remaining four seasons of the era, two in nail-biting finales in 2010 and 2012 against Fernando Alonso, and two at a canter in 2011, and 2013. He rounded out the 2013 season with a record-setting nine consecutive victories.
What changed: Arguably the biggest regulation change in modern F1 history occurred for 2014, when the sport said goodbye to its 2.4-litre V8 engines, and moved across to the 1.6-litre V6 Hybrid Power Units used today.
Principal new features included an MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit Kinetic) to allow the recovery of kinetic energy under braking, and an MGU-H (Motor Generator Unit Heat) to recover heat energy from exhaust gases.
Cars were also heavier with reduced nose and chassis heights and narrower front wings. Eight-speed fixed ratio gearboxes also entered the sport, as did a 100kg fuel limit.
It was a new era like no other. And it was mastered by Mercedes.
What happened: The Silver Arrows dominated the next three seasons, winning 51 of 59 races with Lewis and Nico Rosberg.
Lewis won consecutive crowns in 2014 and 2015, while Nico triumphed in 2016 before retiring days later.
Brackley and the team at Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth could toast three consecutive Constructors’ titles, as could Toto, who had joined as Team Principal for the start of the 2013 campaign.
So strong was the Mercedes Power Unit in 2014, that all three customer teams also finished in the top six of the Constructors’ standings behind the works team.
What changed: In a reverse to the changes from 1998, cars became longer, wider, and as a result faster. The tyres remained slick but also became wider.
What happened: On track, very little changed. The Silver Arrows and Lewis remained undefeated for a further four seasons, despite the best efforts of Vettel and Ferrari.
Lewis claimed a record-equalling seventh World Championship in Turkey in 2020, before missing out on an eighth a year later, as Max Verstappen won his first title.
With Valtteri Bottas alongside Lewis, Mercedes won five more World Constructors’ crowns, to extend their streak to an unprecedented eighth by the end of 2021.
What changed: ‘Ground Effect’ era cars returned (having previously been used in the early 80s) meaning the floor of the car produced the aerodynamic grip.
Front and rear wing specs were changed, and bigger wheel rims were introduced to align with the new Pirelli tyres. It was also time to say goodbye to the bargeboards.
In Brackley, George joined Lewis at Mercedes for the new era, claiming his first Grand Prix win at Interlagos towards the end of the campaign.
What Happened: Red Bull and Verstappen had more success, winning back-to-back Drivers’ and Constructors’ title in 2022 and 2023 (a season where they would win a remarkable 21 of 22 Grand Prix).
Verstappen won again in 2024, but it was McLaren who claimed the Constructors’.
The final season of the previous Turbo Hybrid Era saw Lando Norris become the 35th different F1 World Champion.
Only time will tell what 2026 holds. We can’t wait to get going….