Several Formula 1 teams have already run into delays with their 2026 cars. Williams recently confirmed they’d miss the Barcelona shakedown after failing to hit key milestones.
Williams aren’t expected on track until the first test in Bahrain at the earliest. Aston Martin have also fallen behind, though they’re aiming to join later in the week, which will cut into their running time compared to other teams.
New entries Cadillac and Audi did manage to make it to Spain for testing, but both teams faced issues once on track. Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas managed only 44 laps between them on day one, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed just 27 laps.
David Croft has doubts over all 11 F1 teams being ready for Australian GP
During an episode of the F1 Show podcast last week, Sky Sports commentator David Croft spoke about how reliability could become a bigger issue in the 2026 season than it was in previous years.
In 2025, only one of the top six drivers had a race-ending mechanical failure – McLaren’s Lando Norris at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Croft doesn’t see this season starting as smoothly, and he doubts all 22 cars will be ready for the opening round in Australia.
“Reliability wasn’t the thing back in the day,” Croft said. “It has very much become the thing.
“Once again, there’s another reset in the way that we’ve got to understand what Formula One is. I’m sure, by the end of this year, reliability will be back and teams will be finishing more races than not.”
“I’m not thinking of going to Australia with 22 cars on the grid and 22 cars finishing the race. I’d be amazed if it does.”
Looking back at car retirements after F1’s last major rule change
In 2014, the opening year of the turbo/hybrid era, there were 119 retirements across the season, averaging just over six per race.
By 2025, even with the calendar growing from 19 to 24 races, that number had dropped to just 58 retirements – an average of around two and a half per event.
The season opener in Melbourne back in 2014 saw only 13 out of 22 cars reach the finish line. Seven of those nine retirements were down to mechanical issues.
This year could see a similar trend early on, giving midfield teams a chance to capitalise on others’ misfortunes and pick up valuable points.
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