By Alan Baldwin

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - The 2026 Formula One season fires up in Melbourne on March 8 with the Australian Grand Prix. The following looks at what has changed in a new era for the sport:

NEW CHAMPION

McLaren's world champion Lando Norris has the number one on his car for the first time after taking the 2025 title and ending Max Verstappen's run of four in a row with Red Bull.

NEW CARS, NEW ENGINES

The engine and chassis regulations have had their biggest overhaul in decades. Cars are smaller, shorter, lighter, with a roughly 50-50 split between electric power and combustion engine as well as running on 100% advanced sustainable fuel.

The Pirelli tyres are also narrower.

NO MORE DRS

The old drag reduction system $(DRS)$ has gone, replaced by active aerodynamics -- adjustable front and rear wings and new driver-operated overtake mode and boost button.

RED BULL DEBUT AS POWER UNIT MAKER

Former champions Red Bull are making their own engine for the first time and supplying sister team Racing Bulls as well.

Their former engine partner Honda now has an exclusive deal with Aston Martin.

ONLY ONE ROOKIE

Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad, a Briton of parental Swedish and Indian heritage, is the only rookie. The 18-year-old becomes the youngest British F1 driver, a record taken from Oliver Bearman who was 18 when he debuted for Ferrari in 2024.

Lindblad is also the fourth youngest Formula One driver of all time after Verstappen, Lance Stroll and Kimi Antonelli.

NEW TEAMMATE FOR VERSTAPPEN

Lindblad takes over from Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls, with the Frenchman promoted to Red Bull as Verstappen's fourth teammate since the end of 2024 after Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

Hadjar, 21, made his debut a year ago in Australia and, despite crashing on the formation lap in Melbourne, had an impressive season with third place at the Dutch GP to become the fifth youngest F1 podium finisher.

CADILLAC THE ALL-NEW TEAM

General Motors-backed Cadillac become the 11th team on the grid and the first all-new outfit since fellow U.S.-owned entrants Haas in 2016.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who have both driven for multiple teams and boast six and 10 wins respectively, return after a year's absence as the highly experienced lineup at the Ferrari-powered team.

QUALIFYING CHANGE

The arrival of Cadillac means a tweak to qualifying, with six cars now eliminated after the first and second phases instead of the previous five.

SAUBER HAVE BECOME AUDI

Swiss-based Sauber have become the Audi factory team, with the same management and drivers (Germany's Nico Hulkenberg and Brazil's Gabriel Bortoleto) as last year but now powered by Audi's own engine.

Sauber finished ninth overall last year, with Hulkenberg taking a surprise third place in Britain.

NO MORE RENAULT ENGINES

Renault-owned Alpine have switched to Mercedes power and Renault's long and illustrious history as an engine manufacturer has come to an end.

MADRID THE NEW RACE, NO IMOLA

Spain will have two races, with a street circuit in Madrid -- the Madring -- making its debut around the IFEMA exhibition centre as host of the Spanish Grand Prix. The main feature will be the banked "Monumental" Turn 12.

Italy had two grands prix last year but Imola has now dropped off a calendar that remains at 24 races.

NEW SPRINT RACES

The Canadian, Dutch and Singapore Grands Prix will become sprint weekends for the first time. Shanghai, Miami and Silverstone are the other three.

The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, a home race for Verstappen, is due to drop off the calendar after this year.

ANOTHER SATURDAY RACE

The Baku City Circuit, marking its 10th anniversary, joins Las Vegas as a race held on Saturday.

APPLE REPLACES ESPN AS U.S. BROADCASTER

Apple, makers of the hit F1 Movie, takes over from Walt Disney's ESPN as the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of Formula One.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)

((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))