Article by Tudor Belivaca – published on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 20:21 / Updated Tuesday, October 7, 2025:42
The qualifications in Formula 1 will undergo minor changes for season 2026, as a result of Cadillac entrance and increase in the number of pilots in the World Championship.
Currently, in the first two parts of the qualifications, five pilots are eliminated, those who occupy the last five positions. Starting next year, six pilots will be eliminated in Q1, 6 in Q2, and the first ten will still have the right to participate in the third and last part of the session.
Changes in Formula 1: 6 pilots removed in Q1, 6 pilots removed in Q2
A variant was also taken into account in which seven pilots were eliminated in the first part and five in the second, but Formula 1 gave up this idea. The division of the points will also change: they will be redistributed to 11 teams, not 10. Also, changes will be made to speakers to make room for a new garage.
The last time this format was used, with six eliminations in the first two parts, it was in 2016, when Formula 1 also had 11 teams. In the year that Nico Rosberg won his only world title, Manor was the team with the number 11 of the “Great Circus”.
Cadillac will attack next season for Formula 1 with an experienced team of pilots: Valtteri Bottas (35 years) and Sergio Perez (35 years). The Finnish was this year a spare pilot and tests for Mercedes. He has 10 victories in Formula 1 and was Lewis Hamilton's “lieutenant”, reaching him to win the 6 titles with “silver arrows”.
Sergio Perez has 6 victories in his career in Formula 1. The last team at which Mexican activated was Red Bull Racing. He debuted in 2011 in the “Great Circus” and recorded the first victory in 2020.
