By Alan Baldwin
LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - New cars, new power and new teams for a new era -- Formula One starts afresh in Australia this week with a heady mix of excitement, uncertainty and apprehension.
Never shy of underselling itself, the high-octane sport appears on the money in billing the 2026 season as the biggest shake-up it has ever seen.
For the first time in decades the chassis and power unit regulations have changed at the same time, a massive challenge even for the biggest teams, with
near parity between the electrical and combustion engine elements.
There is also 100% advanced sustainable fuel, Madrid's debut on the 24-race calendar, a new champion in McLaren's Lando Norris and one of the youngest drivers ever to start a grand prix in Racing Bulls' British 18-year-old rookie Arvid Lindblad.
The last time there was such a significant engine reset, in 2014, Mercedes went on a record run of dominance but this time the campaign could be much more open.
HOW WILL THE FANS RESPOND?
The list of questions is long.
Will the fans like what is on offer? How has the pecking order changed? Can Ferrari finally end their wait of nearly two decades for a drivers' title? And if they are contenders, could Lewis Hamilton win a record eighth championship?
Will Mercedes' George Russell live up to his pre-season billing as title favourite? Maybe Charles Leclerc's time has come at Ferrari, or will Red Bull's Max Verstappen bounce back with a fifth championship after his run of four in a row ended?
Can Norris become only the second Briton to successfully defend a title after Hamilton, or will Australian teammate Oscar Piastri gain the upper hand?
How will French youngster Isack Hadjar fare as Verstappen's new teammate in the hottest of hot seats?
The jury is out on all of the above, with pre-season testing in Bahrain -- whose race in April now faces uncertainty following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran -- hinting at a familiar top four amid tantalising suspicions of "sandbagging" - hiding true performance.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has suggested Red Bull, racing with their own powertrain for the first time, had set a benchmark.
Red Bull have dismissed that idea and said they were possibly only fourth.
Champions McLaren, meanwhile, pointed the finger at Mercedes and Ferrari as a step ahead of the rest and said they would be on the defensive, initially at least.
Further back, Renault-owned Alpine will be starting over and hoping for a big leap from last overall after replacing their French-made engines with Mercedes units.
Swiss-based Sauber are now racing as the Audi factory outfit while the grid has expanded to 11 teams following the arrival of Cadillac, already pushing the promotional bar higher with a livery launch via an expensive commercial aired during the Super Bowl.
They will also be bringing back two highly experienced winning names from the recent past in Mexican Sergio Perez, Verstappen's former teammate, and Finland's Valtteri Bottas, who once raced alongside Hamilton at Mercedes.
Cadillac might be expected to finish last but the Ferrari engine looks strong while Aston Martin, starting a new partnership with Honda and with Adrian Newey as designer and team principal, have struggled to get laps in testing due to reliability issues.
Melbourne will provide early pointers but a true pattern will take longer to emerge in what also promises to be a ferocious development race.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
