Written by The 2026 Formula 1 season brings one of the biggest regulatory shake-ups the sport has seen in years, and F1 25 is getting ready to bring all of it to your rig. The F1 25 2026 Season Pack is the downloadable content that updates EA Sports’ current-generation F1 title with the new grid, new cars, and the technical overhaul that defines next year’s championship. If you’ve been holding off on jumping back into F1 25, this is the moment the game catches up to reality, and it’s worth understanding exactly what the update changes before it lands.
What Is the F1 25 2026 Season Pack
The 2026 Season Pack is a DLC expansion for F1 25, developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts. Rather than releasing a brand-new standalone title mid-cycle, EA Sports has followed its usual pattern of updating the existing annual game with the real-world season’s changes, giving players a bridge between F1 25 and the eventual arrival of F1 26.
In practice, this means the same F1 25 you already own on Steam gets refreshed with the 2026 grid, updated liveries, a revised driver lineup, and the new technical regulations reshaping how the cars look and behave. It requires the base game F1 25 on Steam to run, so it’s an add-on rather than a separate full-game purchase. That approach keeps the barrier to entry low for anyone who’s already invested time in career mode or online leagues this year.
Audi and Cadillac Join the Grid
The headline change for 2026 is the arrival of two new manufacturers, and the Season Pack brings both into F1 25. Audi steps in as a full works constructor, taking over from the Sauber operation it has been building toward for several seasons. Cadillac, backed by General Motors, debuts as the sport’s eleventh team and marks the first major American manufacturer entry into Formula 1 in decades.
Alongside the new teams comes a reshuffled driver market. Isack Hadjar partners Max Verstappen at Red Bull, while Racing Bulls fields Arvid Lindblad alongside Liam Lawson. Over at Cadillac, the lineup pairs Valtteri Bottas with Sergio Pérez, giving the new American squad serious grand prix experience right out of the gate. Fans following the Cadillac F1 project closely will finally get to put that lineup through its paces on track rather than just reading about it.
Eleven teams on the grid is a notable shift for anyone used to the ten-team era, and it changes more than just the roster screen. Race strategy, qualifying sessions, and even pit lane logistics in-game will need to account for the extra cars, which is part of why this update amounts to more than a simple livery refresh.
New 2026 Regulations Explained
The 2026 season isn’t just about new badges on the cars. Formula 1 is introducing its most significant technical regulation change in years, touching both the chassis and the power unit, and the Season Pack rebuilds F1 25’s car models and physics around these new rules. For simracers who care about accuracy, this is arguably the more consequential part of the update, since it affects every lap rather than just the paddock lineup.
| Area | 2025 Regulations | 2026 Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Aerodynamics | Fixed aero package, ground-effect floor focus | Active aerodynamics introduced, revised bodywork |
| Power Unit | Established hybrid split, existing energy recovery limits | New hybrid architecture with a larger electrical share |
| Grid Composition | 10 teams | 11 teams (Cadillac added, Audi replaces Sauber branding) |
| Calendar | No Madrid round | MADRING circuit added, first new F1 track since 2023 |
Car and Aero Changes
Active aerodynamics is the standout chassis-side change for 2026. Rather than relying purely on fixed wing profiles and floor design, the new-generation cars can adjust aero surfaces depending on the situation, a philosophy shift that Codemasters has translated into F1 25’s car models and handling. Combined with revised bodywork, the 2026 cars have a distinctly different silhouette on track compared to their 2025 counterparts, and that shows up in how they behave under braking and through high-speed corners.
Power Unit Regulations
On the power unit front, 2026 brings a new hybrid architecture with a significantly larger electrical component than before. This is one of the most talked-about changes heading into the real-world season, since it affects how manufacturers approach energy deployment and recovery across a lap. For simracers, it’s also one of the areas where the Season Pack’s updated car behavior should be most noticeable once you’re out on track, particularly when managing battery deployment through longer stints.
Release Date and Pricing
The F1 25 2026 Season Pack is set for release on June 3, 2026, and will be distributed as DLC through Steam alongside other supported platforms. As with the base game, it’s developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts. Pricing details weren’t confirmed at the time of writing, so simracers planning to pick it up should check the official Steam store page directly for the final cost and any regional variations before the release window arrives. Given how EA Sports has handled past mid-cycle content, expect the Season Pack to sit well below the price of a full annual title.
How to Access the Season Pack
Getting the Season Pack running is straightforward: you’ll need F1 25 installed as the base game, with the Season Pack added as DLC through your Steam library. Here’s what the update includes:
- Audi as a full works constructor team
- Cadillac as the new eleventh team on the grid
- Updated 2026 driver lineup across multiple teams, including Hadjar, Lindblad, Lawson, Bottas, and Pérez
- New MADRING circuit, the first new F1 track added since 2023
- Revised car models reflecting active aerodynamics and updated power unit regulations
Once installed, the DLC should slot into existing career saves and online modes without requiring a separate purchase of the base game if you already own it.
What This Means for F1 25 Players
For anyone who has already logged plenty of hours in F1 25, the F1 25 2026 Season Pack effectively refreshes the entire experience without asking you to buy a new full-priced game. Career mode, time trials, and online races should all reflect the 2026 grid once the update lands, from the eleven-team roster and reshuffled driver market down to the active aerodynamics and revised power unit behavior under the hood. For anyone who likes their simracing sessions to mirror the real championship as closely as possible, that combination of a new grid, a new circuit, and a rebuilt technical rulebook is about as complete a mid-cycle refresh as EA Sports has offered for this generation of the game, and it arrives without forcing existing F1 25 owners into a separate purchase.
- Career mode and Grand Prix weekends reflect the new eleven-team grid
- Online lobbies and time trials adopt the updated car models and MADRING circuit
- Existing F1 25 saves should carry over once the DLC is installed
It’s a meaningful moment for anyone following Cadillac’s arrival specifically. Getting to actually drive for or against a brand-new American manufacturer team, complete with a Bottas-Pérez pairing, is content that simply didn’t exist in F1 25 at launch. The same goes for Audi F1 fans who’ve been waiting to see the brand step out from under the Sauber name in full works form.
The addition of MADRING deserves a mention too. New circuits don’t come along often in F1, and having the first new track since 2023 built into F1 25 gives players a genuinely new layout to learn rather than just a reskinned roster update. Combined with the aero and power unit changes, this update touches nearly every layer of how the game plays, not just how it looks.
None of this replaces the anticipation around F1 26 as the next full title in the series, but it does mean F1 25 owners aren’t stuck racing a grid that no longer matches the real sport. For a lot of simracers, that’s reason enough to keep the current game installed through the off-season and into next year. Check out more Sim Updates coverage on Simracing.Fan for further DLC and patch breakdowns as they land.
FAQ
- What is the F1 25 2026 Season Pack? It’s a DLC expansion for F1 25 that updates the game with the 2026 F1 grid, new teams, drivers, a new circuit, and updated technical regulations.
- Do I need to own F1 25 to use it? Yes, the Season Pack requires the base F1 25 game on Steam to function.
- When does it release? The Season Pack is scheduled for release on June 3, 2026.
- Which new teams are included? Audi joins as a full works constructor, and Cadillac debuts as the grid’s eleventh team.
- Is there a new circuit in the update? Yes, MADRING is included, the first new F1 track added since 2023.
- Who develops and publishes F1 25? F1 25 is developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts.
Source: store.steampowered.com
