We Played the F1 25 Updated 2026 Season Pack: Here's What You Should Know

When EA Sports and Codemasters announced they would not be releasing a new F1 game in 2026, opting instead to offer an update to F1 25 and focus new development on F1 27 instead, it was warmly received. In an industry where fans have often complained about paying full price every year for games that feel like only roster updates with minor tweaks, the option of a cheaper update while awaiting a larger overhaul the next year could offer a new, successful avenue for annual sports games that actually benefits gamers.

So, did it work? We’ve spent the last week trying out the 2026 Season Pack, and can share our impressions of whether it’s worth the reduced price tag.

New Regulations Mean New Strategy

Image: EA Sports

The first thing to know before getting into the changes in the game is that 2026 serves as an add-on to the base F1 25 game, not a replacement for it. This means if you get the new pack but also have been loving your time with the game over the last year, you can always choose to jump back into the prior year’s mode, complete with the original team grid, season order, and cars.

This season saw one of the biggest overhauls to rules and regulations F1 has undergone in a while. Drag Reduction System (DRS) is out as the primary overtake mode, replaced with boost. Active Aerodynamics means that the cars now see their wings change alignment between straights and corners, allowing for maximum downforce and reduced drag, as needed.

In-game, this translates to a new experience behind the wheel. Moving between the seasons won’t leave you feeling completely at sea about how to approach a corner or find your average finish moving from the top of the grid to the bottom, but it does still change things up. If you love F1 25 but feel a fresh challenge would be nice, the 2026 Season Pack is a great place to start.

A Fresh Team Offers A Unique Challenge

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A level playing field has never been a feature of F1 games, because they seek to replicate the real-world circuit where manufactured advantages are a massive part of every season. Many a thrilled podium-topper, or frustrated third-place finisher, has dropped the famed “rocket ship” about a team’s car when a pair of teammates leave the field in the dust.

Unfortunately, for every McLaren or Red Bull Racing burner disappearing around distant corners, there’s an Audi or Aston Martin seeing the taillights of the midfield galloping away. For the 2026 season, an eleventh team has joined the grid in Cadillac, and with it an eleventh challenge to tackle.

In the real world, things have been as rocky as expected for Cadillac, where Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have yet to find the newly minted team’s first point. While they can take solace in knowing that even in a rookie campaign, they’ve done better than Aston Martin, which has had a disastrous start to the year with a car that has bordered on undrivable at Sunday distances, their car is still clearly well behind that of the top teams. Now, with the 2026 update, experienced drivers in search of a challenge can try their hand at taking on the underpowered debutantes on the track.

The Crowded Grid Makes Opening Laps Even More Hectic

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One of the biggest changes to the grid this season has nothing to do with the specifications of the cars being driven, but instead with how many there are. As Cadillac has made its grid debut as the circuit’s 11th team, race weekends now see 22 cars competing every weekend.

The first place this lands is the first time you hit the track for meaningful racing on a Grand Prix weekend in qualifying. When the margins are tight, finding the right windows to make your hot laps is crucial. Not only is it important to make sure you have your tires where you need them, your fuel level optimized, and the track evolution at its most optimal, you also need to find space on the track to avoid your lap being undone by poorly timed dirty air or obstructing cars.

Coming out when the track is busy increases your chances of running into impediments from your fellow racers that add precious fractions of a second to your time. Now, with two extra cars to contend with, the windows get even smaller, making it critical to monitor your track conditions in the garage to find just the right time.

This gets even further amplified once you reach the Grand Prix proper, and on sprint weekends, the sprint race. A 20-car grid was never an easy thing to manage on the opening lap of the race, when gaps are minimal and, for some tracks, where those early laps represent the only time you can reasonably overtake without a major mistake from a rival. Now, gamers opting for a career mode with a created team find themselves on a 24-car grid, meaning more traffic to navigate and more opportunities for early yellow or red flags if other cars crash. It makes for frantic, but thrilling, racing, particularly on tracks with challenging opening corners.

The Madring Is A Thrilling Addition to the Schedule

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The biggest and most anticipated update in the 2026 Season Pack is that of the Madring, the second Spanish circuit added to the schedule this year. Any time you add a new track to a racing game, it’s going to be intriguing to gamers, but it was particularly fun getting to head to the track for a race that’s yet to be run by real-world racers.

If my experience with the track in-game is any indication, it could be a very fun weekend. The track was an absolute delight to drive, with a combination of enjoyable sections to drop the pedal to the floor for all-out racing and technical corners that require serious precision and brake management to avoid finding yourself nose-first into the wall.

The opening chicane of a left-then-right pair of corners provided a nice challenge in qualifying, while squeezing 24 cars through it at once off the start provided ample opportunity for carnage if a driver got just a bit too aggressive with their braking. Further down the track, my first run at the circuit came undone with some overconfidence on the sharp uphill right-hander, which I enjoyed the experience of finding the right approach to, while the long banking turn was a joy going flat-out around the turn.

The Final Verdict

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There are two types of gamers who may be considering picking up the 2026 Season Pack: those who already own and have played F1 25 , and those who would be getting the game for the first time. For the latter, the $50 bundle, which includes both the base game and the Season 26 DLC, is a wonderful deal.

The F1 series does an excellent job of bridging the gap between arcade-style racers and intense simulations, making it easy to jump right in with assists and begin removing them as you get more comfortable. With the 2026 season added in, you get the benefit of the new season DLC for less than a AAA sports or racing game would usually cost.

For gamers who already own F1 25 , my recommendation depends on your experience with the game. The new additions to F1 25 in the 2026 Season Pack are not a complete overhaul, but they do provide a new experience for the game. For hardcore F1 players, it’s a no-brainer, as the new track and new cars will instantly reinject life into the series. With an entire year to play, there’s plenty of time to get more than enough out of it to be worth your time and money.

If you have the base game but only dabble on occasion, you can probably let it pass by and become one of the gamers who benefit from the two-year release cycle, waiting to see what bigger changes await you in F1 27.