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F1: Vettel speaks out on new regulations and points to favorite driver

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Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has indicated who he says is the number one favorite to win the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. The rule change has shuffled the cards in the premier class of engines, and early winter testing has provided some clues as to who is the team currently ahead for the title.

Many point to Mercedes as the favorite, and among them is also Vettel: “I see George Russell and Mercedes as world champions at the end of the season”, the former German driver sentenced on the microphones of Servus TV.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen expressed their misgivings about the new regulations: according to the British driver, F1 is losing the spirit of racing, while the Dutchman compared it to a ‘Formula E on steroids’. Vettel is not so negative: “There are already many changes, many new things. The first impression was definitely exciting”.

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The Formula 1 World Championship is about to restart: the salaries of the 10 highest paid drivers in 2026. Source RacingNews365
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): $12 million. The Canadian driver is in his sixth season with the British team
Alex Albon (Williams): $12 million. The Thai is in his fifth consecutive year at Williams
Pierre Gasly (Alpine): $12.5 million. The French driver moved to Alpine in 2023
Oscar Piastri (McLaren): $13 million. The'Australian finished third last season
Carlos Sainz (Williams): $13 million for the'former Ferrarista, at Williams since last season
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): $20 million. The Spanish two-time world champion driver is the most experienced on the grid
Lando Norris (McLaren): $30 million. The world champion is only fifth in this special ranking
George Russell (Mercedes): $34 million. The British driver goes after his first world title this season
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): $34 million. The Monegasque wants to break the curse of the Italian stable, which has not won a drivers’ title since 2007
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): $60 million. After last season’s disappointments, the British driver wants to redeem himself
Max Verstappen (Red Bull): $70 million. Lavish contract for the four-time world champion, who in 2025 finished second

“F1 has to convey excitement, but it has to think about how to do it in a sustainable way, because a gasoline party every two weeks is not good. From a driver’s point of view, you want the cars to be fast and aggressive. You want to be able to push and not be so busy pushing buttons or getting stuck in some mode and going from meeting to meeting. But this is modern Formula 1”.

Vettel hopes that we don&#8217t lose the DNA of racing, and that the rules are not too complicated even for spectators: “If it&#8217s too complicated from the driver&#8217s point of view, or it&#8217s just not as exciting as before, then that is passed on then to the audience. F1s must give that feeling of incredibly beautiful cars to drive, with drivers who give the image of real heroes who can tame these cars”.

“But if the driver no longer conveys that feeling, because the car could be driven by a chef and is boring, then it is not good for the sport”.

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