Instead of releasing F1 26, Codemasters and EA have opted to add this year’s radically different Formula One cars to F1 25 via DLC, ahead of a franchise reboot next year. In normal circumstances, now would be the time of year when developer Codemasters and publisher EA would release a new iteration of their annual Formula One video game franchise. However, there will be no F1 26. The franchise is taking a year off because, according to EA, ‘In 2027, a new game will be released that looks, feels, and plays differently, delivering more gameplay choices.’ So last year’s F1 25 is, ‘Set to represent both the 2025 and 2026 FIA Formula One World Championships’, resulting in the 2026 Season Pack.
It feels like a strange time to launch a reset of the franchise, given that the real-life Formula One is already three months into its own reset – one of the biggest rule changes in its entire history, which has bred cars that are smaller and lighter, boast much less downforce, and are far more dependent on battery power than before. Plus, there is a new team, Cadillac, on the grid and Sauber has been rebranded to Audi. No doubt practicalities caused the peculiar approach, since the cars themselves only emerged in embryonic form in February this year. So Codemasters, in reality, has done well to model them in such a short space of time. And it probably would have been unable to do so had it also been forced to devote resources to performing the usual tweaks it makes in a full game.
Integration into F1 25
In terms of how the 2026 Season Pack integrates itself into F1 25, things aren’t entirely straightforward, as is often the case with a major slab of downloadable content. Because the cars, teams, personnel, and tracks are different to last year’s equivalents, you won’t be able to dive into your old saves and instantly resume with this year’s cars. Instead, Codemasters has taken the executive decision to treat the 2026 season pack as if it is a whole new game mode. That means that in the multi-season modes, you have to start again with new saves. Indeed, when you first click on them, having downloaded the season pack, you will be asked to choose between the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and if you choose the latter you’ll be starting from scratch.
Mode Limitations
Inadvertently, the 2026 Season Pack highlights how structurally complex the F1 franchise has become in recent years, which is hopefully an aspect which next year’s reboot will address. That’s because there are various game modes in which, even with the DLC operational, you can’t switch from last year’s cars to this year’s. Namely Ranked Multiplayer and Leagues (the most hardcore online modes), Challenge Career, Co-Op Career, and the Series part of F1 World. In other words, there are no new Challenges in the DLC – or at least none involving the 2026 cars – and those playing the highest echelons of the game online will have to make do with last year’s cars. However, in the more accessible Unranked Multiplayer, you can opt to compete in this year’s cars (again, you have to choose this year’s cars, since the 2025 cars, with their greater downforce, are significantly faster). And you can pursue full Driver and My Team Careers.
Driving Experience
I opted for the former, picking the 2026 season and therefore starting from the beginning with a new save. Codemasters has always done a brilliant technical job of emulating Formula One’s cars, so it is no surprise to discover that the 2026 Season Pack’s new crop of cars feels utterly convincing. The lack of downforce, and therefore grip, compared to last year’s cars is immediately apparent, with the cars feeling much less glued to the track surface and much easier to get sideways. Thanks to the slightly smaller dimensions (this year’s cars are narrower and lighter), the cars also feel more nimble, and they definitely require more care and subtlety when you get on the throttle.
Then there are the two new driving elements that this year’s formula brings: active aerodynamics and electric boost. The former opens up front and rear wings, creating less drag, on designated straights at each circuit, so is a bit like the previous formula’s DRS. You can opt to use an assist to trigger it automatically, which makes sense, since it cuts out mundane button-pressing. The boost can also be assigned to operate automatically via an assist, which makes no sense, since it gives you a powerful tool when you’re looking to overtake cars, and how you deploy it is paramount. At times, you will find yourself taking a strategic approach to using it, which underlines the general impression that this year’s cars are much more fun to drive than the previous generation – albeit slightly more challenging. It’s also noticeable that you no longer lose large amounts of downforce, and therefore grip, when you closely follow another car, which also frees you up to plot a more imaginative way past it.
The Madring Track
I also dived into a Custom Grand Prix to check out the new Madring street circuit in Madrid, which will make its first appearance on the calendar this September. It proved to be a very interesting track. Although many will argue that Formula One doesn’t need yet another street track, the Madring impresses with plenty of Miami/Baku style straights and high-speed corners, while neither of the two chicanes re as frustratingly low speed as they tend to be on such tracks. And it even has a mighty, high speed heavily banked corner, which is a rare and beautiful thing to find on a street circuit.
To investigate the Madring, I just created a custom Grand Prix, which is one of the modes that supports 2026 rules, mercifully. And through Unranked Multiplayer, I was at least able to take on other players using the new cars – the hardest of the hardcore will be annoyed that they can’t race each other in this year’s cars (especially with the electric boost) in Ranked Multiplayer, but presumably Codemasters deemed that adding the new cars would have sent its delicately balanced ecosystem out of whack.
Verdict
But the 2026 Season Pass isn’t really for them: it’s for the rank and file of F1 franchise devotees who are understandably desperate to sample the new cars and the new formula, and who probably, by now, had got through a few Career seasons and more or less stopped playing the game. Codemasters has done its customarily fine job of modelling the new cars in meticulous detail, and at least the need to splash out on an item of DLC rather than a full-blown franchise iteration means those fans will save a tiny bit of money. EA, though, will be taking something of a hit on the franchise this year, since the 2026 Season Pass has absolutely zero appeal to potential new customers. Which piles a lot of pressure onto next year’s reboot – something I await with eager anticipation.
F1 25: 2026 Season Pass review summary
In Short: In the absence of an F1 26 game this year, this DLC adds the new cars and track in what is an essential expansion for Formula One fans – even if it does have its limitations.
Pros: Thoroughly credible modelling of the new cars and Madring track. Great for those who concentrate mainly on Career modes and cheaper than a full iteration.
Cons: New cars can only be driven in certain modes. Starts your Careers again from scratch. Hardcore online players still restricted to last year’s cars and there are no new Challenges.
Score: 7/10
Formats: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £24.99
Publisher: EA
Developer: Codemasters
Release Date: 3rd June 2026
Age Rating: 3
