EA has announced the first details for F1 25’s 2026 Season Pack update, set for release this Wednesday, 20 May. The trailer for the upcoming expansion is scheduled to go live at 4pm UK time, 20 May, 11am EDT, 8am PDT, and 1am AEST on 21 May.
The cover athletes for the update have been revealed by EA. They are seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, former F3 and F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, and veteran driver Valtteri Bottas. Bottas has won 10 F1 Grands Prix and is known for having the greatest F1 moustache this side of Nigel Mansell.
Bortoleto and Bottas’ presence in the update is not a coincidence. They represent the two new teams on the 2026 grid: Audi and Cadillac.
EA confirmed in late 2025 that there would be no standalone F1 game released alongside the real-life 2026 season. Instead, the 2026 Formula One World Championship will be available as a paid expansion for the existing F1 25.
The content update is designed to reflect all the sport’s 2026 changes. This includes new cars, new drivers, and new regulations. The handling of the new cars within the 2026 season DLC will be a point of interest, considering the criticism from many current F1 drivers. Two-time F1 champ Fernando Alonso has dubbed modern F1 a “battery world championship”. 2025 champ Lando Norris has lamented, F1 has gone from “the best cars ever made in Formula 1 and the nicest to drive to probably the worst”. Four-time champ Max Verstappen has quipped that he’s swapped the simulator for his Nintendo Switch, joking that he’s now practicing with Mario Kart instead.
The next full game in the series is planned for 2027. It will be “reimagined into a more expansive experience with new ways to play for fans around the world.”
IGN’s F1 25 review noted that there remain “several areas where it hovers frustratingly short of its full potential,” including its fascination with clothing and emotes over classic F1 cars and content. However, it’s “comfortably the strongest the series has been since the fan favourite F1 2020.”
