‘Spy’ video leads to ‘very exciting’ Damon Hill prediction

Damon Hill has predicted Formula 1 is in for a “very exciting” season that could result in a “complete surprise” in the championship with Audi and Aston Martin potentially in the mix.

Audi became the first team to shakedown its 2026 challenger, putting the R26 through its paces during a filming day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last Friday.

Damon Hill: Well, all bets are off for this year

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Although the run took place behind closed doors, fan footage emerged on X, after which Audi noted the milestone moment.

Audi said: “We’re officially rolling. A milestone moment in Barcelona as the R26 hit a racetrack for the very first time.

“First day. First laps. First chance for our drivers to experience the car.

“The road ahead starts right here.”

Hill reckons the opening run bodes well for Audi’s debut campaign, with the 1996 World Champion predicting Audi and also Cadillac’s arrival on the grid add to the excitement as Formula 1 embraces a new technical era.

“It’s very exciting,” Hill told talkSPORT. “A completely new team with Cadillac.

“Audi sort of inserted themselves into what was Sauber, and so they’ve been gradually taking that over at that operation.

“So that operation is pretty much up and running, but it’s going to be very much embellished by the Audi, the influence of them, a big manufacturer coming in, so long-awaited to see Audi in, and they’ve already run their car in Barcelona for a couple of laps.

“It sounded really nice, actually. We weren’t allowed to get close – only went off of some spies who were around the track with their mobile phones.

“But, Cadillac, very exciting to a completely new team. And of course, an American manufacturer.”

Formula 1’s biggest technical shake-up in the sport’s history, with all-new cars and engine regulations in play, means even the newcomers could be in the mix this season.

The 2026 cars will feature active aerodynamics for the first time, while the engines will run on a 50/50 split between electrical energy and combustion.

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“Yes, you could [change of the guard],” said Hill. “I mean, we could see a complete surprise.

“Something like when Jenson Button won with Brawn, they surprised everyone because they saw through the regulations.

“And the master of seeing through the regulations is Adrian Newey, who’s gone to Aston Martin.

“He left Red Bull and Max Verstappen behind, and Christian Horner has left that team anyway. But he’s gone off to Aston Martin.

“He’s been working on this project now for a good 18 months or so.

“So we’re sort of expecting him to wave his magic wand over Aston Martin. It could happen.”

He continued: “Well, all bets are off for this year. We have no idea who is going to have the form.

“We can’t assume that people who found their feet with these the last regulations, which were sort of Venturi ground effect cars, will be able to follow through.

“I mean, some of it will follow through. The power units are completely different.

“They’ve got to share 50 per cent of their power from electric battery power, so storage on the car.

“So the way the cars will be driven, the way they’re designed, the way they work aerodynamically is completely different.”

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