F1 fans are all saying the same thing after Mercedes’ 2026 engine is heard for the first time

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The first test of the 2026 Formula 1 season is less than three weeks away, and teams have already begun their final preparations.

Their first outing of the year will be a behind-closed-doors event at Barcelona, held for five days between January 26-30. It’ll be the first time that the 2026 F1 regulations are seen on track.

For the teams, reliability will be at the forefront. Performance will be in the back of their minds as they attempt to become familiar with all the new systems on their cars.

A few teams have reason to be excited, with the unpredictability of the new era set to throw up a whole host of surprises. Mercedes will be one of the teams hoping to benefit.

Fans have made early predictions for 2026, and a whole host of names have been mentioned. Nobody quite knows what to expect at the first race in Australia.

Mercedes doubt the handling of their 2026 car after running some simulations, but they won’t know what position they’re in for sure until they hit the track.

READ MORE: Juan Pablo Montoya explains why Toto Wolff may lose interest in bringing Max Verstappen to Mercedes

F1 fans are excited by Mercedes’ 2026 engine after hearing Alpine start-up

George Russell would ‘be a fool’ to expect Mercedes domination under the new rules, despite them having spent a long time preparing for them.

Chatter in the paddock is that they might start with a very strong engine, as they did when the turbo-hybrid era began back in 2014.

After hearing their new engine on X, as Alpine fire their new car up for the first time, fans have already shared their excited thoughts.

“Definitely the best sounding engine. Sounds like a monster,” replied one fanatic.

“Sounds like a winner,” added another.

Someone else is already carving expectations for the new units, saying: “I got my hopes up.”

This fan is thankful that Alpine’s era of supplying their own engines is over, writing, “Thanks for Mercedes.”

And that sentiment was shared by another follower, who said, “Finally, you have a real engine?”

And finally, one last fan couldn’t hide their excitement for the new partnership, saying: “This is something on a new level.”

READ MORE: Pierre Gasly shares what he’s ‘hearing’ about Mercedes’ engine for the 2026 F1 regulations

Why Alpine fans have a lot to be excited about in 2026

Alpine were one of the first teams to turn their full attention to the new regulations and abandon development of their 2025 car.

In combination with their new engine, it means that they might be starting from a very strong foundation. Think something along the lines of Williams back in 2014.

Will the pain of having the slowest car throughout 2025 be made up for with a rapid contender this year? Pierre Gasly would love for that to be the case.

But there’s still going to be a lot of work for them to do on the chassis side of things to ensure that their drivers have a car that works on all circuits, and crucially, can compete.