As we gear up for the Formula One 2026, we have plenty of things to look forward to including a new team on the grid which means we will have more drivers on the track! More teams, more action and a new world champion, there are plenty of things to look forward to for the new era of Formula One.
Before the action kicks off on track, here’s a quick look at the driver pairings of all of the 11 teams that will be on the grid.
The quadruple world champion and for the first time since December 2021, Max Verstappen heads into a new season of Formula One not as the reigning world champion. Red Bull clearly didn’t have the pace to match McLaren in 2025 but that didn’t stop Verstappen from trying to defend his title. Despite being more than 100 points down post the summer break resumption, Verstappen mounted a heroic comeback and eventually almost stole the title from the McLarens as he pushed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to the limit to go down by only 2 points in the end.
Now in his 11th season with Red Bull, Verstappen is the undisputed team leader and while we enter a season of the unknown with the new regulations, one thing that cannot be counted out is Verstappen’s fight. Whatever might happen, count on Verstappen to be right at the front of the grid fighting for the wins.
Partnering Max Verstappen at Red Bull will be 21-year old French and Algerian driver Isack Hadjar. Hadjar will become Verstappen’s sixth teammate and has moved to the Red Bull team after a strong debut season for Racing Bulls. After spending a couple of years racing in the junior categories, Hadjar was named as AlphaTauri’s Test driver in 2023 following his entry to the Red Bull Academy a couple of years earlier. Hadjar finished second in Formula 2 in 2024, racing for Campos Racing. After taking part in various free practice sessions in the Formula One 2024 season, Hadjar was announced as the second driver for Racing Bulls for the 2025 season following Liam Lawson’s promotion to Red Bull.
In his debut season for Racing Bulls, Hadjar picked up his maiden podium finish at the Dutch Grand Prix 2025, finishing behind race winner Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. He finished 12th in the Drivers Standing in the season with a total of 51 points. His 51 points were more than half of the points Racing Bulls scored that season (92 points) and it helped them finish sixth in the Constructors’ Standings.
Now in his eighth season for Ferrari, the Scuderia’s starlet has failed to live up to the belief put in him by the iconic Italian team. Leclerc replaced Kimi Räikkönen at Ferrari in 2019 and had an incredible first season with Ferrari, picking up two wins and finishing fourth in the Drivers’ Standing. He slowly became Ferrari’s team leader after Sebastian Vettel left the team at the end of the Formula One 2020 season, and after two winless seasons with Ferrari in 2020 and 2021, Leclerc had his first shot at the title in 2022 when he went up against Max Verstappen.
Ferrari were unable to provide Leclerc with a reliable car with Verstappen eventually taking the title, seeing Leclerc finish second in the Drivers’ Standing, which is till date his highest ever finish in Formula One. Ferrari’s struggles in 2023 meant that Leclerc suffered another winless year before picking up the pace in 2024 with three wins and a third place finish in the Drivers’ Standing in 2024. In 2025, Leclerc saw Formula One icon Lewis Hamilton join him at Ferrari and while Ferrari, Leclerc and Hamilton failed to get on the top step of the podium, Leclerc drove out of his skin to see Ferrari finish fourth, despite struggling with pace and consistency throughout the season.
Gearing up for his ninth season with the iconic Italian team, Leclerc enters what is probably his biggest season in Formula One, especially given Ferrari’s early season promise and Leclerc’s experience.
One of the sport’s most iconic names, seven-time Formula One World Champion and Formula One’s most successful driver, Lewis Hamilton will enter his 20th season in Formula One albeit on the back off a disastrous debut season with Ferrari. Having achieved almost everything there is in the sport, a drive for Ferrari was the only thing missing from Hamilton’s storied career. That box was also ticked off as Hamilton joined Ferrari in 2025 but he endured his worst season in Formula One, going not only winless but also podium-less, as he finished a career-worst seventh in the Drivers Standing.
Having made his Formula One debut with McLaren back in 2007, Hamilton came inches away from picking up the title in his debut season itself, finishing second. He won his first title with the British team in 2008 and after a couple of struggling years with McLaren between 2009-2012, Hamilton moved to Mercedes in 2013 and there was no looking back ever since. In his 12 years with Mercedes, Hamilton won 6 Drivers’ Titles, securing his name amongst the sports’ greatest. A record-breaking 8th title seemed on the books in 2021 but he fell agonisingly short and along with Mercedes’ struggles, Hamilton was unable to pick up a title in his final four years with the team.
He made the move to Ferrari at the start of 2025 but while he struggled to adapt with his new environment, the signs look positive for Hamilton moving into the Formula One 2026 season.
Mercedes’ undisputed team leader and one of the brightest drivers from Britain, George Russell took the Formula One world by storm during his debut season with Williams in 2019. Despite Williams being the slowest car on the grid for the next couple of seasons, Russell put the car in places on the grid it shouldn’t have been and his talent earned the Mercedes Academy driver a spot with Mercedes in the Formula One 2022. He was immediately at the very front, picking up his debut win in his first season with Mercedes. While Mercedes struggled in the next couple of years to keep up with the likes of McLaren and Red Bull, Russell continued to impress, picking up four more wins with Mercedes.
A Formula 2 champion in 2018 with ART Grand Prix, Russell enters the Formula One 2026 as a clear title contender, for the first time in his career. Mercedes look like the team to beat and Russell as the team leader for the Silver Arrows will have his task cut out.
The youngest driver on the grid, 19-year old Italian driver Kimi Antonelli will enter his second Formula One season after an impressive debut season with Mercedes in 2025. Having won the Italian F4 Championship and Formula 4 for Prema Racing in 2022 and the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and the Formula Regional European Championship in 2023, Antonelli was one of the brightest young prospects in the junior categories before making his Formula 2 debut with Prema Racing in 2024. The young Italian finished sixth in his debut season with two wins and was signed by Mercedes as their Test driver.
He replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the Formula One 2025 season and managed to pick up three podiums as well as he finished seventh in the Drivers’ Standing while Mercedes finished second in the Constructors’ Standing. With Mercedes showing incredible performance in the preseason, Antonelli has a chance to show the world that he can convert his junior racing accolades into accomplishments at the top level.
Formula One’s most experienced driver, a two-time World Champion and one of the all-time great motor-racers, Fernando Alonso enters his 23rd Formula One season and his fourth season with Aston Martin as he looks to take the British team up the grid.
Alonso made his debut more than two decades ago with Minardi in 2001. His breakout season came with Renaul in 2003, when he picked up his first career win in Hungary. Alonso won back-to-back titles with Renaul in 2005 and 2006 before moving to McLaren in 2007. Alonso finished third and team disputes with McLaren saw Alonso move back to Renault for a couple of years. The Spaniard made a move to Maranello in 2010 and after finishing second in the Drivers’ Standing three times, Alonso moved to McLaren from Ferrari in 2015. After three disastrous years with McLaren, Alonso walked away from the sport at the end of the Formula One 2018 season, and went on to compete in the Le Mans and FIA WEC series, both of which he won.
Alonso made a return to Formula One in 20211, joining Alpine and while he hasn’t been able to score a win since then, his move to Aston Martin in 2023 saw him fight for podiums at least that season. Aston Martin have fallen off since then and while they had a forgettable pre-season testing, Alonso will hope there is some silver lining once his fourth season with Aston Martin gets going.
Partnering Alonso will be Canadian driver Lance Stroll, who is now going to race in his 10th season in Formula One. A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Stroll won the Italian F4 Championship in 2014 and went on to win the Toyota Racing Series and Formula 3 in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Stroll made his debut with Williams in 2017 and was on the podium in his rookie season at Azerbaijan, picking up a surprise result for Williams. After two seasons with Williams, Stroll moved to Racing Point in 2019 and while that team transformed into Aston Martin with his father Lawrence Stroll being part of the ownership group of Lawrence Stroll. Stroll picked up two podiums with Racing Point in 2020 but that has been about it for the Canadian as his inconsistencies have cost Aston Martin. Aston Martin’s package doesn’t look the most promising on the grid heading into the new season and Stroll will hope to help his team stay away from getting the wooden spoon.
One of the two drivers from the Oceania region on the grid, Liam Lawson will continue to race for the Racing Bulls team, after being demoted to the sister Red Bull team following two disappointing races with Red Bull during the Formula One 2025 season.
Lawson impressed all in the junior categories, winning the Toyota Racing Series in 2020 and finishing third with Carlin in Formula 2 in 2022. A member of the Red Bull Academy, Lawson was announced as AlphaTauri’s Reserve and Test Driver in 2022, making his Formula One free practice debut at the Belgian race that season. Later that season he also was announced as Red Bull’s Reserve Driver. With Daniel Ricciardo injuring his hand during the Dutch Grand Prix 2023, Lawson stepped in for the Australian, making his Formula One debut, finishing 13th on debut. He raced in five races that season, scoring his maiden points as well before making another stand-in appearance for Racing Bulls the following season.
When Ricciardo was removed by the team post the Singapore race in 2024, Lawson saw out the season with Racing Bulls, scoring four points before being promoted to Red Bull for the 2025 season. Partnering Verstappen, Lawson crashed out on his Red Bull debut in Australia and finished 12th in China and after two disappointing appearances for Red Bull, the management demoted him to Racing Bulls with Yuki Tsunoda replacing him. Lawson remained with Racing Bulls for the remainder of the 2025 season, scoring 38 points. Lawson will continue to race for Racing Bulls in 2026, which should be his full season with the team.
The debutant on the grid, British racer Arvid Lindblad, who has Indian heritage through his mother. The 18-year old made his racing debut in the Italian F4 Championship in 2022 and finished third in his second season in the Italian F4 Championship in 2023, racing for Prema Racing. Lindblad won the Macau Formula 4 Race that year and won the Formula Regional Oceania Championship in 2025 for M2 Competition. The youngster raced for Campos Racing in Formula 2 in the 2025 season and being a member of the Red Bull Academy since 2021, he was announced as Racing Bulls’ second driver for 2026.
One of the more experienced drivers on the grid, German veteran Nico Hülkenberg will be leading the Audi Formula One team in 2026. Hülkenberg made his Formula One debut back in 2010 for Williams and moved to Force India the following season. He had a one-off stint with Sauber in 2013, before returning to Force India, where he became one of the most reliable midfield drivers. Hülkenberg moved to Renault in 2017 before losing his drive on the grid at the end of the 2019 season.
The German returned to Formula One in 2023, being signed by Haas and since then spent two seasons with Haas before joining Sauber again in 2025. With Sauber in 2025, Hülkenberg broke his record streak of 239 races without a podium finish to score his maiden and only podium finish till date at the British Grand Prix 2025. With Sauber being rebranded to Audi, Hülkenberg will remain with the team as they expect to move up the grid with one of the more reliable racers.
Partnering Nico Hülkenberg at Audi will be Brazilian racer, Gabriel Bortoleto, who will be entering his second season in Formula One. The Brazilian broke into the single-seater racing scene with his Formula 3 championship win in 2023 with Trident and he won Formula 2 in his first season in the series with Invicta Racing. Strong performances in the junior categories saw McLaren sign Bortoleto as their Test Driver in 2024 before Sauber signed him on a multi-year deal, starting from 2025.
Bortoleto scored his maiden points at the Austrian Grand Prix and he went on to finish the season with 19 points, putting in impressive qualifying performances as well. He will carry on with the team as they now rebrand to Audi.
Formula One’s newest team, Cadillac will kick off their Formula One journey with one of the most experienced driver pairings on the grid. One of the two drivers who will fly the Cadillac flag on the grid will be former Mercedes driver, Valtteri Bottas. Bottas will be returning to the grid after failing to find a seat in 2025. The 36-year old Finnish driver will be one of the most experienced drivers on the grid with 246 race starts and knows how to win, with 10 race wins and 67 podium finishes and has been a part of Title winning teams with Mercedes between 2017 and 2021.
After winning the GP3 series with Lotus in 2011, Bottas was signed as Williams Racings’ Test driver and in 2011. After two seasons as Williams’ test and reserve driver, Bottas made his Formula One in 2013 for the British team. He was on the podium the following season, picking up his maiden podium at the Austrian Grand Prix 2014. He picked up five more podiums that season and impressed all during his time at Williams. When Nico Rosberg announced his surprise retirement at the end of the 2016 season, Mercedes swooped in to sign Bottas to their team and Bottas picked up his maiden win that year at the Russian Grand Prix 2017. He finished third in the Drivers’ Standing that season and along with Lewis Hamilton, Bottas enjoyed immense success as Mercedes dominated the turbo-hybrid era.
Bottas played second fiddle to Hamilton during their partnership and left Mercedes after five seasons with the team, at the end of the Formula One 2022 season. He moved to Alfa Romeo in 2022 and while he scored points for Alfa Romeo that season, the car wasn’t ideal to fight in the midfield that saw him drop to the back of the grid. After a pointless season with Sauber in 2024, Bottas lost his seat on the grid in 2025 but served as the Reserve and Test driver for Mercedes, McLaren and Williams. When Cadillac announced that they will enter the grid, they signed the veteran Finn to drive for them in their debut season.
Teaming up with Bottas will be another driver who will be making a return to the Formula One grid after losing his seat in 2025, which is Sergio Pérez. The 36-year old Mexican, like Bottas is a veteran of the sport and has 281 race starts under his belt with 6 wins and 39 podium finishes across his Formula One career. Pérez made his first in-roads into the world of racing by finishing runner up in the GP2 Series in 2009 and was signed by Ferrari as a member of their Driver Academy in 2010.
Pérez was signed by Sauber for his debut season in Formula One in 2011 and spent two years there before having a one-year stint with McLaren in 2013. He moved to Force India in 2015 and became a solid midfield driver over the course of the next few years. Pérez had his first shot at fighting for a race win in 2020 when Racing Point’s ‘Pink Mercedes’ helped him win his first-ever race at the Sakhir Grand Prix 2020. Pérez’s consistency was rewarded with a move to Red Bull in 2021 and he along with Verstappen helped Red Bull win Constructors’ titles in 2022 and 2023.
Pérez though was unable to support teammate Verstappen in 2024 with the Mexican struggling to help his team with the Constructors’ title battle. Pérez was dropped from the team at the end of the 2025 season but Cadillac have brought him back into the action as he returns to the grid for his 15th season.
Leading Alpine into a new era of regulations will be French Formula One driver, Pierre Gasly. Gasly, now in his 10th Formula One season, Gasly is a product of the Red Bull Academy. After winning the GP2 Series in 2016, Gasly was signed by Toro Rosso in 2017, replacing Daniil Kvyat and then later that season came back to replace Carlos Sainz. Gasly’s first full season in Formula One was in 2018 and he was promoted to Red Bull for the Formula One 2019.
After a disappointing stint with Red Bull, where he failed to keep up with teammate Max Verstappen, Red Bull dropped Gasly mid-season in 2019, replacing Gasly with Alex Albon with Gasly moving back to the AlphaTauri team. The next season, Gasly picked up his maiden and only race win to date at the Italian Grand Prix 2020 despite racing for a midfield team. Gasly left the Red Bull ecosystem in 2024, when he signed for Alpine.
Gasly has been a consistent midfield driver and will continue to lead the Alpine team in 2026, which will be his third season with the French team.
The first Argentine driver to race in Formula One in the last two decades, Franco Colapinto will partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine. A former member of the Williams Driver Academy, Colapinto made his Formula One team when he replaced Logan Sargeant in the middle of the Formula One 2024 season for the British team. He scored points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 and saw out the season with Williams.
Ahead of the Formula One 2025 season, Colapinto joined Alpine as a Test and Reserve Driver and replaced Jack Doohan on the main team post the Miami Grand Prix 2025. He raced for Alpine for the remainder of the season although he failed to score any points. He was retained by Alpine for 2026 as he will continue on with Gasly.
French racer Esteban Ocon will be leading the Haas lineup for a second successive season in 2026. Ocon won the Formula 3 European Championship with Prema Powerteam in 2014 and the GP3 Series in 2015 with ART Grand Prix that catapulted him into the Formula One world. Ocon made his Formula One debut with Manor Racing in the 2016 after Rio Haryanto was dropped mid season. Ocon made his debut at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2016 and made his full season debut in the sport with Force India the following year.
Ocon’s breakthrough came in the 2021 season though, a season after he moved to Renault which rebranded to Alpine. Ocon won his maiden and only race till date at the Hungarian Grand Prix 2021. The French racer stayed with Alpine until the end of the Formula One 2024 season before moving to Haas in 2025.
Along with Ocon, 20-year old British driver Oliver Bearman will complete the Haas lineup with the Ferrari Driver Academy member impressing all in his debut season. Bearman won the ADAC Formula 4 Championship and the Italian F4 Championship with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2021 and finished third in Formula 3 with Prema Racing the following year. After serving as the Reserve Driver for Haas and Ferrari for a couple of years, Bearman made his Formula One debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 where he replaced Carlos Sainz. He finished an incredible seventh, scoring points on his debut. He then raced for Haas later that season in Brazil.
Bearman was signed by Haas for 2025 and had multiple points scoring finishes throughout the season with a best finish of fourth place in Mexico. Bearman also outscored his much more experienced teammate, Esteban Ocon, finishing 13th in the Drivers’ Standing while Ocon finished 15th.
Carlos Sainz will enter his 12th season of Formula One with Williams Racing, whom he has been with since the start of the Formula One 2025 season. Another member of the Red Bull Academy, Sainz won the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series in 2011 and the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2014.
Sainz made his Formula One debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, partnering with Max Verstappen. Sainz moved to Renault for a couple of seasons in 2017 before a switch to McLaren in the 2019 season saw him become one of the most consistent drivers on the grid despite not having a race winning car. He picked up his first podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix 2019. Sainz replaced Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari in 2021 and the following season at the British Grand Prix, Sainz picked up his maiden career win. Sainz has four race wins till date, all of which were with Ferrari. With Lewis Hamilton joining Ferrari, Sainz moved out from the Maranello team to join Williams in 2025, where he will continue on into the new regulations era.
Teaming up with Sainz for another season at Williams will be British-Thai driver Alex Albon, who like his teammate, is a former member of the Red Bull Academy. Albon finished second in the GP3 series with ART Grand Prix and second in his second season in Formula 2 with DAMS. Albon made his debut with Toro Rosso in 2019 and after impressing instantly, Red Bull promoted him to the Red Bull team post the Hungarian Grand Prix 2019. Albon picked up his maiden podium finish with Red Bull in the Formula One 2020 season at the Tuscan Grand Prix 2020.
Failure to keep up with his teammate, Max Verstappen, saw Albon replaced by Sergio Pérez at the end of the 2020 season. Albon remained as a reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTaur in 2021 before returning to grid in 2022 with Williams.
Oscar Piastri enters the Formula One 2026 season knowing that the Drivers Title of 2025 should have been his, had he not had a couple of erroneous races midway through the season. Piastri will now look to take the fight to his teammate along with the rest of the grid as he looks to pick up his maiden championship.
The Australian won the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019 and the Formula 3 the next year, with Renault signing him as a Test driver in 2020. He won the Formula 2 championship in his first season in 2021 and served as Alpine and McLaren’s reserve driver in 2022 before making his Formula One debut for McLaren in the 2023 season. He scored two podium finishes in his debut season with his maiden podium coming at the Japanese Grand Prix 2023. The following season he continued to impress, taking his first win in Hungary. Kicking off the 2025 season, he was the #1 title contender, starting strong and midway through the season was the favourite to pick up the title. A dip in form along with McLaren prioritising Norris over him saw Piastri drop down the ladder and eventually finished third in the Drivers’ Standing, with a total of seven wins in the season.
The reigning World Champion and McLaren’s first champion since 2008, Lando Norris enters the Formula One 2026 as the sports’ newest champion. Norris has been picking up championships since his younger days, having won the MSA Formula with Carlin back in 2015 and the Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup all in 2016. He won the Formula 3 championship with Carlin in 2017 and finished second in Formula 2 in 2018 before replacing Fernando Alonso at McLaren in 2019, which was his debut season.
After spending five seasons in Formula One without a win, Norris picked up his first win at the Miami Grand Prix 2024 with the 2024 season being his first season where he contested for the title. Norris ended up winning the Formula One 2025 season by the skin of his teeth, seeing off late pressure from teammate Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen to lift the title.
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