F1 2026 driver line-ups: new-look grid is confirmed for next season

Though with McLaren’s current form it looks unlikely either driver will go anywhere soon, the only danger is intra-team friction.

There were several flashpoints last season, including Norris at first refusing to give back the lead to his team-mate in Hungary, before Piastri snatched first from his title-challenging colleague.

The team managed to keep a lid on things, but largely because the drivers’ title was for most part a long-shot in Norris’s case, and that the pair had to work together to help McLaren’s chances in the constructors’ championship.

This could be different in 2025, with both McLaren men fighting it out for the drivers’ title.

Ferrari 2026 F1 driver line-up

Charles Leclerc Multi-year contract beyond 2025	Lewis Hamilton Multi-year contract beyond 2025

• Hamilton contract runs to end of 2026
• Leclerc signed a new multi-year deal announced at the end of January 2024

Lewis Hamilton rocked the sporting world when his 2025 Ferrari switch was announced, and barring any major dramas he’ll be there for 2026 too on his current two-year deal.

Hamilton had been linked with the Scuderia on and off throughout his career, but after two years of Mercedes struggle he finally made the move in place of Carlos Sainz.

2025 set up the brilliant prospect of a fierce team-mate rivalry between F1’s most successful driver and one of its brightest stars in Leclerc – still waiting for a car that can help him make a bid for that elusive F1 crown.

He pledged his next few seasons to Ferrari early with a multi-year deal in January 2024, in spite of repeated setbacks in terms of car performance and team errors.

Looking to 2026, Ferrari’s line-up will again feature Hamilton and Leclerc, but the narrative is dominated by whether the Briton, who will be 41 next year, can rise above recent struggles, adapt to a car tailored to him, and prove that experience outweighs age.

However, speculation about Hamilton’s future won’t stop as long as the seven-time champion continues to struggle and publicly criticise his own performances, going as far as suggesting Ferrari might need to replace him.

Red Bull 2026 F1 driver line-up

Max Verstappen Contract to 2028	Isack Hadjar Contract tbc

• Verstappen on a long-term deal
• Isack Hadjar promoted from Racing Bulls to replace Yuki Tsunoda

If there was any doubt remaining, 2025 has proven Max Verstappen’s calibre, as he took the F1 championship to the wire despite his Red Bull being inferior to the McLarens for most of the season.

He’ll be back at the team next year, despite rumours of a move, fuelled by the performance of his car; questions over the performance of Red Bull’s new powertrain for 2026; the departure of Adrian Newey; and a strained relationship between Verstappen’s father Jos and former team principal Christian Horner.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitting that he had spoken to Verstappen about a deal. Red Bull’s faltering performance even led to suggestions that the four-time champion could activate a performance-related break clause in his contract, which runs to 2028.

Those suggestions look to have been put to bed for now, after Verstappen announced that he’d be staying with the team in 2026 but if the team doesn’t deliver, then the rumours will undoubtedly be revived.

Verstappen has wrestled the car to seven victories this season, while team-mate Yuki Tsunoda has frequently languished in the bottom half of the grid.

He’s far from the first driver to struggle alongside the Dutchman, and far from the first to be demoted as a result. In 2026, his seat will be taken by Isack Hadjar after a stunning debut season in F1 with Racing Bulls, where he outclassed his more experienced team-mate Liam Lawson.

With a brand new car, can he become the team-mate to get on terms with Verstappen?

Mercedes 2026 F1 driver line-up

George Russell Contract to 2026	Kimi Antonelli Contract to 2026

• George Russell has extended his contract to 2026
• Kimi Antonelli will also remain at the team for a second season

After months of insisting that it would agree new deals with its drivers, Mercedes has now locked down its team for 2026.

Team boss Toto Wolff had described its 2025 line-up of George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli as the “future”, and this remains true — for 2026 at least.

Mercedes has only confirmed that Singapore GP race-winner Russell and Antonelli will continue into next year, with no detail about further extensions, although Wolff has previously spoken of “complicated” options which could see the contracts run for “much longer”.

At one point in the season, Wolff admitted speaking to Max Verstappen and his manager about a potential move, but it always looked more likely that he’d stick with his existing line-up.

Russell has proved his pace and dependability in a car that has shown occasional flashes of speed, while Antonelli’s arrival as a rookie in 2025 was always billed as a two-year project, with one season to get up to speed on F1 with a view to being immediately on the pace in 2026.

“Confirming our driver line-up was always just a matter of when, not if,” said Wolff. “We wanted to take our time, handle the negotiations properly and make sure everyone, on all sides, was happy. I’m pleased we have done that.

“George and Kimi have proved a strong pairing and we’re excited to continue our journey together.”

Aston Martin 2026 F1 driver line-up 

Fernando Alonso Multi-year contract beyond 2025	Lance Stroll Rolling contract

• Lance Stroll secured another extension to end of 2025
• Fernando Alonso has signed a multi-year deal that will take him into at least 2026

Aston Martin spent much of 2024 regrouping as its disappointing performance levels continued on from the end of 2023. With the hiring of Adrian Newey and the appointment of Andy Cowell as team boss, it’s now focused on regrouping challenging for the title in 2026.

Alonso is tied down to the team until at least the end of 2026, while Lance Stroll will be continuing alongside him; the Canadian driver’s berth looking secure for as long as his father Lawrence Stroll is in control of the team.

The two drivers look set for a third and fourth season as team-mates.

Former F2 champion and budding talent Felipe Drugovich remains in his reserve driver role along with Stoffel Vandoorne.

Alpine 2026 F1 driver line-up

Pierre Gasly Contract to 2028	Franco Colapinto Contract to 2026

• Gasly extended his current contract to run until 2028
• Colapinto confirmed for 2026, having replaced Jack Doohan after six races this season

After several turbulent years, Alpine underwent more upheaval last season when Esteban Ocon parted ways with the team before the end of the season to give his erstwhile replacement Jack Doohan more seat-time — but Doohan lasted just six races into 2025 before being replaced by Franco Colapinto.

The switch was billed as a trial, but Colapinto has always looked to be favoured by team executive Flavio Briatore and — following a series of strong results — his stint with Alpine will continue into 2026.

It will bring some welcome consistency to the garage, with Pierre Gasly remaining in his seat too. Now Alpine needs the performance to match the potential of its drivers.

Haas 2026 F1 driver line-up 

Oliver Bearman Multi-year contract beyond 2025	Esteban Ocon Multi-year contract beyond 2025

• Oliver Bearman replaced Hülkenberg, who joined Sauber for 2025
• Esteban Ocon signed on a “multi-year” deal from 2025

After trusting in experience in Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen over the last couple of years, Haas has now gone for more of a blend in veteran Esteban Ocon and hotshot junior Oliver Bearman.

Both drivers are contracted for 2025 and 2026. Ocon is unafraid to to get his elbows out, even with his own team-mates, leading to past fallings-out with Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso and more recently Pierre Gasly.

It will be interesting to see how Ocon reacts if he continues to find himself under pressure from a driver who only turned 20 this year.

Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu has set out “rules of engagement” for the pair to make sure some healthy competition doesn’t get out of hand. “I don’t expect any team-mate contacts, DNFs, because of that,” he said. But it’s good, you have to race hard.”

Racing Bulls 2026 F1 driver line-up

Liam Lawson	Arvid Lindblad

• Lawson’s contract is renewed for 2026
• Lindblad replaces Hadjar, who is promoted to Red Bull

Liam Lawson may have Isack Hadjar’s strong form to thank for his continued place on the F1 grid. He blazed a trail when he first arrived in F1 and secured promotion to Red Bull at the start of 2025. But it had second thoughts just two races into the season and dropped him back to sister team Racing Bulls for the rest of the year.

He took some time to get back on his feet, at a time when Red Bull was looking to promote its junior driver Arvid Lindblad to F1.

With Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull, there’s space for the 18-year-old rookie alongside Lawson.

He already had enough superlicence points to race in F1 a year ago, and has been racing with Campos in F2 for 2025 where he’s won twice. After a single season in Formula 3 (where he finished fourth) and another in Formula 2, the highly-rated junior has now been handed a quick promotion to grand prix racing in 2026.

Williams 2026 F1 driver line-up

Carlos Sainz Multi-year contract beyond 2025	Alexander Albon Multi-year contract beyond 2025

• Carlos Sainz joins Williams after four seasons at Ferrari
• Alexnder Albon’s contract runs to end of 2026

Williams endured a difficult 2024 season, but this year has been far more positive, with both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz pushing the car into the final Q3 stage of qualifying and scoring points regularly.

After running a series of rookies in recent years, the two experienced hands look to be giving Williams the stability and pace that it needs ahead of 2026 when the rules reset and its Mercedes power unit offer a serious chance of competitiveness. Both will remain in 2026.

“I think it’s a huge, huge event for Williams to have two of the best drivers in the world fighting at the front,” he said. “And I think it is very much a sign of things to come.

“I rate [Carlos] as one of the top four drivers, if not at times the number two driver on the grid. Why wouldn’t you want that in your stable? Because my view of things is that fundamentally competitors are getting closer and closer. So, the marginal difference that a driver can make, and I don’t just mean in performance terms.

“Look at Carlos, look at every team he has been in. They have improved significantly.”

Audi 2026 F1 driver line-up

Nico Hülkenberg Multi-year contract beyond 2025	Gabriel Bortoleto Multi-year contract beyond 2025

• Hülkenberg confirmed as Sauber looks to Audi partnership in 2026
• Bortoleto has signed a multi-year deal

Audi’s long-term driver line-up was confirmed when Formula 2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto signed a multi-year contract alongside Nico Hülkenberg.

It means both should be driving for the team in 2026 also as it makes the full transition from Sauber to Audi that year.

Halfway through the 2025 season and the choice seems to have been vindicated by the lightning qualifying performances of Bortoleto and the experience of Hülkenberg, which brought an elusive podium finish at the British Grand Prix.

But while this year’s pace looks promising, it remains to be seen how competitive the team will be next year when Sauber rebrands as Audi with an all-new power unit and a chassis built by a group of engineers that has only recently been assembled.

“I’ve seen that his career has proved [he is a fantastic and high-potential driver] through what he has achieved, what he is achieving,” said Sauber boss Mattia Binotto of Bortoleto. “He has shown progress this season and that’s what counts the most for me.”

Hülkenberg was signed by the previous Sauber boss Andreas Seidl and has options in his contract to extend even further beyond his current 2026 end-date.

Cadillac 2026 F1 driver line-up

Sergio Perez Multi-year contract	Valtteri Bottas Multi-year contract

• Both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will race for Cadillac in 2026
• Colton Herta signed as test driver

Cadillac/Andretti’s F1 entry might be one of the most protracted in history, but the American team will finally make its debut in 2026 – and has now announced its first driver.

Ten-time F1 race winner Valtteri Bottas and former Red Bull man Sergio Perez has now been announced as its first driver, bringing top-level experience to the nascent project.

The question also remains as to whether Cadillac will look to an American driver in the future. Colton Herta has been signed as a test driver for 2026, and the American will race in Formula 2 to prepare for a possible promotion to Cadillac’s race team in the near future.