THE DRIVERS.
We’ve got 22 drivers across 11 teams in 2026. Let’s meet them!
ROOKIES, BAD BOYS AND LEGENDS.
Formula 1 drivers are almost superhuman when you think about it. The amount of stress their bodies go through, making them lose as much as 3kg in a single race? Incredible stuff. On and off the track, their personalities shine. From the bad boys of the paddock to the darlings, the rookies to the legends. Here are the incredible drivers of the 2026 Formula 1 grid.
WHAT ARE THE TEAMS?
Each Formula 1 team (also called a constructor) designs, builds and races two cars per season. They employ aerodynamicists, engineers, strategists, mechanics, data analysts, performance coaches, logistics experts and more. The biggest teams have over a thousand employees. On a race weekend, each team typically brings around 60 to 80 people to the circuit. Behind the scenes at the factory, hundreds more are working on the next upgrade, the next car, the next season. It’s a huge operation!
Teams compete not just for the Drivers' Championship, which is the title awarded to the best individual driver who scores the most points at the end of the season, but also for the Constructors' Championship, which goes to the team that scores the most combined points across both its cars over the entire season.
The Constructors' Championship is in many ways the more prestigious of the two, as it determines prize money, prestige and the bragging rights of the organisation.
THE 2026 GRID
MCLAREN
Lando Norris
Nationality: British | Age: 26 | 8 years in F1 | Driver No.: 4
Lando Norris is the reigning Formula 1 World Champion, having claimed his first title in 2025 after a few years of only getting so close. Quick-witted, self-deprecating and genuinely funny, Lando Norris has also built one of the most loyal and diverse fan bases in the sport, through his gaming streams, his social media presence and his unfiltered personality. He is widely considered one of the most naturally talented drivers of his generation, with a raw speed that has never been in question. So far, in 2026, McLaren's car has struggled with the new regulations and he is fighting to prove that last year was not a fluke. Off track, he keeps his personal life private and his friendship group tight. He was named on the Time 100 Most Influential People list in 2026, with his bio written by Paris Hilton.
Oscar Piastri
Nationality: Australian | Age: 25 | 3 years in F1 | Driver No.: 81
Oscar Piastri is the quiet assassin of the current F1 grid. Dry-humoured, extremely composed under pressure and devastatingly fast when the car allows it, the young Australian arrived in Formula 1 in 2023 and immediately established himself as a genuine threat. He is the product of one of the most controversial driver market sagas in recent F1 history, having famously and very publicly rejected Alpine before joining McLaren in a move that shocked the paddock. In 2026 he opened his season with a podium in Japan after a nightmare start that saw him fail to make the start line in Australia and China. He is in a relationship with Lily Zneimer, a fashion student. He is soft-spoken off track, ferocious on it, the kind of driver who lets his lap times do the talking.
MERCEDES
George Russell
Nationality: British | Age: 28 | 7 years in F1 | Driver No.: 63
George Russell is a driver who has spent most of his career waiting for the right moment, and in 2026, that moment may have arrived. Methodical, articulate and fiercely competitive beneath a calm exterior, Russell won the season opener in Australia and currently leads the closest intra-team title battle since Hamilton and Rosberg tore Mercedes apart in 2016. He studied engineering before racing consumed his life entirely, and that technical mind shows in how he communicates with his engineers and processes data. He is in a long-term relationship with Carmen Montero Mundt, a financial broker who appeared in the latest season of Drive to Survive. At 28, Russell is at the peak of his powers, and facing the most serious threat to his ambitions from his own teammate.
Kimi Antonelli
Nationality: Italian | Age: 19 | 2 years in F1 | Mercedes | No. 12
Kimi Antonelli is the most exciting young driver Formula 1 has seen in years. At 19, he is already the championship leader, the youngest race winner of the modern era and the youngest driver ever to lead the World Championship standings. Mercedes signed him to their junior programme at the age of 12, and the faith they placed in him, despite a rocky debut season in 2025, has been validated spectacularly. He is Bologna-born, quietly spoken off track and utterly focused in the car. He recently split from girlfriend Eli Babickova. As a tourism ambassador for the small Italian village of Dozza near Bologna, he carries his roots with genuine pride. The phrase being used in the paddock is that he races like a young Max Verstappen but carries himself like a young Lewis Hamilton. High praise. Entirely warranted so far.
FERRARI
Lewis Hamilton
Nationality: British | Age: 41 | 19 years in F1 | Driver No.: 44
There is nothing left to prove for Lewis Hamilton, and yet here he is, still racing, still pushing, still refusing to accept that the best chapters are behind him. The seven-time World Champion is the most decorated driver in Formula 1 history, with 105 race victories, more than any human being who has ever lived. He left Mercedes after twelve years to join Ferrari in 2025 in what was the biggest transfer story the sport had ever seen, and his first season with Ferrari was difficult. 2026 has been different. A podium in China, a sharper mindset and a car that better suits his driving style have brought back something that looked briefly lost: the hunger. Off track, Hamilton is simultaneously an F1 driver, a Dior guest designer, a Lululemon ambassador, a fashion icon and a vocal advocate for African representation in the sport. He has roots in Togo, Benin, Senegal and Nigeria and has repeatedly stated he will not retire until Formula 1 holds a Grand Prix on African soil. He is widely reported to be in a relationship with Kim Kardashian, though he has declined to confirm this publicly. At 41, Lewis Hamilton remains the most important figure in Formula 1.
Charles Leclerc
Nationality: Monegasque | Age: 28 | 8 years in F1 | Driver No.: 16
Charles Leclerc is Formula 1's most naturally gifted qualifier, a driver whose one-lap pace has broken records and left rivals speechless, even when his race results have not always matched. He is Monegasque, born and raised in Monaco, and racing for Ferrari is not just a job for Leclerc, it is a lifelong dream realised. He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy as a teenager and has been at the Scuderia since 2019, winning eight races and building a legacy despite the team's inconsistency around him. In early 2026, he married his long-term partner Alexandra Saint Mleux in a private ceremony in Monaco. Their dog Leo, who has his own paddock pass and is arguably more famous than some drivers on the grid, was part of the proposal. Leclerc is also a classically trained pianist, speaks four languages and is widely considered one of the heartthrobs of the F1 paddock. Ferrari's best chance of a title in years rests significantly on his shoulders.
RED BULL
Max Verstappen
Nationality: Dutch | Age: 28 | 11 years in F1 | Driver No.: 3
Max Verstappen is a four-time Formula 1 World Champion and, statistically, one of the greatest drivers to have ever sat in an F1 car. He is also, in 2026, the sport's most prominent disruptor, openly unhappy with the new regulations, publicly flirting with retirement and carrying a frustration that has begun spilling into his behaviour off track. He ejected a journalist from a press conference in Japan and has compared the new cars to Formula E on steroids. None of which changes the fundamental truth: when Verstappen has a car beneath him that he believes in, he is almost impossible to beat. He is in a relationship with Kelly Piquet, daughter of three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet, and the couple welcomed their first child in 2025. During the April break he has been racing GT3 cars at the Nurburgring, which appears to be the only place he is genuinely enjoying himself at the moment.
ASTON MARTIN
Official Team Name: Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team
Popularly Referred To As: Aston Martin
Team Principal: Andy Cowell
2026 Driver Line-up: Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll
The most hyped project on the grid. Aston Martin maintains an air of sophistication around its brand. They signed design genius Adrian Newey from Red Bull, backed by significant investment. In 2026 that hype has met a brutal reality, as their uncompetitive and unreliable, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are yet to score a point. The potential is real. The results, so far, are not.
ALPINE
Official Team Name: BWT Alpine Formula One Team
Popularly Referred To As: Alpine
Team Principal: Oliver Oakes
2026 Driver Line-up: Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto
They are a French team, whose engines are powered by Mercedes this 2026 season, after splitting from Renault. Alpine are the sport's most Parisian outfit, pushing style and visual creativity but they’re occasionally maddening in equal measure. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto carry their hopes.
HAAS
Official Team Name: TGR Haas F1 Team (TGR = Toyota Gazoo Racing)
Popularly Referred To As: Haas
Team Principal: Ayao Komatsu
2026 Driver Line-up: Esteban Ocon, Oliver Bearman
One of the American teams on the grid, founded in 2016. The Haas team operate as a smaller, leaner outfit and have punched above their weight in 2026 with Esteban Ocon and the impressive young Oliver Bearman, who survived a terrifying crash in Japan and came back swinging. Haas famously had the fan favourite Gunther Steiner as its Team Principal for a few years.
WILLIAMS
Official Team Name: Atlassian Williams Racing
Popularly Referred To As: Williams
Team Principal: James Vowles
2026 Driver Line-up: Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon
One of the most storied names in Formula 1, with seven Constructors' Championships to their name, all in the 1980s and 1990s. Williams fell on hard times for over a decade but are rebuilding under James Vowles with Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon. The history is extraordinary. Their community building efforts are superb, quickly making Williams a The comeback is in progress.
VCARB
Official Team Name: Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team
Popularly Referred To As: Racing Bulls
Team Principal: Alan Permane
2026 Driver Line-up: Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad
Technically, they are Red Bull's second team, a proving ground for young drivers and a development pipeline for the main squad. Laurent Mekies who currently serves as Team Principal of Red Bull’s main team previously served as the Team Principal of VCARB. In 2026 they have Liam Lawson and rookie Arvid Lindblad. Quietly points-scoring. Easy to overlook. Occasionally brilliant.
AUDI
Official Team Name: Audi Formula One Team
Popularly Referred To As: Audi
Team Principal: Mattia Binotto
2026 Driver Line-up: Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto
Technically brand new to Formula 1 in 2026, having taken over the former Sauber operation (Sauber ran as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber). Audi's arrival with their own power unit and a partnership with Adidas, is one of the most significant manufacturer entries in years. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg are learning the new regulations alongside a team still finding its feet. Their long-term ambition is enormous.
CADILLAC
Official Team Name: Cadillac Formula One Team
Popularly Referred To As: Cadillac
Team Principal: Graeme Lowdon
2026 Driver Line-up: Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas
This other new arrival for 2026 is America's second team on the grid, backed by General Motors and fielding veterans Sergio Perez (ex-Red Bull) and Valtteri Bottas (ex-Mercedes). Cadillac are exactly where you would expect a brand new team to be in a sport like this, at the back, learning fast, with big ambitions for the years ahead.
LEARN MORE.
Formula 1 has a place in it for everyone, whether you care about the racing or not. If you’d like to learn more, let’s proceed.
