F1 2026 driver line-ups: latest contract news and rumours

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	TBC

• Verstappen on a long-term deal
• The second seat is yet to be announced

2024 was Max Verstappen’s best season yet. Wrestling with what was at times the fourth-best car for most of the season, the Dutchman managed to cling on to his championship advantage in the face of a fierce challenge from McLaren, Ferrari and sometimes Mercedes.

He did this with no support from his team-mate Sergio Perez, whose form completely fell away, resulting to him leaving the team at the end of the season.

Red Bull recognised Verstappen’s importance after he secured his first title with the team in 2021, handing him a record-breaking six-year deal worth about £40m a season.

However in the light of misconduct allegations against team boss Christian Horner early last year (since dismissed), Red Bull relations broke down. Max’s father boss said Horner had to leave the team or risk it being “torn apart”, as a faction seemed to develop with the Verstappen and young driver guru Helmut Marko on one side and Horner the other.

Star designer Adrian Newey, apparently fed up with behind-the-scenes developments at Red Bull, left in the wake of the allegations.

Rumours subsequently emerged that Verstappen could leave the team as early as 2025. Speculation linked him with both Aston Martin and later with Mercedes, with whom the Dutchman’s camp has actually held talks.

“Aston, with Adrian Newey about to join to sit alongside Cowell at the incredible new factory, with Honda working as its exclusive power unit partner, with Lawrence Stroll maintaining his ‘whatever it takes’ mentality while throwing multiple millions at the project, is set to be a superteam,” wrote Motor Sport’s Mark Hughes. Could Verstappen be tempted?

Rumours continued into 2025, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitting that he had spoken to Verstappen about a move. And with faltering Red Bull performance, there was a chance that the four-time champion would leave under a performance-related clause.

Those suggestions look to have been put to bed for now, after Verstappen announced that he’d be staying with the team in 2026.

We don’t yet know who will partner him: Liam Lawson was demoted to Racing Bulls early in 2025 and his replacement, Yuki Tsunoda has struggled in a similar way, although a familiar new boss in the form of Laurent Mekies, could be the confidence boost he needs to up his performance and secure the seat for next season.

Mercedes 2026 F1 driver line-up

TBC	TBC

• George Russell has a contract to the end of 2025
• Rookie Kimi Antonelli replaces Lewis Hamilton for 2025 – but only on a one-year deal

Mercedes doesn’t have any driver currently locked down for 2026.

Though team boss Toto Wolff has described its 2025 line-up of George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli as the “future”, neither driver is yet confirmed for next year. However, the team boss indicated both have clauses which could see them soon secured in Mercedes colours for another season and more.

“They have been and will be Mercedes drivers, and therefore, we have contracts with George and Kimi that go much longer that are very complicated in terms of options, etc,” Wolff said earlier this year.

“I think most important is to see how George and Kimi settle in, and I see no reason at that stage of not giving them the faith and the trust of going forward.

“What that means for the terms is something that we will discuss between ourselves, but we wouldn’t have gone with the line-up with these two if we wouldn’t believe 100% if they are the best choice for ourselves.”

Valtteri Bottas has returned to Brackley as its reserve driver should Russell and Antonelli run into issues on grand prix weekend, but it’s difficult to see him returning on a full-time basis in 2026, as his below-par race performances were what saw him dropped from the team in the first place.

Russell has insisted he’s certain to stay at Mercedes, and with Verstappen now confirming his future at Red Bull, that looks to be the most likely outcome.

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	TBC

• Gasly extended his current contract to run until 2028
• Doohan was promoted from reserve driver role to replace Ocon from 2025 – but lost his seat to Colapinto

Alpine underwent more upheaval last season when Esteban Ocon agreed part ways with the team — a race early to give his erstwhile replacement Jack Doohan more seat-time — but the extension of Pierre Gasly’s contract brought some much needed stability to the Enstone outfit.

After a difficult start to 2024, the Alpine car came good in the second half of the season, with a double podium finish for Gasly and Ocon helping to haul the team to sixth in the standings after languishing at the bottom of the table for a while.

After not signing Carlos Sainz, the promotion of Alpine junior Jack Doohan – who previously served as the team’s reserve driver – seemingly indicated that Enstone was now invested in its future rather than short-term results. The Aussie had an impressive junior career, and completed several tests over the course of 2024, which caught the eye of new Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes.

However, Doohan underperformed as was replaced after five races by Franco Colapinto, the star stand-in at Williams when he was called to replace the underperforming Logan Sargeant for the latter part of the season.

The Argentine has also failed to impress Flavio Briatore, so his future is still very much undecided.

Gasly will be at Alpine for 2026, but who will be alongside him?

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

TBC	TBC

• No driver yet confirmed for 2026

An often brutal proving ground for Red Bull talent, Racing Bulls was once again at the centre of the action when it came to silly season drama for 2025. An underperforming Daniel Ricciardo was ejected from his RB seat after the 2024 Singapore GP and young reserve driver Liam Lawson was brought in to replace the Australian. Then Sergio Perez’s Red Bull form went from bad to worse, and Lawson was promoted to the senior team for this year instead.

That left Yuki Tsunoda unimpressed. The Japanese driver had his best season: nine points finishes earned him a career-best 12th place in the drivers’ standings, and he felt he deserved the promotion more than his Kiwi team-mate.

Then Red Bull decided to demote Lawson just two races into the 2025 season, promoting Tsunoda to the senior team.

That leaves Isack Hadjar alongside Lawson, with both drivers’ contracts expiring at the end of the season.

Hadjar looks to have done enough to earn his place on the grid next year with a series of impressive performances, crowned with a podium place at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Lawson, however, has taken some time to get back onto his feet after his curtailed Red Bull stint and his palce could be under threat from 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad.

The young Briton already has enough superlicence points to race in F1. He’s racing with Campos in F2 for 2025, but the highly-rated junior could see a quick promotion to grand prix racing in 2026 if he continues to impress, and Lawson fails to stand out.

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.