Who are all the F1 race engineers in 2026?

In Formula 1, the drivers are the most visible figures, responsible for the overtakes, the tyre management and the final outcome on race day.

Yet, for every split-second decision on track and every strategic call that can swing a race, there is another voice just as vital: the race engineer.

Often heard but less seen, the race engineer serves as the crucial bridge between the technical heart of the team and the needs of the driver hurtling around the circuit.

Jump to every F1 race engineer-driving pairing in 2025

At its core, a race engineer is the driver’s principal technical partner – the person responsible for interpreting data, relaying strategy, and fine-tuning the car’s set-up in real time.

During practice, qualifying and the race itself, the engineer translates telemetry into actionable adjustments, balancing tyre life, fuel use, aerodynamic efficiency and strategy swings.

Over the race radio, their voice becomes a lifeline: calm yet urgent guidance, warnings about rivals’ pace, tyre degradation updates, and split-second tactical calls. It is a unique blend of engineer, strategist and race-day psychologist, all rolled into one.

But the race engineer’s role goes far beyond technical know-how. The most successful pairings in F1 history are underpinned by trust – an almost intuitive understanding between driver and engineer.

That kind of relationship isn’t built overnight; it evolves over months of testing, races and debriefs. Drivers must believe their engineer understands not just the data, but how they think, how they respond under pressure, and how to communicate in a way that keeps them focused and confident.

In return, engineers learn the nuances of each driver’s feedback language and driving style, allowing for more precise tweaks that can extract tenths – or even hundredths – of a second on every lap.

History shows how powerful that understanding can be when it endures. Michael Schumacher’s long partnership with Ross Brawn at Benetton and Ferrari remains the reference point, built on constant dialogue and a shared approach to car development and race management.

Sebastian Vettel and Guillaume Rocquelin enjoyed a similarly effective relationship at Red Bull, where concise, trusted communication helped underpin four consecutive world titles. In both cases, continuity allowed driver and engineer to operate almost as a single unit, particularly under pressure.

More recently, Lewis Hamilton’s peak years at Mercedes were closely associated with his work alongside Peter Bonnington, whose ability to manage information flow, mood and strategy over the radio became a defining feature of Hamilton’s success.

At the other end of the spectrum, Max Verstappen’s partnership with Gianpiero Lambiase has highlighted how a more direct, sometimes confrontational exchange can still be highly effective when trust and clarity are established.

Different styles can work, but the constant is alignment: when driver and engineer are fully in sync, performance tends to follow.

The driver-engineer dynamic came into sharp focus for one of the championship’s most high-profile pairings as the 2026 season approaches.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton will enter the new season with a new race engineer at Ferrari, following the departure of Riccardo Adami from the role and his reassignment within Ferrari’s driver development structure.

The decision to change engineers, rare at this level and indicative of how vital the driver-engineer bond can be, followed a challenging first year together that featured moments of tension and miscommunication over the team radio.

Ferrari has yet to announce Hamilton’s new engineer, but the switch underlines how critical this partnership is in unlocking performance and forging momentum across a campaign.

Below, we look at each driver-engineer pairing ahead of the 2026 season.

McLaren

Norris has worked with Will Joseph since his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in 2019, giving them a partnership of several seasons going into 2026. Joseph serves not only as Norris’s race engineer but also as McLaren’s director of race engineering, bringing broad strategic input and continuity to their collaboration. Their long-standing working relationship has been a key part of McLaren’s recent competitiveness, including Norris’s first world championship campaign.

Piastri’s race engineer is Tom Stallard, who has been with McLaren since the Australian’s debut in 2023 and continues in the role for 2026. Stallard brings extensive experience – including work with drivers like Jenson Button, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo – and is known for a calm, measured communication style that complements Piastri’s composed approach on track.

Mercedes

Russell’s race engineer is Marcus Dudley, who stepped into the role at the start of the 2023 season and continues with him into 2026. Dudley has been with the Mercedes operation for more than a decade, having worked in various engineering roles since joining the team in 2013.

Antonelli is paired with Peter “Bono” Bonnington, one of the most recognisable voices on the pit‑to‑car radio. Bonnington’s career stretches back to the early 2000s, and after a long tenure as Hamilton’s race engineer, he now doubles as head of race engineering while guiding Antonelli through his early F1 career.

Red Bull

Verstappen continues into the 2026 championship with Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase as his race engineer, a partnership that dates back to Dutch driver’s move to Red Bull in 2016. Over nearly a decade together, Lambiase has become one of the most familiar voices on the F1 radio and, despite off-season speculations, he will remain alongside Verstappen this year.

For his first season with Red Bull in 2026, Hadjar will work with Richard Wood as his race engineer. Wood is a long‑serving Red Bull engineer, with more than a decade at the team in various technical roles before stepping into the race engineer position for Red Bull drivers in recent seasons.

Ferrari

Leclerc’s race engineer for 2026 is Bryan Bozzi, who stepped into the role in mid-2024 after previously working as Leclerc’s performance engineer. Bozzi has been with Ferrari for over a decade and his switch to the race engineer role coincided with an upturn in results.

Hamilton’s race engineer for 2026 is yet to be announced. Ferrari recently moved Riccardo Adami – who served as Hamilton’s engineer in 2025 – into a different role within the team after a difficult first year working with the seven-time champion.

Williams

Albon’s race engineer is James Urwin, who has been working with him since Albon joined Williams in 2022, making the 2026 season their fourth year together. Urwin has been with the Williams team since 2014 and previously served in engineering roles with other drivers before settling into a long-running partnership with Albon.

Sainz’s race engineer is Gaëtan Jago, who continued working with him when Sainz moved to Williams in 2025 and remains in that role for 2026. Jago brings decades of motorsport experience – including a long stint at ART Grand Prix – to his work with Sainz.

Racing Bulls

Liam Lawson will work with Alexandre Iliopoulos as his race engineer for the 2026 season at Racing Bulls. Iliopoulos has progressed through the team’s engineering structure in recent years, including performance and trackside roles, and steps into the race-engineer position as Lawson looks to build continuity.

Arvid Lindblad will be partnered with Pierre Hamelin as his race engineer for his rookie 2026 season. Hamelin is an experienced race engineer within the Red Bull structure and has previously worked with drivers including Ricciardo, Lawson and Isack Hadjar.

Aston Martin

Alonso works with Andrew Vizard, who moved from Aston Martin’s strategy group into the race-engineer role when Alonso joined the team in 2023. Their collaboration has produced many radio highlights over the past years as the two-time champion has often been his outspoken self in the cockpit.

Gary Gannon has been Stroll’s race engineer since the Racing Point era, giving them one of the longer continuous partnerships on the grid heading into 2026. Gannon previously engineered Sergio Perez.

Haas

Bearman is working with Ronan O’Hare as his race engineer, a partnership that began when both joined Haas for the 2025 season. O’Hare was promoted internally into the role and brings experience from previous engineering work at Williams and other categories.

Ocon’s race engineer is Laura Müller, who made history as Formula 1’s first full-time female race engineer when she took on the role at Haas ahead of the 2025 season. Müller had previously worked within Haas in simulator and performance engineering roles and earned the promotion on merit, pairing her technical expertise with Ocon’s experience as they build their working relationship into 2026.

Audi

Hülkenberg’s race engineer is Steven Petrik, a partnership that began when Petrik moved to Sauber (now Audi) from Ferrari ahead of the 2024 season. Petrik spent eight years at Ferrari as a performance engineer before taking on race-engineering duties and has continued with Hülkenberg through the team’s transition into Audi.

Bortoleto is paired with Jose Manuel López, who joined Sauber from McLaren during the winter prior to the 2025 season. López had been involved in McLaren’s driver-development programme and worked with Bortoleto in Formula 2, so they already had familiarity before stepping up to F1 together.

Alpine

Gasly will work with Josh Peckett as his race engineer for the 2026 season. Peckett has stepped into the role having previously been a long-standing race engineer at Alpine – including working with Esteban Ocon – and moved across the garage when Alpine reshuffled its engineering assignments heading into 2025.

Colapinto’s race engineer is Stuart Barlow, who moved up to race engineering after several years in performance and trackside engineering roles. Barlow began his trackside career within Alpine’s broader engineering group and took on full race engineer duties with Colapinto during the 2025 season.

Cadillac

For the 2026 season, Bottas is partnered with John Howard as his race engineer at Cadillac, marking the beginning of their work together in F1. Howard arrives with deep experience from a long career at Alpine – including a stint as Pierre Gasly’s race engineer – and brings that background to support Bottas as the team makes its entry into the championship.

For Perez’s return to the championship with Cadillac in 2026, he’ll be working with Carlo Pasetti as his race engineer. Pasetti and Pérez already have history together: Pasetti served as Perez’s performance engineer during their time at Racing Point – including Perez’s breakthrough victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix – and later worked at Aston Martin before joining Cadillac for the team’s debut season.