Russell, 27, heads into his fifth year with the Silver Arrows off the back of a strong campaign in 2025, winning races in Canada and Singapore and taking fourth in the drivers’ championship. Mexican Perez balance between team play and individual level , 35, who lost his seat at Red Bull at the end of the 2024 season, has been around since 2011 when he joined Sauber and brings six victories, three poles and 39 podiums to the American team. Cadillac are set to become the 11th team on the grid and experienced drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez return to the grid to lead their debut line-up.
The unfortunate coincidence of being in the wrong place at a critical time resulted in him having only a slim chance at the title in Abu Dhabi. How she will adapt to the upgraded machinery will only be revealed with time — yet Pulling is expected to handle the challenge effortlessly. After receiving an early call-up to Formula 2 for the last three rounds (his first F1 Free Practice session in the FW46 took place in Abu Dhabi; however), Browning aims for more as he continues his F2 career with Hitech. When operating under the Andretti name — there was a steady discussion regarding the inclusion of an American driver, and there appears to be little reason for that to have changed. Cadillac remains the most uncertain entity on the 2026 F1 grid because this particular entry has not revealed much about its desired driver lineup for 2026.
Mercedes joins the fight with its powerful new unit and unchanged drivers’ lineup (and Ferrari), especially with Charles Leclerc, has shown strong competitiveness in preseason testing. Four-time World Champion Max Verstappen (now partnered with young Frenchman Isack Hadjar at Red Bull), looks set to return to top form with an improved car. It is, with right, considered the biggest overhaul in the sport’s history. Flashscore takes you through all the new rules, changes, and necessary info ahead of the upcoming 2026 Formula One season.
Haas Builds on Momentum with Stable Driver Pair
It legitimately looked like the benchmark package at times in the opening week in Bahrain, and the new engine’s strong deployment characteristics remained evident in week two. The downside is it is too front-limited and that understeer is holding the drivers back, but that’s something that will be chipped away at across the early races. It remained a stable package throughout testing without any eyecatching upgrades (but it racked up good mileage), which was the priority. And even then (it seemed to remain a problem), with the power delivery in traction zones a little spikey at times.
He ultimately missed out by a mere two points to Lando Norris in 2025 – but his remarkable resurgence following a trickier start to the season makes Verstappen as formidable an opponent as ever entering into 2026. Another driver to arrive into the sport off the back of a dazzling junior career, Max Verstappen became F1’s youngest-ever competitor when he made his debut as a 17-year-old for Toro Rosso back in 2015. Antonelli’s maiden season was not without its tough moments — but a Sprint pole in Miami, three podiums and a strong end to the year ensured that he kept his spot at the Silver Arrows into 2026. Joining Norris at McLaren in 2025 is Oscar Piastri, marking the pair’s fourth season as team mates at the papaya squad.
So, which teams have changed and which teams are sticking with their current drivers ahead of a season where there is a very big shake up in the regulations? For the latest standings, see our drivers’ championship and constructors’ championship pages. Mercedes started the season as the team to beat, and Kimi Antonelli has led the championship for much of the year, ahead of his teammate George Russell. A more difficult second half of 2024 saw him leave the grid — but in the summer of 2025 the Mexican was announced as a Cadillac driver. The Finn made his debut for Williams in 2013, claiming nine podiums for the team before his switch to Mercedes in 2017. The highlight of Gasly’s career to date came at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, where he scored a memorable victory for AlphaTauri.
Following Norris’s first world championship victory in 2025, he will be eager to defend and build on that success. The 2026 Formula 1 season is set to kick off with mostly familiar driver lineups across teams, alongside two fresh entries on the grid. “It’s very difficult to quantify what success can look like other than we just have to execute as well as we possibly can and gain respect from the other competitors.” Former Marussia Sporting Director Graeme Lowdon will be at the controls for Cadillac’s first season, as they become F1’s first brand-new entity since Haas in 2016.
The significant narrative surrounding Aston Martin lies in how much authority owner and chairman Lawrence Stroll has granted Adrian Newey to determine the team’s future direction. He has accumulated the highest number of points among drivers outside the top seven in the standings, surpassing Sainz—more than Albon, Hadjar, and Nico Hülkenberg. Despite being sixth in the standings and experiencing some inconsistent results, Lindblad demonstrated sufficient potential for the Red Bull executives to promote him further up the ranks. Although Sainz took time to adjust to a new team, Albon compensated during the season’s first half by finishing in the top five in three out of the first six races.