Formula 1: drivers and teams 2026

Formula 1 in 2026 looks different from previous years. New technical regulations and the arrival of an eleventh team have made the grid bigger than ever: 11 teams and 22 drivers are competing for the world championship this season.

Some names have been on the grid for years, others are making their debut or have switched teams. This guide gives an overview of all the teams and drivers in 2026, who races for whom, which drivers currently set the tone in the standings, and how a line-up actually comes together.

The 11 teams on the grid in 2026

The 2026 Formula 1 field counts 11 teams, each with two permanent drivers. Below you can see at a glance which team lines up with which two drivers this season.

Eleven teams, each with two permanent drivers: 22 names in total on the 2026 grid.

Each team develops its own car within the same technical regulations and competes not just for the drivers' championship but also for the constructors' title. That title is determined by the combined points of a team's two drivers over the full season, and brings not just prestige but also a larger share of the prize money.

Some teams belong to a larger car manufacturer or are affiliated with a manufacturer that also supplies the engine, while other teams take an engine as a customer team from one of the five engine suppliers on the grid. Those ties between teams and engine suppliers also explain why certain outfits have historically performed more strongly than others.

Top drivers to watch

After the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' championship standings by 59 points. The Mercedes driver is thereby the youngest driver ever to lead the standings, a striking fact for someone who has only been racing in Formula 1 since 2025.

His teammate George Russell follows in second place. Lewis Hamilton, who has raced for Ferrari since this season after years with Mercedes, shares the same points total as Russell but sits third due to fewer wins. Lando Norris climbed to fourth place thanks to two consecutive wins around the summer break, with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in fifth.

Max Verstappen, four-time world champion (2021 to 2024) and the driver with the most notable Belgian connection (he was born in Hasselt, though he races under the Dutch flag), follows in sixth place for Red Bull Racing. Oscar Piastri completes the top seven for McLaren.

This order gives a picture of who matters this season, but says nothing about the eventual outcome of the championship: with a large part of the season still to go, the standings can still change considerably. Drivers currently a bit further from the top, such as Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly, have already picked up points this season and could still cause shifts in the second half of the season, especially if a team makes a technical step forward.

Rookies and new names

Every F1 season brings new faces and shifted roles, and 2026 is no exception. Arvid Lindblad is the only true rookie on the grid: the young Brit makes his debut in the top flight with Racing Bulls after a path through the junior series. Franco Colapinto, who gained experience as a stand-in in 2025, has secured a permanent seat at Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly.

At Audi, the new name for the team formerly known as Sauber, Gabriel Bortoleto is heading into his second season after a promising start alongside the experienced Nico Hülkenberg. Isack Hadjar made a notable step: after one season with the sister team, he landed a seat at Red Bull Racing, as teammate to Max Verstappen.

The biggest change in the driver field, however, comes from outside the existing teams: Cadillac joined this season as the eleventh team, bringing back Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, two drivers who had already built up experience in Formula 1 before. For both it means a full-fledged return to the grid, after a period without a permanent seat.

The fact that there is only one true debutant on the grid this season stands out compared to previous years. It suggests that most teams opted for stability and experience in their line-up for 2026, while the influx of fresh talent for now mainly flows through the junior series and testing days.

Why does the grid now count 11 teams?

Up to and including 2025, the Formula 1 grid consisted of ten teams and twenty permanent drivers. From 2026 an eleventh team joined: Cadillac. It is not the first American team on the grid (Haas has raced under the American flag since 2016), but it is the first American factory team in modern Formula 1. That expansion followed a longer process in which the brand was gradually admitted to the championship, and brought the grid to its current 22 drivers.

Alongside Cadillac's arrival, something else changed on the factory-team side: the team formerly racing under the name Sauber continues from 2026 as a fully fledged Audi F1 Team, now that the German car manufacturer has completed its takeover of the outfit.

The fact that the grid is now bigger than in previous years also means there are more points to distribute across more teams and drivers, and that competition further down the field has increased. For viewers, in practice little changes about the race format: there are simply two more cars at the start than in previous seasons.

For Cadillac, 2026 remains mainly a learning year: as a completely new team, the outfit, like every debuting team before it, needs time to bring the car and the organisation up to the level of the established names. Audi is also in a transitional period, as it gradually converts the former Sauber structure into a fully fledged factory team with its own engine programme.

How is the line-up decided each season?

The make-up of each team is the result of contracts that are usually signed for one or more seasons. Drivers sign with a team based on performance, availability and, at the bigger factory teams, also the budget they bring through sponsorship. Changes are usually announced well in advance, though mid-season changes can still occur due to injuries or contract breaches.

Many teams develop their own talent through a junior programme, in which drivers are prepared for a step up to the top flight via lower series such as Formula 2 and Formula 3. Arvid Lindblad went through such a path before landing at Racing Bulls. Other drivers build their careers instead through experience at multiple teams, as seen with drivers such as Carlos Sainz and Nico Hülkenberg, who have already raced for several outfits.

Ultimately, a season's line-up is therefore a combination of sporting performance, contractual arrangements and each team's strategic choices. Anyone following the driver market sees, year after year, a mix of established names, promoted talent and occasionally a completely new face on the grid.

Announcements about line-ups for the following season usually come in the second half of the season, when teams confirm their choices around the summer break or in the final months of the current championship. That period is also known in the motorsport world as the "silly season," because that is when rumours about possible transfers for the following year circulate in full force.

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More about Formula 1 at Napoleon Sports

More background on this season can be found on our Formula 1 hub, the championship standings 2026, the calendar 2026 and the Grand Prix guide 2026. Curious about Max Verstappen this season? Check out our page on betting on Max Verstappen or our guide to Formula 1 in Spa-Francorchamps, or dive into the history via our overview of all F1 world champions. Read more about how betting on Formula 1 actually works in our guide to betting on Formula 1.