Which F1 teams haven’t finalized their 2026 driver lineups?

Mercedes - Two open seats (but most likely Russell and Antonelli)

Both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are still technically without a contract for the following year. Much fuss has been made around what the Mercedes lineup will look like in 2026, with intense rumors of Max Verstappen joining the team swirling throughout the entire first half of this year. But with Verstappen recently confirming that he intends to stay with Red Bull for the time being, it seems that Mercedes is most likely going to extend both Antonelli and Russell's contracts.

Back in June, following the Austrian Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff hinted that summer break is when we will know for sure what driver direction the team is going in for the future. “Obviously there's lots of discussions around,” he said, “I've been open with it and transparent. And at a certain stage in the next couple of months -- until the summer break, we need to know. Until the summer break, everything is going to be done."

‍

Red Bull - Max Verstappen plus one

Rumors of a massive upheaval at Red Bull, in the form of Verstappen departing from the team he spent most of his career with, were rampant throughout the first half of the season. But Verstappen shut all that down in one fell swoop during the Hungarian Grand Prix. 

“I think it's time to basically stop all the rumors, and for me it's always been quite clear that I was staying anyway,” he said to the media early in the final race weekend before summer break.

That answers the question for one of the two Red Bull seats. But the second one–currently occupied by Yuki Tsunoda–remains open for 2026, all things considered.

Tsunoda had only one year left on his contract when he was called to step up to the Red Bull seat at the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this year, meaning that he still doesn’t have a confirmed seat for 2026. While he has been tied to Honda in the past, the engine provider has recently stepped back from guiding his career path in the hopes of allowing him more freedom and opportunity to carve his own path in F1.

VCARB - Two open seats

Tsunoda’s biggest competition for the Red Bull seat currently seem to be Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson. Both VCARB drivers' contracts expire at the end of this year, and it is likely that the two Red Bull-affiliated teams will be looking at how to best optimize their lineups, even if that means shuffling some drivers around.

While Liam Lawson started in Red Bull at the beginning of the year, he struggled to adapt to the car and was put back in the VCARB after just two rounds in the senior team. The move was done as a means of giving him more time to develop and has clearly been paying off as his performances have been steadily improving over the course of the season.

Isack Hadjar, on the other hand, impressed very early on. Despite a first-round blunder in Australia, he picked himself up and was quickly scoring consistent points for his team. Both Lawson and Hadjar are likely to stay in F1 next year; however, which team they will be in remains a question for the time being.

‍

McLaren - Norris and Piastri

McLaren's driver lineup is secured for the foreseeable future. Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are on multi-year contracts that will see them stay with the team likely until 2027 if not beyond that.

Piastri's contract extension was announced ahead of the 2025 season opener in Australia, his home race.

Both Norris and Piastri have spent their entire F1 careers so far with McLaren. The two drivers currently lead the Drivers' Championship standings, and McLaren is certainly happy to know that they will be with the team for multiple years to come. 

‍

Ferrari - Leclerc and Hamilton

Charles Leclerc inked an extension with Ferrari back in January of 2024. While the details are unknown, it is widely thought to be a deal that will see him stay locked in with Ferrari for up to 2029. If he serves out the full contract, he will match Michael Schumacher’s record longest career with the team, at 11 years.

Lewis Hamilton is on a multi-year contract. His first year with Scuderia has, however, been a rocky start. He has been struggling to get accustomed to the car and achieve results that he is happy with. Following the qualifying of the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Leclerc got a surprise pole position, he even went so far as to say, “I’m useless, absolutely useless. The team has no problem. You've seen the car's on pole. So they probably need to change drivers.”

‍

Williams - Sainz and Albon

After the shocking announcement that Hamilton would be coming to Ferrari in 2025, many wondered where Carlos Sainz would end up. And after carefully considering all of his options, the Spaniard is set to race for the next two years with Williams.

He will be joined by Alex Albon, who has been with Williams since 2022. Albon’s contract will see him stay with the team through 2026, but no news of his future beyond that is currently known.

Alpine - Gasly plus one

Among the teams still looking to finalize their lineup for 2026 is Alpine. Pierre Gasly has a confirmed contract through 2026, having signed an extension with the team in the summer of 2024. On his future with the team, he said at the time of the announcement, “I’ve been officially here for over 18 months and it has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team. While on-track it’s been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere.”

Yet his teammate for the following year is still unknown. Alpine started with Jack Doohan for the beginning of 2025 after he took over for Esteban Ocon in the final race of the previous season. However, a rough start prompted the team to switch him out for Franco Colapinto. Colapinto was initially signed on a five-race contract; however, this has since been adjusted to a race-by-race basis, according to acting team principal Flavio Briatore, who said earlier in June, “If Colapinto is performing, he's driving the car. If he's not performing, we'll see.”

‍

Haas - Bearman and Ocon

After his contract with Alpine came to a close, Ocon signed a multi-year deal with Haas. This will see him stay with the team through the 2026 season.

Alongside Ocon, Haas made sure to secure Oliver Bearman for themselves after the rookie impressed the F1 world when he replaced Sainz at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2024. On the topic of Bearman's contract and future, team principal Ayao Komatsu has said, "He's a Ferrari [junior] driver; we've got him for two years, two plus one. But if we do a good job and if Ollie does a good job, there's no way Ferrari can ignore that."

‍

Kick Sauber - Bortoletto and Hülkenberg

Another rookie with a multi-year deal is Gabriel Bortoleto. After winning the 2024 F2 Championship, he signed on with Kick Sauber for a seat among the best of the motorsport world and will stay with the team through 2026 and their transition into Audi.

Alongside him will be Nico Hülkenberg, who is likewise staying with the team as they become Audi. According to German sports outlet Sport1, the contract is thought to be for two years, keeping him there at least to the end of 2026.

The team has been having a particularly successful season this year, having amassed a total of 51 points during just the first 14 rounds, in comparison to their total four points at the end last year. What's more, Hülkenberg recently achieved his first career podium at the British Grand Prix. Going into the summer break, Kick Sauber currently sits in 7th place in the Constructor Standings, just one point behind Aston Martin.

‍

Aston Martin - Alonso and Stroll

Bortoleto will be happy to know that he will be racing alongside his manager, Fernando Alonso, for at least another year, as Aston Martin also has their 2026 lineup locked in.

In mid-April 2024, it was announced that Alonso had signed an extension to his contract with the Silverstone-based outfit that will keep him until the end of 2026. What will happen beyond that remains to be seen. On the topic of his future, the two-time World Champion has said that the outcome of 2026 will be an important factor, and, “I think I need to see how next year starts and how motivated I am. Every year, there is a different mood going into the season.”

"There is a different feeling on how you perform, how competitive you feel yourself, how motivated you are to keep your fitness at the high level, personal situation, family situation - all these things play a role in some important decisions in life."

Lance Stroll is known to be on a contract for ‘2025 and beyond.‘ The specific parameters of the contract are unknown.

Cadillac - Two open seats

Come 2026, Cadillac will join F1 as the 11th team on the grid. While their lineup is yet unknown, several speculations have been made. It appears that front contenders currently are Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom would bring valuable experience to the brand new team. Other potential names that have been affiliated with Cadillac include American IndyCar driver Colton Herta, as well as F2 drivers Alex Dunne and Jak Crawford. Fellow IndyCar driver Alex Palou was also speculated to be up for consideration, however he has since shut down the rumors.

There has been significant interest in the two available seats at Cadillac from both current F1 drivers and those aspiring to enter the sport. It has long been thought that the team would like to bring in an American driver to reinforce their origins; however, no announcement regarding this has been made yet. Nevertheless, the pair that Cadillac chooses will undoubtedly shape the direction of both the team and the grid and fans eagerly anticipate seeing who will compete for Cadillac, whether it's a seasoned favorite or an exciting new talent.

‍

Cover image via Mercedes-Benz media pool.