For the first time in a decade there are 11 teams on the grid for the new Formula 1 season.
Most of them have unchanged line-ups as they head into a season of radically new technical regulations. Only newcomers Cadillac and the two Red Bull teams offer points of difference compared to last season.
Lando Norris’s success last year means the number of champions on the grid has risen to four, while two grand prix winners have returned at Cadillac. But which team on the expanded grid has the strongest driver line-up?
McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
This driver pairing delivered consecutive constructors’ championships for McLaren over the last two seasons. Both had wobbles during the course of last season – Lando Norris early in the year, Oscar Piastri after his dire weekend in Baku. But the frequency with which they qualified within hundredths of a second of each other indicated they regularly extracted the best from McLaren’s car.
Mercedes: George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli
George Russell showed he had the potential to be a team leader with his increasingly impressive performances alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. He stepped up following the seven-times champion’s departure last year and won twice in the few events where Mercedes looked like genuine contenders for victory. Newcomer Andrea Kimi Antonelli lost his way at mid-season as Mercedes introduced a suspension upgrade which neither driver liked, but ended the year with a run of strong results including a remarkable run from 17th to the podium at Las Vegas (after penalties).
Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar
Max Verstappen’s qualities speak for themselves; he almost denied the McLaren drivers the championship last year despite his car being plainly inferior on many occasions. But as the ‘ground effect era’ progressed Red Bull found it increasingly difficult to pair him with a driver who could achieve respectable results in their car: Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were dispensed with in little over 12 months. Will Isack Hadjar, the latest product of Red Bull’s junior programme, sink or swim?
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Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
In terms of raw numbers, Lewis Hamilton is the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time, with more grand prix victories than anyone, and matched only by Michael Schumacher on seven world championship victories. But he seldom looked at the peak of his powers during the ‘ground effect era’, particularly last year, as he laboured to get to grips with an unfamiliar Ferrari after 11 years at Mercedes. Charles Leclerc regularly demonstrated he is a potential champion in waiting, however.
Williams: Carlos Sainz Jnr and Alexander Albon
Ferrari outcast Carlos Sainz Jnr made the team’s decision to drop him look foolish more than once last year, particularly as he took Williams to a pair of podiums. These were the team’s best results of the year, though Alexander Albon collected more points than his new team mate. Either way, this is clearly Williams’ best driver line-up for a long time.
Racing Bulls: Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad
Red Bull’s second team often fields the least experienced driver line-up in the championship and this year is no exception. Liam Lawson finally competed in a full season last year, though Red Bull demoted him from their top team after just two appearances, while Arvid Lindblad makes the step up from Formula 2, eager to make the kind of impression Hadjar did last year.
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Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll
Aston Martin are regarded by many as dark horses for this year’s championship, but do they have a driver line-up which can deliver? Fernando Alonso has lost little of his zeal for competition in the two decades since his last championship win, but he’s had the beating of team mate Lance Stroll so easily for the last three years you have to doubt he’s being seriously tested.
Audi: Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto
As Sauber becomes Audi, the German manufacturer has opted to keep one of Formula 1’s most experienced drivers in Nico Hulkenberg, who finally scored his first podium finish with a superb performance at Silverstone last year. Gabriel Bortoleto also gets a second season after a debut season in which he impressively out-qualified his veteran team mate.
Haas: Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman
Haas are also heading into their second season after introducing an all-new driver line-up. Esteban Ocon started the season well but Oliver Bearman improved quickly in his rookie campaign and his drive to fourth place in Mexico was one of the most outstanding midfield performances of the year.
Alpine: Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto
Although Alpine switched off their 2025 development programme earlier than most teams – perhaps all of them – Pierre Gasly was still making forays into Q3 at the end of the season. Franco Colapinto had a tougher time of it after joining mid-season for the second year in a row but will have the benefit of beginning his first full campaign with ample experience and testing this year.
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Cadillac: Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas
New entrants Cadillac wisely opted to hire the most experienced driver line-up available to them. Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are past grand prix winners and championship runners-up. Together they have started over 500 grands prix and shared teams with two of the most formidable opponents in F1 today: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
I say
Last year I picked Ferrari’s duo as the strongest pairing on the grid. How does the opposition stack up against them now?
At Red Bull, Verstappen looked peerless at times last year, but it’s far too soon to say Hadjar is likely to perform better than his predecessors. At McLaren, both drivers looked vulnerable at different points during last season and surrendered too many points to Verstappen. As for Mercedes, Antonelli is still too much of an unknown quantity.
There’s no doubt Hamilton’s 2025 campaign was his least convincing to date. For his critics, it was definitive proof he is a spent force.
But I’m wary of writing him off just yet. I would still pick Ferrari’s line-up as the best on the grid, but by a slender margin ahead of McLaren.
You say
Which team do you think has the best driver line-up for 2026? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Which Formula 1 team has the best driver line-up for 2025?
- No opinion (0%)
- Cadillac: Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas (2%)
- Alpine: Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto (0%)
- Haas: Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman (0%)
- Audi: Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto (0%)
- Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (2%)
- Racing Bulls: Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad (0%)
- Williams: Carlos Sainz Jnr and Alexander Albon (6%)
- Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (13%)
- Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar (13%)
- Mercedes: George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (6%)
- McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (59%)
Total Voters: 127
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