Reacting to My 2026 Formula 1 Driver Lineup Predictions

With Formula 1 officially returning to our screens within the next month, it’s time to look at what I predicted when it comes to the 2026 Driver Lineups! Now, when I do that specific Prediction article, I always go in order of most confident to least confident, meaning my wildest predictions are usually saved for the end, and that’s pretty much the same this year, other than the fact that we had a new team to talk about in Cadillac! So, without further ado, let’s see if I can improve on last year’s score of 2!

Credit: F1

McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

Yeah, this one was definitely obvious! McLaren had proven themselves to have the fastest car on the grid at the start of 2025, so there wouldn’t be any reason for either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri to walk away from the team! Yes, some issues appeared throughout the season, but in the end, Norris and Piastri helped McLaren dominate to become double World Champions!

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari and McLaren were the only teams I predicted correctly last year, and so far, I’m spot on with both of them again! In a similar vain to McLaren, there was no real way that the Ferrari lineup was going to change, with Charles Leclerc being the heart of Ferrari whilst Lewis Hamilton had brought into the project! The one thing I will say is that I’m certainly not as confident about this lineup when it comes to next season’s set of predictions!

Williams: Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz

This was another lineup that felt fairly set in stone, with Carlos Sainz fully locked in with Williams for the 2026 regulations, whilst Alex Albon is far too good of a driver for Williams to get rid of! It also helps that both drivers had pretty strong seasons in 2025, guiding Williams back to the top of the midfield!

Audi: Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto

Yeah, the driver market heading into 2026 was far less exciting than the one heading into 2025! Audi had come out and said that Nico Hulkenberg was signed for that project, him driving for Kick Sauber was just a result of that. As for Gabriel Bortoleto, getting rid of the reigning F2 Champion would’ve felt crazy at the time, and Gabby proved more than good enough for a second year in the sport!

Alpine: Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto

When I made these predictions, Alpine’s driver lineup was Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan! Pierre was definitely a shoo-in to stay at Alpine for 2026, but the writing already felt like it was on the walls for Jack before he’d even driven a lap! Now, I didn’t know at the time that Franco Colapinto was going to get 18 Grand Prix weekends to prove himself, but I was correct in my assessment of him still being with the team in 2026!

Haas: Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman

There was absolutely no reason to predict anything other than Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman remaining at Haas, with Esteban bringing a whole heap of experience, whilst Ollie Bearman’s potential is sky high! The interesting thing for me, though, is that I’m not sure if either of these guys will be at Haas in 2027!

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll

The reason I had Aston Martin so low down on this list is that I wasn’t fully certain about whether Lance Stroll would remain with Aston for the new era. However, Lance sticking around does make sense, whilst Fernando Alonso was never going to leave, even if the 2025 car was pretty disappointing!

Mercedes: George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli

A lot has happened since I made these predictions, but at the time, Toto Wolff wasn’t hiding the fact that he wanted Max Verstappen! On top of that, both George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s contracts were up at the end of 2025, so it’s not like it was impossible for the Silver Arrows to get rid of one of them! However, because I couldn’t work out who Merc would get rid of, I decided to stick with George and Kimi, and that proved to be the right way to go!

Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar

I think I’ve done really well here! Crazily, Red Bull’s lineup when I wrote the original predictions article was Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson, and yet neither driver felt like a confident pick to stay in 2026! Because of the rumours of Yuki Tsunoda replacing Liam ahead of Japan, I felt like neither of those drivers had a chance of driving for Red Bull in 2026, meaning I had to go with Isack Hadjar! At that time, I wasn’t confident in Hadjar’s abilities (that aged well), so I wasn’t convinced at all with Isack being promoted to the main team! Then there’s the whole Max Verstappen dilemma, a driver who seemed like he’d not only had enough of Red Bull, but potentially the sport as a whole! The fact that I managed to get this prediction correct is impressive, but it’s ironic because I’m not sure it occurred in the way I expected it to (in the slightest)!

Racing Bulls: Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad

Boom! The funny thing about this prediction is that the only part I was confident about was Arvid Lindblad, as it felt like the youngster was destined for Formula 1! However, it was then a complete toss-up for who partners him, with me ruling out Yuki Tsunoda based on my belief that he’d be out of the sport in 2026, whilst I picked Liam Lawson in the hope that he’d find his form again (in a similar way to Pierre Gasly)! I think Lawson and Lindblad is very much a teammate pairing to keep a close eye on throughout 2026!

Cadillac: Sergio Perez and Colton Herta

I came so close to getting a perfect set of predictions, only to fumble the ball on the 1-yard line! I felt from day one that Sergio Perez made perfect sense for Cadillac, with his commercial income and fandom in Mexico being a no-brainer for a new team not to ignore! However, the second seat was where things got interesting, with a number of different options on the table! I personally went with Colton Herta because Cadillac were so open about wanting an American driver, and I felt like Jak Crawford would be more likely to join them in a Test/Reserve Driver role! Ultimately, Herta was chosen as the American team's Test and Development Driver, with Valtteri Bottas being chosen as Checo Perez’s teammate for Cadillac’s first season in the sport! If I’m being honest, that makes an awful lot of sense looking back at it!