The Formula 1 driver’s transfer season began in 2024 with an amazing decision: Luis Hamilton’s announcement that he will leave Mercedes and lead to Ferrari starting in 2025.
During the following weeks, he followed the sports conspiracies as the ridiculous driver erupted. Ultimately, many drivers found new teams, other drivers found themselves abroad looking, and a handful of young people joined the network for 2025.
Now, thanks to another decision, the driver transport market is about to start the 2026 campaign.
This decision? The news that the F1 has officially agreed to the eleventh team, and the partnership between Twg Motorsports and General Motors to compete as the Cadillac team starting in 2026. This means that two other seats are filled, and months of inexhaustible speculation.
So let’s adhere to how the driver’s squad 2026 looks forward before the 2025 season.
What is the F1 team that signed two drivers for 2026?
As existing, six of the teams that will be on the network in 2026 have a full driver assortment.
Including defending constructive heroes.
McLaren
Lando Norris and Oscar Pastrei are signed with McLaren for the 2026 season. Norris has signed a new “multi -year” deal with the team before the 2024 season, which will keep him in Woking until 2027. As for Pestery, a “multi -year” extension took place with McLaren during his rising season in 2023, which will witness the year 2026 in the last year of his deal.
to update: Before the Australian Grand Prize race, McLaren Declare The “multi -year” extension of PiaSSTRI, which will keep it in Woking after the 2026 season.
Ferrari
The Ferrari driver’s pair for the 2026 campaign was set. As for Lewis Hamilton, the contract he signed with Ferrari is for two years, with an option for the third. This means that it will be in place for at least 2025 and 2026.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are signed during the 2026 season. Alonso signed the extension of the contract in April 2024 to stay with the team at least 2026, while Stroll announced a new deal with the team last summer that would keep him with the team for “2025 and beyond.”
Hay
Haas is one of the F1 teams with a completely new driver squad for the 2025 season.
Both drivers are in a deal with Haas that lasts during the 2026 F1 season.
Williams
When Hamilton decided to leave for Ferrari, starting in 2025 – and Leclerc has already re -deal with Scuderia – he made Carlos Science Junior the largest free agent in the driver transport market.
Sainz speculation followed from Track to Track, but in the end Sainz threw a lot with James Fowles and Williams in a multi -year deal with “stretch options” after the 2026 season.
This is also the last year of the deal that signed his new colleague, Alexander Albon, in the spring of 2024.
Audi
In the news, Cadillac lost joining the network for the 2026 season is the fact that the American team will not be the only “new” team on the network. The 2025 season coincides with the final campaign of Sauber, before Audi took over this process as a business team in 2026.
But before the 2025 season, Audi lined up their driver on long -term deals. Nico Hülkeenberg was confirmed as the first F1 driver in Audi before the 2024 Grand Prix in Miami, and he was signed with the team until 2026. As is the case in the upcoming rising, and driver 2024 F2, Gabriel Bortoleto.
What is the F1 difference that has one open seat for 2026?
There are two teams with one open seat in 2026, each of which represents a great story.
Alpine Mountains
Let’s start with the Alps.
Esteban Ocon to Haas opened a seat alongside Pierre Gasly, which signed a two -year deal with the team last summer to keep it in Alpine until 2026.
Alpine was one of the teams that follow Carlos Sainz JR. But in the end, the team promoted the Jack Doohan driver to a full place on the network for the 2025 season.
But Douuhan is driving his car in a single year deal, and with Alpine moved to the addition of Franco Kulapinto and Williams “Super-SUB” last year as a backup driver, there is speculation about the circuit that Duhan is in the shortest position. Speculation increased only with the version of Season 7 of Netflix documents Driving to surviveWhich includes Slavio Bricator, ALPINE CEO, tells the young Doohan, “I am controlling you. Every millimeter.”
From Duhan’s point of view, if the path is on the path, this seat may be for it for 2026. F1 is, after all, a work based on the results. It was named Driving to survive For reason. But if Duhan does not provide the results that the Alps wants, we can see Colabinto – or anyone else – in this seat for 2026.
If not sooner.
Red Ball
Here we are.
Max Verstapen signed a long -term deal with Red Bull in the 2022 season, which can keep it with the team until 2028.
However, as we learned in early last season, there are periods in this decade that allow Verstapen to leave the team. These sentences were tested in the test during a controversy in the early year surrounding team manager Christian Horner, and the claims of misconduct imposed against Red Blus.
The director of the Mercedes Toto Wolf team, who found himself with a vacant site thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave the team to Ferrari, confirmed that he had met the management of Versaben during the 2024 campaign. Verstapen was also linked to Aston Martin, due to Adrian New move to the team for this year.
However, Verstapen continues to clean any rumors of getting away from Red Bull, and there are all expectations that will be with them in the foreseeable future.
As for those who will be his teammate, Red Bull believed that they were putting this issue in a new deal for Sergio Perez last summer, but with the failure of the results to follow up, they moved in a different direction for 2025. The team separated ways with Perez and Liam Lawson signed a year for this season.
If Lawson is a performance, this stain may remain for him since 2026. But if not – and as Red Bull showed in the past – they are more than willing to give another driver.
What is the F1 team that has two open seats for 2026?
This leaves us with the three teams that do not have a driver lining up for the next year.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari opened a seat in the Mercedes for the 2025 season, where Toto Wolf was eventually filled with the young phenomenon Andrea Kimi Antonlle, one of the young men who joined the network for the 2025 season.
But Antonelli is in a one -year deal.
His teammate George Russell was not confirmed in 2026, because in the last year of the contract he signed with Mercedes in 2023.
According to WolF, the team has options to expand both drivers, so Mercedes may have the same conjugation for the year 2026 they do this season. Russell just celebrated his twenty -seventh birthday in February, and Antonelle reached August 18, giving Mercedes a young and talented driver.
However, if the performance is not equally with WOLF, the team has a window to search elsewhere for one or both seats.
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1
Now we move to the Red Ball sister team.
VCARB begins this year with Yuki Tsunoda and ISACK Hadjar, where Hadjar has a f2 and TSUNDA jump that is passed to the place in Red Bull alongside Max Verstapen.
Both drivers are in one year deals.
Promotion to Red Bull on the table for one of these drivers can be if Layam Lawson stumbles alongside VerstapPen. But if Lucon does enough to keep his place, what will VCARB do with this collection for 2026? Hadjar is likely to win a secondary season, due to his lack of experience, but there are already complaining about the future of Tsunoda in the long term in the Red Bull family. Talk again in December After announcing the transfer of Hadjar to VCARB, Horner brought the future of Tsunoda in the future. “We are fully aware that if we cannot provide a chance for Yuki [at Red Bull] With all honesty this year, is this? [keeping him on] logical? “He asked Horner.” You can’t have a five -year driver for the support team. You cannot always be bridesmaids. You should either allow them to leave at this point or look at something different. “
Cadillac
This leads us to Cadillac.
Through the news that they have been officially approved to obtain a spot on the network, speculation is largely up to the drivers that will be signed for 2026.
The team can start talking to drivers.
“There are still some very talented drivers,” He said Grame Lowdon team manager on Friday. “We could not be in the driver market until the entry was confirmed. Now, we can go forward with it.”
Who may try to move forward with?
When the Cadillac-Andrettti team announced for the first time its intentions to join the F1 network, Michela Andreiti confirmed that it would be an American process.
He had a driver in mind: The current Indycar driver, Colon Herta.
Herta has been linked with a transfer to F1 in the past. In 2021, he was linked to the move to Sapper to lead alongside Valtiri Potas, but the talks collapsed and the team signed Chu Guyianio for the 2022 season. Herta was signed as a development driver in McLaren for the 2022 campaign, then he was linked to the move to Alphatauuri. From the lack of points required to obtain the F1 Super license, Red Bull sought an exemption from Herta, but eventually the ruling sports body denied the request.
But Hertha starts from the best season of Indicar, as he finished second in the drivers’ championship to Alex Palah. He scored a pair of victories last year, first in Toronto and then at the end of the season in Nashville, his first victory over the oval.
He finished sixteenth in the Grand Prix in Saint Petersburg at the end of last week.
Herta spoke with the media, including SB nation On a possible transfer to F1 before the Indycar 2025 campaign. But the driver cleaned the rumors aside, and nothing has not even been known as the results he needs to secure the F1 Super license.
“I think the answer to this is that I did not even know what mathematics will get in a super license, so if that happens, it is great, and then I will make a decision.” Incurred SB nationIn January. “If you still want.
“I will be fine in both cases.”
Herta is likely to be strongly considered by Cadillac, but there were other names associated with the team for the year 2026. Valtery Potas, who found himself without a seat for the 2025 season and spends this year as a reserve in Mercedes, is a choice. He is also his former teammate Chu Guanio, who may have an internal path given the fact that Ludon is part of his management team. If Yuki Tsunoda already sees that his time runs out in VCARB in the Red Bull family, it may be an option as well.
Then there are some current Herta competitors in Indycar. Pato O’ward and Alex Palou have been linked to Indycar champion three times with a future transfer to F1.
Wild card?
What about Sergio Perez?
Regardless of those who ultimately sign Cadillac, the presence of two other sites on the network to fill in 2026 will lead to some amazing speculation during the next few months.
If no longer.
