Red Bull confirmed the driver lineup of both its F1 teams, setting the grid for the 2026 season. After much debate over who would partner Max Verstappen on the main Red Bull team, Isack Hadjar has been selected to move up the ranks. Hadjar’s rookie season with Racing Bulls was very successful, even yielding a podium at the Dutch Grand Prix. He is replacing Yuki Tsunoda, who will be forced to sit out the 2026 season. Tsunoda joined Racing Bulls (then AlphaTauri) back in 2021, but his nearly full-season performance at Red Bull failed to impress. Liam Lawson will remain at Racing Bulls for 2026, partnering rookie Arvid Lindblad. Lindblad raced through the ranks of Formula 4 to land a seat at Formula 2 this year. He had strong showings in F1 practice outings with Red Bull this year. He will be the only rookie in 2026.
With the vacant seats at Red Bull and Racing Bulls now filled, the 2026 driver lineup is final. The 2026 season will see 22 drivers lineup their cars on the starting grid, making it the biggest lineup since 2014. The 2026 roster is as follows:
| Alpine | Franco Colapinto Pierre Gasly |
| Aston Martin | Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll |
| Audi | Gabriel Bortoleto Nico Hulkenberg |
| Cadillac | Valtteri Bottas Sergio Perez |
| Ferrari | Lewis Hamilton Charles Leclerc |
| Haas | Oliver Bearman Esteban Ocon |
| McLaren | Lando Norris Oscar Piastri |
| Mercedes | Kimi Antonelli George Russell |
| Racing Bulls | Liam Lawson Arvid Lindblad |
| Red Bull | Isack Hadjar Max Verstappen |
| Williams | Alex Albon Carlos Sainz |
Red Bull and its advisor have apologized for comments made after the Qatar Grand Prix, suggesting that Kimi Antonelli had deliberately allowed Lando Norris to pass him in the closing laps. Running in P5, Norris was running behind Antonelli, unable to get by due to the difficulty of overtaking at the circuit. In the closing laps, Antonelli suffered a snap of oversteer in turn 10, allowing Norris to climb up to P4, earning critical points in his championship bid. The move was not initially broadcast live during the race, with replays only aired after the race was over. Immediately after the race, Max Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase was heard saying it looked like Antonelli had let Norris through. Long-time Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko echoed similar claims after the race, saying it was “so obvious” Norris has been “waved by”. Antonelli faced online abuse as a result of the comments, leading Red Bull to issue a statement that read: “Comments made before the end of and immediately after the Qatar GP suggesting that Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli had deliberately allowed Lando Norris to overtake him are clearly incorrect. Replay footage shows Antonelli momentarily losing control of his car, thus allowing Norris to pass him. We sincerely regret that this has led to Kimi receiving online abuse.”
The FIA presidential election will proceed as planned, despite a legal challenge from candidate Laura Villars. Current president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is set to be re-elected uncontested, thanks to a rule that prevents other candidates from forming the leadership teams necessary to successfully secure candidacy. To run for election, the candidates must assemble a leadership team with seven vice presidents from all regions covered by the FIA. But, since Fabiana Ecclestone is the only eligible vice president in South America and is already a part of Ben Sulayem’s team, no other candidate can complete their leadership roster. This forced all three presidential hopefuls – Tim Mayer, Laura Villars, and Virginie Philippot – to pull out of the race. Villars filed a lawsuit at the end of October, seeking to delay the election until the matter can go to trial, but a Paris court refused to delay the election, setting a start date for the trial on February 16. However, the results of the FIA election, set for December 12, could still be overturned if the court rules against the FIA.
Adrian Sutil has broken his silence about his recent arrest, with his lawyer releasing a statement. The former F1 driver was arrested in Germany last week and is currently being held there for suspected “aggravated joint fraud and joint embezzlement” awaiting trial. Sutil’s attorney, Dirk Schmitz, explained in a statement that the retired driver is being held in Germany because he lives in Monaco and is, therefore, not a resident of Germany. He went on to say that the allegations involve “international and cross-border leasing contracts and security agreements that must be assessed under different national legal standards and therefore lead to differing evaluations,” but insists that “no financial damage has been caused to third parties to date.” He even went so far as to say that the circumstances surrounding the legal trouble are “an attempt to deliberately and misleadingly damage his reputation” and that Sutil is confident “the allegations will prove to be unfounded under criminal law.”
Aston Martin was fined as neither driver attended the mandatory fan event in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The team defended their actions, insisting they believed the drivers were not required to attend because neither had participated in the first free practice session of the weekend. The team had run rookies Jak Crawford and Cian Shields in the session. The stewards rejected Aston Martin’s defence, reminding the team that “many fans had waited for several hours in the heat” and that the fans are “the core of Formula 1”. The team was fined €25,000 per driver, with €15,000 per driver suspended, provided the team does not commit a similar offence in the next 12 months. To compensate fans, the team was also required to hand out signed hats to Aston Martin fans in the fan zone throughout the weekend, and proof must be provided to the FIA.
Aston Martin and Alpine have both confirmed their 2026 car launch event dates, with Cadillac also setting a livery debut date. Alpine will host a launch event in Barcelona on January 23, just days before the first pre-season test at the Spanish circuit. Aston Martin has opted to hold its launch event on February 9, ahead of the second pre-season test in Bahrain. Cadillac will reveal its maiden livery in a Super Bowl ad on February 8. The Super Bowl is the championship game of the American-based National Football League. With viewership reaching a whopping 127 million viewers last year, a single 30-second ad slot for the event costs an estimated $8m.
Toyota has strengthened its partnership with Haas, signing a title sponsorship deal with the F1 team. Haas has been in a technical partnership with Haas since October 2024, receiving some engineering and manufacturing services from the Japanese automaker. This new deal will see the Haas team officially called TGR Haas F1 Team in 2026, short for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Toyota has not had a works team since it withdrew from F1 at the end of 2009 amid heavy financial losses for the automotive company.
Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli has joined the McLaren Driver Development Programme, also becoming the team’s reserve driver for 2026. The 21-year-old Italian won the 2025 Formula 2 championship in his first full season with Invicta Racing, having previously won the Formula 3 championship last year on his second attempt with Trident.
Lando Norris started the important Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race weekend off right, leading the first free practice session. He beat Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, but only by the narrowest of margins, with just 0.016s separating the three drivers. The third championship contender, Oscar Piastri, did not participate in the session, loaning his car to rookie Pato O’Ward. He was just one of nine rookies on the circuit, the fastest of which was Ryo Hirakawa in his sixth free practice appearance with Haas. Oliver Bearman had a difficult session in the other Haas, suffering from a loss of power early and then having to retire later with a sensor issue.
Lando Norris kept his strong footing, leading the second free practice session of the weekend over Max Verstappen. It was a much more comfortable lead this time around, with a time 0.363s quicker than his Red Bull rival, who was only marginally quicker than George Russell. Isack Hadjar enjoyed the early lead in the session before times began to decrease for qualifying simulations. Oscar Piastri had a lacklustre showing in his first session of the weekend, setting a time only worthy of P11. Oliver Bearman rebounded from mechanical issues earlier in the date, setting the fourth fastest time ahead of both Saubers, who were also having a great final weekend before changing to Audi in 2026.
George Russell found his way to the top of the timesheets in the final free practice session of the year, beating Lando Norris by only 0.004s. The session was red-flagged to recover a damaged Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton suffered a snap of oversteer in turn nine, finding his way into the barriers. It was not the only drama of the session. Kimi Antonelli crashed into the side of Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull in the pit lane after being released from the Mercedes garage. This earned the team a €10,000 fine. Max Verstappen finished the session in P3, while his fellow championship hopeful Oscar Piastri was in P5 behind Fernando Alonso.
Max Verstappen gave his chances of winning a fifth consecutive championship title a big boost, earning pole position for the critical race. All three drivers with a shot to win the title qualified in the top three, with Lando Norris leading Oscar Piastri. Piastri led the way in Q1, with track limits proving difficult for many drivers throughout the field. Lewis Hamilton failed to advance to Q2 for yet another weekend, not ending his first season with Ferrari on a high note. The driver who replaced him at Mercedes, Kimi Antonelli, failed to make it into Q3, while his teammate, George Russell, led the way in the session. But at the end of Q3, it was Verstappen who was on top, with some help from teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who provided him with some slipstream on his flying lap.
Max Verstappen maintained his top spot in the race, but it was Lando Norris to walked away with the championship title. Oscar Piastri jumped to P2 on the opening lap of the race with a good overtake around the outside of his teammate in turn nine. Norris was under pressure from Charles Leclerc for the opening laps, but eventually enough of a gap. Both drivers pitted on the same lap, coming out behind a DRS train. After slicing his way through the train, Norris encountered Yuki Tsunoda, who was tasked with making Norris’ job difficult. The Red Bull driver weaved on the straight, forcing Norris to overtake him off the circuit. This put Norris’ championship hopes in jeopardy, but the stewards deemed Tsunoda guilty of moving multiple times. Piastri attempted the alternate strategy, starting the race on the hard tyres, but Verstappen was able to get back to the lead of the race before the Australian had even made his pit stop. Verstappen took the chequered flag, but a podium was all Norris needed to earn his first World Drivers’ Championship title. Click here to read our full summary of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marks the end of the 2025 F1 season. The final championship standings are as follows:
With the end of the season also comes the end of this era of cars. Come 2026, there will be new machinery, and it will be anyone’s guess who will emerge with the advantage coming out of the winter break. Although the racing may be over, there will be no shortage of F1 stories during the winter. Stay tuned to the F1 Weekly Recap to keep up with the latest in the world of Formula One.
It can be challenging for even the most avid fans to keep up with the fast-paced world of Formula One. The Weekly F1 Recap is a series published each Monday that breaks down the action, both on and off the circuit, into bit-sized pieces. It's perfect for casual and experienced fans alike.
