Ask a casual fan how many drivers race in Formula 1 and you will probably hear “twenty.” For most of the past decade, that answer was spot on. In 2026, it is out of date.
The grid has grown for the first time in ten years, and the number of people who actually drive an F1 car across a season is larger than the starting grid suggests.
Whether you are new to the sport, settling a debate with friends or getting ready for the next race weekend, this guide gives you the full picture in one place.
The Quick Answer: 22 Drivers Across 11 Teams
There are 22 race drivers in Formula 1 in 2026, two for each of the 11 teams on the grid. The rules require every team to enter two cars in every Grand Prix, so the number of full-time drivers is always double the number of teams.
That figure covers full-time race seats only. Add reserve drivers, test drivers and the rookies who take part in practice sessions, and the number of people who drive an F1 car during a single season easily passes 30.
The Full 2026 F1 Driver Lineup
Here is how the grid lined up at the season opener in Australia, with teams listed alphabetically. Teams can swap drivers during the year, so think of this as the starting lineup for 2026.
| Team | Race drivers | Power unit |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine | Pierre Gasly (France), Franco Colapinto (Argentina) | Mercedes |
| Aston Martin | Fernando Alonso (Spain), Lance Stroll (Canada) | Honda |
| Audi | Nico Hülkenberg (Germany), Gabriel Bortoleto (Brazil) | Audi |
| Cadillac | Sergio Pérez (Mexico), Valtteri Bottas (Finland) | Ferrari |
| Ferrari | Charles Leclerc (Monaco), Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) | Ferrari |
| Haas | Esteban Ocon (France), Oliver Bearman (Great Britain) | Ferrari |
| McLaren | Lando Norris (Great Britain), Oscar Piastri (Australia) | Mercedes |
| Mercedes | George Russell (Great Britain), Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Italy) | Mercedes |
| Racing Bulls | Liam Lawson (New Zealand), Arvid Lindblad (Great Britain) | Red Bull Ford |
| Red Bull Racing | Max Verstappen (Netherlands), Isack Hadjar (France) | Red Bull Ford |
| Williams | Alexander Albon (Thailand), Carlos Sainz (Spain) | Mercedes |
A few things stand out. The 22 drivers represent 15 countries, and Great Britain supplies five of them, the most of any nation.
Fernando Alonso is the most experienced driver in the field, having made his debut back in 2001. Arvid Lindblad, born in 2007, is the youngest and the only full newcomer to the grid this year.
Cadillac chose experience over youth for its first season. It paired two Grand Prix winners, Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, who both spent 2025 without a race seat.
Why the Grid Grew From 20 to 22 Drivers
Cadillac’s arrival as the 11th team is the reason F1 has 22 drivers in 2026. It is the first brand-new team since Haas joined in 2016, and the first time the grid has grown since 10 teams became the norm in 2017.
Backed by General Motors, Cadillac won approval from the FIA and Formula 1 in 2025 after a long application process. The team runs Ferrari power units for now, with plans to build its own engines later in the decade.
It helps to separate genuine new entries from name changes. Audi is on the grid in 2026, but it took over the existing Sauber team rather than adding a new one, so it created no extra seats. The same applies to any rebrand: only a new team adds two drivers.
Why every team runs exactly two cars
The two-car rule is written into F1’s sporting regulations. It keeps the field balanced, gives each team a teammate as a direct performance benchmark and feeds the Constructors’ Championship, where both cars score points for the team. A team cannot enter a third car in a Grand Prix, and it cannot choose to race with only one.
Beyond the 22: Reserve, Test and Rookie Drivers
The 22 race seats are only part of the story, because every team also keeps reserve and development drivers on standby. These drivers are ready to step in at short notice if a race driver is ill, injured or replaced.
Most teams name at least one reserve driver for each race weekend. Many also run development drivers who spend months in the simulator, testing setups and new parts before they ever reach the track.
Under the current rules, teams must also hand first practice sessions to rookies, defined as drivers with no more than two Grand Prix starts. Each team has to run a rookie at least twice per car across the season, which puts several new faces on track every year.
The result is that the number of drivers who race in a season often tops the grid size. In 2024, for example, 24 different drivers started at least one Grand Prix, as mid-season replacements and stand-ins added four names to the usual 20.
How a Driver Earns an F1 Seat
A driver needs two things to race in Formula 1: an FIA Super Licence and a team willing to offer a contract. With only 22 seats available, competition for both is intense.
The Super Licence is the sport’s entry ticket. To qualify, a driver generally needs to:
- Collect 40 Super Licence points over three seasons in recognized junior series, such as Formula 2, Formula 3 and other approved championships.
- Be at least 18 years old, with only very limited exceptions granted by the FIA.
- Complete at least 300 kilometers in a Formula 1 car at racing speed.
- Hold a valid road driving licence and pass a test on F1’s sporting rules.
Earning the licence does not guarantee a drive. Teams weigh raw speed, consistency, technical feedback, commercial appeal and, often, ties to their own junior academies. Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Alpine all run academies built to move young talent straight onto the grid.
How F1 Grid Sizes Have Changed Over Time
Today’s 22-car grid is small by historical standards. In the early decades of the World Championship, privately entered cars filled out many fields, and some races drew more entries than the circuit could start.
In the late 1980s, when entry costs were far lower, close to 40 cars sometimes arrived for a single race weekend. Organizers ran pre-qualifying sessions just to decide who could take part in qualifying, and more than a dozen drivers could go home without starting.
The modern era has been far more stable, as this summary of full-time race seats shows:
| Seasons | Teams | Race drivers | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | 22 | Cadillac joined |
| 2017–2025 | 10 | 20 | Manor left after 2016 |
| 2016 | 11 | 22 | Haas joined |
| 2015 | 10 | 20 | Caterham left after 2014 |
| 2013–2014 | 11 | 22 | HRT left after 2012 |
| 2010–2012 | 12 | 24 | Three new teams joined in 2010 |
How many drivers have raced in F1 in total?
Since the first World Championship season in 1950, well over 750 drivers have taken part in at least one championship Grand Prix. Through the 2025 season, only 34 of them had won the title, which shows just how exclusive the top step really is.
Could the F1 Grid Grow Again?
More teams are possible, but the bar for entry is deliberately high. Any newcomer needs approval from both the FIA and Formula 1’s commercial rights holder. It must also prove it has the money, staff and technical ability to compete for years, not just a single season.
New teams pay a large anti-dilution fee to the existing teams, which compensates them for sharing prize money with more competitors. Practical limits matter too: every extra team needs garage space, paddock room and freight capacity at more than 20 events a year.
For now, 11 teams and 22 drivers looks like the shape of the sport for the next few seasons. Interest from major car makers remains strong, though, so a 12th team in the future cannot be ruled out.
Conclusion
Formula 1 has 22 race drivers in 2026, two for each of the 11 teams, after Cadillac became the first new team to join since 2016.
That marks a real shift for a sport that stayed at 20 drivers for nine straight seasons. Yet the grid tells only part of the story.
Reserve drivers, development drivers and practice-session rookies push the total number of people driving F1 cars each year well beyond 22.
Behind every seat sits a demanding path, from junior series and Super Licence points to academy programs and contract talks.
Whether the grid grows again or stays steady, knowing who fills those 22 seats, and how they got there, makes every race weekend more rewarding to follow.
