Five drivers with a point to prove in F1 2026

It is a big year for Formula 1 given it is debuting a completely new set of regulations in 2026, but there are some drivers who need to master the rule change more than others.

Whether it’s because they had a poor 2025, a poor last few years, or even simply as they’re joining a new team, there are five drivers who all have a point to prove as they chase a big season in 2026.

Here are those five. 

Oscar Piastri 

It is 31 August 2025 and Oscar Piastri has just extended his championship lead to 34 points after winning the Dutch Grand Prix, while team-mate and title rival Lando Norris retired with a mechanical fault. All the momentum is with Piastri and there is surely no way he can let this slip, thus becoming world champion in only his third F1 campaign.

But then it all unravelled. Team orders in Monza, a horror Baku weekend, plus struggles with the low-grip surfaces in Mexico and Singapore saw the Aussie blow his advantage, handing the title to Norris; Piastri didn’t even finish second, as Max Verstappen pipped him at the line.

It was a damaging way to lose the championship and it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise if he were to suffer from it mentally, because it’s easy to forget that he’s still only 24 years old — and who knows if that opportunity will return? 

Especially as the 2026 cars are looser and have less grip, which on paper does not suit Piastri’s driving style. Mexico last year was the perfect example of that, with his boss Andrea Stella saying at the time that «Oscar is more of a driver of high grip, that’s where he can exploit his incredible talent”.

So that’s an area he’ll need to improve upon and quickly, because a slow start to the year would only be a misery compiler causing doubts to creep in. Yes, Piastri has shown capabilities of improving season-upon-season, but one must think about how much good the title win will do for Norris, who now looks a lot more relaxed and confident he can go again.

It’s therefore up to Piastri to bounce back and show that he is still world champion material with a strong 2026, otherwise the gap between him and his team-mate may only increase. Nobody wants to be a second driver. 

Esteban Ocon 

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Although Piastri is obviously not fighting for his F1 future in 2026, one driver who arguably will be is Esteban Ocon after a highly disappointing campaign at Haas last year. The 29-year-old finished 15th in the championship and three points behind rookie team-mate Oliver Bearman, who also had the upper hand in qualifying. 

“If you purely look at the sporting result, without going to details, for sure nobody’s satisfied with Esteban’s sporting result last year. He’s a team-mate against a rookie. Yes, amazing rookie, but nonetheless, he’s got 10 years of F1 under his belt. He’s a race winner, he’s a podium finisher. So we expected more from him,” is how Haas boss Ayao Komatsu summed up Ocon’s 2025. 

Yes, Komatsu went on to explain how it was partly the team’s fault for not supplying Ocon a car he was comfortable with, especially under braking, but the above quote is enough to indicate that the Frenchman must come back with a point to prove. 

That’s also because it’s the final year of his current contract, so would Haas really offer a renewal if its grand prix veteran were to be beaten by an inexperienced team-mate once more? It’s highly doubtful and also not out of the realm of possibility, considering Bearman’s pace looked stronger in testing.

Pre-season also suggested that the American outfit should be at the forefront of the midfield in 2026, making it a solid destination for 2027. So, if Ocon doesn’t bounce back in the forthcoming campaign, then his spot on the team — or even in the championship as a whole — will be put at serious jeopardy. 

Then again, he hasn’t been around since 2016 for nothing, and on several occasions has delivered when needed to — so don’t expect Ocon to go down without a fight… 

Lewis Hamilton 

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images

Another driver who is determined to not go down without a fight is Lewis Hamilton. It’s been an incredibly tough few years for the seven-time world champion, having struggled through the ground-effect era and, time after time, looking despondent in interviews. 

That was even after his blockbuster move to Ferrari, as he went on to finish sixth in the championship, without a grand prix win and 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in what was an underwhelming debut year at the Scuderia.

He often claimed it’s because the SF-25 was built without his input, meaning it lacked his ‘DNA’ and the regulation change was always his shining light. Now that it is here, there is no hiding place for the 41-year-old — especially because in pre-season he claimed that the SF-26 now suits his driving style with its wider set-up window and improved corner entry. 

“Last year we were locked into a car that, ultimately, I inherited,” he said. “This is a car that I’ve been able to be a part of developing on the simulator for the last 10 months, eight months, and so like a bit of my DNA is within it. So, I’m more connected to this one for sure.”

Hamilton went on to claim that, mentally, he’s in the best place he’s been for a very long time so everything is there for the Briton to perform this year and prove he isn’t past his best. But how many times in recent years has F1 been down this road with Hamilton, where he’s given signs of renewed optimism? Lots, and it’s just never come to prevail. 

But now it must, otherwise it might be best for all parties to cut ties at the end of 2026. 

Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images

If Hamilton were to call time on his career in 2026, then in no way would that affect his reputation. With seven world titles and 20 seasons in the championship, he has achieved everything and more. But a driver who hasn’t been afforded that long of a career yet is Liam Lawson.

The 24-year-old only made his debut in 2023 and it wasn’t until 2025 that he contested his first, full F1 campaign… but it’s fair to say that his future is already on shaky ground. That’s because during his couple of years in the championship, Lawson has experienced both a promotion to, and demotion from, Red Bull and history suggests that once a driver moves back to the sister outfit, a second chance at the main team is off the cards.

So, that leaves demoted drivers looking at alternative destinations — think Pierre Gasly with Alpine — and Lawson is no different, because where exactly is his career going if he just stays at Racing Bulls? Even if Isack Hadjar were to struggle at Red Bull and he be demoted, the odds favour Arvid Lindblad in receiving that promotion given he is the next, young talent. 

It thus leaves a big year ahead for Lawson, but there are still doubts over how good he actually is with qualifying pace being a real sore point. Last year, for example, he lost 21-6 in his head-to-head against Hadjar, with that being 16-6 outside of sprints. Maybe he’ll be able to find an extra tenth or two with this new style of car, but even so: he needs to, otherwise Lawson will face a crossroads in his career.

Isack Hadjar 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

It’s basically become an annual tradition now that a young driver enters Red Bull, speaks confidently about how they will change things and be the second driver that the team needs… only to fail miserably having suffered beating after beating as Verstappen’s stablemate. 

So cue Hadjar. Now the first part of the above statement is certainly true, as pre-season saw the 21-year-old speak confidently about how the RB22 can give him his first win, that the regulation change is the perfect time to join Red Bull and even sarcastically bat away a question about his crash in the Barcelona shakedown — which inevitably drew comparisons to when Gasly did the same for the Austrian outfit in 2019 testing. 

“When I crashed, I thought about it directly, I thought about Pierre,” said the deadpanned Hadjar. “So I went on Twitter and I read everything, and I was like, ‘I’m screwed for the whole season’. That’s how I moved on, honestly.”

It might be all fun and games now, but it won’t be if he suffers a poor start to the season and it’ll take a certain type of resilience to not be affected mentally. That’s what’s happened before, with almost every team-mate of Verstappen soon looking dreary, so mental resilience is the key for Hadjar and he needs to be the man who puts to bed the haunted ghosts of that Red Bull second seat.

Because if he doesn’t, then who will? As Hadjar’s predecessors at least had the excuse of the car being built around the four-time world champion, but team boss Laurent Mekies repeatedly said last year that it’ll build a car more favourable for both drivers so yes, it is the perfect time for the Frenchman to join.

And to prevent the doubts from rising, he’ll need a strong start to the season which doesn’t necessarily entail challenging Verstappen, but at least show signs that he can take points off rival constructors. Just think about Yuki Tsunoda’s pathetic defence of Norris at the 2025 title decider in Abu Dhabi. 

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— The Autosport.com Team