Teams and drivers

Eleven teams race in Formula 1 in 2026, each running two cars, so 22 drivers start every Grand Prix. A team is officially a constructor: it must design and build its own chassis, which is a big part of why the cars look and perform so differently.

#The 2026 teams

Two names are new for 2026. Audi has taken over the team that raced as Sauber, and builds its own power unit in Germany. Cadillac, backed by General Motors, is a brand-new team and the first addition to the grid since Haas in 2016. Alpine switched from Renault engines to Mercedes this year, and Aston Martin is now Honda's works partner.

#Works teams and customer teams

A works team builds its own power unit, or has a manufacturer building one exclusively with it: Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, Aston Martin (with Honda) and Audi. A customer team buys its power unit from one of those manufacturers. Customer teams still design their own chassis and aerodynamics, and plenty of them have beaten their supplier. Read more in engine manufacturers and customer teams.

Some teams also share ownership. Red Bull owns both Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, and drivers often move between the two.

#Inside a team

A modern F1 team employs anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand people, most of them at the factory. The people you'll hear about on a race weekend include:

• the team principal, who runs the team and speaks for it
• the race engineer, who talks to the driver over the radio and runs their side of the garage
• the strategists, who decide when to pit
• the pit crew, around 20 people who change the tyres and make adjustments in a stop

How much a team can spend is limited by the cost cap.

#The drivers

Each team nominates two race drivers. They are team mates, and also each other's most direct rivals, because they are the only drivers with the same car. Beating your team mate is the clearest way to show how good you are.

To race in F1, a driver needs a super licence, which is earned through results in junior series. Teams also have to give young drivers some running in practice; see rookies and reserve drivers.

#Car numbers

Every driver picks a permanent race number between 2 and 99, which they keep for their whole career. The reigning world champion can choose to run number 1 instead. Numbers belong to a driver, not a team, and a number isn't given to anyone else for two seasons after its owner last raced.

#Changing drivers

If a race driver is ill or injured, the team can bring in a replacement, as long as the stewards agree. On a normal weekend, the change has to happen before qualifying. The replacement uses the original driver's power unit parts and tyres, and scores points in their own name.

Each team can use up to four different drivers in races across the season. Teams can also run extra drivers in Friday practice, as long as they have the right licence.

Teams can replace a driver mid-season for performance reasons too. That happens most often at teams with a junior programme, where there is always someone waiting for a seat. See driver contracts and the transfer market.