The upcoming 2026 Formula 1 season will be pivotal for several drivers.
Having either failed to deliver on their targets, fallen short of expectations, or been thrown into the hot seat, there are drivers going into the new campaign with a point to prove.
For some, reputations and legacy are on the line. For others, they are at risk of losing the opportunity of a lifetime. In all cases, it is set to be a crucial year.
Ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, we consider the drivers facing a make-or-break F1 season…
Lewis Hamilton
It is a huge year ahead for Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion is looking to banish the disappointments of a miserable debut season with Ferrari.
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After so much hype and excitement, 2025 proved to be a hugely underwhelming season for both Ferrari and Hamilton, who failed to record a grand prix podium for the first time in his career.
Ferrari was woefully uncompetitive and endured a winless campaign, but Hamilton’s lacklustre performances, including three consecutive Q1 exits at the end of the year, left questions needing to be asked.
Even more so when considering Hamilton was comprehensively beaten by teammate Charles Leclerc, who still achieved a pole position and seven podiums in the SF-25.
The 2026 regulations should play more into a reenergised Hamilton’s strengths compared to the previous ground-effect generation, but it remains to be seen whether the legendary Briton, now 41, can rediscover his once mesmerising form, or whether he is in decline and potentially heading for retirement.
Isack Hadjar 
Isack Hadjar
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Isack Hadjar has been given the opportunity of a lifetime in receiving promotion to Red Bull, where he could have a car capable of winning the world championship at his disposal.
At the same time, Hadjar has taken on what has become known as the F1’s poisoned chalice in the high-pressure, precarious job of being Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate. This position ruined the reputations of several talented drivers including Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson and most recently, Yuki Tsunoda).
Since 2018, all of Verstappen’s teammates have struggled, and ultimately been swiftly replaced, at Red Bull. Now it is Hadjar’s turn to be handed the hardest, and least rewarding job in F1.
This comes after Hadjar enjoyed an impressive rookie season at Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls, where the 21-year-old Frenchman claimed an outstanding maiden podium at the Dutch Grand Prix.
But the stakes are very different at Red Bull and the spotlight is harsh and unforgiving. Perhaps under new management, and with Helmut Marko gone, things may be slightly easier for Hadjar, but he won’t have anywhere to hide in 2026.
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Hadjar will be given time but if he cannot get close to Verstappen’s incredibly high level of performance, questions will be raised. This is a big chance – and an even bigger test – for Hadjar.
Oscar Piastri 
Oscar Piastri has a point to prove in 2026
Oscar Piastri has a point to prove in 2026. Last season, Piastri enjoyed the strongest season of his fledgling F1 career to date as he finished third in the world championship, claiming seven victories and six poles.
Despite the positives, it was a bruising end to the campaign for Piastri, who ended up disappointed after missing out on a maiden world championship by just 13 points to McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The 24-year-old, in just his third F1 campaign, led the standings for 15 rounds and long looked like the McLaren driver to beat, but Piastri’s 2025 season dramatically unravelled in the second half of the year.
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After seemingly being in control for so long, a run of uncharacteristic mistakes and sub-par performances saw Piastri go from title favourite to championship outsider come the three-way showdown in Abu Dhabi.
2026 may not be as make-or-break for Piastri compared to the other drivers on this list, but he still needs to make a statement to avoid being seen as second-fiddle to F1’s reigning world champion.
Esteban Ocon 
Esteban Ocon was beaten by Ollie Bearman in 2025
Esteban Ocon has had the pressure piled onto him by his own team heading into the 2026 F1 season.
Ocon, who joined Haas last year from Alpine, was outscored by rookie F1 teammate Ollie Bearman in his first campaign with the American outfit. Bearman scored three points more than Ocon and outqualified the Frenchman, while he also claimed Haas’s best result of 2025 with a stunning drive to fourth in Mexico City.
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Following the season, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu delivered a brutal assessment in which he said “nobody’s satisfied with Esteban’s sporting result last year”, adding that he expected more from his lead driver, who finished 15th in the world championship.
Ocon responded by admitting he was not surprised to hear Komatsu’s eye-opening criticism and knows he must do better in 2026. Another season in Bearman’s shadow could put Ocon under threat of losing his drive, especially if the Haas lives up to its pre-season testing promise.
Franco Colapinto 
Franco Colapinto will be under pressure from the off
The driver under the most pressure to save his F1 seat during the 2026 is undoubtedly Franco Colapinto. Drafted in to replace the struggling Jack Doohan just seven races into 2025, Colapinto fared little better in the second Alpine seat alongside Pierre Gasly.
Alpine paid big money to secure Colapinto’s services from Williams and so far he has yet to show much of a return for that investment, having failed to record a top-10 finish last season. Despite this, Colapinto kept his seat for 2026, largely due to a lack of competition, with reserve drivers Doohan and Paul Aron deemed not suitable replacements.
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It is true that Colapinto didn’t exactly have the rub of the green, having been parachuted into an unfamiliar and uncompetitive Alpine with no pre-season preparation. But with a full winter behind him, and with the French squad looking much better placed, there will be fewer excuses for Colapinto in 2026.
A slow start to the new campaign will surely see Colapinto’s position come under scrutiny under the watchful glare of the notoriously-ruthless de facto Alpine boss Flavio Briatore. Colapinto has been given a second chance, but it is likely to be his last.
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