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![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772285110_506_oscar-piastri-mclaren.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt 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.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s because they had a poor 2025, a poor last few years, or even simply as they\u2019re joining a new team, there are five drivers who all have a point to prove as they chase a big season in 2026.<\/p>\n
Here are those five.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri\u00a0
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren<\/p>\n
Photo by: Steven Tee \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n
It is 31 August 2025 and Oscar Piastri<\/a> has just extended his championship lead to 34 points after winning the Dutch Grand Prix, while team-mate and title rival Lando Norris<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t even finish second, as Max Verstappen<\/a> pipped him at the line.<\/p>\n It was a damaging way to lose the championship and it wouldn\u2019t exactly be a surprise if he were to suffer from it mentally, because it\u2019s easy to forget that he\u2019s still only 24 years old – and who knows if that opportunity will return?\u00a0<\/p>\n Especially as the 2026 cars are looser and have less grip, which on paper does not suit Piastri\u2019s 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\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s an area he\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Esteban Ocon\u00a0 Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team<\/p>\n Photo by: Simon Galloway \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n Although Piastri is obviously not fighting for his F1 future in 2026, one driver who arguably will be is Esteban Ocon<\/a> 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<\/a>, who also had the upper hand in qualifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you purely look at the sporting result, without going to details, for sure nobody\u2019s satisfied with Esteban\u2019s sporting result last year. He\u2019s a team-mate against a rookie. Yes, amazing rookie, but nonetheless, he\u2019s got 10 years of F1 under his belt. He\u2019s a race winner, he\u2019s a podium finisher. So we expected more from him,\u201d is how Haas boss Ayao Komatsu summed up Ocon\u2019s 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes, Komatsu went on to explain how it was partly the team\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s also because it\u2019s 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\u2019s highly doubtful and also not out of the realm of possibility, considering Bearman\u2019s pace looked stronger in testing.<\/p>\n Pre-season also suggested that the American outfit should be at the forefront of the midfield in 2026<\/a>, making it a solid destination for 2027. So, if Ocon doesn\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then again, he hasn\u2019t been around since 2016 for nothing, and on several occasions has delivered when needed to – so don\u2019t expect Ocon to go down without a fight\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton\u00a0 Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari<\/p>\n Photo by: Kym Illman \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n Another driver who is determined to not go down without a fight is Lewis Hamilton<\/a>. It\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n That was even after his blockbuster move to Ferrari<\/a>, as he went on to finish sixth in the championship, without a grand prix win and 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc<\/a> in what was an underwhelming debut year at the Scuderia.<\/p>\n He often claimed it\u2019s because the SF-25 was built without his input, meaning it lacked his \u2018DNA\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLast year we were locked into a car that, ultimately, I inherited,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a car that I\u2019ve 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\u2019m more connected to this one for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton went on to claim that, mentally, he\u2019s in the best place he\u2019s been for a very long time so everything is there for the Briton to perform this year and prove he isn\u2019t past his best. But how many times in recent years has F1 been down this road with Hamilton, where he\u2019s given signs of renewed optimism? Lots, and it\u2019s just never come to prevail.\u00a0<\/p>\n But now it must, otherwise it might be best for all parties to cut ties at the end of 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n Liam Lawson Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls<\/p>\n Photo by: Guido De Bortoli \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n 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\u2019t been afforded that long of a career yet is Liam Lawson<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old only made his debut in 2023 and it wasn\u2019t until 2025 that he contested his first, full F1 campaign\u2026 but it\u2019s fair to say that his future is already on shaky ground. That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n So, that leaves demoted drivers looking at alternative destinations – think Pierre Gasly<\/a> with Alpine<\/a> – and Lawson is no different, because where exactly is his career going if he just stays at Racing Bulls<\/a>? Even if Isack Hadjar<\/a> were to struggle at Red Bull and he be demoted, the odds favour Arvid Lindblad<\/a> in receiving that promotion given he is the next, young talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n Isack Hadjar\u00a0 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing<\/p>\n Photo by: Zak Mauger \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2026 only to fail miserably having suffered beating after beating as Verstappen\u2019s stablemate.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I crashed, I thought about it directly, I thought about Pierre,\u201d said the deadpanned Hadjar. \u201cSo I went on Twitter and I read everything, and I was like, \u2018I\u2019m screwed for the whole season\u2019. That\u2019s how I moved on, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n It might be all fun and games now, but it won\u2019t be if he suffers a poor start to the season and it\u2019ll take a certain type of resilience to not be affected mentally. That\u2019s what\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Because if he doesn\u2019t, then who will? As Hadjar\u2019s 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\u2019ll build a car more favourable for both drivers so yes, it is the perfect time for the Frenchman to join.<\/p>\n And to prevent the doubts from rising, he\u2019ll need a strong start to the season which doesn\u2019t necessarily entail challenging Verstappen, but at least show signs that he can take points off rival constructors. Just think about Yuki Tsunoda<\/a>\u2019s pathetic defence of Norris at the 2025 title decider in Abu Dhabi.\u00a0<\/p>\n We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Esteban](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772285110_516_esteban-ocon-haas-f1-team.jpg\")
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\n ![\"Lewis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772285111_869_lewis-hamilton-ferrari.jpg\")
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\n ![\"Liam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772285111_112_liam-lawson-racing-bulls.jpg\")
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\n ![\"Max](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772285112_133_max-verstappen-red-bull-racing.jpg\")
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