Chapter 04

The teams

There are 11 teams and 22 drivers. Ferrari has raced since 1950; Cadillac arrived this year. Here’s who they are, where they came from and what they’ve won.

The 2026 grid

Eleven teams, two cars each

Every team is a . It must design and build its own car, and it enters two of them. Both drivers’ points count towards the Constructors’ Championship, which also decides how the prize money is shared.

Each team is run by a , and under the it can spend at most $215 million a season on its cars. Pick a team to meet it.

McLaren

Since 1966 · Woking, England

McLaren

Founded by the New Zealand driver Bruce McLaren and racing since 1966. In 1988 its drivers, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, won 15 of the 16 races, then fell out. It then went 26 years without a constructors’ title, from 1998 until it won in 2024 and again in 2025. In 2025 Lando Norris won the drivers’ title by two points.

Constructors’ titles
10
Drivers’ titles
13
Grand prix wins
205
Drivers 2026
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Team principal
Andrea Stella
Engine
Mercedes

Same factory, new name

Most teams have raced under several names. When a team is sold, its factory, staff and entry carry on, and the new owner renames it. Count by factory and Mercedes began as Tyrrell in 1970, Red Bull as Stewart, and Aston Martin as Jordan.

Tap a team to see every name it has raced under.

Mercedes

Mercedes, every name it has raced under

  1. Tyrrell 1970–1998
  2. BAR 1999–2005
  3. Honda 2006–2008
  4. Brawn 2009
  5. Mercedes 2010–

Constructors’ titles: 1971 (as Tyrrell), 2009 (as Brawn), 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021.

earlier names today’s name, in team colours constructors’ title

The haves and the have-nots

Titles pile up in a few hands. 6 teams on the grid have been constructors’ champions, under one name or another, and 5 never have. Switch between constructors’ titles, drivers’ titles and race wins.

The chart counts this season too. Kimi Antonelli clinched the 2026 drivers’ title for Mercedes at the Mexico City Grand Prix, aged 20, the youngest champion ever.

After the Mexico City GP

  1. Ferrari16
  2. McLaren10
  3. Mercedes10
  4. Williams9
  5. Red Bull6
  6. Alpine3
  7. Racing Bullsnone
  8. Aston Martinnone
  9. Audinone
  10. Haasnone
  11. Cadillacnone

under today’s name under an earlier name

Five engines, eleven teams

Only 5 companies build F1 engines. A builds its own engine, or is the official partner of the company that does; buy one. A customer gets the same engine, but the works team designs its car around it first.

New engine rules in 2026 shook up the list: Audi and Ford (with Red Bull) arrived, Honda teamed up with Aston Martin, and Renault stopped making engines, so Alpine now buys Mercedes ones.

  • Mercedes

    4 teams

    • MercedesWorks
    • McLarenCustomer
    • WilliamsCustomer
    • AlpineCustomer

  • Ferrari

    3 teams

    • FerrariWorks
    • HaasCustomer
    • CadillacCustomer

  • Red Bull Ford

    2 teams

    • Red BullWorks
    • Racing BullsCustomer

  • Honda

    1 team

    • Aston MartinWorks

  • Audi

    1 team

    • AudiWorks

Your first rival drives the same car

Teams fight each other, but a driver’s first rival is their , the only other person with the same car. Some of F1’s best-known fights have been inside one team.

  • McLaren · 1988–1990

    Senna vs Prost

    Teammates at McLaren in 1988 and 1989, and the two best drivers of their time. They collided at Suzuka in 1989, which handed Prost the title, and again in 1990, with Prost now at Ferrari, which settled it for Senna.

  • Mercedes vs Red Bull · 2021

    Hamilton vs Verstappen

    The two strongest teams fought all season. Their drivers went into the last race level on points, and Verstappen won the title on the final lap in Abu Dhabi.

  • McLaren vs Red Bull · 2025

    Norris, Piastri and Verstappen

    Two McLaren and a Red Bull went to the last race with a chance. Norris won the title by two points from Verstappen, with Piastri third.

What to watch for on race day

  • The gap between . With the same car they’re the one fair comparison in F1, and being beaten by your teammate is what gets drivers dropped.
  • Team colours. Learn them and you can follow a race without reading the names: papaya for McLaren, red for Ferrari.
  • A beating the team whose engine it uses. Same engine, so the customer built the better car. That’s a big upset.

Line-ups, team principals, titles and wins up to date after the Mexico City Grand Prix. Titles and wins count every name a team has raced under.