Ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson tells us who will be in the top six driver combinations.
Davidson has compiled a list of the teams that finished in last year’s constructors’ championship. Have your say in the poll below.
McLaren – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
This is undoubtedly one of the best driver line-ups in F1 right now. They chased hard for the 2025 drivers’ title, and for good reason: they’re evenly matched.
Together they are a very powerful combination and complement each other very well. And it’s a big part of why McLaren won the constructors’ championship early last year.
They were riding the most powerful cars, but they were squeezing every ounce of performance out of the cars underneath them. So I’m looking forward to seeing what they do this year.
Mercedes – George Russell and Kimi Antonelli
I really enjoyed watching Kimi Antonelli learn on the job last year. In my opinion, he was one of the best rookies this season. He is extraordinarily talented, hardworking, full of energy and dedication and works extremely well with his experienced teammate George Russell. The team loves him. He brings great energy and positivity to the team.
And with the stability and professionalism that George brings, as well as his undoubted speed, he was very fast in qualifying and now he is also learning how to put together races. George takes care of all the tedious tasks, like taking care of the tires.
So this driver combination is really exciting and I think it can and should deliver strong results this year.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Martin Brundle believes George Russell has the confidence to fight for the title if the car allows
Red Bull – Max Verstappen and Izak Hajjar
Needless to say, I believe that Max himself is the strongest driver on the grid. He has very little room left to improve, but I still believe he will get better each season.
I think the only blot on his copybook last year was at Barcelona, where I think his temper got the better of him. Perhaps without it, he could have been a five-time world champion today. Without that moment, he might have won last year. But he’s learned from his mistakes, and that’s really great.
This year, he was joined by Hajar. He was an outstanding rookie last season and I think he surprised a lot of people, myself included. So I’m very interested to see how he deals with the pressure cooker of being at Red Bull with Verstappen as teammate. Because so far no one has survived.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Max Verstappen reflects on Red Bull’s impressive laps in pre-season testing in Bahrain
Ferrari – Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
On paper, this is the strongest line-up, but Lewis feels he has been in a tough spot in recent years. Let’s see if he can bounce back with this new car. I think that suits his style better. I think he’ll be able to get more out of this equipment than he’s been able to accomplish with ground effects cars over the past few years.
Leclerc is a phenomenal driver, super fast and probably one of the fastest drivers on the grid, especially in qualifying. He doesn’t care about the cars moving around beneath him. His driving is very flashy and it’s really fun to watch.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Craig Slater and Martin Brundle review and rank all F1 teams after pre-season testing
But I think the pair of them last year found things tough at some point. I don’t think driving the car was easy, but let’s see how it goes this year. We hope that it will become a force that attracts attention once again.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports’ Craig Slater explains how the current Middle East conflict could impact the opening race in Australia and the F1 calendar
Williams – Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz
For a team that just a few seasons ago relied on drivers paying their own way and didn’t have a mid-table problem, Williams has undergone a major transformation.
Sainz’s arrival has been praised by many and I think he is welcomed by everyone at Williams. I loved watching his approach. His professionalism and commitment to perfection is there for all to see.
The addition of Sainz to the team’s driver line-up has not only further inspired Albon and pushed him to new heights, but also made the whole team want to achieve more and be more ambitious than ever. It’s incredible how much of a difference a driver’s signature can make in this regard.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Sky Sports F1’s David Croft takes a closer look at how F1 will evolve in 2026 as the sport begins a new recharging era featuring more power, new teams and engine suppliers
Haas – Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon
Finishing in the top six was a more difficult proposition as there were many other driver combinations possible, but I chose the Haas duo.
Ocon is experienced and we have always seen that he often performs very well when under pressure and can perform when he is in a good position. But I think he can sometimes hang his head if the car is not to his liking, and the whole situation is not to his liking. This can happen to anyone.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Craig Slater and Martin Brundle review and rank all F1 teams after pre-season testing
But I feel like having Bearman was a real plus for Ocon and obviously for the team. Ollie is always exciting to watch. Of course, being a rookie last year, a few mistakes crept in here and there, but that’s to be expected. His outstanding performance, finishing fourth in Mexico, was a real eye-opener for the entire paddock.
They both bounced off each other well and I think that really benefited the team. I hope this car can surprise people again this year, including my own drivers, and we might see even better performance from both.
Sky Sports F1 Australian GP Schedule
Thursday, March 5th
3am: Driver press conference
6am: Paddock uncut
9:45pm: F3 practice
10:55pm: F2 practice
Friday, March 6th
1am: Australian GP Practice 1 (Session starts at 1:30am)*
2:55am: F3 Qualifying*
3:30am: Team boss press conference
3:50am: F2 Qualifying*
4:35am: Australian GP Practice 2 (session starts at 5am)*
6:15am: F1 Show*
Saturday, March 7th
0.10am: F3 sprint*
1:10am: Australian GP Practice 3 (session starts at 1:30am)*
3:05am: F2 Sprint*
4:10am: Australian GP qualifying build-up*
5am: Australian Grand Prix Qualifying*
7am: Ted’s Qualification Notebook*
9:45pm: F3 Feature Race*
Sunday, March 8th
12:20am: F2 Feature Race*
2:30am: Preparation for Australian Grand Prix: Grand Prix Sunday*
4am: Australian Grand Prix*
6am: Australian Grand Prix reaction: Checkered flag*
7am: Ted’s Notes*
7.55am: Australian GP race replay*
10am: Australian GP Highlights (also on Sky One)*
*Also held at Sky Sports Main Event
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
