Max Verstappen

The four-time World Champion needs little introduction. Verstappen became the youngest F1 driver in history when he debuted with Toro Rosso in 2015 aged 17, won his first race at the very next round after his promotion to Red Bull in 2016, and went on to claim consecutive World Championships from 2021 to 2024 in one of the most dominant runs of the modern era.

Despite intense speculation about a possible Mercedes move, Verstappen confirmed at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix that he would remain with Red Bull for the new regulations. He enters 2026 as the senior figure at a team in transition, with a new engine partner and new team-mate, and remains the benchmark against which the rest of the grid is measured.