The average driver starting the 2026 Formula 1 season was born in 1997, has over seven seasons behind them, and 155 F1 races to their name. Experience statistics have clearly grown due to the return of two veterans and only one rookie.
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There was only one change in the Formula 1 team lineups for the 2026 season. The moderately experienced Tsunoda lost his seat, and his place will be taken by the very young rookie Lindblad. Additionally, a new team, Cadillac, will debut in F1, having opted for two extremely experienced drivers, Perez and Bottas. These changes have influenced the experience statistics.
When preparing the analysis, I made the following assumptions to better present the data regarding seasons for drivers who drove in individual races as substitutes. If a driver completed less than 1/4 of the races in a given season (regardless of the specific number of races), I count it as 0.25 of a season in the table. If between 1/4 and 2/4 of the races, I count it as 0.5 of a season; if between 2/4 and 3/4 of the races, I count it as 0.75 of a season. If more than 3/4 of the races, I count it as a full season (most often these are situations where a driver missed individual races due to injury). The driver’s age is given by birth year; I do not take the exact date of birth into account, only the year. Information regarding the number of seasons and races was calculated taking data until the end of 2025 into account.
F1 driver experience before the 2026 season
The table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers.
| Driver | Year of birth | Seasons in F1 | Races in F1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Alonso | 1981 | 22 | 425 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 1985 | 19 | 380 |
| Sergio Perez | 1990 | 14 | 281 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 1987 | 12,5 | 250 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1989 | 12 | 246 |
| Max Verstappen | 1997 | 11 | 233 |
| Carlos Sainz | 1994 | 11 | 229 |
| Lance Stroll | 1998 | 9 | 189 |
| Esteban Ocon | 1996 | 8,5 | 180 |
| Pierre Gasly | 1996 | 8,25 | 177 |
| Charles Leclerc | 1997 | 8 | 171 |
| Lando Norris | 1999 | 7 | 152 |
| George Russell | 1998 | 7 | 152 |
| Alexander Albon | 1996 | 6 | 128 |
| Oscar Piastri | 2001 | 3 | 70 |
| Liam Lawson | 2002 | 1,5 | 35 |
| Oliver Bearman | 2005 | 1,25 | 27 |
| Franco Colapinto | 2003 | 1,25 | 26 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 2004 | 1 | 24 |
| Kimi Antonelli | 2006 | 1 | 24 |
| Isack Hadjar | 2004 | 1 | 23 |
| Arvid Lindblad | 2007 | 0 | 0 |
| Average | 1997,04 | 7,51 | 155,54 |
Calculating by birth year, the average age of a driver at the start of the 2026 season is 29 years, which is about 1.5 more than in 2025, but it is still less than two years ago – the radical rejuvenation of the grid from a year ago is still making itself felt. The return of two older drivers influenced the increase in the average age. Let’s also remember that the drivers who remained in F1 are one year older in the 2026 season. The average age was slightly lowered by the debuting Arvid Lindblad, but not by much, as Yuki Tsunoda was only seven years older than him.
The stabilization of lineups and the return of two veterans means that after a one-year break, the trend of a gradual increase in average experience regarding seasons and races has returned to F1, caused by the growing calendar. In 2025, due to several debuts, there was a radical reduction in statistics, but in 2026 we returned to almost record levels known from 2024. It is still important to assume that in current times, relatively young drivers debut in F1, who quickly rack up subsequent races thanks to long calendars. The average related to races is very high.
Number of F1 races for individual drivers at the start of 2026
Fernando Alonso is the most experienced driver on the grid in terms of the number of races, with 425 to his name. During the 2024 season, the Spaniard became the first driver in history to exceed the barrier of 400 starts in Formula 1, and in 2026, Lewis Hamilton, who currently has 380, will join this group. Then there is a very large gap and five drivers with just over 200 races to their name: Perez, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Verstappen, and Sainz. In this group, there are two drivers returning to F1 who significantly raised the average.
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Seven drivers have between 101 and 200 F1 races to their name; their number has not changed compared to the previous year. The largest group consists of drivers with fewer than 100 races to their name, as there are eight of them. Experience in terms of the number of races is very diverse, but in the coming years, it should move towards higher numbers due to the very long calendar.
There is a 26-year difference between the oldest (Alonso) and the youngest (Lindblad) driver on the grid. Fernando Alonso will celebrate his 45th birthday in 2026 and is clearly the oldest driver on the grid. Among the drivers from the 2026 season, only four were born in the 80s, ten in the 90s, and eight after 2000. An interesting fact is that when Fernando Alonso started his first race in his career in March 2001, eight drivers from the current grid were not yet born. In 2026, Hamilton might feel “old” for the first time, because when Lewis debuted in F1, Lindblad was not yet born.
New and returning drivers in the 2026 season
In 2026, Arvid Lindblad will debut in Formula 1, becoming the youngest driver on the grid. He will also be the first driver in F1 history born in 2007. Two true veterans are also returning to F1. Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will be drivers for the new Cadillac team. Perez and Bottas are at the very top of the list of the most experienced drivers on the grid. The Cadillac team deliberately focused on extensive experience, as they will need it at the beginning of their presence in F1.
Which team has the most experienced lineup in 2026?
The table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers.
| Team | Average birth year of drivers | Average number of seasons | Average number of races |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Martin | 1989,5 | 15,5 | 307 |
| Ferrari | 1991 | 13,5 | 275,5 |
| Cadillac | 1989,5 | 13 | 263,5 |
| Williams | 1995 | 8,5 | 178,5 |
| Audi | 1995,5 | 6,75 | 137 |
| Red Bull | 2000,5 | 6 | 128 |
| McLaren | 2000 | 5 | 111 |
| Haas | 2000,5 | 4,875 | 103,5 |
| Alpine | 1999,5 | 4,75 | 101,5 |
| Mercedes | 2002 | 4 | 88 |
| Racing Bulls | 2004,5 | 0,75 | 17,5 |
The team that will have the most experienced lineup on average in 2026 is once again Aston Martin. This is mainly thanks to Fernando Alonso, but Lance Stroll already has several seasons and over 180 races to his name. In second place, with a small gap, is Ferrari. The new Cadillac team debuts in third place, confirming that they opted for a very experienced lineup. Due to the fact that there were few personnel changes in F1 teams, average experience went up almost everywhere compared to the previous season. By far the least experienced team will be Racing Bulls; both drivers are young, and only Lawson has previously driven in F1 for less than 1.5 seasons. Racing Bulls is a junior team, so it should be that way.
I have been preparing similar summaries regarding F1 driver experience before the start of the season for several years. Those interested can check what the lineups looked like before the 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons in previous articles (links in the years).
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