Inaugural Formula 1 draft: A seismic shifting of the grid

Jonathan Victoria • 06 May 2026 Features

Twenty-two picks, one grid reset, and at least a few decisions that might start arguments…

The big bosses at Formula 1 love America. They’ve got their three races which they no doubt would love to add to, they aim to market the series at the American audience seemingly more so than anywhere else, and they’ve now got Cadillac, a quintessential American car brand, on the grid, albeit to their own displeasure.

So let’s pretend for one second that they decided to run Formula 1 like they do in American sports. It’s got the salary cap already, there’s teams and head coaches (also/only known as team principles), players (drivers), and an overlord that no-one likes. 

The only thing that is missing is a draft to shake things up!

Inspired by the recent NFL draft, I’ve decided to imagine a world where F1 is fully Americanised - large sodas and hot dogs for all, foam fingers littering the grandstands, but most importantly, a draft before the start of the season to determine who will be in which garages.

For a short while, let’s suspend our belief and travel to an alternate earth to witness the inaugural Formula 1 draft…

Draft order & format

In the NFL, it can get rather complicated with teams finishing on similar records, bringing confusion as to who will earn the higher pick.

To keep things simple, the draft order has been decided by last season’s constructors’ standings. That means that Alpine, who finished bottom of the standings in 2025, will get a top pick, while champions McLaren will have the last pick in the first round.

Of course, there is also a new team on the grid in the form of Cadillac. Because of that, this becomes something of an expansion draft as well and they earned the first pick since they will need the most help.

As for Audi, they may be a new team on the grid, but they have taken over operations from the existing Sauber team. For that, they were deemed not to be an expansion team, so they have earned the pick that Sauber essentially left for them.

As such, here is the draft order:

1. Cadillac Formula 1 Team
2. BWT Alpine Formula One Team
3. Audi Revolut F1 Team
4. TGR Haas F1 Team
5. Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team
6. Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team
7. Atlassian Williams F1 Team
8. Scuderia Ferrari HP
9. Oracle Red Bull Racing
10. Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team
11. McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

This is official business so they all had to be full named. 

Format

As for the format, it’s a simple two-round draft consisting of 11 picks in each round. Every team will get two picks (duh), one in each round.

It is a snake draft, meaning Cadillac will pick first in the first round and last in the second, with McLaren getting the last pick first round then the first the second.

There will also be no trading of picks prior to or during the draft. This decision was made to again keep things simple and flowing.

Without further adieu, let’s get into the draft!

Round 1

Pick #1 Overall - Cadillac Formula 1 Team

Selection: Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Italy

Of course Kimi goes first! If you’re thinking that’s crazy, how isn’t so and so going number one, just think - this is all about building a strong foundation. Kimi provides competitiveness immediately plus a long career ahead of him. The no-brainer top pick.

Pick #2 Overall - BWT Alpine Formula One Team

Selection: Lando Norris | Great Britain

The reigning champion at only 26 years old. Norris has many years of his career left and is already one of the top drivers on the grid. He can do a job for Alpine.

Pick #3 Overall - Audi Revolut F1 Team

Selection: Oscar Piastri | Australia

Nine wins, 38 podiums, title challenger in the 2025 season, all at 25 years old. He has champion potential, so it should be no surprise he is a top three pick.

Pick #4 Overall - TGR Haas F1 Team

Selection: Charles Leclerc | Monaco

Leclerc’s misfortune IRL comes from Ferrari’s often ineptitude. As a competitor, he is clearly one of the best on the grid. He’s fast on Saturdays and has many years left in his career.

Pick #5 Overall - Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

Selection: Max Verstappen | Netherlands

A slide down to the fifth pick may seem crazy for a driver of Max’s calibre, but this isn’t a strength and popularity contest. There’s constant doubts about how much longer Verstappen will be racing for which would make the first four teams turn to other options. Aston Martin want more immediate success, and thus they’d take him.

Pick #6 Overall - Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team

Selection: George Russell | Great Britain

Six-time race winner with 32 podiums who provided Lewis Hamilton a strong challenge while teaming with him for three years. Plus he has many years left in his career.

Pick #7 Overall - Atlassian Williams F1 Team

Selection: Lewis Hamilton | Great Britain

The seven-time world champion falls to seventh purely due to age. He is still an elite driver, even if not anywhere near his prime anymore. It also just feels right that he’d complete the historic F1 team trifecta of McLaren, Ferrari and Williams.

Pick #8 Overall - Scuderia Ferrari HP

Selection: Oliver Bearman | Great Britain

Ferrari hold on to their academy product as he gets promoted to the main team. He had a strong rookie campaign compared to the cars performance and has future world champion written all over him.

Pick #9 Overall - Oracle Red Bull Racing

Selection: Isack Hadjar | France

No change to real life here. Hadjar earned the call-up to the senior team after a strong rookie campaign. He certainly has great potential and can be the leader for the team down the road.

Pick #10 Overall - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team

Selection: Gabriel Bortoleto | Brazil

A champion in F3 and F2 before showing great potential during an impressive debut season in 2025. Mercedes won’t be mad at building the future around him.

Pick #11 Overall - McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

Selection: Carlos Sainz Jr. | Spain

The final pick of the first round sees Sainz return to McLaren. A multi-time race winner, he proved his worth as a top driver while with Ferrari. While getting on in his career at 32 years old, he still has plenty left to give for a top team like McLaren.

Round Two

Pick #12 Overall - McLaren Mastercard F1 Team

Selection: Arvid Lindblad | Great Britain

Pairing Sainz with the only rookie on the grid for 2026 seems like a good shout. At 18 years old, McLaren can look at Lindblad as their future, allowing him time to learn from Sainz for a good few years before turning into the main man for the team.

Pick #13 Overall - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team

Selection: Fernando Alonso | Spain

The two-time champion may be too high in some people’s books but I think it’s a smart pick. Pair him with his protegee Bortoleto. He is still competitive as well, but will likely only give the team two more seasons, three at a push. They’ll be banking on his influence on Bortoleto being great enough to lean on the Brazilian sooner rather than later.

Pick #14 Overall - Oracle Red Bull Racing

Selection: Pierre Gasly | France

The one-time race winner returns to Red Bull, now with a win and six podiums under his belt to pair with his fellow countryman. An understandable pick and strong line-up.

Pick #15 Overall - Scuderia Ferrari HP

Selection: Alexander Albon | Thailand

A very good driver on his day, he could certainly claim his first race win in the Ferrari. He and Bearman together is also a very underrated pairing.

Pick #16 Overall - Atlassian Williams F1 Team

Selection: Valtteri Bottas | Finland

It had to be! The F1 gods have willed it to put Hamilton and Bottas back together, a sight we all would love to see. It’s also a grand return to Willaims for the Finn.

Pick #17 Overall - Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team

Selection: Liam Lawson | New Zealand

Lawson stays with Racing Bulls to partner with George Russell. I’m slightly surprised to see him fall this far to be honest; on his day he can turn in a mightily impressive drive. But it’s also logical given who has gone above him.

Pick #18 Overall - Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

Selection: Franco Colaptino | Argentina

An impressive young driver even in a fairly uneventful 2025 campaign. He’s 22 years old with a high ceiling but also a low floor. He could either crumble under the pressure of being Verstappen’s teammate or he’ll thrive and compete with him.

Pick #19 Overall - TGR Haas F1 Team

Selection: Esteban Ocon | France

Once a promising young driver, Ocon’s career has been decent to say the least. A race win and four podiums is decent given he’s never raced for a top team, but he has been in the past a turbulent teammate. He poses no threat to Leclerc but makes a solid second driver in this case.

Pick #20 Overall - Audi Revolut F1 Team

Selection: Sergio Perez | Mexico

Perez has had a good career and is now in a position where he can back up a stronger teammate. He did a good job of this with Verstappen at Red Bull, and now he can do so with Piastri. I’m sensing a slightly reversed Vettel-Webber situation.

Pick #21 Overall - BWT Alpine Formula One Team

Selection: Lance Stroll | Canada

Alpine could certainly do with the cash injection they’d get from Lawrence Stroll. Lance can on occasion do well when he feels like it, but the team already has Norris to do the heavy lifting so they can focus more on the financial gain of having him in the team.

Pick #22 Overall - Cadillac Formula 1 Team

Selection: Nico Hulkenberg | Germany

Mr Irrelevant, as the last pick is nicknamed in the NFL. This by no means indicates he is the worst driver on the grid, just that the teams deemed other drivers a better fit for their vision. Hulkenberg also only has this 2026 season left on his contract, after which he may walk off into the sunset. Not ideal for a brand new team but they have to take him.

Final draft selections

Cadillac Formula 1 Team: Andrea Kimi Antonelli & Nico Hulkenberg

BWT Alpine Formula One Team: Lando Norris & Lance Stroll

Audi Revolut F1 Team: Oscar Piastri & Sergio Perez

TGR Haas F1 Team: Charles Leclerc & Esteban Ocon

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team: Max Verstappen & Franco Colapinto 

Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team: George Russell & Liam Lawson

Atlassian Williams F1 Team: Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas

Scuderia Ferrari HP: Oliver Bearman & Alexander Albon

Oracle Red Bull Racing: Isack Hadjar & Pierre Gasly

Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team: Gabriel Bortoleto & Fernando Alonso

McLaren Mastercard F1 Team: Carlos Sainz Jr. & Arvid Lindblad

Best of the draft

With the draft now complete, let’s take a look at some of the award winners for their selections.

Biggest steal: Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

I am flabbergasted, to put it mildly, as to how Lawson fell all the way to the middle of the second round. I believe he deserves a lot more respect than he’s given. He is a solid driver who plays a good role for his side and is only 24 years old. He has plenty of time to improve and grow into a great team leader in my opinion.

Biggest reach: Fernando Alonso, Mercedes

I respect Mercedes pairing the master and the student together but 44-year-old Alonso going 13th overall is a bit mental. With the likes of Gasly, Albon and Lawson still on the board, I was fairly surprised to see the Spaniard go as high as he did. 

Best driver pairing: Racing Bulls - Russell & Lawson

I mentioned Bearman and Albon at Ferrari being an underrated driver pairing and they would certainly be the best if it weren’t for Racing Bulls. Russell is ready for the leadership role and can take the reins of the team, while Lawson has in my opinion high upside which can be nurtured with Russell taking the focus for the team.