In the high-octane world of Formula 1, the race engineer stands as an indispensable pillar of support for every driver. More than just a technical advisor, this individual acts as the driver’s primary conduit for all communication, from intricate technical adjustments to crucial strategic calls during a race. With the introduction of new regulations in 2026, particularly those surrounding energy management and the increased demands placed on drivers within the cockpit, the race engineer’s role is poised to become even more critical. These are the unsung heroes who often forge deep, personal bonds built on unwavering trust with the drivers they guide.
Let’s take a closer look at the race engineers partnering with the drivers on the 2026 F1 grid:
McLaren
Lando Norris: Will Joseph
A strong partnership is often one that endures. Lando Norris has been working alongside Will Joseph since his Formula 1 debut in 2019. Joseph brings a wealth of experience to the team, having been a fixture at McLaren for two decades. His previous notable collaborations include working with motorsport legends Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. While McLaren briefly trialled a rotational system in 2023, with Jose Manuel Lopez stepping into the race engineer role for a handful of Grands Prix, the decision was quickly made to revert to the established partnership.
Oscar Piastri: Tom Stallard
Tom Stallard is a truly remarkable figure in the F1 paddock. Beyond his achievements as a race-winning engineer, Stallard is also a former Olympian. This Englishman claimed a silver medal in the men’s eight rowing event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He has been a significant part of McLaren’s engineering team for many years, having previously served as the engineer for a roster of talented drivers including Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz, and Daniel Ricciardo. Since Oscar Piastri entered Formula 1 in 2023, Stallard has been his dedicated race engineer, and this successful pairing is set to continue into the 2026 season.
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli: Peter Bonnington
Peter Bonnington is arguably one of the most recognisable race engineers in Formula 1. He has recently been a prominent figure on the podium, celebrating successes alongside his protégé, Kimi Antonelli. Bonnington’s career began at Jordan, followed by a stint at Honda. When Honda withdrew from the sport, he joined Brawn GP, where he worked as a performance engineer for Jenson Button. At Mercedes, he initially served as the race engineer for Michael Schumacher before dedicating many years to Lewis Hamilton. For the past year, he has been instrumental in guiding the career of the highly promising young talent, Antonelli.
George Russell: Marcus Dudley
Similar to Bonnington, Marcus Dudley commenced his Formula 1 journey at Honda back in 2006. After gaining experience in various other racing disciplines, he made his return to F1 in 2012, initially with Marussia, and has been with Mercedes since 2013. Within the Silver Arrows camp, he worked with Nico Rosberg and later became an integral part of Lewis Hamilton’s team, occasionally stepping in for Bonnington. Since 2023, Dudley has held the position of George Russell’s full-time race engineer.
Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen: Gianpiero Lambiase
Gianpiero Lambiase, a graduate in mechanical engineering, began his F1 career with Jordan, a team that subsequently evolved through various iterations including Midland, Spyker, and Force India. At the Silverstone-based outfit, he worked with drivers such as Paul di Resta and Sergio Perez, before making the move to Red Bull. Initially, he was paired with Daniil Kvyat. When Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in 2016, Lambiase was assigned to Max Verstappen, initiating a formidable partnership that has now spanned an impressive ten years.
Isack Hadjar: Richard Wood
Richard Wood is a relatively recent addition to the role of race engineer, but he has been a valuable member of the Red Bull organisation since 2012. Prior to his current position, he spent four years as Sergio Perez’s performance engineer. In 2025, he took on the responsibility of being Liam Lawson’s race engineer. Following Lawson’s departure, Wood then worked with Yuki Tsunoda, before embarking on a new challenge with Isack Hadjar as his driver for the 2026 season.
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton: Carlos Santi
Carlos Santi boasts a long history with Ferrari, having spent many years working alongside Kimi Räikkönen. He had actually retired from his trackside engineering duties but was persuaded to provide temporary support to Lewis Hamilton over the past winter. Last season, Hamilton’s partnership with Riccardo Adami proved to be less than ideal, leading Ferrari to actively seek a permanent replacement for this crucial role.
Charles Leclerc: Bryan Bozzi
Bryan Bozzi, a Danish-Italian engineer, is only 36 years old but has been a dedicated member of the Ferrari team since 2012. His journey began as an intern in the aerodynamics department, and after progressing through several roles, he became Charles Leclerc’s performance engineer in 2019. In May 2024, Bozzi was promoted to the role of race engineer, taking over from Xavi Marcos. Significantly, in that same month, Leclerc achieved his maiden home Grand Prix victory in Monaco.
Williams Racing
Alex Albon: James Urwin
James Urwin has been Alex Albon’s consistent race engineer since Albon joined Williams in 2022. This British engineer followed a structured career progression into Formula 1, gaining experience in the European Le Mans Series and the British Touring Car Championship. He has been with Williams since 2014, having previously worked with Lance Stroll and George Russell.
Carlos Sainz: Gaetan Jego
Gaetan Jego, a Frenchman, pursued his engineering studies at ESTACA before embarking on a career that included roles at Renault and ART Grand Prix, where he worked across various series like GP2, DTM, and WEC. He has been a part of the Williams team since 2020. His previous race engineering assignments include working with Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant, and Franco Colapinto. He has been partnered with Carlos Sainz since last year.
Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 Team
Liam Lawson: Alexandre Iliopoulos
Alexandre Iliopoulos has been a dedicated member of the Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 Team (formerly Toro Rosso) for a decade, following a period with tyre manufacturer Michelin. This Greek engineer has held a variety of positions within the team, ranging from trackside engineer to senior performance engineer. This year marks his debut as Liam Lawson’s race engineer.
Arvid Lindblad: Pierre Hamelin
Pierre Hamelin collaborated with fellow Frenchman Isack Hadjar last year. However, for the 2026 season and Arvid Lindblad’s Formula 1 debut, Hamelin will be working with the British driver. Hamelin began his F1 career at Renault and has been one of the Faenza-based outfit’s regular race engineers since 2016. Over the years, he has worked with a diverse group of drivers, including Daniil Kvyat, Brendon Hartley, Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo, and Liam Lawson.
Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team
Fernando Alonso: Chris Cronin and Andrew Vizard
Andrew Vizard has had an extensive career in Formula 1, with previous roles at McLaren, Manor, and Williams, before joining Aston Martin in 2023. He served as Lance Stroll’s race engineer in 2024. Since last year, he has been sharing the race engineer duties for Fernando Alonso with Chris Cronin. Cronin had prior experience working with the Spanish veteran and was promoted within Aston Martin last year to the position of senior race engineer for both cars, a role he now combines with his part-time responsibilities as Alonso’s race engineer.
Lance Stroll: Gary Gannon
Gary Gannon, an American engineer, started his career in the CART and ALMS championships in the United States. He transitioned to Europe and Formula 1 in 2010, working for Virgin and Haas. During his time at Haas, he collaborated with drivers such as Nico Hülkenberg, Mick Schumacher, and Romain Grosjean. Last year, he joined Aston Martin to work with Lance Stroll.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon: Laura Muller
Laura Muller pursued automotive engineering at the Technical University of Munich. Her career has spanned multiple racing categories, including a role as a data and performance engineer for Racing Team Nederland. In 2022, she joined Haas as a performance engineer, and in 2025, she was promoted to become Esteban Ocon’s race engineer. Notably, a corner at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne was recently named in her honour.
Oliver Bearman: Ronan O’Hare
Ronan O’Hare hails from Northern Ireland and studied mechanical engineering at the University of Ulster. His career path has included stints at Brawn, Mercedes, Toro Rosso, and Williams. He joined Haas in 2022, initially serving as Mick Schumacher’s and later Nico Hülkenberg’s performance engineer. Last year, he was elevated to the position of Oliver Bearman’s race engineer.
Audi Formula One Team
Gabriel Bortoleto: Jose Manuel Lopez
Jose Manuel Lopez, a Spanish engineer, undertook some of his studies at TU Delft and spent many years at McLaren. His tenure there included roles as Lando Norris’s performance engineer and even as chief engineer for several Grands Prix in 2023. In 2024, he took a step back to work with F2 driver and then McLaren junior, Gabriel Bortoleto. In 2025, both made the move to the Audi F1 project, with Bortoleto as a full-time driver and Lopez as his race engineer.
Nico Hülkenberg: Steven Petrik
Steven Petrik, an American, joined Ferrari in 2015 after his studies at Oxford University. There, he worked as a performance engineer for Sebastian Vettel and later for Carlos Sainz. After moving to Sauber, he took over as the regular engineer for Valtteri Bottas. Following Bottas’s departure, Petrik became Nico Hülkenberg’s race engineer in 2025.
Alpine F1 Team
Pierre Gasly: Josh Peckett
Josh Peckett began his Formula 1 career at Manor, where he worked with Will Stevens and Pascal Wehrlein. His path later reconnected with Esteban Ocon at Renault in 2020, where he became the Frenchman’s race engineer, playing a key role in guiding him to his memorable victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. After Ocon’s move, Peckett briefly worked with rookie Jack Doohan before becoming Pierre Gasly’s race engineer in 2025.
Franco Colapinto: Stuart Barlow
Stuart Barlow has a distinguished background in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), having won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans as a trackside performance engineer with Audi Sport Team Joest. He has been with the Enstone-based team (formerly Renault) since 2019, and when the team rebranded as Alpine in 2021, he became Esteban Ocon’s performance engineer. Last year, he was promoted to race engineer, initially working with Jack Doohan before taking on Franco Colapinto.
Cadillac Formula 1 Team
Valtteri Bottas: John Howard
John Howard spent nearly 16 years with the Enstone-based team, which has gone through various identities including Lotus and Renault, and is now known as Alpine. From 2015, he held a trackside engineering role, working with drivers such as Carlos Sainz, Nico Hülkenberg, and later Fernando Alonso. In 2025, he made the move from Alpine to the Cadillac F1 project to become Valtteri Bottas’s race engineer.
Sergio Perez: Carlo Pasetti
Sergio Perez also has a new race engineer, though the pairing is not entirely unfamiliar. The Mexican driver knows Carlo Pasetti from their time together at Racing Point. Pasetti served as Perez’s performance engineer in 2020, the year Perez secured his maiden Formula 1 victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix. That significant success paved the way for Perez’s move to Red Bull, while Pasetti continued in various capacities at Racing Point and subsequently Aston Martin.
