Data · Driver ladder · 2026

2026 driver moves: academies, signings and promotions

Updated 21 October 2026, 18:27 UTC · through Brief of 2026-10-21
Updated weekly on Wednesdays, when the driver ladder brief is filed.

26 moves logged in 2026, newest first: academy signings, promotions, placements, FP1 outings and F1 seat changes.

Each row comes from Flag & Clock' weekly driver ladder brief and was confirmed against a primary source (the team, the series, or the publication named) before it was filed. Reported or single-source moves stay out until they are confirmed.

Moves, newest first

Week of	Driver	Programme	Move	Detail	Source
2026-10-21	Rafael Camara	Ferrari	Graduate	Haas 2027, multi-year	Racer/AP 15 Oct
2026-10-21	Dino Beganovic	Ferrari	Promote	F1 development and reserve	FS 17 Oct
2026-10-21	Salim Hanna	Ferrari	Sign	FDA, Campos F3 2027	FS 17 Oct
2026-10-21	Alp Aksoy	Ferrari	Sign	FDA, FREC 2027	FS 17 Oct
2026-10-21	Daniel Miron (13)	Ferrari	Sign	FDA karter, OK class 2027	FS 17 Oct; spelling unsettled
2026-10-21	Alba Larsen	Ferrari	Retain	Third F1 Academy season	FS 17 Oct
2026-10-21	Mattia Colnaghi	Red Bull	Placement	Campos F3 2027	442 19 Oct
2026-10-21	Rashid Al Dhaheri (18)	Mercedes	Placement	VAR F3 2027	FS 15 Oct
2026-10-07	Esteban Ocon	Haas	Release, end 2026	Official 30 Sep; no replacement named
2026-09-23	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	Senior seat held	Stays at Red Bull Racing for 2027 (formula1.com, 23 Sep 2026)
2026-09-09	Robin "Ace" Raikkonen	Red Bull Junior Team	Signing, effective 2027	Age 11, karting only, Rotax and WSK, no titles cited; announced 09.09.2026 10:00 UTC
2026-09-09	Oleksandr Bondarev	Williams Driver Academy	Step-up substitution	Replaced Francisco Macedo at Van Amersfoort in FRECA for the last two rounds, won on debut
2026-09-02	Nikola Tsolov	Red Bull Junior Team	F1 test	690km in the VCARB 02 at Imola, 27 August. Permane: "part of the ongoing development plan the team runs for its junior drivers"
2026-09-02	Paul Aron	Alpine reserve	FP1 outing	A526 at Monza replacing Gasly, fourth FP1 of 2026
2026-09-02	Alex Powell in, Louis Sharp out	Prema (team, not academy)	Mid-season replacement	Sharp withdrew citing finances
2026-08-12	Máximo Quiles	Aspar (MotoGP feeder)	Confirmed 2027 promotion, now injured	Moto3 leader is Aspar Moto2-bound for 2027 and sat out Silverstone with a broken collarbone; lead intact at 85 points
2026-08-05	Gwen Lagrue	Red Bull Junior Team	Appointment confirmed	Confirmed as programme director from 2027, the Mercedes scout behind Russell and Antonelli replacing the Marko structure
2026-08-05	Gwen Lagrue	Mercedes-AMG junior	Departure confirmed	Mercedes confirmed his exit after running its junior programme since 2016; successor not yet named
2026-07-29	Leonardo Fornaroli	McLaren Driver Development	FP1 outing completed	2025 F2 champion and McLaren reserve ran Hungarian GP FP1, his second FP1 of the year
2026-07-29	Fred Vesti	Mercedes-AMG junior / reserve	FP1 outing completed	Mercedes' sole 2026 reserve replaced championship leader Antonelli in Hungarian GP FP1
2026-07-29	Paul Aron	Alpine Academy	FP1 outing completed	Third FP1 of the year, in for Colapinto at Alpine after two loan sessions at Audi
2026-07-29	Ryo Hirakawa	Aston Martin / Haas reserves	FP1 outing completed	Haas test and reserve, WEC Toyota driver, ran his second FP1 of 2026 in Bearman's car
2026-07-29	Colton Herta	Cadillac	FP1 outing completed	Ran Hungarian GP FP1 for Cadillac in Bottas's car, his second FP1 of the year
2026-07-29	Máximo Quiles	Moto3 to Moto2 (Aspar)	Promotion confirmed	Moto3 leader confirmed to Moto2 with CFMOTO Aspar for 2027, replacing MotoGP-bound Holgado
2026-07-22	Dries Van Langendonck	McLaren Driver Development + Verstappen Racing	Co-patronage signed	15-year-old stays a McLaren junior and joins Verstappen Racing for added support plus Pro Simulation access; announced Belgian GP media day
2026-07-22	Jak Crawford	Aston Martin development	FP1 outing completed	Ran Belgian GP FP1 in Alonso's AMR26 as forecast, his third of four mandated rookie sessions in 2026

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Source. Flag & Clock weekly driver ladder brief (terms), normalised by Flag & Clock into its own table. Results are as classified at the time of the last update; a later steward decision changes the table on the next refresh. Spot an error? Corrections explains how we fix them.

Licence. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. See the Flag & Clock data notice for attribution terms. Attribution: "Driver moves" by Flag & Clock (Leetone Enterprises), CC BY 4.0.