Formula one and NHL hockey share more similarities than people think. With the NHL season paused for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics and the 2026 Formula one season set to begin, we compared each of the 11 F1 teams with an NHL team. To do this, we looked at driver profiles, organizational structure, ownership dynamics, winning history, and general vibes compared between the two. Let’s break it down.
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McLaren – Vegas Golden Knights
No franchise in the NHL embodies a more cutthroat winning culture than the Vegas Golden Knights. The team has a tiny prospect pool and few draft picks, but cares exclusively about winning right now more than trying to build for the future. That’s the same for McLaren.
American Zak Brown took the British outfit to the promised land, winning back-to-back Constructors Championships, and having Lando Norris win the World Drivers’ Championship last season. The team is one of the only that (although enforced unevenly) allows their drivers to race against each other without team orders, called Papaya Rules.
Brown is cutthroat, unwilling to allow passengers on his team. If his drivers are not competing, they do not have a job at McLaren. The team cut Daniel Riccardo after the 2022 season for finishing with just 37 points. Even in his first season of his three-year contract, Brown talked about potentially releasing him mid-term if his performance did not improve. Riccardo was well-liked on the team and from the fan base, but the team values performance above all.
The team has two star drivers in Norris and Oscar Piastri. Both are relatively young and perform reliably year after year. They don’t have the same star power as drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but hold their own on the grid. For the Vegas Golden Knights, you can look at any of their top players- Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, Logan Thompson, and more- and see excellent players who can hold their own, but not in the same league as some of the superstars in the NHL.
Just like the Vegas Golden Knights, who have a history of trading players for not performing, McLaren is exactly the same. Winning is everything for both franchises.
Ferrari – Toronto Maple Leafs
This one is a little too real. Both are franchises with a long, storied history in their respective leagues. Ferrari is an original F1 team that even earns additional revenue from how long they have been in the sport. Both are historic franchises with strong legacies of winning in the past. And both franchises call on that history because their present has been woeful.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967. Ferrari hasn’t won since 2008, but in a competition of 11 teams, that is much worse given their budget. Both teams have brought in superstars to try and push them over the edge, and both have struggled to make anything happen.
Ferrari brought in seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton to join Charles Leclerc, who probably deserved better than what Ferrari gave him. The Leafs brought back John Tavares, who grew up sleeping in Toronto Maple Leafs pyjamas, and added William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and, for a time, Mitch Marner, but the core four couldn’t take the Leafs far beyond the first round of the playoffs.
Ferrari absolutely botched Hamilton’s first year, while it feels like the Leafs have botched the last decade of Matthews’ career, having drafted him first overall in 2016. They don’t even feel like a playoff team this year, with talk of the team rebuilding after this season. Like Fred Vasseur, calls have come to relieve GM Brad Treliving of his job, due to his handling of the team.
Ferrari has constantly been a mess, and just weeks before the start of the season, the team still doesn’t have a Race Engineer for Hamilton. Both franchises constantly get excited about next year, and both fan bases know the pain from that feeling. There is no better comparison.
Red Bull – Edmonton Oilers
Both Red Bull and the Edmonton Oilers know what it’s like to have elite talent on their rosters, but both also haven’t done enough to build around that talent.
For Red Bull, that starts with Max Verstappen. One of the best drivers in this generation, and one of the best in history, Red Bull has been blessed with his driving for the last decade, and despite his winning four World Drivers’ Championships, the team has struggled to find a reliable second driver next to him.
In Edmonton, Connor McDavid joined the Oilers in 2016, but the Oilers have yet to win a Stanley Cup. McDavid has won basically every individual award, but the Stanley Cup still eludes him. The team has Leon Draisaitl, but without reliable defending and goaltending, they haven’t been able to win the elusive Stanley Cup.
McDavid is less than four months younger than Verstappen, and it’s hard not to see the similarities between the two. Both are immensely talented at their crafts, both should be competing to win both individual and team awards, but both have only really been successful on the individual side. Both teams have been accused of wasting the prime years of their generational talents.
This season, the Oilers talked about an injection of youth, with Ike Howard and Matthew Savoie looking to be gamechangers for the team. Savoie has 18 points, while Howard has spent much of the season in the AHL. Red Bull is bringing Isack Hadjar in to join Verstappen, but time will tell if he will be the piece they need to overtake McLaren for the Constructors’.
Mercedes – Tampa Bay Lightning
Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Mercedes know about dynasties- both have been exceptional for the last decade. The Lightning were favoured to win the Stanley Cup most years of the last decade, and won two back-to-back, along with three Conference Championships and one Presidents’ Trophy in that era.
Mercedes has been one of the best teams in the last decade of F1, winning eight straight Constructors’ Championships between 2014 and 2021. Even when they lost Hamilton to Ferrari, they still finished second in the Constructors’ as the second-best team on the grid.
George Russell is a bona fide superstar who feels like a future World Drivers’ Champion. Similar to Brayden Point, Russell has flown under the radar a little relative to the rest of the grid, but has put up excellent results on the track.
Kimi Antonelli being part of the next core of Mercedes is similar to how the Lightning have been able to add young talent to their lineup to remain competitive year after year. This year, it’s Dominic Jammes, who has 13 points in 40 games as a rookie. Add in prospects Sam O’Reilly and Marco Mignosa, and the Lightning look like a team that will be competitive for years to come.
Mercedes and Tampa both are led by calm, collected leaders. Tampa, of course, has Jon Cooper, who has been coaching the team since 2013. In that time, he has only missed the playoffs once in his 12 full seasons behind the bench. Mercedes has Toto Wolff, the legendary Austrian team principal, who has been with his team since 2013. Both are known for their calm determination and focus on perfection.
The similarities between the two sides are almost too real.
Aston Martin – Carolina Hurricanes
If there are two teams known for having very involved owners, smart tactical minds, but struggling to put it all together, it’s Aston Martin and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canes are owned by Tom Dundon, known to be one of the most involved owners in the game. Similarly, Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire, is well connected to the Aston Martin side, actively engaged in business on and off the track.
For the Canes, they have one of the smartest analytics minds in the game as their GM in Eric Tulsky. Just like him, Aston Martin’s new team principal is Adrian Newey, the famed car designer. He is one of the greatest engineers in F1 history, with his cars constantly being the most competitive on the grid.
The challenge for both sides has been putting it all together. Aston Martin has yet to finish higher than fifth since joining the grid in 2021. The Hurricanes have had a few good years, but haven’t put it all together since 2005–06.
While there have been small instances of nepotism in Carolina, with Skylar Brind’Amour being given opportunities when his father, Rod Brind’Amour, was in charge, it pales in comparison to Lance Stroll, Lawrence’s son, being given one of the two driver seats for the team. It’s hard to think of any NHL team that has this level of nepotism.
With a heavy focus on the technical aspects of the game, highly involved owners, and the inability to put it all together, Aston Martin and the Carolina Hurricanes have a lot in common.
Williams – Detroit Red Wings
No team has had such a storied history and such a long fall from grace as Williams and the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams are storied franchises, with numerous Constructors Championships and Stanley Cups respectively. Both have diehard fans, who harken back to the “good old days” and have stuck through long rebuilds.
Williams has had Alex Albon for the last four years, and the team has largely been terrible in that time. However, like the Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin, he has stuck through the rebuild with the team. Williams then added Carlos Sainz in a move to be competitive this year, and it paid off with the team finishing fifth in the Constructors’ standings in 2025. Just like the Red Wings looking to make the playoffs this season, the hope is that this season is the beginning of a turnaround for the British racing side.
The one thing that Williams has really leaned into is vibes- and they have done an excellent job of their social media. Nobody in the NHL does a particularly good job of this right now, but the vibes around the young core in Detroit would be similar.
These are two teams that are just at the edge of being relevant again, with Williams looking to break into the top-four and Detroit looking to get back to the playoffs. Whether either can do it is the real question.
Alpine – Buffalo Sabres
No two organizations embody mediocrity and perpetually being terrible like Alpine and the Buffalo Sabres. Both have tried to sell their internal chaos as being part of a rebuild, but neither has properly built anything to be competitive in decades.
Both Buffalo and Alpine have gone through major personnel changes. Alpine went through four team principals in five years, and still only has a de facto team principal in Flavio Briatore, the man known for the 2007 Spygate Scandal. The Sabres have gone through four coaches and three GMs since 2019, and haven’t made the playoffs since 2010–11. Alpine finished fourth once, but dropped to last this past season.
Alpine has had Pierre Gasly, who has stuck with the team for the last three seasons. Similar to first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, both probably could have had more success elsewhere. Both Alpine and the Sabres have added young talent, but they haven’t been able to build an effective team to compete in a long time.
This is a sad comparison, but one that’s a little too real.
Racing Bulls – Ottawa Senators
No team has been as good at drafting young talent, developing them to be excellent, then losing them to other teams as the Ottawa Senators. This is the entire business model of Racing Bulls, who serve as a feeder team for Red Bull. While the Senators aren’t officially a feeder team for any one team, many teams can look to them and thank them for their talent.
For the Senators, the list of players who could have been is long and storied. Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa, Erik Karlsson, Mika Zibanijad, Mark Stone, and Dominik Hasek are just a handful of names that found more success outside of Ottawa. Racing Bulls has done the same with Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Riccardo, Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and now Isack Hadjar, all moving from Racing Bulls to Red Bull.
The Senators’ business model is not explicitly to be a feeder team for the NHL, but the reality is that the team has struggled to build a contender in decades. Despite making the playoffs sporadically, it hasn’t felt like the Sens are really building anything of note until this past core, and if history is any indication, their top players will be on other teams before they win a Cup. Racing Bulls isn’t designed to win a Constructors Championship, but to showcase young drivers before they move to Red Bull.
Haas – Calgary Flames
The Flames have been stuck in purgatory for the last twenty years, and despite the odd good year, they been a real contender in the NHL. Since joining the grid in 2016, Haas has been the same. Zero wins, zero podiums, and zero belief that they can be anything more.
The good news with both teams is they have a legitimate young player to excite their fans. For the Flames, that is defenceman Zayne Parekh, who has broken basically every record in the OHL. He should be a game-breaking NHL defenceman in a couple of years, but will he be enough to pull this team to being a contender?
Haas’ Ollie Bearman is one of the best rookies on the grid, and really showed himself to be better than his car. He is genuinely electric, but is he good enough to make Haas a contender?
On the flip side, both have veterans whose best days are behind them. Haas’ Esteban Ocon won the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021 and held his own at Alpine at that time, but now feels like a shell of his former self. This sounds eerily like a former 115-point player that the Flames acquired in a trade, who hasn’t been himself since coming to Calgary. Both continue to collect paycheques without being impact players on their respective teams.
Haas’ owner Gene Haas runs this alongside his other, likely more profitable, business, but isn’t the wealthiest owner on the grid. He also has been involved in team decisions, often to their detriment, not benefit. Murray Edwards is much of the same for Calgary, an owner who likely cares more about his other business but can’t stop meddling in the Flames’ decision-making.
Cadillac- Seattle Kraken
Cadillac joins the F1 grid this year and comes in with slick branding and deep pockets to try and make an impact on the grid. The Kraken are owned by Jerry Bruckheimer, the director of the F1 movie, and have been quite good with their theatrics on and off the ice. The product on the ice has been a question, just as it is going into this season for Cadillac.
Beyond being the newest NHL franchise, Seattle’s expansion draft focused on taking good veteran players and building a very strong middle. Cadillac had the same issue and opted to start with veterans Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, two established veterans with track records, but neither is an elite superstar on the grid.
The Seattle ownership group came in with large amounts of money and made a major statement with the way they redeveloped Climate Pledge Arena. Cadillac is backed by a billion-dollar investment from GM and will be looking to make its mark in F1. Seattle has yet to make their mark, but they have the players to make that happen in time. Whether they can establish themselves as a credible threat is a big question, and the same exists for Cadillac.
Audi – Utah Mammoth
Audi takes over from Sauber going into the 2026 F1 season, just as the Utah Mammoth took over from the Arizona Coyotes. While the move on paper seems like a fresh start, the question marks are very large.
The Mammoth inherited a couple of very good veterans, including Clayton Keller, who is now 27. Audi starts the season with Nico Hulkenberg as their lead driver, who was fine for Sauber last season. He has just two race wins in his career, but has driven exclusively for mid-tier teams. Both teams also have really good young talent to complement, with Audi having Gabriel Bortoleto and Utah having Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther in the NHL, and Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin in the minors.
There is a lot of potential here, with a healthy mix of young talent and veteran presence, but can they make the jump?
The Final Grid
| F1 Team | NHL Team | One-Line Summary |
|---|---|---|
| McLaren | Vegas Golden Knights | Winning over everything |
| Ferrari | Toronto Maple Leafs | Famed history, disappointing present |
| Red Bull | Edmonton Oilers | Generational superstar, lack of run support |
| Mercedes | Tampa Bay Lightning | Long dynasty, can’t count them out ever |
| Aston Martin | Carolina Hurricanes | Brilliant minds, not able to win it all |
| Williams | Detroit Red Wings | Storied history, good vibes, credible future |
| Alpine | Buffalo Sabres | Chaos framed as a rebuild |
| Racing Bulls | Ottawa Senators | Feeder team—talent doesn’t last |
| Haas | Calgary Flames | Fine not outstanding, meddling owner |
| Cadillac | Seattle Kraken | Brand new and flashy—will it last? |
| Audi | Utah Mammoth | New name, same struggles |
How did we do?
Looking at the 11 F1 teams and comparing them to an NHL team was no small feat, given how different the two sports are. How did we do? Let us know below in the comments or on socials.
