2026 Formula 1 Season

The 2026 season opened a brand-new chapter for Formula 1, ushered in by the biggest regulation overhaul in a generation. Sweeping new rules brought a fresh generation of power units with a far greater share of electrical power and fully sustainable fuels, alongside active aerodynamics and cars that were shorter, narrower, lighter and more nimble. As with any major reset, the new regulations reshuffled the competitive order, and the early rounds revealed a dramatically different pecking order from the McLaren-dominated season that preceded it.

Mercedes seized the new era emphatically. George Russell won the season-opening race to lay down an early marker, but it was rookie sensation Andrea Kimi Antonelli who stole the show, reeling off a stunning streak of five consecutive victories through the opening rounds to surge to the top of the championship as an unexpected early title favourite. His run of dominance, built on pole positions and commanding race pace, established Mercedes as the team that had best understood the new rules and turned the young Italian into the breakout story of the campaign.

Antonelli's streak was finally broken at Round 7, where Lewis Hamilton delivered a milestone victory for Ferrari, his first win for the Scuderia and a timely sign that the established order was beginning to respond to Mercedes' fast start. At Round 8 Mercedes struck back on Red Bull's home ground: George Russell converted pole into a commanding win at the Red Bull Ring, with Max Verstappen second and Antonelli recovering from his Barcelona retirement to complete the podium and extend his championship lead. With the season still in its early stages and the new machinery rapidly evolving, the championship picture remains wide open, but the story so far is one of a bold technical reset rewarding Mercedes and announcing Antonelli as a genuine contender for the sport's biggest prize.

Round 9 brought a sprint weekend at Silverstone, and a new twist in the title fight. Antonelli converted Saturday's sprint into his first career sprint victory, but Sunday belonged to Ferrari: Charles Leclerc ended a winless run stretching back to 2024, taking the British Grand Prix under a late safety car ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton after Max Verstappen spun out of contention at Stowe with four laps remaining. A five-second track-limits penalty, triggered by a wheel-shield failure, left Antonelli only 16th in the Grand Prix, trimming his championship advantage over Russell to 25 points as Ferrari consolidated second in the constructors' standings.

Round 10 at Spa-Francorchamps saw Antonelli reassert his authority with a dominant pole-to-flag victory — his sixth win of the season and arguably his most commanding display yet. The race was disrupted on the opening lap when George Russell and Lewis Hamilton collided at Raidillon, retiring Russell on the spot and earning Hamilton a five-second time penalty. Hamilton crossed the line third on the road but was classified fourth behind Max Verstappen after the penalty was applied, with Charles Leclerc a composed second for Ferrari. Lando Norris added the fastest-lap bonus point for McLaren. The result reshuffled the championship: Hamilton's 12 points lifted him above the penalised Russell into second in the drivers' standings, while Antonelli extended his lead to 45 points over Hamilton with 204 points to his name.

Round 11 at the Hungaroring delivered a breakthrough. Lando Norris took his and McLaren's first win of the 2026 season, controlling the race to finish 15.1 seconds clear of Max Verstappen, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli completing the podium for Mercedes. Charles Leclerc came home fourth and set the fastest lap of the race — a 1:22.000 — ahead of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton in fifth, while Oscar Piastri's strong run ended with a gearbox failure on lap 56. Antonelli's third place stretched his advantage at the top of the drivers' standings to 219 points, 50 clear of Hamilton, who held second ahead of George Russell. Mercedes moved to 379 points in the constructors' championship, 72 ahead of Ferrari, as McLaren opened its win account for the new era.

The championship resumed after the summer break with Round 12 at Zandvoort — the final Dutch Grand Prix before the race leaves the calendar — and a reshuffled Red Bull family: Isack Hadjar sat out with a wrist injury sustained in training, Liam Lawson stepped up to partner Max Verstappen, and Yuki Tsunoda returned to Formula 1 at Racing Bulls. George Russell won Saturday's sprint from Charles Leclerc, but Sunday belonged to Lando Norris, who converted pole into his second win of the season on a damp circuit. The race was red-flagged at the end of the opening lap when Verstappen crashed heavily at the banked final corner in front of his home crowd. Kimi Antonelli took second ahead of Russell, Lawson delivered seventh on his Red Bull return despite a ten-second penalty, and Leclerc set the fastest lap on his way to fifth. Antonelli left the Netherlands on 242 points as Mercedes moved to 425 in the constructors' championship.

Round 13 at Monza produced the drive of the season. A power-unit grid penalty dropped championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 19th on the grid, but the Italian carved through the field, pitted under a late virtual safety car and passed team-mate George Russell for the lead on lap 50 of 53 to win his home Grand Prix — the first Italian winner at Monza since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966 — sealing a Mercedes 1-2 with the fastest lap, a 1:23.504 on the final tour. The race had been red-flagged on lap 2 when Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the Parabolica, and pole-sitter Pierre Gasly faded to seventh as Max Verstappen claimed the final podium spot ahead of the McLarens. Antonelli left Italy on 267 points, 66 clear of Russell, who moved back ahead of Lewis Hamilton into second, while Mercedes stretched their constructors' lead over Ferrari to 122 points at 468.

Round 14 took Formula 1 somewhere it had never been: the streets of Madrid, and the brand-new Madring circuit around the IFEMA complex. Lando Norris edged Kimi Antonelli to the first Madring pole by 0.011 seconds, but the race turned on a lap-14 virtual safety car for Lance Stroll's stopped Aston Martin — Antonelli pitted just as leader Norris missed the pit entry, and the Mercedes emerged in a lead it never lost. Antonelli's eighth win of the season came by 4.3 seconds over Max Verstappen, with Norris third after losing second to the Red Bull. George Russell set the fastest lap on his way to fifth behind Charles Leclerc, while brake failures ended the race for both Lewis Hamilton and Stroll, and home favourite Carlos Sainz retired late from his first Madrid Grand Prix. Antonelli left Spain on 292 points, 81 clear of Russell, while Norris drew level with the non-scoring Hamilton on 191 points and took third in the standings on wins countback, and Mercedes passed the 500-point mark in the constructors' championship on 503.

Round 15 brought the championship to Baku's street circuit and a restructured Red Bull stable: Isack Hadjar returned from his wrist injury and Liam Lawson moved back to RB F1 Team, with Yuki Tsunoda stepping aside. George Russell delivered a masterclass around the barriers, leading from the front and posting the fastest lap — a 1:44.916 on lap 49 — to take his third win of the season and close the gap to team-mate Antonelli, who recovered to fifth after a difficult qualifying. Max Verstappen finished a strong second for Red Bull, with the returning Hadjar completing the podium in third — his best result of the campaign. Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari, while a high attrition rate saw seven retirements, including Lando Norris and both Aston Martins. Russell moved to 236 points, trimming Antonelli's lead to 89, while Red Bull's double podium vaulted them past Alpine and RB into fourth in the constructors' championship on 306.

Round 16 was a late addition to the calendar — the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, held at the returning Sepang International Circuit — and it produced a landmark result. Max Verstappen took his first victory of the 2026 season, controlling the 55-lap race and setting the fastest lap of 1:38.220 on the final tour to complete the grand chelem. Kimi Antonelli was second for Mercedes, extending his championship lead to 325 points, while Lewis Hamilton claimed third ahead of Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. Hadjar consolidated his impressive comeback with fifth, and Oscar Piastri salvaged sixth for McLaren after Norris could manage only ninth. George Russell retired early, dropping him to 236 points and allowing Hamilton to close the gap in the fight for second. Verstappen's breakthrough win lifted Red Bull to 306 points in the constructors' standings, firmly established in fourth, while Mercedes extended their lead at the top to 561 — 143 clear of Ferrari on 418.