Formula 1 2026 Season

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) leads the Drivers' Championship on 302 points after 15 of 23 rounds, through the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on September 26. He is 66 points clear of Mercedes teammate George Russell (236), who won in Baku, and 103 clear of Lewis Hamilton (199, Ferrari). Then come Lando Norris (186, McLaren), Charles Leclerc (179, Ferrari), Max Verstappen (163, Red Bull), Oscar Piastri (120, McLaren) and Isack Hadjar (86, Red Bull). In the Constructors' Championship Mercedes lead on 538 points from Ferrari (378), McLaren (306) and Red Bull (263). Sources: formula1.com, RacingNews365.

The Bahrain Grand Prix, round 16 of 23, on October 2-4, but it is not in Bahrain: after the original April race was cancelled because of the 2026 Iran war, it was relocated to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, F1's first visit there since 2017. Lights out is 15:00 local on Sunday October 4, which is 09:00 CEST, 08:00 BST and 3 a.m. ET, over 56 laps. Singapore follows on October 9-11. Sources: formula1.com, Wikipedia, Grande Prêmio.

Eight. Fifteen of the 23 rounds are done. What remains: Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, Malaysia (October 2-4), Singapore (October 9-11, the last Sprint weekend of the year), United States (October 23-25), Mexico (October 30 to November 1), Brazil (November 6-8), Las Vegas (November 19-21), Qatar (November 27-29) and Abu Dhabi (December 4-6). Source: formula1.com.

At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 4-6, 2026, round 23 at the Yas Marina Circuit, closing a calendar that ran from Melbourne in March to the Gulf in December. Source: formula1.com.

George Russell (Mercedes), from pole, on Saturday September 26 in Baku, his third win of 2026. He held off Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by 0.196 seconds after two safety car periods, with Isack Hadjar third for Red Bull's first double podium since April 2024. Charles Leclerc was fourth, Kimi Antonelli fifth from 16th on the grid after a qualifying crash, and Lewis Hamilton sixth. Lando Norris was taken out at a restart and McLaren scored nothing. Sources: formula1.com, The Race.

After Baku there are eight grands prix and one Sprint (Singapore) left, so at most 208 points are available (8 x 25 + 8; there is no fastest-lap point). On that arithmetic seven drivers are still mathematically alive: Antonelli (302), Russell (236, -66), Hamilton (199, -103), Norris (186, -116), Leclerc (179, -123), Verstappen (163, -139) and Piastri (120, -182). Hadjar, 216 behind, is out. In practice it is a two-car fight inside Mercedes. By the same arithmetic the earliest Antonelli could clinch is the United States GP in Austin (October 23-25), and only if he outscores Russell by the maximum at Sepang and Singapore. Sources: formula1.com (standings, calendar, Sprint calendar); calculation by stats-data.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was originally scheduled for April 12 at Sakhir, but it and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix were cancelled after the outbreak of the 2026 Iran war. Under an agreement between Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia, the race was reinstated at Sepang on October 2-4 under the Bahrain Grand Prix name, with Bahrain funding the move. Sources: formula1.com, Wikipedia.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), on September 13 at the Madring in Madrid, round 14 of the season and his eighth win of 2026. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second and Lando Norris (McLaren) third, in a race decided on strategy. Charles Leclerc was fourth and George Russell fifth. Note that 2026 has two races in Spain: the Madrid round in September and the Barcelona round in June. Sources: formula1.com, GPFans.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), on September 6, and it was the drive of his season: he started 19th on the grid and won. George Russell made it a Mercedes one-two and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) took third. It was Antonelli's seventh win of 2026 and a heavy blow to everyone still trying to reach him in the standings. Sources: formula1.com, PlanetF1, The Race.

Lando Norris (McLaren), at Zandvoort on August 23, taking back-to-back wins for McLaren. Kimi Antonelli finished second after being waved past teammate George Russell, who held third. Lewis Hamilton was fourth. Max Verstappen crashed out at the end of the opening lap in slippery conditions, a brutal end to his home weekend. It was Zandvoort's first Sprint weekend and its farewell F1 race for now, as the Dutch GP leaves the calendar after 2026. Sources: formula1.com, RacingNews365, The Race.

He is the clear favourite, but it is not settled. With eight rounds left he holds a 66-point lead over George Russell, down from 81 before Baku, and 103 over Lewis Hamilton. He has won eight races this season. At most 208 points are still available (eight grands prix at 25 plus the Singapore Sprint at 8), so a run of retirements would reopen it. What makes his position unusually strong is that his nearest rival is his own teammate in the same car. Sources: formula1.com, RacingNews365.

2026 brings one of F1's biggest rule resets in years. The cars are shorter, lighter and nimbler; the power units split roughly 50/50 between combustion and electric power and run on Advanced Sustainable Fuels; DRS is replaced by Overtake Mode; and active aerodynamics adjust the wings between corners and straights.

Overtake Mode replaces DRS. When a driver is within one second of the car ahead, they can deploy a burst of extra electrical power to help attack, used all at once or spread across a lap. It is designed to make overtaking more skill-based than the old rear-wing flap.

Two. Audi enters as a works team after taking over Sauber, with its own power unit and the same drivers as before, Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Cadillac debuts as an 11th team using Ferrari power units, the first eleventh team on the grid since 2016, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

Active aerodynamics let cars change the front and rear wing between a high-downforce Corner Mode and a low-drag Straight Mode depending on where they are on track. It replaces the fixed-wing philosophy and works alongside Overtake Mode to shape the racing.

Eleven, up from ten, thanks to Cadillac's arrival. That is the largest grid in years and the first time an eleventh team has raced since 2016, meaning 22 full-time cars.

Not fully. The 2026 power units are hybrids that draw about half their power from electricity and half from the internal combustion engine, which runs on 100% sustainable fuel. So they are far more electrified than before, but still hybrids, not pure EVs.

It combines a sweeping technical rule change, new-look cars and racing mechanics, with the arrival of two major manufacturers (Audi and Cadillac). That mix scrambles the competitive order, which teams nail the new rules first is the season's central question.

Lando Norris (McLaren) won the 2026 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring (Round 11, July 26), his first victory of the season, the twelfth of his career and his first since becoming World Champion. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second and championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) third after fighting back through the 70-lap race. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line fourth but a five-second penalty for pit-lane speeding dropped him to fifth, behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc. It was the last race before the summer break. Sources: formula1.com, GPFans, The Race.

Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 F1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on July 19, his sixth win of the season. He overtook early leader Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in the closing laps. Full podium: 1. Antonelli (Mercedes), 2. Leclerc (Ferrari, +1.9s), 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull, +11.5s), 4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, +17.2s). George Russell (Mercedes) retired from lap 1 after contact with Hamilton. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) finished 8th, a strong result for the new team. Sources: formula1.com, The Race, Bleacher Report.

Yes. He took his first win in Ferrari colours at the Barcelona round in June, the 106th Grand Prix victory of his career, leading home George Russell and Lando Norris. It remains his standout result of a season in which he sits third on 199 points after finishing sixth in Baku. Sources: The Race, Silverstone, formula1.com.