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Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 Formula 1 championship with 179 points after ten rounds — six wins, an extraordinary debut season, and a 25-point cushion over George Russell heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc's Silverstone victory and Russell's Belgian retirement have set up a fascinating second half of the season.
No driver in the hybrid era has begun a debut season with more authority than Kimi Antonelli. The 19-year-old Italian replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for 2026 and, in the opening six rounds, has delivered five victories, six pole positions and a 66-point championship cushion. He is the youngest championship leader in Formula 1 history and the only teenager to win back-to-back grands prix in the sport's modern era.
Australia (Round 1) belonged to team-mate George Russell — pole, lead from lights to flag, a composed 1-2 for Mercedes as the new 2026 regulations produced 120 overtakes at Albert Park. But from Round 2 onwards, the season became Antonelli's. Shanghai delivered his maiden victory — a flawless 56-lap drive from pole, with four cars unable to start and Verstappen retiring late. Suzuka saw him recover from P6 at the start, use a Safety Car perfectly, and take the championship lead for the first time at 19 years and 216 days.
Miami made history: Antonelli became only the third driver — alongside Damon Hill and Mika Häkkinen — to win his first three consecutive grands prix, fending off a late charge from Lando Norris in a race that included a flipped Alpine and a 20-second penalty for Leclerc. Canada brought his fourth in a row, gifted in part by Russell's lap-30 battery failure from the lead, but driven home impeccably over 38 laps to a 10-second winning margin. Monaco rounded off the streak — pole, win, fastest lap, and seven retirements around him in one of the most attrition-heavy races in recent memory.
Lewis Hamilton moved to Ferrari amid enormous expectation and finally delivered the result the team signed him for: a race win. At the Spanish Grand Prix he converted a brilliant Ferrari undercut strategy — pitting on lap 22, a lap earlier than expected — into his first victory in red. Then on lap 41, Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes coasted to a halt with a power unit failure — his first retirement of the season. The combined swing cut the championship gap from 66 to just 41 points. Lando Norris took third for McLaren; Leclerc fourth from P7 on the grid, completing a Ferrari 1-4 result.
Austria (Round 8) belonged to Russell, who won at the Red Bull Ring from pole with Verstappen second — the Dutchman's best result of the season at his home race — and Antonelli third. The 10-point swing to Russell tightened the championship picture heading into Silverstone. Britain (Round 9), a Sprint weekend, produced one of the season's most dramatic races. Charles Leclerc took pole and won at Silverstone by 0.427 seconds from Russell, with Lewis Hamilton third to complete a stunning Ferrari 1-3. Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty for repeated track limit violations, finishing fifteenth and scoring zero — the championship gap at the top closed dramatically as Russell's P2 and Antonelli's zero meant the title standings were almost level entering Belgium. Carlos Sainz received a one-lap penalty for overtaking the Safety Car; Verstappen, Albon and Hülkenberg all retired from the race.
After two rounds without a win, Antonelli arrived at Spa-Francorchamps needing to respond — and he did it in the most complete way possible. Pole position, a clean start, and a dominant 44-lap drive through one of the sport's most demanding circuits. Leclerc was second, Verstappen third. George Russell, who had closed to within striking distance of the championship lead, retired — handing Antonelli a maximum swing that reopened the gap to 25 points. Six wins from ten rounds, the youngest championship leader in F1 history, and a field that cannot quite pin him down: Kimi Antonelli's 2026 is already remarkable.
Antonelli's Belgian win and Russell's retirement produced a 25-point swing that opens the gap to 25. With 14 rounds remaining, Antonelli must lose 25 points to Russell to be overtaken — but as Silverstone showed, the swing can happen in a single race. Hamilton (147 pts) remains in striking distance in third.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Wins | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 6 | 179 | — |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | 2 | 154 | −25 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1 | 147 | −32 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1 | 108 | −71 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | — | 97 | −82 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | — | 82 | −97 |
| 7 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | — | 76 | −103 |
Official standings: formula1.com/en/results/2026/drivers →
All six top drivers are featured in the 2025 Topps Chrome F1 Diamond set. Antonelli's cards have attracted the most collector attention as his win streak has grown — his rookie auto variants in particular have seen significant price movement since his maiden victory in China.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) leads the 2026 Drivers' Championship with 179 points after ten rounds — 25 ahead of George Russell (Mercedes, 154 pts) and 32 ahead of Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari, 147 pts). Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix (Round 10) from pole position at Spa.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on 19 July 2026, driving from pole position to victory in 44 laps with a race time of 1:24:42.479. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) finished second and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) third. George Russell retired from the race.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) won the 2026 British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 5 July 2026 — his first race win of the 2026 season. George Russell (Mercedes) finished second (+0.427s) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) third (+0.772s) — a Ferrari 1-3 in one of the closest finishes of the year. Kimi Antonelli received a five-second penalty for track limit violations and finished fifteenth.
George Russell (Mercedes) won the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg on 28 June 2026, his second win of the season. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished second (+1.611s) — his best result of 2026 at his team's home race — and Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) was third (+1.986s).
Kimi Antonelli has won six of the first ten races: China (Round 2), Japan (Round 3), Miami (Round 4), Canada (Round 5), Monaco (Round 6) and Belgium (Round 10). George Russell won Australia (Round 1) and Austria (Round 8). Lewis Hamilton won Spain (Round 7). Charles Leclerc won Britain (Round 9).
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) won the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix on 14 June 2026 — his first win in Ferrari red. Starting P2, Hamilton ran a three-stop strategy to beat Russell through the pit windows. George Russell finished second; Lando Norris (McLaren) third. Kimi Antonelli retired with a power unit failure on lap 41. Leclerc P4 from P7 on the grid.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix from pole position. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) was second (+6.271s) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) third — reinstated after Alpine’s right of review overturned his pit-lane penalty when FOM’s distance data was found to have overestimated his speed. Isack Hadjar finished fourth. Seven drivers retired, including Verstappen, Russell and Piastri.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix. George Russell took pole and led before a battery failure retired him on lap 30. Lewis Hamilton finished second (+10.768s) and Max Verstappen third (+11.276s).
George Russell (Mercedes) won the 2026 Australian Grand Prix from pole position at Albert Park, Melbourne. Kimi Antonelli was second (+2.974s) and Charles Leclerc third (+15.519s). The race produced 120 overtaking moves under the new 2026 aerodynamic regulations.
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, recovering from sixth on the opening lap to take victory after a Safety Car period from Oliver Bearman's crash. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) was second (+13.722s) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) third (+15.270s).
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) won the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in Shanghai, beating team-mate George Russell by 5.515 seconds for his maiden Formula 1 victory. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) was third, claiming his first Ferrari podium.
The next race is the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary — Round 11 of 24. Race day is Sunday 26 July 2026, starting at 15:00 CEST / 09:00 ET / 06:00 PT.
