Here are the mid-season driver rankings for the 2026 F1 season. As usual, the results are generated by the mathematical model. The model assesses how impressive a driver’s results are, given the strength of their teammate(s). This means that a ranking of drivers can take place regardless of how strong their car was.
- General Trends
- F1 2026 Driver Rankings
- C Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
- B Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
- A Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
- S Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
- Summary of Results
General Trends
Strong young driver performances
The model is generally quite harsh to inexperienced drivers. Whilst it definitely takes experience into account when looking at a driver’s expected level, the rankings of inexperienced drivers are not boosted to compensate for their inexperience.
As such, rookies are often towards the bottom of the ratings. Indeed, 6 of the bottom 7 drivers in the 2025 driver rankings were effectively in rookie campaigns, with only one rookie (Bearman) ranking higher than this. In the 2026 preview, I highlighted that this inexperience makes the 2026 predictions less accurate than they would normally be, and so it has transpired.
Almost all inexperienced drivers have over-delivered compared to their teammates. There are three main potential explanations for this:
- The model underestimating the improvement modern drivers make in the 2nd year.
- The new regulations requiring “relearning” for experienced drivers, which is more difficult than the learning inexperienced drivers are making.
- A coincidence based on a relatively small sample.
In all likelihood it is a combination of all of them. Undoubtedly the new regulations have caused headaches for several high profile drivers (with Russell being the most obvious). However, it is notable that the vast experience of Alonso and Hamilton have adapted as well as anyone.
The consequences of the new drivers overperforming expectations are that the field spread in ratings is smaller than in previous years. (Even the worst rated driver this year has a pretty solid rating.) It has also caused the rating of the grid to steadily improve (on average) across the season. This is because the model is reassessing how good the likes of Antonelli, Bortoleto and Hadjar are. As their ratings improve, the model is more forgiving of the comparative struggles of their teammates.
Without further ado, let’s proceed with the mid-season ranking:
F1 2026 Driver Rankings
22) Nico Hülkenberg
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 66% | 22nd | ↓19 (13th) | 14th (86%) |
Hülkenberg’s season has not been a bad one. Indeed, a score of 66% would easily be the highest ever “worst rated” driver if it were maintained to the end of the season. His qualifying performance is also deemed much more respectable, placing him in the midfield. But after largely dominating Bortoleto in 2025, a points deficit of 10-2 to his young teammate does not look good.
21) George Russell
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 68% | 21st | ↓16 (5th) | 9th (91%) |
Russell’s season has been a roller coaster, but so far a disappointing. one. A fairly simple win in Australia left many feeling he was odds-on for the title, but things haven’t worked out well for him since. A combination of bad luck, feeling lost with the car, and avoidable errors have regularly interfered with his 2026 campaign. Antonelli has also just simply looked faster across the season so far.
Despite this, there have been positive moments. His battle with Antonelli in Canada was thrilling, and saw him on top at the time of his retirement. His win in Austria was also fairly textbook. And in qualifying he has a 100% Q3 record, and a fairly even rating compared to his teammate.ing.
A bounce back in the model’s ratings is likely in the 2nd half of the season, as Antonelli’s score is also steadily improving over time.
20) Franco Colapinto
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 69% | 20st | ↓3 (17th) | 21st (71%) |
Colapinto’s ranking has fallen from 2025 despite his rating actually increasing. He has remained very much the second Alpine driver overall, but unlike in 2025 he has shown some great potential across weekends. Strong finishes in Miami and Canada boosted his rating (see graph above), with neither being down purely to luck. However, he has thus far lacked the consistency of his teammate, and has scored less than half Gasly’s points.
19) Lance Stroll
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 73% | 19th | ↓5 (14th) | 22nd (68%) |
With the Aston Martin being as dire as it has been, Stroll hasn’t had much opportunity to shine in 2026. His rating of 72% is actually identical to his end of year rating at the end of 2025. In qualifying he’s ranked dead last, although he did at least manage to end his continuous losing streak to Alonso.
18) Arvid Lindblad
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 73% | 18th | N/A | 16th (85%) |
For a rookie this rating is fairly strong. Arvid has almost matched his more experienced teammate in qualifying (with a slight 6-5 H2H deficit) and typically been there or there abouts in race trim too. Given his lack of experience this is very much a positive sign. His absurdly high rating after the first race was due to scoring 100% of Racing Bulls points in his debut race.
As with Lawson and Hadjar, his rating has also been improving throughout the season as Hadjar’s strong comparison with Verstappen has boosted the model’s perception of all of them.
17) Valtteri Bottas
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 74% | 17th | N/A | 20th (72%) |
A disappointing return for Bottas so far. He’s generally been the weaker Cadillac driver in both qualifying and races. Some solid performances in the last couple of races have shown he hasn’t completely lost it. Despite this, his rating is on a downwards trend and his qualifying has also been less than impressive for such an experienced driver.
C Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
16) Gabriel Bortoleto
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 79% | 16th | — (16th) | 8th (93%) |
In contrast to 2025, Bortoleto has been the stronger Audi driver this year. Three points finishes is not a bad result, with a further four 11th place finishes suggesting there’s plenty more points on offer with a slight car improvement.
15) Esteban Ocon
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 79% | 16th | ↓5 (10th) | 17th (82%) |
The start of the season was fairly disastrous ratings wise for Ocon, as Bearman scored in the opening 3 races of the season. (Almost all of Bearman’s points came from the opening 2 rounds.) Since then Ocon has improves, and his rating has gradually trended upwards. His point in Japan was particularly well earnt. Overall though, he’s been outshone by his younger teammate.
14) Sergio Pérez
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 81% | 14th | N/A | 18th (79%) |
Perez has by and large been the stronger Cadillac driver, which is something predicted by the model. However, this has yet to translate into actual points. A potential points finish in Monaco went begging due to a string of unnecessary errors, whilst strong performances in Japan and Miami have gone unrewarded due to the lack of pace.
B Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
13) Fernando Alonso
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 85% | 13th | ↓1 (12th) | 19th (78%) |
Alonso’s once again easily outqualified Stroll so far this season, although the model rates Stroll the weakest qualifier on the grid. An unexpected point in Monaco boosted his rating a little, although the lack of competitiveness in general has made it difficult for Alonso to shine.
12) Pierre Gasly
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 88% | 12th | — (12th) | 13th (87%) |
A regular feature at the lower end of the points, Gasly has been a bedrock of consistency at Alpine. His podium in Monaco was inherited through a combination of luck and a clever appeal by Alpine, but Gasly was already good enough to be in contention for solid points, as he has been at many other races this year. Japan and Hungary were also drives where he maximised the car. Gasly has also continued to have the edge over Colapinto this season, although the gap between them has narrowed compared to last year.
11) Kimi Antonelli
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 89% | 11th | ↑4 (15th) | 10th (90%) |
An impressive half-season from Antonelli, who won 5 races in a row early doors and now enjoys a comfortably (but by no means secure) championship lead. He’s also shown much more consistency than his teammate and has delivered several impressive drives this season.
So why is he ranked so low? Russell easily beat Antonelli last year, so the model is trying to balance the idea that Antonelli has significantly improved with the possibility that Russell has just slumped. To put it another way, the model would expect most drivers on the 2026 to have a reasonable championship lead if they’d been placed in Antonelli’s position. Antonelli’s steadily improving rating for 2026 is showing the model increasing confidence in his abilities.
10) Liam Lawson
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 89% | 10th | ↑9 (19th) | 15th (86%) |
Lawson’s poor rating for 2025 was largely due to the comparison with Tsunoda, whose extreme struggles at Red Bull in 2025 lowered all the Racing Bulls drivers scores. With Hadjar fairing significantly better at Red Bull, Lawson’s, Hadjar’s and even Lindblad’s ratings have all been steadily improving over time. Including Sprint Races, Lawson has more points finishes than Hadjar this season, with strong drives being rewarded with 6th places in Monaco and Britain.
9) Alex Albon
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 92% | 9th | ↓3 (6th) | 12th (87%) |
Overall Albon has done a reasonable job with a poor car. Overall he’s been the weaker Williams driver, although a 5-6 points deficit is hardly conclusive.
8) Charles Leclerc
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 93% | 8th | ↓6 (2nd) | 5th (102%) |
Whilst the model expected Leclerc to continue to have an edge over Hamilton, things haven’t worked out that way so far. At times, Leclerc has genuinely struggled in ways we have rarely seen in previous seasons. However even at his nadir he season was still rated as “average”. In the past 3 rounds his rating has recovered, on the back of an unexpected win at Silverstone
Qualifying between the Ferrari pair has been much closer than races, also the model still rates Hamilton to be ahead despite Leclerc’s reputation for blistering 1 lap pace.
A Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
7) Oscar Piastri
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 95% | 7th | ↓3 (4th) | 3rd (111%) |
For a long time in 2025 Piastri looked like the stronger McLaren driver overall. That has rarely been in the case in 2026. His season started horribly, with a pre-race crash at his home race and another DNS at the next round. However, he rebounded impressively with 3 consecutive podiums (including a sprint race.) The other season highlight was leading in Hungary, before his race was undone by situations out of his control.
6) Carlos Sainz
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 97% | 6th | ↑2 (8th) | 7th (97%) |
Sainz has had a couple of poor races in 2026 (including his unnecessary collision with Piastri in Hungary.) However, he has overall been delivering a high standard despite his poor car. Three points finishes in the opening five Grand Prix showed what he could do. Subsequent strong performances in Britain and Belgium did not, through no fault of his own. Sainz is also easily leading Albon in qualifying. He just needs a stronger car for his performances to really stand out.
5) Isaac Hadjar
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 100% | 6th | ↑12 (18th) | 6th (98%) |
Hadjar has thus far been Verstappen’s most competitive teammate in many years. As Max’s rating has hit to stratosphere in the last 5 years, this has translated to a very impressive rating for Hadjar, despite overall deficits to Max in every major metric. He is at least scoring regular points, and was able to provide support to Max last time out in Hungary.
As referenced before, Hadjar’s 2025 rating was largely linked to Tsunoda. As the Racing Bulls drivers have limited external teammates, we can see how their ratings are closely linked below.
4) Lewis Hamilton
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 100% | 5th | ↑4 (9th) | 4th (105%) |
Just a year ago Hamilton claimed that he was “useless” Now he is the oldest race winner in half a century and sitting 2nd in the championship. His score of 100% means that the model considers this to be a typical Hamilton season. However, it actually predicts that his abilities would be gradually diminishing due to age, so this result is genuinely impressive.
The season has not been perfect, as the semi-frequent penalties would attest. However, being the stronger Ferrari driver was something the model considered unlikely, and this comeback from a somewhat weak 2025 is genuinely impressive.
3) Oliver Bearman
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 107% | 3rd | ↑4 (7th) | 11th (88%) |
Bearman’s high rating feels like something of an anomaly. Much of this can be attributed to his fantastic opening 2 rounds, where he scored 80% of Haas’ total points thus far. However, even ignoring this he’s clearly outclassed Ocon so far this year, despite a disastrous Hungarian Grand Prix. Despite this, I would expect this ranking to be lower by the end of the season, as the model gathers more data.
S Tier: 2026 Driver Rankings
2) Lando Norris
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 125% | 2nd | ↑1 (3rd) | 2nd (125%) |
Even before his win in Hungary, Norris’ season was rated highly: He’s been the second highest ranked driver since Canada. His Sprint win in Miami was also highly impressive, demonstrating he’s made the most of opportunities that have come his way. Thus far he’s also generally had the measure of Piastri, something that cannot be said at this point last season. He currently sits just 41 points behind in the championship, despite 2 DNFs and a race in China where he didn’t even start.
1) Max Verstappen
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2025 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 133% | 1st | — (1st) | 1st (136%) |
Verstappen is once again the highest rated driver in F1, although the margin is closer than in previous seasons. His 2026 season has features more mistakes and mishaps as frustrations at the lack of competitiveness and driveability of the car have crept through. However, there’s still been several top draw drives, with Monaco, Austria and Belgium being particularly impressive.
Summary of Results
2026 Mid-Season F1 Driver Ratings
Qualifying Ratings
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