The biggest weakness of every F1 driver in 2026 so far
Photo: Red Bull Content Pool
16:33, 09 Aug
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Kieran Lynch
Formula 1's 2026 season has already produced plenty of surprises, with the new regulations shaking up the competitive order and several drivers enjoying career-best campaigns.
Kimi Antonelli has emerged as the man to beat in the drivers' championship, while Lewis Hamilton has made a major impression in his second season with Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Lando Norris have also taken race victories, while several midfield drivers have delivered impressive performances despite having considerably less competitive machinery.
However, even the strongest drivers have areas where they can improve. With 11 Grands Prix now completed, the summer break provides a natural opportunity to assess where every driver can improve in the second half of the season.
Kimi Antonelli - track limits
Photo: Race Pictures
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His start issues from the beginning of the season are not quite as apparent now, but he does need to sort out his habit of breaching track limits. He received five-second penalties for track limits in Barcelona and the Miami Sprint Race, while his dad joked he would "stretch your neck like a chicken" after he came close to another penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix, which could have cost him victory.
George Russell - converting pace into results
Russell was the pre-season favourite to win the F1 title but has struggled to convert pace into results. Part of that is down to bad luck and he has shown flashes of excellent race pace, yet Antonelli has him covered 7-4 in both qualifying and the races so far this season. Getting the best out of his pace out of the gates following the summer break will be important if he is to have any hope of winning the title.
Lewis Hamilton - too many penalties
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Hamilton has received four penalties in his last three races, which is hurting his chances of winning an eighth drivers' championship. Jumping the start at Silverstone and speeding in the pitlane in Hungary were very uncharacteristic errors. His penalty for causing a collision with George Russell at Spa was questionable, although the collision was avoidable. He also received a grid penalty in Hungary for impeding Oscar Piastri.
Charles Leclerc - overdriving his car
Leclerc recovered his form before the summer break including an excellent win at Silverstone. However, the first half of the season has featured too many accidents for a driver of his calibre. Leclerc lost costly points in Monaco, Barcelona and Miami because of his mistakes.
Lando Norris - first lap execution
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There is not much room for Lando Norris to improve himself, as most of the issues have come down to the McLaren car. However, he could improve on his first lap execution, something which was evident in Hungary, when he lost the lead to a more aggressive Oscar Piastri, making what should have been a comfortable victory much more nervous during the first half of the race.
Oscar Piastri - race pace
The Australian seems to have lost his confidence since his title collapse in the latter stages of the 2025 campaign. While he is only 0.075 seconds on average behind Norris in qualifying, his teammate looks much more comfortable when it comes to race pace, with the Brit declaring he was on "another level" to Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen - qualifying mistakes
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Verstappen's outright qualifying speed remains unquestionable, but he has made more costly errors over one lap than we have come to expect from the four-time world champion. His Q1 spin in Australia was particularly damaging, while another spin in Hungary highlighted how difficult it has sometimes been for him to find the limit of Red Bull's troublesome 2026 car.
Isack Hadjar - race pace consistency
Hadjar has shown enough speed to suggest that he belongs at Red Bull and has looked competitive against Verstappen in certain qualifying sessions this year. However, he has the same issue that Verstappen's former teammates had, and that is competing with the Dutchman's relentless race pace. Reducing that difference over a full race distance will be crucial if Hadjar wants to establish himself as a long term contender.
Liam Lawson - qualifying pace
The biggest area for Lawson to improve is qualifying, although his results have not been that bad at all. However, his average qualifying is 11.4, while his average race finish is 9.7. He is also only just ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad 6-5 when it comes to qualifying, but is 8-3 ahead when it comes to race day. Lawson needs to maintain his form in the second half of the campaign, with Nikola Tsolov making his case for a Racing Bulls seat so far in the Formula 2 season.
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Pierre Gasly - race day consistency
Photo: Race Pictures
Gasly has had a strong 2026 on the whole and got a podium in Monaco for his efforts. However, after Monaco, he failed to score in the next four races. He is also only ahead of his teammate Franco Colapinto 6-5 in races, a scoreline which you would expect the Frenchman to hold a larger advantage.
Franco Colapinto - not enough improvement
Colapinto has enjoyed a stronger 2026 campaign but he has been comprehensively beaten by Gasly over one lap, with the Frenchman leading their qualifying head-to-head 9-2. He also has only 19 points on the board compared to Gasly's 43. So while there has been improvement, he needs stronger results more consistently if he is to persuade Flavio Briatore not to replace him.
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Oliver Bearman - consistency
Bearman has comfortably beaten Esteban Ocon so far this season, yet there have been too many occasions when promising performances have failed to translate into points. Bearman has failed to score points in eight out of his last nine races, and while quick, his pace has not been that this season to make Ferrari bosses think he is ready to jump into one of their seats any time soon.
Esteban Ocon - lack of pace compared to teammate
Ocon needs to do more if he is to keep his Haas seat going forward. He has struggled to live with the pace of Bearman on Saturdays and Sundays, even if he has a slightly higher average finishing position (13.1) than his teammate (13.5). Finding a way to start closer to Bearman would give him a much stronger platform to convert his Sunday pace into points.
Gabriel Bortoleto - qualifying head-to-head against teammate
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At this stage of his career, Bortoleto needs to be beating his veteran teammate Nico Hulkenberg more regularly if he is to increase his chances of winning a top seat in Formula 1. He is currently behind 6-5 against the German, and although he is ahead 7-4 on raceday, he has suffered no DNFs compared to Hulkenberg's three.
Nico Hulkenberg - lack of points finishing positions
It took Hulkenberg 11 races to score his first points of the 2026 F1 season, a surprising statistic for a driver of his calibre, especially when Bortoleto had three top 10 finishes in the prior 10 races. The telling statistic is that Hulkenberg has an average qualifying of 11.5 this season, but an average finish of just 15.6 - only ahead of Alex Albon, the two Cadillacs and two Aston Martins.
Carlos Sainz - avoiding accidents
Carlos Sainz believes the Williams car is underperforming - Photo: RacePictures
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Sainz has had several weekends where his own result has been compromised by contact or hard racing involving other cars. Monaco is a particularly strong example: he was on course for at least ninth before taking two separate hits from rival cars, while there was not too much defence for his collision with Piastri when the Australian was fighting for the win in Hungary, even if he said the McLaren driver could have been more cautious.
Alex Albon - managing tyres
Albon has endured a difficult 2026 season and has struggled to get out of Q1 all season in his Williams. That could be down to his tyre management issues, having previously spoken openly about the team's difficulty getting tyres into the right operating window.
Fernando Alonso – qualifying dominance over Stroll was broken
Photo: Race Pictures
When the Aston Martin has been so bad, it is hard to find a reason where Alonso could improve as the issues have been due to the car. Alonso was not beaten in qualifying by Lance Stroll in 2025 but has been beaten twice by the Canadian in 2026.
Lance Stroll – outright pace
Stroll's biggest problem is simply that he has struggled to match Alonso. The veteran has beaten him 9-2 in qualifying and 6-2 in comparable race results, while Aston Martin has also suffered significant reliability problems.
Sergio Perez – mistake cost Cadillac first point
Cadillac would have scored their first point in their history at Monaco if it wasn't for a start infringement from Perez, that handed Aston Martin their only point of the season. That could prove costly for Cadillac in the final standings, despite what has been a respectable return to F1 for Perez.
Valtteri Bottas – outpaced by Perez
In a situation like Cadillac, all a driver can do is beat their teammate. Valtteri Bottas has shown improvement in recent races but after a woeful start to the campaign, he is behind his teammate 6-5 in qualifying and 6-3 on race day.
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Overview
Friday 21.08.26
Practice 1
10:30 AM
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Friday 21.08.26
Practice 1
Fri 10:30 AM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 219 | |
2 | FerrariFER | 169 | |
3 | MercedesMER | 160 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 138 | |
5 | McLarenMCL | 128 | |
6 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 109 | |
7 | McLarenMCL | 92 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 68 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 43 | |
10 | AlpineALP | 42 |
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