Eleven races into the 2026 Formula 1 season, which of the 22 drivers has done the best job?

Here's what our team thinks...

Kimi Antonelli

Edd Straw: A predictable choice, but Kimi Antonelli has consistently delivered a high level of performance and matched that to actual consistency in results too.

In particular, his race pace has often been relentless. His ceiling, exemplified by a dominant Monaco weekend, is sky-high, while his basement has also been higher than most as he's kept major errors to a minimum. 

There are rough edges, which he's all too aware of. The FP3 crash in Australia, which meant his car wasn't set up as he wanted for qualifying, the regular track-limits violations, some poor starts and occasionally over-reaching in battle are all negatives but never to the extent where they've torpedoed his whole weekend. 

Perhaps the most impressive statistic is that whenever he's finished, he's been in the top three.

Antonelli's best work, exemplified by six wins, is outstanding, but it's the fact that even the 'bad' weekends have been at least decent. He's got the best car, but he's used it brilliantly, especially when you consider his age and experience. 

Valentin Khorounzhiy: There's half a shout for an Ollie Bearman here, a Max Verstappen there, a Lewis Hamilton in the mix - but I cannot look past Antonelli. Whatever the exact mechanics of the shift, whatever he is doing better now than he wasn't 12 months ago, whatever is really bothering George Russell, the fact is that Antonelli was outmatched by Russell for 80-90% of last season and completely broke that trend over the course of one off-season.

There has been a qualifying head-to-head swing of something like four tenths of a second, and for months now he has been Russell's superior in race trim. You can split hairs over whether 50 points is too big a lead, or just right for his performance level, or even flatters the opposition slightly. I see the case for all three - but it's clear to me he's looked like he's going to be champion this year.

Oliver Card: Whilst there isn’t a single driver having a truly perfect season, one driver who is hardest to ignore in 2026 is Kimi Antonelli.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that the young Italian was sending the 2024 W15 into the gravel trap of the Parabolica at Monza in his first-ever FP1.

It was a flash of pace that demonstrated a fearless talent that was still a little rough around the edges. It could have gone one of two ways, but flash forward two years and Antonelli has taken the leap forward from promising, peaky rookie to a truly dangerous package.

Mercedes has honed his rawness into a blend of barnstorming pace and a complete lack of intimidation from more experienced competitors, including his team-mate Russell, whom many assumed would cakewalk this year’s championship. 

Whilst ultimately futile, his determination to finish the British Grand Prix in a severely crippled car demonstrates the hunger of a driver who has that relentless streak, one that aligns him to almost all multiple world champions. He has been impressive and entertaining, which is exactly what I want from my F1 drivers.

Gary Anderson: Unfortunately (for champions of variety), I have to join the club with this one and vote for Antonelli.

For a 19-year-old, he has had an exceptional start to the season. Yes, he has the tools to achieve this, but in reality his team-mate Russell in basically the same car is struggling for any sort of consistency.

In the races coming up post-mid-season, he has the difficult task of closing it out.

McLaren and Ferrari and now gunning at Mercedes’s heels, and you can never count out Red Bull getting on top of its situation, so it’s going to be about keeping your cool and taking the most from each weekend, throwing nothing away and accepting that it’s pretty difficult to keep winning all of the time.

Max Verstappen

Jack Benyon: Hard to argue against Antonelli here, as he’s the one who’s won out in the benchmark car. With every driver in every other team, it’s much harder to tell because they don’t have the same opportunities to impress or convince.

But as The Race never shies away from big opinions, I’ll go for Max Verstappen. He may have made a couple of errors, but considering he’s driving the car equivalent of the horrendously aerodynamically unstable Jabulani ball from the 2010 World Cup, the fact he’s delivered anywhere near the performance he has is outrageous. 

Had things gone slightly differently in Monaco or Miami, he could be a race winner in F1’s fourth fastest car, even if it was slightly better than that on those weekends. He’s regularly punched above the car’s weight and proved himself to be F1’s best once again. 

That move on Lewis Hamilton in Hungary, completely catching out the seven-time champion, was immense and a great example of the level Verstappen’s still operating at.

Overlooked drivers?

Josh Suttill: Verstappen and Antonelli are the best drivers of the season so far, but I think Lando Norris deserves a mention for what's been a more impressive season than his title-winning year so far.

While he and Oscar Piastri were closely matched last year with Piastri making a big year-on-year leap, this time I feel it's Norris who has made a step forward over the winter.

He earned McLaren's sole victory of the year, he's winning the intra-team qualifying battle 11-4, he's making fewer mistakes and looks a driver more in control. Maybe that's helped by not driving under the pressure of a title fight, but maybe winning that title has also helped him gain a little more self-assurance behind the wheel.

If McLaren's Hungaroring upgrade was a sign it could still enter the 2026 title fight, then it looks to be Norris who will be leading that charge.

Mathew Somerfield: The obvious answer here is Antonelli, as the Mercedes driver has adapted exceptionally well to the current regulations and perhaps more specifically the often counterintuitive operation of this generation of power unit.

However, I think there are two other drivers who’ve also done a great job in the first half of 2026, especially if you consider they’re up against team-mates with more experience too.

Gabriel Bortoleto is the first of those, as he has managed to best his veteran Audi team-mate 10 points to two at this stage, with Nico Hulkenberg only scoring his first points of the season last time out in Hungary. Bortoleto had already notched up a ninth place finish in Australia and eighth places in both Britain and Belgium.

The other would be Arvid Lindblad, as the rookie has worked alongside his more seasoned team-mate Liam Lawson to deliver Racing Bulls the 'best of the rest’ moniker, as it lies fifth in the constructors’ championship heading into the summer break.