Mercedes may be dominating the 2026 Formula 1 season, but the finest performances of the year belong to drivers right across the grid.
Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship for Mercedes, with the constructor also heading the standings heading into the summer break after the Dutch Grand Prix.
Yet standout drives from Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, George Russell, and Pierre Gasly have shown that individual brilliance still matters enormously in this new era.
Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was perhaps the most technically impressive of the season, coming on a weekend that began poorly for Ferrari.
Hamilton missed FP1 to hand his car to Dino Beganovic for a rookie run, and was over a second off the pace in FP2, complaining volubly about terrible tyre degradation across the opening practice sessions.
Only after what he described as a “reset” between FP3 and qualifying, where he left the paddock entirely, did Hamilton rediscover his form and nearly claim pole position.
Ferrari started Hamilton on soft-compound Pirellis in the race, wrongfooting Mercedes, and Hamilton executed a three-stop strategy perfectly while Russell and Antonelli began fighting one another.
A timely virtual safety car allowed Hamilton to pit cheaply and retain the lead, securing a historic win that made him the oldest driver to win a grand prix since Jack Brabham in 1970.
Kimi Antonelli’s Monaco Grand Prix performance was equally commanding, with the Italian pulling out a stunning Q3 lap to take pole, nearly 0.4 seconds faster than team-mate Russell.
Antonelli led from the start at Monaco, held off a charging Hamilton, and was almost half a minute clear before Lance Stroll crashed and triggered a safety car and subsequent stoppage.
Facing another standing start after his enormous lead was wiped out, Antonelli simply pulled away again and set a fastest lap on the 76th tour that was 1.2 seconds quicker than anyone else managed all afternoon.
Max Verstappen’s podium at the Austrian Grand Prix demonstrated his class despite the frustrating RB22, which has left him sixth in the drivers’ championship with a narrow operating window causing ongoing headaches.
A rear wing issue caused a crash late in Q3 that dropped him to fifth, but Verstappen recovered spectacularly with a quick double overtake on Antonelli and Leclerc on lap two of the race.
He closed to within 1.6 seconds of Russell in the closing laps before Red Bull’s decision to keep him out five laps too long ultimately cost him what could have been a record-extending sixth victory at the Red Bull Ring.
Oscar Piastri’s Japanese Grand Prix drive was a reminder of the brilliance that made him look like a world champion in the making during the first half of the 2025 season.
Piastri was consistently faster than Norris by around a quarter of a second across all three qualifying segments at Suzuka, and converted P3 on the grid into the lead with an exceptional start.
He reported to his pit wall on lap 15, “If we hold track position, I think we can hang on to this,” before ultimately being denied a win by a safety car that gifted Antonelli a cheap stop.
George Russell’s Melbourne victory opened the season in dominant fashion, with the Briton taking pole three tenths ahead of Antonelli and eight tenths clear of third-placed Isack Hadjar.
“A great day,” Russell said after qualifying. “We knew there was a lot of potential in the car, but until you get to this first Saturday of the season, you never know. But it really came alive this afternoon.”
Pierre Gasly’s Japanese Grand Prix was arguably the finest midfield drive of the season, with the Alpine driver outqualifying both Red Bull racers and leading Verstappen by three seconds before the safety car closed the gap.
Gasly held Verstappen at bay for the final 26 laps, commenting afterwards, “We all know Max is never giving up. I had to play a bit smart with my battery whenever I could see it was getting close.”
Under the chequered flag, ninth-placed Liam Lawson was 18 seconds adrift of Gasly, a gap equating to seven tenths per lap over the post-neutralisation distance, a stunning achievement for the Alpine driver and team.