With 11 races in the books and another 11 remaining on the calendar, what better time than Formula 1's summer break to look back on the first half of the 2026 season and reflect on all 24 drivers' performances?
Mercedes is back at the front of the field under the sport's new regulations, but for the first time in a decade, it isn't an Englishman leading the Silver Arrows' charge. At the other end of the grid, how best to evaluate Cadillac, whose season so far has looked more like a year-long test than a grand prix campaign.
And so, with the first half of the F1 season wrapping up last Sunday, and the business end of the calendar not resuming for another three-plus weeks, ESPN's Laurence Edmondson and Nate Saunders assigned letter grades for all 24 drivers on the grid.
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli
Wins: 6
Podiums: 9
Championship position: 1st
Grade: A+
This grade really can't be anything but the best available. Antonelli, the runaway title leader, has been close to perfect this season -- especially in the big moments -- and he deserves a perfect grade. If you really -- and we mean really -- wanted to, you could find negatives, but you would have to nitpick. There's been the odd qualifying mistake or penalty, sure, but these seem so minuscule in the wider context of his season so far.
The fact is, Antonelli's campaign has been the stuff of dreams. At 19, he's won six races, been on pole six times, and carries a 50-point championship lead into the summer break. No one would have predicted anything close to that in January. Most noteworthy of all is that Antonelli has rarely looked over-awed by the moment. Sure, George Russell can claim he's had the worst reliability luck on his side of the garage, but Antonelli has been struck with his own too. When it matters, one thing is also true: When they've raced together on track, quite often Antonelli has just been the quicker of the two of them. It's as simple as that. -- Saunders
George Russell
Wins: 2
Podiums: 5
Championship position: 3rd
Grade: C-
Much of talk around Russell this year has been focused on his appalling luck, but it's also true that he's underperformed compared to his 19-year-old teammate. The start of the season looked so promising after Russell won with relative ease from pole position in Australia, but after that initial victory, it took him seven races to return to the top step of the podium. In the intervening period, Antonelli won five races, creating the platform for his 50-point lead over Russell going into the midseason break.
At some races, the gap between the teammates can be traced -- at least in part -- to issues with Russell's power unit, but it doesn't disguise the fact that Antonelli has looked like the more complete of the two Mercedes drivers, especially in race conditions. Russell undoubtedly needs his luck to change to stand a chance of winning the title in the second half of the year, but he also needs to significantly up his game. -- Edmondson
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton
Wins: 1
Podiums: 5
Championship position: 2nd
Grade: A-
This version of Hamilton is the one Ferrari expected to show up when it signed the seven-time world champion to one of the most lucrative deals in all of sport. His performances may still be short of peak Hamilton (we're thinking late 2010s and his epic 2021 title battle), but the difference from this time last year at Ferrari is night and day.
The win in Barcelona released a great deal of pressure on the relationship between team and driver, but Hamilton has vowed not to let up and continue in the same vein. Changes made over the winter to his engineering team and to the characteristics of the new car for 2026 are paying dividends, and he has held the edge in most circumstances over his incredibly quick teammate Charles Leclerc.
A series of small errors and penalties at the past three rounds have slightly stalled Hamilton's momentum, and count against his midseason grade, but his position in the championship does not lie. It would need a significant step from Ferrari for him to truly challenge Antonelli in the second half of the season, but if the second of the Italian team's engine upgrades cuts the gap to Mercedes, Hamilton has the experience to put the pressure on his 19-year-old rival. -- Edmondson
Charles Leclerc
Wins: 1
Podiums: 4
Championship position: 4th
Grade: C-
Leclerc has had a difficult year so far at Ferrari. Last year felt like he had cemented his place as the de-facto team leader, but Hamilton has turned the tables with this new generation of car. After a strong start, Leclerc's performances in the races that followed Australia and China were underwhelming, as he struggled with things like Ferrari's brakes. He crashed out of the race in Monaco and then spun out of qualifying in Spain and just seemed to be wildly inconsistent at a time when Hamilton appeared to be finding a groove with his car.
Of course, there's been some good: His win at Silverstone injected some positivity into things, while he's carried a better run of form into the summer break since that result. But it should be said that we've come to expect much better from Leclerc, and it's hard to be too glowing so far. His 31-point deficit to Hamilton in a year when Ferrari appears to have an outside chance to push for the title against a vulnerable Mercedes team also seems like a massively missed opportunity so far. -- Saunders
McLaren
Lando Norris
Wins: 1
Podiums: 3
Championship position: 5th
Grade: A
Norris' title defence has gone under the radar a little bit, through no fault of his own. He hates F1's new cars, McLaren stated the year horribly unreliable and there's questions about what they're getting from their Mercedes engines. On top of all that, McLaren has slipped to being third or fourth most weekends.
Despite all of those mitigating circumstances, Norris has been superb. He's raced largely error free, he took sprint pole in Miami and could have won the race and, let's not forget, goes into the break on the back of a decisive and statement-making Hungarian Grand Prix victory. We made a lot of his teammate battle with Oscar Piastri last year, and in 2026 so far, Norris has clearly been better -- he's out-qualified the Australian 11-4 in all formats so far. Clearly, Norris has taken a big step forward since becoming world champion last year. -- Saunders
Oscar Piastri
Wins: 0
Podiums: 2
Championship position: 7th
Grade: C-
Exorcising the ghosts of his near miss in the 2025 title campaign has proved more difficult than Piastri might have hoped. The vagaries of the 2026 regulations confuse the picture when assessing all drivers this year, but it's fair to say the latest generation of Formula 1 cars do not complement Piastri's strengths. In a brave new world of energy-starved cars, his innate ability in high-speed corners has increasingly counted against him as drivers are frequently instructed to go slow in fast corners in order to deploy more battery power on straights.
But there's no getting away from the fact that Norris appears to have made a bigger step forward in the 11races this year (the recent Hungarian Grand Prix was perhaps the biggest indication of that) while Piastri is still trying to find his feet in F1 2026. Reliability issues stalled progress for McLaren at the early rounds of the year, although Piastri came close to winning the third grand prix of the season in Japan, only for the timing of a Virtual Safety Car to whip away his lead and hand it to Antonelli. Despite the bad luck with the VSC, it's proved to be the highpoint of his season to date. -- Edmondson
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Wins: 0
Podiums: 4
Championship position: 6th
Grade: A
Despite the very obvious limitations of his Red Bull car, Verstappen has worked his way back into contention for podiums and the occasional victory at recent races this year. Given how negative he has been about the 2026 regulations, and the multiple ways in which the latest cars remove some of the skill of the driver from the equation, Verstappen has still found ways to make a difference.
Spins in qualifying in Austria and Hungary and from second place at the British Grand Prix would usually count against a driver on this list, but each one has been linked to shortcomings of the Red Bull and Verstappen consistently driving it on the limit. The four-time world champion knows no other way to drive an F1 car than on maximum attack, and the fact he is willing to regularly commit to corners not knowing if the car will stick tells you everything you need to know about his dedication to the cause.
He may not be able to show it right now, but there is every reason to believe Verstappen's level has only gone up this year. -- Edmondson
Isack Hadjar
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 8th
Grade: B
It's a little difficult to grade Hadjar because his predecessors in that infamous seat set the bar so low. Much has been made of the "curse" of being Verstappen's teammate, but Hadjar appears to have avoided the worst of that so far. His season was slow to get going -- but then so was Red Bull's generally -- and since retiring from the Miami Grand Prix, he's finished fourth once, fifth twice and sixth four times. One of those might have been a Monaco podium were it not for Alpine's protest.
It is the epitome of solid, if unspectacular, but that's the minimum Red Bull has wanted from its second driver all this time. Hadjar is building on the clear promise he showed as a rookie, and is 41 points down on Verstappen going into the summer, which seems minuscule compared to how those gaps have been previously. The biggest compliment? There's not a single discussion going into the summer break about Red Bull's driver lineup, which is rarified air for any of Verstappen's recent teammates. -- Saunders
Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 9th
Grade: B+
Lawson's start to the 2026 season has been the strongest phase of his career to date. In many ways, that's not a surprise as this is the first season where he's had what can be considered a "normal" introduction to his car -- i.e. one that didn't involve subbing in midway through the year or being given two races in one car only to be ruthlessly demoted to drive another.
Over the course of the first 11 races of 2026, Racing Bulls has emerged as the most consistent team in the midfield, and Lawson has certainly capitalised on that. He has scored points at all bar three rounds this year and become a regular feature in Q3 during qualifying. The only question mark is whether he should have a more dominant qualifying record vs. rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad, but that more likely speaks to the quality of Lindblad than shortcomings on Lawson's behalf. What's more, his 20-point advantage in the standings speaks to Lawson making the most of his extra experience where it counts. -- Edmondson
Arvid Lindblad
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 11th
Grade: B+
What a breath of fresh air Lindblad has been this year. He's been in the points every race since finishing a brilliant seventh in Monaco and with every passing weekend looks more and more like the future superstar those in the know at Red Bull have been predicting he would be ever since he joined the driver academy as a karting prodigy.
The early rounds of the year included the kind of teething problems you would expect from a rookie, but what has been most impressive about the British-Swede has been how naturally he appears to have adapted to life in Formula 1, especially given the complexities of these new engines and how little enjoyment F1's most experienced drivers are having while racing them. He speaks confidently and with a swagger that suggests an immense faith in his own abilities. The stats have him significantly behind teammate Lawson, who's also been superb, but given that Lindblad's performing so strongly as a rookie, we are happy to give him the same grade. -- Saunders
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Wins: 0
Podiums: 1
Championship position: 10th
Grade: A
As was the case last year, Gasly is quietly going about being one of the best performers on the grid without much fanfare. Unlike last year, this time he's got the car to show it every weekend and he's regularly delivered the goods. There's a strong argument to be made that the Frenchman is the most underrated talent on the grid right now (and has been for a while).
The crowning moment of 2026 so far was a podium in Monaco -- even if he had to wait to get the trophy -- and he has more than doubled Franco Colapinto's points tally in the championship (42-19). Of the 10 races he's finished, he's only been out of the points in three of them. Gasly has become Mr. Consistency in the midfield, and it is a shame to think his opportunity to get a second chance with a top team might have passed by, but that's the nature of Formula 1. -- Saunders
Franco Colapinto
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 12th
Grade: C+
There was a real make-or-break feeling around Colapinto going into the 2026 season, and the vast majority of onlookers were betting on "break." But amid the pressure, Colapinto has emerged with a solid first half of the year, which, assuming he can maintain it after the summer break, looks set to ensure he will remain in the sport in 2027.
There have still been highs and lows, but the lows were mainly confined to the start of the year. Since F1's month-long break between Japan and Miami, Colapinto has emerged as a different driver and made use of the Alpine's solid performance to reinforce his case. The only remaining doubt is that we saw a streak of impressive performances when Colapinto first joined the grid with Williams in 2024, only for his shine to quickly wear off when he arrived at Alpine in a more difficult car in 2025. The challenge in the second half of the year will be to keep the good results flowing and cement his place in F1. -- Edmondson
Haas
Oliver Bearman
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 13th
Grade: B+
These rankings can sometimes suffer from recency bias, so we're going to flip that around for Bearman. Haas is seventh in the championship largely based on Bearman's performances at the start of the year: seventh in Australia and a brilliant drive to fifth in China a week later. The car has dropped away in the rounds since, and Bearman himself has admitted inconsistency in his own form as he's tried to drive around the car's limitations.
His grade stays high because of how ordinary he's making Esteban Ocon look: Bearman is 11-4 up across all qualifying formats as well as having 18 of the team's 21 points. You wouldn't expect any less from a driver who seems to be one of the sport's superstars-in-waiting. -- Saunders
Esteban Ocon
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 17th
Grade: D+
Ocon has made clear that inconsistencies between the performance of certain components across the two Haas cars have skewed the competitive picture with Bearman this year. The team has acknowledged the differences, although not gone into details, which does cast Ocon's dismal start to 2026 in a slightly different light.
His performance in Hungary relative to Bearman could offer a glimpse of what's possible when the cards are stacked in his favour, but Haas' gradual decline into midfield obscurity means it might not shine through in terms of points scored at the end of the year. Either way, Ocon is on thin ice going into the second half of the season as the team continues to evaluate other options for 2027. Having said that, the Frenchman has always been a fighter, and needs to come out swinging in the second half of the season to prove beyond doubt that he deserves his place on the grid. -- Edmondson
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 14th
Grade: B-
Audi's debut season in Formula 1 was always going to be a difficult backdrop for Bortoleto to impress, yet his star has continued to rise in the midfield. He may only have 10 points to his name, but that speaks more to the issues the team has faced -- notably with starts and reliability early in the season -- than the Brazilian's potential.
He has also finished 11th (one position outside the points) at four of the 11 races this season, with a run of 11th or higher in the six rounds leading up to the summer break. Combine that with an incredibly close qualifying record with the vastly more experienced Nico Hülkenberg, and Bortoleto's start to his second season in F1 has been low-key impressive. -- Edmondson
Nico Hülkenberg
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 18th
Grade: C+
Hülkenberg is another who is difficult to properly measure this year. He finally got himself some points in Hungary with a ninth-place finish after what has been a frustrating start to Audi's time in F1. Hülkenberg is rightly considered one of the best drivers outside F1's big four teams, and his close qualifying record against Bortoleto suggests that the Brazilian really might be as good as everyone says, although perhaps more should be expected on Hülkenberg's side?
Mainly because of the unreliable and underperforming Audi, Hülkenberg hasn't had any standout performances this year as he did in 2025. There have been no major mistakes, which has become a hallmark of his career, which should be noted. The average C+ grade seems fair, if nothing else, because of how hard it can sometimes be to grade a driver locked so deeply in midfield purgatory. -- Saunders
Williams
Carlos Sainz
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 15th
Grade: C
Sainz looks utterly miserable at Williams this year, and who can blame him? After a promising 2025 where the former Ferrari race winner earned two podiums, his new team has delivered an absolute turkey under the new regulations -- the same rules set he moved for. His performances have been difficult to make sense of as a result, but three top-10 finishes have shown he's still regularly able to get the best out bad machinery, while he's had the edge of Alex Albon in that all-important teammate head-to-head.
However, it's hard to ignore the cloud over Sainz going into the break following his collision with Piastri in Hungry. Piastri called it "one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on a race track," and given Sainz's intelligence and experience, it's hard to disagree. Worst of all is that Sainz seems to be a repeat offender; he stayed on the racing line while being shown blue flags as the race leader, Leclerc, approached at the British Grand Prix, and he's becoming known among his peers for being one of the worst for blocking in practice, too. That all might be more forgivable for a rookie, but this is Sainz's 12th season in F1. It's a bad habit and reputation for a driver so good to have picked up, and one he has to be marked down for accordingly. -- Saunders
Alex Albon
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 16th
Grade: D+
Given the limitations of the Williams chassis this season, it's hard to get a true read on Albon's performance this year. His season started with persistent complaints that his power unit was not offering the same level of deployment as Sainz's, which undoubtedly hamstrung him in qualifying. At the time there were questions over whether the difference was perhaps in some way driver related, but as we've gained more knowledge about the multiple quirks of the 2026 engine regulations, it's fair to assume Albon's complaints were entirely valid.
The larger of Albon's two points hauls this year came in Monaco, where he finished eighth despite deployment issues with his Mercedes power unit at the street track. The low point so far was the collision with Bearman on the opening lap at Silverstone, which ultimately led to a penalty and Albon's withdrawal from the race.
While his overriding issue in 2026 remains the performance of his Williams car, it's fair to say Albon's performances have still been a long way off his best. -- Edmondson
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 19th
Grade: B
There is no fair way to assess Alonso's 2026 season other than to marvel at the fact that he's not hung up his helmet and given up. He's dominated teammate Lance Stroll in qualifying, but that's nothing new in the battle between the two drivers since they joined forces at Aston Martin in 2023. He's also scored the team's only point against the odds at the Monaco Grand Prix, which was remarkable even though it relied on multiple other drivers getting dubious penalties for pit lane speeding.
But through it all, there is no indication that the old Alonso magic is wearing off. If Honda's engine upgrade for the second half of the year comes good, he might finally have a car capable of reminding everyone why he is still considered among the best drivers on the grid. -- Edmondson
Lance Stroll
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 20th
Grade: D-
It's hard to genuinely know what to make of Stroll's season to season, even week to week. Does he care? How good is he really? All those questions are still up in the air, which is remarkable for a driver competing in his 10th F1 season. This year has been the hardest of all to try and answer those questions given how awful the Aston Martin has been, but the performance metrics we have to measure have not been good.
Stroll is 12-2 down to Alonso in qualifying -- although he did end a 42-race streak of qualifying defeats to the Spaniard in Barcelona, even if he did later say he didn't "give a s---" about doing so -- and has been largely out-performed in races, too. The Alonso comparison is harsh given the 45-year-old's supreme talent, but it's the only one we can reliably go on, and Stroll rarely shows signs of improving against that benchmark.
Let's find some good to end on: he did finish ahead in Hungary, when the team effectively arrived with a brand-new car, so if he can make more of a habit of that after the break as the team finds more and more competitiveness, then this grade will have to tick up a fair bit come the end of the year. But we'll believe it when we see it. -- Saunders
Cadillac
Valtteri Bottas
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 21st
Grade: D
When Bottas returned to the grid at the start of the season, he just seemed happy to be back in F1. His mullet and moustache brought the vibes, while his main appeal to newcomers Cadillac was his wealth of F1 experience at the very top of the sport.
No one was expecting anything other than Q1 exits and finishes outside the points in 2026, but it quickly emerged that teammate Sergio Pérez seemed to hold the edge in performance over Bottas. That may be down to Bottas' side of the garage getting an unfair share of the teething problems any new team faces in F1, but it's happened often enough that those outside the team have started to point the finger at the driver.
In the second half of the year, Bottas needs to regularly out-qualify his teammate and, if the opportunity arises, make sure he is the one in the right place at the right time to score Cadillac's first points in F1. -- Edmondson
Sergio Pérez
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Championship position: 22nd
Grade: B
It's been great to see Pérez back in Formula 1 without the emotional and mental baggage he carried with him in the final Red Bull days. He looks like his old self: confident, happy to be there, and his performances on track show he's not lost any of the pace that got him that career-defining move in the first place.
Cadillac has effectively been making up the numbers so far this year in what has felt like a glorified season-long test, and that makes a proper assessment hard, but against Bottas, Pérez has excelled. In every metric, he's ahead, and appears comfortably so in some cases.
Talking to team boss Graeme Lowdon, it's immediately obvious how valuable Pérez's experience and feedback have been as the team tries to fight through the inevitable teething problems of being a startup F1 team. The most telling evaluation you could give is this: if you were to put a bet on Cadillac scoring an unlikely point this year, you'd be mad not to bet on Pérez. After all, it looked like he had it in Monaco, only to lose it after the race due to a penalty. -- Saunders
