Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Bernie Ecclestone and Helmut Marko believe Formula 1’s much-debated 2026 rules are still delivering compelling racing, and both say championship leader Kimi Antonelli is now on course to win the world title.
Speaking to Swiss newspaper Blick, the two veteran figures gave a notable endorsement of a season that has drawn criticism from drivers over its heavy emphasis on energy management. Ecclestone and Marko said the 2026 races are “exciting” and added that they find it fascinating to see the enthusiasm from the crowd, a sign that the championship’s new era is landing better with some observers than its loudest critics suggest.
Marko’s support was not unqualified. He said the new power-unit regulations can make races harder to read because some of the most dramatic overtakes are shaped by battery management rather than a straightforward performance difference. A car can be passed heavily under braking, he explained, simply because the driver ahead needs to recharge the battery, while others are making different deployment choices through the race.
Even so, Marko’s verdict was that this remains preferable to the old DRS model. Asked whether the current system is better than overtaking aided by opening the rear wing, he answered: “Certainly.” That view goes to the center of the 2026 debate. The racing may be more complex and less intuitive from the outside, but in Marko’s eyes it still demands more from the drivers than the previous overtaking tool.
He pointed to the Hungarian Grand Prix as proof that the new rules can still produce something meaningful on track. The Hungaroring has long carried a reputation for processional races, yet Marko said there were overtakes there this year, something he treated as evidence that the racing product has changed.
The move he singled out was Max Verstappen’s attack in which he first cleared Liam Lawson and then dived up the inside of Lewis Hamilton at the first corner. Marko called it “without doubt one of the highlights of the whole season,” and in another assessment said Verstappen’s braking-zone passes on Hamilton on such a narrow circuit ranked among the standout moments of 2026.
While Verstappen earned Marko’s praise for individual brilliance, both he and Ecclestone see Antonelli as the driver shaping the championship. Their shared prediction to Blick was blunt: Antonelli will win the title.
That call is backed by the way the season has developed. Antonelli is described as heading into the summer break with a 50-point advantage over Hamilton, now identified as his main challenger. Between the Chinese and Monaco Grands Prix, the Italian rookie put together five consecutive victories, and his season total has reached six wins.
Marko said Antonelli is producing an “exceptional 2026 campaign despite his young age,” highlighting not just speed but the composure with which he has handled his first title push. Ecclestone went even further, saying: “Kimi Antonelli will be world champion, Max Verstappen will remain the strongest driver on the grid.”
That distinction captures the picture both men now see in Formula 1: Verstappen may still set the benchmark for outright driving strength, but Antonelli has taken control of the championship, and with a 50-point cushion at the summer break, the 2026 title fight is increasingly moving in his direction.