Racing
© Spencer
Mercedes has adapted fastest to Formula 1’s sweeping 2026 rules reset, turning the sport’s biggest technical overhaul in more than a decade into an early championship edge as Kimi Antonelli leads on 219 points and the team tops the constructors’ standings with 379 after 11 races.
That advantage matters because 2026 has changed far more than the look of the cars. Formula 1 has introduced its first new engine formula since 2014 alongside a major aerodynamic and chassis rewrite, bringing smaller cars, active aerodynamics, sustainable fuels and a power unit in which nearly half of the output comes from the electrical side. In practice, that has made energy deployment and recovery central to performance, while also increasing the value of teams that can design engine and chassis together.
Mercedes has emerged as the reference point under that model. The team builds its power unit in-house and has shaped its chassis around it, avoiding the extra compromise faced by customer teams that must package a third-party engine into a car already constrained by the new aerodynamic rules. The result, so far, is a clear early advantage in a season where integration has become as important as outright pace.
The sharp change in 2026 is that one-lap speed no longer guarantees race-day control. The heavier strategic load of hybrid deployment has widened the gap between qualifying pace and full-stint rhythm, making Saturdays less predictive than before. Spa-Francorchamps underlined that trend in mid-July, when the Belgian Grand Prix exposed how demanding hybrid deployment can be on long climbs.
The chassis changes have also altered the racing picture. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis told select media including Autosport that the new rules have improved how closely cars can run, even if they remain difficult to handle. “I think probably yes, although one should never assume that the job is finished. But I do think cars follow each other more closely,” Tombazis said. He added: “They are still quite difficult cars to drive for the drivers, which I think is good, that they're not just cars that anybody can drive.”
Behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton stand out as the biggest gainers versus 2025. Ferrari has climbed to second in the constructors’ championship on 307 points after finishing fourth last season, helped by consistent performances from Charles Leclerc and the growing strength of the SF-26.
Hamilton’s progress has been just as notable. The seven-time champion, now in his first season with Ferrari, is second in the drivers’ standings on 169 points after struggling early to get comfortable in the car. He has found momentum over the season and moved ahead of George Russell around the Belgian Grand Prix, a significant swing given Russell had finished sixth in 2025.
That rise from Ferrari has not turned the season into a two-team lockout. Instead, it has reinforced the bigger lesson of 2026: the teams learning fastest are the ones moving forward, and the order remains fluid while everyone works through active aerodynamics and the demands of a far more electric-led power unit.
There is still ample room for the picture to shift again. Eleven grands prix and two sprint races remain, with 291 points still available and the next round set for Zandvoort on 23 August. If customer teams can close part of the integration gap as they better understand hybrid energy use and active aero, the margins at the front could tighten further in a championship that is still far from settled.