In a year of unknowns, with new brands having joined the sport and a fresh set of regulations, a lot has changed in the first few races… One thing that has stayed consistent is the driver lineup. With Arvid Lindblad the only rookie on the grid having joined Racing Bulls, we have had, on the most part, over a year to assess the aptitude of the current pairings. With this in mind, let’s go through and rank them from worst on the grid to the best.
11th – Alpine (Pierre Gasly & Franco Colapinto)
This may appear harsh on Gasly given his impressive performances so far this year but unfortunately for him this is a team ranking not individual. Frankly, Franco Colapinto has not shown enough. consistently behind his teammate for the second season running in a car clearly capable to get points at most races this year. He has managed only one to his teammate’s 15.
Despite his clear financial backing, performances like these will not be enough to retain his seat for next year. Especially given the ruthless nature of his Team Principal, Flavio Briatore.
10th – VISA Cash App Racing Bulls (Liam Lawson & Arvid Lindblad)
It feels harsh placing them this far down the order. Both have had quite promising starts to their 2026 campaign. Unfortunately, with Lindblad being a rookie it is hard to gauge a full assessment of his ability from a sample of only three races so far. That being said, if he keeps up the speed he has shown so far this season he will be around for a long time in this sport.
For Lawson, it has been more consistent this season. We have seen throughout his young F1 career that he is able to hit these peaks with some brilliant results yet previously has never been able to keep them over a number of races. With ten points, he is the second highest scoring Red Bull affiliated driver at this point, only two points behind Four-Time Champion Max Verstappen.
Expect these two to move up the order with time.
9th – Cadillac (Sergio Perez & Valterri Bottas)
Its quite hard to rank these two given the performance of the Cadillac leaves a lot to be desired. Slowest on the grid at the moment its certainly a difficult position.
That being said, Perez and Bottas can’t be placed any further down purely due to their success. Despite being known as perennial ‘second drivers’ both are still multiple race winners which deserves a lot of respect.
8th – Aston Martin (Fernando Alonso & Lance Stroll)
Unfortunately for Aston Martin, in this ranking they do in fact have two cars. If it was Alonso by himself then they would obviously find themselves higher up the order as the Two-time Champion has still got a few tricks up his sleeve.
Then there is Stroll.
Whilst I think the hate for the Canadian is a little unwarranted as at times he shows signs of raw speed, it never stays for long.
7th – TGR Haas (Oliver Bearman & Esteban Ocon)
Originally, before this season I would have ranked them slightly lower but some of the performances put in by the pair this season have been outstanding.
Whilst Bearman’s huge incident in Japan will have taken the headlines so far, he has been one of the best drivers so far this season putting in some brilliant drives to earn him seventh in the standings on 17 points.
Ocon has been slightly overshadowed this season by his less experienced teammate but has still shown encouraging speed. This, pared with his reliability will put him in good stead to pick up some points for the rest of the season.
It may be a rogue prediction, but I believe before the end of the season, Bearman and Haas may be picking up their first F1 podium.
6th – Audi (Nico Hulkenberg & Gabriel Bortoleto)
I was sceptical about Bortoleto when he joined F1. Despite his two successive junior titles on the way to the top tier, both his F3 and F2 successes came in two entirely dominant cars. Don’t believe the narrative that junior series’ all have the same car, it’s not quite true.
Its safe to say he’s definitely proved me wrong in his time in F1 so far. Two years in a car that has not been overly competitive has allowed for his raw skill to shine through.
As for Hulkenberg, he has always had super speed and now has a podium to show for his talent. A very underrated driver lineup.
5th – Williams (Carlos Sainz & Alex Albon)
Its been a tough start to the season for a Williams team that promised so much… That being said, their drivers are still some of the best on the grid.
4th – Red Bull Racing (Max Verstappen & Isack Hadjar)
Similarly to Aston Martin, if it was based on only one driver then Red Bull would do far better. In my list of drivers, Verstappen is undoubtedly the most complete driver on the grid and one of the greatest the sport has ever seen.
Hadjar is a good driver in his own right and has shown signs of promise with his relatively close delta to Verstappen this year, but still not at the level of the remaining drivers.
3rd – Ferrari (Charles Leclerc & Lewis Hamilton)
If this were Hamilton in his prime, then this would be a different story entirely. Unfortunately, the 7-time World Champion isn’t quite the driver he was. That being said, this season he has started to demonstrate a bit more of the speed he became so synonymous with throughout his career, as the new regulations appear to suit his driving style.
As for Leclerc, he has always been a star throughout his F1 career. Moments of inconsistency and a few too many crashes, but his raw pace with 16 poles, often in cars that have no right to be near even the front row, is something to consider.
Coming into his prime now, it feels like the Monegasque needs to pick up a championship sooner rather than later.
2nd – McLaren (Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri)
This was the hardest to decide by far. First and second could be interchangeable in this list, but I have chosen second for McLaren on this occasion. Had it been the start of the year, I might have chosen differently, but there’s just something different about the pair in first.
Yes, Norris is the reigning Drivers’ Champion, does that mean he’s the best driver? I certainly don’t think so. Whilst he is incredibly talented, he does not have the same overall package shown by some of the others in this list.
As someone who believes Piastri is an incredible driver, the end of last season was very much a shock. Last year’s title was his to lose, but unfortunately, the new Iceman lost his cool. Whilst he similarly started this season, not starting a race until round 3 at Suzuka, there he produced a brilliant performance that shows just why he is rated so highly, as it was a race he probably could have won if not for the safety car.
1st – Mercedes (George Russell & Andrea Kimi Antonelli)
In trying to decide between the McLaren duo and this Mercedes pair I had to try and individually compare the drivers. I ended up concluding that I believe Russell is a more complete driver than Norris, his overall race pace and composure has shown this for me.
If he wants to take the title this season, however, his battle will come from his teammate, the teenage sensation in Antonelli.
In only his second season in the sport, he has already achieved six podiums. Three of them came in the opening three rounds this season, two of which were wins. To me, he is one of those once-in-a-generation drivers. Alongside the likes of Hamilton, Verstappen and Schumacher. Like Hamilton, he could be well on to win a World Championship in only his second season in the sport, incredible.
