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SportAntonelli dominates, Audi surprises, Aston Martin disappoints—here are the highs and lows so far
KI
The summer break in Formula 1 provides an opportunity to take stock of the first eleven races of the year. Here are the highs and lows of the first half of the season.
Italy has a new star in the motorsports world. The soon-to-be 20-year-old from Bologna—he’ll celebrate his birthday on August 25—is keeping the Tifosi cheering, even when Ferrari doesn’t win. And he’s raising hopes that he’ll become the first Formula 1 world champion from this motorsports-crazy country since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has long assured the world that Antonelli has talent. He took the risk of bringing the Italian into his top team for his Formula 1 debut, without first having him spend a few years learning the ropes at a weaker team where expectations are significantly lower.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the clear leader in the World Championship.
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The 19-year-old made mistakes in his rookie year—and then had to endure public criticism from his boss himself. He’s impressively demonstrating just how much he’s learned from that in his second year of Formula 1. Six wins and a total of nine podium finishes in eleven races—probably no one would have thought him capable of that. In Barcelona and at Silverstone, his Mercedes let him down; otherwise, he would have finished in the top three there as well.
Antonelli impresses with his ability to learn quickly; the mistakes from last season have been ironed out. He also stands out for his consistency and patience. If he ever falls behind, he doesn’t let it throw him off and fights his way back to the front. If he maintains the level he showed in the first half of the season, he’ll be unstoppable—and Italy would have a world champion again for the first time in 73 years.
“Those believed to be dead live longer,” as the old saying goes. It couldn’t be more fitting for the resurgent seven-time world champion. After a first year at Ferrari that was very weak by his standards (no podium finishes), the 41-year-old Brit is almost back to his old self.
Even before the season began, Hamilton expressed confidence in the new car and came across as a different person to the media. The results from the first eleven races show that he wasn’t bluffing—he has one victory, his first in two years, and four additional podium finishes to his credit. In the drivers’ standings, he is in second place, 50 points behind Antonelli.
The Brit seems to be getting along better with the Ferrari than his teammate Charles Leclerc. He’s driving very consistently and has clearly come out on top in the internal team battle so far. The only downside: In the last two races, he dropped important points due to penalties. If he can avoid these missteps after the summer break, Hamilton will be a force to be reckoned with in the championship battle.
He has more to smile about again this season: Lewis Hamilton.
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The 24-year-old New Zealander has been racing in Formula 1 for four years, but it seems he’s only now really found his footing. In each of his first two years, he stepped in mid-season for the Racing Bulls, but impressed Red Bull officials so much that they gave him the second seat alongside Max Verstappen for 2025. They called off this experiment after just two races, and Lawson finished the season with the sister team.
The New Zealander has signed another contract with the Racing Bulls for this year and finally seems to be really settling in. He has established himself as the “Best of the Rest”—that is, the best driver not racing for one of the top four teams. He has failed to score points in only three races. When he’s not distracted by outside noise, Lawson shows flashes of his true potential and regularly outpaces his rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad, who is also impressing in his first year in Formula 1.
Liam Lawson has been one of the surprises of the first half of the season.
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The Frenchman joined the Bulls from their sister team at the start of the new season and took over a seat that had seemed almost cursed in recent years. Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, and most recently Yuki Tsunoda struggled with the car and looked extremely outclassed by Max Verstappen.
Hadjar nevertheless gratefully accepted the opportunity and didn’t shy away from the challenge. Despite driving a car that’s difficult to handle, the 21-year-old has increasingly shown flashes of his talent in the first eleven races of the season. He’s not far behind Verstappen, and on three occasions he’s managed to beat the Dutchman in both qualifying and the race. The 41-point gap behind Verstappen in the World Championship standings is manageable compared to his predecessors.
The Frenchman’s secret to success is consistency. He finished outside the points only once and retired twice. Nevertheless, he’s been one of the surprises of the first half of the season. It’s a shame for him that he was ultimately denied a podium finish in Monaco due to Alpine’s successful protest on Gasly’s behalf.
Isack Hadjar manages to tame his red bull.
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Before the start of the season, Audi was considered a wild card. Although the German brand didn’t enter the series as a completely new team like Cadillac did with its acquisition of Sauber, many still didn’t think Audi was capable of such a strong first half of the season. That’s because, instead of buying an engine, they developed their own—and Gabriel Bortoleto immediately scored points with it at the season opener in Australia.
The team led by Mattia Binotto finished in the top 10 three more times, and narrowly missed the points six times with an 11th-place finish. If the Racing Bulls hadn’t performed so well, they could have achieved even more. Nevertheless, Audi can be more than satisfied with the consistency, the engine’s reliability, and its eighth-place standing in the team standings at one point.
The driver duo of Bortoleto and F1 veteran Nico Hülkenberg—who made his debut in the top flight in 2010—continues to work well together even after Audi’s takeover. They will make a significant contribution to the team’s development.
A Well-Coordinated Duo: Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
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There’s no debate about the biggest disappointment of the season so far—it’s undoubtedly Aston Martin. A lot of money has been invested in recent years in new infrastructure and personnel, including Adrian Newey, the most successful designer in Formula 1 history—but so far to no avail.
It was already clear during testing in Bahrain in February that Aston Martin didn’t have a competitive car and was struggling with many issues. During the six days of testing, the car spent most of its time in the garage. The reasons for this were almost alarming: vibrations were putting the drivers’ health at risk. The season was off to a bad start before it had even begun.
How much longer will Fernando Alonso put up with this circus?
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When the car is on the track, it’s undriveable and even slower than the one from the new Cadillac team. At times, Aston Martin was five seconds off the pace of the fastest cars in qualifying. It doesn’t help at all to have a driver of Fernando Alonso’s caliber behind the wheel.
There is a glimmer of hope: In the last race before the summer break, the team brought an almost brand-new car to Hungary and made a big leap forward. More upgrades are expected for the next race in Zandvoort at the end of August.
Before the season began, everyone—including Russell himself—considered the Briton the top contender for the title. Russell won the first race in Melbourne, as expected, and celebrated the victory exuberantly. “I love this car,” he said over the radio while the entire field was getting worked up over the new energy system—those words quickly came back to haunt the 28-year-old.
After all, as early as the second race in China, he had to let his teammate Antonelli take the lead. The Italian then went on a five-race winning streak, driving Russell to despair. The Brit, who had been a sure bet for victory, suddenly found himself outclassed by his younger teammate.
Is the pressure too much, or is Antonelli simply faster? The answer remains unclear. What is clear is that Russell’s quest for the world championship title has hit a snag. The retirements through no fault of his own in Canada (technical issues) and Belgium (an accident caused by Hamilton) also didn’t work in the 28-year-old’s favor. In Hungary, he stalled at the start but managed to fight his way back to seventh place. Nevertheless, he now trails Antonelli by 59 points in the drivers’ standings.
George Russell has been plagued by bad luck this season.
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When a team can’t get a car on the grid for a race, it’s extremely unfortunate. When that happens to the world champion of the past two years, it’s almost embarrassing. For McLaren, that’s exactly what happened in the first two races of the year. In Australia, local hero Oscar Piastri, of all people, had to watch from the sidelines; in China, his teammate and reigning world champion Lando Norris joined him—not a single McLaren made it to the starting grid in Shanghai.
The problems didn't really let up after that either. Norris failed to finish two more times, and Piastri fell victim to a mechanical failure in Hungary. It was a bitter blow: Meanwhile, his teammate secured the team’s first win of the season in the upgraded McLaren. A surge in form from the British team cannot be ruled out leading up to the season finale.
The season hasn't gone quite as Oscar Piastri and McLaren would like so far.
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Williams driver Carlos Sainz had also expected an improvement over last year. The bar was set high due to his two podium finishes (Azerbaijan and Qatar)—but he didn’t get the competitive car he was promised.
The 11 points earned by the Spaniard and Alex Albon in as many races are proof that things aren’t going well for Williams. And Sainz’s frustration is clearly evident. After all, just two years ago he was still competing for podium finishes at Ferrari. This year, he’s languishing at the back of the field.
The most negative incident so far occurred in Hungary. As Piastri was about to lap him, the Spaniard crashed into the McLaren. The 31-year-old showed no remorse even after the race. He defended himself by saying he hadn’t seen Piastri behind him while battling Alonso. In doing so, Sainz ignored several blue flags instructing him to let Piastri pass.
Carlos Sainz can't seem to break out of the downward spiral with Williams.
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The team at the Austrian beverage manufacturer likely set higher goals for itself before the season than the results have shown so far. Of the four top teams, Red Bull is clearly the weakest. It’s not the engine’s fault—which has been produced in-house since this season. In fact, the power unit is considered one of the best and most reliable on the grid.
The problems lie elsewhere. They haven’t yet managed to get a handle on the car’s balance, tire wear, and energy management. Even an exceptional driver like Verstappen can’t do much with the equipment at his disposal. His four podium finishes and Hadjar’s strong performances are the only bright spots.
If the situation does not improve in the second half of the season, the rumors surrounding four-time world champion Max Verstappen's departure are likely to intensify.
Will Max Verstappen go without a race win this year?
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29.07.2026, 12:58
