Formula One 2026: Antonelli, Mercedes and a new rulebook

Every few years Formula One rewrites its rules and the order of the field is reshuffled. 2026 brought new engines, active aerodynamics, and two new names on the grid, Audi and Cadillac. The Formula One 2026 timeline follows the season race by race, and it shows how quickly a young driver can take control of a new era.

Mercedes sets the pace

George Russell won the opener in Melbourne, leading a Mercedes one-two with Kimi Antonelli second. In Shanghai, Antonelli became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula One history and turned it into his first Grand Prix victory.

A teenager leads the championship

A second win in a row at Suzuka put Antonelli top of the standings. He was the youngest leader ever and the first Italian to lead since Alberto Ascari in 1953. He then won in Miami and Montreal, making four in a row. In Monaco he led every lap from pole and took fastest lap, the youngest Monaco winner and the youngest driver to score a grand chelem.

The rest of the field answers

Mercedes did not have it all its own way. Lewis Hamilton took his first Ferrari victory in Barcelona, in the first all-British podium since 1968. Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and Lando Norris gave McLaren its first win of the year in Hungary, then won the last Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Monza and beyond

At Monza, Pierre Gasly put an Alpine on pole, the team's first since Renault in 2009. Antonelli, after a grid penalty, won from 19th on the grid, the first Italian victory in the Italian Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. Later, Russell beat Verstappen by 0.196 seconds in Baku. Max Verstappen then won at last in Malaysia, where the Bahrain Grand Prix was moved after its cancellation, and added a sprint, pole and race win in Singapore.

The season is still running, and the timeline is updated after every Grand Prix, so open it to see every driver's result so far.