Formulation 1 is finally a sport of numbers. Lap instances, pole positions, quickest laps, victories and championship factors all inform a distinct a part of the story. F1Technical’s senior author Balazs Szabo delivers some key learnings from the opening eleven races of the 2026 F1 season earlier than the motion returns at Zandvoort.
After the opening 11 races of the 2026 season, the statistics reveal a transparent image: Mercedes has dominated the primary half of the marketing campaign, Andrea Kimi Antonelli has emerged as the motive force to beat, whereas Ferrari and McLaren have proven that the battle on the entrance could turn out to be significantly nearer within the second half of the 12 months.
Pole positions – Mercedes dominates qualifying
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has secured six pole positions within the opening 11 races, making the Mercedes driver probably the most profitable qualifier of the season thus far.
His team-mate George Russell has taken pole on 4 events, that means Mercedes has began from the entrance of the grid in 10 of the primary 11 Grands Prix.
The one non-Mercedes driver to take pole was reigning World Champion Lando Norris, who went quickest in qualifying on the Hungarian Grand Prix. Meaning Mercedes has taken pole place in 90.9% of the opening 11 qualifying classes.
1m17.207s – Norris lastly breaks the streak
That was the lap time that allowed McLaren’s reigning World Champion Lando Norris to take his first pole place of the 2026 season — and his first pole as a Formulation 1 World Champion.
Norris’ 1m17.207s lap on the Hungaroring ended Mercedes’ outstanding run of 10 consecutive pole positions. Lewis Hamilton certified solely 0.012 seconds behind Norris, that means that simply 12 milliseconds separated the Ferrari driver from pole place.
Quickest race laps – Antonelli leads once more
The fastest-lap statistics inform the same story. Antonelli has recorded the quickest lap in six of the opening 11 races, the best complete of any driver.
Norris has set the quickest race lap twice, at Miami and Spa, whereas Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have every achieved the quickest lap as soon as.
That provides Antonelli greater than half of all of the quickest laps thus far: Antonelli – 6, Norris – 2, Verstappen – 1, Leclerc – 1, and Hamilton – 1. The statistic is especially important as a result of quickest laps can present a sign of the underlying tempo of a automobile, though race technique, tyre situation and gasoline load should even be considered.
Tantalizingly shut – Hamilton’s pole drought
Lewis Hamilton could also be Formulation 1’s file holder for pole positions, however the seven-time World Champion has but to start out a race from the entrance of the grid in 2026.
That doesn’t imply the Ferrari driver has been far-off. In truth, Hamilton has twice come tantalizingly shut.
On the Spanish Grand Prix, he was simply 0.064 seconds behind George Russell’s pole time. On the Hungarian Grand Prix, the hole was even smaller. Hamilton was solely 0.012 seconds slower than Norris.
Meaning Hamilton has twice been inside one tenth of a second of pole with out truly securing it. For comparability, his common deficit throughout these two qualifying classes was solely 0.038 seconds.
Victories – Antonelli has six
A very powerful quantity in any Formulation 1 season is finally the variety of victories. And right here, too, Antonelli is in a category of his personal. The Mercedes driver has received six of the opening 11 Grands Prix. George Russell has added two victories, profitable in Australia and Austria.
Ferrari has taken two wins, with Lewis Hamilton profitable on the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and Charles Leclerc triumphing at Silverstone.
McLaren’s solely victory thus far got here on the Hungarian Grand Prix, the place reigning World Champion Lando Norris was unbeatable across the Hungaroring.
81.8% – Antonelli’s outstanding podium fee
Antonelli’s championship benefit will not be based mostly solely on his six victories. Consistency has been simply as necessary. The Mercedes driver has completed on the rostrum in 9 of the opening 11 races, giving him a rare 81.8% podium fee.
That signifies that greater than 4 out of each 5 races have resulted in an Antonelli podium. It’s this mix of outright tempo and consistency that has allowed him to construct such a considerable championship benefit.
After 11 rounds, Antonelli has scored 219 factors. Lewis Hamilton is second with 169, precisely 50 factors behind. George Russell sits third on 160 factors, 59 factors behind his team-mate.
72.7% – Mercedes’ extraordinary profitable proportion
Mercedes has received eight of the opening 11 races. That provides the German producer a outstanding 72.7% profitable fee. In different phrases, Mercedes has received virtually three out of each 4 Grands Prix thus far.
The remaining three victories have been shared between Ferrari and McLaren: Mercedes – 8 wins, Ferrari – 2 wins, McLaren – 1 win.
The statistic turns into much more spectacular when mixed with Mercedes’ qualifying file. The workforce has taken 10 of 11 pole positions and transformed eight of these races into victories. Mercedes due to this fact owns each the qualifying and race statistics after the opening half of the season.
Six drivers above 100 factors
One other attention-grabbing means to take a look at the championship is to look at what number of drivers have reached triple figures. After 11 races, six drivers have scored greater than 100 factors.
Antonelli leads the standings with 219 factors, adopted by Hamilton on 169 and Russell on 160. Charles Leclerc has collected 138 factors, whereas Lando Norris has 128.
Regardless of Purple Bull’s difficult begin to the brand new technical period, four-time world champion Max Verstappen completes the group with 109 factors.
The hole between first and sixth is 110 factors, whereas solely 19 factors separate Leclerc from Verstappen. That would turn out to be an necessary battle through the second half of the marketing campaign.
The midfield is tightly packed
Eight additional drivers have scored double-digit factors totals: Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto, Oliver Bearman and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Which means that 14 of the 22 full-season drivers have scored no less than 10 factors after 11 races. The decrease half of the standings is significantly extra compressed, nevertheless, with a number of drivers separated by solely a handful of factors.
Carlos Sainz, Alexander Albon, Esteban Ocon, Nico Hülkenberg and Fernando Alonso have all scored factors, however stay beneath the 10-point mark.
Pointless – three drivers are nonetheless ready
Three drivers have but to attain a single level in 2026. The 2 Cadillac drivers, Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas, are nonetheless ready for his or her first factors within the workforce’s debut Formulation 1 season.
Bottas’ greatest end result thus far has been thirteenth on the Chinese language Grand Prix. Pérez has completed 14th twice, at Barcelona and Silverstone, that are presently his greatest outcomes of the season.
The third driver and not using a level is Aston Martin‘s Lance Stroll. His greatest end result has been 14th on the Hungarian Grand Prix.
For all three drivers, the problem within the second half of the season might be to interrupt into the highest 10 and eventually get their championship campaigns underway.
Seven DNS outcomes
There have additionally been seven events on which drivers failed to start out a Grand Prix through the opening 11 rounds. Oscar Piastri missed the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and was additionally unable to start out in Shanghai.
His McLaren team-mate Lando Norris additionally recorded a DNS in China. Arvid Lindblad failed to start out the Canadian Grand Prix, whereas Williams driver Alexander Albon didn’t take the beginning in Shanghai.
Audi has additionally skilled two DNS incidents: Gabriel Bortoleto failed to start out in China, whereas Nico Hülkenberg was unable to take part within the season opener in Melbourne.
What do the numbers inform us?
The statistics from the opening 11 races paint a transparent image. Mercedes has been the dominant drive of the primary half of 2026, profitable 72.7% of the races and taking 90.9% of pole positions.
On the centre of that dominance is Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes driver has received six races, taken six poles, set six quickest laps and completed on the rostrum in 81.8% of the Grands Prix.
However the numbers additionally counsel that Mercedes can not afford to loosen up. Ferrari has already taken two victories, Hamilton has twice come inside a tenth of pole, and McLaren lastly demonstrated its potential by profitable on the Hungaroring.
In the meantime, six drivers have already surpassed 100 factors, displaying how aggressive the battle behind Antonelli stays. Formulation 1 is a sport the place tiny variations can produce enormous variations within the remaining standings.
After 11 races, the numbers counsel that Mercedes has created the most important hole. However with 12 Grands Prix nonetheless to return, there may be loads of time for the numbers to vary.
