EST. 2026 SEASON 2026 · 18 OF 23 ROUNDS COMPLETE · NEXT: MEXICO CITY GP · OCT 30–NOV 1
JP Motorsport Journal
2026 season
Mexico City GP Race Week

Race Archive

All 23 rounds of the 2026 season. Click any completed race to open the podium and recap.

01 Australian GPMelbourne · Mar 6–8 ●G. Russell Mar 8, 2026 +

Charles Leclerc flew off the line to lead into Turn 1, but the season opener became a Mercedes duel — Russell and Antonelli traded the lead lap after lap using the new regulations' Boost and Overtake Mode, with Russell finally making it stick. Antonelli's rookie weekend told its own story: a heavy FP3 crash at Turn 2, then almost no launch off the line on Sunday dropping him to seventh before he carved back through to second.

Two Virtual Safety Car periods split the strategies — Mercedes pitted under both, Ferrari stayed out both times — and Max Verstappen, who'd qualified 20th, was named Driver of the Day for a recovery drive to sixth. Six cars failed to start or finish, including a late crash for Piastri and DNFs for both Aston Martins.

🥇 Russell — 1:23:06.801
🥈 Antonelli +2.974
🥉 Leclerc +15.519
02 Chinese GPShanghai · Mar 13–15 ●K. Antonelli Mar 15, 2026 +

Antonelli took the youngest-ever pole in Shanghai, then briefly lost the lead to Hamilton off the line before retaking it before lap two was done. He was never headed again, surviving a nervy moment running deep at the Turn 14 hairpin with four laps to go to beat Russell by 5.5 seconds and become the second-youngest Grand Prix winner in history — and the first Italian winner since Fisichella in 2006.

"I'm speechless, I'm about to cry, to be honest," Antonelli said afterward. Hamilton claimed Ferrari's first podium of the year in third, while Verstappen and both Aston Martins retired.

🥇 Antonelli — 1:33:15.607
🥈 Russell +5.515
🥉 Hamilton +25.267
03 Japanese GPSuzuka · Mar 27–29 ●K. Antonelli Mar 29, 2026 +

A messy start dropped Antonelli to sixth as Piastri seized the lead into Turn 1, and it looked like Suzuka would go McLaren's way. But a lap-22 Safety Car — triggered by a heavy Oliver Bearman crash at Spoon Curve — arrived just after the leaders had pitted, handing Antonelli a free stop and the track position he needed.

From there he controlled the race to the flag, claiming his second win from his second pole of the year and becoming the youngest championship leader in F1 history in the process — a record that stood barely two weeks before he'd extend it further in Miami.

🥇 Antonelli — 1:28:03.403
🥈 Piastri +13.722
🥉 Leclerc +15.270
04 Miami GPMiami · May 1–3 ●K. Antonelli May 3, 2026 +

With storms forecast, the start was moved three hours earlier — and Antonelli, on pole for a third straight weekend, survived a three-way scrap with Verstappen and Leclerc into Turn 1 before the Red Bull spun out of contention. The lead changed hands repeatedly as Norris, Piastri and Verstappen all took turns at the front during the pit-stop sequence, with two separate crashes for Hadjar and Gasly bringing out an early Safety Car.

Antonelli held firm under late pressure from Norris to make it three wins from three poles — a feat no driver had managed to open a season before — while Russell could only manage fourth, dropping him nearly a full race win behind his teammate in the standings.

🥇 Antonelli — 1:33:19.273
🥈 Norris +3.264
🥉 Piastri +27.092
05 Canadian GPMontreal · May 22–24 ●K. Antonelli May 24, 2026 +

An intra-Mercedes duel defined the early laps at Gilles-Villeneuve, Russell and Antonelli swapping the lead several times with contact narrowly avoided at the final chicane. The battle ended in heartbreak for Russell, who suffered a sudden power unit failure on lap 30 and had to stop on track — handing Antonelli a commanding lead he'd never relinquish.

"Not really the way I wanted" to win, Antonelli admitted afterward, but a fourth straight victory stretched his championship lead to 43 points over his idled teammate, with Hamilton coming home a strong second ahead of Verstappen.

🥇 Antonelli — 1:28:15.758
🥈 Hamilton +10.768
🥉 Verstappen +11.276
06 Monaco GPMonte Carlo · Jun 5–7 ●K. Antonelli Jun 7, 2026 +

Antonelli snatched pole by four-hundredths of a second and made it count, becoming the youngest ever Monaco winner at 19 years and 9 months — breaking a record Hamilton had held since 2008. Verstappen stalled off the line and retired without completing a lap, while home favorite Leclerc crashed out late at Anthony Noghes as the track surface broke up, triggering a red flag that suspended the race.

Hamilton brought it home second for a record-equalling eighth Monaco podium, while Russell endured a miserable weekend of penalties that eventually cost him a drive-through. Five wins in a row now for Antonelli on the calendar's most unforgiving circuit — a statement result however you read it.

🥇 Antonelli — 2:23:31.243
🥈 Hamilton +6.271
🥉 Hadjar +23.394
07 Spanish GPBarcelona-Catalunya · Jun 12–14 ●L. Hamilton Jun 14, 2026 +

Russell took pole and looked set to lead the Spanish Grand Prix from the front, but Ferrari's gamble on a three-stop strategy — sharpened by a perfectly timed Virtual Safety Car after Alonso's retirement — handed Hamilton a free pit stop and the race lead. He never looked back, ending a 686-day win drought for his first victory in Ferrari red.

At 41, Hamilton became the oldest Grand Prix winner since Jack Brabham in 1970. Antonelli, running second, retired with an engine failure just four laps from the flag, and Leclerc failed to finish moments later with a loss of power steering — turning what looked like a Mercedes benefit into the first all-British podium since 1968.

🥇 Hamilton — 1:32:28.105
🥈 Russell +19.561
🥉 Norris +23.719
08 Austrian GPSpielberg · Jun 26–28 ●G. Russell Jun 28, 2026 +

Russell made a clean getaway from pole and led every lap bar the pit windows, but it was far from comfortable — Verstappen recovered from a Saturday qualifying crash to hunt him down in the closing stint, eventually crossing the line just 1.611 seconds back after a tense late charge. Antonelli's afternoon was scrappier: he ran wide twice in the opening laps and had to fight back to the final podium spot, 0.375 seconds behind Verstappen.

It was Russell's first win since the season-opening race in Australia, and it cut Antonelli's championship cushion down to 40 points — the first time all year the gap had genuinely tightened.

🥇 Russell — 1:26:37.979
🥈 Verstappen +1.611
🥉 Antonelli +1.986
09 British GPSilverstone · Jul 3–5 ●C. Leclerc Jul 5, 2026 +

Ferrari's second win in three races, and it wasn't close on pace even if the finish looked tight — Leclerc converted strong Sprint-weekend form into a lights-to-flag win at Silverstone, his first of the season. Antonelli's home-soil-adjacent weekend stung the most: a wheel shield failure cost him a real shot at victory, leaving Leclerc unchallenged out front once the issue struck.

Behind him, Russell and Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel for the remaining podium spots in a finish where under a second covered first to third at the flag — Hamilton's result now leaves him just 32 points off Antonelli's championship lead heading toward the summer's back half.

🥇 Leclerc — 1:27:11.335
🥈 Russell +0.427
🥉 Hamilton +0.772
10 Belgian GPSpa-Francorchamps · Jul 17–19 ●K. Antonelli Jul 19, 2026 +

Antonelli's sixth pole of the year got complicated fast — Verstappen snatched the lead at Eau Rouge on lap one before Antonelli reclaimed it down the Kemmel Straight, and his own teammate's race ended in the same corner sequence when Russell made contact with Hamilton and beached his Mercedes in the gravel, triggering a Safety Car.

Leclerc briefly took the lead through the pit-stop sequence on a well-timed strategy call, but Antonelli hunted him down and made the pass stick with ten laps to go, crossing the line just 1.9 seconds clear. It was his sixth win of the season and stretched his championship lead to 45 points over Hamilton — with Russell's retirement pushing him 50 points back.

🥇 Antonelli — 1:24:42.479
🥈 Leclerc +1.952
🥉 Verstappen +11.586
11 Hungarian GPHungaroring · Jul 24–26 ●L. Norris Jul 26, 2026 +

Norris took pole outright before grid penalties for Hamilton and Antonelli reshuffled the front rows, and converted it into a lights-to-flag-adjacent win — his first of 2026 and his second straight at the Hungaroring. Piastri looked set for a McLaren one-two before contact with a backmarker and a gearbox failure ended his day.

Antonelli, starting seventh after his own penalty, fought back to third to protect his championship lead, while Hamilton's miserable run of penalties continued — a pit lane speeding infraction by just 0.1 km/h dropped him behind teammate Leclerc. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Norris — 1:39:56.180
🥈 Verstappen +15.080
🥉 Antonelli +18.728
12 Dutch GPZandvoort · Aug 21–23 ●L. Norris Aug 23, 2026 +

Norris made it back-to-back wins, but Zandvoort's likely-final Formula 1 weekend earned every bit of its drama first. The race was red-flagged after just one lap when home favourite Max Verstappen lost the rear of his Red Bull and crashed heavily — he was unhurt, but his run of three straight Zandvoort wins ended before it had really begun. Isack Hadjar sat this one out through injury, with Liam Lawson stepping into the Red Bull seat and Yuki Tsunoda covering his usual Racing Bulls car for the weekend.

When the race resumed, Antonelli surged from Norris off the restart and led deep into the final third before Norris found the pace to retake him, eventually crossing the line 11.5 seconds clear as rain began falling. Russell completed the podium in third, with Hamilton fourth for Ferrari. Colapinto and Lawson both picked up 10-second penalties for failing to slow for yellow flags, and Sainz was penalized for causing a collision.

🥇 Norris — 2:04:44.859
🥈 Antonelli +11.536
🥉 Russell +15.906
13 Italian GPMonza · Sep 4–6 ●K. Antonelli Sep 6, 2026 +

Kimi Antonelli produced one of the most remarkable drives in modern F1, recovering from 19th on the grid to win his home Italian Grand Prix — the first Italian to do so since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. The race was red-flagged early after Charles Leclerc crashed hard at the Parabolica; at the standing restart, Russell led from shock pole-sitter Pierre Gasly. Antonelli sliced through the field and passed teammate Russell for the lead on lap 50 of 53, holding on to win by 3.8 seconds.

Max Verstappen completed the podium in third, running the same alternative strategy as Antonelli through a Virtual Safety Car for Lance Stroll's retirement. McLaren's Norris and Piastri were fourth and fifth, while Ferrari's home weekend fell apart — Hamilton recovered only to sixth, and Leclerc was out before lap 2. Liam Lawson, again deputising for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, finished 14th; Yuki Tsunoda scored a point in tenth covering Lawson's usual Racing Bulls seat. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Antonelli — Winner (red flag, standing restart)
🥈 Russell +3.857
🥉 Verstappen +14.718
14 Spanish GPMadrid · Sep 11–13 ●K. Antonelli Sep 13, 2026 +

Formula 1's first-ever race at MADRING went to Kimi Antonelli, but not through pace — Lando Norris led comfortably from pole until a Virtual Safety Car for Lance Stroll's stopped Aston Martin caught him just after he'd passed the pit entry. While the field pitted for free, Norris had to complete a lap at reduced speed before pitting once the track went green, handing Antonelli the net lead and, ultimately, the win.

Max Verstappen took second after a chaotic first lap — cutting Turn 1 to avoid Lewis Hamilton, being ordered by Red Bull to give the place back, then getting it straight back anyway when Hamilton retired with brake failure. Norris recovered to third. Charles Leclerc ran long on hards for fourth, ahead of George Russell in fifth and Liam Lawson — again deputising for the injured Isack Hadjar — in sixth. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Antonelli — Winner (VSC-decided)
🥈 Verstappen +4.351
🥉 Norris +5.089
15 Azerbaijan GPBaku · Sep 24–26 ●G. Russell Sep 26, 2026 +

George Russell converted pole into his third win of the season, holding off a late Max Verstappen charge by just 0.196 seconds through two Safety Car restarts. The bigger story was Isack Hadjar, back from a fractured wrist after missing three rounds — he qualified ahead of teammate Verstappen and drove a disciplined race to third, closing the Lawson/Tsunoda seat-cover saga that's run since Zandvoort.

Charles Leclerc took fourth ahead of a recovering Kimi Antonelli, who fought back from 16th after hitting the wall early. The race was littered with incident — Alex Albon triggered the first Safety Car, and a Franco Colapinto lock-up collected his own teammate Pierre Gasly and title contender Lando Norris. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Russell — Winner
🥈 Verstappen +0.196
🥉 Hadjar +10.704
16 Bahrain GPSepang, Malaysia · Oct 2–4 ●M. Verstappen Oct 4, 2026 +

Max Verstappen converted pole into his first win of 2026 in a race that started an hour and 40 minutes late after torrential rain, then had to be restarted when cars hit engine-software problems. The field split between slicks and intermediates, and the slick starters, including both Ferraris and Lando Norris, lost huge amounts of time early on.

Kimi Antonelli finished second and Lewis Hamilton recovered from near the back to third, passing Isack Hadjar with three laps left after a late Safety Car bunched the field. George Russell's engine failed under that Safety Car while he was running third, pushing Antonelli's championship lead to 84 points. Fernando Alonso's eighth was Aston Martin's best result of the season. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Verstappen — Winner
🥈 Antonelli +2.307
🥉 Hamilton +4.919
17 Singapore GPMarina Bay · Oct 9–11 ●M. Verstappen Oct 11, 2026 +

Max Verstappen took a sprint-and-race double at Marina Bay. In Saturday's rain-delayed Sprint, George Russell crashed out of the lead at the end of the first lap and Verstappen won from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, while Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collided on the final lap. On Sunday he led every lap from pole for his first Singapore Grand Prix win, despite radio problems that left Red Bull relying on a pit board.

Leclerc finished second and Kimi Antonelli third, with Norris and Piastri fourth and fifth. Hamilton's early switch to softs on lap 18 dropped him from a podium place to sixth, and Russell recovered from 19th on the grid, after an engine penalty, to ninth, leaving Antonelli 102 points clear with six Grands Prix left. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Verstappen — Winner
🥈 Leclerc +7.335
🥉 Antonelli +24.573
18 United States GPAustin · Oct 23–25 ●K. Antonelli Oct 25, 2026 +

Kimi Antonelli won from pole in Austin for his ninth victory of the season, 13.078 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc. He made one stop, from mediums to hards on lap 24, while Leclerc and Max Verstappen both stopped twice. Antonelli passed Leclerc at Turn 12 on lap 33 and pulled away; Leclerc won the two-stop fight with Verstappen for second.

Lewis Hamilton recovered to fourth after passing Lando Norris on lap 51, ahead of Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri. George Russell was given a five-second penalty for leaving the track and keeping the place ahead of Piastri at Turn 12 on the opening lap, served it at his lap-22 stop and finished eighth. Antonelli leaves Austin 123 points clear with 125 left, two points short of the title. Full write-up on the home page.

🥇 Antonelli — Winner
🥈 Leclerc +13.078
🥉 Verstappen +17.485
19 Mexico City GPMexico City · Oct 30–Nov 1 — Nov 1, 2026
20 São Paulo GPInterlagos · Nov 6–8 — Nov 8, 2026
21 Las Vegas GPLas Vegas · Nov 19–21 — Nov 21, 2026
22 Qatar GPLusail · Nov 27–29 — Nov 29, 2026
23 Abu Dhabi GPYas Marina · Dec 4–6 — Dec 6, 2026