Three races into the most technically transformative season in over a decade, and Formula One already has its story. Turns out, it was a story no one could have predicted.
Lando Norris enters 2026 as the reigning World Drivers’ Champion, with McLaren the reigning Constructors’ Champions. The expectation was a second act. A title defence. The next chapter for Papaya.
Instead, a 19-year-old Italian has rewritten the script entirely, and he won’t let go of the pen just yet.
Round 1 – Australian Grand Prix
Result: 1. Russell (Mercedes) | 2. Antonelli (Mercedes) | 3. Leclerc (Ferrari) | 4. Hamilton (Ferrari)
After surviving an early-stage battle against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, polesitter George Russell led teammate Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes’ 61st 1-2 finish. Leclerc rounded out the podium for Ferrari ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, both drivers having led at least one lap of the race.
It was a race won in the pits as much as on the tarmac. Ferrari had planned a one-stop strategy, hoping to pit later and gain a tyre advantage over the faster Mercedes. However, this left Mercedes racing in clear air, and Russell rapidly cut into the Ferrari’s lead on track. By the time Ferrari realised their window had closed, it was already gone.
Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi suffered technical issues before the start. Oscar Piastri crashed his McLaren on a reconnaissance lap after experiencing an unexpected power surge. Hülkenberg never left the garage. Piastri never reached the grid. Two disasters, zero race laps completed, and the season had barely begun.
The new active aerodynamics and the reshaped power unit balance were on full display. Russell used his electric boosts to overpower Leclerc at various turns, but this drained his battery. This allowed Leclerc to respond tit-for-tat with his own boosts and retake the lead time. A tug of war fought at 300 km/h is exactly what the 2026 era is all about.
Round 2 – Chinese Grand Prix
Results: 1. Antonelli (Mercedes) | 2. Russell (Mercedes) | 3. Hamilton (Ferrari) | 4. Leclerc (Ferrari)
China had a sprint weekend. Russell won Saturday. Then qualifying happened, and Antonelli became the youngest Grand Prix polesitter in the sport’s history.
Having claimed that pole, Antonelli was only briefly headed at the start of Sunday’s race in Shanghai, losing the lead to Hamilton. The Ferrari driver had gotten a jump on both Mercedes from P3 at the start. He danced around the outside of Turn 1, surged to the front, and gave Ferrari their most electric opening lap in years.
It lasted on lap. Antonelli hunted Hamilton down, retook the lead at the hairpin and settled into a rhythm that would not break for the rest of the afternoon.
Then the McLaren disaster. Even before the lights went out, there was drama. Four drivers were unable to make the start, including both McLarens. Norris was unable to even reach the grid, while Piastri’s car was wheeled back into the pit lane prior to the formation lap. The team later confirmed two separate electrical problems with the power unit on each car as the cause.
Two separate failures. One team. Zero starts. McLaren’s 2026 season was threatening to become a crisis before it had really started.
Back at the front, Ferrari gave the grandstands exactly what they had hoped for. Hamilton and Leclerc swapped positions three times in a breathless duel across multiple laps, the kind of wheel-to-wheel, no team orders racing that the new regulations were designed to produce.
Hamilton came out on top to take the final podium spot, securing his first Grand Prix rostrum in Ferrari red.
Antonelli admitted to being “speechless” afterwards, tearfully paying tribute to his team. At 19, he had just become the second youngest Grand Prix winner in F1 history, dislodging Sebastian Vettel from the record books.
Russell was left just four points ahead of Antonelli going into Japan. The internal Mercedes battle had quietly, unmistakably, begun.
Round 3 – Japanese Grand Prix
Result: 1. Antonelli (Mercedes) | 2. Piastri (McLaren) | 3. Leclerc (Ferrari) | 4. Russell (Mercedes)
Japan delivered everything. A massive crash from Bearman. A monster start from Piastri. A missed pit window that broke Russell’s heart. And Antonelli, catching lightning in a bottle once again.
When the lights went out at Suzuka, Piastri made a stunning start to seize the lead into Turn 1, while the Mercedes cars slipped backwards. Norris moved to third. Antonelli was buried in sixth. For a driver who had qualified on pole, the openers were becoming a pattern, and not a kind one.
Both Silver Arrows fought back. Russell, protecting the P2 position he had earned on track, pitted to cover off Leclerc. Antonelli stayed out. Then Bearman’s heavy crash at Spoon Curve, at an estimated 191mph, brought out the Safety Car.
Russell yelled “unbelievable” over the radio. He had just changed his tyres moments before the race-neutralising period. Antonelli took his free stop and emerged at the head of the pack. Just like that, the race was his.
The youngster executed a smooth restart to hold onto first and build a significant gap up ahead. He crossed the line 13.722 seconds clear of Piastri. The win also moving him into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship and making him the youngest driver in history to head the standings. First teenager to do so. Ever.
Piastri’s second place, meanwhile, was a statement in itself. Having failed to complete a single race lap across the opening two rounds – an out-lap crash in Australia and a technical DNS in China – the Australian delivered a composed, rapid drive that showed exactly why McLaren will be dangerous as the season develops.
Bearman walked away from his crash with a right knee contusion. The points did not come, but the result matters. He dropped to seventh in the standings but has been among the most consistent midfield performers of the opening three rounds.
Championship standings after 3 rounds
| Pos | Driver | Team | Points |
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 72 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | 63 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 49 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 41 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 25 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 21 |
| 7 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | 17 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 15 |
| 9 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 12 |
Constructors: Mercedes 135 | Ferrari 90 | McLaren 46
The bigger picture
There is a Mercedes civil war quietly building. Russell arrived in 2026 as the favourite: the senior driver, the Brit and the expected leader. He has won one race and been out-qualified in each of the last two rounds. Antonelli has matched him, beaten him and taken his championship lead.
By recording successive Grand Prix victories, Antonelli achieved something Russell has never managed, laying down a major market in a campaign many expected the Brit to dominate.
Ferrari are not far away. Hamilton looks reborn in red. Animated, competitive and finally scoring the kind of results that justified the move to Maranello. The McLarens are dangerous when they actually reach the grid, and Piastri’s Suzuka drive was a reminder of that.
Red Bull, meanwhile, are a team in trouble. Verstappen sits ninth in the standings on just 12 points. Three rounds in and the four-time champion hasn’t stood on a podium. The Red Bull-Ford RB22 is struggling with reliability and race pace, and the dominant force of the last four seasons looks nothing like itself.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were cancelled following the outbreak of the Iran war, with the FIA citing safety concerns in the region. F1 now sits in an unscheduled pause, though almost over as we wait for Miami.
Three races in, Mercedes have won all three. But only driver can lead the championship. The Silver Arrows have arrived. The question is which one they’re flying.
Featured image credit: formula1.com
Edited by Alexandra.
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