​With July on the calendar, it’s an ideal moment to review the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship standings. Kimi Antonelli continues to lead the pack heading into the British Grand Prix, riding a streak of five consecutive victories that keeps him at the top of the standings for now. However, his Mercedes teammate George Russell has closed the gap, trimming the deficit to within 40 points after Russell’s win at the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton, fresh off his first Grand Prix triumph for Ferrari at the Barcelona-C Catalunya Grand Prix a few weeks earlier, remains in striking distance as well, lurking behind the leaders.
Here are the 2026 F1 Drivers’ Championship standings following the British Grand Prix:
1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 179
2. George Russell, Mercedes, 154
3. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 147
4. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 108
5. Lando Norris, McLaren, 97
6. Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 82
7. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 76
8. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull, 52
9. Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 42
10. Liam Lawson, VCARB, 39
11. Arvid Lindblad, VCARB, 20
12. Oliver Bearman, Haas, 18
13. Franco Colapinto, Alpine, 18
14. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi, 6
15. Carlos Sainz, Williams, 6
16. Alexander Albon, Williams, 5
17. Esteban Ocon, Haas, 3
18. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1
19. Nico Hülkenberg, Audi, 0
20. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac, 0
21. Sergio Pérez, Cadillac, 0
22. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 0
In the Grand Prix format, the top ten finishers score points, with the winner taking 25 points, second place 18, and third place 15. The points distribution for the top ten in any Grand Prix is as follows:
P1: 25 points
P2: 18 points
P3: 15 points
P4: 12 points
P5: 10 points
P6: 8 points
P7: 6 points
P8: 4 points
P9: 2 points
P10: 1 point
In an F1 Sprint race, the top eight finishers earn points, starting with eight points for the winner and descending to one point for the driver who finishes eighth. When it comes to tiebreakers in the standings, the system uses a countback approach based on race results. Specifically, if two drivers are tied on points at the end of the season, the driver with more Grand Prix wins secures the championship. If those numbers are the same, the tie is broken by the number of second-place finishes, and so on down the finishing order until the tie is resolved.
That countback mechanism was decisive last season when Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris were contending for the 2025 Drivers’ Championship. Heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all three had seven Grand Prix victories; Norris’ eight second-place finishes gave him an edge on countback, ultimately awarding him the title.
Looking at the current standings, our first potential tie involves Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto, who both have 18 points. Bearman will be hoping to gain the edge in any forthcoming races and strengthen his position in the standings.
(Note: The original text contains several “Advertisement” placeholders and some unusual phrasing such as “VCARB” for a team; I have preserved the factual content while smoothing the prose for clarity and SEO-friendly readability.)