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<\/p>\nMercedes is on track to win both championships this season, but it isn\u2019t the only team performing strongly in Formula 1.<\/p>\n
Ferrari has risen through the first half of the season to stand on the precipice of a genuine championship challenge, while McLaren has shown glimpses \u2014 though not much more than that \u2014 of its past title glory.<\/p>\n
The midfield has taken an unpredictable shape this year, where Racing Bulls is on the cusp of making history.<\/p>\n
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Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship\u2122 LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n Two big brands have made respectable starts at the back, while two teams with sky-high expectations have flopped painfully and embarrassingly hard.<\/p>\n MERCEDES \u2014 GRADE: A+<\/p>\n Championship: 1st, 379 points (2025 mid-season: 3rd, 236 points)<\/p>\n Wins: 8<\/p>\n Poles: 10<\/p>\n Average gap to fastest: 0.025 seconds (2025: 0.371 seconds)<\/p>\n Development trend: degraded by 0.141 seconds (7th)<\/p>\n (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli \/ GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA \/ Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n What\u2019s gone well<\/p>\n Really, what hasn\u2019t gone well? Mercedes has the best car and the best power unit this season, making it a comfortable favourite to ice both championships. It\u2019s won all but three races and taken all but one pole position. Andrea Kimi Antonelli has developed into a driver well beyond the expectations of the team to lead the championship standings by a significant margin and looks, so far this season, every bit the generational talent he was billed to be. It feels like the start of a new Mercedes golden era.<\/p>\n What hasn\u2019t<\/p>\n There\u2019s really only one major caveat: unreliability. Mercedes has had a shocking run, with George Russell retiring from the lead in Canada and Antonelli retiring from second place in Barcelona and Silverstone, the latter as he charged to a highly likely victory. The team has also had to correct a bug in its engine software that\u2019s left some drivers \u2014 including Russell and Oscar Piastri \u2014 down on power at certain circuits. Combined, these engines problems have kept Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton in championship contention.<\/p>\n Target for the rest of the season<\/p>\n Win both championships. To do so, it will need to fulfil two objectives: improve reliability and lift Russell to a level that helps secure both titles. Russell\u2019s underperformance has been exaggerated by unreliability, but it\u2019s undeniable that he hasn\u2019t been on Antonelli\u2019s level, and him being third in the standings behind Hamilton is indicative of the risk that\u2019s presenting to the drivers championship in particular.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n The two drivers who could decide everything in F1\u2019s silly season \u2014 2027 grid state of play<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018He had no idea\u2019: Crazy Trump reveal over botched US race; legend\u2019s \u2018special\u2019 F1 title backing<\/a><\/p>\n FERRARI \u2014 GRADE: B+<\/p>\n Championship: 2nd, 307 points (2025: 2nd, 260 points)<\/p>\n Wins: 2<\/p>\n Best qualifying: 2nd (4)<\/p>\n Average gap to fastest: 0.351 seconds (2025: 0.443 seconds)<\/p>\n Development trend: improved by 0.592 seconds (3rd)<\/p>\n (Photo by Clive Rose\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n What\u2019s gone well<\/p>\n Ferrari was the first team to beat Mercedes to a race win, and it\u2019s claimed two victories so far this season to keep itself in the frame for the title. The car is aerodynamically powerful, with rivals figuring it to have the most downforce, and it\u2019s been genuinely in the mix at some circuits where it didn\u2019t expect to be competitive. Hamilton has also returned to form this year, spearheading the team\u2019s title charge.<\/p>\n What hasn\u2019t<\/p>\n Ferrari\u2019s engine has been the weak link. Some of that is down to design choices, some of which were around getting better starts, though that backfired when the rules were changed to accommodate rivals, but in general the car lacks the power and electrical deployment to be a consistent threat. Strategically the team has also lacked sharpness relative to Mercedes.<\/p>\n Target for the rest of the season<\/p>\n Win both championships. Ferrari is 72 points behind Mercedes in the constructors championship, and Hamilton is 50 points behind Antonelli for the drivers title. On the Italian team\u2019s side is that Ferrari will bring its second engine upgrade before the end of the European season. Mercedes can\u2019t give its drivers completely new power units without incurring penalties, such has been its unreliability streak, but the required points swing is achievable if the team is perfect.<\/p>\n McLAREN \u2014 GRADE: C+<\/p>\n Championship: 3rd, 220 points (2025: 1st, 559 points)<\/p>\n Wins: 1<\/p>\n Poles: 1<\/p>\n Average gap to fastest: 0.401 seconds (2025: 0.029 seconds)<\/p>\n Development trend: improved by 0.347 seconds (6th)<\/p>\n (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n What\u2019s gone well<\/p>\n McLaren snuck into the winners column just before the break, becoming the second team after Ferrari to beat Mercedes to a victory. It did so thanks to a superb Lando Norris, who has been operating on a higher level this season, his first world title in his pocket. The team might also be heartened by the fact that its big upgrade package in Hungary, which changed its development direction, seemed to be a big step forward, albeit on the evidence of just one circuit.<\/p>\n What hasn\u2019t<\/p>\n McLaren almost certainly won\u2019t defend either championship this year owing to a poor start to the season, with team boss Andrea Stella admitting his squad had pursued some flawed design concepts that it\u2019s only now reversing out of, effectively costing it months of development time. It\u2019s also feeling the sting of being a customer team again after years of engine stability, with a significant percentage of the gap to the Mercedes works team down to power unit operation.<\/p>\n Target for the rest of the season<\/p>\n The 2024\u201325 constructors champion must prove it really is back on a victorious trajectory with more wins in the second half of the season, setting it up for another challenge in 2027. Helping Oscar Piastri get comfortable with these new regulations and get closer to Norris will be critical in getting the most from the package.<\/p>\n RED BULL RACING \u2014 GRADE: D<\/p>\n Championship: 4th, 177 points (2025: 4th, 194 points)<\/p>\n Best finish: 2nd (2)<\/p>\n Best qualifying: 2nd (3)<\/p>\n Average gap to fastest: 0.557 seconds (2025: 0.305 seconds)<\/p>\n Development trend: improved by 0.660 seconds (2nd)<\/p>\n (Photo by Clive Mason\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n What\u2019s gone well<\/p>\n Max Verstappen hasn\u2019t yet quit Red Bull Racing or the sport, which is a huge win for a team that continues to slide backwards from its dizzying 2023 high. Verstappen continues to get the most from the car, which in Austria should have been enough for victory with a better strategy. Isack Hadjar has also broken the Daniel Ricciardo curse<\/a>, with the Frenchman swimming, not sinking, upon his promotion to the top team. The first Red Bull Powertrains engine has also exceeded expectations, even if no-one believes it\u2019s the best in the sport despite the FIA ruling.<\/p>\n What hasn\u2019t<\/p>\n Bluntly: the car. Verstappen talks about it physically degrading from lap to lap \u2014 and that\u2019s after the team removed the rear wing that shot him off the road at high speed in Austria and Silverstone. The engine, though a great first effort, is also weak relative to Mercedes, and the team has lost the political game over upgrades concessions. That\u2019s all combined to make Verstappen\u2019s future a constant talking point, with the Dutchman refusing to commit to the team for the rest of his contract<\/a> even amid an apparent dearth of alternatives.<\/p>\n Target for the rest of the season<\/p>\n Win races and keep Verstappen. The Dutchman hasn\u2019t had to wait this long for a victory since 2017, when he retired from five of the first 11 grands prix. If the team can prove it\u2019s moving in the right direction, it might be enough to quash the quit talk.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n DRIVER RANKINGS: Where Piastri sits as new reality sinks in; top-10 shocks expose big shift<\/a><\/p>\n SILLY SEASON: The two drivers who could decide everything in F1\u2019s driver market<\/a><\/p>\n