What we learned from 1st half of F1 season

A new era of regulations has brought new storylines and stars, flashes of excitement, and even some disappointments. With 11 races of Formula 1's latest chapter in the books, here's what we've learned so far.

Antonelli poised to lead F1 into the future

When Mercedes stormed out of the gate with the best package, it was easy to assume that George Russell would finally have the chance to be anointed world champion.

One problem: A 19-year-old prodigy stood in his way.

Not only has Kimi Antonelli made easy work of his teammate, winning six races to Russell's two and outqualifying him in seven of 11, he's shown in his second season that his quality makeup as a driver goes beyond his machinery.

Antonelli doesn't look like a one-hit wonder. He's not just a fast driver in fast car; we may be looking at another Lewis Hamilton- or Max Verstappen-level talent.

While there are still some rough edges, Antonelli clearly has the raw pace, poise, adaptability, and aggressiveness that it takes to be a No. 1 driver. The record books agree. The Italian is the youngest driver to ever lead a grand prix, set a fastest lap, and claim pole position, and he's the youngest world championship leader ever, along with a mountain of other accomplishments.

Next up, he'll try to set the record for youngest world champion.

Hamilton's dream of 8th title is alive

Hamilton sitting in his car after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix seemed likely to be the lasting image of his final world title bid, especially as he struggled through the 2022-25 ground-effect era.

Then 2026 happened.

Hamilton is among the drivers who have benefited most from the new generation of cars. However, a lot more has gone into Hamilton's revival than just rediscovering his feel behind the wheel. He entered this season in the best shape of his life, both physically and mentally, and it's shown in his results.

Hamilton achieved his magical first victory with Ferrari, racked up five podiums (second only to Antonelli), and held his own against his much younger teammate, Charles Leclerc.

The seven-time world champion is 50 points back of Antonelli. That may seem insurmountable, but at this time last year, then-championship leader Oscar Piastri had a 97-point lead over Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver overturned that deficit, although Lando Norris won the title.

Hamilton's dream of championship No. 8 is by no means over even if he comes up short in 2026. He's not going anywhere any time soon, and his strong Ferrari should only get faster with an engine upgrade token available. Hamilton should have 2026 and at least 2027 for another crack at a elusive eighth title.

Drivers who excelled in ground-effect era had an adjustment period

The three leading figures from Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari all went through an unexpected adjustment period to the new cars. Verstappen, Russell, and Leclerc struggled at various points.

Verstappen had a difficult start to the year but has since found his rhythm in an RB22 that's still sometimes unpredicable. Leclerc had Hamilton's number in 2025, but that advantage has been erased. Russell's battled his own car and battery while going up against an unprecedented season from his teenage teammate. Even McLaren, which dominated the end of the ground-effect era, struggled to sort out its car earlier this season.

Drivers who weren't as attached to the previous generation of cars seem to be having an easier time handling the current ones. Last year's rookies, such as Antonelli and Isack Hadjar, have coped brilliantly - Hadjar's even outqualified Verstappen more than once. Arvid Lindblad has also been a standout performer in his first season. And of course there's the rebirth of Hamilton, who struggled to adapt to the specific driving style that the ground-effect cars required.

It remains to be seen whether the veteran drivers who thrived in the ground-effect era will begin to recapture their pre-2026 form as they log more laps under the current regulations. But a relative lack of experience seemed to offer an early advantage in 2026.

New cars: 1 step forward, several steps back

We can draw a couple of conclusions from watching F1 race under the 2026 regulations:

• The lighter cars and decreased downforce are a step in the right direction for drivers
• The power units are a mess, and they're bad for the sport and product

Most of the issues created by the new regulations stem from F1's push for electrification in order to attract power-unit suppliers such as Audi and Honda. As the pinnacle of motorsport, F1 didn't need to cave to their demands.

While the officials in charge of F1's commercial product have insisted that everything is fine and no one pays attention to power-unit metrics, the reality is completely different. Behind the scenes, F1 and the FIA scrambled to change the regulations during the break leading up to the Miami GP. Not long after, F1, FIA, and the teams agreed to open a pathway to increasing the combustion-electrical split of the engines to 60/40 in the coming years. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been outspoken about his intentions to bring the roaring V8 engines back in 2030 or 2031.

The lesson for F1's future is to incorporate more driver input in designing new regulations and avoid being held hostage by auto manufacturers - the result is a half-baked set of cars that no one fully enjoys.

F1 is having one of its most unpredictable seasons

Despite all the frustration that's resulted from the new regulations, they've been great for parity.

There have been 11 different podium combinations over 11 races, including nine podium groups that the sport has never seen before. F1 heads into the summer break with five different winners over its last five races, the first time that's happened since 2024.

If the Dutch GP and Italian GP each produce a new winner, this will be the first time since that F1 has seven consecutive different race winners since 2012, which is regarded as one of the best seasons in modern history.

If this season has taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.