Still at the top, five years later
The silver arrows are back. The opening weekend of the season in Melbourne was dominated by Mercedes who secured a one-two finish in the race after also managing to monopolize the front row of the starting grid. The Brackley-based team has thus returned to leading both championships for the first time since the 2021 Russian GP, when Lewis Hamilton by winning the Sochi race moved ahead of Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings by two points.
Read more Ferrari, here is the Macarena wing: it is on both SF-26s
In the 99 GPs that followed, Max Verstappen led the championship on 70 occasions, Oscar Piastri on 15, Lando Norris on nine, and Charles Leclerc on five. However, a Mercedes driver had never been ahead of everyone. On the 100th attempt, George Russell emerged who thanks to the victory in Melbourne brought a Mercedes back to the top of Formula 1. In the team standings, however, Toto Wolff’s team had not led its rivals since the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, when it secured its eighth consecutive Constructors’ title.
Read more Verstappen: “Discussions with FIA and FOM to improve these cars, hopefully as early as 2027”
Russell’s first time
Russell himself, who is now the World Championship leader for the first time in his career, has become the 65th different driver in F1 history to lead the World Championship. However, only 35 have been able to become world champions. In nine months, in Abu Dhabi, the Englishman hopes to have managed to update this other statistic as well, which in the end is the only one that really counts.
