Antonelli Leads F1 Championship at 19 After 3 Rounds
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 F1 Drivers' Championship at age 19, becoming the youngest championship leader in F1 history after bouncing back from a huge crash in Australian GP practice
- Max Verstappen received a 7/10 rating, with Sky Sports noting the four-time world champion "does not like F1's new cars, and particularly the Red Bull one that he is driving"
- Charles Leclerc earned the highest driver rating at 8.5/10, taking two podiums from three races for Ferrari including a superb drive in Japan
- Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, was outqualified by McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri 0-3 across the opening rounds and was unable to start the Chinese Grand Prix
- Lewis Hamilton scored his first Ferrari podium in China but reverted to 2025 form in Japan, finishing sixth after being outpaced by Leclerc all weekend
- Franco Colapinto received the lowest rating (5/10), described as nearly one second slower than Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly in qualifying at the last two races
- The F1 season resumes May 1-3 with the Miami Grand Prix, the campaign's second Sprint weekend
Why it matters: Mercedes' Antonelli leapfrogged teammate Russell (who won the Australian opener) to lead the standings after three rounds, while four-time champion Verstappen publicly expressed dislike of the new Red Bull — a 19-year-old atop the table with the sport's most dominant driver unhappy with his machinery marks a possible shift in F1's competitive order.
