Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Mark Thompson, Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty ImagesAnalysisAug. 10, 2026 5:00 am EDT Updated Formula 1’s summer break gives all 22 drivers the chance to recharge and escape the rigmarole of grand prix weekends.Between spending time with their loved ones, fitting in various vacations and keeping up with their training regimens, every driver will also take time to reflect on the first half of the 2026 season.Many will be satisfied with their performances, especially championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Others, such as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, will know they’ve done all they could in the cars underneath them, even if it hasn’t yielded the desired overall results. George Russell will want a change in fortune and a lift in results.But which drivers have truly starred through F1 2026’s opening act?The Athletic’s Luke Smith and Madeline Coleman assessed the matter in their top-10 driver rankings for the season so far.AnalysisAntonelli didn’t even make it into our top 10 midseason rankings in 2025. Twelve months later, he’s a comfortable number one both here and in the drivers’ world championship standings. Antonelli has banished the erratic mistakes and struggles from his rookie F1 year and is now one of F1’s quickest and most consistent performers. If his car hadn’t failed him in Barcelona and Silverstone, he’d have been on the podium at every single race to this point. It’s a consistency that few would expect of a 19-year-old. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team boss, referred to it as a “serenity.” But when Antonelli has needed to turn up the pace, he’s been able to deliver it in blistering fashion, leaving George Russell, his teammate and primary title rival, regularly unable to respond. Luck hasn’t been on Russell’s side, but even if that were to improve through the season’s second half, he’d still have to make a serious improvement to beat Antonelli. What started as a novelty over Antonelli becoming a new winner and the youngest points leader has turned into the true emergence of F1’s newest generational talent. And he could well smash the record for the sport’s youngest ever champion in 2026, if he can continue keeping things together.