Every team’s 2026 mid-season ratings

With Formula One well into its summer break, marking the midway point in the championship campaign, it’s time to give every team a grade to see how they have been performing against their pre-season expectations.

Feature image credit: Getty Images // Red Bull Content Pool

1. McLaren: 6

Best race weekend: Hungarian GP

Worst race weekend: Chinese GP

It was always going to be difficult for McLaren to replicate their imperious form from 2025.

The team currently sit 3rd in the table with 220 points. That is almost 200 points less than the previous season after the same number of races. Reliability has been a huge headache for the Papaya team. Technical DNF’s have struck Norris and Piastri in Canada, Monaco and Hungary, as well as a double DNS in China.

There have also been several weekends of no pace, such as Australia, Austria and Belgium. Despite this, wins at Hungary and Miami’s sprint race have given fans something to cheer about and give hope for a better second half of the year.

2. Mercedes: 9 

Best race weekend: Chinese GP

Worst race weekend: Spanish GP

They were the championship favourites going into the new season and they have certainly not disappointed with their results.

Mercedes have won 8 of the 11 races this season and lead the constructors championship by over 360 points. One aspect that has helped the Silver Arrows achieve this level of dominance so far in 2026 has been the unbelievable form of Italian teenager, Kimi Antonelli.

The combination of him and race engineer, Peter Bonnington (Bono), has been hard to top. The Mercedes engine has not been as trustworthy as the rest of the team, which DNF’s in Canada and Spain. The team will need to wary of these mistakes if they are to make sure Ferrari and McLaren do not catch up.

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3. Red Bull: 5

Best race: Austrian GP

Worst race: Japanese GP

It was tricky to grade Red Bull for their results so far this season.

On one hand, the pace of the RB22 has been far from acceptable at most race weekends in 2026. Not even the great Max Verstappen has been able to gather a single win this season, placing them a distant 4th in the constructors standings. Alternatively, the team have often got it spot on when it comes to maximising results with the package they have on track.

Verstappen has 4 podium finishes; 1 more than both McLaren drivers and equal with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Another big positive has been Isack Hadjar, who has settled into life far better than previous owners of the second Red Bull seat. There will be more to come.

4. Ferrari: 8

Best Race: British GP

Worst Race: Miami GP

Wherever they go, they make headlines, but finally Ferrari have started making positive news with results so far in 2026.

The Scuderia have had two box-office wins this year, in Barcelona for Lewis Hamilton and Silverstone for Charles Leclerc. The British GP was a particular highlight, as the team gathered their first double podium since Monaco 2024. The 9 podiums accumulated by Charles and Lewis is already 2 more than the total scored in 2025.

It hasn’t been quite enough to make a firm championship just yet, but part one of this years campaign has been a welcomed step in the right direction for the Italian team.

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5. Williams: 3

Best race: Monaco GP

Worst race: Hungarian GP

With the emphasis that team principal James Vowles put on the 2026 season, it was expected that Williams would be at least consistent point-scorers this season. Unfortunately for the team based in Grove, it has been anything but.

11 points scored all year has been far from the talent that pilots Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have shown in previous campaigns. An 8th for Albon during a truly chaotic Monaco weekend, has been a rare highlight for Williams.

6. Racing Bulls: 10

Best race: British GP

Worst race: Miami GP

For a team whose primary goal is to nurture young talent for Red Bull’s senior team, the following and support that Racing Bulls has acquired in recent times has been staggering.

A big reason for this, other than their legendary social media team, has been results on track. Boasting a 60% points-scoring rate so far in 2026, consistency has been the key for RB. The team look to be easily the best of the rest and is easily the biggest underdog story of the year.

7. Aston Martin: 1

Best race: Hungarian GP

Worst race: Spanish GP

Whilst it was probably wishful thinking from people who said Fernando Alonso would be world champion this season, nobody could have predicted the 2026 season to go quite as badly as it has done for Aston Martin.

The team have consistently been over 3 seconds off the pace in qualifying, unable to even fight with new-team Cadillac. A slight return of pace in Hungary last time out has sparked hope that the second half of the season will be better, but really it couldn’t have got any worse.

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8. Haas: 6

Best race: Chinese GP

Worst race: Belgium GP

When rating Haas, one has to remember that they are the smallest funded team on the grid. Results in the opening few rounds were incredibly positive, with British star, Ollie Bearman scoring a terrific 5th place in Shanghai.

Since that point, hope has dropped considerably as the team have scored just 4 points from the last 9 races. Frenchman, Esteban Ocon has particularly struggled with the VF-26. His future at the team and Formula One is now at risk.

9. Audi: 7

Best race: Belgium GP

Worst race: Miami GP
A new engine manufacturer joining Formula One at the moment of a drastic engine regulation change was always going to be tricky.

However, Audi have received significant plaudits for their ability to steadily improve over the course of these first 11 races. Points have become more of a possibility in the last few weeks, and Gabriel Bortoletto and Nico Hulkenburg should be looking forward to the prospect of better results as we deliver the home stretch of the season.

10. Alpine: 8

Best race: Monaco GP

Worst race: Austrian GP

2026 has been a good year so far for Alpine as they sit 6th in the constructors standings with 61 points.

What makes the season feel so good for the French team, however, is not the points themselves but the contrast from the previous campaign. In 2025, Alpine scored 22 points all season and only landed in the points 5 times all year. Now Alpine have a best-of-the-rest title to chase and have already secured the teams first podium since 2024 in Monaco.

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11. Cadillac: 4

Best race: Chinese GP

Worst race: Austrian GP

If you need confirmation of how difficult it is to break into Formula One’s elite group of teams and be competitive as a new outfit, then look no further than Cadillac.

The American entry has had a season of survival so far in 2026, where finishing a race is the only objective, as points are simply too large an objective. Break failures have repeatedly plagued the team, but with the experience of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas on their side, the feeling around the team is that progress is being made and success is not impossible.

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