A multi-stop inaugural Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix shuffled the usual Formula 1 2026 cards - and a legend of the sport navigated its challenges the best.
But how did the rest of the field stack up? Find out in our driver rankings.
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Champions-tier members can also try their hand at putting their own driver rankings together, for Edd to react to in a separate feature!
How do the rankings work? The 22 drivers will be ranked in order of performance from best to worst on each grand prix weekend. This will be based on the full range of criteria, ranging from pace and racecraft to consistency and whether they made key mistakes. How close each driver got to delivering on the maximum performance potential of the car will be an essential consideration.
It’s important to note both that this reflects performance across the entire weekend, cognisant of the fact that qualifying is effectively ‘lap 0’ of the race and key to laying the foundations to the race, and that it is not a ranking of the all-round qualities of each driver. It’s simply about how they performed on a given weekend. Therefore, the ranking will fluctuate significantly from weekend to weekend.
And with each of the 11 cars fundamentally having different performance potential and ‘luck’ (ie factors outside of a driver’s control) contributing to the way the weekend plays out, this ranking will also differ significantly from the overall results.
Started: 4th Finished: 3rd
PROS
- Given the McLaren didn’t have the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari, picking up third place thanks to Antonelli’s retirement was the best possible result.
- Had the edge on Piastri in qualifying, outpacing him by 0.089s.
- Recovered well from missing FP1 and FP2 braking difficulties.
CONS
- The McLaren wasn’t quite quick enough for him to really make the difference in battle with those ahead - or slow enough to do so relative to the Red Bulls in the race
- Could have picked off Antonelli in qualifying given he was only three thousandths slower.
Verdict: Got close to the maximum out of the McLaren.
Started: 3rd Finished: 16th
PROS
- Great race pace meant he had the beating of Russell, passing him for second just before his power unit let him down.
- Raced Russell well, making an aggressive but not risky move to claim the spot.
- Without the VSC, he may very well have been the better Mercedes victory shot against a charging Hamilton.
CONS
- Single-lap pace was well off Russell’s, partly because he was sliding the car a little too much late in the lap.
- Too many track-limits violations earned him a five-second penalty that could have been very costly.
Verdict: Uneven but good overall - underwhelming in qualifying, excellent in the race.
Started: 9th Finished: DNF
PROS
- Made it through to Q3 and put the Audi close to its ceiling, although his battle with Lawson in the final part of qualifying was waged with both on used tyres.
- Was on course for points and running 10th when Lawson ahead kicked up gravel at Turn 12 and hit the “E” switch by the rollhoop and cut the power.
- Had a pace advantage over Bortoleto.
CONS
- Perhaps could have qualified one place higher by picking off Lawson.
Verdict: Only bizarre misfortune denied him a deserved points finish.
Started: 16th Finished: 12th
PROS
- Overachieved in qualifying by slipping into Q2 ahead of Ocon in a Haas that was slightly faster than the Williams in terms of underlying pace.
- Drove a good race in difficult circumstances, only just losing out to Bortoleto in the quicker Audi.
- Got far more out of the package than his team-mate.
CONS
- Could make little impression given the car limitations.
- An ambitious move around the outside of Colapinto on the opening lap led to a lock-up that let Gasly past into 13th.
Verdict: Extracted what he could from the ninth-best car.
Started: 14th Finished: 7th
PROS
- Turned in a strong race drive and had a slight pace advantage over Colapinto.
- Finishing at the head of the midfield group seemed out of the question after practice struggles.
- Considering the way his car was pulling in all directions under braking, mitigated the losses in qualifying to put himself in the position to turn things round in the race.
CONS
- Colapinto had the edge on him in qualifying, and had track position before he was ordered by the pitwall to let Gasly past.
- The fortunate VSC timing after running long in the second stint allowed him to avoid falling behind Lawson and Colapinto.
Verdict: Needed a slice of luck, but salvaged an unlikely result.
Started: 7th Finished: 5th
PROS
- Had a decent qualifying, within a tenth of Norris despite the three-place difference.
- No significant errors and a clean race.
CONS
- Was the less impressive of the two McLaren drivers.
- Had the machinery to have beaten Verstappen, but couldn’t get decisively ahead on the first lap and never showed much sign of progressing beyond the position he started in without retirements ahead.
Verdict: Solid work, but a step behind Norris.
Started: 13th Finished: 10th
PROS
- Had the edge on Gasly in qualifying pace while Alpine was struggling.
- Largely executed his race well and played the team game when required.
CONS
- Yellow flag infringement was inattentive and costly.
- Lacked a little race pace compared to Gasly.
Verdict: Continuing to do the job Alpine needs him to.
Started: 19th Finished: 14th
PROS
- Recovered by Saturday from missing FP1 for Colton Herta and initially not being comfortable with the balance.
- Led the Cadillacs in qualifying despite opting to save a set of fresh softs for the race.
- Would have been perhaps a tenth and a half faster in qualifying but for deployment problems.
CONS
- Had a difficult race, primarily down to the Cadillac chewing up its tyres.
Verdict: Another decent weekend as Cadillac’s spearhead.
Started: 17th Finished: 13th
PROS
- The team was apologetic for deployment problems that meant he didn’t show his potential in qualifying, leading to his elimination in Q1.
- Finished the race, even if his pace wasn’t as good as Bearman’s.
CONS
- Struggled badly with rear tyre deg and couldn’t match his team-mate’s two-stopper.
- Felt he had the wrong set-up, but that was something he had a hand in evolving.
Verdict: Still not in tune with the car and well short of his best.
Started: 18th Finished: NC
PROS
- Stuck at it in the race at least to gather some extra data for Williams.
- Did take the chequered flag despite not completing enough laps to be classified.
- He played no part in the FOM camera becoming loose and forcing him to pit for it to be fixed.
CONS
- Struggled with grip and sliding all weekend.
- Was eliminated in Q1, 0.543s slower than team-mate Sainz.
- Went nowhere in the race even before trouble hit.
Verdict: Never found the grip even to match what his team-mate could do with the limited Williams.
Started: 10th Finished: 15th
PROS
- His underlying single-lap pace was strong from the start of the weekend.
- Gelled well with the Carbon Industrie brake discs he switched to in Spain.
- Made progress early on to get ahead of Piastri.
CONS
- Q3 crash was the consequence of over-reaching in the one corner where he knew he was struggling.
- Struggled at times in the race, with the mitigation of being on a two-stopper.
Verdict: Avoidable qualifying shunt was a major error.