Five different drivers have won the last five races of the 2026 Formula 1 season, transforming a championship initially dominated by Mercedes into a far more competitive fight involving Ferrari and McLaren. Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Lando Norris have all stood on the top step during that sequence, giving Formula 1 a level of variety rarely seen over the past 13 years.
Mercedes remains the principal force in the championship, but its early supremacy has weakened considerably. Ferrari’s resurgence began with Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona, while McLaren joined the recent list of winners through Norris at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The trend has created the prospect of an unpredictable second half of the season once Formula 1 returns from its summer break.
Five different F1 winners end the period of Mercedes domination
Until the Monaco Grand Prix, the opening phase of the campaign had effectively become Formula Mercedes. The Brackley team won each of the first six races, with five of those consecutive victories delivered by Kimi Antonelli. It resembled a one-make championship at the front, with no rival able to prevent Mercedes from controlling the top step of the podium.
That perfect run ended in Barcelona, where Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton returned to victory. The result marked a major turning point for the Scuderia, with Hamilton winning the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix and interrupting Mercedes’ early monopoly.
The championship has followed a markedly different and, in some respects, unexpected course since the Catalan race. Mercedes has remained the leading protagonist, but its advantage has been much less overwhelming than during the opening months. Ferrari and McLaren have both responded, creating a more balanced contest at the front.
Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren share the last five victories
The five most recent Grands Prix have produced five winners representing three different teams. Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have won for Ferrari, while Antonelli and George Russell have continued Mercedes’ successful campaign. Lando Norris then completed the sequence in Budapest by returning McLaren to the top step of the podium.
Leclerc’s contribution to the run came with his victory at Silverstone, where the Monegasque delivered Ferrari’s British Grand Prix triumph. Norris subsequently extended the sequence by winning in Hungary, with the Hungarian Grand Prix classification confirming the fifth different winner in as many races.
Such a sequence is uncommon in modern Formula 1. Across the 13 years from 2013 to 2026, the only comparable run came towards the end of the 2024 season, when six different drivers won six consecutive Grands Prix.
That sequence began in Baku and continued through Las Vegas. Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and George Russell won in that order, producing an even longer run without a repeat winner.
More potential winners could emerge after the summer break
The current list may not yet be complete. Oscar Piastri remains among the leading contenders still waiting for a victory in 2026. The McLaren driver was on course to finish second behind teammate Norris in Hungary before a technical problem forced him to retire.
Max Verstappen is another obvious candidate. Red Bull’s fluctuating form has limited the four-time world champion, but he has still reached the podium in three of the last four Grands Prix. That record indicates that Verstappen remains capable of joining the season’s list of winners if Red Bull can deliver a sufficiently competitive weekend.
The late drama at the Hungaroring also demonstrated how quickly the competitive order can change through reliability, strategy and track position. With Piastri and Verstappen still threatening to add their names to the list, the second half of 2026 could provide further variety.
F1 upgrades help reduce the gaps between leading teams
The run of different winners does not erase the shortcomings exposed by Formula 1’s new technical regulations. Nevertheless, the upgrades introduced by teams from one race to the next appear to be reducing the performance differences significantly between weekends, perhaps even more effectively than the ADUO system.
There remains a clear separation between the four leading teams and the rest of the grid. Competitive balance at the front, however, is moving in a promising direction. Mercedes is no longer enjoying an uninterrupted run of victories, Ferrari has established itself as a regular winning threat and McLaren has now converted its progress into a Grand Prix success.
The remaining rounds on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar will reveal whether this pattern can continue once racing resumes. Another month must pass before the championship returns, but the recent evidence suggests the battle for victory may remain far less predictable than it appeared during Mercedes’ dominant start to the year.
A more unpredictable second half of the 2026 season awaits
Five different winners across five races cannot guarantee that the competitive order will remain this close until the end of the championship. It does, however, show how quickly the picture has changed since Barcelona. Mercedes still holds a central role, but Ferrari and McLaren have ensured that victories are no longer confined to one team.
If the leading teams maintain their present development rate and additional contenders such as Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen convert their opportunities, Formula 1 could produce even greater variety after the summer break. The opening six rounds belonged entirely to Mercedes, but the latest five have offered a very different vision of the 2026 season.
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