5 things to look forward to over the second half of the 2026 F1 season

The F1 teams and drivers are currently enjoying some downtime during the sport’s traditional summer break – but there is plenty of action in store when the season resumes later this month. F1.com has rounded up five of the key things to get excited about over the second half of the 2026 campaign…

Can Antonelli become F1’s youngest-ever World Champion?

Mercedes were tipped by many as the favourites prior to the first race of the 2026 season – but what has likely come as more of a surprise to some is that Kimi Antonelli has been the one to lead the Silver Arrows’ charge, rather than team mate George Russell.

After claiming his maiden Grand Prix victory in China, the Italian became the youngest driver to ever lead the World Championship standings following another triumph in Japan two weeks later.

It is a position he has maintained ever since, having gone on to notch up a total of six wins during the first half of the campaign – and while there have been some ups and downs along the way, including a DNF in Barcelona, Antonelli has managed to keep the points coming in by maximising his performances even on tougher weekends.

The youngster entered the summer break with his advantage standing at 50 points over second-placed Lewis Hamilton, with Russell a further six points adrift in third – giving him a solid lead to kickstart the second half of the season with.

Should Antonelli continue to deliver the consistent level of performance he has displayed so far in 2026, the Mercedes driver could be looking at a maiden Drivers’ Championship – a victory that would earn him a place in the history books as the sport’s youngest-ever title winner, replacing current record-holder Sebastian Vettel.

As we have seen on several occasions in the past, there is still plenty of time for the championship to take some further twists and turns – but it will certainly be fascinating to see whether Antonelli can achieve that historic feat.

An increasingly close fight at the front

While Antonelli remains at the top of the standings, Mercedes have not had things all their own way during the first half of the season as an increasingly competitive battle has developed amongst the top teams.

Ferrari became the first squad other than the Silver Arrows to claim a victory when Hamilton stormed to his maiden win in red at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, while team mate Charles Leclerc added to the Scuderia’s tally with another P1 finish at Silverstone.

McLaren then put themselves into the mix at the final round before the summer break in Hungary, with Lando Norris taking his first triumph as a World Champion. Red Bull have also been showing their potential, Max Verstappen having claimed a P3 in Belgium followed by P2 one week later at the Hungaroring.

Antonelli conceded after Qualifying in Budapest that “this year is going to be a development race” following the progress made by Mercedes’ rivals, adding: “We need to keep our head down, because it's going to be a fight all the way until the end.”

Meanwhile McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella commented: “I think everyone is now doing a good job in terms of bringing successful upgrades. I think it will be more about how many upgrades the top teams will be in condition to deliver so far, and for what's left of the season, because we are only midway in this season.”

All of this points to a close battle ahead during the second half of the campaign.

Can Aston Martin and Williams fight back?

While the fight at the front has been tight – and the midfield scrap is similarly competitive – some teams have found themselves much further off the pace so far in 2026.

Aston Martin and Williams each faced a particularly tough start to the campaign, the former unable to accrue much mileage during pre-season testing due to various issues with their car, while the latter had to play catch-up at the test after failing to participate in the Barcelona Shakedown following delays in their FW48 programme.

The reliability concerns at Aston Martin meant that the team were unable to complete a full race distance at the first two rounds – and while fixes for those problems were introduced at subsequent Grands Prix, the performance deficit remained.

However, the Silverstone-based outfit took a positive step in Hungary following the arrival of a significant upgrade package. Further updates will follow, including one from Honda at the Dutch Grand Prix – meaning that the squad’s progression will be worth keeping an eye on during the second half.

Over at Williams, falling back to P9 after their impressive rise to fifth last year has come as something of a reality check. The pain may also have to endure for a few more rounds yet, with an upgrade scheduled for Azerbaijan in late September.

As has been the case for Aston Martin, Williams will be hoping that this delivers a step forward – and it will be intriguing to see if the Grove-based team can haul themselves back up the order before the season is out.

F1 returns to Malaysia

There were some changes to the calendar earlier in the season when it was confirmed that the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix would not take place in April due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East region.

It was later announced in July that Malaysia will host the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit on the weekend of October 2-4, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix.

Sepang – which made its debut back in 1999 – has hosted a number of thrilling races over the years, so the prospect of its return is an exciting one.

The track is challenging, combining fast and flowing corners with long straights and heavy-braking zones, while the unpredictable weather can often throw up a few surprises.

Max Verstappen was the last driver to win in Malaysia when the venue held its most recent F1 race in 2017, the Red Bull man – who now holds a significant tally of 71 career victories – taking what was only his second triumph.

Who will be the next to stand on the top step at the Sepang International Circuit? We’ll have to wait until October to find out…

Will there be any moves in the driver market?

There was already talk of ‘silly season’ at an early stage of the 2026 campaign, some of which was played down by those involved at the time.

However, as we enter into the second half of the championship, speculation will inevitably heighten over how the grid might look for next year, with a number of teams and drivers yet to confirm their plans.

Mercedes are the most high-profile outfit who have not officially declared their 2027 line-up, but Team Principal Toto Wolff has signalled that the squad “don’t want to change things”.

Elsewhere, Max Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2028 but has often been at the centre of rumours about his future, while there has also been talk over whether Fernando Alonso will continue on with Aston Martin given that his current deal expires at the end of this year.

Similarly, the likes of Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas and Audi have yet to officially confirm their driver pairings for beyond the current season, while Alpine are still to announce whether Franco Colapinto will remain alongside Pierre Gasly, the latter set to remain at the team until at least the end of 2028.

With all of that still to play out, the driver market is worth keeping a close eye on in the months ahead.