After the first four races of the opening 2026 F1 Season, the competition seems to be able to lean any which way. An unexpected championship lead, engineers leaving, and development issues have all left fans wondering where the season could go. A lot of fans went into this season thinking George Russell would win this year’s championship by a mile, but after recent race results, the season might not go as we thought.

Mercedes’s domination expected has not seemed to favor their senior driver, George Russell but his 19 year old teammate, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Antonelli shocked the grid after his first win in Shanghai and even more after securing three race wins in a row at the Miami GP. Though some of it was luck, fans are speculating about the favoritism towards Antonelli after his teammate’s less fortunate results. There have been rumors that all the upgrades are going to Antonelli first because his teammate is more experienced and should be able to adapt easier, but after everyone was so sure that this would be Russell’s season, people are starting to think that there is more behind the scenes happening. The team’s Instagram has also begun to post Russell less which has been pointed out by fans who recognize the bias. Many fans are comparing Mercedes’s current situation with McLaren’s last year, comparing Antonelli’s early season domination with Oscar Piastri’s. But as it played out, Piastri’s performance faded and his senior teammate, Lando Norris, won the title. So we will see if the title ends in favor of the more experienced senior driver like last year, or if Antonelli will come through.

On the topic of McLaren, the team had the fans worried at the 2 opening races of the season. Norris’s car was facing electrical issues, and could only reach P5 in Melbourne, and it was worse during the following race in Shanghai when neither driver could even start the race. This had McLaren fans worried that the drivers would end up far behind in the points despite the possible advantage of the Mercedes engine. But thankfully in Suzuka Piastri managed a podium, and even though Norris again finished in P5, the following race he secured a sprint win and a double podium for the team. The team even recovered to 3rd in the standings 14 points behind Ferrari, so maybe their improved performance in Miami means they’ll have a foot in the championship after all.

But for Ferrari it has been the opposite, they were doing good during the opening two races but that same performance sadly didn’t keep up in Suzuka and Miami. Tifosi were worried before the season started because of their competitor’s engines, but the hope they got from both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton both scoring a podium was soon depleted. Many fans were expecting this season’s title fight to be a battle between Russell and Leclerc, but after their recent bad luck it seems that it may not happen, especially now that Antonelli entered the scene.

Though, the biggest disappointment this far has to be Red Bull. After missing out on last year’s title by just two points, Max Verstappen has not placed higher than P5 in a race this season. Both him and his newly promoted teammate, Isack Hadjar, have both been struggling it seems so far. While they are 4th in the constructors standings, they are still a 64 point gap away from McLaren in 3rd. And it doesn’t help with the unfortunate news of Red Bull’s employees leaving for other teams. After the loss of Adran Newey, Christian Horner, and Helmut Marko last year, Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s engineer who he stated he would not race without, has been announced to leave the team for McLaren in 2028. And with GP leaving rumors have emerged of Hanna Schmitz, head of race strategy, to be leaving for Ferrari.

But for now it is hard to tell who will be taking part in the battle for the title. Most teams are still adjusting to the new regulations, and drivers are still dealing with bad luck. It’s still early in the season, and only time will tell.