F1 Standings 2026: Lewis Hamilton is back as Max Verstappen melts down at Chinese Grand Prix

Laughing Lewis Hamilton and annoyed Max Verstappen edited onto a background of the Shanghai International Circuit — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2026 Standings

F1 Standings 2026: Lewis Hamilton fights back as Max Verstappen melts down

How the 2026 F1 Standings look after Sunday's grand prix in China

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Sunday 15 March 2026 10:32

The second race of the 2026 season took place in Shanghai on Sunday. Here are the official standings heading into the Japanese Grand Prix at the end of March.

While Kimi Antonelli claimed his first ever F1 victory and Lewis Hamilton stood on the podium for the first time as a Ferrari driver, both of them remain behind their team-mates – although the gaps have closed up.

George Russell and Charles Leclerc finished second and fourth respectively, helping Ferrari and Mercedes pull away even further from the chasing pack.

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That chasing pack should, in theory, contain reigning constructors' champions McLaren. However, neither of their drivers were even able to start Sunday's race thanks to electrical issues, stranding them on 18 points. That's 80 points behind Mercedes, after just two race weekends.

A nightmare weekend for Red Bull saw Max Verstappen fail to earn a single point in the sprint OR feature race, retiring from Sunday's grand prix with ten laps to go thanks to more Red Bull reliability issues.

The four-time world champion sits eighth in the drivers' standings after two races, level on eight points with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson. The pair's team-mates both sit on four points, meaning that the senior and junior teams sit tied on 12 points in the constructors' standings.

Oh, and both Cadillac and Aston Martin remain without a single point to their names.

Here are the official standings after the race in China and heading into the Japanese Grand Prix in a couple of weeks.

F1 Drivers' Standings after 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	George Russell	Mercedes	51
2	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	47
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	34
4	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	33
5	Ollie Bearman	Haas	17
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	15
7	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	9
8	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	8
9	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	8
10	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	4
11	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	4
12	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	3
13	Carlos Sainz	Williams	2
14	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	2
15	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1
16	Esteban Ocon	Haas	0
17	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	0
18	Alex Albon	Wiliams	0
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	0
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	0
21	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	0
22	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	0

F1 Constructors' Standings after 2026 Chinese Grand Prix

Position	Team	Points
1	Mercedes	98
2	Ferrari	67
3	McLaren	18
4	Haas	17
5	Red Bull	12
6	Racing Bulls	12
7	Alpine	10
8	Audi	2
9	Williams	2
10	Cadillac	0
11	Aston Martin	0

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit