Halftime in the fast lane: The Formula 1 balance sheet for the summer break

The rising star

That Kimi Antonelli It was clear that he had talent. Nevertheless, before the start of the season, Mercedes believed more in a world champion George Russell. But the teenager from Italy puts his teammate in the shade. The 19-year-old won six of eleven races. The result is the clear lead in the World Cup. Should Antonelli actually race to the title, he would be by far the youngest world champion in history. This record is still held by Sebastian Vettel, who was 23 years and 134 days old in 2010.

The unlucky one

“I have never experienced a season like this in my entire career,” groaned George Russell after the race in Hungary. “I’m not disappointed at all anymore. Because if I was disappointed by all of this, I would be disappointed every single day of the week.” The 28-year-old Brit was set back several times this season due to technical defects. In Budapest the mishap happened as soon as the starting lights went out. Team boss Toto Wolff then absolved his driver of any blame and saw the problem solely with the technology.

The crowd puller

The fans are crazy about Formula 1 like never before. New visitor records are announced almost every race weekend. The entry of the US media group Liberty Media has put the ailing Formula 1 back on the fast track. Thanks to a social media offensive, sales rose from $2 billion (2019) to $3.9 billion in the previous year within just a few years. Interest is increasing enormously, especially among young, female fans. The new enthusiasm surrounding Formula 1 is also reflected in the number of spectators at the European races (calculated over the entire weekend): the races in Silverstone (564,000), Spa (400,000), Spielberg (320,000) and Budapest (310,000) were sold out.

The curser

Whenever his Red Bull car doesn’t move properly, it comes Max Verstappen really up to speed. The Dutchman’s radio messages are legendary: “Let’s retire the car!” he swore at the Grand Prix in China. “What a joke! What a joke! What a shitty weekend!” exclaimed the Dutchman in Budapest. In the World Cup, the 28-year-old is already 110 points behind Antonelli in sixth place.

The exciter

With the 2026 season, Formula 1 experienced a new start. The battery portion of the drives became enormously important. The races are attractive for the fans, there are a lot of overtaking maneuvers. But the regulations are not well received by the 22 drivers. It is not the driving skills of the drivers that are crucial in wheel-to-wheel duels, but rather the charge level of the hybrid systems. The current engine rules should apply until 2030. After that, a return to V8 engines with smaller hybrid systems is likely.

The rule keepers

Nothing escapes the strict gaze of the race stewards; the FIA ​​has a zero-tolerance policy and punishes anyone who violates the traffic rules even minimally. Lewis Hamilton was flashed at 80.1 in the pit lane in Budapest instead of the permitted 80 km/h – 5 second penalty. It wasn’t the seven-time world champion’s first self-inflicted punishment this year. Without these mistakes, the gap to World Cup leader Kimi Antonelli (50 points) would be significantly smaller today.

The Monday cars

Vehicles in which something always breaks are commonly referred to as Monday cars. The long-suffering drivers of Aston Martin and Cadillac sit in exactly these kinds of cars. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll are only getting going very slowly with their Aston Martin cars and have recorded eleven failures between them. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez The racing cars of Formula 1 newcomer Cadillac failed to reach the finish line ten times.

The new ones

The newcomers from Audi are delivering a decent debut season. In Hungary they were able to finish in the points for the third time in a row. It was the first time too Nico Hulkenbergwho could write to.

The crumbling asphalt

Glamour, splendor, glory – that’s what Monte Carlo has always stood for, the annual high mass of Formula 1, where it feels like there hasn’t been a real overtaking maneuver for years. This year, unusual accidents could be marveled at during the procession of racing cars. And the crumbling asphalt in the famous Rascasse corner was to blame. The holes in the racetrack became, of all things, the local hero Charles Leclerc to his fate, who slid his Ferrari into the guard rails. “I won’t take the blame for this,” the Monegasque said angrily.