Mercedes went unbeaten in the opening six rounds of the 2026 season. Since then, Ferrari have won twice, McLaren once, and only two of the last five grands prix have gone the Silver Arrows’ way.
Lando Norris’ victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix on 26 July was McLaren’s first of the year, coming ahead of Max Verstappen and Antonelli in Budapest. The result did not dent Antonelli’s 50-point lead over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, with George Russell third on 160.
Former Ferrari and McLaren driver Stefan Johansson thinks the trend has further to run. Speaking to RacingNews365, the Swede said rivals are figuring out how to extract performance from the new-for-2026 cars.
“Mercedes clearly had a pretty big advantage at the beginning of the year, but more and more teams are understanding how you manage the car and everything, because that’s a big part of it.”
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50 points clear, but only two wins in five
Mercedes still lead Ferrari by 72 points in the constructors’ standings, and Antonelli’s six wins remain the best tally in the paddock. On paper, the Silver Arrows have the room to manage the run-in.
The recent race form points elsewhere. Ferrari won at Barcelona through Hamilton and at Silverstone with Charles Leclerc, while Russell’s Austrian win and Antonelli’s win in Belgium were the only Mercedes victories in the last five rounds before Norris broke McLaren’s duck at the Hungaroring.
Johansson expects the fight to keep tightening across the second half of the season.
“It’s going to close up, for sure. I think the championship is far from over.”
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Wolff already saw the drop-off
Toto Wolff sounded a similar note before Mercedes headed to Spa in July, telling his team they had let opportunities slip.
“We have left too much on the table recently. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again starting this weekend.”
“There is no value in having the pace if we don’t bring home the result.”
Antonelli answered by winning at Spa. Even so, the wider trend has not turned back into the runaway of March and April.
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For Johansson, that is why the championship is finally worth watching again.
“It’s already exciting. It’s obviously more than one team [in the mix] now.”
Eleven of the 22 rounds are done. The season resumes at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on 23 August.
Sources: – [2026 Hungarian Grand Prix race result](https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2026/races/1291/hungary/race-result) – [2026 F1 drivers’ standings](https://racingnews365.com/f1/standings/2026/drivers) – [F1 2026 Barcelona GP: Hamilton wins first Ferrari race](https://www.silverstone.co.uk/news/f1-2026-barcelona-grand-prix-results-hamilton-takes-first-ferrari-win-spain) – [Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2026 timetable](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/formula-1-heineken-dutch-grand-prix-2026.VYghWPhEDqYBlWbd1iKe6)Read also: Wheatley to Everton takes shape as academy mentor Cox pushes the deal
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