The 2026 Formula 1 season has delivered several major disappointments during its opening half, with George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso among the drivers who have fallen furthest short of expectations. As the summer break approaches its conclusion and the paddock prepares to return at Zandvoort, it is time to assess those who have struggled to deliver what was expected of them.
With 22 drivers competing this season, performances have varied considerably across the grid. Some have exceeded expectations, while others enter the second half of the championship needing a significant turnaround. Here are the drivers who receive failing or borderline grades at the midway point of F1 2026.
George Russell – 6-: a fallen prince at Mercedes
George Russell ends the first half of the season on a negative note. Expectations were very different heading into 2026, particularly because the British driver himself, like many others, believed that having the fastest car could be enough for him to establish himself as the best.
Kimi Antonelli has shattered that ambition so far, while the Mercedes W17 has also proved difficult for George Russell to master consistently. His relationship with the car has fluctuated throughout the campaign, and part of the responsibility for his current position must also be attributed to the Mercedes driver himself.
Misfortune and reliability problems have added further complications. Mathematically, George Russell remains in contention for the World Championship, but his chances of overturning the current situation appear very limited. His position has inevitably raised questions about the internal balance at Mercedes and the risk of George Russell finding himself in a Bottas-like Mercedes role alongside the increasingly impressive Kimi Antonelli.
Oscar Piastri – 6-: losing ground to Lando Norris
Oscar Piastri also receives a 6-, largely because of the comparison with McLaren team-mate Lando Norris. The 2026 season has not seen McLaren consistently shine, but the Australian has not always managed to make the difference either.
Apart from a handful of isolated results, Lando Norris has increasingly emerged as the driver making the difference. At the same time, Oscar Piastri appears increasingly constrained within the team, with many believing the Australian could eventually look for a fresh challenge elsewhere.
Budapest nevertheless provided a potentially important turning point. Despite the failure of Oscar Piastri’s car, the MCL40 showed renewed signs of life. McLaren’s improvement was no accident either, with a significant development process contributing to its Hungary breakthrough. The question now is whether the two Papaya drivers will return to fighting for victory from Zandvoort onwards.
Franco Colapinto and Nico Hülkenberg – 6: flashes of form but not enough consistency
It has also been a rollercoaster first half of the season for Franco Colapinto and Nico Hülkenberg, who both receive a 6. Neither has shone as brightly as Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto, although both have produced encouraging moments during the campaign.
When Formula 1 resumes after the summer break, the objective will be clear: rediscover their best form and turn those occasional flashes of performance into consistently stronger results.
Oliver Bearman – 5.5: talent limited by the Haas VF-26
Oliver Bearman sits just below a passing grade with a 5.5. The British driver delivered Haas’ first points of the season and, particularly in the early stages of the campaign, appeared capable of becoming a genuine threat alongside Pierre Gasly.
More recently, however, Oliver Bearman has found himself at the mercy of the limitations of the VF-26. The Haas has fallen well below expectations and remains too far away from the points-scoring positions. Bearman’s talent is not in question, but without a sufficiently competitive car there is little room for him to demonstrate it. A definitive assessment is therefore better postponed until the end of the season.
Esteban Ocon – 3: F1 future increasingly uncertain
The same leniency cannot be extended to Esteban Ocon, who receives a 3 after a deeply disappointing opening half of the championship. His performances have fallen short across the board, and he could potentially find himself shown the door.
Esteban Ocon’s Formula 1 future appears to be hanging by a thread, and a major reversal of fortunes during the second half of the season currently looks difficult to envisage.
Williams – 3: Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon endure a nightmare season
Williams has arguably been the biggest team disappointment of the season. Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both receive a rating of 3 after enduring what has become one of the most complicated campaigns of their respective careers.
The situation has been particularly difficult for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard has often looked unrecognisable on track, while his behaviour has too frequently gone beyond what might have been expected. His frustration appears so significant that he has begun looking towards other possibilities, although those alternatives currently seem out of reach.
Only time will reveal what the future holds for Carlos Sainz. At Grove, however, the moment for dwelling on the disappointment has passed. Williams must focus on restoring its performance, producing a more respectable conclusion to the current campaign and creating far more encouraging prospects for 2027.
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll – 2: Aston Martin’s ambitions collapse
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll receive the lowest rating among the established pairings, with both awarded a 2. During 2025, Aston Martin spoke ambitiously and even entertained dreams of fighting for the World Championship, but the first warning signs arrived as early as pre-season testing.
The AMR26 was born with too many shortcomings and weaknesses, while Adrian Newey has found himself trying to recover an identity that appears to have been dramatically lost. Developing the second version of the car has not been straightforward, although Budapest finally brought some modest signs of progress.
Those improvements provide at least some reason for optimism. Fernando Alonso has also expressed confidence in the revised package, with further gains expected from Aston Martin’s AMR26B. The second half of the championship will reveal whether those early signs can develop into a genuine recovery.
Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas – 3: Cadillac needs results after adaptation period
Last but certainly not least are Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who both receive a 3. Their return to Formula 1 has not been particularly impressive, especially in the case of the Finnish driver, who has been noticeably more subdued than his Mexican team-mate.
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, is aiming to remain on the grid and is keeping an eye on developments in the driver market. Cadillac had long been aware of the scale of the challenge involved in entering a Formula 1 environment that is as fast-moving as it is chaotic, but the period of adaptation has now come to an end. The team’s work increasingly needs to be converted into tangible results.
F1 2026 mid-season disappointments face a crucial Zandvoort restart
The countdown to Formula 1’s return is getting shorter. Zandvoort is just around the corner, and the Dutch Grand Prix will begin a second half of the season in which several drivers urgently need to change the direction of their campaigns.
For George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and the other drivers who have fallen short of expectations, there is still time to alter the verdict before the season ends. The current 2026 Formula 1 driver standings show how much work remains to be done, while the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix schedule marks the next opportunity for the struggling names of the first half to begin their recovery.
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