Former F1 driver and presenter Martin Brundle has revealed that any of the drivers in the top four teams are capable of winning the 2026 championship, as the sport returns to action this weekend in Miami after an unexpected month-long break.
While Mercedes showcased its dominance in the first three races under the 2026 regulations with new cars that are powered equally by internal combustion and electric power, the other teams are not too far behind, especially Ferrari, which came closest to Mercedes on the track.
Both Ferrari drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, secured podium finishes in the first three rounds, while McLaren, which fell back in the first two Grands Prix, exhibited an impressive recovery in Japan with Oscar Piastri’s P2 finish.
With teams expected to bounce back with faster cars after the April break, Brundle says the top four teams could have a world champion among them. The 2026 Teams’ Standings list Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, and Haas as the top four teams in the same order, meaning any driver belonging to these teams with sufficient points could win the championship.
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Speaking of the Drivers’ Championship, the order shows a similar picture with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leading the championship with 72 points, while his teammate George Russell trails by nine points in second place.
Third and fourth spots are occupied by Leclerc and Hamilton, respectively, followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri in fifth and sixth. The seventh spot is held by Haas driver Oliver Bearman, while Alpine driver Pierre Gasly is in eighth. Haas’ Esteban Ocon did not make it on the list, since he is placed P15, having scored just one point.
Could one of these drivers win the championship this year? There is a high possibility of that playing out, according to Brundle, unless something drastic occurs mid-season where a team unlocks enough performance to make it back to the top, especially with 19 races left to go. Speaking to Sky Sports News, the former driver said:
“We have got a Sprint weekend in Miami, so there are Sprint points to be won, Grand Prix points to be won.
“This is going to ebb and flow. I see teams leapfrogging others with some upgrades because there is so much upside potential with these cars.
“Anybody I would say in the top four teams, any of those eight drivers, could win this year’s world championship.”