Four drivers, 16 points: the fight for second

Analysis. 2 November 2026. Mexico GP.

The title is settled, but second place is not. Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell and Leclerc are separated by 16 points with four races to go.

Kimi Antonelli settled the 2026 title in Mexico. The race behind him is still wide open: four drivers are within 16 points of each other for second place, and only four Grands Prix are left.

100 points left, no sprints

São Paulo, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are all normal weekends, so each driver can score at most 100 more points. That rules nobody out. Two points between Verstappen and Hamilton are less than the gap between first and second in a single race. If two drivers finish level, the one with more wins goes ahead: Verstappen and Russell have three each, Hamilton and Leclerc one each.

Verstappen: the strongest form on the grid

Verstappen's season started badly. He retired in China, Monaco and the Netherlands and finished 20th at Silverstone. Then the autumn came. All three of his wins have come in the last four races: Bahrain, Singapore and Mexico, with a third place in Austin in between. That is 90 points from the last four rounds, more than anyone on the grid, the new champion included.

F1 put it in one line on Instagram: four winners, four rounds to go, 16 points in it. The picture is Verstappen, smiling, fist raised.

Hamilton: back on the podium, but angry

Second in Mexico was Hamilton's best result since his win in Barcelona in June, and it moved him up to third. He started from pole and finished 0.799 seconds behind Verstappen. It could have been more: his teammate's move on the first lap is a separate story, and Hamilton was furious about it. Since his retirement in Spain he has scored in every race.

Russell: 14 points in four races

Russell has three wins this year, the same as Verstappen, but his form has gone. In the last four races he finished 20th, 9th, 8th and 6th. Mexico was the hardest of them: he started second, lost four places on the first lap with a battery that did not deliver, then got a 10-second penalty for hitting Isack Hadjar at Turn 6. He left the circuit without speaking to the media, and the stewards fined Mercedes 5,000 euros. Toto Wolff said Russell was distraught after watching his teammate take the title (Motorsport.com via Yahoo).

Leclerc: the steadiest of the four

Leclerc is fifth, but he has finished fourth or better in each of the last six races, with two second places among them. Since Spain only Verstappen and Antonelli have scored more. His problem is earlier in the year: retirements in Monaco and Monza, and 15th in Barcelona. In Mexico he took the lead on the first lap, got a five-second penalty and finished fourth.

What to watch in São Paulo

Last four races, points per driver:

On form, Verstappen is the favourite to keep second. But one bad weekend changes the order: Russell has already shown he can win, and two Ferraris are fighting each other as much as anyone else.

The full table is on the standings page. Profiles: Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc. Next round: the São Paulo Grand Prix.