Who ranks among our F1 2026 most improved teams so far?

With the summer break upon us, we’re taking a look at who we believe are the most improved teams on the F1 2026 grid. And no, there are no prizes for guessing Mercedes…

We already have our list of most improved drivers from last year to this, and it’s time to check in with who has made the clearest gains in Formula 1’s new era.

Mercedes

Let’s start with the obvious.

It’s not that Mercedes has risen too much in the standings, having finished second in the constructors’ last season, but to have been so far behind a customer team in McLaren (a 364-point deficit, in fact) will have absolutely stung.

Reports started extremely early about the Silver Arrows being the team to beat in 2026, and despite the relative lack of competitiveness it faced throughout the ground effect era, the switch to turbo-hybrid engines in 2014 was evidence enough that Brackley and Brixworth knows how to ace regulation changes.

After a loophole surrounding power unit compression ratio was seemingly closed (remember that?), despite that having been an area where Mercedes had supposedly been making gains, that does not appear to have affected the team in the slightest in terms of outright competitiveness.

With power unit parity required between factory and customer teams too, Mercedes also played its one trump card incredibly effectively.

By not necessarily sharing how to make the most of its power unit immediately, the team was able to gain a jump on its customer rivals from the off.

Sure enough, in Melbourne, once all the sandbags of testing had fallen in qualifying, polesitter George Russell held an eight-tenth advantage over Isack Hadjar in third.

In the race, only six cars finished on the lead lap. The signs were ominous.

Mercedes hasn’t had it all its own way this year, with Ferrari and McLaren both snatching wins in recent races.

The W17 is not the dominant force it was at the start of the season, but it’s worth reminding that the team has also not used its resources to bring early upgrades in the same way as its rivals.

So, even though Mercedes has been reeled in somewhat in the competitive order, wait and see for any further jumps ahead.

And that’s without a potential title battle brewing between its drivers…

Ferrari

While Ferrari appears to lack in power compared to its rival Mercedes engine, perceived wisdom in the paddock is that the SF-26 has been the best chassis on the grid for most of the season.

That is no mean feat given the competition around the Scuderia, and while the championship remains the single-minded goal of every member of the tifosi getting back to race victories in 2026 has at least been a significant step up compared to how the tail-end of 2025 tailed off in performance.

Looking at the championship standings too, to have one of its drivers in Lewis Hamilton above a Mercedes at the halfway stage seemed fanciful when the covers properly came off in Melbourne.

Its aggressive upgrade strategy through the first half of the year has paid dividends, with some innovative solutions in there – not least its so-nicknamed ‘Macarena’ movable rear wing design now being replicated by several teams.

The Scuderia may still be 72 points behind Mercedes at this stage of the season, but the team has made sure it is a contender at pretty much every race so far this season.

The danger for Ferrari lies in its upgrade resources having arrived early, and the potential of others overtaking them in the pecking order when their own updates arrive – a la McLaren in Hungary.

That said, the first half of 2026 should be seen as a confidence booster back at Maranello.

Alpine

To be fair, Alpine couldn’t get much lower at this point last season.

There wasn’t a huge amount of appetite to upgrade through the season with regulation changes on the horizon, and the signs point to positive changes.

One wonders if this short-term gain has come at something of a cost, though, with Renault having abruptly abandoned its factory power unit plans for 2026 in favour of a customer deal with Mercedes.

Of course, with Mercedes expected to have been the class-leading power unit, it made sense at the time to gain pretty much guaranteed performance there and then, the customer parts associated with the engine and the lower overall costs associated with it.

An immediate gain in 2026? Yes, combined with a better chassis as ‘Team Enstone’ has comfortably moved back to the midfield.

Previous wisdom, though, indicated that factory teams had a higher potential ceiling, while customers would be playing catch-up with development and the latest information.

Well, with McLaren’s success in recent seasons, that theory can probably be put to bed.

Has it limited itself moving forward? Not necessarily, but a lot of work and ingenuity will be required to overhaul the frontrunners in future.

As for now, the experience of Pierre Gasly and growth of Franco Colapinto has seen Alpine have a much better season in 2026 so far.

More about the F1 2026 season so far

F1 2026 Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings

F1 schedule: When is the next race and where is it being held?

Racing Bulls

While Racing Bulls as a team found itself towards the front of the midfield last season, the continuation of that performance seems to have gone up a notch in 2026.

With four teams having scampered away at the front of the field, Racing Bulls has, in recent races at least, put itself front of the queue to be best of the rest.

You only have to look at how often both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad put themselves through to Q3 and mop up the final points available of a weekend as evidence of that.

While both seem to be scrapping amongst themselves at every race, Lawson and Lindblad have largely found a way clear of the Alpines.

The onus will be on Alpine to try and fight back over that P5 spot in the constructors’ standings, which is worth a huge amount financially to the teams if they are able to gain any place in the championship.

Bringing operations towards Milton Keynes and aligning more closely with the ‘senior’ Red Bull team is appearing to bear fruit in recent years, and its solid midfield placing a sign that it is more than just a proving ground for the team’s young drivers.

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