F1 2026’s best races? Three Grands Prix that proved the critics wrong

As Formula 1 races into its summer of discontent, was the first half of the F1 2026 season really as bad as it was billed?

Yes, there was super clipping, battery harvesting, artificial overtakes, mushroom boosts and lift-and-coast. But the races, and the racing, were entertaining. PlanetF1.com reminisces over its top three.

Canada: Mercedes rivalry ignites and a return to F1 2021

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Montreal was probably the day that it genuinely dawned on George Russell that F1 2026’s pre-season favourite was no longer the favourite.

Kimi Antonelli won a thrilling Canadian Grand Prix.

And therein lies the full stop. Kimi Antonelli won.

On a cold and dreary Sunday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the story of the Canadian Grand Prix was a frantic, thrilling race driven on the limit throughout.

Although Lando Norris jumped from third to first off the line, McLaren banked on a few wet laps on the inters. But, on a dry track, so Oscar Piastri was into the pits at the end of Lap 1 and Norris only lasted one lap extra.

That elevated Antonelli into the lead, with Russell running second ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Russell attacked his teammate for position as Max Verstappen took on Hamilton (ala 2021) as the Red Bull driver sent one down the inside at Turn 1. Antonelli came back at Russell, who fought back, and Alex Albon clipped an over optimistic Piastri.

It didn’t stop there, and Russell and Antonelli were back at it in the fight for the lead with neither – pre-season favourite or teenager – giving an inch.

And then came the complaints, because perhaps for the first time this season they weren’t teammates, they were rivals.

The pair banged wheels at the final chicane, Antonelli went off, and was told to give the lead to Russell. The Italian claimed Russell “pushed me off,” but obliged. Antonelli went on the attack again into the final chicane. No wheel-banging this time as a breathtaking race continued.

Alas the battle ended when a “catastrophic” battery failure ended Russell’s race. That gave Antonelli breathing room in the battle for the win. But behind him, it was heating up between Hamilton and Verstappen.

The Ferrari driver closed in on his 2021 title rival and challenged him at Turn 12/13, again at Turn 1, and then again at Turn 1. This time, he made it stick. Verstappen, though, wasn’t giving up on the runner-up position.

Antonelli clinched the win by 10 seconds ahead of Hamilton, who crossed the line with Verstappen on his rear wing.

The action-packed race ended with two storylines: Antonelli v Russell, and Hamilton v Verstappen, and changed the tone of the title battle.

Spain: Lewis Hamilton wins suspense thriller

Lewis Hamilton won the Barcelona Grand Prix, his first grand prix victory as a Ferrari driver, with a strategy masterclass that, let’s be honest, Ferrari seldom produces.

Hamilton lined up second on the Barcelona grid in the middle of a Mercedes sandwich with George Russell on pole position and Kimi Antonelli in third place.

Although the season’s previous races all hinted at an early Ferrari challenge that would inevitably be followed by Mercedes domination once the Brackley squad’s driver broke out of overtake mode zone, this Sunday played out differently.

Firstly, Russell held onto P1 ahead of Hamilton’s fast-starting SF-26 and pulled away from his former teammate.

Unlike in previous races, Antonelli’s W17 wasn’t able to cut through Hamilton’s dirty air.

The trio emerged first, second, and third after the first round of pit stops with Hamilton keeping the Mercedes teammates honest. It may not have been the most thrilling opening stint, not like Australia or China’s back-and-forth between Mercedes and Ferrari for the lead, but it felt like something had to give.

And then Hamilton gave.

Ferrari called its driver in on Lap 28 of the 66-lap race, with Mercedes opting to stay out. Running first and second, Russell and Antonelli began to squabble over the lead. And well they should, because up until Barcelona, Mercedes’ only challenger had been its own reliability.

As the silver-clad teammates fought for the lead, Hamilton closed and closed some more. So too did Lando Norris.

Russell and Antonelli then pitted on lap 36 and 37 respectively, leaving Hamilton in the lead, but on tyres that were eight and nine laps older respectively.

And then came the Virtual Safety Car for Fernando Alonso’s stricken Aston Martin. Hamilton ducked into the pits.

“And you are in front!” crowed race engineer Carlo Santi as his driver returned to the track with a fresh set of tyres and track position over his nearest rivals.

With tyres that were now six and five laps fresher, Hamilton pulled away from the Mercedes teammates. Better yet for the Ferrari driver, Russell and Antonelli upped the ante in their intra-team battle.

The teammates did not hold back and went at it wheel-to-wheel for second place, which gifted Hamilton breathing room.

The Mercedes battle ended when Antonelli retired shortly after usurping Russell, but Hamilton was clear by then and went on to win the race by 20s ahead of Russell with Lando Norris in third.

It wasn’t an action movie, more of a suspense thriller.

Antonelli remained the title favourite, but suddenly the Mercedes 1-2 wasn’t so certain.

Hungary: McLaren enter the chat

One clear winner, and three drivers separated at the line (penalties not included) by 3.728s.

Formula 1 arrived at the Hungaroring super clip and battery harvest weary. All that stood between the drivers and a long-awaited summer break was 70 laps. And did those 70 laps produce!

Was it that end-of-term feeling that everyone gave everything and more and to hell with the rest? Whatever it was, we want more!

Oscar Piastri let Lando Norris know he wasn’t anyone’s wingman, ‘sensational’ or otherwise, with an aggressive overtake on the reigning world champion at Turn 3 on the opening lap to take the lead.

Max Verstappen made it abundantly clear to Lewis Hamilton that, even when his Red Bull is “completely ****ed,” he wouldn’t roll over, their rivalry from years gone by clearly far from over.

Verstappen added to it with THE overtake of the season. As he emerged from the pits behind Hamilton with Liam Lawson between them, Max did what Max does; he passed them both into Turn 1 with an audacious late braking move.

All the while Piastri led the race, Norris shadowing him, as Kimi Antonelli showed George Russell how a driver turns a bad weekend into a good race.

Blue flags created drama (and, let’s be honest, the tantalising idea of F1 without blue flags. Could you imagine?), and cost Piastri the lead after a clash with Carlos Sainz. It was, however, his McLaren’s gearbox that caused his retirement.

With Norris in the lead, he pulled away from Antonelli, who considered a one-stop strategy, with Verstappen and Hamilton third and fourth. But realising the one-stopper wasn’t going to work, Antonelli pitted, fell to sixth and then went on a charge.

That saw him improve to fourth and challenge Hamilton for third, only for the Briton to marginally exceed the pit lane speed limit at his final stop. It was a strategic blunder as, while Hamilton maintained position on track, he was forced to give it back because of a Virtual Safety Car, and was then hit with a five-second time penalty.

Despite that, he hounded Antonelli all the way to the line, with their battle giving Norris and Verstappen an easy run to first and second.

Norris claimed his first win as a world champion ahead of Verstappen and Antonelli, the latter extending his lead in the standings to 50 points over Hamilton.

Kimi remains the favourite, but he has three world champs who won’t go down without a fight.

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