By Tammi Fairbairn
As the weekend in Mexico City unfolded, the race for second place in the 2026 Driver’s Championship has intensified. Until now, the contest had primarily been a close fought battle between former Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. However, with a tremendous win in Mexico, Max Verstappen has also solidified his position as a serious contender with potentially two races left of the season.
Hamilton v Ferrari
Hamilton and Ferrari were looking strong all weekend and had secured pole in qualifying. However, it was the race that ultimately cost him crucial points. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, has not given the Briton the best hand in this race either. In turn 4, the two Ferraris went side by side and ran wide, allowing the Red Bull of Max Verstappen to overtake.
This has not been the first instance where the Monegasque has impacted a race for the seven-time world champ. During the sprint race in China, Leclerc and Hamilton exchanged positions and battled each other the whole race. Most notable was in Monza, Ferrari’s home race, Leclerc squeezed through Hamilton on the opening lap, causing Hamilton to go into the gravel.
Hamilton has been very outspoken about the lack of ruling at Ferrari. Points are getting lost due to teammate battles. The team cannot afford its two drivers taking away points from each other, especially when Hamilton is in a battle fighting both Russell and now Verstappen.
Russell v Mercedes
Russell has arguably been one of the unluckiest drivers of 2026. His teammate has gone from rookie to World Champion in only two seasons, whilst he has struggled with race incidents, unreliable cars, and strategy miscalculations.
The Canadian Grand Prix was a major loss for the Briton. He was leading and fighting his teammate for victory until lap 30, when he experienced battery failure. That race alone cost him a maximum of 18 points. In Monaco, he suffered from a speeding penalty being incorrectly served. In what could have been a podium finish at a notably hard track, he finished outside of the points.
This weekend alone, Russell qualified second but on lap one he experienced a deployment failure. He fell down the pecking order and collided with Isack Hadjar, meaning a 10-second penalty was coming his way. Victory could have been his on-race day, but it was stripped away through his car being poor.
Following each failure, Russell has become visibly more irritated. This attitude alone could jeopardise his chances of finishing second place in the standings.
Max Verstappen
The four-time world champion has silently crept up the standings. He has won several of the past races and secured podiums consistently along the way. The only way Verstappen could secure second is to finish ahead of Hamilton by a minimum of three points, whilst avoiding retirements and collisions.
