It takes a fair bit of imagination to find any real drama left in the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. After 14 grands prix, Kimi Antonelli leads George Russell by 81 points, Lewis Hamilton by 101 and Lando Norris by 106.
In absolute terms, the biggest deficit any driver has ever overturned was the 46-point gap Max Verstappen faced to Charles Leclerc in 2022. That, however, was after just the third race of the season in Melbourne. By the end of the year, Verstappen’s second world title was a comfortable affair and he clinched it with 454 points to Leclerc’s 308.
