Sky Sports F1 pundits pick their 2026 world champion, biggest underachiever and surprise of the year
Sky Sports F1 pundits David Croft, Anthony Davidson, Bernie Collins and Natalie Pinkham have made their predictions ahead of the 2026 season.
This weekend, the 2026 Formula 1 campaign kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix, taking place around Melbourne's Albert Park.
On Friday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc topped FP1 ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
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In FP2, it was McLaren star and home hero Oscar Piastri who went fastest ahead of Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
Prior to the weekend, SPORTbible spoke to several members of the Sky Sports F1 on-screen team and asked them to make their predictions for the 2026 season.
Lead commentator Croft, presenter Pinkham and expert analysts Davidson and Collins were asked to pick out the constructors champion, drivers champion, biggest surprise of the season, best race of the year, the biggest underachiever and the best performing British driver.
David Croft
Constructors Champion - Mercedes
Driver Champion - Oscar Piastri
Best Race of the Year - Silverstone
Biggest Underachiever - Aston Martin
Best Performing British Driver - George Russell
Crofty said: "Predictions are always hard, but it's even more hard this year with new rules, new regulations, and everything changes. I'm going to for constructors champion, Mercedes and driver champion, Oscar Piastri.
"Silverstone is always the best, I love Silverstone, getting the chance to chat with the fans and sleep in my own bed for the week! I absolutely love Silverstone."
He added: "Biggest underachiever, Aston Martin, the reliability problems were horrendous, beautifully packaged but too tight for everything to work.
"Best performing Brit will be George Russell."
Anthony Davidson
Constructors Champion - McLaren
Driver Champion - George Russell
Surprise of the Season - Alpine
Best Race of the Year - Melbourne
Biggest Underachiever - Aston Martin
Best Performing British Driver - George Russell
Davidson explained: "Let's go for someone new, let's go for George Russell, why not? The team really to watch out for, super experienced, is McLaren.
"The biggest turnaround from last season to this year could be Alpine, they have the Mercedes power unit."
The ex-F1 driver continued: "The best race of the year for me will be Melbourne.
"Lewis Hamilton could have a massive resurgence with Ferrari."
Bernie Collins
Constructors Champion - Mercedes
Driver Champion - George Russell
Surprise of the Season - Lewis Hamilton
Best Race of the Year - Melbourne
Biggest Underachiever - Aston Martin
Best Performing British Driver - Arvid Lindblad
Collins claimed: "Lewis Hamilton's return to form is going to be a bit of a surprise.
"I'm really excited to see how Arvid Lindblad does, it's nice to see a new face on the grid."
Natalie Pinkham
Constructors Champion - Mercedes
Driver Champion - George Russell
Surprise of the Season - Isack Hadjar
Best Race of the Year - Japan
Biggest Underachiever - Aston Martin
Pinkham said: "I don't think it will come as any great surprise that I'm going to go with George Russell. I think it's that sweet spot between the driver being really at the top of his game, alongside actually having a really competitive car.
"I think Isack Hadjar will do well in the second seat at Red Bull, it has been something of a poisoned chalice over the years but with the regulation changes, it's a bit of a blank canvas and he will have the chance to shine."
She added: "Japan is the best race of the year, Suzuka is such an iconic circuit where we see some good racing.
"Whether Aston Martin could break through the dark cloud of testing remains to be seen."
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Topics: Formula 1, Sky Sports
Marcus Chan