F1 standings: How the World Drivers' Championship picture looks after Hungarian Grand Prix

Lando Norris became the first driver, since 2020, to convert his pole position in qualifying to a Grand Prix victory on the Sunday as he claimed victory at the Hungaroring.

The British driver secured his first win of the season and 12th win overall in Formula 1, building on his performance last weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix, as he finished second at Spa.

Max Verstappen would finish second in the Grand Prix, the second time on the podium this season, while third place was secured by world championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

This podium finish for the Italian has allowed him to stretch his lead in the drivers’ championship as his closest rivals, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, could only finish fifth and seventh, respectively.

Hamilton finished fourth in the race behind Antonelli, but he would drop to fifth after the confirmation of the result as he received a five-second penalty for speeding in the pits.

F1 Drivers' Championship standings

1. Kimi Antonelli - 219 - (Mercedes)

2. Lewis Hamilton - 169 - (Ferrari)

3. George Russell - 160 - (Mercedes)

4. Charles Leclerc - 138 - (Ferrari)

5. Lando Norris - 128 - (McLaren)

6. Max Verstappen - 106 - (Red Bull)

7. Oscar Piastri - 92 - (McLaren)

8. Isack Hadjar - 68 - (Red Bull)

9. Liam Lawson - 43 - (Racing Bulls)

10. Pierre Gasly - 42 - (Alpine)

11. Arvid Lindblad - 22 - (Racing Bulls)

12. Franco Colapinto - 19 - (Alpine)

13. Oliver Bearman - 18 - (Haas)

14. Gabriel Bortoleto - 11 - (Audi)

15. Carlos Sainz - 6 - (Williams)

16. Alexander Albon - 5 - (Williams)

17. Esteban Ocon - 3 - (Haas)

18. Nico Hulkenberg - 2 - (Audi)

19. Fernando Alonso - 1 - (Aston Martin)

20. Valtteri Bottas - 0 - (Cadillac)

21. Sergio Perez - 0 - (Cadillac)

22. Lance Stroll - 0 - (Aston Martin)

How the F1 standings changed after the Belgian Grand Prix

Risers –

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 7th to 6th

Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 10th to 9th

Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) - 19th to 18th

Fallers -

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 6th to 7th

Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 9th to 10th

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 18th to 19th

How are F1 points awarded?

Drivers can collect points that go toward their World Championship tally, collecting them in both the sprint race and the Grand Prix main race.

The winner of a sprint race will be awarded eight points, with there being only six of these events across the calendar in 2026, with points being awarded to the top eight drivers.

Meanwhile, the driver that finishes first at the end of the main race will be awarded 25 points, with second earning 18 and third getting a total of 15. Points will be awarded to the top 10 drivers to finish the race.

Sprint Race –

1^st – 8

2^nd – 7

3^rd – 6

4^th – 5

5^th – 4

6^th – 3

7^th – 2

8^th – 1

Main Race –

1^st - 25

2^nd - 18

3^rd - 15

4^th - 12

5^th - 10

6^th - 8

7^th - 6

8^th - 4

9^th - 2

10^th - 1

Who can still win the F1 Championship?

We are now at the mid-point of the World Championship with 11 of the 22 Grand Prixes for the 2026 season completed, there is an argument that can be made that mathematically anyone can still win the Drivers’ Championship.

However, realistically we could only look at the current holder of the championship, Lando Norris, who currently occupies fifth, as having any chance of winning the title this campaign from an outsider perspective.

The Brit would be a shock contender, but with the gap being 91 points with 11 races left, it is possible things could miraculously go his way.

Yet, at present the favourite for the title is Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship with 219 points, a gap of 59 points to his Mercedes teammate, George Russell.

The pair have dominated the races this season, winning eight of the 11 Grand Prixs, with the Italian claiming six victories to the Brit’s two.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s driving pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will believe they do have a realistic chance of winning the title after their most recent upgrades.

Hamiliton is just 50 points behind leader Antonelli, while Leclerc is 31 behind his teammate, so both will believe they can close the gap to the Mercedes driver to make the end of the season an interesting battle for the title.

What happens if two drivers are level on points in the F1 standings?

The answer lies in the tie-breaking countback system that prioritises race victories above all else, so whoever has won the most Grand Prixs will secure the title; however, sprints are not considered.

If that tally remains equal, second-place finishes would be counted, followed by third-place finishes, and so on, continuing down the finishing positions until a difference emerges.