The 2025 Formula 1 season opener in Melbourne marked the first time since the 2022 season opener in Bahrain that Formula 1 had seen a first-time points leader.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won in Bahrain in 2022, but after Red Bull's Max Verstappen took the lead of the standings in Spain a few months later, he did not relinquish it throughout the remainder of 2022, 2023, or 2024. Verstappen himself had never led the standings until winning in Monaco in 2021 and was the most recent first-time points leader before Leclerc took over at the top.
But it was McLaren's Lando Norris who opened up the 2025 season with a victory, and while Norris went on to win his first world championship that year, it was teammate Oscar Piastri, who had also never previously sat atop the standings, who was atop the championship for most of the season.
Formula 1 has another new points leader in 2026
Just as it did a year ago, it took just one race for Formula 1 to get a first-time points leader in 2026. On the same weekend as IndyCar got its first new points leader in 89 weeks, Mercedes' George Russell opened up the season with a dominant win from pole in Melbourne, ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in second place.
Here's a look at the standings following the Australian Grand Prix.
Rank | Driver | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Russell, Mercedes | 25 | 0 |
2 | Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes | 18 | -7 |
3 | Charles Leclerc, Ferrari | 15 | -10 |
4 | Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari | 12 | -13 |
5 | Lando Norris, McLaren | 10 | -15 |
6 | Max Verstappen, Red Bull | 8 | -17 |
7 | Ollie Bearman, Haas | 6 | -19 |
8 | Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls | 4 | -21 |
9 | Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi | 2 | -23 |
10 | Pierre Gasly, Alpine | 1 | -24 |
Russell has been as high as second place in the standings before. That happened after he opened up the 2022 season, his first with the Silver Arrows, with finishes of fourth in Bahrain, fifth in Jeddah, and third in Melbourne. However, he was a distant second, as then-points leader Leclerc won two of those races and finished the other in second.
Aside from Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, and Russell, three other active drivers have led the standings at some point during their careers. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion, and prior to Russell, he had been Mercedes' most recent points leader, having led after the Sochi race in the latter stages of the 2021 season.
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso is a two-time world champion, and Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas is a two-time runner-up. Teammate Sergio Perez, another former runner-up, has only ever been as high as second, although he was at one point just one single point behind Verstappen in early 2023.
The Chinese Grand Prix is the second race on the 24-race 2026 Formula 1 schedule, and it is scheduled to take place at Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday, March 15, with live coverage set to begin at 2:55 a.m. ET on Apple TV.