BEYOND THE TOP THREE: WHY OSCAR PIASTRI IS JAMES HINCHCLIFFE’S BIGGEST 2026 SNUB
James Hinchcliffe has revealed his top three drivers for the 2026 F1 season, and 2025 standout Oscar Piastri didn't make the cut.
James Hinchcliffe isn’t picking Oscar Piastri for his top three drivers in F1’s 2026 season, even though he’s backing Piastri’s McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, to be right up there.
Last year, Piastri almost grabbed the drivers’ championship for the first time. He had a pretty solid lead, 34 points ahead of Norris and 104 over Verstappen, with just nine races to go. But things took a bad turn late in the season. He slipped down to third, while Norris took the title and Verstappen jumped to second. Both McLaren drivers finished the year with seven Grand Prix wins each, but in the end, Piastri was 13 points behind Norris, who only edged out Verstappen by two points.
Now, with the big regulation changes coming for 2026, Hinchcliffe thinks Norris, Verstappen, and George Russell from Mercedes are in the best spot to take advantage. In his eyes, Piastri is probably fighting for fourth in his fourth F1 season.
Hinchcliffe is especially confident about Russell. Mercedes is convinced they’ll have the upper hand with their new engine in 2026, thanks to F1’s big changes to the power units. The electric side of the equation jumps from 20% to nearly 50%, and the MGU-H is gone for good.
Since McLaren gets its engines from Mercedes, Hinchcliffe figures that’ll help Norris stay in the title fight. But he still can’t ignore Verstappen; he’s proven he belongs in any championship conversation.
Hinchcliffe put it this way to F1’s official website: “2026 is shaping up to be one of the wildest, most open seasons we’ve seen. With all these rule changes, teams need to nail the car, the engine suppliers have to get it right, and the drivers have to pretty much relearn how to get the best out of the car. Mercedes looks strong again, so I’m putting Russell in my top three. Norris is on the list too; he comes in with a champion’s mindset and that Mercedes power. And with how tricky the new energy management is, I just have to include Verstappen. He always seems to have that extra brainpower when he’s driving.”
Now, don’t count Piastri out just because he stumbled at the end of last season. That tough finish in 2025 could be exactly what pushes him to come back fighting in 2026. He’s had the winter to hit reset and work through it, so he shouldn’t be dragging any of last year’s baggage into the new season.
Hinchcliffe isn’t the only one pointing out that the new 2026 engine rules might play to Verstappen’s strengths. Drivers will have a lot more to juggle with all that extra electric power, and Verstappen already showed he’s got a knack for it in testing. He was the first to push the new Red Bull Powertrains unit with a high-revving style in Bahrain, squeezing out extra energy. He even used lower gears in corners to recover more, even when it made the car sketchy to handle.
Still, Piastri has his supporters. Franz Tost, the ex-Toro Rosso boss, thinks Piastri is ready to go toe-to-toe with Verstappen, especially after what he learned last year. Piastri handled the heat pretty well when he was fighting Norris for the 2025 title, at least at first. But things started to unravel after McLaren told him to give second place back to Norris in Italy. After that, the mistakes piled up: crashes in qualifying and the race in Azerbaijan, plus trouble in the US Sprint.
So yeah, Hinchcliffe is leaving Piastri out of his top three, but there’s still plenty of reason to believe the Australian could bounce back and make some noise in 2026.
SERGIO PEREZ BREAKS SILENCE ON CADILLAC’S FIRST FOUR RACES OF 2026 F1 SEASON
Discover why Sergio Perez is confident in Cadillac’s 2026 path despite urgent needs for better pace and reliability fixes.
Sergio Perez didn’t waste time sharing his thoughts on Cadillac after the first four races of the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Cadillac shows up in 2026 as F1’s newest team, but honestly, not a lot of people expected fireworks right away. With veterans like Valtteri Bottas and Perez behind the wheel, the team’s start has been a mix, some moments full of promise, others derailed by reliability issues.
Still, Cadillac isn’t just stuck at the back. Lately, they’ve been right there fighting with Aston Martin and even managed to split them in Miami, which turned a few heads.
Perez knows the team is at risk of falling behind in this crazy-fast development race, though. “We still have work to do, but I’m confident we’re on the right path,” he told reporters, including Motorsport Week.
He added, “Sometimes, once tyre degradation sets in, we can hang with the midfield, but they always seem to find another gear. There’s a long way to go this season, but we’re in a rush to find more pace. We know Aston will get stronger, and we don’t want to be left behind.”
Racing Aston Martin has actually brought Perez some enjoyment. He especially likes battling Fernando Alonso, calling those fights fair and satisfying. Still, he pointed out a weak spot: “We’re having fun with them. Racing Fernando is always great because he’s so fair. But we struggled with tyre degradation; we burnt through them too quickly. We picked the hard compound, but honestly, looking back, I should’ve gone with the soft.”
He said there’s plenty to analyse, and really, the key is getting a better grip on their car as they look ahead to Canada. “We don’t have much time, but in the short term, we need to fix the degradation. We have some ideas, but putting them together is our biggest challenge in the next few weeks.”
Cadillac may be the new kid on the block and still finding its feet, but it’s already starting to make an impact. The road out of the lower ranks won’t be easy, but they’re moving in the right direction.
HOW KIMI ANTONELLI’S THREE-RACE WIN STREAK IS REDEFINING THE MERCEDES TEAM HIERARCHY
With a 43-second gap in Miami, Antonelli proves he’s ready to lead the World Championship. Can Russell bounce back in Canada?
David Coulthard, the former Formula 1 driver, recently pointed out that Kimi Antonelli might be on track to overtake George Russell as Mercedes’ team leader.
Antonelli has been on an impressive run, clinching victories in the last three races and pulling ahead by 20 points over his main competitor and teammate, Russell.
At the Miami race, the young Italian once again outperformed his more seasoned teammate, with Russell managing only fourth place, trailing by 43 seconds.
Coulthard acknowledged Antonelli’s rapid rise in 2026, which is just his second season in F1. He highlighted Antonelli’s strengths and suggested that the Italian is, in many ways, now leading the Mercedes team.
“He’s come of age,” Coulthard said during the Up To Speed podcast.
Despite being relatively new, Antonelli has shown resilience, dealing not only with the pressure from a driver like Lando ready to strike but also with technical glitches like inconsistent paddle shifts. Coulthard mentioned how Antonelli kept his cool even when his engineer, Bono, was trying to help troubleshoot the issue in a tense moment.
“I think he’s earned the right to lead the World Championship,” Coulthard added, noting that this situation probably feels uncomfortable for George. Still, the expectations now lean heavily toward Antonelli leading the team, especially based on recent results.
Coulthard also pointed out that Russell has the experience and skill to reclaim his position as the team’s lead driver, but emphasised that only one can come out on top; someone must finish first and the other second.
The rivalry between them might start opening doors for other teams. Coulthard noted that improvements from McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull were already noticeable, especially in Miami.
“Winning in the best car isn’t always straightforward. Many have tried and struggled,” he said.
For Russell, who is feeling the weight of this momentum shift, the upcoming race in Canada will be crucial if he wants to close the gap and halt Antonelli’s winning streak.
