Every Opening Lap of the 2026 F1 Season So Far!

The new season is underway. Verstappen barely moves from the front row. An amazing start for Lando Norris who launches through. Do they open the door for Lewis Hamilton? Charles Leclerc is going through. No, Max Verstappen got it. Antonelli goes wide. Who's got the launch? It's Charles Leclerc. Spin it. It's a spin for Max Verstappen. Can the pack avoid him? Once again on the opening lap, it's wild. He immediately spins. He's done it. What a start for the Ferraris. Max Verstappen has the power. Max Verstappen has the lead into a rouge corner. This is aggressive side-by-side, Formula 1 at its finest. And Russell and Lewis Hamilton make contact. And Russell is in the gravel. We haven't had a dramatic opening lap like that for years. Formula 1 in 2026 begins when the five red lights go out. The new season is underway. They crawl off the line. And Hajar is going to have an unbelievable chance to go from third to first. But he didn't get a good launch. And Charles Leclerc is to the inside. He's done it. What a start for the Ferraris. Charles Leclerc goes through. He climbs three positions and takes the lead from fourth on the grid. Charles Leclerc, George Russell, then Isaac Hajari, your top three. There was so much wheel spin for those on the front row. Kimi Antonelli is already down. And what an absolutely superb getaway for Arvid Lindblad, who's into fourth. Charles Leclerc, then George Russell, Hajar, Lindblad, Hamilton, your top five. They teased it in winter testing. They delivered it here in Bahrain. And he has bolted. He's absolutely bolted away at the front here. And this now is not on the script for Mercedes. Leclerc's initial getaway wasn't actually as outstanding as we expected. Hamilton was almost coming through for the lead as well. Early battling. You've got Pierre Gasly putting the pressure on Esteban Ocon. These two started together. Fear really horrible around the outside. That is very, very close there between the two Red Bull Stable drivers. Hamilton's got a good launch off that corner. About to go wheel to wheel. Are we about to go three wide? Lindblad finds himself getting through. Lindblad to third. Hamilton to fourth. And Hajar down to fifth. Unbelievable, Arvid Lindblad. Hamilton then gets up to third. Frenetic opening lap in Albert Park. Yeah, well, if anyone doesn't know his name, they do now. He went wheel to wheel, two to two, with the sister team. But it's the big sister. And absolutely brilliant wheel to wheel racing. But advantage Ferrari on that start. It's pass and repass on the opening lap of the season. Charles Leclerc leads for Ferrari. The Chinese Grand Prix is underway. Off the line we go with Antonelli trying to cover off Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes are fighting each other. Do they open the door for Lewis Hamilton? Who sweeps round and takes the lead. Ferrari one. Will it be Ferrari two? Hamilton taking the lead. Greeted by a huge roar. Antonelli squeezes Charles Leclerc all over the kerb. And he's hanging on to second place. Crucial for his race. George Russell is down to fourth. It's Hamilton, Antonelli, Leclerc and Russell, the top four. Yeah, that is great news for the Ferrari fans. And it must give them so much confidence as we see. That's Liam Lawson of Lindblad. Off the road in the racing board. Chops across his teammate. They are scrapping ahead. Gasly, Behrmann, Hajar, Colopinto. Lindblad is off the road. He chops on and rejoins ahead Liam Lawson. Oli Behrmann had an absolute rocket start as well. Ferrari power unit in the back of his house. Gasly managed to repass him down towards turn six. And Hajar is just behind. So where is Max Verstappen? He's way down the order. It's happened again. Six positions lost for Max Verstappen. And that is bold stuff. Not completed on the road. But real statement of intent for Oliver Behrmann. Dramatic moment off the road. Having to take evasive action. Oliver Behrmann, Colopinto up to P6. Lindblad now in seventh. Lawson in eighth. The yellow flag is waving as they rejoin. The Alpine versus the racing bulls. Look into the inside. Oh, you don't need to be that brave, Liam Lawson. And he realized it. Lindblad going deep. Gasly going deep. What's the traction for Liam Lawson like? Enough to move up to seventh. Once again on the opening lap. It's wild. And it's Lewis Hamilton with the lead. I think they forgot this 56 racing laps. It's like they think it's one lap. The Japanese Grand Prix is underway. Watch Piastri. Race leader Piastri. Past one Mercedes. Past two Mercedes. Third to the lead. And he's brought Charles Leclerc to second place. Both the Mercedes crawled off the line. Lando Norris to third. Game on in Japan. It's Piastri, Leclerc and Norris. And Antonelli, the pole sitter, has tumbled down even further than that. Hamilton's come past him as well. I love how punchy both the McLarens and the Ferraris feel about it. We mentioned Oscar's been flying off the line. And the initial launch, the drop of the clutch. It was all there for him. Through he goes. Piastri, Leclerc, Norris. Russell down two. Hamilton up one. Kimi Antonelli from pole position to sixth position. Okay, Mercedes. We know you can overtake a car. We know you can overtake a couple of cars. But can you overtake five if you're Kimi Antonelli on a circuit where it is not classically that easy to overtake? Can the McLarens work together in first and third? Brilliant start from Lando Norris. He had to work hard at that around the outside of George Russell at turn two. As Verstappen's going to get passed by Ocon, is he? Ocon with a lot of momentum. No way by. Poor starts for the Audis as well. Bortoletto down four places. Hülkenberg down six. So the active aero opens as they head down towards 130R. And this is your biggest overtaking opportunity coming up. Flat out through here. The car's starting to just harvest energy at the braking zone. And Russell now starting to menace the rear end of Norris. Antonelli starting to get pretty racy behind Hamilton. And oh, big switch from Russell coming out of the final corner. Traction is so difficult there. And you're going to need it to make an overtake into one. Okay, big speed. Huge speed. And not a contest. Antonelli past Hamilton. He recovers a place. The Miami Grand Prix is underway. Kimi Antonelli crawling off the line. Charles Leclerc is going through to the lead. No, Max Verstappen got it. Antonelli goes wide. Who's got the launch? It's Charles Leclerc. And that's spin. It's a spin for Max Verstappen. Can the pack avoid him? The Ferrari leads. Antonelli went wide. Max Verstappen spun. And Charles Leclerc takes the lead of the Grand Prix. What a dramatic getaway we've had here. It's Leclerc, then Antonelli, Norris, Piastri, and Russell, the top five. Yeah, well, we said it. Ferrari, they've continued that brilliant starting form. And Max fought it hard. But just in those colder tires, spun it. Max down to 10th position. There is the Ferrari checking out right now. We haven't had a dramatic opening lap like that for years. Yeah, Hamilton's fallen down behind. I think Pierre Gasly moving forward. It's exactly the same setup as last year, guys. When Lando Norris was forced wide. Only this time there's less grip for Max. And loads more torque. So he lit it up, trying to turn it right. Contact! Hamilton and Colopinto making contact into Turn 11. And it's a melee behind right now. As Verstappen drops seven places. He's in ninth at the moment. And trying to get past Liam Lawson. Yeah, Liam Lawson, he's fighting his track position. Fighting for his career. Doesn't give any quarter to the sister team. The two McLarens were deep into the first corner as well. Everyone was sucking in by those battling ahead. I'm amazed they've all come through on Skade. Hamilton gets past Colopinto. Lewis Hamilton finds himself in sixth position. Verstappen trying to come back into the braking zone. Will there be room? That's late on the brakes. Might give an opportunity to Alex Albon. Who's passed his teammate Carlos Sainz. And is he passed? This is aggressive side-by-side. Formula One at its finest. A brawl to open the Miami Grand Prix. Lap two of 57. And the Canadian Grand Prix is underway. Lando Norris with the chance. Gets the launch. Lando Norris to the lead of the Grand Prix. Can he slow it down? The Mercedes did not get the launch off the line. On the Red Bull slick tyres. Piastri has not been able to do what his teammate could. An amazing start for Lando Norris. Who launches through. It's Antonelli in second. Then it's Russell in third. Lewis Hamilton is P4. Yeah, Piastri's gone backwards. Once again, he's lost the place to Hamilton. But Norris is on the intermediate. They're soft. They're okay at this stage. They're still on the track. And they will only get better. So it's brilliant for Norris to lead. Oh, big lock-up for Gasly further back. The slick tyres, they're coping. Well, Lando Norris will be in serious struggle if it continues like this. Up two places for Norris. They're weaving like it's a formation lap. But this is the first lap of the Canadian Grand Prix. And it's Norris, Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton, Piastri, your top five. I just think it's going to be frustration for McLaren because what they needed was everyone else just sliding around, locking up everywhere. You can see Antonelli's a little bit wide at the hairpin. But he's still within touching distance. We've heard there's no more rain. And so McLaren are going to have to pick it literally in the next few laps. They're going to have to throw this away. Here's a chance for Max Verstappen to improve to the top five. Still Lando Norris leads. Then it's Antonelli. Okay, Piastri bails out of it. He's not interested in the intermediate tyre anymore. But our race leader is on. It's Lando Norris who leads. But he's on the wrong tyre. Formula 1 goes racing on the streets of Monte Carlo. Verstappen barely moves from the front row. And he has seen his Monaco victory chances disappear. It's Antonelli. Then it's Hamilton. Then it's Leclerc, Hajar and Russell. One of our contenders for the win did not get off the line. And it's heartbreak for Max Verstappen as Kimi Antonelli leads from Lewis Hamilton. Then it's Charles Leclerc, Hajar, Russell and Piastri. Yeah, straight away we saw the yellow lights flashing on his mirrors. That car went into some kind of reset mode. So it's all over for him. Will they get that car pushed away as we see our front runners? It was a clean start thereafter. Gasly has got ahead of Lando Norris as well. That is a change. Max Verstappen did get going. He's not going quickly though, is he? He's looking like he's coaxing that one through. So an anti-stall that he couldn't recover from or something. It's a wonder no one hit him. The circuit is so narrow. You don't get eyesight from a couple of rows further back, let alone about 18 places further back. But they're all still in it. And Antonelli leads. But he's got a probably bigger problem on his hands now because the Ferraris in second and third are going to open up a bigger strategic opportunity for themselves. Antonelli would have been worried about the fast starting Max Verstappen. But Verstappen not with the machinery to challenge down to Saint-Devote. So what should I do? Just bring it home, please, Max. One of our contenders from the win eliminated in the opening meters of the Grand Prix. Max Verstappen is back in the garage and his Monaco Grand Prix lasted all of a second. And the Grand Prix is underway. Good reaction time for Kimi Antonelli. He's close. It's not the launch that Lewis Hamilton wanted on the soft tyres. But Hamilton crucially gets ahead of Antonelli. Norris is in the mix as well. George Russell holds the lead. George Russell holds first place. And the launch off the line was good to protect second. Can they all make it through in the background? Racing bulls off the road. Hamilton's got better fire up from those tyres. He's attacking George Russell as we make our way to turn number four. But Russell gets the launch that he needs. And it's Russell, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris, Verstappen and Piastri gained a place. Charles Leclerc gained three. Yeah, that was a tidy getaway for George Russell. Initially, it looked like the reaction from Hamilton was slightly better. But those early starts in the previous Grands Prix where the Ferrari was mighty, that has been neutralised. And this is the perfect scenario for George. He's just starting to open a little bit of a gap, knowing that he's got more durable tyres. It's the perfect chance for Mercedes to showcase their improved starts. That was exactly what George Russell needed there off pole. The soft tyre didn't really give either Lewis or Max any sort of advantage. Look further back. Isaac Hadjar has absolutely tumbled down the order, making a place up here on Oli Behrmann. Trying to on the outside of Turn 10. Behrmann ahead for the moment. Hadjar down nine places and trying to make amends. Frenchman started sixth position in the Grand Prix and now he's in the gravel as it gets messy behind George Russell, who once went from fourth to the lead. Holds the lead in Barcelona in what many are calling a must-win Grand Prix for him. The Austrian Grand Prix is underway. It's a decent launch off the line for Charles Leclerc. But George Russell chops across. Maintains the lead, but that won't be an ideal exit out of Turn 1. Could he be vulnerable to the Scala Ferrari? Antonelli, who's off the road at Turn 1, but rejoins in fourth place. It's George Russell who leads. Then it's Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Did get off the line, but he's under major pressure to the inside from Lando Norris. That was close for Charles Leclerc, who's lost out. Lewis Hamilton finds himself getting close and again into the braking zone. Kimi Antonelli goes off. Charles Leclerc in second, but it's Hamilton bringing the fight behind. It's close between the McLarens, but look at the Ferraris. So close. Hamilton trying to go around the outside and making the move stick. Our most recent winner back in form and up to second place in the Grand Prix. George Russell leads. Hamilton improves to second. Yeah, and Leclerc there trying to do the cutback in these high-speed corners. And that was instinctive brilliance from Lewis Hamilton watching the battle ahead. And well, we should have feared not for the RB powertrains. All of them getting away well off the line. And Kimi Antonelli feeling the need to use all of that runoff on this opening lap. George Russell leads. Lewis Hamilton up to second place. Charles Leclerc down to third. Then it's Antonelli, Verstappen and Piastri got past Norris. And the British Grand Prix is go! Charles Leclerc moving to the lead from the front row. He's passed Kimi Antonelli. And so has Lewis Hamilton. It's a Ferrari one-two. The pole sitter just did not get away. Worst case scenario for Antonelli. George Russell trying to hang on to fourth place. He's got Hadjar up the inside. Russell stays there for the moment. But our pole sitter has been passed by not just one car, not just two Ferraris. He now finds himself with George Russell with a run. This is big pressure. Charles Leclerc, then Lewis Hamilton, then Kimi Antonelli. And the top two in the World Championship are barely separated by the time that we get to Brooklands. Antonelli's heart will be going like a jackhammer. It's Charles Leclerc, Hamilton. And off in the background. Sorry, a couple of cars have had contact into Brooklands. And we see tumbling down. Alex Albon, Olly Behrmann in the background there. It is Charles Leclerc with the lead of the race. Lewis Hamilton in second position. Hadjar having a strong lap. Verstappen in sixth. Norris in seventh. He lost a place. Hadjar is chasing. Here we go. The top two in the World Championship last year. Chasing through as we make our way into the Maggots and Becketts section. With Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in the lead. What a start. He had to do that. Ferrari needed to be getting control of this race if they want to keep the fight. Can they maintain control through this first lap? Looks like they can as Antonelli still hasn't settled into a rhythm. Did that very slow formation lap. Tried to bunch everyone up. But then just seemed to have no grip off the line. It was the initial phase. Leclerc was straight past him. And we saw a message there on the screen. Oscar Piastri saying he thinks he is damaged. We haven't seen where that potential contact came around the lap. And we've got to assume whoever was spinning off at Brooklands has rejoined. And the Belgian Grand Prix is underway. Kimi Antonelli with a good launch. It's what he needs at the moment. Max Verstappen trying the wide line. Will that give him launch of the first turn? Will they all make it through as you were for the top three, for the top four? Charles Leclerc has a run on George Russell. Going into Eau Rouge. Max Verstappen has the power. Max Verstappen has the lead into Eau Rouge corner. Can he hold it now? Will Antonelli come back immediately? It's Max Verstappen bringing the crowd to their feet. Antonelli back on the attack though as we go down the Kemmel straight. And he's got the inside line. And look at the speed from Charles Leclerc to take second position. Max Verstappen goes from first to third. And Russell and Lewis Hamilton make contact. Second in the championship. Makes contact with third in the championship. And Russell is in the gravel. The two racing bulls so close to snagging each other as well. Coming through Rivage. Russell in the gravel. Trying to go around the outside of Hamilton. Super close and too close between the two Brits. As Verstappen got the lead early on. And then just didn't have that straight line speed. Leclerc is the big beneficiary up to second place. A massive moment in the world championship. George Russell struggling for speed all weekend. But it's contact coming out of Lecombe. And he is mired in the gravel on the first lap at 44. Huge implications for the world championship. Because his teammate got back the lead. Yeah, you've got the slipstream effect. You've got energy deployment as well in play here on the first lap. So you've got different speeds at different times. Verstappen had a lot more down towards Eau Rouge. Where Antonelli was holding back obviously. And then he went full deployment. Safety car is cool. So the race have been neutralized. And I think Russell is stranded in the gravel. He's going no further. It's Antonelli, Leclerc, Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton, Lawson, Lindblad, Colopinto, Bortoletto and Lando Norris. Second in the points. George Russell is out of the Belgian Grand Prix. Another dramatic moment as he shakes his head and walks away. A championship battle that he expected to lead. And lead comfortably has another difficult day. And the Hungarian Grand Prix is underway. Off the line we go. Poor start for George Russell. He's fading back out front. McLaren versus McLaren. Lando Norris versus Oscar Piastri. Charles Leclerc has not got the good getaway. Lewis Hamilton trying to go around the outside. But he's matched Verstappen to P3. Can he put pressure on P2? It's Lando Norris who has the lead. Piastri climbs up to second. And they go side by side. They're racing each other once again. Lando Norris is wide. Oscar Piastri is going through to take the lead. Piastri improves from third on the grid. What intent. Norris got wide onto the dust. It's still a McLaren 1-2. But it's the Australian driver who leads. Yeah, and there was some contact there between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Once again, Lewis risking all. He's now going to leave his inside open to Charles Leclerc. Charles Leclerc will have to be to the inside. He knows he's racing his teammate. Oh, they're fighting each other really hard as well with Antonelli just behind. But Hamilton's made that move on the fresh tyres. The new tyres there. So Leclerc has lost out a lot. And Ferrari generally not making anything work on that softer rubber. Yeah, he highlighted it was always going to be the risk. The fact he was on the scrub tyre. For Hamilton, he's proved it's worth with those fresh tyres. And as it was just a little wheel-to-wheel contact with Verstappen. But feisty, racy stuff from Lewis. He's definitely got the bet between his teeth. Antonio Russell got poorly off the line. He is down 14 places. Down to 20th position. Anti-stall off the line. And his difficult championship challenge takes another blow. Kimi Antonelli is P6.