Franco Colapinto received a new recognition for his performance in the Formula 1. After the first 11 races of the 2026 season, the top tier placed him among the ten drivers with the best performance in the official Power Rankings, a ranking created by a panel of specialists that evaluates the individual performances of each weekend without considering the potential of the cars.
The Argentine driver achieved an average of 7 points out of 10 and shares the tenth position with the French Isack Hadjar. In this way, he ranked ahead of several competitors who surpass him in the World Drivers' Championship, demonstrating the good impression his performance generated during the first half of the year.
The ranking is dominated by Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), the undisputed leader of the Drivers' Championship, with an average of 8.9. Completing the podium are Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), both with 8 points. Further back, there is a three-way tie for fourth place with 7.6 points among Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), followed by Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) and the reigning champion Lando Norris (McLaren) with 7.5 in seventh place, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) with 7.4 in ninth place. Finally, the Top 10 is completed by Hadjar and Colapinto, both with 7.
The Power Rankings system consists of five experts who rate the drivers after each Grand Prix, taking into account both qualifying and the race. Subsequently, those scores are averaged and accumulated throughout the season to create a general table based exclusively on individual performance.
In addition to including him among the best in the championship, Formula 1 itself explained the reasons for his selection and highlighted the evolution of the Argentine since he is facing his first full season with Alpine. "Speaking of consistency, this is an aspect in which Franco Colapinto has improved significantly during his first full season in F1 with Alpine", commented the official site of the category.
"Six scoring races have added points to Alpine's total, along with those of his teammate Gasly, allowing them to occupy a respectable sixth place in the Constructors' Championship (where they were in fifth place until Racing Bulls surpassed them)", he added.
The analysis also referred to the future of the Buenos Aires native within the French team. "If Colapinto maintains this level and pushes Gasly harder, his chances of staying with the team for another season will not be jeopardized", they concluded.
After scoring points in six of the first eleven races, with sixth place in the Canadian Grand Prix as his best result of the year, Colapinto will seek to maintain that level in the second half of the championship. Alpine, which is sixth in the Constructors' Championship, hopes that the planned improvements for the A526 will allow them to continue closing the gap to the leading teams when activity resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix.
When Colapinto returns to race
After the race on Hungarian soil, Formula 1 will take a break for the summer holidays. In this regard, the category will return in one month with the Dutch Grand Prix. Action at the Zandvoort circuit will start on Friday, August 21 with a single free practice and the Sprint qualifying, and will close on Sunday, August 23 with the main race.
