You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.
F1 Betting Tips & Tipsters
Before we look ahead to the 2026 season, there are a couple of pages worth bookmarking for the year.
- First, the Motor Racing Tips page, where you will find F1 predictions for every Grand Prix across the season from the OLBG tipsters.
- Secondly, the Motor Racing Best Tipsters page, which shows only the profitable F1 tipsters alongside their predictions.
Don't forget that you can be an F1 tipster yourself! You can win monthly cash prizes in our F1 Tipster Competition, and it is completely free to enter; simply sign up, apply to become a tipster and start adding your tips to see if you have what it takes to win some of the monthly cash prizes.
The Top Motorsport Betting Sites 2026
2026 Formula 1 Drivers' Championship
Increase on the Grid
The biggest change ahead of the 2026 season is the increase in the number of teams; we go from 10 to 11, meaning 22 cars on the grid.
That is down to the arrival of Cadillac, which, for the 2026 season, will use a Ferrari power unit and bring in Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as drivers.
Sauber is no more, having raced for the final time in 2025, with the team taken over by Audi – another new name on the grid and the second German constructor.
Regulation Changes
There are changes to the power units, with the MGU-H (Heat) being removed and the MGU-K (Kinetic) output increased.
There are all sorts of aerodynamic changes coming into force this season; the cars are smaller and lighter, with narrower tyres, and testing shows them to be around two seconds slower than last year.
The changes are intended to give us more battles on track, with the idea being to make the cars easier to follow closely to one another.
Let's hope that is the case, because another change is the removal of DRS; it will no longer be used, having been crucial for overtaking in the past few seasons.
2026 Season Preview
Lando Norris became the 35th driver to win the F1 Drivers' World Championship, and 17 of the other 34 – that is 50% – failed to win a second. That just highlights how tough it is to win a title in the first place, let alone win another.
It will be interesting to see how the partnership between him and Oscar Piastri develops in 2026. Oscar has age on his side, is continuously progressing, and will no doubt have his say in the title race once again.
Purely based on the second half of the 2025 season, you would have to say Max Verstappen is one of the favourites for 2026. He was superb and almost pulled off a remarkable turnaround in the Drivers' Championship.
Of course, with the major changes to the cars, it is hard to judge before pre-season testing just who will hit the ground running, so it will be interesting to see how Cadillac get on in their first season with the experienced line-up they have chosen.
2026 F1 Constructors' Championship: Preview & Betting Guide
The sprint points could prove valuable this season; some of the changes don't really favour Max, as he doesn't have the best records at the Chinese, British and Singapore GPs, which have all been awarded sprint races.
In terms of the calendar, we have lost the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix; the Spanish Grand Prix has a new home in Madrid at a new street circuit, and the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix has been added to the calendar, using the Catalunya circuit.
Driver Changes for 2026
There is not a huge amount of change in terms of drivers; of the 20 who started the 2025 season, Yuki Tsunoda and Jack Doohan are the two who dropped out.
Yuki Tsunoda started the 2025 season at Racing Bulls before being promoted to Red Bull, but has now been dropped to the test/reserve role at Red Bull.
Jack Doohan started his F1 career with Alpine, which lasted just six races before he was replaced, and he has not been given a seat for 2026.
Yuki's seat at Red Bull has gone to Isack Hadjar, promoted from Racing Bulls, who will be Max Verstappen's teammate this season.
That left a seat open at Racing Bulls, one not given to Yuki; they have gone a different route, with Arvid Lindblad making the step up from F2.
With Cadillac joining the grid in 2026, we now have 22 drivers instead of 20, and they have gone for experience, bringing back both Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas.
Mid-Season Changes
Due to a wrist injury, Isack Hadjar was forced to sit out both the Dutch Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix; Liam Lawson was promoted to replace him, with Yuki Tsunoda making his F1 return in Lawson's Racing Bulls seat.
2026 F1 Calendar
Below is the full schedule for the 2026 season, which is set to feature twenty-three rounds, with the Chinese, Miami, Canadian, British, Dutch and Singapore weekends all hosting sprint races. The table updates after each race weekend, and you can hover over the winning driver for more detail, such as the pole position and fastest lap.
*Both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were originally cancelled; however, the Bahrain Grand Prix was later rescheduled for round 17 (2–4 October), moving to the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grands Prix.
F1 Drivers' Championship Standings for 2026
Here are the latest standings for the 2026 F1 Drivers' Championship, as Lando Norris looks to defend his title and become a two-time champion.
2025 Formula 1 Season Recap
The 2025 season featured twenty-four races, the same as the previous year. The Australian Grand Prix returned as the season opener for the first time since 2019.
The first three races indicated it would be a close season, with three different winners. Lando Norris opened up in Australia with a win; Oscar Piastri, who disappointed in his home Grand Prix (9th), was much better in China, finishing runner-up in the sprint before winning the main race, and then in Japan it was Max Verstappen's turn to record a win.
That meant that, after three rounds, there was no real standout driver – but that was about to change. Oscar went on to win in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and then in Miami he was runner-up in the sprint before winning the main race to make it three wins on the bounce.
After just six rounds, he had opened up a 16-point lead over Lando and 32 points over Max. However, he went on to win only one of the next six Grands Prix, in Spain, and during that time Lando picked up three wins, which meant that by the halfway stage Oscar's lead was dwindling.
Half-Way Championship Standings
| Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | 234 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 226 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 165 |
| 4 | George Russell | 147 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 119 |
Oscar had five wins in the first twelve races, which gave him that lead after the British Grand Prix, the halfway point of the season; however, whilst he would have been happy with his first half, his second half was not as strong, as he went on to win only two more races.
The second half of the season was all about a resurgent Max. Heading into round 16 in Italy, Max sat 104 points behind the leader, Oscar, but with six wins in the final nine races, he reeled Oscar in and even passed him in the final standings.
His problem was Lando; Max was 70 points behind when heading to Italy, and Lando was having car issues, having failed to finish a race and gone on a run of five without a win. He did have a strong run in South America, which probably clinched him the title, with wins in Mexico and Brazil.
Max was given further hope when both McLarens were disqualified in Las Vegas; however, despite winning the final three Grands Prix, Max came up two points short of Lando in the Drivers' Championship.
Final Drivers' Championship Standings
| Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | 423 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | 421 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | 410 |
| 4 | George Russell | 319 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 242 |
Formula One Driver Records
The 400+ Club
Fernando Alonso, now on 425 starts, became the first driver ever to make over 400 starts during the 2024 season. He made his debut at Albert Park in the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, finishing two laps down in 12th for Minardi, and it was the Qatar Grand Prix in 2024 that saw his 400th start, in 7th place for Aston Martin. The closest driver to him is Lewis Hamilton, on 380 starts before the 2026 season, whilst the return of Sergio Pérez – on 281 heading into 2026 – adds another experienced name who could climb the list.
| Position | Driver | Starts | Entries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | 425 | 428 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 380 | 380 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | 349 | 353 |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | 322 | 326 |
| 5 | Jenson Button | 306 | 309 |
| 6 | Michael Schumacher | 306 | 308 |
Most Consecutive Race Entries
Rubens Barrichello's 326 consecutive race entries between 1993 and 2011 look safe for the time being. After Lewis Hamilton missed a race in 2020, his run of 265 came to an end; ahead of him, Sebastian Vettel's run ended at the opening race of 2022, when he missed the event due to illness, having made 280 consecutive entries. There are two ongoing runs just outside the top five, with both Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz on 233 consecutive entries. If they both make every race this season, they will move ahead of Coulthard and Bottas.
| Position | Driver | Consecutive Entries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rubens Barrichello | 326 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | 280 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 265 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | 247 |
| 5 | David Coulthard | 239 |
The One and Only in the 100 Club
During the 2021 season, Lewis Hamilton became the first-ever driver to record 100 wins. He is now on 105 races, some fourteen clear of Michael Schumacher and thirty-four ahead of the next active driver, Max Verstappen, on 71 wins, though Max continues to close that gap with each season.
| Position | Driver | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 105 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 91 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 71 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | 53 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 51 |
Lewis is Closing in on Schumacher
Lewis won't achieve this in 2026 unless he sets an unprecedented number of fastest laps, but it is a record he could take a large chunk out of over the season. Michael Schumacher holds the fastest-laps record with seventy-seven, and Lewis sits some nine behind on sixty-eight – a hard record to snatch from Schumacher with time running out for Hamilton.
| Position | Driver | Fastest Laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | 77 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 68 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | 46 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | 41 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | 38 |
Total Races Finished in the Points
Lewis passed the 300 mark during the 2024 season and increased his tally to 334 points finishes. Fernando Alonso also increased his number to 275, and the pair are the only two active drivers in the top five. Looking further down the list, Max Verstappen is sixth on 197.
| Position | Driver | Points Finishes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 334 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | 275 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | 221 |
| 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | 219 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | 219 |
Contributor Details
Andy Powell creates and manages all of OLBG's Motor Racing content. A passionate Formula 1 fan of more than 20 years, he rarely misses a race – even when that means setting an alarm for the middle of the night – and gives up much of his weekend to following qualifying and the races. He also manages the Motor Racing Tips and the tipsters in the competition.
About the author and editor
F1 Race-by-Race Betting Tips
Here are the OLBG tip pages for every Grand Prix of the 2026 season. Follow the links to see which drivers and constructors are being backed to win each race.
- Australian Grand Prix
- Chinese Grand Prix
- Japanese Grand Prix
- Miami Grand Prix
- Canadian Grand Prix
- Monaco Grand Prix
- Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
- Austrian Grand Prix
- British Grand Prix
- Belgian Grand Prix
- Hungarian Grand Prix
- Dutch Grand Prix
- Italian Grand Prix
- Spanish Grand Prix
- Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Bahrain Grand Prix (Sepang)
- Singapore Grand Prix
- United States Grand Prix
- Mexican Grand Prix
- São Paulo Grand Prix
- Las Vegas Grand Prix
- Qatar Grand Prix
- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
