ATK · Wheel-to-wheel craft
Attack & DefenceF1 attack & defence ranking, 2026
Racecraft in traffic: converting attacking opportunities into position gained, and holding ground when under fire — always weighted by the opportunities the race actually offered, so quiet races don’t distort the picture.
Attack & Defence ranking, 2026
each round on its own, the season against the grid · click a column to sort| Pos | Driver | MEL | SHA | SUZ | MIA | CAN | MON | ESP | AUT | GBR | SPA | HUN | NED | ITA | MAD | BAK | MAL | SIN | SEASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VERMax Verstappen | 9.5 | 9.0 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.6 | – | 8.0 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 9.6 | – | 8.9 | 7.4 | 9.6 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 9.58 |
| 2 | ANTKimi Antonelli | 9.0 | 9.1 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 7.1 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 9.7 | 8.1 | 9.3 | 9.11 |
| 3 | BEAOliver Bearman | 9.2 | 9.1 | – | 8.7 | 7.6 | – | 9.2 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 9.6 | 8.7 | – | 8.0 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 7.6 | 8.93 |
| 4 | COLFranco Colapinto | 9.0 | 6.4 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 9.6 | 8.6 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 8.7 | – | 8.32 |
| 5 | PERSergio Perez | 8.3 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 8.1 | 7.2 | – | 7.2 | – | 7.9 | 8.8 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 6.8 | 8.9 | 8.27 |
| 6 | NORLando Norris | 7.3 | – | 8.3 | 9.2 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.8 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 6.4 | 9.2 | 7.0 | 8.19 |
| 7 | PIAOscar Piastri | – | – | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 7.4 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 7.3 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 8.18 |
| 8 | LAWLiam Lawson | 8.7 | 8.1 | 8.0 | – | 7.8 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 9.6 | 7.4 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 8.16 |
| 9 | RUSGeorge Russell | 7.1 | 8.2 | 7.0 | 7.7 | – | 7.8 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 8.4 | – | 8.6 | 8.7 | 9.4 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 8.10 |
| 10 | GASPierre Gasly | 8.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 | – | 7.5 | 8.2 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 9.2 | 9.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 8.6 | 8.09 |
| 11 | OCOEsteban Ocon | 6.4 | 8.1 | 9.1 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 9.2 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 9.1 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 8.00 |
| 12 | LINArvid Lindblad | 6.9 | 7.6 | 8.8 | 7.0 | – | 8.6 | 6.6 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 8.4 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 7.5 | 7.97 |
| 13 | HAMLewis Hamilton | 8.0 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.3 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 6.8 | 8.7 | 6.4 | 8.0 | 7.0 | – | 7.4 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 7.97 |
| 14 | LECCharles Leclerc | 8.9 | 7.0 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 7.4 | – | 8.0 | 7.0 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 7.71 |
| 15 | ALBAlexander Albon | 7.7 | – | 7.1 | 8.2 | – | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.3 | – | 8.3 | 8.0 | 7.71 |
| 16 | STRLance Stroll | 7.6 | – | 9.1 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 8.0 | – | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 8.1 | 7.0 | – | – | 7.2 | 8.5 | 7.67 |
| 17 | TSUYuki Tsunoda | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7.8 | 8.5 | 7.2 | – | – | – | 7.55 |
| 18 | HADIsack Hadjar | – | 8.1 | 6.6 | – | 7.3 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 7.6 | – | – | – | 9.2 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.53 |
| 19 | SAICarlos Sainz | 6.6 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 6.9 | 9.0 | 8.3 | 7.7 | – | 6.4 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.47 |
| 20 | ALOFernando Alonso | – | 7.2 | 7.0 | 7.1 | – | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 7.7 | – | 7.9 | – | 9.6 | 7.3 | 7.02 |
| 21 | HULNico Hulkenberg | – | 7.7 | 7.7 | – | 8.3 | 7.6 | – | 8.4 | 8.4 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 6.90 |
| 22 | BOTValtteri Bottas | – | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.4 | – | – | – | 7.5 | 7.7 | – | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 9.1 | – | 7.0 | 6.58 |
| 23 | BORGabriel Bortoleto | 8.3 | – | 7.0 | 9.6 | 8.2 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 6.7 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.9 | 8.6 | 6.3 | 6.3 | – | 6.40 |
A race grade rates one afternoon; a season grade rates a driver across the year against the rest of the grid. They answer different questions, so the season figure is not the row added up. – = not classified that race, never counted towards the season.
The spread
every race grade, driver by driverRace-by-race distribution
dot = one race · diamond = season averageAcross the season
toggle driversBest single-race performances
top 10 driver-race gradesHow the grid reads on Attack & Defence in 2026
This season, Max Verstappen leads Attack & Defence: 9.58 against the grid, across 15 rated races. The single best Attack & Defence performance of the year belongs to Pierre Gasly — 9.7 at the SPA.
At the top. Max Verstappen leads Attack & Defence on 9.58, 0.47 clear of Kimi Antonelli on 9.11. 23 drivers have enough running to be rated, and the field runs from 9.58 down to 6.40 — a spread of 3.18 of a grade point.
The speciality. Franco Colapinto is P4 on Attack & Defence but only P22 on The Index overall — 18 places better here than at everything else put together.
The soft spot. Fernando Alonso runs the other way: P5 on The Index but only P20 here, 15 places worse.
Same car, same measure. The tightest team-mate pair on the grid is McLaren — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri separated by just 0.01. The widest is Red Bull Racing, where Max Verstappen is 2.05 ahead of Isack Hadjar.
What this number is not. Attack & Defence is one of nine independent measures, and a driver can lead it while sitting mid-table overall. It is a rating against the rest of the grid this season, not against history.