FrancoColapintoAlpine vs GeorgeRussellMercedes
RUS leads the grade duel 9–4 — across the 13 rounds both were rated in, the car stripped out of the equation.
Franco Colapinto vs George Russell: who is driving better in 2026?
the verdict, from the numbersFranco Colapinto drives for Alpine, George Russell for Mercedes, so the raw results are not comparable — everything below has car performance taken out of it. George Russell leads on The Index, 7.60 to 6.59 — P13 against P22, a gap of 1.01 of a grade point. Round by round, George Russell has out-driven the other in 9 of 13 races where both were graded. Franco Colapinto's clearest advantage is Race Start — 8.70 against 6.86. George Russell takes Cleanliness back the other way, 9.65 to 7.86. They are effectively inseparable on Attack & Defence. In the DriverIndex Championship — the same season paid on the official points scale, but on driver merit — Franco Colapinto sits P14 on 33 points to George Russell's P15 on 28. Officially they stand P12 and P3.