Head-to-head · season 2026
GeorgeRussellMercedes vs MaxVerstappenRed Bull Racing
Max Verstappen leads 11–3 in the race-grade duel, across the rounds both were rated in.
Round by round
the race grade decides each round · click a round for the full analysisThe nine dimensions
season grades, mirrored — the longer bar wins the measureRace grade, round by round
gaps = not classifiedGeorge Russell vs Max Verstappen: who is driving better in 2026?
George Russell drives for Mercedes, Max Verstappen for Red Bull Racing, so the raw results are not comparable — everything on this page has car performance taken out of it. Max Verstappen leads on The Index, 10.00 to 8.23 — P1 against P11, a gap of 1.77 of a grade point. Round by round, Max Verstappen has out-driven the other in 11 of 14 races where both were graded. George Russell's clearest advantage is Cleanliness — 9.52 against 8.65. Max Verstappen takes Overdelivery back the other way, 10.00 to 7.27. In the DriverIndex Championship — the same season paid on the official points scale, but on driver merit — Max Verstappen sits P1 on 195 points to George Russell's P12 on 75. Officially they stand P4 and P2.