F1 Biggest improvement vs qualifying — 2026

Average places recovered on Sunday relative to Saturday's qualifying position.

Updated after the Belgian Grand Prix

  1. 1. Liam Lawson (RB F1 Team) — +3.80
  2. 2. Esteban Ocon (Haas F1 Team) — +3.75
  3. 3. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac F1 Team) — +3.67
  4. 4. Alexander Albon (Williams) — +3.33
  5. 5. Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team) — +3.00
  6. 6. Franco Colapinto (Alpine F1 Team) — +2.60
  7. 7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine F1 Team) — +2.00
  8. 8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) — +1.57
  9. 9. Carlos Sainz (Williams) — +1.33
  10. 10. Arvid Lindblad (RB F1 Team) — +1.25
  11. 11. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) — +1.25
  12. 12. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) — +1.00
  13. 13. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) — +1.00
  14. 14. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) — +0.80
  15. 15. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) — +0.67
  16. 16. Lando Norris (McLaren) — +0.14
  17. 17. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) — −0.13
  18. 18. George Russell (Mercedes) — −0.75
  19. 19. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — −1.33

Through 10 rounds of 2026, Liam Lawson (RB F1 Team) leads this table at +3.80, built from 5 counted races.

Behind him, Esteban Ocon holds second on +3.75, while Sergio Pérez rounds out the top three at +3.67.

Every figure here comes straight from the official results — no votes, no narratives, just the classification sheets. Lando Norris heads the other way, down 6 places to P16.

After the Belgian Grand Prix (round 10), Liam Lawson leads the Biggest improvement vs qualifying ranking on +3.80 for RB F1 Team, with five races counted. Esteban Ocon (+3.75) and Sergio Pérez (+3.67) stay close behind in second and third. The biggest drops this round came from Lando Norris (down 6 to 16th, +0.14), while Arvid Lindblad (down 4 to 10th, +1.25) and Max Verstappen (down 4 to 12th, +1.00) also slipped back.

Methodology

Mean of (qualifying position minus race classification position) across races where the driver has both a qualifying and a race result and was classified. Because it uses the qualifying position rather than the starting grid, it is unaffected by grid penalties — unlike "Best average positions gained". A minimum of 3 races is required; drivers below the threshold are excluded, never estimated. Ties are broken by total season points, then alphabetically.