Max Verstappen has gained the most positions in F1 2026: +22. Behind the leader come Liam Lawson (Red Bull, +18), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull, +17), Esteban Ocon (Haas F1 Team, +13) and Lando Norris (McLaren, +11). First to fifth is separated by 11. Total positions gained from grid slot to chequered flag across the season.
The biggest move at the Dutch Grand Prix was Lewis Hamilton, up 3 places to P10. Nobody has pushed harder over the last three rounds than Isack Hadjar (Red Bull): +15, +2 across the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix — comfortably clear of the level set over the rest of the season. Going the other way, Liam Lawson (Red Bull) has given up the most ground: -3, +1 across the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix, below the standard set earlier in the year.
So why is this ranking worth your time? Because it is exactly the kind of question every fan argues about and almost nobody actually counts. This one is counted: 21 drivers and 12 races of the F1 2026 season, built race by race from the official classifications. No votes, no opinions, no cherry-picked highlights — if a driver moves here, something real happened on track. And it recomputes itself after every Grand Prix, so the next time the argument comes up, the answer is already up to date.
Updated after the Dutch Grand Prix
The data after the Dutch Grand Prix is unambiguous: Max Verstappen heads the "Most positions gained" ranking at +22 from 8 races.
The chase is led by Isack Hadjar at +17; Liam Lawson sits third with +17.
This table is rebuilt from the official classification after every Grand Prix, so it moves only when the racing does.
After round 12 at the Dutch Grand Prix, the “Most positions gained” ranking is still headed by Max Verstappen of Red Bull on +22, counted across 8 races. Behind him, Isack Hadjar sits second on +17, with Liam Lawson also on +17 in third. That leaves Verstappen with a five-position cushion over both of his closest rivals, even though the chase pack is deadlocked. The standout angle this week is how the pressure is concentrated: Hadjar and Lawson are level, so any swing between them won’t change the gap to the leader unless one of them finds a bigger net gain than the other. With 12 races completed, Verstappen’s margin suggests the top spot is being built on repeated progress rather than a single outlier result.
For every race where a driver was classified (finished or completed enough laps to be counted) and started from a proper grid slot, we take the difference between grid position and final classification. Pit-lane starts (grid 0) are excluded because there is no grid slot to measure from. The ranking sums those per-race gains across the season. Ties are broken by total season points, then alphabetically.
For every race where a driver was classified (finished or completed enough laps to be counted) and started from a proper grid slot, we take the difference between grid position and final classification. Pit-lane starts (grid 0) are excluded because there is no grid slot to measure from. The ranking sums those per-race gains across the season. Ties are broken by total season points, then alphabetically.
After every Grand Prix. The standings above reflect results through the Dutch Grand Prix.
A higher value is better — the driver at the top of the table is the strongest by this measure.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull), with +22.