After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Andrea Kimi Antonelli still leads the Most consistent drivers table on a 2.71 mean classified finish, with the Mercedes pair setting the benchmark for week-to-week results.
By Diego Torres
Andrea Kimi Antonelli remains the reference point in 2026’s Most consistent drivers ranking after Baku, holding P1 with a 2.71 mean finishing position from classified races only. The headline isn’t a swing at the top — the lead did not change — but the way it was reinforced: Antonelli turned a 16th-place start into fifth, the biggest gain in the field at 11 positions, to keep his average anchored near the very front.
That matters in this particular metric because it strips out DNFs entirely and measures only classified results. With 15 races completed and seven DNFs in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix alone, simply being there at the finish with a competitive placing is a direct boost to a driver’s profile. Antonelli’s ‘Finished’ status and P5 are the kind of day that protects a low (good) mean finish even when a weekend begins deep in the order.
The top three stayed unchanged, and it’s an unusually tight, revealing snapshot of consistency at the front. George Russell sits second on 3.54, Max Verstappen third on 3.64, while Antonelli’s 2.71 keeps him out in front. Russell’s own Azerbaijan weekend underlined the point in a different way: he converted pole into victory, the cleanest possible finish outcome for this ranking even though it is not directly about points or wins.
The internal Mercedes picture is what gives this leaderboard real bite. Russell is the race winner in Baku and still trails Antonelli on mean classified finish, while Antonelli is banking the kind of recovery finish — 16th to fifth — that stops an off-day from leaving a lasting mark. Verstappen remains sandwiched in the same top-three bracket too, close enough to pressure Russell on 3.54 versus 3.64, but with Antonelli’s 2.71 still the standout number.
The biggest movements were limited to two positions either way, but they still reshaped the midfield of this table — the portion where a few average finishing places can change who looks reliable across the season. Oliver Bearman was the top gainer, climbing two spots from 15th to 13th for Haas on an 11.00 mean classified finish, helped by a ‘Finished’ result in ninth from 10th on the grid for 2 points across 51 laps.
In the other direction, Gabriel Bortoleto took the largest hit: down two places from 12th to 14th for Audi, also on 11.00. His Azerbaijan result was a classified finish — 15th from 17th, ‘Finished’, 0 points — which is important context for a metric that ignores DNFs entirely: even without a retirement, a low finish can still tug a driver’s mean in the wrong direction when the minimum threshold is simply being classified often enough to qualify for the ranking.
The top 10 gained a new name as Arvid Lindblad moved up one place from 11th to 10th for the RB F1 Team. His 8.50 mean classified finish is the kind of number that sits on the cusp: not close to the 2.71–3.64 range of the top three, but strong enough to separate him from the pack behind and to keep him inside the more visible end of the table.
That step came at Liam Lawson’s expense, with Lawson listed as exiting the top 10. Lawson dropped from 10th to 11th on 8.67, which highlights how fine the margins are once you get beyond the leaders: 8.50 versus 8.67 was enough to flip their order after round 15. With maximum movement magnitude capped at two places this week, these small numerical edges are exactly what decide who gets described as ‘top-10 consistent’ as the season rolls on.
| Driver | Team | Before | After | Δ | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 15 | 13 | +2 | 11.00 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | 12 | 14 | -2 | 11.00 |
| Arvid Lindblad | RB F1 Team | 11 | 10 | +1 | 8.50 |
With 15 races completed, Antonelli’s 2.71 keeps him in control of the consistency conversation, but the margins behind are tight: Russell (3.54) and Verstappen (3.64) remain within striking distance in this classified-finishes-only metric, while Lindblad’s 8.50 top-10 entry shows how small shifts can redefine who looks reliably sharp across a season.