Round 2 of the 2026 season at Shanghai International Circuit tightened the title picture at the top — and sparked major swings across Measure’s weekend rankings. Here’s how China reshaped the championship leaderboard and the biggest movers across the site.
By Julian Reyes
The 2026 Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit (Shanghai, China) delivered a clear headline in the numbers: Mercedes left round 2 with the top two spots in the championship still locked out by George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton remain close enough to keep the early-season fight tense.
Beyond the points table, the weekend also created sharp shifts in several Measure rankings. The biggest single drops came in “Most overtakes” and the “Championship ranking” list, while the most notable gains were concentrated in teammate comparisons and consistency-focused tables like “Most top-10 finishes.”
For deeper context, Measure’s per-ranking round-ups include: “Most overtakes,” “Championship ranking,” “Teammate head-to-head (race),” “Teammate head-to-head (qualifying),” “Most top-10 finishes,” “Most positions gained,” “Most positions lost,” and “Points from outside the top 10.”
After China, George Russell (Mercedes) leads the 2026 championship on 51 points, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) second on 47. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) holds third on 34, keeping Ferrari in touch at the front.
Through two rounds, Russell’s results shown in Measure’s breakdown are P1 in Australia and P2 in China (25 + 18), while Antonelli has gone P2 in Australia and P1 in China (18 + 25). Leclerc’s points come from P3 in Australia and P4 in China (15 + 12), with Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) just behind on 33 (P4 in Australia and P3 in China).
The early standout from outside the top four is Oliver Bearman (Haas F1 Team), now fifth overall on 17 points and up two positions in the championship ranking, helped by a P5 in China after being classified as Lapped in Australia.
The steepest falls were shared by Lando Norris (McLaren) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) in “Most overtakes”: both dropped 11 places, to 13th and 14th respectively, each on a value of 7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) also recorded a major slide, dropping 11 places to 22nd in “Championship ranking” with 0.
On the gainers’ side, Liam Lawson (RB F1 Team) climbed 10 places to ninth in “Teammate head-to-head (race)” on 1–1, and also rose nine places to ninth in “Most top-10 finishes” with 1. Antonelli added another big jump away from the headline points table too, moving up nine places to third in “Teammate head-to-head (race)” on 1–1.
| Driver | Team | Before | After | Δ | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Bearman | Haas F1 Team | 7 | 5 | +2 | 17 |
Two rounds in, the championship picture is defined by a close Mercedes 1–2, with Ferrari’s lead duo within striking distance on the points shown so far. The parallel story from Shanghai is how quickly the wider performance narrative can swing in Measure’s category rankings — especially in overtaking metrics and teammate head-to-heads — setting up a season where small weekend-to-weekend changes can significantly reshape the data-driven pecking order.