The Miami GP flipped the top of 2026’s average positions gained table: Max Verstappen now leads on +4.67 per race, with Lewis Hamilton displaced. Charles Leclerc’s 3rd-to-8th finish was a costly swing, dropping him four places in the ranking.
By Camille Fontaine
Max Verstappen is the new leader of 2026’s Best average positions gained ranking after the Miami Grand Prix, displacing previous pacesetter Lewis Hamilton. Even in a race where Verstappen started 2nd and finished 5th, the season-long average now reads +4.67 positions gained, a figure that has opened a decisive early cushion over the rest of the field through four completed races.
Behind Verstappen, the table now has clear separation: Lando Norris sits second on +1.00, while Hamilton is down to third on +0.75 and, crucially, no longer setting the benchmark. That matters in a ranking built on a simple exchange rate of grid spot versus finishing position, averaged only across classified races with a proper grid slot — a measure that rewards repeatable recovery drives and punishes any weekend where qualifying position isn’t converted into a result.
The sharpest ranking swing in Miami belonged to Ferrari, but not in the direction it would have wanted. Charles Leclerc, who qualified 3rd and started 3rd, finished 8th (57 laps) for four points — a net loss of five places on the day — and it dragged his season average down to −0.75. That single outcome was enough to send Leclerc from 2nd to 6th in the standings, a four-place drop that underlines how quickly the averages can move this early in the year.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli also edged backwards in the order, sliding from 3rd to 4th with a flat 0.00 average, another reminder that simply holding station isn’t enough when rivals are banking positive numbers. With the top three reshuffled and the lead changed, the early-season story is already taking shape: Verstappen is setting a recovery-drive standard that the rest are currently chasing rather than matching.
| Driver | Team | Before | After | Δ | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 2 | 6 | -4 | −0.75 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1 | 3 | -2 | +0.75 |
| Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 3 | 4 | -1 | 0.00 |
Through four races, Verstappen’s +4.67 average has already created daylight over Norris (+1.00) and Hamilton (+0.75). With the season still young, single outlier Sundays — like Leclerc’s grid 3 to finish 8 swing — can rapidly reshape the order, making consistency in grid-to-flag movement the key currency going forward.