F1 2026: Mercedes dominates early as Red Bull, Aston Martin struggle

Mercedes has stormed to a perfect start in Formula 1's new 2026 era, winning the first three races and establishing its power unit as the clear benchmark. In stark contrast, reigning champions Red Bull are mired in a deep performance crisis with a fundamentally flawed car, while Aston Martin's new Honda partnership has been plagued by crippling reliability issues. The regulation reset has dramatically shuffled the competitive order, with Haas emerging as a surprise package in fourth place.

Why it matters:

The early races of a major regulation cycle often set the tone for years to come, revealing which teams have best interpreted the new rules. Mercedes' immediate dominance echoes its 2014 turbo-hybrid supremacy, while Red Bull's struggles and Aston Martin's disastrous start show how high the stakes are. For midfield teams like Haas and Alpine, a strong initial concept provides a crucial platform to build upon and potentially disrupt the established hierarchy.

The details:

• Mercedes (1st, 135 pts): The W17 is an excellent all-round package powered by the field's strongest engine. Kimi Antonelli has stepped up in his second year, taking two wins and matching George Russell.
• Ferrari (2nd, 90 pts): After a disappointing previous era, the Scuderia has a much more competitive and stable chassis. While its power unit trails Mercedes, innovative features like a rotating rear wing show a renewed spirit.
• McLaren (3rd, 46 pts): The reigning champions had a rocky start with crashes and battery issues but are figuring out their Mercedes power unit. Oscar Piastri's podium in Japan provided optimism that the gap is bridgeable.
• Haas (4th, 18 pts): The smallest team on the grid has been the season's biggest surprise. A coherent car and a matured Oliver Bearman have delivered points and a shock position ahead of Red Bull.
• Red Bull (6th, 16 pts): The team is "a distant force." While its new Red Bull-Ford power unit is roughly in the ballpark, the RB22 chassis has fundamental flaws, making it hard to balance and about a second per lap slower than Mercedes.
• Aston Martin (11th, 0 pts): The new Honda partnership is an "unmitigated disaster." Crippling engine vibrations prevented race finishes early on. The AMR26 is also uncompetitive, a huge setback for the ambitious team.
• Williams (9th, 2 pts): Last year's surprise package has regressed significantly with an overweight car and struggles optimizing the Mercedes power unit's energy deployment.
• Alpine (5th, 16 pts): Rewriting 2025 to focus on 2026 has paid off. After early teething troubles, the A526's potential is shining through, described by Pierre Gasly as potentially the best car of his career.

What's next:

The development race is now the primary battleground. Teams head into the April break preparing their first major upgrade packages for Miami.

• Mercedes warns its early dominance is not guaranteed, with Toto Wolff stating, "Miami is going to be a restart."
• Red Bull and Aston Martin face the steepest climbs, needing to solve deep-rooted car and power unit issues to salvage their seasons.
• Teams like Williams and Alpine are focused on bringing performance to their initially promising or disappointing packages, aiming to solidify or change their early-season standings.