F1 Championship Standings After Sepang: Antonelli's 84 Lead

Kimi Antonelli leads the 2026 F1 championship standings by 84 points after the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, according to RacingNews365 and GPBlog: 320 for Antonelli, 236 for George Russell and 214 for Lewis Hamilton. With seven rounds left and only one sprint, the title is mathematically alive for several drivers and realistically alive for very few.

What are the F1 championship standings after Sepang?

The reported top six, with points: Antonelli (Mercedes) 320, Russell (Mercedes) 236, Hamilton (Ferrari) 214, Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 191, Lando Norris (McLaren) 188 and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 188. Mercedes leads the constructors' table on 556 points, ahead of Ferrari on 405, per RacingNews365.

Two outlets agree on the drivers' numbers. The constructors' figures come from one, so treat them as provisional until the FIA tables are updated.

How many points are left to win?

Seven rounds remain after Sepang: Singapore, United States, Mexico City, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, according to the GridRaces calendar. Only Singapore has a sprint. At 25 points for a grand prix win and 8 for a sprint win, the most any driver can collect from here is 7 x 25 + 8 = 183.

That sounds like a lot until you notice what Russell is actually chasing: not the points, but a rival who has to cooperate.

Can Russell still catch Antonelli?

On paper, yes. In practice he needs Antonelli to have a bad autumn, because a one-two does not help him enough.

Say Russell wins every remaining race and Antonelli finishes second each time. Russell gains 7 points per grand prix and 1 in the sprint, 50 in total. He is still 34 short. Move Antonelli to third every weekend and Russell gains 72, which is still 12 short. Antonelli would have to slide to around fourth, repeatedly, while Russell wins everything. That is the sum, using the standard points scale.

The honest reading: Russell is not out, but the title is now Antonelli's to lose, and Mercedes' own reliability is the likeliest thing that could lose it.

What does the gap mean for Mercedes' garage?

Nothing good, tactically. When two teammates split the top two places in the championship, every team-order conversation becomes a negotiation. Mercedes has not said anything publicly on that we can point to, so we will not invent a quote. We will only note that an 84-point lead tends to make a team calmer and a trailing driver louder.

What should you watch in Singapore?

The first test of the new maths is the Marina Bay weekend on 11 October 2026, which includes a sprint. The sprint carries only 8 points for the winner, so it will not swing the title. The race will.

If you want to run your own scenarios, make your Singapore picks on GridRaces and see how your calls stack up in a league with friends.