2026 · Before the season

Season predictions

What Matt and Tommy called before a wheel had turned. These are settled at the end of the season, so most are still open.

Matt

Tommy

Good surprise

Pierre GaslyPending

Based on Alpine putting all its resources into 2026 and switching to Mercedes engines.

Gabriel BortoletoPending

Tommy had planned to pick Alpine and changed it so the two picks would differ.

Big flop

CadillacPending

Matt expects the new team, with a Ferrari engine, to be one of the slowest cars on the grid.

FerrariPending

Tommy says this is the second year running he has picked Ferrari as the big flop.

New race winner

Kimi AntonelliPending

Matt said yes to a new race winner and named three drivers.

Alex AlbonPending

Isack HadjarPending

Kimi AntonelliPending

Tommy said yes and named only Antonelli, after nearly adding Alex Albon.

Constructors' champion

McLarenPending

Matt was going to pick Mercedes and went different.

MercedesPending

World champion

Charles LeclercPending

Matt says this is the last time he will pick Leclerc until the next regulation change or a team move.

Kimi AntonelliPending

Tommy says he actually expects George Russell to win and picked Antonelli to be different.

Crazy prediction

Aston Martin are one of the slowest teams and Fernando Alonso is not on the grid in 2027.Pending

Max Verstappen does not win a race.Pending

Patreon prediction

Williams will have a double podium.Pending

It is announced during the season that Charles Leclerc is leaving Ferrari.Pending

Tommy dropped his first choice for being too close to Matt's crazy prediction.

Family top three, third

Max VerstappenPending

Named by Matt's dad on the phone.

Charles LeclercPending

Named by Tommy's dad on the phone.

Family top three, second

Lando NorrisPending

Named by Matt's dad on the phone.

Max VerstappenPending

Named by Tommy's dad on the phone.

Family top three, champion

George RussellPending

Named by Matt's dad on the phone.

George RussellPending

Named by Tommy's dad on the phone.

How these score

The big flop can be a driver or a team.
For new race winner, each host first says yes or no to whether there will be one, and if yes names one or more drivers.
Each correctly named new race winner scores one point.
A host who names multiple new race winners loses all the points in that category if they do not win.
There are no points for predicting who finishes second in the constructors' championship.

Open questions

No overall scoring system for the season predictions was stated. The only explicit points rules are for new race winner.
It is unclear whether one wrong new race winner wipes out the points, or only if all of them miss.
The dads' top three is listed with the host picks, but the hosts did not say how it scores.

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Our 2026 F1 season predictions