{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/cf181808-25f9-4213-a056-a387b631a36c/6a85cf6b6701ba1ebb6230be?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Grading every 2026 F1 driver so far: Only one A+ on the grid?","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/60eec63245fc69e6c03398a4/1787153878627-9765dcf1-82f7-470c-99ea-4f4582f592cf.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Mark Hughes has handed out just one A+ so far this season - and even Kimi Antonelli's own team-mate George Russell can't quite explain how he's making a rookie-in-his-second-year look this good.</p><p><br></p><p>Using the old-school GCSE method, Mark grades every driver on the 2026 grid at the summer break, from the Ferrari pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc through to the biggest team-mate swings on the grid, where Oliver Bearman's A- dwarfs Esteban Ocon's C+ at Haas, and Carlos Sainz's A- leaves Alex Albon down on a C+ at Williams.</p><p><br></p><p>Mark and Bryn Lucas talk through how the marking system works, why it can never be truly scientific, and what separates a driver doing everything right in a bad car from one who's simply not delivering.</p><p><br></p><p>They also debate whether Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso deserves his grade given how far off the pace his car is, and name the team that's punched furthest above its weight - and the one that's fallen shortest - over the first half of the season.</p>","author_name":"Motor Sport"}