F1 2026: The Three Most Unlucky Drivers This Season
· Yahoo Sports
DNFs and car reliability issues are always expected in the first year of a new set of regulations in Formula 1. After all, drivers and teams are still figuring out how to work around the regulations, maximize the car's performance, and troubleshoot any reliability problem when they arise.
However, there are some drivers who are still fighting their cars, while others keep getting caught by their fellow drivers' and crew's mistakes.
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Also, a side note: we're not including Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, as well as Cadillac's Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. They're struggling not because of individual failures or bad luck. Their cars are just downright bad. Furthermore, we're focusing our sights on the frontrunners, as their luck has more impact than that of those in the bottom-dwelling teams.
1. George Russell, Mercedes
First of all, we're not taking anything away from Kimi Antonelli, who has been the better driver, while having his own share of bad luck. But his teammate, George Russell, has had the most car reliability issues among the frontrunners.
After converting pole position into victory in the opening race at Melbourne, Russell's season unraveled after a handful of DNFs.
- Canadian GP: His first DNF came in Canada, where he qualified for pole and was battling Antonelli for the lead. However, a power unit problem ended his race on Lap 30.
- Hungarian GP: Russell's car suffered a water leak during the last session of qualifying. He had to park his car at the end of the session, and qualified only P7.
- Belgian GP: Russell started the race in P4, but a deployment issue forced him to a bad start. He lost speed on the straights and made contact with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton. The collision sent him to the gravel, forcing him to retire.
- Bahrain GP in Malaysia: With five laps to go under Safety Car conditions, Russell was on course for a P3 finish when he suffered another engine failure. He DNF'd, costing him another 15 points.
Russell is still second in the Drivers' Standings, but the boatload of points he lost cost him a proper championship battle with his Mercedes teammate.
2. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull
When he and his car are healthy (technically speaking for the car, of course), Hadjar has consistently scored points for Red Bull. He had a previous streak of nine races with at least P6 finishes. The streak was recently snapped when an engine penalty forced him to start in the pit lane and salvage a P10 finish in Singapore.
Hadjar could've scored more if not for his misfortunes this season.
- Australian GP: Hadjar qualified third in his debut for Red Bull, but an engine failure booted him out early in the race.
- Miami GP: He qualified ninth for the main race, but a technical infringement penalty forced him to start from the pit lane. His woes continued when he crashed on Lap 6, although because of a driver error.
- Bahrain GP: Hadjar climbed from eighth to fourth and was in the hunt for a podium finish. However, a late battery problem compromised his ability to defend, and he dropped to fifth place.
- Singapore GP: A power unit failure in the Sprint qualifying. A mechanical failure ended his Sprint. And finally, a gearbox problem prevented him from setting a representative lap in qualifying. He started at the back and still recovered to P10.
3. Lando Norris, McLaren
The reigning World Champion came back to life in the middle of the season, collecting back-to-back victories in Hungary and Zandvoort. But Norris's 2026 campaign has been marred by car reliability problems, and one unfortunate incident where he was an innocent bystander.
- Chinese GP: Norris and his teammate, Oscar Piastri, suffered a Did Not Start (DNS) due to electrical and power unit issues.
- Canadian GP: Norris started on the second row, but a suspected gearbox failure forced him to retire on Lap 40.
- Monaco GP: Another mechanical failure DNF'd the McLaren driver, this time due to power unit problems. That was back-to-back weekends of retirements for Norris.
- Azerbaijan GP: He was on his way to score good points in Baku when he was taken out in a multi-car incident involving the two Alpine drivers.
Norris also had a couple of driver errors, including the costly slip-up in Sepang that had him settling for a P9 finish, along with his intra-team collision with Piastri in the Singapore Sprint. Now, the McLaren driver finds himself down in sixth place in the Drivers' Standings.