Three rounds have passed of a 22-race calendar in the 2026 Formula 1 season. And although little has been seen so far this year, James Hinchcliffe has listed five of the most impressive drivers to date, ignoring multi-champions on the list.
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Due to the war in the Middle East, the category had to enter a break of more than a month in April, with the cancellation of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. So, taking advantage of the period without races, the commentator and former IndyCar driver cited the names that have caught the most attention so far – excluding drivers like Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Fernando Alonso.
“This [the podium in China] showed that [Lewis] Hamilton is still willing and perfectly capable of competing toe-to-toe with one of the best in the business. Seeing him finally lift a trophy in a GP for the Scuderia was one of the highlights of the year so far. That said, he always performs well there and is historically quite formidable in Australia,” he said.
“With [Charles] Leclerc getting the better of him throughout the weekend in Japan, I will be watching closely to see if this competitiveness continues or follows a similar trajectory to last season. I hope it’s the former,” he continued. Oliver Bearman is another mentioned by Hinch. “With the off-season to digest everything a rookie season threw at him, he showed this year that the trajectory of improvement continues on a strong upward trend.”
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Obviously, Kimi Antonelli could not be left out for James. “For me, the victory in China had some small caveats. But in Japan, even ignoring the role the Safety Car played [I am among the many who think he would have won anyway], it was the kind of dominant performance you only see in a future champion,” he evaluated.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I think he’s better than George Russell… yet. But these first three rounds showed that the potential Toto Wolff has been talking about for years is really coming to fruition on the biggest stage”.
Oscar Piastri and Pierre Gasly round out Hinchcliffe’s top-5 list for the start of 2026.
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