Verstappen gets 80.82% backing in F1 runner-up poll

Max Verstappen received 80.82% of the votes in a RacingNews365 reader poll asking who would finish second in the 2026 Formula 1 drivers’ championship. George Russell was next on 10.74%; Lewis Hamilton had 6.47%, Lando Norris 1.34% and Charles Leclerc 0.63%.

In the 14 races since his opening-lap retirement in Monaco, Verstappen has finished on the podium 11 times and finished fourth once. His victory in Mexico City was his third of the season.

Three rounds remained when the poll was run. Verstappen was second in the championship and led a five-way fight for the runner-up position. He had 279 points, 17 more than Russell’s 262; Hamilton had 261, with Leclerc on 249 and Norris on 246.