Only one driver made our S tier this season, but is it who you would expect?

It's summer break, so Tom & Chris dust off the tier maker and rank every 2026 F1 team and driver from S ("top tier") to D ("shouldn't even be here").

In this episode: with the driver market gone quiet, we go team by team from Cadillac at the back to a Mercedes side that's built the fastest car on the grid but can't stop it from breaking. Every call is backed by qualifying and race head-to-heads plus the average qualifying gap between each teammate pairing. Expect strong opinions on Verstappen's current form, Antonelli's record setting run, where Russell really landed, Hamilton vs Leclerc, and why Williams and Aston Martin ended up where they did.

🏁 Build your own tier list and send it to us: https://tiermaker.com/create/2026-f1-rankings-15262159 🔮 Free Prediction League — get in before Dutch GP qualifying: https://backofthegrid.com 🎮 Grid Rival F1 & IndyCar fantasy leagues: https://backofthegrid.com/fantasy 💜 Patreon (includes our community Discord): https://patreon.com/backofthegrid 📱 @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram & Facebook

Back of the Grid is a weekly Formula 1 podcast by fans, for fans. Hosted by Tom King and Chris Evans. New episodes every Tuesday through the season.

#F1 #Formula1 #F1TierList

Is Stefano Domenicali right that F1 fans don't understand, or even care about, the sport's technology? We get into it. Plus a wild calendar shake-up as Malaysia returns (sort of), and talk of a German GP comeback.

In this episode: Domenicali says the wider fanbase doesn't grasp the power-unit rules — so we ask whether that's fair, or just a soundbite for the shareholders. We dig into the engine-regulation vetoes and MBS's push to claw control back from the teams, the strange "Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia" that finally brings Sepang back, the packed run-in with Abu Dhabi and Qatar still in doubt, Hockenheim's bid to bring back the German GP, and the mystery Silverstone/COTA announcement.

Chapters: 0:00 Intro & our first-ever missed review 1:17 Domenicali: are F1 fans 'too dumb' for the tech? 9:25 Engine reg vetoes & MBS's power play 13:44 Malaysia's back… as the 'Bahrain GP in Malaysia' 19:55 Calendar chaos: triple-header, Abu Dhabi & Qatar doubts 22:17 A German GP return? Hockenheim's push 24:32 Free-to-air, Sky & the F1 TV multi-screen game-changer 28:04 Silverstone & COTA's mystery announcement 30:35 Wrap-up & send us your questions

🌐 Prediction league & more: backofthegrid.com ❤️ Patreon (includes our community Discord): patreon.com/backofthegrid 📲 Follow @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram & Facebook

Back of the Grid is a weekly Formula 1 podcast, by fans, for fans, hosted by Tom King & Chris Evans. New episodes every Tuesday through the season.

#F1 #Formula1 #BackOfTheGrid

Lewis Hamilton got five seconds for a 50/50 first-lap incident. Charles Leclerc practically ran Oscar Piastri off the road at the end of the Kemmel Straight and got nothing. We're not sure the stewards watched the same race we did.

In this episode, Chris and Tom review the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, the last one at Spa for a couple of years. George Russell's afternoon ends before turn six and his frustration with his power unit boils over, Kimi Antonelli takes a sixth win of the season with a drive well beyond his years, Isack Hadjar carves from P21 to P6, and Franco Colapinto pulls off the move of the race that F1's TV direction somehow forgot to show us.

Plus: our Prediction League and Fantasy results, and a look ahead to Hungary where Aston Martin's B-spec car is going to change everything. Allegedly.

CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro - Goodbye to Spa, for now 1:45 Russell's first-lap retirement & deployment woes 6:50 Should Mercedes have taken the engine penalty here? 11:14 Antonelli wins again — the mature championship drive 12:26 Ferrari's pace: Leclerc keeps it honest 13:59 Leclerc crowds Piastri — and gets nothing 17:31 The Hamilton/Russell penalty: policing the outcome 21:41 Hamilton's race unravels: pit lane chaos & damage 25:22 Verstappen's podium and a perfect Hadjar tow 26:12 Hadjar P21 to P6 — drive of the weekend? 29:28 Norris & McLaren's strategy miss 33:06 Bortoleto's run continues, Hulkenberg's doesn't 34:19 RB vs Alpine, and Haas' upgrade that wasn't 35:27 Driver of the Day 36:04 Move of the Day 37:48 WTF Moment:v TV direction, Perez's halo passenger & Stroll's DRS 45:49 Prediction League results 47:19 Fantasy League standings (F1 Fantasy & Grid Rival) 48:13 Hungary preview — the great Aston Martin hype 53:43 Our Hungarian GP predictions 57:46 Wrap up (and a very strange episode next week)

GET INVOLVED Prediction League: https://backofthegrid.com Grid Rival; our F1 and IndyCar fantasy leagues: https://backofthegrid.com/fantasy Patreon — includes our community Discord: https://Patreon.com/BackOfTheGrid

X: https://x.com/BackOfTheGridF1 Instagram: https://instagram.com/BackOfTheGridF1 Facebook: https://facebook.com/BackOfTheGridF1

Back of the Grid is a weekly Formula 1 podcast made by fans, for fans. New episodes every Tuesday during the season.

#F1 #BelgianGP #Formula1