Top 3 F1 drivers(feat. Lewis Hamilton) that have had a disastrous first half of the season

The 2026 F1 season had a lot of anticipation, as this was going to be the first time Lewis Hamilton was going to race in red. This was a season where, except for a couple of teams, every squad had a different lineup. Hence, there was a freshness when it came to how things looked.

There were many drivers who were going to new homes and had a lot of expectations of what they could achieve when they went there. Then there were others that went into the season with an expectation of building a sound base for the 2026 F1 season.

Well, when it comes to drivers, there are a few who have had a disastrous start to the first half of the season. In this feature, let's take a look at the top 3 drivers with the worst start to the season.

#1 Lewis Hamilton

You know things aren't going well when a driver publicly suggests that the team should hire someone else. That was probably not the best use of words from Lewis Hamilton, but there's a lot of truth in that.

The driver came to Ferrari with hopes of achieving something great, but the start to this journey has been anything but good. The car's not good enough to win titles, which everyone knows by now, but it is capable of podiums, and Lewis Hamilton has not got any.

The 7x F1 champion is arguably even more disappointed by the head-to-head with teammate Charles Leclerc. It's just too one-sided, and the kind of whipping is not something he would have expected.

Overall, Lewis Hamilton would hope to put together a better run post-summer break, as things had not gone well before that.

#2 Carlos Sainz

When Carlos Sainz was first dropped by Ferrari for Lewis Hamilton, there were question marks over the call. When he announced that he was going to Williams, there was an expectation that he would take over at the team and become a leader.

Well, that has not happened. Carlos Sainz is currently at 14 points this season, while his teammate Alex Albon is at 56 points. While the points tally is not necessarily indicative of how the driver has performed, it is still a massive deficit. The Spaniard has taken some time to adapt to the car, but now that he is more or less where he expects to be, it would be interesting to see how the second half goes.

#3 Yuki Tsunoda

Yuki Tsunoda finally got the opportunity to drive for Red Bull this season, and it is safe to say that things are not going as he would have hoped. The Japanese driver was swapped with Liam Lawson as the Kiwi was dropped to Racing Bulls. Lawson, however, currently stands at twice the points of what Tsunoda has at the moment.

The unfortunate reality is that you can't expect much else in terms of fate when you're going to Red Bull. This is a team that has leaned heavily in the direction of Max Verstappen, and the second driver doesn't get much of a look-in.

Tsunoda has seen a tiny resurgence in form since Mekies came, but the driver would be hoping for a better run of form this time around.