F1 Championship Standings At the Summer Break Since 2021

During the summer break, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli enjoys a 50-point lead at the top of the World Drivers' Championship.

The Italian has won six races already this season in 11 Grands Prix, but with 12 races left on the calendar, he needs to remain consistent to clinch the F1 title.

With this in mind, let's look back at the gap each championship leader has had at the summer break in the previous five seasons and how the year unfolded afterwards.

Championship Lead After F1's First Half Since 2021

2021 - Leader at the break: Lewis Hamilton - Champion: Max Verstappen

The 2021 F1 season saw a thrilling fight for the championship between eventual champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).

At the end of the first half, Hamilton was leading the championship, having won four races. The 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix marked the end of the first half of 2021, and Hamilton led Verstappen with 195 points to 187, although the Dutchman had five wins at that point.

2022 - Leader at the break: Max Verstappen - Champion: Max Verstappen

The 2022 F1 season was the start of a new era, as the series brought back the 'Ground Effect' cars with venturi tunnels underneath. As Ferrari got off to a hot start, with Charles Leclerc taking an early title lead, many thought that the Scuderia's drought was about to end.

However, Max Verstappen and Red Bull had different plans. The last race before the summer break was also the Hungarian GP, and Verstappen's win from 10th on the grid gave him an astonishing 80-point lead over Leclerc.

In the end, Verstappen won the title unchallenged, winning a then-record of 15 races in a single year. At the summer break, he already had eight wins.

2023 - Leader at the break: Max Verstappen - Champion: Max Verstappen

The 2023 Formula 1 campaign was pretty straightforward for Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

Red Bull won 21 of the 22 races that year, with Verstappen taking a record 19 wins in a single campaign. The Dutchman enjoyed a 125-point lead over his teammate Sergio Pérez as the first half ended in Belgium.

To that point, Verstappen had 10 wins in 12 rounds, and entered the summer break with eight wins a row (eventually reaching 10 consecutive wins, another F1 record).

2024 - Leader at the break: Max Verstappen - Champion: Max Verstappen

Things looked pretty similar for Red Bull early in 2024, with Max Verstappen winning seven of the first 10 Grands Prix in the season.

However, McLaren stepped up, and Lando Norris challenged the Dutchman late in the year, although Verstappen's fourth title was just inevitable.

At the summer break, Verstappen had a 78-point lead over Norris. The 'first half' closed at Belgium that year, the 14th round of a 24-round calendar.

Although Red Bull was not as dominant at that point compared to the start of the season, Verstappen had a comfortable gap at the front.

2025 - Leader at the break: Oscar Piastri - Champion: Lando Norris

The 2025 F1 season ended with a thrilling three-way fight for the championship between the McLarens of eventual champion Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and then reigning four-time champion Max Verstappen.

However, the first half of the season was an all-out fight between the McLaren men.

Piastri took an early lead in the championship and looked comfortable heading into the summer break. Although Norris closed the first half with a win at Hungary, Piastri had six wins in 14 rounds that year.

Norris had five wins at that point, and Piastri led the standings by nine points. As Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominated the second half of the season, Piastri faded with mistakes, and Norris managed to win the championship in the final round.

About the author

Victor R.

Victor R. López is a Venezuelan journalist from Tumeremo who focuses on Formula 1 and motorsport. He covers driver news, race weekends and key stories from across the sport for F1-Fansite.com.

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