Oscar Piastri left out as James Hinchcliffe names his top-three F1 drivers for 2026

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James Hinchcliffe has left Oscar Piastri out of his prediction for the top three drivers in the 2026 F1 season, despite tipping his McLaren teammate Lando Norris to be strong.

Piastri came within touching distance of winning the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career last year. Yet a late-season collapse saw the Australian drop to third place in the standings, as Norris emerged victorious and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen moved into second.

The Australian held a 34-point lead over Norris, plus a 104-point lead over Verstappen, after 15 of the 24 rounds last term. In the end, Piastri finished 13 points adrift of Norris, who beat Verstappen by two points, despite the McLaren men both registering seven Grand Prix wins.

Now, as the 2026 F1 regulations are set to be a major factor in how the new season unfolds, Hinchcliffe believes Norris, Verstappen and Mercedes star George Russell will be in the best position to capitalise. Piastri might just be fighting for fourth place in his fourth season in F1.

James Hinchcliffe backs Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and George Russell to be the top three F1 drivers in 2026

Hinchcliffe believes Russell is in a strong position as even Mercedes believe they will have an engine advantage in 2026. F1 overhauled the power unit formulae for this year by increasing the electrical energy share from 20/80 to almost 50/50, along with abandoning the MGU-H.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

As McLaren are an engine customer of Mercedes, Hinchcliffe expects the PU will also make Norris a stronger contender to be in the F1 drivers’ championship fight again. But instead of selecting Piastri as well, Hinchcliffe cannot overlook Verstappen from being in the mix again.

Hinchcliffe told the official F1 website: “2026 is one of the most wide-open seasons we have seen in F1. The sweeping rule changes don’t just mean the team has to get the car right, and the power unit supplier needs to get the engines right, but the drivers themselves are having to re-learn how to drive to find the maximum performance.

“All that to say, Mercedes look strong as a team and PU supplier, so George Russell makes my top three. Lando Norris, with a returning champion’s mentality (and the Mercedes PU) is on the list.

“Finally, I think the complicated nature of managing energy falls into the hands of drivers with excess bandwidth while driving, which means Max Verstappen has to be on the list.”

Oscar Piastri’s collapse in the 2025 F1 title race could help him bounce back in 2026

How quickly will Oscar Piastri adapt to Formula 1’s new regulations in 2026?

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Hinchcliffe is not alone in suggesting that F1’s 2026 engine regulations play to Verstappen’s strengths, as drivers will face a much tougher task to manage their energy levels due to the increased electrical output. Verstappen also showed his strengths very early during testing.

Verstappen was the first driver to adopt a high-revving approach in Bahrain to recover more energy with the maiden Red Bull Powertrains unit. He was also immediately on top of using lower gears through the corners to recover energy, despite it making the rear of his car slide.

But while Hinchcliffe has omitted Piastri from his predicted top-three in the 2026 F1 drivers’ standings, the Melbourne native has his advocates. Former Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost believes Piastri is ready to rival Verstappen, given what he would have learnt last year.

Piastri initially handled the pressure of fighting Norris for the 2025 F1 drivers’ title. But the cracks grew larger after McLaren told Piastri to return P2 in the Italian Grand Prix to Norris, which preceded crashes in qualifying and the race in Azerbaijan and the Sprint in the USA.