Key questions and predictions as F1 returns

With the help of Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok, we look at some of the big questions that will be answered over the rest of the 2026 season ahead of the sport's return at Zandvoort; watch the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday

Formula 1's summer break is over and the 2026 season restarts in the Netherlands this weekend as the championship run-in looms over the final months of the campaign.

We asked Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok to run the rule over some of the key questions left to be answered on and off track this year and predict how things might pan out from here…

Kimi Antonelli's 50-point championship lead puts him firmly in the hunt, but fewer points cover Lewis Hamilton in second down to Lando Norris, the winner of the last race in Hungary, in fifth. With two Sprints and up to 12 Grands Prix to go, there are potentially as many as 316 points left to play for between now and December.

Karun says: "I think, realistically, this is Antonelli's championship to lose. Nobody has come back from this big a points deficit since we went to this scoring system in 2010. Kimi is driving well, he has got a lot of confidence in the car and the way it's working for him.

"The only Achilles' heel seems to be Mercedes' reliability. That could be a challenge, but they are going to keep improving that. So realistically, I think it is his championship to lose, which is an extraordinary achievement in just his second year in F1.

"The only thing I would say is, with the way the upgrades and updates are going, it will be interesting to see what Ferrari can do, and also whether any of Mercedes' upgrades help George Russell out, because it does feel like he has had obviously more bad luck but also a pace disadvantage this year.

"I think it is only Lewis or maybe George who could challenge him, but it's more his to lose."

In-season car development is always crucial in Formula 1 but the stakes have been raised this year with teams still in the early stages of understanding how to unlock the best performance from the all-new 2026 aerodynamic rules and engines. The first half of the season saw teams make big jumps in performance at races they brought update packages, and others did not, with that trend expected to continue after the summer break.

Karun says: "I'm interested to see what McLaren do. Clearly the car was very good in Budapest and that bodes well for the Dutch Grand Prix because whoever is good in Budapest should have a good car for Zandvoort.

"And they've got more bits coming this weekend on the rear end of the car as well, which is the second half of the update.

"The big one to keep an eye out for is Red Bull, because they have been a bit more inconsistent and there's a bit of a battle on for them to play catch-up.

"If you look at it across the season, they have had the fourth-fastest car, which is not ideal in terms of trying to keep Max happy and at the team.

"So, Red Bull are the ones I'm most interested in watching out for to see if they can dig themselves out of this hole in terms of inconsistencies."