As Motorsport.com reports, George Russell would have taken home a crown this season if Formula 1 actually bothered to hand out a trophy for its short-form races. With all six sprint events now in the books across China, Miami, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, and Singapore, the unofficial standings reveal a fascinating little sub-plot to the year.
Russell and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended up dead even on 34 points apiece. But the Mercedes man edged it on countback thanks to taking three sprint victories, whereas Leclerc managed his 34 points without winning a single one of the short races.
Just behind them, Lando Norris finished with 33 points, courtesy of his victory in Miami, though his sprint campaign ended on a sour note with a last-lap clash against his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in Singapore. Kimi Antonelli pulled in 31 points, Lewis Hamilton secured 27, Oscar Piastri took 21, and Max Verstappen rounded out the major players with 20.
Meanwhile, the main championship picture tells a rather different story for the Silver Arrows garage. While Russell's broader title hopes are slipping away as Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli stretches his legs at the front, Antonelli commands the standings with 340 points. Russell sits second with 238 points, while Lewis Hamilton holds third with 229.
Max Verstappen occupies fourth spot on 221 points, heading into the United States Grand Prix on the back of consecutive victories at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and the Singapore Grand Prix, leaving Leclerc to round out the top five with 215 points with six rounds remaining.
