With the 2026 Formula One campaign now well into its mid-season, fans and pundits alike have been taking the opportunity to reflect upon the first 11 rounds of action this term.

While some drivers will reflect positively on their start to the campaign, others will be bitterly disappointed at the form they have shown.

One driver who would have been hoping to be in a slightly better position to challenge for the Drivers’ Championship this term has been criticised for the way that he has driven in recent races, including the Hungarian Grand Prix.

F1 Driver Mocked For His Driving Style

Mercedes’ George Russell finds himself 59 points behind teammate (and championship leader) Kimi Antonelli at the summer break. With two race wins and three P2 finishes, the Brit has certainly enjoyed spells of success in the opening half of the season.

However, former F1 driver and Caterham F1 Team Principal Christijan Albers has taken aim at Russell’s failure to keep pace with Antonelli at the head of the pack, accusing him of racing “like an old lady.”

Albers told Telesport: “He’s just not in the right frame of mind. He’s not comfortable in the car.”

He continued: “Kimi is so much more aggressive. And Russell is actually a bit like an old lady, a gentle soul, more measured, very cautious.”

Russell endured a frustrating afternoon at the Hungaroring, where he could finish no better than P7. He trailed the victorious Lando Norris by 57.503 seconds by the end of the race. For a driver hoping to have his say in the title picture, it was a poor end to a frustrating weekend, as Russell had already suffered an engine failure during qualifying.

“I’ve Never Had A Season Like This” – F1 Driver Complains of “Bad Luck”

In addition to his underwhelming result in Hungary, Russell has also been forced to retire from races in Monaco and Belgium. Russell summed up his struggles before he went on the mid-season break, stating: “I don’t wish any bad luck on anyone. But I’ve never had a season like this in my whole career, let alone my F1 career.”

With F1’s 2026 cars demanding aggression to unlock performance, Russell’s style looks increasingly outdated; and Antonelli’s looks tailor‑made for the new era.

Russell now has a two-and-a-half-week window to regroup before Formula 1 returns for the Dutch Grand Prix on the 23rd of August. It is unlikely that Russell will drastically revamp his driving style during the summer break, but he may be forced to take increased risks on the track if he wants to have any chance of catching Antonelli at the top of the table.

An update has emerged over Anthony Elanga’s condition after the Newcastle United forward was stretchered off during Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Valencia.

Newcastle sealed a 2-1 win in Matthias Jaissle’s first match in charge, but the game was marred by Jose Gaya’s red card challenge on Elanga in the 35th minute.

Gaya, the 31-year-old former Spain international, was sent off after catching Elanga with a reckless late tackle.

Elanga was left in agony while his incensed teammates clashed with their Valencia counterparts.

It became clear that Elanga wouldn’t be able to continue. The Sweden international was subsequently stretchered off and replaced by Jacob Murphy. Watch the incident below:

Update Over Elanga’s Condition After Horror Tackle

REUTERS/Pablo Morano

Fans naturally feared the former Manchester United and Nottingham Forest winger, 24, had suffered a potentially serious injury.

Jaissle, the German coach who replaced Eddie Howe at St James’ Park this summer, also feared the worst.

“It was a shocking challenge, that’s right,” Jaissle told reporters, per The Northern Echo. “I was in fear, definitely.”

However, the former Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Ahli boss has revealed Elanga appears to have had a lucky escape.

He added: “But now I’m more relaxed because the medical department are almost showing green lights that it’s nothing serious. We are blessed. Hopefully he can be back in the next week.”

Impressive Win Amid Turbulent Summer For Newcastle

REUTERS/Pablo Morano

Newcastle were 1-0 down at the time of Elanga’s injury after Swiss midfielder Filip Ugrinic put Valencia ahead in the fourth minute.

But the Magpies battled back in the second half, securing an impressive 2-1 win at Mestalla Stadium thanks to a Yoane Wissa brace.

“Next week there are things we need to work on definitely,” Jaissle said. “But we did well in the camp and the friendly win.”

Newcastle have three more friendlies left to play this summer – against Everton (August 12), Bayer Leverkusen (August 15), and Strasbourg (August 16) – before their opening Premier League fixture of the campaign against Liverpool on August 23.

It’s been a turbulent summer for the north-east outfit, with key players Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon all following Howe out of St James’ Park.

While several players have arrived including Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim, Aladji Bamba from AS Monaco and Lukas Hornicek from Braga, their lack of Premier League experience will be a concern for Newcastle United supporters.

Likewise, Jaissle will need to hit the ground running in England’s top division, which is widely regarded as the most competitive in world football.

But an eye-catching away win over Valencia is an impressive start for the club’s new manager.

The beautiful game today is blessed with attacking players being compared by all different kinds of statistics. Some will say player X can’t be considered world-class because of their low xG (expected goals), while others say player Y is the best in their league due to the amount of times they press the ball. In reality, attackers should be compared by one statistic only. Goals.

It’s not just about the number of times a player puts the ball in the back of the net, though. It’s also about the frequency in which they do so.

After all, 100 goals in 200 games reads a lot better than 100 goals in 1000 games. With that in mind, these are the 12 best goals to game ratios of the 21st century, per PopFoot.

12

Karim Benzema

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With 36 career trophies, Karim Benzema is right up there among the most decorated footballers of all time. And clearly, as seen by his goals-per-game ratio, he’s played an important role in many of those honours, especially during his time as the lesser-celebrated Real Madrid Galactico alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

He did eventually get some plaudits, though, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2022. That doesn’t quite give enough justice to the fact he had been banging in goals for fun for years prior to that, as shown by his 523 goals in 993 appearances.

11

Sergio Aguero

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Sergio Aguero’s impact on Manchester City cannot be overstated. The Argentine striker became an icon of the club during his ten-year tenure, scoring an astonishing 260 goals in 390 appearances to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.

But the fact he also had that lasting impact on Atletico Madrid and Barcelona (despite injuries stopping him from continuing his peak form in the latter) only goes to show it was a natural-born instinct of his to deliver in the highest-pressure moments.

10

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

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When you’ve won titles across Europe’s top divisions as a striker, you have definitely got the knack for scoring goals. Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have had one of the biggest egos in football but he certainly has the record to back it up. Having represented giants such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and both Milan clubs, the Swede finished his career with 567 goals in 980 appearances.

His record is one that not only will the man himself be proud of, but his former teams will be grateful for too, as it helped him win a gluttony of trophies at a variety of clubs playing at the very top.

9

Luis Suarez

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Now playing in the MLS, Luis Suarez still has a knack for finding the back of the net, with 595 goals in 1014 games giving him a solid 0.59 goal-to-game ratio. This consistency is why he’s considered one of the top strikers of his era, which helped him win several pieces of silverware and individual awards in his career.

Suárez has won the European Golden Shoe twice, once with Liverpool in 2013-14 and again with Barcelona in 2015-16. These awards, which go to Europe’s top league scorer, showcase just how deadly he is in front of goal, and between 2010-2019, the Uruguayan was the only man not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the coveted prize.

8

Victor Osimhen

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Victor Osimhen’s potential has been well-known since he joined French side Lille in 2019, but it wasn’t until 2022 that the world truly saw the full extent of the relentless Nigerian’s talent. Standing tall, with speed, aerial dominance, and clinical finishing, Osimhen has scored nearly every type of goal imaginable throughout his career, and it was with Napoli that he really shone.

He led them to the Serie A title in 2023 with 26 goals in 32 league matches, but that razor sharp finishing has never dropped, even after a move to Turkey with Galatasaray. He’s built for goals.

7

Neymar

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After moves to Saudi Arabia and then back to his home country of Brazil, Neymar has barely had an opportunity to add to his already impressive numbers thanks to a long-term injury that kept him out of Al-Hilal’s title-winning campaign. The Brazilian was known for a long time as ‘the best of the rest’ when Ronaldo and Messi were conquering 21st-century football.

Despite having a notoriously bad reputation for being injured, Neymar has still managed to play in 738 games over the course of his career. He is Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer with 79 goals, two more than the legendary Pele. The forward’s 0.60 goals-per-game average puts him in an elite class, but doesn’t do enough to push him into the top five.

6

Harry Kane

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The quality that is on display is so strong that even someone like Harry Kane, who is arguably the greatest number nine gracing the sport today, still can not break into the top half of the list despite being a goal machine. The England skipper had the Premier League goalscoring record all but sewn up, but his desire to win trophies was greater, leading to him swapping London for Munich.

In his first Bundesliga season, the 32-year-old became the quickest player to reach the 30-goal mark and broke the record for the most number of goals in a debut campaign in Germany. With such prowess, it’s no surprise to see him break into the top 10. However, he still has more to do to eclipse others.

5

Robert Lewandowski

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When you’re given the nickname ‘LewanGOALski’ by Thomas Muller, you probably know a thing or two about finding the back of the net. Which is undoubtedly the case for Robert Lewandowski. Having established himself as one of the most lethal strikers in modern football, the Polish icon has managed to notch well over 600 goals in a glittering career.

He’s claimed the European Golden Shoe twice, in 2020-21 and 2021-22, solidifying his place among the best. Whether leading the line for Bayern Munich or Barcelona, Lewandowski has consistently been a source of goals and, more often than not, victories and is one of the few players who seems to only get better with age.

4

Cristiano Ronaldo

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The greatest marksman in football history, Cristiano Ronaldo has probably scored every goal imaginable in his career and even won the first ever Puskas Award in 2009 when he scored from distance in the Champions League against Porto. The naysayers will say that scoring close to 1000 goals can only come with plenty of game time, but the veteran’s goal-to-game ratio has proven that he has managed to smash that record in double quick time.

Ronaldo has managed 30+ goal campaigns in four different countries, the most recent being in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr. Whether or not he can still compete at the elite level is another question, but there can be no denying the impact that this man has had on the beautiful game.

3

Kylian Mbappe

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It is well known that Kylian Mbappe was a massive fan of Cristiano Ronaldo growing up. The 27-year-old has followed in his hero’s by finally making the move to Real Madrid, but will also hope to eclipse his goal-to-game ratio when it is all said and done, something he is already incredibly close to doing.

Mbappe has scored 435 goals in 577 matches, the majority of which came at Paris Saint-Germain where he had to share the load with the likes of Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Lionel Messi. Now at Real Madrid, the French superstar continues to score goals for fun.