In 2025, the gap from pole position to the slowest car in qualifying was 2.49% of lap time. It was the tightest grid in six seasons, and it had got tighter every single year since 2021.
In 2026 that gap is 5.54%. More than double, and the widest in the period.
The interesting part is that the last regulation reset did nothing of the sort.
What we measured
Qualifying is where the field sorts itself out honestly. Low fuel, everyone pushing, no strategy, no traffic management. The gap from pole to the slowest car is the cleanest available measure of how big the performance range across the grid actually is.
