For the No. 10 spot on this list, we looked at Gabriel Bortoleto, the protege of Fernando Alonso, who is also under Alonso's management firm.
Just like his underling, Fernando Alonso started his season off ice cold. But as we progressed toward the midseason, both the Brazilian and the Spainard have heated up.
The wise, older driver has done it even bigger than the rookie.
Alonso's stats
Standings Position: 11th
Points: 26
Best Finish: 5th (twice)
Best Qualifying Position: 5th (twice)
Head-to-head race finishes (vs. Stroll): 9-5
Head-to-head qualifying: 14-0
Head-to-head points: 26-26
Alonso struggles early are just a memory
Alonso's opening half of the season opened up questions of if he had it in him to continue to be great, especially with a new dawn coming in 2026 amid new regulations and Adrian Newey's vision for the Aston Martin.
At 44, had zero points coming into June. In the first five race weekends of the year, Alonso qualified 12th or 13th every single time, dropping positions three of those times. Things hit a lower level with a season-worst P17 qualifying in Miami on the way to another pointless effort.
Things started to look up after that, with back-to-back top 6 qualifying efforts at Monaco (DNF due to a power issue) and Imola (P11).
This was an even tougher look consider his teammate Lance Stroll, who was continuously dropped performance over time and Alonso has always outperformed, had 10 points.
But since then, it's been all Fernando.
Alonso sets Aston Martin up as an intriguing topic in 2026
Alonso has been a point-scorer in five of the last six weekends, and in convincing fashion at that.
Save for a weekend in Belgium where clearly the car was just off pace/setup wise, Alonso has burst back into the points, with 26 points in those five races, three top 7s and a P5 in Hungary, his best finish since race 2 of 2024.
Alonso brings into the second half a 75 percent Q3 rate over his last eight tries, and an undefeated record against stroll in qualifying.
And just ask Bortoleto and half the field in Hungary, we've seen some iconic Alonso defense in this resurgence.
It's safe to say Alonso will be ready to take the mantle once again if Aston Martin is back to competing for podiums (and wins?) in 2026.
Heck, Aston Martin is showing momentum that could well see them try to compete with Williams for P5 in the constructors' (or more conservatively, P6).
Alonso heads to the sight of one of his last podiums at Zandvoort, and then Monza, where he has six career podiums. Let's see what the old man can do.