Mercedes-AMG holds a slender advantage over Porsche in the 2026 GT World Challenge (GTWC) powered by AWS global manufacturers’ standings as an increasingly competitive title fight moves beyond the halfway point.
Only 29 points separate the two German manufacturers after 27 of the season’s 46 scoring events, with the championship lead having already changed hands five times. Ferrari has also established itself as a genuine third contender after consistently scoring across all four continents and reducing its deficit to 95 points.
Mercedes-AMG currently leads with 766 points, followed by Porsche on 737 and Ferrari on 671. BMW remains fourth on 475 but faces increasing pressure from Audi, which sits only 32 points further back following a particularly productive run of recent events.
Mercedes-AMG and Porsche continue trading championship lead
Mercedes-AMG and Porsche have spent much of the season exchanging control of the championship, with neither manufacturer able to establish a decisive advantage.
The latest change came after the GTWC Europe Sprint Cup round at Magny-Cours, where Mercedes-AMG regained first place. However, Porsche limited the damage by winning the second race and ensuring its rival could not create a more substantial margin.
The battle has already featured five championship lead changes during the opening 27 events. That volatility has reflected the global nature of the competition, with performances in Australia, America, Asia and Europe repeatedly reshaping the order.
However, the picture now extends beyond the leading pair. Ferrari has matched Porsche and outscored Mercedes-AMG across the seven most recent rounds, bringing the Italian manufacturer increasingly close to joining the battle for first.
Ferrari makes history at Queensland Raceway
Ferrari’s recent surge began during GTWC Australia’s Queensland Raceway event in June.
Will Davison and Renee Gracie delivered the manufacturer’s third win of the season in Race 1 for the OnlyFans Racing entry. Gracie established the foundations with a strong opening stint before two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Davison completed the job after taking over the car.
The victory also carried wider significance. Gracie became the first female driver to win a GT World Challenge race since the global manufacturers’ competition began in 2019.
Mercedes-AMG responded in Race 2. Brendon Leitch and Sergio Pires put Tigani Motorsport back on top, recording the team’s fourth victory from six Australian races. Leitch built the foundation during his opening stint before Pires managed the advantage through to the chequered flag.
Road Atlanta allows Mercedes-AMG to pull clear
GTWC America then visited Road Atlanta, where Mercedes-AMG enjoyed one of its strongest results of the campaign.
JMF Motorsports delivered a one-two finish for the manufacturer, with Jason Daskalos and Philip Ellis taking victory. Ellis secured the decisive position by passing fellow Mercedes-AMG factory driver Mikael Grenier with fewer than 20 minutes remaining.
Archangel Motorsports completed the podium with McLaren, while the highest Porsche finished fourth. Consequently, Mercedes-AMG left the American double-header with an 89-point advantage over Porsche.
That margin represented one of the clearest advantages either manufacturer had created during the season, but the championship changed dramatically at the next event.
Porsche delivers remarkable Spa comeback
The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa provided Porsche with the response it urgently needed.
Lionspeed GP entered the event as one of Porsche’s leading contenders, but an engine change before the race forced Ricardo Feller, Thomas Preining and Bastian Buus to start from the pit lane. With 69 cars taking part, the setback appeared to have severely compromised the team’s chances before the race had even begun.
Instead, the trio produced an extraordinary recovery through the field and ultimately claimed overall victory. The result delivered a substantial points haul for Porsche at one of the most valuable events on the global calendar.
Mercedes-AMG still produced an important result through Winward Racing’s runner-up finish, while Ferrari placed third and fourth with its AF Corse-run entries. Porsche and Ferrari therefore both outscored the championship leader, reducing Mercedes-AMG’s advantage to only 15 points.
Ferrari and Porsche take control at Fuji
The title fight shifted again when GTWC Asia resumed at Fuji in July.
Ferrari opened the weekend with victory as Liu Kaishun and David Chen Weian took Harmony Racing’s 296 to the top step. LM Corsa finished second to complete a Ferrari one-two, while Origine Motorsport gave Porsche third.
Origine then converted its own strong form into victory in Race 2. Lu Wei shared the Porsche with factory driver Laurin Heinrich, while Phantom Global completed a Porsche one-two. Team KRC took third and delivered BMW’s first Asian podium of the season.
Ferrari ultimately scored one point more than Porsche across the Fuji weekend, but Mercedes-AMG managed only four. As a result, Porsche moved ahead and opened a 45-point championship advantage, producing the fifth lead change of the campaign.
Mercedes-AMG responds as Porsche falters at Misano
GTWC Europe’s Misano round then gave Mercedes-AMG an opportunity to begin recovering the deficit.
Team WRT controlled the event for BMW, with Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde sweeping both races. Mercedes-AMG nevertheless added useful points through Verstappen Racing’s second place in Race 2 and two third-place finishes for Winward Racing.
Porsche enjoyed a contrasting weekend. Lionspeed GP finished second in Race 1 but failed to score in the second contest, marking Porsche’s first scoreless race since the season-opening Phillip Island event.
Mercedes-AMG consequently reduced the championship gap from 45 to 25 points and again placed itself within immediate striking distance.
Audi surges with Darwin sweep
The following GTWC Australia event at Hidden Valley Raceway provided Audi with its strongest weekend of the season.
Mark Rosser and Alex Peroni took the opening victory for Team BRM after navigating a chaotic start, while Tigani Motorsport brought Mercedes-AMG home second. The OnlyFans Racing Ferrari completed the podium.
Audi then completed the sweep as Brad Schumacher and Broc Feeney won Race 2 for Kelso Electrical Team MPC. Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks secured second in another Team BRM Audi, while Zagame Autosport scored its first Ferrari podium of the year.
Audi collected 80 points across the meeting, matching the largest sprint-event score of the season. Mercedes-AMG also continued reducing Porsche’s lead, leaving Australia only 19 points behind.
Verstappen Racing delivers Mercedes-AMG breakthrough
Mercedes-AMG entered the Magny-Cours GTWC Europe round still searching for its first victory of the European campaign despite collecting five runner-up finishes from the opening seven races.
Verstappen Racing finally ended that wait in Race 1. Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella delivered the team’s maiden overall GTWC victory, with Comtoyou Racing taking second for Aston Martin and AF Corse completing the podium for Ferrari.
Porsche collected only six points from that contest but responded immediately in Race 2. Lionspeed GP again combined strong pace with a rapid pit stop to put Feller and Buus on the top step.
Team WRT finished second with the Silver Cup BMW shared by Matisse Lismont and Ignacio Montenegro, while Rutronik Racing gave the new Lamborghini Temerario its first GT World Challenge podium in third.
Mercedes-AMG failed to score significantly in the second race, but its Race 1 success had already done enough to reverse the championship order. The manufacturer left Magny-Cours 29 points ahead of Porsche.
Ferrari emerges as genuine third championship contender
Although Mercedes-AMG and Porsche have dominated the discussion around the championship lead, Ferrari’s recent scoring rate means neither can afford to focus solely on the other.
Ferrari currently sits third with 671 points, 66 behind Porsche and 95 behind Mercedes-AMG. Its recent results have come across each of the global championship’s regions rather than relying on one particularly strong continental series.
Its performances at Queensland Raceway, Spa, Fuji, Darwin and Magny-Cours have steadily reduced the deficit. With 19 scoring events still remaining, the current gap leaves Ferrari with considerable opportunity to apply further pressure.
BMW occupies fourth on 475 points, while Audi has climbed to 443 following its strong recent run. The 32-point difference between those two manufacturers creates another close battle behind the leading trio.
2026 GT World Challenge global manufacturer standings
- Mercedes-AMG — 766 points
- Porsche — 737 points
- Ferrari — 671 points
- BMW M — 475 points
- Audi Sport — 443 points
- McLaren — 209 points
- Aston Martin — 127 points
- Lamborghini — 119 points
- Ford — 60 points
- Corvette — 0 points
Mercedes-AMG’s advantage over Porsche therefore stands at only 29 points, while Ferrari sits 95 away from the championship lead. A much larger 196-point gap then separates Ferrari from BMW in fourth.
Triple-header awaits after summer break
The championship now enters a three-week summer break, the longest pause in its schedule between March and November.
Competition resumes with an especially significant weekend on August 29–30, when three separate GTWC series will race across three continents. Asia heads to Okayama, America visits Road America and Europe contests its Nürburgring round.
The simultaneous events create considerable potential for another major championship swing. Mercedes-AMG has regained first place, but Porsche remains only 29 points behind and has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to reverse sizeable deficits.
Ferrari’s recent form adds another variable. After consistently reducing its disadvantage across the past several rounds, another strong triple-header could pull the manufacturer even closer to the two German marques.
With 27 of 46 events completed and five lead changes already recorded, the 2026 GT World Challenge global title remains far from settled. Mercedes-AMG currently holds the advantage, but Porsche remains firmly within reach and Ferrari has increasingly transformed what once appeared to be a two-way fight into a genuine three-manufacturer contest.
