224 replies to this topic

[Marklar]

It's that time of the year again

1. Verstappen = Usually on his own, partly because the Red Bull is by a margin the 2nd quickest car, partly because he is just so much better than the drivers in the closing up midfield. Unfortunately usually not able to show his full potential due to this and a weak team mate. nonetheless yet another strong year for the Dutchman, who came even close to split the Mercs in the WDC.

2. Hamilton = Probably his most consistent year, but lacked competition. When challenged though he showed his worth, but also a couple of sluggish mistakes when he wasnt challenged. I rate him and Max pretty much the same this year, but Max had more chances to impress me, so he gets the nod.

3. Ricciardo = Dragged the Renault sometimes in places where it didnt really belonged and soundly dominated a solid driver like Ocon, although he closed up towards the end.

4. Leclerc = Might be the best qualifier of the year, and put his car on occasions where it didnt belong, still too error-prone though. But he is developing in the right direction.

5. Sainz = After misfortune in the first half in the season bounced back impressively and ultimately had the upper hand over his team mate. Ultimately by a margin the most closely matched team mates on the grid.

6. Norris = After a strong start with a couple of highlight performances he fell a bit back similary to last year, albeit partly also due to a bit misfortune. Next year will be a very crucial year in his (and probably also his team mates') career and will show whether the car flattered them or not.

7. Gasly = Very impressive in the first half of the season where he had Kvyat especially in qualifying firmly under control, crowned by his surprise Monza victory, but lately probably challenged more often than he should be.

8. Perez = Disappointing start to the season, over time reached back his normal form. Without operational errors, corona infection, reliability and his sluggish start he might have even had a shot for P2, that's how good the Racing Point was, which might have even inflated his performances a tad.

9. Russell = Strong qualifying, although Latifi never made use of any of his mistakes. Disappointing for most of the part on race day, often even matched by his team mate and with some silly mistakes. His Mercedes one-off was impressive considering the circumstances, but a huge questionmark still lingers over him.

10. Bottas = His worst season since joining Mercedes. Until today no race where he appeared even quicker than Hamilton, only one qualifying where he beat him by more than a few hundreds. Feels even more often lost on race day, especially in the 2nd half of the season.

11. Raikkonen = Beaten by Giovinazzi in qualifying, but showed in the mid-season especially his worth on race day.

12. Kvyat = Gasly had him in firm control over one lap, but recently catched up. Solid on race day.

13. Grosjean = Bit underrated due to his reputation, but ultimately drove one of his better seasons in recent years.

14. Magnussen = First time in a long time that it didnt felt like he had the upper hand over Grosjean, but his usual solid self, with some highlight performances.

15. Stroll = Car flattered him, once Perez got back to his form the usual distance between them was re-established. Continues to be amazing on wet surface though.

16. Ocon = One of the disappointments of the season. Except of rain races never appeared to be really close to Ricciardo, but at least solid and lately a bit closer.

17. Giovinazzi = good qualifier, but disappears too often on race day, that being said he does put here and there some highlight performances, but needs to improve big time.

18. Vettel = nowhere in quali, nowhere in the races, with some exceptions, many mistakes, just one huge disappointment.

19. Latifi = Chanceless in qualifying, but isnt doing too many mistakes and seems to keep up well with Russell on race day.

20. Albon = not even once close in qualifying or race to Verstappen, which is a step back from last year, many mistakes while racing through the field against weaker cars, just out of his depth. Abu Dhabi was the only race where he did at least the bare minimum.

[aray]

1. Ham

2. Ver

3. Sainz

4. Ric

5. Perez

6. Norris

7. Gasley

8. Lec

9. Bot

10. Russel

[kernel]

HAM
VER
RIC
SAI
LEC
GAS
NOR
BOT
PER
RUS

[TheAviator]

HAM

VER

LEC
RIC

PER
SAI
GAS

NOR

STR

BOT 

ALB

VET

KIM

RUS

GIO

MAG

GRO

LAT

 

Hard to quantify how good backmarkers were, but top 5 are easy. Leclerc of course in front of Ric because he drove much slower car over season, the one that can barely keep it together on track and struggles to run with midfielders in all tracks which are not highest DF tracks (which this season, we had 1 - Hungary).

Edited by TheAviator, 13 December 2020 - 15:42.

[Astandahl]

Hamilton: Pretty much perfect

Verstappen: Pretty much perfect

Leclerc: Carried the entire team despite few big mistakes

Danny Ric: Great season

Perez: Consistency

Sainz: Good season despite some bad luck

Norris: Important improvements from last year

Gasly: Good rebound from last year

Russel: Excellent quali pace

[markelov74]

1. Verstappen -  The car is not close to the Mercedes yet continually splits/beats them, and pummelled his teammate.

 

2. Hamilton - Very consistent season but the closest Bottas has been on quali pace before, but still a machine at winning.

 

3. Ricciardo - Insanely consistent, Renault were evidently the 5th fastest team yet he finished top 5 in the driver standings.

 

4. Leclerc - Up there with Verstappen as the fastest in F1 and drove some incredible races with a very poor car, but too many mistakes.

 

5. Perez - Started a bit slow but up there with the best for the second half of the season, maximised his position everywhere and could have had more podiums if not for poor luck.

 

6. Gasly - Whilst the race win stands out, he was more lucky for that one and his excellent performances for the rest of the season is what is most impressive.

 

7. Sainz - Bar that rookie mistake in Sochi, he even bettered his season from last time. Consistently has the beating of Norris in race pace.

 

8. Norris - An improvement from last season, but I expected him to edge Sainz this time around which he hasn't.

 

9. Bottas - Potentially his worst season at Mercedes race wise, 2 wins in that car is an abysmal record and his lack of overtaking skill has been exposed.

 

10. Russell - Sakhir was something else and proved his credentials, strong qualifying pace for Williams but has bottled a few chances of points.

 

11. Ocon - Started slow after a year out, but was very close in qualifying to Ricciardo in the 2nd half, but still lacking some race pace.

 

12. Raikkonen - Seemed to make many mistakes in qualifying, but his races were good and always had the better race pace than Giovinazzi. 

 

13. Kvyat - Improved towards the end of the season but there was plenty of missed opportunities when AT were at their best.

 

14. Stroll - Looked close to Perez in the first half, but post his podium in Monza has been nowhere near the potential of the car.

 

15. Vettel - Just lacked pace, but I'm of the opinion that Vettel did what most midfield drivers could and Leclerc flattered the car.

 

16. Magnussen - Very anonymous season due to the car, had the better of Grosjean.

 

17. Giovinazzi - Shouldn't be in F1 next season even if his starts are quite good.

 

18. Albon - The worst season I've seen from a driver in a top car, needs to be dropped.

 

19. Grosjean - Bar the Nurburgring hasn't really had a good race all season

 

20. Latifi - His race pace is quite good, but still the slowest driver in F1

[Joefane]

1. Hamilton - completely dominated all year, again

 

2. Verstappen- not much more he could have done, almost beat a Mercedes with more DNFs

 

3. Perez - slow start but has been almost faultless since getting COVID

 

4. Sainz - similar to Perez, poor luck at early on but very consistent

 

5. Gasly - clearly punching above his weight, coming off a dreadful 2019

 

6. Riccardo - often gone under the radar but picking up consistently good results, taking advantage of others misfortune well

 

7. Leclerc - also punching above his weight, very good in quali but made quite a few costly errors

 

8. Norris - done very well but has sometimes been a bit quiet and off the pace which goes unnoticed

 

9. Russell - very good in quali, struggled in races which may be due to the car, great cameo in the Merc at Sakhir

 

10. Bottas - pretty underwhelming overall, quick in quali but often poor in the race

[DutchQuicksilver]

1. Hamilton - Still no question about it. Dominant as ever, yes partly aided by the car, but I think he impressed more than Verstappen. Left Bottas eating in the dust once again.

2. Verstappen - Made the most out of it like in recent seasons. Dominated his teammate and two very good wins. A shame about all those DNF’s. Maybe one his fault, some where he was a victim of others.

3. Perez - Missed two races, retired twice with engine problems and still finished 4th in the championship. His strongest season in F1 so far, topped of with a win. A shame to see him go, but he’ll be back in 2022.

4. Gasly - Totaly revitalized after being demoted from Red Bull. Had Kvyat in his right pocket for pretty much the whole season. Consistent on Sundays and rewarded with that shock win at Monza. Deserves another shot at Red Bull.

5. Leclerc - Made most out if it, much like Verstappen. Car was a dog, but smart driving earned him loads of points. Dominated his teammate.

6. Ricciardo - Maybe leaving too soon? Car was pretty good and he especially was good in the second half of the season rewarded with a podium.

7. Sainz - Had a lot of bad luck early on, but still managed to beat Norris on points. Might regret leaving McLaren for Ferrari.

8. Norris - Very strong in the first half of the season, slightly less impressive in the second half.

9. Stroll - Aided by his strong car of course, but he started the season off very strong. Never really came back to form though after his corona infection.

10. Bottas - Disappointing, but still in the top ten. Only a handful of wins and was nowhere really in the last few races. Needs to up his game masssively if he is to retain his seat in 2022.

11. Russell - Made most of his dog of a car. Especially his qualifyings were sometimes amazing. Needs a bit more pace on Sunday though.

12. Raikkonen - Car was a dog, but he was usually best of the rest at the back and could sometimes even upset a Ferrari. Nice to see him stay for another season.

13. Kvyat - Pretty disappointing in the first three quarters of this season. Only saw flashes of his speed again in the last few races, but too late to save his seat I think.

14. Grosjean - Actually had a decent season at the back. Was usually pretty fast on Sundays, better than Magnussen I think.

15. Ocon - Not the comeback he would have liked. Often too much off the pace compared to Ricciardo.

16. Magnussen - Same as Grosjean, though slightly less impressive. Seemed lost as soon as he knew his time at Haas was over.

17. Giovinazzi.- Not impressed, bar his usual good starts on Sundays. Still lacks a lot compared to Kimi.

18. Latifi - Well, pretty much what you expect from a pay driver. Didn’t do too many things wrong, but wasn’t a match for Russell.

19. Vettel - Biggest disappointment along with Albon. Unmotivated driving all season long. Only good races were at Hungary and Turkey. Maybe a new environment will revitalize him like it did with DC back in 2005.

20. Albon - Same as with Vettel. Not worthy of that top seat. Abu Dhabi was good, rest of the season was ‘meh’.

[KWSN - DSM]

1. Gasly

2. Leclerc

3. Verstappen

4. Hamilton

5. Ricciardo

6. Perez

7. Sainz

8. Bottas

9. Norris

10. Russel

11. Kvyat

12. Ocon

13. Stroll

14. Magnussen

15. Raikkonen

16. Grosjean

17. Giovinazzi

18. Latifi

19. Vettel

20. Albon

[NixxxoN]

@Marklar pretty much agree with all of your list except I'd put Perez in 6th place over Norris and Gasly

[masa90]

Hamilton           Good solid season taking advantage of the historical package to take an easy title.

Verstappen      Fast, but sometimes felt like he lost it. Only one on even the same book as merc.

Ricciardo         Great season. Well done!

Sainz               Slow start with misfortune, but really good action by Carlos.

Gasly               Mostly solid season with a surprisingly good package. Took propably the only chance of his career to take a win in f1. Well done!

Perez               Pretty good actually, though bit ?? how damn good that old merc was.

Bottas              Started well again, but seemed completely lost when suffered any small misfortune. Really unlucky aswell, but few shocking races drop him down.

Leclerc             Amazing qualipace, some solid races and mostly quiet good results for the car. Few really clumsy accidents.

Kimi                   Really hard to judge his season. Drove some amazing races, but on most of saturdays was below par. Also few stinker races (Russia, Silverstone, Sakhir and Nurburging) put him down a spot.

Russel              Considering the hype, not as good season in my opinion. Could almost copypaste Leclerc comments here to be honest. Made some quite big drops on races aswell. That merc sub was really, really good effort

Ocon                Really lost at the start, but started to get grips with the car later in the season.

Norris               Pretty good, but in my opinion did not get the best out of his car. Promising, but still not sure if really good, or quite good future out there.

Kvyat                Bit meh. Few good performances and rest of the year just there.

Storll                 Atleast the promise is there. Some really bad weekends and just slower than Sergio.

Vettel                Worst season in a Ferrari car that I can remember. Seemed completely lost out there on about 3/4 times. Which is shame to say from a fan.

Giovinazzi         Not too bad, but many drivers ahead with really much better races. Bit Trulli-like with really fast quali, but dropping in races. Only got 4-4 in points to Kimi for having such a bad car only efforts to points was pretty much a fluke for either.

Magnussen      Few good races but faded along with the car

Grosjean          Really bad work, sadly. Luckily made it from the crash, but performancewise it was a horrid season for the whole team.

Albon                Best performance of the season today, apart from that just not f1 worthy. Sadly so, but absolutely bad season.

Latifi                 Bit slow, lost in quali, but thereabouts in races.

[Taxi]

1. Hamiton: Always fast, composed and inteligent . Great pace and tire management. Left Bottas in the dust with incredible poles and race turn arounds. Record breaker and the champion. Sure he was lucky at times [GB, Imola]. My favoutit drive of the year was at Turkey, even with a not best car he managed to take it. Chapeau.
2. Max Verstappen: For me the current fastest driver. The only one to fight the mighty Mercedes cars. The same amount of wins as Bottas in a inferior car. 17-0 in quali against Albon. 11 Podiums and 5 retirements with no fault on his own. I highly doubt the Red Bull was always the second best car. A joy to watch.
3. Sergio Perez: 4th in the championship even after 2 races out because of Covid. Always with great race pace and superb tire management. Was kind of unlucky in many races [AD, Spain, Italy]. Incredible how such a complete driver doesn’t have a drive next year.
4. Charles Leclerc: Faster than Sergio and more or less the same consistency in races but still a bit error prone [Austria, Turkey, Monza, Shakir]. Dragged the uncompetitive Ferrari to fight faster cars in the championship and beated Norris, Stroll, Ocon. Beated a total out of his place Vettel. His quali laps were great.
5. Daniel Ricciardo: Overall I think The Renault was not as good as the Mclaren and he still managed to beat them both. Ricciardo is a hell of a racer in the peak of his form with an imense sense of killer instinct. 2 podiums and a fastest lap.
6. Carlos Sainz: Another great racer. He was very unlucky in the beggining if the year hence he trailled Norris for a long time. Although the pair was more or less even globally, Sainz seemed the more dangerous of the two.  And he almost won in Italy.
7. Pierre Gasly: It’s not only his amazing Italy win. All season he was on it: Many points, many overtakes and always near the top. He was even very close to Albon in points who had a very superior car. The Alpha Tauri was overall more or less as strong as Ferrari with ups and downs for both cars.
8. Valteri Bottas: Very average season. Should have given Hamilton more of a fight and when he could he was so unlucky [Silverstone, Hungary, Imola] but then again a string of mediocre races [especially turkey, but also Barhain weekends, Italy, Portugal] show us why he should be worried about Russell who was beating him hard in a matter of few days in the same car. Bottas is fast over one lap giving Hamilton work on Saturdays and getting 5 poles.
9. George Russell: The kid is good like he proved once he steeped into Hamilton’s Mercedes. In two days he was leading a GP with no dificulties. He has a lot of potential. Future star.
10. Lando Norris: Good season overall with his first podium. But he had a mid season slump and was that tiny little bit worse than Sainz in quali and races. Good season nevertheless, but I think Russel is the best of the two.

 

The rest:

11- Ocon: No match for Ricciardo but really never too far back. Colected nice poins in a consistent way. Gave Renault their best result.

 

12- Kimi: At 41 he still has what it takes. But the car was probabily the worse in qualifying and still quite bad in races. Kimi had horrible lows in the season [Barhain weekends, Hungary, Turkey race, Nurburgring] and a few memorable highs [fighting the ferraris in Spa, Italy, mugelo, AD], Imola race and that incredible first portuguese lap.

 

13- Kvyat: Last season for this talented russian who had some problems adapting to steering along the year and that once solved managed to get closer to Gasly. He could have snatched a podium in Imola with a bit more punch.

 

14- Stroll: capable of doing a great lap or race like in Turkey or Monza. But then can turn into plain mediocre like in this last GP. Should have got many more points with 3rd/2nd best car out there.

 

15- Giovinazzi: Already very fast in one lap. But in races he still lacks when compared to Kimi. Nevertheless he got as many points has the iceman. Improving.

 

16/17-Magnussen/Grosjean: Very hard to judge them with such a bad car in the races, many times the worse on the track. Just glad Romain is alive, really.

 

18 - Lattifi: Although soundly beaten in quali 16-0 he managed not to be humiliated in the races by Russell.

 

19 -Vettel: Lets sratch this one, will we? He could never adapt to F1000. It was a bit like Kimi’s 2014 season.

 

20- Albon: For me the worse driver of the year. He simply did not take advantage of the very good car he had. Losing 17-0 in quali and getting 2 lucky podiums vs 11 from Verstappen is quite telling.

[Sid04]

1 Ham

2 Ver

3 Lec

4 Ric

5 Sai

6 Per

7 Gas

8 Bot

8 Rus

10 Nor

11 Rai

12 Oco

13 Kvy

14 Gio

15 Gro

16 Mag

17 Str

18 Vet

19 Alb

20 Lat

[geralt]

I agree with your list Marklar but probably would have put Ocon and Seb 1 or 2 positions higher

[MortenF1]

1. Hamilton. 2020 is in contention for being his best year actually, which in itself is impressive. Race-pace is his biggest assett and that is a combination of actually having the speed and be able to conserve the (crappy) tires.

2. Verstappen. No team-mate to benchmark him against but no doubt he’s been the second best or equal best performer this year.

3. Ricciardo. Has had a better year this year than his first with the team. As someone says, he’s outperformed his car.
Put a solid gap on his team-mate in terms of points and pace, even if Ocon came on strongly in the last fourth or so of the season.

4. Leclerc. He has had a very impressive year even if it’s easier to look amazing when your team-mate, hasn’t quite got his head in it or isn’t given the right climate to perform in. Many amazing qualifying-laps, but still too error prone.

5. Sainz. I’m impressed. He can pull a rabbit out of the hat several times a season. Much more reliable than his team-mate and even if by a small margin, has better race-pace and more race-smartness.

6. Now it gets tough I think, as it isn’t clear cut between the next five, six. But I’ll say Norris. A strong start to the season where you thought yeah, Norris of course, he’s good alright. But then he fell back. Throwing it away in qualifying when the potential for better was there. Same in a good few races where he faded.

7. Perez. Anonymous start to the season, and I dont think the pace gap he has enjoyed to Stroll is really enough.
But by all means, he’s had many strong races and a handful really, really good ones. Won a crazy race, which was deserved because he was there to do it even if luck was an ingredient.

8. Gasly. Owned Kvyat for the first half or so. His Monza-win was fantastic. I did not think he would be able to hold off Sainz!

9. Bottas. Speed over one lap has never been a problem. If you can put one over Hamilton you have speed. Race pace and tyre use... to an extent these two go hand in hand but Bottas just doesn’t quite have it in races. You dont trust him to win even if he’s on pole by four tenths. If things go against him in the race, he seems to let his head drop massively and can’t always get into things again.

10. Russell. In terms of a general rating I’d put him ahead of Norris, but this is how they performed this year. Mind, I think it’s very close between the drivers from say sixth to twelveth or something, and thus it isn’t necessarily a lot between them. Outqualifying Latifi as he should I guess, in every session, but then he did not show to be able to hold onto that same advantage in the races.
Then again how he performed in Sakhir, matching Bottas in qualifying and then besting him in the race...!

10.Raikkönen. I think he’s had a very good season and not least this last race now, where he was mega. There’s been a few times where he’s been faster than Leclerc, who should never not be the fastest Ferrari-engined car.

Honourable mention, Ocon.

Edited by MortenF1, 13 December 2020 - 16:31.

[fed up]

Hamilton

Verstappen

Bottas

Perez

Ricci

Sainz

Gasly

Leclerc

Russell

Norris

Kimi

Kvyat

Ocon

Gio

Str

Vet

Albon

Lat

[Retrofly]

T1. Ham, Max - Not much between them,

T2. Leclerc, Riccado, Perez - Leclerc and Ric easily T2, Perez just makes it. Remembering he covid as well, missed a few races etc

T3. Gasly, Sainz, Bottas, Russell, Norris - Could almost swap Gasly and Perez, but Perez just edges it. Bottas has been ok, but I think Russell is quicker. Norris and Sainz pretty similar and solid.

T4. Kimi, Kvyat, Ocon, Gio, Stroll - All did an ok job with ups and down. Would pick all 4 of them over Stroll though.

T5. Vet, Albon, Latifi - Maybe harsh on Latifi but failed to out qualify his teammate apart from when Russell was out. Vet and Albon pretty woeful most of the season, decimated by their teammates.

[tourister46a]

1. Verstappen - Unbeatable speed.

2. Ricciardo - Made a promising talent like Ocon look like a kid.

3. Hamilton - Flawless season and his most dominant ever.

4. Leclerc - Destroyer of reputations but mistake prone this year. Qualifier of the year.

5. Sainz - Faster than Norris, great race pace

6. Russell - Ridiculous margin over Latifi in qualifying.

7. Perez - Still the tyre whisperer

8. Norris - Didn't develop as strongly as I hoped, but there's still time.

9. Ocon - Weak start to the season and easily slower than Ricciardo over a race on these Pirellis

10. Bottas - Terrible in the races but only relative to Hamilton. 

11. Gasly

12. Grosjean

13. Magnussen

14. Vettel

15. Kvyat

16. Raikkonen

17. Albon

18. Stroll

19. Giovinazzi

20. Latifi

[Topsu]

Tier 0

 

Verstappen

 

Tier 1

 

Hamilton, Russell

 

Tier 2

 

Perez, Sainz, Norris, Gasly, Ricciardo, Leclerc

 

Tier 4

 

Kvyat, Ocon, Räikkönen

 

Tier 4

 

Bottas, Stroll, Magnussen, Grosjean, Latifi, Giovinazzi

 

Tier 5

 

Albon, Vettel

[Requiem84]

Gasly 1, Russell equal to Hamilton.. funny how we all watch different races :-).

[Clrnc]

1 Hamilton - 7x WDC. Nuff said

 

2 Max - The way he made Albon looked like pub driver again says it all

 

3 Ricciardo - Proving himself to be a top tier driver with consistent top drive.

 

4 Perez - Had some bad luck with reliability and covid, otherwise would have challenge for top 4 in WDC. Still amazed by how good he is on tyres and strategy after 9 years.

 

5 Sainz - Very good season. Outshone Norris

 

6 Gasly - Consistently above average

 

7 Leclerc - Pulled a dog of a car to high points finished in some races. 

 

8 Norris - Wasn't as good as last year. Started the year well ended the year well but outshone by Sainz on average

 

9 Kimi - Super impressed by his racecraft in such a slow car, manage to battle alot of faster drivers with intelligence on the track

 

10 Russell - Made a lot of mistakes in race, good qualifier and without the Merc race might have been abit lower in my ranking.

 

11 Bottas - Have to be below Russell, simply because how disappointing he is this year.

 

12 Ocon - Below average, no longer ranked as an above average driver for me. 

 

13 Kvyat - Pulled his rankings up alot in the 2nd half of the season with better drives

 

14 Giovinazzi - Very good starter of races, that's all.

 

15 Magnussen - Negligible

 

16 Grosjean - Thankful he's alive

 

17 Albon - Just not good enough at this level

 

18 Vettel - Embarrassing performance. In fact he has produced more embarrassing moments in his entire ferrari stint than good moments in his RB stint. 

 

19 Stroll - L O L

 

20 Latifi - Every year we will have drivers like this.

[KWSN - DSM]

Gasly 1, Russell equal to Hamilton.. funny how we all watch different races :-).

 

Why this thread is a good place to post....

 

Agree we all see races differently, we mark, evaluate and assign ranking from each our own preset conditions, conceptions, likes and dislikes - I can likely make my list 10 times, and after seeing other lists, adjust my own a little each time, I will not budge on my personal ranking of Gasly first and Leclerc second.

 

But that is me, and how I see the season, there are no right or wrong answer. This thread is observation with our rankings made in each our own personal vacuum.

[alframsey]

Tier 0

 

Verstappen

 

Tier 1

 

Hamilton, Russell

 

Tier 2

 

Perez, Sainz, Norris, Gasly, Ricciardo, Leclerc

 

Tier 4

 

Kvyat, Ocon, Räikkönen

 

Tier 4

 

Bottas, Stroll, Magnussen, Grosjean, Latifi, Giovinazzi

 

Tier 5

 

Albon, Vettel

I find this particularly outrageous.

[realracer200]

T1
Verstappen
Hamilton
Perez
Leclarc
Ricciardo

 

T2
Sainz
Gasly
Norris
Bottas
Raikkonen
Russell

 

T3
Stroll
Kvyat
Magnusssen
Ocon
Vettel

Grosjean
Lafiti
Albon
Giovinazzi

[Atreiu]

I can't rate them all, however I have 2 cents here and there.

 

Hamilton - The standard of Mercedes' domination is no other than Hamilton's own standard. I don't remember the last time he had two bad weekends in a row no matter how well others did or not. He has reached a point where it takes a catastrophe to keep him off the podium. Bottas makes Mercedes look good, Hamilton makes them look like the greatest force F1 has had in my lifetime. I would, however, appreciate it if others were somehow able to pressure him more. I remember fondly how some of his 2017 and 2018 vitories seemed so sweet and sweaty.

 

Sainz and Norris - teamwork makes the dream work, Sainz was more impressive but both had to dig deep to help McLaren get 3rd in the WCC. Well done.

 

Verstappen - He flatters the Red Bull. Haters gonna hate, but remains pretty damn fast and good despite some occasional brainfades.

 

Leclerc - I honestly haven't seen improvement over his 2019 form. He is fast and races with urgency, but he still needs to become more calculating and opportunistic to simply challenge Hamilton and Verstappen whenever the cars allow it to happen.

[mclarensmps]

1. Hamilton: Somehow he just keeps improving. He may not have the outright speed that Verstappen has, but he is the complete package otherwise. His tire management, his reading of the race, his speed (still the second fastest outright driver in my opinion). He's been brilliant again.

2. Verstappen: I've warmed to him a little, this season, but that's probably more a factor of the humbling Red Bull has been given  over the past few seasons. He's the fastest driver in terms of outright speed. He's one of the best overtakers on the grid. He's cut out MOST of the mistakes that he used to make. He's a little bit less petulent than he used to be. He's going to be the benchmark driver once Hamilton hangs up his gloves.

3. Leclerc: A little bit more difficult to read, because he's against Sebastien, who I don't really rate (when he doesn't have a car that's head and shoulders better than anything else and he's not out front). Either Leclerc has been putting that Ferrari absolutely nowhere it should belong, or he's the only driver who was able to show what the Ferrari was actually capable of. Regardless, he absolutely dominated a four time world champion.

 

4=. Ricciardo: He had a rough start this year, but he eventually got the hang of it. He always had the speed and overtaking, but he's been getting better at race management as well.

 

4=. Sainz: I think Sainz is a lot better than a lot of people think, and I hope he gets a chance to show it against Leclerc next year. He's consistent and doesn't make mistakes (bar one big blunder this year!).

6. Russell: Very very close behind Sainz and Ricciardo. He just hasn't got the car to show what he can do, but his outing at the Sakhir oval proved that what he's doing to Latifi at Williams isn't about Latifi being awful, rather Russell just being that good. 

7.  Norris: It was a tough one between him and the next guy for me. This is more likely my McLaren bias here. On his day, he's shown his abilities, but he's not consistent enough, neither in qualifying, nor in the race. He'll show flashes, then he'll disappear. However, he's improved season on season, and I won't take away from the fact that he has actually beaten Sainz in the qualifying head to head two seasons running. 

8. Gasly: He's got speed. I don't think he has the mentality. He's got racecraft, but he doesn't have the patience. It's infuriating to watch him sometimes, but an absolute joy at others. He squandered his chance at RB, but he didn't have the mettle to go up against Max. I do think he deserves a second chance, but I don't think he will get one. 

 

9. Perez: The tyre whisperer, AND he's fast as well. An absolute joke that he's not on the grid next year. Honestly.

10. Ocon: He had kind of lost his way at the beginning of the season, but he picked it up and did give Ricciardo a run for his money as the season progressed. Got his podium too, which was well deserved.

 

11. Vettel: Maybe the most car dependent driver on the grid? His own level goes up, when his car's competitiveness increases. He was completely outclassed by his teammate.

 

12. Bottas: Every year, I think he's going to do it. He's finally going to give Hamilton a run for his money. It never happens, and he just seems to slip further away. Still quite fast in qualifying on his day. That's about it. He's not getting better, that's for sure. If it was up to me, I'd swap him with Russell at Mercedes; but practically speaking, Mercedes doesn't really have any reason to do that. He's good enough to get them their WCC.

 

13. Raikkonnen: One of my all time favourite drivers. This year is beginning to show that his time is up. Still love him though 

14. Albon: I thought he would be better than he is against Verstappen. Sadly not. He'll have the odd recent race, but he's largely anonymous in the second best card on the grid.

15. Kvyat: The torpedo has shown decent speed in the second half of the season. I think the seat is better used by someone else though.

 

16. Magnussen: He's hot headed, he's careless, he's sometimes dangerous, but that makes him look quite sprightly  on track, with the right car under him. He's still below average for me, though.

17. Stroll: I guess he's not as bad as I thought he was (Yeah, he would have been 19th for me). However, he's shown some flashes that there is something behind all those dollar bills. He's also an incredibly lucky driver, too
 

18. Grosjean: I'm glad he's okay, but he's just been declining season on season, and has outstayed his welcome in F1 quite some time ago

 

19. Giovinazzi: Not really sure how he keeps ending up with a seat in F1

 

20. Latifi: Gentleman racer

[TheAviator]

I can't rate them all, however I have 2 cents here and there.

Hamilton - The standard of Mercedes' domination is no other than Hamilton's own standard. I don't remember the last time he had two bad weekends in a row no matter how well others did or not. He has reached a point where it takes a catastrophe to keep him off the podium. Bottas makes Mercedes look good, Hamilton makes them look like the greatest force F1 has had in my lifetime. I would, however, appreciate it if others were somehow able to pressure him more. I remember fondly how some of his 2017 and 2018 vitories seemed so sweet and sweaty.

Sainz and Norris - teamwork makes the dream work, Sainz was more impressive but both had to dig deep to help McLaren get 3rd in the WCC. Well done.

Verstappen - He flatters the Red Bull. Haters gonna hate, but remains pretty damn fast and good despite some occasional brainfades.

Leclerc - I honestly haven't seen improvement over his 2019 form. He is fast and races with urgency, but he still needs to become more calculating and opportunistic to simply challenge Hamilton and Verstappen whenever the cars allow it to happen.

What did you expect from Leclerc with that car? He has highest % of team points across the grid, driving against 4xWDC and not guys like Albon or Ocon who had no drive last year.

[Ivanhoe]

Verstappen - despite some occasional brainfades.

.

I know he had some in the past, but ‘some’ brainfades this season? Could you list them?

[KWSN - DSM]

I find this particularly outrageous.

 

I can't find you list, did you delete it?

[PoliFanAthic]

VER

LEC
HAM

PER
SAI

RIC
GAS

NOR

STR

BOT 

MAG

GRO

VET

ALB

KIM

RUS

GIO

LAT

[H0R]

Hamilton - Sainz - Russell

 

Ricciardo - Perez

 

Leclerc - Verstappen

 

Gasly - Ocon - Stroll - Bottas

 

Raikkonen - Giovinazzi - Kvyat

 

Grosjean - Norris - Magnussen - Latifi - Albon - Vettel 

[Ivanhoe]

Hamilton - Sainz - Russell

 

Ricciardo - Perez

 

Leclerc - Verstappen

 

Gasly - Ocon - Stroll - Bottas

 

Raikkonen - Giovinazzi - Kvyat

 

Grosjean - Norris - Magnussen - Latifi - Albon - Vettel 

[Atreiu]

I think the stewards took it easy on Leclerc and his mistakes cost Ferrari a lot in the WCC.

 

Verstappen had a huge brainfade at Istambul and at Bahrain 2 he was over optimistic and careless in how he explored the run off.

[TomNokoe]

Hamilton
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Perez
Gasly
Leclerc
Sainz
Bottas
Russell
Norris

Don't care about the rest.

I also notice this "top 10" is pretty much the consensus throughout the thread.

Edited by TomNokoe, 13 December 2020 - 17:43.

[Ivanhoe]

VER-HAM

LEC-RIC

SAI-NOR-PER

GAS-RUS

BOT-KVY-RAI

MAG-GRO

STR-OCO-GIO

VET

LAT-ALB

[alframsey]

I can't find you list, did you delete it?

I've yet to offer it but it will come

[Requiem84]

Hamilton
Verstappen

Leclerc Ricciardo Perez

Sainz / Norris / Gasly

Russell

Bottas

Ocon

Kvyat / Stroll

Vettel

Raikkonen

Magnussen / Grosjean / Giovinazzi

Latifi

Albon

[TheAviator]

VER-HAM
LEC-RIC
SAI-NOR-PER
GAS-RUS
BOT-KVY-RAI
MAG-GRO
STR-OCO-GIO
VET
LAT-ALB

Fine list

[Requiem84]

Im a little bit baffled some rate Max higher than Hamilton.

Max had quite a few scruffy races. Hamilton had the benefit of the best car, but he was so consistent imo.

Is this already the GR effect..?

[DeKnyff]

Im a little bit baffled some rate Max higher than Hamilton.

Max had quite a few scruffy races. Hamilton had the benefit of the best car, but he was so consistent imo.

Is this already the GR effect..?

You know, you are as good as your last race...

[oli4]

VER

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[NixxxoN]

Tier 1

Hamilton, Verstappen

 

Tier 2

Perez, Sainz, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Russell

 

Tier 3

Gasly, Norris, Ocon, Räikkönen

 

Tier 4

Bottas, Magnussen, Latifi, Giovinazzi, Kvyat

 

Tier 5

Albon, Vettel, Grosjean, Stroll

Edited by NixxxoN, 13 December 2020 - 18:05.

[Requiem84]

You know, you are as good as your last race...

Thats the downside of these lists.. last result is (subconsciously) weighed too much.

Had Hamilton dominated this race, he’d be on top on more lists.

[markelov74]

Im a little bit baffled some rate Max higher than Hamilton.

Max had quite a few scruffy races. Hamilton had the benefit of the best car, but he was so consistent imo.

Is this already the GR effect..?

The only scruffy races for Max was Turkey and probably Monza until his retirement. Lewis hasn’t been perfect either

[FTB]

1 Max Verstappen 8.56: Getting more and more consistent which added to his speed makes him maybe the best driver on the grid. Apart from Istanbul Park he was pretty much flawless, and he almost beat Bottas with a much slower and very unreliable car. 

 

2 Lewis Hamilton 8.34: Had his most dominant season against Bottas, the reason why he is not first in the rankings is because he took some penalties earlier and may have declined a bit in qualifying. Amazing race pace, tyre management and wet weather skills mean that he still may well be the best driver on the grid. As he is getting older his experience pays off more and more.

 

3 Charles Leclerc 7.85: Probably the best qualifier on the grid, dominated Vettel in a way nobody could have seen. To make things even better for him, he improved his race pace and tyre management considerably and also looked very good in Istanbul Park on intermediates. Had his fair share of errors here and there but those are more down to him taking huge risks in a massively inferior car.

 

4 Daniel Ricciardo 7.82: A great season against Ocon. Got two well deserved podiums and a top 4 driver on the grid. Interested to see him in Mclaren-Mercedes.

 

5 Sergio Perez 7.54: Started slow, but really came through. His win in Outer Bahrain was amazing. Would be nice if he gets the RB seat. But he also benefited from a good car and a weak benchmark.

 

6 Carlos Sainz 7.38: Good season. Should be a good and consistent number 2 for Ferrari. Was great at Monza.

 

7 Pierre Gasly 7.22: Recovered really well from the 2019 disaster. But I also feel he is a bit overrated this year by some people thanks to a weaker benchmark and a good race day car ( the Toro Rosso seemed to usually move forward in the races )

 

8 Lando Norris 7.15: Closer to Sainz with more experience. Seemed to fade a bit in the second half. Let's see how he does next year.

 

9 Valtteri Bottas 7.00: Started out pretty decently but he probably mentally checked out and had some bad luck as well. 

 

10 George Russell 6.79: Some of his performances against Latifi were very disappointing on race days ( there were some races where Latifi was as fast as him ), and also made some errors when he could have scored points ( Mugello restart, Imola crash under SC ) but he looked great in Outer Bahrain against Bottas. Really wish he had a strong teammate next year, because a one-handed Kubica and a rookie paydriver are not the greatest benchmarks.

 

11 Esteban Ocon 6.74: Started out very slow but improved as the year went on. Still disappointing though, and he can't afford another season like this, especially with Alonso as his teammate.

 

12 Kimi Raikkonen 6.62: Still doing decently at this age, especially in the races. Nice to see him for 1 more year.

 

13 Sebastian Vettel 6.45: A season to forget, really, apart from Istanbul Park. Should do better next year against Stroll.

 

14 Kevin Magnussen 6.38: The Haas was so bad that most of the time they were around last, a forgettable season, apart from Hungary where a great decision to start with slicks gave him a point.

 

14 Daniil Kvyat 6.38: Disappointing performance, but he also had some unlucky moments. Seemed better in second half of the season.

 

16 Lance Stroll 6.22: Started nicely, but faded as the season went on, and got dominated by Perez as the season continued. Needs to improve.

 

17 Romain Grosjean 6.10: Had some good performances, but had some incidents too. Thankfully he survived the incident in Bahrain. Did a great job to score on Nurburgring on that Haas.

 

18 Antonio Giovinazzi 6.00: Looked good in qualis, but needs to improve on race days. And also seems to make some errors too, but was better in the second half.

 

19 Nicholas Latifi 5.68: Nowhere in qualifying but he had some decent races. And doesn't make much mistakes either.

 

20 Alexander Albon 5.62: Whitewashed in quali, much slower in every race, beaten by many midfield cars and many mistakes while racing with other cars ( Austria, Britain, Monza, Nurburgring, Imola ). At least had a decent final race in Abu Dhabi and got his first podium in Mugello.

Edited by FTB, 13 December 2020 - 18:14.

[Marklar]

Im a little bit baffled some rate Max higher than Hamilton.

Max had quite a few scruffy races. Hamilton had the benefit of the best car, but he was so consistent imo.

Is this already the GR effect..?

In my case the penalties made the difference.

I also dont recall too many scruffy Max races: there was Turkey and his pre-race crash in Hungary. Anything else is pretty marginal stuff.

I had Max relatively clear ahead midway through, Lewis had a better 2nd half, hence why I rate them about equal.

[Requiem84]

In my case the penalties made the difference.

I also dont recall too many scruffy Max races: there was Turkey and his pre-race crash in Hungary. Anything else is pretty marginal stuff.

I had Max relatively clear ahead midway through, Lewis had a better 2nd half, hence why I rate them about equal.

I think Italy was quite a scruffy race as well.

Hamilton didn’t have such a scruffy race, although any scruffyness may be camouflaged a bit by the car.

[DutchQuicksilver]

I know he had some in the past, but ‘some’ brainfades this season? Could you list them?

 

I can only think of pushing Perez off at Monza really. Though calling that a brainfade is stretching it of course.

[Marklar]

I think Italy was quite a scruffy race as well.

Hamilton didn’t have such a scruffy race, although any scruffyness may be camouflaged a bit by the car.

I was considering Monza but iirc he had engine issues and RB was generally crap that race, so I'm not counting this against him.

I would count the way Lewis picked up his penalties as scruffy, though of course we are complaining here on a very high level.

[renzmann]

VER-HAM

LEC-RIC

SAI-NOR-PER

GAS-RUS

BOT-KVY-RAI

MAG-GRO

STR-OCO-GIO

VET

LAT-ALB

This or Marklar's list sound about right for me. Impossible to chose between Verstappen and Hamilton, IMO: Both rarely made mistakes, both rarely had the chance to prove themselves. I rate Perez considerably higher.