92 replies to this topic

[Marklar]

Mine

1. Verstappen - clearly the best. even if recently incidents have creeped in with more competition but that he is over 3 race wins in the lead with a car that was most of the races not quickest speaks for himself

2. Leclerc - silently having a good season under the radar. very consistent but less spectacular. Feels like he should dominate Sainz more though.

3. Norris - many opportunities thrown away not only by his team but also him, especially in quali and starts. Has shown great highlights though that are often being ruined by his team.

4. Russell - still lacks over the race distance, has too many unforced errors and often goes missing, also seems to struggle in mixed conditions. has Hamilton clearly under control over one lap, and the WDC dont do it quite justice

5. Hamilton - lacks over one lap though its closer than the H2H suggests. still great otherwise (even in areas he previously lacked more) although the mixed conditions recently flattered him

6. Sainz - his best Ferrari season. Some great highlights and generally closer to Leclerc though the difference is still very visible

7. Piastri - looked for a long time like the big disappointment of the season as his tyre management didnt improve but has turned his season around recently

8. Hulkenberg - while he sometimes has a stinker and Kmag is closer than it seems several absolute highlight drives, for his age very impressive

9. Alonso - brilliant until Imola. since then Stroll seems to be a match.

10. Bottas - I find it impossible to place someone here because after this the field feels close, but I went for him because he seems to have his team mate fully under control and has been handed a tough deal with the worst car

11. Albon
12. Gasly
13. Ocon
14. Tsunoda
15. Stroll
16. Ricciardo
17. Magnussen
18. Sargeant
19. Perez
20. Zhou

Edited by Marklar, 28 July 2024 - 16:32.

[Button4life]

Not sure how you can have Leclerc as 2 when he had that abysmal run between Canada and Hungary.

Edited by Button4life, 28 July 2024 - 16:40.

[Clrnc]

No way Leclerc is 2nd. Bottas way too high as well.

Edited by Clrnc, 28 July 2024 - 16:40.

[Clrnc]

1. Verstappen
2. Norris
3. Piastri
4. Hamilton
5. Russell
6. Leclerc
7. Sainz
8. Hulkenberg
9. Tsunoda
10. Alonso
11. Gasly
12. Albon
13. Ocon
14. Bottas
15. Ricciardo
16. Magnussen
17. Stroll
18. Perez
19. Zhou
20. Sargeant

[DW46]

1. Verstappen
2. Norris
3. Piastri
4. Hamilton
5. Russell
6. Sainz
7. Hulkenberg
8. LeClerc
9. Alonso
10. Tsunoda

I’d qualify this by saying I don’t think anyone’s been consistently strong all year other than Verstappen.

[MortenF1]

Verstappen has been the best performer so far I think, and it’s become almost impossible to decide who’s the second best!
Not Norris, cause he’s not come away with as much as he should IMHO, from these 6-7-8 races where the car has been extremely good. Not Leclerc, cause he’s had a run of four races where he’s underperformed.

…so I think my list will look like this;


2. Russell
3. Hamilton
4. Norris
5. Leclerc
6. Sainz
7. Hülkenberg
8. Piastri
9. Tsunoda
10. Bottas

Edited by MortenF1, 28 July 2024 - 17:26.

[Marklar]

Not sure how you can have Leclerc as 2 when he had that abysmal run between Canada and Hungary.

I dont agree obviously, some races in this run are actually misfortune with mechanical issues/Ferrari pulling big gambles, I dont weight this any worse than Norris' recent run for example. The truth is that in my opinion except of Max no one is really having a great season. They all dip a bit in and out, but I think it's close between them all behind Max and any order (so long it respects the team battles order that are easier to read) is fine to me.

[ARTGP]

1. Verstappen

2. Hamilton (I don't care about qualifying, he's 40. The race form is undeniable)

3. Norris/Russell (tied even though I feel Russell would have 1-2 more wins in the Mclaren right now) 

5. Leclerc/Piastri/Sainz

 

I don't follow the others closely enough. 

Edited by ARTGP, 28 July 2024 - 19:07.

[LolaB0860]

1-7 RBR/McLaren/Merc/Ferrari minus Perez, their form changes too much race-by-race for judgement and I also don't think Verstappen has been that amazing or error free to automatically grant him P1

 

8 Hulkenberg (very good)

9 Albon (pretty good)

10 Tsunoda (makes silly mistakes sometimes but for the most part has been consistently good and positive)

11 Alonso (mostly good-ish but losing mojo fast)

12 Stroll (sometimes better than Alonso and not as crash-heavy now)

13/14 Gasly/Ocon ("fine I guess")

15 Ricciardo (occasionally alright glimpses out of nowhere but that's not enough)

16 Bottas (nothing special or memorable)

17 Magnussen (horrible driving standards although he seems to have calmed down now)

18 Zhou (nothing special or memorable but even slower than Bottas)

19 Sargeant (useless)

20 Perez (completely useless)

Edited by LolaB0860, 28 July 2024 - 19:17.

[andysaint]

1. Verstappen
2. Norris
3. Le Clerc
4. Piastri
5. Hulkenberg
6. Sainz
7. Hamilton
8. Russell
9. Albon
10. Alonso
11. Stroll
12. Gasly
13. Ocon
14.5 Ricciardo
14.5 Tsunoda
15. Bottas
16. Zhou
17. Magnussen
18. Perez
19. Sargeant

[Victor]

I have to say I agree with all the OP's says

[TheFish]

1 Max

The rest… genuinely difficult. Lewis has been great for the past few races. Charles is also great but had a few off races. George and Carlos been pretty good too.

Lando and Oscar… it’s partly them and partly the team, they should not be out of the title race at this point… but they are. So I really struggle to know how to review them.

[AlexPrime]

Verstappen
Piastri
Hamilton
Norris
Leclerc

Overall, very good performances from top drivers, small gaps between them. A vintage season.

[Ben24]

Mine

1. Verstappen - clearly the best. even if recently incidents have creeped in with more competition but that he is over 3 race wins in the lead with a car that was most of the races not quickest speaks for himself

2. Leclerc - silently having a good season under the radar. very consistent but less spectacular. Feels like he should dominate Sainz more though.

3. Norris - many opportunities thrown away not only by his team but also him, especially in quali and starts. Has shown great highlights though that are often being ruined by his team.

4. Russell - still lacks over the race distance, has too many unforced errors and often goes missing, also seems to struggle in mixed conditions. has Hamilton clearly under control over one lap, and the WDC dont do it quite justice

5. Hamilton - lacks over one lap though its closer than the H2H suggests. still great otherwise (even in areas he previously lacked more) although the mixed conditions recently flattered him

6. Sainz - his best Ferrari season. Some great highlights and generally closer to Leclerc though the difference is still very visible

7. Piastri - looked for a long time like the big disappointment of the season as his tyre management didnt improve but has turned his season around recently

8. Hulkenberg - while he sometimes has a stinker and Kmag is closer than it seems several absolute highlight drives, for his age very impressive

9. Alonso - brilliant until Imola. since then Stroll seems to be a match.

10. Bottas - I find it impossible to place someone here because after this the field feels close, but I went for him because he seems to have his team mate fully under control and has been handed a tough deal with the worst car

11. Albon
12. Gasly
13. Ocon
14. Tsunoda
15. Stroll
16. Ricciardo
17. Magnussen
18. Sargeant
19. Perez
20. Zhou

One of the first times I've agreed that much with any ranking, let alone an OP. Would maybe have each of the RB drivers a couple of places higher and maybe Albon above Bottas. Find it hard to argue too strongly against any of those rankings though

[Ruudbackus]

1. Verstappen; amazing start and consistency afterwards when the car wasn't the fastest anymore. He does show a few old tricks and doesn't need that.

 

2. Hamilton, rocky start and in qualifications outperformed but on sundays he is the one to look at to gain places, Given Mercedes was off the pace at the start of the season he has done very well!

 

3. Piastri; especially in the recent races he picked it up, but he has been consistently close to Norris

 

4. Sainz, call me crazy but he is the more consistent of the ferrari drivers. He missed a race but outperforms Leclerc since Monaco and also at the start of the season he was the better of the two as if the anouncement of Hamilton joining ferrari seemed to really fore him up. He's just15 points behind leclerc and thats exactly the 3rd place of Leclerc in Saoedi when Sainz was in the hospital. He's not neccesarily faster then Leclerc but makes less errors

 

5. Norris, he's the one putting pressure on Verstappen mostly, and has been let down by his team on a few occassions, but he himself needs to work on his starts, those costs him plenty.

 

6. Leclerc, See sainz why he is behind for me, just seems uncomfortable in the car at times, with the one exception of Monaco off course. But after that he hasn't been that good anymore

 

7. Russell, Decent in the mercedes, especially on saturdays outperforming Hamilton. On sundays its just decent. Today was a great drive for him but he drove an illegal car (not his fault but it puts the drive in a different perspective, otherwise he would be above Leclerc) 

 

8. Hulkenberg, Making the most of the Haas. Especially on saturdays but also on sundays he sneaks a point every now and then.

 

9. Albon; same as Hulkenberg but then with the Williams.

 

10. Tsunoda, has his crazy moments but also his brilliance. If Redbull is to sack my number 19 I guess he is the best option they have

 

11. Alons; not as good as last year and the last few races faded. I don't even remember seeing the ASton much in the broadcast of Alonso doing great moves. Easily outperforms Stroll though on Sundays but on Saturdays its closer then it should be, maybe its time for him to make room for a younger driver

 

12. Riciardo; soem glimpses of what he can do we have seen, but in general a dissapointing season and surely not the best option for Redbull to replace Perez

 

13. Gasly; Had a decent set of races in the midst of this first season half. Nothing spectacular but at least not as follish as his team mate

 

14. Stroll; better then last year

 

15. Ocon, Did some stupid things this first 14 races which deserves him this spot. 

 

16. Bottas; that man needs holiday, from here on I feel people on my list are ready for retirement in f1

 

17. Sargeant; more visible then Zhou but not Sure its in a good way although at times his name glances up on the boards on saturdays in a good way, and less antics then last year

 

18. Zhou; invisible, and that says it all

 

19. Perez; with the car he has he really is underwhelming to put it mildly. He was there the first few races but as soon as we hit Europe he lost his ability to drive a f1 car properly it seems. Also writing off quite some budget in the process.

 

20. Magnussen; his antics in Miami really put him all the way down on this list, he might not be the worst driver even but that was something that doesn't belong on a racetrack and deserved a race ban 

[RekF1]

1. Verstappen[/size]2. Norris[/size]3. Piastri[/size]4. Hamilton[/size]5. Russell[/size]6. Leclerc[/size]7. Sainz[/size]8. Hulkenberg[/size]9. Tsunoda[/size]10. Alonso[/size]11. Gasly[/size]12. Albon[/size]13. Ocon[/size]14. Bottas[/size]15. Ricciardo[/size]16. Magnussen[/size]17. Stroll[/size]18. Perez[/size]19. Zhou[/size]20. Sargeant[/size]

Pretty much this. You could make a case for all Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes drivers in any order really. There does seem to be an emerging pattern of Charles, Oscar and Lewis stepping up at the moment tho.

Tsunoda's really difficult to place, but if he was placed in the top 5 I wouldn't object.

Whilst it's nice to see closer racing, is anyone else thinking this is a case of RedBull taking backwards steps instead of the chasers making progress?

Where's the crazy straight line speed gone?

I'm gasted and flabbered about these masochist tyres. They like getting beaten up, but the teams seem to think they need a gentle touch.

[Afterburner]

Verstappen

Russell

Hamilton

Norris

Piastri

Sainz

Leclerc

Hulkenberg

Alonso

Tsunoda

 

Mercedes has the best driver pairing, McLaren has the best car, Red Bull has the best driver. The rest of the season should be great if it’s anything like today’s race.

[TAFormula1]

lol at having leclerc at 2

[FirstnameLastname]

The points order works for me

[noikeee]

1. Verstappen

2. Leclerc

3. Norris

4. Hamilton

5. Russell

6. Sainz

7. Piastri

8. Hulkenberg

9. Albon

10. Ocon

 

11. Alonso

12. Bottas

13. Gasly

14. Tsunoda

15. Ricciardo

16. Magnussen

17. Stroll

18. Perez

19. Zhou

20. Sargeant

 

We've been having a long standing chat about whether Lando has been doing better than Charles and I've been on Lando camp for a while, but today JUST edges it. It's worth mentioning Charles is only 22 points behind Lando despite having a slower car for 2 thirds of the season.

Edited by noikeee, 28 July 2024 - 19:58.

[Dan333SP]

Verstappen
Russell
Hamilton
Norris
Piastri
Sainz
Leclerc
Hulkenberg
Alonso
Tsunoda

Mercedes has the best driver pairing, McLaren has the best car, Red Bull has the best driver. The rest of the season should be great if it’s anything like today’s race.

Well phrased.

[messy]

1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Oscar Piastri
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Nico Hulkenberg
9. Yuki Tsunoda
10. Fernando Alonso

1-8 were easy picks, but the order was tough because they’ve all been pretty good. I really wanted to place Hulkenberg higher but thinking about what he’s actually done - beating Kevin Magnussen and scoring points in the much improved Haas - I can’t. It’s impressive and he’s looked really strong, but it had to be P8. Piastri has really turned things round since Monaco but you’ve got to factor in how weak his opening few races were, how it looked like he’d regressed vs Norris. Sainz was great in those early races but has kinda gone back to where he normally is, which always seems to even out to about seventh in these rankings every single season.

The Mercedes drivers are the most interesting ones to rank for me. Russell has been sooo much better than he was in 2023. His qualifying has been so good (although Lewis has started to pull it back) and he’s executed a few really good races not least today. But Hamilton, too, has re-established himself as masterful at times, both have been really good and with the gap being so tiny, I don’t really hold that qualifying record against him at 39 years old. If either was ranked second I wouldn’t object.

Norris just edges those two into second, but really needs to cut out the errors and assert himself back ahead of Piastri or he’ll drop.

As for #9 and #10, I think Yuki is an obvious pick for one of those, but again Ricciardo has a bit of momentum on him at the moment so it’s not as locked in as it was a few weeks ago. Tenth? I’ve gone Alonso because he started the season so well but recently I’m not sure. Also worthy of mention are Ocon, who’s quietly done quite a good job and re-asserted himself ahead of Gasly in the last couple of races just as it looked like everything was falling apart for him, and Albon who’s done his usual good job.

So,

11. Esteban Ocon
12. Alex Albon
13. Lance Stroll
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Daniel Ricciardo
16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Logan Sargeant
19. Sergio Perez
20. Guanyu Zhou

Edited by messy, 28 July 2024 - 20:18.

[Mc_Silver]

1. Verstappen
2. Norris
3. Piastri
4. Hamilton
5. Russell
6. Sainz
7. Leclerc
8. Hulkenberg
9. Tsunoda
10. Gasly
11. Alonso
12. Albon
13. Ocon
14. Ricciardo
15. Magnussen
16. Bottas
17. Stroll
18. Perez
19. Zhou
20. Sargeant

Edited by Mc_Silver, 28 July 2024 - 20:36.

[KWSN - DSM]

1. Hulkenberg
2. Norris
3. Verstappen
4. Piastri
5. Hamilton
6. Leclerc
7. Sainz
8. Russel
9. Tsunoda
10. Gasly

[FTB]

1. Verstappen; amazing start and consistency afterwards when the car wasn't the fastest anymore. He does show a few old tricks and doesn't need that.

 

2. Hamilton, rocky start and in qualifications outperformed but on sundays he is the one to look at to gain places, Given Mercedes was off the pace at the start of the season he has done very well!

 

3. Piastri; especially in the recent races he picked it up, but he has been consistently close to Norris

 

4. Sainz, call me crazy but he is the more consistent of the ferrari drivers. He missed a race but outperforms Leclerc since Monaco and also at the start of the season he was the better of the two as if the anouncement of Hamilton joining ferrari seemed to really fore him up. He's just15 points behind leclerc and thats exactly the 3rd place of Leclerc in Saoedi when Sainz was in the hospital. He's not neccesarily faster then Leclerc but makes less errors

 

5. Norris, he's the one putting pressure on Verstappen mostly, and has been let down by his team on a few occassions, but he himself needs to work on his starts, those costs him plenty.

 

6. Leclerc, See sainz why he is behind for me, just seems uncomfortable in the car at times, with the one exception of Monaco off course. But after that he hasn't been that good anymore

 

7. Russell, Decent in the mercedes, especially on saturdays outperforming Hamilton. On sundays its just decent. Today was a great drive for him but he drove an illegal car (not his fault but it puts the drive in a different perspective, otherwise he would be above Leclerc) 

 

8. Hulkenberg, Making the most of the Haas. Especially on saturdays but also on sundays he sneaks a point every now and then.

 

9. Albon; same as Hulkenberg but then with the Williams.

 

10. Tsunoda, has his crazy moments but also his brilliance. If Redbull is to sack my number 19 I guess he is the best option they have

 

11. Alons; not as good as last year and the last few races faded. I don't even remember seeing the ASton much in the broadcast of Alonso doing great moves. Easily outperforms Stroll though on Sundays but on Saturdays its closer then it should be, maybe its time for him to make room for a younger driver

 

12. Riciardo; soem glimpses of what he can do we have seen, but in general a dissapointing season and surely not the best option for Redbull to replace Perez

 

13. Gasly; Had a decent set of races in the midst of this first season half. Nothing spectacular but at least not as follish as his team mate

 

14. Stroll; better then last year

 

15. Ocon, Did some stupid things this first 14 races which deserves him this spot. 

 

16. Bottas; that man needs holiday, from here on I feel people on my list are ready for retirement in f1

 

17. Sargeant; more visible then Zhou but not Sure its in a good way although at times his name glances up on the boards on saturdays in a good way, and less antics then last year

 

18. Zhou; invisible, and that says it all

 

19. Perez; with the car he has he really is underwhelming to put it mildly. He was there the first few races but as soon as we hit Europe he lost his ability to drive a f1 car properly it seems. Also writing off quite some budget in the process.

 

20. Magnussen; his antics in Miami really put him all the way down on this list, he might not be the worst driver even but that was something that doesn't belong on a racetrack and deserved a race ban 

Montreal: Leclerc engine issues in race, perhaps could have scored a few points without, as fast as Sainz with the issues before it became even worse

Austria: Leclerc had his race ruined on lap 1 through no fault of his own, Sainz qualified ahead (after Leclerc mistake on final lap) and was ahead in sprint but even there Leclerc had bad luck in sprint quali.

Spain, Hungary, Belgium: Leclerc ahead

Silverstone: Sainz ahead, horrible performance by Leclerc.

 

I really don't get this "Sainz outperforms Leclerc after Monaco" thing. 

Edited by FTB, 28 July 2024 - 20:59.

[Alfisti]

I will add mine later but as much as I am not a fan, bottas has been sneaky good.

It also pays to consider a driver's bad strat and contact from other drivers, feels like piastri and leclerc have suffered with this.

[KWSN - DSM]

1. Verstappen

2. Hamilton (I don't care about qualifying, he's 40. The race form is undeniable)

3. Norris/Russell (tied even though I feel Russell would have 1-2 more wins in the Mclaren right now) 

5. Leclerc/Piastri/Sainz

 

I don't follow the others closely enough. 

 

You are missing a lot of good F1.

[ANF]

I don't know about the top 10, but I can give you my bottom 5 in alphabetic order: Magnussen, Pérez, Ricciardo, Sargeant, Zhou.

[Ben24]

1. Max Verstappen
2. Lando Norris
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Oscar Piastri
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Nico Hulkenberg
9. Yuki Tsunoda
10. Fernando Alonso

1-8 were easy picks, but the order was tough because they’ve all been pretty good. I really wanted to place Hulkenberg higher but thinking about what he’s actually done - beating Kevin Magnussen and scoring points in the much improved Haas - I can’t. It’s impressive and he’s looked really strong, but it had to be P8. Piastri has really turned things round since Monaco but you’ve got to factor in how weak his opening few races were, how it looked like he’d regressed vs Norris. Sainz was great in those early races but has kinda gone back to where he normally is, which always seems to even out to about seventh in these rankings every single season.

The Mercedes drivers are the most interesting ones to rank for me. Russell has been sooo much better than he was in 2023. His qualifying has been so good (although Lewis has started to pull it back) and he’s executed a few really good races not least today. But Hamilton, too, has re-established himself as masterful at times, both have been really good and with the gap being so tiny, I don’t really hold that qualifying record against him at 39 years old. If either was ranked second I wouldn’t object.

Norris just edges those two into second, but really needs to cut out the errors and assert himself back ahead of Piastri or he’ll drop.

As for #9 and #10, I think Yuki is an obvious pick for one of those, but again Ricciardo has a bit of momentum on him at the moment so it’s not as locked in as it was a few weeks ago. Tenth? I’ve gone Alonso because he started the season so well but recently I’m not sure. Also worthy of mention are Ocon, who’s quietly done quite a good job and re-asserted himself ahead of Gasly in the last couple of races just as it looked like everything was falling apart for him, and Albon who’s done his usual good job.

So,

11. Esteban Ocon
12. Alex Albon
13. Lance Stroll
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Daniel Ricciardo
16. Valtteri Bottas
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Logan Sargeant
19. Sergio Perez
20. Guanyu Zhou

Although I think Lewis has been much better than the straight H2H quali record shows, I don't think you could possibly argue that he had more than the slightest edge in race pace overall this season. So overall George has definitely been at least the slightly better driver so far.

 

And I have don't know what you mean at all by Ocon reasserting himself recently. This last race was clearly his best since Japan but Gasly was miles ahead of Ocon before he had a mechanical in Hungary. No doubt Ocon got given a pretty crap strategy, but Gasly's pace on older tyres was clearly a step ahead. There haven't really been any weekends aside from Spa in ages where Ocon was clearly better.

 

I think Bottas is also too low for what has probably been his best season since leaving Merc and Stroll is probably too high.

[noikeee]

I know the Alfa is crap but Bottas has 0 points, and is technically dead last in the championship as on countback Zhou and Sargeant have managed 11th places and he hasn't, and counting only the races both drivers have finished it's just 7-4 to Bottas. I'm not ready to throw a ton of praise at him just yet.

[Nathan]

Verstappen

Norris

Piastri

Hamilton

Hulkenberg

Sainz Jnr

Ocon

LeClerc

Russell

Alonso

[flyboym3]

1. Verstappen
2. Hamilton (I don't care about qualifying, he's 40. The race form is undeniable)
3. Norris/Russell (tied even though I feel Russell would have 1-2 more wins in the Mclaren right now)
5. Leclerc/Piastri/Sainz

I don't follow the others closely enough.

I like this one the best but would probably drop Norris down 1 into his own category.

[TheMidnight]

1. VES
2. PIA
3. HAM
4. NOR
5. RUS
6. LEC
7. SAI
8. ALB
9. HUL

Edited by TheMidnight, 28 July 2024 - 22:42.

[noikeee]

Half the forum thinks Piastri right now is quicker than Leclerc...... I give up. Bloody hell you really are only as good as your last race.

[Anderis]

I know the Alfa is crap but Bottas has 0 points, and is technically dead last in the championship as on countback Zhou and Sargeant have managed 11th places and he hasn't, and counting only the races both drivers have finished it's just 7-4 to Bottas. I'm not ready to throw a ton of praise at him just yet.

Judging by championship position can be very misleading when it comes to drivers who drive for cars incapable of scoring points in most races.

 

Saying it's 7-4 to Bottas in races both Sauber drivers have finished is not doing the justice here, in all 3 discounted races Bottas looked set to finish way ahead so 10-4 would be a much better reflection of the actual performance gap. I think Bottas has been clearly the faster Sauber driver in all but 1 or 2 weekends and he's often further ahead of Zhou than Albon is ahead of Sargeant. He's also lost 2 point scoring opportunities through combination of poor pit stops, poor strategy and reliability issues (I think those were Japan and China), it's totally not his fault that he is behind Zhou and Sargeant in the WDC.

 

It's kinda difficult to say whether Sauber has been as bad this year as Zhou's performances suggest and Bottas has been admirably punching above the car's weight a good few times or maybe the car is not quite as bad and Bottas has been average while Zhou has had an absolutely disastrous season. For all I know, Zhou didn't look as dreadful in 2023 so I'm willing to give Bottas some benefit of doubt and say he's been judged unreasonably harshly by some..

[Brawn BGP 001]

Whenever I notice Zhou, he is always like 3 tenths to half second off Bottas in qualifying.

[Anderis]

Half the forum thinks Piastri right now is quicker than Leclerc...... I give up. Bloody hell you really are only as good as your last race.

The same goes for Hamilton vs Russell. I think Russell outperformed Hamilton in like 8 out of first 9 races and just because Hamilton has caught up recently, I don't think he's bettered Russell yet if we consider the entire season and certainly not by a gap that would justify putting him like 5 places ahead, like some people have done in this thread.

[P123]

1 Verstappen

2 Russell

3 Norris

4 Leclerc

5 Hamilton

6 Sainz

7 Piastri

8 Hulk

9 Alonso

10 Gasly

[Marklar]

The same goes for Hamilton vs Russell. I think Russell outperformed Hamilton in like 8 out of first 9 races and just because Hamilton has caught up recently, I don't think he's bettered Russell yet if we consider the entire season and certainly not by a gap that would justify putting him like 5 places ahead, like some people have done in this thread.

I dont disagree with the recency bias on this one but regarding "putting 5 places ahead" I am not sure if it's in some scenarios really so different to placing someone 1 place ahead. Sometimes several drivers are so close together that you put team mates pretty far apart despite them actually being much closer. I for instance had this issue with Alonso and Stroll, obviously Alonso is having still a better season due to his great season start, but I feel placing him 6-7 places ahead of Stroll like I did doesnt really do justice to how close they have been, but I kept thinking 'I really cant place Stroll any higher and Alonso any lower'   

I think P2-7 is similar in a way, although I had until a couple of races ago Leclerc and Norris relatively clearly together in 2nd and 3rd, but the others used their respective slumps to make it this close.

[Alfisti]

I know the Alfa is crap but Bottas has 0 points, and is technically dead last in the championship as on countback Zhou and Sargeant have managed 11th places and he hasn't, and counting only the races both drivers have finished it's just 7-4 to Bottas. I'm not ready to throw a ton of praise at him just yet.

I think bottas should retire but he has absolutely pasted Zhou. He's had zero luck, the team is rubbish. I dunno if I have him top 10 yet but he's ahead of Zhou, the Minardi drivers, stroll, Magnussen and Perez for sure.

[Benchulo]

1. Verstappen
2. Hamilton
3. Russell
4. Leclerc
5. Sainz
6. Norris
7. Alonso
8. Tsunoda
9. Hulkenberg
10. Piastri
11. Ocon

[teejay]

Why are people only doing 20 names when we have had 21 drivers compete  

 

#21 - Perez 

[messy]

Although I think Lewis has been much better than the straight H2H quali record shows, I don't think you could possibly argue that he had more than the slightest edge in race pace overall this season. So overall George has definitely been at least the slightly better driver so far.
 
And I have don't know what you mean at all by Ocon reasserting himself recently. This last race was clearly his best since Japan but Gasly was miles ahead of Ocon before he had a mechanical in Hungary. No doubt Ocon got given a pretty crap strategy, but Gasly's pace on older tyres was clearly a step ahead. There haven't really been any weekends aside from Spa in ages where Ocon was clearly better.
 
I think Bottas is also too low for what has probably been his best season since leaving Merc and Stroll is probably too high.

I’m in team Gasly, in that I think he’s the faster driver and I prefer him as a character. So I’ll always root for Pierre over Esteban, and admitting that Ocon has been better this season kinda sticks in my throat. But he has. At the start of this season when the car was really terrible, it was Ocon who got on top of it better and dragged it off the back row on numerous occasions while Gasly looked lost. Then the tide turned, the car got better and Gasly started to reassert himself as (narrowly) the lead driver when they were getting points, but it didn’t sustain. Since getting sacked Ocon has come back strongly over the last 4-5 races, qualified ahead and this weekend got into Q3 and scored. He’s done quite well this season and is right on the bubble of my top ten for that reason.

[Dara]

1. Hamilton
2. Verstappen
3. Piastri
4. Norris
5. Russell
6. Leclerc
7. Sainz
8. Hulkenberg
9. Albon
10. Ricciardo

[Massa_f1]

Not going to do a top 10 as the majority of drivers have had good phases and fairly average phases so far, especially out of the top teams.

 

Perez has obviously been poor though continuing to not make top10 in qualifying is unforgiveable at this level in his car. 

 

And i guess Hulk stands out as maybe the one driver that is out performing the car a fair amount of the time.

[Baddoer]

1. Hamilton
2. Piastri
3. Verstappen
4. Russel
5. Norris
6. Leclerc
7. Sainz
8. Alonso
9. Tsunoda
10. Hulkenberg
11. Ocon
12. Albon
13. Gasly
14. Bottas
15. Perez
16. Stroll
17. Riccardo
18. Magnussen
19. Sargeant
20. Zhou

[Coral]

1.  Hamilton

2.  Piastri

3.  Verstappen

4.  Leclerc

5.  Russell

6.  Norris

7.  Sainz

8.  Alonso

9.  Hulkenberg

10. Albon

11. Ocon

12. Tsunoda

13. Gasly

14. Bottas

15. Stroll

16. Ricciardo

17. Sargeant

18. Zhou

19. Perez

20. Magnussen

[geralt]

Has the season started in Silverstone? In what universe is Hamilton ahead of Max (or even Russell)?

I get that recency bias is a thing, but come on. Max is undeniably number 1 (he's been the best driver by margin, same as the last 3/4 years) then after that you could make an argument for Leclerc or Russell or Norris in whatever orde

[Massa_f1]

Has the season started in Silverstone? In what universe is Hamilton ahead of Max (or even Russell)?

I get that recency bias is a thing, but come on. Max is undeniably number 1 (he's been the best driver by margin, same as the last 3/4 years) then after that you could make an argument for Leclerc or Russell or Norris in whatever orde

Agree. Up until before Silverstone it was one of his worst seasons, yet a couple of races later he's been the best driver first half of season.

[F1Frog]

I think Lewis Hamilton has been the best driver in Silverstone, Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps, but over the whole season there is no way he ranks ahead of George Russell.