You’ve read the pre-summer break team power rankings, now it’s time to get into the driver rankings.
Of course, first comes a disclaimer: with any power rankings, these are subjective and based purely on opinion mixed with results.
Are these 100 per cent accurate? Inside my mind, yes! Outside of it, no. But it’s a nice way to spark some discussion, showcase some form and allow a conversation that brings F1 fans closer together – and maybe also further apart at the same time.
Fun, right? Always!
Rather than rank all 20 drivers on the grid, I have made it more streamlined and easier by simply bringing the top 10 drivers.
As always this means that some drivers drop out, and a couple have jumped in after my last rankings.
You can also check out my team power rankings too for a similar analysis.
Let’s get to it.
10. Lance Stroll (-1)
While he would be disappointed not to get the points his teammate got given he started next to him on the grid, Stroll was impressive to get points given the different strategy he was on and how far down he was at one point in the race.
(Photo by PlanetF1)
9. Carlos Sainz (-1)
Once again Mr Invisible lived up to his name this year. Unfortunate in the main race and got some points in the sprint. But outside of that, wasn’t involved anywhere else.
8. George Russell (-4)
Apparently George didn’t show up in Belgium this weekend. Hopefully he’ll get the memo and be in the Netherlands on August 27.
7. Fernando Alonso (-)
That’s a bit more like it Fernando! Some pace in the Aston helped him get some decent points. Hopefully for them it will return more in the coming weeks to help them get back to where they started the season.
6. Lando Norris (-1)
Mainly drops out of the top 5 due to other drivers going up, did a good job to get some points given how bad it was looking early on.
5. Charles Leclerc (+5)
A podium! Amazing. Great to see some pace in the Ferrari in Belgium, which hopefully will bode well for their home race next month.
4. Lewis Hamilton (-1)
Solid, yet unspectacular. Did what he could with the car and once again got solid points. Mr. Consistent in 2023.
(Photo by Grand Prix 247)
3. Oscar Piastri (+3)
Absolute star all weekend, shame the main race couldn’t translate into a ‘real’ podium. Great to see him finally live up to all the promised hype.
2. Sergio Perez (+3)
The last couple of races have been good for Sergio and it was a strong weekend in Belgium, despite his sprint race retirement. Needs to keep this up for the rest of the season.
1. Max Verstappen (-)
Let’s be honest, Max could crash out of all the remaining races of the year on lap 1 and he’d still end this list at number one.
What do you think of these rankings? Do you agree with the positions? Let me know what you think in the comments below.