Good news people, it’s race week.
But before cars return to track at the Belgian GP, there’s still time to assess how each driver has performed in the first 11 races of the season.
An exhilarating year to date, some drivers have exceeded expectations, while others have struggled.
1. Lewis Hamilton (195 points) – 9.5
It is testament to Lewis Hamilton’s standards that he is leading the championship but is not yet performing at the peak of his powers.
Mistakes in Imola and Baku mean the Brit does not achieve a perfect 10. He was also slightly lucky at Silverstone, the red flag following his collision with main championship rival Max Verstappen allowing his Mercedes crew to fix the damage on his car.
Hamilton is nonetheless still performing at a very high level, evidenced by his four race victories. Ominously for Verstappen, he usually gets stronger after the summer break, too.
2. Max Verstappen (187 points) – 10
Max Verstappen has arguably been the driver of the season thus far. Finally given a car to compete for the championship, the Dutchman has shown he is ready to win the title.
Barring Baku, Silverstone, and Hungary, three races where Verstappen could do little as forces beyond his control ruined his races, the Dutchman has finished first or second in every Grand Prix.
This streak also included a consecutive three-race winning run between France and Austria, a period of the season where the 23-year-old looked unbeatable as he pulled out a 33-point lead at the top of the standings.
Now 8-points behind Hamilton, however, the Dutchman will be ready to reverse that deficit in the second half of the season.
3. Lando Norris (113 points) – 10
Along with Verstappen, Lando Norris has been the driver of the season thus far.
Somehow still third in the Championship, ahead of both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez despite being in a slower car, the McLaren driver has gone up another level this season.
Outperforming experienced and race-winning teammate Daniel Ricciardo, something few expected coming into the season, the Brit has finished in the top five in nine out of eleven races, a run that included three podium finishes. He also finished in the points in first ten races, extending his consecutive points-scoring run to 15 races, the longest in McLaren’s history. That streak would surely have continued had he not been taken out by Valtteri Bottas in Hungary.
Such is his form, he is surely favourite to become the next driver to win their first F1 race.
4. Valtteri Bottas (108 points) – 6.5
Despite scoring six podium finishes, Bottas has endured his worst season at Mercedes to date as talk around his Silver Arrows future continues to escalate.
He has suffered his fair share of bad luck. In Monaco, for example, a botched pit stop cost him a guaranteed second place.
Yet there have also been some awful performances. In Imola, he was racing against the Williams of George Russell for 9th place before the two collided in a huge crash. It was even worse in Azerbaijan, the 31-year-old struggling outside the points as he ultimately finished in 12th.
Ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez, however, Bottas is still doing the job Mercedes require of him if they are to win their eighth-consecutive Constructors Championship. If he can take points from Verstappen in the second half of the season, a sixth-consecutive year at Mercedes becomes more likely as well.
5. Sergio Perez (104 points) – 7
It has been a mixed start to life at Red Bull for Sergio Perez.
The high point has undoubtedly been his race win in Baku, only the second of his career and the first of a Red Bull driver other than Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo at Monaco in 2018. While slightly fortunate, inheriting the lead thanks to his teammate’s tyre blowout, Perez was second on pure pace, comfortably keeping Hamilton behind.
There have also been good performances in Bahrain, Portugal and Styria, as well as a stellar podium finish in France.
The problem for Perez has been his qualifying form (as well as mistakes at Imola and Silverstone). Too often he has been too far off the pace of Verstappen, starting races behind midfield cars and having to perform recovery drives instead of helping the Dutchman at the front.
If he can sort this out in the second part of the season, and if he can beat Mercedes second driver Valtteri Bottas, his main target as Red Bull hunt a first constructors title since 2013, he will surely secure a contract for next year.
6. Carlos Sainz (83 points) – 9
It is testament to the ability of Carlos Sainz that, of the drivers that moved teams for this season, he has adapted best.
Ahead of supremely talented and race-winning teammate Charles Leclerc in the championship, the Spaniard has scored points in nine out of eleven races. This included two podium finishes in Monaco and Hungary, the highlight of the Spaniard’s season so far.
Surely that elusive first race win is near.
7. Charles Leclerc (80 points) – 9.5
Despite being behind his teammate in the championship standings, Leclerc has performed at a slightly higher level, evidenced by the fact he has outqualified Sainz in eight of the eleven races and outraced him in six. These streaks included two poles in Monaco and Baku, as well as coming within two laps of victory at Silverstone.
The main reason why he is behind Sainz, then, is because of bad luck. Although the crash in Monaco qualifying was his fault, he could do nothing as Lance Stroll took him out in Hungary, a race where a win would surely have been on the cards.
8. Pierre Gasly (50 points) – 9.5
Pierre Gasly has continued where he left off last season, cementing his status as one of the best performing drivers on the grid.
Securing his second podium finish in Baku, the Frenchman has also recorded one fifth placed finish, one sixth place, and two seventh places, remarkable consistency considering he is in a slower midfield car.
Such is his form, there has been talk about his future, with the 25-year-old deserving of another seat in a race-winning car.
9. Daniel Ricciardo (50 points) – 6
Daniel Ricciardo has endured a difficult first year with McLaren.
Regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid prior to this season, this status has taken a hit as the Aussie has been comprehensively outperformed by teammate Lando Norris, being outqualified and outraced in nine of the eleven races as he has struggled to adjust to the car.
Such a record has translated into Ricciardo being 63 points behind the 21-year-old, a remarkable gap that means the Aussie has been the most underperforming driver of the season thus far. 2022 cannot come quickly enough for the honey badger.
10. Esteban Ocon (39 points) – 8.5
Prior to his victory in Hungary, the first of his F1 career, Ocon had enjoyed a mixed season.
He began strongly, beating teammate Fernando Alonso in the first five races. Between Azerbaijan and Austria, however, Ocon suffered two DNFs and two 14th-place finishes as his season stalled.
The win in Hungary has changed everything, though, vaulting him up the championship standings and ahead once again of his teammate. It should also fill him with confidence ahead of the second half of the season.
11. Fernando Alonso (38 points) – 8.5
How good is it to have Fernando Alonso back on the grid?
Despite a difficult and relatively anonymous start to the season, something that can be attributed to him fracturing his jaw in February and re-adjusting to the sport after two years away, the Spaniard has showed he is still top class. Indeed, having scored points at each of the last six races, he is one of the form drivers on the grid.
This streak included the best performance of the season so far in Hungary, Alonso securing his teammate’s victory by holding off a charging Lewis Hamilton for 10-laps despite being on older and harder tyres.
Give this man a competitive car, PLEASE.
12. Sebastian Vettel (30 points) – 8
Despite sitting in a disappointing 12th-place in the championship, Sebastian Vettel has had a good season to date.
After scoring no points and struggling in the first four races of the season, he finished in a stellar fifth-place in Monaco, following this up with a podium finish at the next race in Baku.
Rejuvenated and now looking at home after a difficult final season at Ferrari, he would be further up the championship standings had his second place in Hungary not been taken away from him, disqualified after not being about to provide a sufficient fuel sample post-race.
13. Yuki Tsunoda (18 points) – 6.5
6.5 might seem a little harsh considering this is Yuki Tsunoda’s first season in F1. Highly talented, however, the 21-year-old has been comprehensively out-performed by teammate Pierre Gasly, being outqualified at all eleven tracks and only beating Gasly on three Sundays thus far.
Things were looking up for the Japanese driver before the summer break, though, finishing ahead of Gasly at Silverstone and then finishing sixth in Hungary, the best result of his young F1 career to date. There have also been some great overtakes, none more so than on his idol Fernando Alonso in Bahrain.
14. Lance Stroll (18 points) – 7
Lance Stroll started this season well, scoring points and outperforming teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in the first two races of the season.
Since then, such performances have been mixed with difficult ones. For instance, there have been points finishes ahead of Vettel at Styria and Silverstone, but a mistake in Hungary before the summer break, the Canadian misjudging his breaking point as he collided with Leclerc and Ricciardo, was a rookie error.
Stroll, still only 22, will be looking to become more consistent in the second half of the season.
15. Nicholas Latifi (6 points) – 7
Latifi and Williams have points! That fact alone means the Canadian deserves at least a 7 rating, especially after he went the whole of last season with nothing to show for his efforts.
Beyond that, though, it has been a relatively quiet year for the 26-year-old. While struggling in qualifying, at least by comparison to his teammate George Russell, his race pace has been solid. Even then, though, he has only beaten Russell once on a Sunday when both cars have finished, although that came when both scored points in Hungary.
16. George Russell (4 points) – 9
Mr. Saturday himself, George Russell has consistently put in incredible performances on Saturdays, making it out of Q1 at the first ten races of the season only despite being in a Williams. This streak included two Q3 appearances in Austria and Silverstone, respectively, the first time a Williams has been in Q3 since Lance Stroll in Monza 2018.
The target now is to translate these performances into regular points finishes on a Sunday. Prior to scoring his first points finish with Williams in Hungary, he had been close, being overtaken after a great battle with Alonso for 10th at the Austrian Grand Prix and competing for 9th in Imola before his collision with Bottas.
17. Kimi Raikkonen (2 points) – 7
Kimi Raikkonen has enjoyed an unspectacular season thus far.
Points finishes in Baku and Hungary have been high points, ensuring Raikkonen sits above teammate Antonio Giovanazzi in the championship standings. The Finn has also been on the cusp of points three times, finishing 11th in Bahrain, Monaco, and Styria.
Still, whether Raikkonen, who will be 42 in October, has the stomach for another season competing for the minor points places remains to be seen.
18. Antonio Giovanazzi (1 point) – 6.5
Antonio Giovanazzi has been slightly unlucky at times this season, suffering from poor strategy. In Hungary, for example, he took the gamble to go onto the slicks at the start of the race before inexplicably changing to the intermediate tyres after the red flag.
Still, the Italian has been beaten by his teammate in six of the eleven races thus far, a disappointing record as he attempts to secure a seat with Alfa Romeo for next year.
19. Mick Schumacher (0 points) – 7
Haas are so far behind the rest of the field that it is hard to evaluate Mick Schumacher.
There have been some difficult moments: a spin in Portugal and a crash in Monaco qualifying, for example.
Yet there have also been some good moments, most notably running in the points in Hungary, the only time Haas have done so all season, before finishing in 12th, his and his team’s best finish of the season. This included holding off Max Verstappen for several laps, albeit the Dutchman being in a severely damaged car.
With Haas putting all of their focus onto next year’s car, proper judgement on Schumacher should be reserved until then.
20. Nikita Mazepin – 6
Like Schumacher, it is hard to judge Nikita Mazepin because of how slow Haas are.
The Russian has also enjoyed his fair share of spins, leading team Principal Guenther Steiner to gift him a spinning top as a joke.
Like Schumacher, then, proper judgement should be spared until next season. Still, it is good to compare him to his teammate. Having been outqualified and outraced in nine of the eleven races so far this season, Mazepin therefore deserves a lower mark.
