Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc (F1i.com)
The F1 Power Rankings are back! After returning from a week-long trip to camp, my first goal was to catch up on all things in the sports world. Evidently, that included watching the F1 races that I missed.
Unfortunately, it’s probably too late now to make a whole article on the British GP, considering it happened over two weeks ago, but you should be aware that I did watch the race and all the scores are a part of the season-long leaderboard.
For anybody curious enough to care, here were the top 10 drivers for Britain.
1. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (9.1)
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (8.9)
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (8.8)
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull (8.7)
5. Mick Schumacher, Haas (8.4)
T6. Sergio Perez, Red Bull (8.2)
T6. Fernando Alonso, Alpine (8.2)
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine (7.6)
T9. Lando Norris, McLaren (7.5)
T9. Nicholas Latifi, Wiliams (7.5)
Regardless, the most recent Grand Prix took place in Spielberg, against the beautiful landscape of the Austrian mountains. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc prevailed on Red Bull’s home turf, but Max Verstappen managed to seal a decent result for Red Bull after Carlos Sainz retired with his car in flames.
As usual, I added all the drivers' scores together to find the top 10 drivers for this particular race and on a season-long basis.
If you've forgotten, we take machinery entirely out of the equation and simply judge the drivers based on how well they did with the equipment they possessed.
Let's begin!
THE SCORES FOR AUSTRIA
Fernando Alonso, Mick Schumacher, Lando Norris (F1i.com)
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Race Position: 1st
Score: 9.4
Leclerc stormed into the Red Bull Ring and took home an impressive race victory for Ferrari. Ferrari’s race pace was surprisingly far better than Red Bull’s, but it was still shocking to see the Monegasque convincingly beating Verstappen.
Leclerc barely missed out on pole position, suffering from some understeer issues on his final flying lap. He was definitely a step below Verstappen during the Sprint race, but he made up for it on Sunday, getting the better of the Dutchman on a few different on-race encounters.
The victory looked in danger after an issue with his throttle, but Leclerc handled the problem really well to take maximum points.
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Race Position: 2nd
Score: 9.2
This should have been a perfect weekend for Verstappen, but tyre degradation limited his pace during Sunday’s race. Verstappen’s qualifying form has been lacklustre this season, but the current spec of his vehicle seems to suit his one-lap pace. He took pole by 0.029 seconds over Leclerc and held onto the lead with ease during the Sprint.
He was powerless to keep Leclerc behind on Sunday, mainly due to the overwhelming degradation. In fact, scrounging second place looked unlikely, until Carlos Sainz’s engine went up in flames. After winning the Sprint and getting second place in the race, it was a decent weekend for damage limitation, though Verstappen’s sights were probably set on something higher.
3. Mick Schumacher, Haas
Race Position: 6th
Score: 8.7
After I called out Mick Schumacher for his poor performances in a fairly competitive Haas, the young German has responded with three consecutive appearances on the power rankings. This was quite possibly the best race of his career.
Schumacher has started to make Q3 with regularity, but he failed to put up a competitive time during the timed session on Friday. The Sprint showed Schumacher’s racecraft, as he went toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton, one of the most talented drivers of all time. His efforts proved fruitless when he lost DRS off of Kevin Magnussen, but it still showed his abilities.
Sunday was a rousing success. He gained three places and once again looked to have a really good handle of his Haas. A career-best 6th place was his reward.
4. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Race Position: 5th
Score: 8.5
Ocon has been quietly effective all season, but this was a race in which he really stood out. He qualified at the front of the midfield pack and got pushed up to fifth, following Hamilton’s crash and Perez’s track limits violation. Perez passed him during Saturday’s Sprint, but starting sixth put the Frenchman in a promising position.
Sunday was fairly uneventful, as Ocon used his momentum to push forth. He looked a decent bet for fourth after Sainz’s retirement, but Mercedes’ surprising race pace allowed George Russell to get past him.
Ocon will hope to stay in rhythm as he heads home for the French Grand Prix next weekend.
5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Race Position: DNF
Score: 8.3
Sainz deserved second place this weekend. Alas, once again, the Spaniard was struck by bad luck and engine reliability issues. He was a lot closer to Leclerc and Verstappen in qualifying trim and he could have possibly picked up his second consecutive pole position, if not for a poor Sector 3.
The Sprint race caused some controversy for Sainz, as he relentlessly attacked Leclerc, trying to steal P2 off his teammate. While some cynics might say this presented the victory to Verstappen, Sainz is perfectly in his rights to battle with Leclerc.
Sainz was a perfect sidekick on Sunday, executing the strategy and plan with maximum efficiency. He was about to pass Verstappen into Turn 4 in the latter stages of the race before smoke started to billow out of his power unit.
Despite managing just 6 points all weekend, Sainz seems to be improving rapidly.
T6. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Race Position: 10th
Score: 7.8
The swashbuckling Spaniard picked up floor damage after running wide in Q3. He might have been able to challenge for top of the midfield pack, but his excursion over the sausage kerbs left him in P8. It looked like it was going to be a fairly simple weekend from P8, with a modest point haul up for grabs.
However, bad luck plagued Fernando again, as an electrical issue kept him out of the Sprint and forced him to start from the back of the pack on Sunday.
He executed a two-stop very well, taking advantage of a VSC to rocket into the points. Making up 9 positions to pick up a point is deserving of a place in the top 10 of the power rankings.
T6. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
Race Position: 8th
Score: 7.8
While Magnussen didn’t stand out as much as Schumacher, he still put together a pretty fine performance in Austria. He qualified P6 (Magnussen’s one lap pace has been very good recently), two spots ahead of Mick. He provided DRS for his teammate during the Sprint, but eventually he had to prioritize his own race and he held onto P7 for points during the shortened race.
Sunday looked like it could provide points again. He held onto P7 for a decent part of the race, but a reported engine problem caused him to fall behind Schumacher and the McLaren of Lando Norris. It was still a solid drive from the Dane, though.
8. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Race Position: 3rd
Score: 7.7
Somehow, Hamilton continues to excel in a car that doesn’t suit his driving style. Q3 was a bit of a disaster for the Briton, as he caught some crosswind and crashed on his flying lap. Mercedes’ data suggested he could have gone 3rd or 4th if he completed the lap. Who knows what Hamilton could have managed if he had an incident-free Q3?
He had a tough start during the Sprint after a close encounter with Gasly, getting dropped to P11. However, he recovered well and eventually finished in 8th to pick up a point.
Hamilton’s tyre management was on point was really good. The overcut was strong in Austria and Hamilton proved that with a battling drive to the podium.
9. Lando Norris, McLaren
Race Position: 7th
Score: 7.4
Even though Daniel Ricciardo looked more competitive this weekend, Lando Norris still finished ahead of his more experienced teammate. The Q2 exit was not typical Lando and it meant that he had a lot to do to salvage something from the weekend. Norris was one of the big winners during the Sprint, gaining multiple places off the start.
The race on Sunday was anything but smooth, but Lando still made up three places and came home in P7. A self-inflicted penalty for exceeding track limits may have cost him one position, as he was within striking distance of Schumacher when the checkered flag was waved.
In general, McLaren were pretty pleased that Norris scrounged points after a mechanical issue cost him valuable running time in FP1.
10. George Russell, Mercedes
Race Position: 4th
Score: 7.1
After losing his streak of top-5 finishes at Silverstone, Russell went right back to where he started with a sneaky 4th placed finish. Like Hamilton, he had a crash in Q3. However, a strong prior lap kept him in the running for a podium.
The ripple effects of his crash were clear. Russell’s preferred spec was damaged, so he had to use a higher downforce wing at a circuit that typically favours top speed. Nevertheless, Russell stayed vigilant during the Sprint and he came home in a quiet fourth place.
The first lap of Sunday’s race courted controversy, as Russell was awarded a 5-second time penalty for knocking Sergio Perez into the gravel trap at Turn 4. In the long run, this didn’t affect Russell’s result, but the mistake did cost his score. P4 was a strong result, but it wasn’t the smoothest weekend of Russell’s Mercedes career.
JUST MISSED
Sergio Perez (F1i.com)
Sergio Perez had a difficult weekend. His Q2 lap time was deleted due to exceeding track limits, which forced him to start the Sprint from out of the top 10. However, he recovered brilliantly during the Sprint itself and could have been for a good points haul on Sunday if not for making contact with Russell. Though the fault was predominantly placed on George, it was an ill-advised overtake effort, as it is historically really difficult to overtake at Turn 4.
Considering he started from the pits, Valtteri Bottas had a really solid weekend. He missed out on points after Fernando Alonso’s late surge, but it was still looked really quick for large parts of the weekend, particularly during the Sprint.
THE OVERALL STANDINGS
Esteban Ocon (F1i.com)
*Since I didn’t make a top-10 on the overall standings following the British GP, the ‘Last GP’ section will be looking at their ranking from the Canadian GP
1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Last GP: 1st
Season Average: 8.9
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Last GP: 2nd
Season Average: 8.8
T3. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Last GP: 4th
Season Average: 7.8
T3. George Russell, Mercedes
Last GP: 3rd
Season Average: 7.8
T5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Last GP: 6th
Season Average: 7.6
T5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Last GP: 5th
Season Average: 7.6
7. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Last GP: 6th
Season Average: 7.5
8. Lando Norris, McLaren
Last GP: 6th
Season Average: 7.4
T9. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Last GP: 10th
Season Average: 7.3
T9. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Last GP: 6th
Season Average: 7.3
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