Lewis Hamilton (F1i.com)
Formula 1 has returned after a long summer break. Anxious Ferrari fans believed that the power dynamic could change hands after a few weeks off, but Max Verstappen's dominant drive established the Dutchman as the overwhelming favourite to take home his second consecutive World Driver's Championship.
After a Sincere Sports hiatus, I am back with plenty of articles lined up. I am currently working on a massive project for fantasy hockey fans. Coverage of the Premier League transfer window and my official table predictions will be released in the near future. The MLB playoffs are just a month away and I am also starting a preview of the 2022-23 NBA season.
But for now, Formula 1 is our focus. Now that the Belgian GP is in our back mirrors, it is time for a return of my power rankings.
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!
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Race Position: 1st
Score: 10.0
Admittedly, I am a newer Formula 1 fan, so I never got to watch Sebastian Vettel during his stretch of dominance or Michael Schumacher in the early 2000s. Yet, I have seen some truly indomitable drives in my lifetime. Sergio Perez in Sakhir, Lewis Hamilton in Brazil and Hamilton in Istanbul all come to mind. Despite that list of impressive drives, Max Verstappen's weekend in Belgium may have topped them all.
From Friday practice onwards, Verstappen was on a different level. Despite not needing to take pole, he took P1 on Saturday by over 6 tenths, despite doing just 1 flying lap in Q3. Starting from P14 after taking a swath of engine penalties, Verstappen made his way through the grid with the deadly grace of a venomous snake. He eventually took the checkered flag by nearly 18 seconds, racking up maximum points for the weekend.
2. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Race Position: 7th
Score: 8.9
Like Verstappen, Ocon was hit by some engine penalties. Like Verstappen, he made his way back up the grid in a very impressive manner.
Ocon showed some phenomenal racecraft with a pair of splendid double overtakes, one of which was heading into the bus stop chicane. After qualifying in P5, you have to think about what Ocon was capable of if he didn't take on a new power unit.
3. Alex Albon, Williams
Race Position: 10th
Score: 8.7
Williams have been struggling this year, but Albon has provided a shining light. This was the Thai driver’s 3rd P10 of the season.
Some impressive one-lap pace on Saturday gave him a chance to fight for serious points. Unfortunately, as drivers made their way up the grid, Albon’s position tumbled. Still, he shrugged off some late resistance from a DRS train and took the checkered flag ahead of drivers like Lando Norris.
4. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Race Position: 5th
Score: 8.2
Though he wasn’t Alpine’s most impressive driver, Alonso still had an excellent weekend, equaling the best race result by a driver drom the Enstone team.
Benefitting from the penalties of others, Alonso started in P3. It was yet another addition in a long line of signature Alonso quali performances.
On Lap 1, Alonso and Hamilton made contact, which likely caused slight damage to the Alpine. Despite that, Alonso came home with an impressive P5.
5. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
Race Position: 9th
Score: 8.0
On his 100th GP appearance, Gasly found his mojo. More reliability issues forced Gasly to start in the pit lane. Despite that, the Frenchman sliced his way through the field. He displayed speed that we haven’t seen from AlphaTauri on a consistent basis this year.
One can only imagine what Gasly was capable of if he kept his P8 from Saturday’s qualifying.
6. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Race Position: 3rd
Score: 7.9
Pole position doesn’t tell the whole story of Ssinz’s qualifying. He was comfortably beat by Verstappen and his best lap was scrappy at best. Still, starting on the front row gave the Spaniard hope that he could take the win.
An excellent jump off the line was cancelled out by an early Safety Car. Once the pack was brought together, Sainz simply couldn’t keep up with the incredible pace of his Red Bull rivals.
7. George Russell, Mercedes
Race Position: 4th
Score: 7.6
On a day where Lewis Hamilton retired in the early stages, George Russell had to pick up the load. He certainly wasn’t flawless, particularly not in his late chase of Sainz. However, he did the job and picked up yet another P4.
If Mercedes want to challenge for P2 in the Constructor’s standings, Russell needs to reach a higher level. Nevertheless, his consistency this year has been an asset.
8. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Race Position: 6th
Score: 7.4
Yet another unforgivable Ferrari strategy eliminated Leclerc’s surefire P5.
Knowing that he would be taking a penalty, Leclerc provided a crucial tow for Sainz in qualifying.
On Sunday, Leclerc started to slice through the grid, but he didn’t manage it with the same aggression as Verstappen. When Ferrari inexplicably called him in for a last-lap pit stop, Leclerc sped in the pit lane. This dropped him back to P5. Though it isn’t a significant amount of points lost, it was a demoralizing error from the Mobegasque.
9. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
Race Position: 8th
Score: 7.2
Aston Martin looked decent in Spa and Vettel used the car at his disposal to pick up a decent haul of points. At his last Belgian GP, Vettel spent time in the top 5.
The German comfortably outraced his teammate on Sunday, which limited the damage caused by being outqualified by Lance Stroll.
10. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Race Position: 2nd
Score: 7.1
Though this may seem harsh for a P2 finish, Sergio Perez wasn’t able to harness the enormous potential of his RB18. A P2 finish in qualifying as well as a P2 finish on Sunday is a decent haul, but the performance itself wasn’t anything special.
Finishing 18 seconds behind Verstappen who started in P14 in the same machinery is not Checo’s strongest race performance of the year.
JUST MISSED
Lance Stroll (F1i.com)
It was a difficult weekend for McLaren once again. However, this time, it wasn't just Daniel Ricciardo who failed to finish in the points, but his younger teammate as well. Lando Norris did a decent job considering he had a significant grid penalty after adding new engine components to his power unit. Norris found himself stuck in a few long DRS trains during the Grand Prix, while the McLaren's lack of pace prevented him from advancing past P12.
Unlike his teammate, Lance Stroll didn't convert the promise shown by his Aston Martin into points. But Stroll's pace was nevertheless quite good. A pair of top-5 finishes during Friday's practice sessions demonstrated the potential of Stroll's machine. However, he came up just short, finishing P11 on Sunday.
THE OVERALL STANDINGS
Max Verstappen (F1i.com)
Just as Verstappen boosted his advantage at the top of the WDC leaderboard, he did the same on the Sincere Sports leaderboard. His perfect score contrasted with a relatively average week from rival Leclerc has now solidified Max as the top driver of the season so far. With 9 wins from 14 races, it's hard to argue with the findings of my power rankings.
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Season Average: 8.9
Last GP: 1st
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Season Average: 8.5
Last GP: 2nd
3. George Russell, Mercedes
Season Average: 7.9
Last GP: 3rd
4. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Season Average: 7.7
Last GP: T-4th
T5. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Season Average: 7.6
Last GP: T-4th
T5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Season Average: 7.6
Last GP: T-4th
T5. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Season Average: 7.6
Last GP: 7th
8. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Season Average: 7.4
Last GP: 9th
9. Lando Norris, McLaren
Season Average: 7.3
Last GP: 8th
10. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Season Average: 7.0
Last GP: 10th
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