Max Verstappen (F1i.com)
The inevitable has finally been made official. Max Verstappen is a two-time Formula 1 world champion. Verstappen had a tough task building upon what was a superstar performance in 2021, but 2022 was an even more dominant period for the Dutchman, as he has sealed the title with 4 races to go.
Unfortunately for Max, his domineering drive around the infamous Suzuka track was soured by a series of controversies, namely Pierre Gasly's near miss with an incorrectly commissioned recovery vehicle. Other moments of madness included Charles Leclerc's hastily decided 5-second penalty and uncertainty surrounding the amount of points that would be awarded following a rain-soaked Japanese GP.
Regardless, it was still a fascinating race that beckons for further examination by the Sincere Sports power rankings crew. In this article, that will be precisely what we do.
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.
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 JAPAN
Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon (F1i.com)
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Score: 9.8
Race Position: 1st
This could very well have been a 10, but I restrained. With that being said, I'm frankly not too sure where Max Verstappen's performance could have improved this weekend. He hasn't been a qualifying ace this season, but as he typically does in rainy conditions, the Dutchman delivered a very respectable pole lap to deliver him the best chance to win.
From then on, he was unstoppable. In a race that lasted less than 30 laps, Verstappen built up a stunning 27s gap over his nearest rival by the checkered flag, essentially equating to putting forth laps that were a second faster than Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez every single time he came back around to the start-finish straight.
It was a drive befitting of a champion.
2. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Score: 9.0
Race Position: 4th
Amidst all the chaos and celebrations, Esteban Ocon put forth a very solid race performance. The king of flying under-the-radar, the Frenchman was recently announced to be paired up with Pierre Gasly for 2023; he must have been eager to show Gasly levels, as Ocon put forth a dominant defense against the normally calm and mature Lewis Hamilton.
The race passed by without major incident for Alpine, which is their goal as the season winds down. While Ocon doesn't gather the same headlines as the feisty Fernando, the Driver's Standings don't lie.
3. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
Score: 8.8
Race Position: 6th
Seeing Sebastian Vettel win the Driver of the Day award in a throwback performance at his favourite track brought a tear to the eye. The most eagerly anticipated stop on Vettel's retirement tour could not have gone any better for the German, who dealt with an early spin into the gravel trap phenomenally well, after strapping on the inters and flying past the midfield to the checkered flag.
Vettel's old-fashioned duel with ex-rival Fernando Alonso was a blast to the past and similarly to how he did in the early 2010s, Seb used excellent racecraft to get the better of Alonso.
This may very well have been the peak of Vettel's final Formula 1 season.
4. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Score: 8.0
Race Position: 2nd
It's worth mentioning that without Sergio Perez's eager overtaking attempts, Leclerc would have never made the mistake that eventually ceded the title to Verstappen. For the second year running, "Checo" played the ultimate team game for his friend, picking up his best result since Belgium in the process.
Perez doesn't have incredible raw pace, but his consistency and tendency to support the team currently has earned him P2 in the WDC, ahead of the more renowned Leclerc.
Hopefully, now that Verstappen has the second title under his belt, Red Bull Racing will start to favour "Checo" in the 4 races to come.
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Score: 7.8
Race Position: 3rd
While finishing 30 seconds behind your closest rival is never a good look, it's hard to criticize Leclerc, who has been dealt a terrible hand this year. Expected to compete for the championship, it never worked out for Charles, who now has to watch another hotly tipped young driver celebrate in his place.
At the end of the day, it was admirable that the Monegasque driver put forth a true effort to prevent Max from winning the championship, even going so far as to go through the final chicane illegally to keep Perez behind.
Perhaps Leclerc on a better day could have sent F1 to the USA with a hypothetical championship fight on the cards, but in all honesty, nobody could have expected much more resistance than what Leclerc provided around the Suzuka circuit.
T6. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Score: 7.5
Race Position: 7th
It wasn't quite the stunning race performance that Ocon put forth, but Alonso still packaged together a very strong weekend.
Stunning laps in free practice seemed to set Alonso up for an unexpected challenge to the front row, but at the end of the day, the Spaniard couldn't string together his best sectors and he was left starting in P7.
Carlos Sainz's lap 1 crash promoted Alonso to 6th, but once the green light came on to indicate the race restart, Alpine waited too long to pit him for inters, effectively pushing him behind Sebastian Vettel. With better raw pace, Alonso caught up to Vettel and just came up short in a mad dash to the finish line that was separated by just 0.01 seconds.
T6. Nicholas Latifi, Williams
Score: 7.5
Race Position: 9th
He's back!
The second appearance in the power rankings for Nicholas Latifi comes after his first points haul of the year and unfortunately, just a couple weeks removed from the announcement that he would not be racing for Williams next season.
Nevertheless, as we expected, Latifi handled his exit diplomatically and still put forth a good shift at the rain-soaked Suzuka. Other than a laughable error in which he went down the wrong route near the famous chicane, Latifi was significantly stronger at Japan than he has been at most tracks this year.
8. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Score: 7.3
Race Position: 5th
While the speculation will keep going on that Mercedes are dark horses for a race victory, it just seems like they are too far behind their direct rivals to truly compete. Lewis Hamilton's recent podium drought illustrates that.
Certainly, Hamilton's performance doesn't deserve criticism, but it was odd to see the Silver Arrows so far off the pace. Hamilton, in particular, was stuck racing behind Esteban Ocon for the entirety of the race, but his own doom was sealed by a worse-than-average Q3.
Hamilton needs to step up if Mercedes are to have any hope of catching Ferrari for P2 in the Constructor's Championship.
9. George Russell, Mercedes
Score: 6.8
Race Position: 8th
It wasn't a perfect weekend for George Russell, who appears to be down after losing his another top-5 streak around the streets of Singapore. This is the first time all season in which Russell has gone two consecutive races without a finish in the top-5.
Disappointing qualifying laps followed by an ill-advised double stack sent Russell tumbling down the order. That first part of the race certainly didn't deserve a top-10 appearance here.
But Russell made his way back up the field in stunning fashion, making the best overtakes of the entire race, particularly through the Esses section of Suzuka.
10. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
Score: 6.7
Race Position: 13th
The hometown hero didn't dominate the headlines after becoming the first Japanese driver to race in his home country since Kamui Kobayashi. After being notably in the news for having his 2023 teammate revealed, Tsunoda failed to capitalize for points at his native circuit.
Yuki finished in a respectable P13 during the qualifying session, making it out of Q1, unlike his teammate, Pierre Gasly. During the race, Tsunoda had a flyer of a first lap, gaining 4 positions before the end of the first lap. However, once the field pitted onto inters, Tsunoda followed suit and lost all signs of his earlier pace, demoting him to a somewhat disappointing P13.
JUST MISSED
Lando Norris (F1i.com)
McLaren surrendered their brief Constructors' Championship lead to Alpine with a poor performance at Suzuka. Lando Norris, consistently one of the best-performing drivers this season, couldn't manage a strong points haul, settling for 10th. Norris wasn't able to make his way back up the grid, as he was hindered by his car's lack of straight line speed.
While Lance Stroll paled in comparison to Sebastian Vettel's excellent weekend, he still put forth a respectable performance, particularly on Sunday. Stroll's rapid getaway was a quick demonstration of his world-class reflexes, but in the rain, Stroll was too far back to make it two Canadians in the points.
THE OVERALL STANDINGS
Valtteri Bottas (F1i.com)
A competitive field tightened up in the overall power rankings. Fernando Alonso continues to put forth a very underrated season, suddenly boosting himself into the top-3. Sergio Perez's strong P2 coupled with lower scores from Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz creates a three-way tie for 5th. At the bottom, Valtteri Bottas cut the gap to Pierre Gasly; they are now tied for 10th, on a 6.7 average score.
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
Season Average: 8.9
Last GP: 1st
2. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Season Average: 8.5
Last GP: 2nd
T3. Fernando Alonso, Alpine
Season Average: 7.7
Last GP: T-4th
T3. George Russell, Mercedes
Season Average: 7.7
Last GP: 3rd
T5. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
Season Average: 7.6
Last GP: T-6th
T5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Season Average: 7.6
Last GP: T-4th
T5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
Season Average: 7.6
Last GP: T-6th
8. Lando Norris, McLaren
Season Average: 7.4
Last GP: 8th
9. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
Season Average: 7.3
Last GP: 9th
T10. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
Season Average: 6.7
Last GP: 10th
T10. Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
Season Average: 6.7
Last GP: NR
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