Given we’re now more than half-way through the decade (and the 2025 season), I thought it’d be an excellent opportunity to rank the drivers of the 2020s. However, unlike in previous decades, I’ve ranked every single F1 driver that’s driven in a race from 2020 onwards.
Given this, I’ve had to tweak the ranking criteria a little. For most drivers it is still their second best season that is ranked, and for drivers with less than two counting seasons, their score from their single season (counting or not) is used. This leads to a slight bias towards more experienced drivers (as they have more seasons to choose from). It also naturally means that inexperienced drivers have highly uncertain ratings. This includes all the 2025 rookie drivers, along with a few cameo drivers during the COVID years. Ratings are correct as of the summer break of the 2025 season.
Rankings
To start, lets look at the distribution of scores across the decade so far:
The red line indicates the lowest (counting) performance score of the season. A counting performance requires the driver to have completed at least half the season. Meanwhile, the green line indicates the median (typical) score, and the purple indicates the highest performance score. Bear in mind that the term “below average” is not meant as a term of disrespect, it just means that they’re not a top 10 driver that season.
| PERFORMANCE SCORE | MEANING |
|---|---|
| 50 or below | Below F1 level |
| 70 | Below average, but at F1 level |
| 85 | Average F1 Driver |
| 100 | Top 5 driver |
| 130+ | Best performing driver |
- Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 39-31
- Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 30-21
- Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 20-11
- Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 10-6
- Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 5-1
Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 39-31
39) Nakita Mazepin
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 44% (2021) |
It’s perhaps not a major surprise to see Mazepin ranked as the worst driver of the decade so far. The Russian spent 2021 in an uncompetitive Haas and was resoundingly beaten by teammate (Mick) Schumacher. He also made several major errors, including a crash at the start of his first race that suggested he wasn’t fully prepared for F1.
His 2022 contract was cancelled due to circumstances outside of his control (the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine), but the model believes that any other F1 driver would have been an improvement performance wise.
38) Mick Schumacher
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2022, 2021 | 50% (2022, 2021) |
Schumacher dominated teammate Mazepin in his first F1 season, but there was always a level of uncertainty about his performances given they were both rookies. Pitted against a much more known benchmark in his second season, Schumacher was easily outscored by teammate Magnussen. Given his 2 years of experience, he’d have been likely to further improve if he’d been kept on. However, the model is not particularly impressed with his performances given Magnussen’s established level.
37) De Vries
| YEARs RANKED (Partial Season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 52% (2023) |
After a surprise points finish at Monza in 2022, De Vries was offered a full time Alpha-Tauri drive for 2023. Due to his struggles against Tsunoda, and was replaced mid-season. His overall ranking has been steadily falling (in a very tight bunch) this year because of Tsunoda’s poor 2025 season at Red Bull.
36) Pietro Fittipaldi
| YEARs RANKED (partial Season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 53% (2020) |
After Grosjean’s horrific crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, Fittipaldi was drafted in for the remainder of the season. Two last place finishes did not provide much to shout about (or indeed for the model to assess). However, the car was uncompetitive, and teammate Magnussen did not do much better. Given his inexperience, it was a perfectly respectable performance.
35) Jack Doohan
| YEARs RANKED (partial season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 57% (2025) |
After a surprise race at the finale of 2025, Doohan was given a full-time role at Alpine, although his drive was never considered to be secure. Doohan was unceremoniously booted out of the Alpine team after just half a dozen races. The struggles of replacement Colapinto have demonstrated his performances were not as terrible as they perhaps seemed.
34) Kimi Antonelli
| YEARs RANKED (PARTIAL SEASON) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 58% (2025) |
Antonelli’s 2025 season has had plenty of highlights so far. He’s had a podium finish, a fastest lap and a sprint race pole. However, a poor run of races leading up to the summer break has seen his ranking fall substantially. A partial recovery in the latter half of 2025 is the most likely scenario, particularly as he seems more comfortable with the changes to the Mercedes car.
33) Liam Lawson
| YEARs RANKED (partial season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 59% (2025) |
Whilst his 2023 and 2024 cameos have been taken into account to assess his level, Lawson’s only counting season (half season or more completed) is 2025. His premature promotion to Red Bull saw a rapid demotion, due to poor performances. SInce then he’s made gradual improvements, and a recent run of form has improved his rating substantially since the begenning of the season.
32) Antonio Giovanazzi
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2021, 2020 | 60% (2020, 2021) |
Giovanazzi spent three years up against an aging Kimi Raikkonen, and was generally considered solid and consistent, if unspectacular. The model agrees with this assessment.
31) Logan Sargeant
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023 | 60% (2024, 2023) |
Sargeant was flattened by Albon’s during their time as teammates. However, it’s been a long time now since Albon was beaten by a teammate, suggesting that Sargeant’s results were perhaps a little better than they seemed at times. However, F1’s sudden interest in rookie drivers meant there was little hope of another F1 drive for 2025.
Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 30-21
30) Gabriel Bortoleto
| YEARs RANKED (partial season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 50% |
Bortoleto has been steadily getting to grips his Sauber, and has been improving (along with the team) as the season has progressed. Despite this, he’s been heavily outscored by Hulkenberg thus far. As a guide to how volitile these ratings are for inexperienced drivers, Borteloto was the 2nd lowest ranked driver just a couple of races ago.
29) Franco Colapinto
| YEARs RANKED (PARTIAL SEASON) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 65% (2025) |
After an impressive start at Williams, Colapinto had a mixed end to the 2024 season. His 2025 season is thus far considered a slight improvement on Doohan’s, but both have been heavily outscored by Gasly.
28) Isaac Hadjar
| YEARs RANKED (partial season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 63% (2025) |
Another rookie driver for 2025 with a volatile rating. Just a few races ago he was as high as 13th on this list! Recent points finishes from Lawson, along with Tsunoda’s rating steadily falling, have caused Hadjar’s results to be seen as less impressive.
27) Kevin Magnussen
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020 | 64% (2023, 2022, 2020, 2024) |
Magnussen display is a stunning level of consistency with his scorings. Across 4 seasons the difference between his highest and lowest scores is just a couple of percent. Arguably this has hurt his ranking a little, as a couple of standout seasons would have given him a boost. His incredible sprint pole in Brazil was highly unexpected, but in his last years he was comprehensively beaten by Hulkenberg.
26) Robert Kubica
| YEARs RANKED (PARTIAL SEASON) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 65% (2021) |
Kubica’s comeback in 2019 was simultaneously underwhelming and remarkable given the circumstances. He made a further two race cameo in the 2021 season due to Raikkonen contracting COVID, which is the basis of this ranking. He was shaded by his teammate in both races, but delivered a reasonable performance given the circumstances in an uncompetitive car.
25) Kimi Raikkonen
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2021, 2020 | 65% (2021, 2020) |
There’s no doubt that Raikkonen was a little past his best by the start of the 2020s. Indeed, there was surprise among some that he continued to keep racing at all after losing his Ferrari drive. During this time he outscored teammate Giovanazzi, but his late career was lacking in top results. His first lap at Portugal in 2020 was still pretty great though.
24) Romain Grosjean
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 67% |
Grosjean’s 2020 season is easily most famous for the horrific (and thankfully non-fatal) crash in Bahrain. The rest of his season is hard to judge given how uncompetitve his Haas car was, but he got the better of the results.
23) Jack Aitken
| YEARs RANKED (PARTIAL SEASON) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 68% |
A rating based on a single race, meaning there’s not much meaning to it. Aitken was brought in for Williams for 1 race in 2020 after Hamilton contracted COVID and did what was asked of him.
22) Guanyu Zhou
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022 | 68% |
Zhou’s showed improvement year on year, but from a relatively low starting point. He certainly proved himself to be F1 worthy, but was left wanting after the major driver reshuffle in 2025.
21) Daniel Kvyat
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 70% (2020) |
By the end of the 2010s, Kvyat was used as an established benchmark for up-and-ciming Red Bull drivers. 2020 was his final year, and saw him outscored heavily versus Gasly. Whilst this was hardly a ringing endorsement given Gasly’s previous struggles in the Red Bull, the subsequent domination of Verstappen against teammates (as well as Gasly gaining the upper hand against subsequent teammates) have lead the model to believe Kvyat’s performance was perfectly respectable.
Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 20-11
20) Oliver Bearman
| YEARs RANKED (partial season) | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 71% (2025) |
Bearman garnered significant interest from his impressive debut with Ferrari in 2024, but the result (7th place) was not considered particularly impressive. He’s generally been a step behind Ocon at Haas so far this far, and although his rating is naturally still in flux, there’s been no cause for alarm at his performances.
19) Valterri Bottas
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 72% (2022, 2023, 2021, 2020, 2024) |
Bottas is the lowest ranked driver to win in the 2020s. Whilst 3 wins is not particularly impressive given he drove a two championship winning cars (and of which was fairly dominant), his consistency, stability and regular podiums were beneficial to the team. He also generally got the better of Zhou across their 3 years together, although his initial domination was reduced over time.
18) Lance Stroll
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 74% (2025, 2022, 2024, 2021, 2023, 2020) |
Stroll has been teammates to Perez, Vettel and Alonso during the past 6 seasons, and outscored by them all. Comments on nepotism are potentially valid given how many drivers around him in this ranking have lost their seat, but his performances have never raised major alarm bells and it’s clear that he’s good enough for F1. His career has also featured several high level performances, although it does not appear to be something he can consistently unlock. Interestingly the model considers 2020 and 2023 to be particularly weak seasons for Stroll. Both were years in which the car was semi-competitive, suggesting that Stroll may be at his peak in less competitive machines.
17) Yuki Tsunoda
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 | 75% (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2025) |
Tsunoda’s first season in F1 was a muted affair, but a strong performance in the season finale (understandably overlooked by the championship decider) hinted that there was more to come. Since then his score improved every year, and he slotted into the role of team leader at Racing Bulls well. After outperforming De Vries, Ricciardo and Lawson, he was given the cursed Red Bull promotion after Lawson’s disastrous initial promortion.
So far the results have been a slight improvement on Lawson’s, and there have been plenty of hints of potential in race weekends for those who pay attention. However, this hasn’t translated into results. Given the ratings designed to measure how impressive his results are given the car he has, it’s not a major surprise to see his 2025 season rated so poorly so far.
16) Nicholas Latifi
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2022, 2021, 2020 | 75% (2021, 2020, 2022) |
I have no qualms in saying that the model is overrating Nicholas Latifi, and has been doing so for several years. This is largely due to George Russell’s inconsistency when they were partnered at Williams, with the young Brit seeming to be allergic to points finishes at times. Despite this, Latifi is still rated as average or below for every season he competed in.
15) Nico Hulkenberg
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2023, 2022, 2020 | 77% (2025, 2023, 2024) |
After losing his Renault drive at the end of 2019, it genuinely looked like Hulkenberg’s F1 career could be over. His career was potentially saved by COVID, as he started 4 races across 2020-2022 replacing 3 separate drivers that contracted the virus (and thankfully swiftly recovered). THe short notice substitutions were impressive given the circumstances, and earnt him a full-time drive for 2023. From then on he’s firmly cemented his place on the grid, and his faith in the newly forming Audi team has so far paid with an incredible and (so-far) career defining podium in Britain this year.
14) Sergio Perez
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 82% (2022, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024) |
Perez has 2 strong seasons in 2020 and 2022, before some weak results in 2023 and 2024. The subsequent struggles of both Lawson and Tsunoda in the Red Bull have led to some reassessing his recent Bull performances. However, for now he’s still the worst ranked driver of 2024 in the model’s eyes.
The showdown with Bottas next year will be great for comparisons. Currently the model is predicting an absolute dead-heat between the two of them.
13) Sebastian Vettel
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2022, 2021, 2020 | 87% (2022, 2021, 2020) |
Vettel’s 2020 season was disastrous by his illustrious standards, and cut his Ferrari career short. He reestablished with two years at Aston Martin, and generally outpaced Lance Stroll. A comparison with Perez’s stint as Stroll’s teammate suggests their level was similar, but both a little below Alonso’s. This implies that Vettel was still performing as a solid midfield driver, but was no longer a top tier driver on the grid. Indeed, his scores are seen as average across all 3 seasons in the 2020s.
12) Alexander Albon
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020 | 89% (2025, 2023, 2022, 2024, 2020) |
After losing his Red Bull drive to Perez, Albon revitilised his career with Williams. However, the perceived lack of strength of his teammates (Latifi and Sargeant) meant his results were always hard to judge. Indeed, Colapinto’s appearance in the latter half of 2025 appeared to put Albon under pressure. Despite this, Albon had reasserted himself at the team by the end of the season. His 2025 season is seen as his best yet, generally getting the better of the highly rated Carlos Sainz.
11) Estaban Ocon
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 | 91% (2022, 2021, 2025, 2023, 2020, 2024) |
Ocon partnered Ricciardo, Alonso and Gasly at Alpine. Whilst he never really got the better of any of them, he was closer to Alonso than many expected and even managed to win a race.
Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 10-6
10) Fernando Alonso
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 | 94% (2023, 2024, 2021, 2022, 2025) |
The model considers Alonso a giant of the sport from 2003 onwards. He is ranked as the best performing driver more than anyone else in history.
However, since his comeback in 2021, he has never troubled the top spot in the rankings. Whilst he’s beaten teammates Ocon and Stroll in every year (once DNFs are accounted for), the margin to Ocon was quite small in both years.
9) Oscar Piastri
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023 | 98% (2025, 2024, 2023) |
Whilst the model generally predicts that F1 drivers will improve across their first 3 years in the sport, Piastri’s improvement is considered higher than average. He/s is also the only driver in the 15 not to have had at least 5 seasons in F1, further suggesting that he’s not yet reached his peak. His 2025 season has been his best yet, and for now he leads the championship with a competitive McLaren car.
8) Pierre Gasly
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 99% |
Gasly started the decade at a low point in his career, being the first of Max Verstappen’s teammates to be demoted from Red Bull. Since then he reestablished himself at the B-Team before edging Ocon out of the Alpine team.
7) George Russell
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 | 97% |
Russell has been the model of consistency in 2025, but this wasn’t always the case. His 2020 season in particular is seen as a major disappointment with several major missed opportunities. Since then he spent 3 seasons as Hamilton’s teammate, with the pair being closely matched overall.
6) Daniel Ricciardo
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 | 104% (2020, 2021, 2023, 2022, 2024) |
This is probably the most suspect result in the list. Ricciardo spent the a decent chunk of the 2020s delivering acceptable but dissapointing performances in the Red Bull B-Team. So how is he ranked above the likes of Gasly, Alonso and even PiastrI?
Partly this is a consequence of the ranking system, as it rewards a strong peak of a couple of years. (Taking the median performance instead, his ranking falls to 10th.) It’s easy to forget that Ricciardo was still considered an extremely good driver at the start of the decade. Whilst his Renault performance in 2020 was perhaps not quite at the level of Verstappen or Leclerc, he was still producing some impressive results, and finished the season with double Ocon’s points. (By comparison, Alonso was roughly level with Ocon in their 2 years together at Alpine.)
His first season at McLaren was considered disappointing at the time, but he’s still rated the 6th highest driver of the year by the model, aided by his Monza win. From 2022 onwards the model agrees with the general perception that there was a significant slide into mediocrity.
However, Ricciardo’s rating across his career is still being propped up by his strong comparison vs Verstappen (he is rated the stronger Red Bull driver in both 2016 and 2017, by fine margins).
Best F1 Drivers of the 2020s: 5-1
5) Lewis Hamilton
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 104% (2020, 2021, 2023, 2025, 2022, 2024) |
The model considers 2020 to be Hamilton’s last truly great season. Whilst his ratings have dropped off a little since then, he’s still considered to be a strong driver that can deliver. The model considers the variance in this period to not be as dramatic as some make out, with even his recent Ferrari performances being considered to be stronger than that of most drivers.
4) Carlos Sainz
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 109% (2021, 2023, 2020, 2024, 2022, 2025) |
Sainz entered the decade as the lead McLaren driver, easily scoring Norris in their time together (with the benefit of his greater experience). He then jumped at the chance to replace Vettel at Ferrari and performed admirably. Although he’s not rated higher than teammate Leclerc in any season, the pair were close and Sainz was occassionally able to make decisive decisions in races that gave him an edge,
Sainz’s 2025 season has thus far been a major dissapointment, as his overall has begun to fall to reflect this. However, the results are not as bad as they look and his 2025 season rating is likely to improve before the end of the year.
3) Charles Leclerc
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 117% (2024, 2022, 2025, 2020, 2021, 2023) |
Leclerc has been one of the top drivers on the grid for the entire decade thus far. After easily beating Sebastian Vettel in Ferrari’s troubled 2020 season, Leclerc was then partnered with Carlos Sainz. The pair were closely matched, but Charles had a small edge overall, particularly when the car was working well. 2025 has so far seen him also maintain an edge over Lewis Hamilton, meaning that Leclerc has the unique distinction of outscoring two multiple world champions this decade.
2) Lando Norris
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 121% (2022, 2023, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2020) |
It may be a surprise that Norris is in such a high position, but he is bolstered by the comparison to teammates (Sainz and Ricciardo) who are also higher than many would expect. His domination of Ricciardo in 2022 saw Norris rated as the strongest rated driver of the 2022 season at the time. However, continued strong performances by Verstappen, combined with a weak 2025 for Sainz (whose rating Norris is somewhat sensitive to) has tipped the balance in Verstappen’s favour for now.
Thus far 2025 has been considered dissapointing for Norris, but he is still very much in the championship hunt.
1) Max Verstappen
| YEARs RANKED | SCORE (Best counting season(s)) |
|---|---|
| 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 | 144% (2024, 2023, 2025, 2021, 2020, 2022) |
In the six seasons of the 2020s so far, Max has been the highest ranked driver every single time, usually by a significant margin. His last three seasons (including 2025) have not only been his highest ranked, but the highest ranked of any F1 driver, ever.
Some may display lingering doubts due to perceived Red Bull favouritism towards Verstappen and a unique car balance. We are also yet to see Verstappen in the same car as another world champion. Nevertheless, the margins he’s produced over quite competant teammates are unprecedented in modern F1 history.
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