Here are the driver rankings for the 2023 F1 season. As usual, the results are generated by a mathematical model. The model assesses how impressive a driver’s results are, given the strength of their teammate(s). This means that a ranking of drivers can take place regardless of how strong their car was.
- 2023 F1 Pre-Season Predictions
- Most One-Sided Match Ups?
- C- Tier
- C+ Tier
- B Tier
- A- Tier
- A+ Tier
- S Tier
- Summary
2023 F1 Pre-Season Predictions
We’ll start by comparing the model’s predictions for the 2023 driver line-ups compared to the actual results. If the percentage of points is higher than the model predicted, it implies that the driver had a stronger year than the model expected, given their previous career results.
Red Bull
The model unsurprisingly predicted that Verstappen would come out on top, and by a larger margin than in 2022. However, the gap between the two drivers is still surprising. Whilst 67% to Verstappen was predicted in 2022, this prediction was made assuming a car as competitive as the 2021 Red Bull. For there to be such a gulf in performance with a car is dominant as 2023 is highly unusual.
Mercedes
The model predicted that Russell would outscore Hamilton, but by a smaller margin than in 2022. At the time I suggested that this one may not be so clear cut, but not many would have expected Russell’s points total to be so far adrift. In reality, their overall pace was fairly similar across the year (with a small but decisive edge to Hamilton).
However, Russell failed to capitalise on several points scoring opportunities. This was partly due to having more mechanical DNFs, which means the two drivers are rated closer than one might expect by looking at their points.
Ferrari
The model predicted a slight edge to Leclerc, but the season was even closer than anticipated. Leclerc trailed Sainz in points for much of the season, before overhauling his teammate’s points total in the final race. As expected, Leclerc was clearly ahead in qualifying, but at times Sainz was the stronger racer.
Aston Martin
Despite a relatively strong end of the year for Stroll, Alonso dominated this partnership. Had the model known before the season how competitive Aston Martin would be, the prediction would have been closer. As such, the gap between the drivers was significantly above the model’s predictions.
Alpine
A close battle between Ocon and Gasly. As predicted, Gasly had a narrow edge in points overall. In general Ocon maintained an edge in the seasons first half, with Gasly coming on stronger as the season progressed. However, Ocon is actually rated as the stronger driver by the model once mechanical DNFS are accounted for.
Alfa Romeo
Bottas flattened Zhou in 2022, but the model correctly predicted it would be much closer this year. It is remarkable that the results are so close to the prediction, given how few points Alfa Romeo scored. (Also note that both Bottas and Zhou have their percentages rounded up, giving a “total” of 101%.)
Haas
As with Alfa Romeo, the actual percentages don’t mean much. (If Magnussen had scored 4 instead of 3, his percentage would rise to 31% for example). However, the model correctly predicted that Hülkenberg would hold an advantage despite having time outside of the sport.
Overall
For six of the seven teams, the model correctly predicted the lead driver. The only major discrepancy was at Mercedes, where the model did not predict Hamilton’s strong results compared to Russell. Red Bull and Aston Martin both had the correct general prediction, but Verstappen and Alonso both performed significantly better than expectations.
McLaren, Williams and AlphaTauri did not have pre-season predictions due to having rookie drivers. Unsurprisingly the more experienced drivers won out in every case (Piastri, Sargeant and de Vries were all outscored by their teammates). In the case of Piastri and Sargeant, the model expects them to be much closer in points in 2024 after a year of experience behind them.
Most One-Sided Match Ups
Drivers in top teams are much more likely to score similar points in terms of percentages. (However they’re also likely to have a larger absolute points difference.) As such, it can be hard to see how comparatively close teammate match-ups are just from the graphs above. The model corrects for this factor to determine how conclusively one teammate beat another. They are listed from most dominant to most even below. (With a subjective description to help interpret the results.)
| Dominance Level | Team | lead driver | secondary driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely Dominant | Red Bull | Verstappen | Pérez |
| Aston Martin | Alonso | Stroll | |
| Williams | Albon | Sargeant | |
| AlphaTauri | Tsunoda | de Vries | |
| Clear Edge | McLaren | Norris | Piastri |
| Haas | Hülkenberg | Magnussen | |
| Slight Edge | Mercedes | Hamilton | Russell |
| AlphaTauri | Tsunoda | Lawson | |
| Alfa Romeo | Bottas | Zhou | |
| AlphaTauri | Ricciardo | Tsunoda | |
| Too Close to Call | Alpine | Ocon | Gasly |
| Ferrari | Leclerc | Sainz |
Let’s now proceed with the rankings. I’ve only formally ranked 19, as none of the three AlphaTauri drivers (de Vries, Lawson and Ricciardo) completed more than half the year. Their rankings were therefore quite provisional, and also shifted significantly as the AlphaTauri car improved over the year. However, you can still see where the model would have ranked them, along with analysis and graphs for all 22 drivers.
C- Tier: 2023 Driver Rankings
N/A) Nyck de Vries
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 51% | N/A |
De Vries sits bottom of both the driver’s championship and the driver rankings. There’s no doubt his performances were disappointing, particularly given how much he’d impressed at Monza in 2022. His mid-season sacking was incredibly harsh, but not without reason. It’s clear that both Ricciardo and Lawson outperformed de Vries later in the season.
When he lost his drive, de Vries was actually ranked ahead of two other drivers. Since then he’s slipped below both, despite not competing in any races in this time. One reason for this is that the other drivers had a stronger end to the season. Another reason is that the AlphaTauri car gradually improved as the season went on. This means his results look less favourable compared to the rest of the season. However, his qualifying results were considered very poor even before these factors. De Vries probably deserves another chance in F1 to find his feet. Unfortunately, he’s unlikely to get one.
19) Logan Sargeant
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 55% | 19th | N/A | 19th |
It is never easy for rookie drivers. However, Sargeant has been absolutely pummeled by teammate Albon across the year. He was the only driver to never beat their teammate in qualifying, and suffered 17 Q1 exits compared to just 5 for Albon. In races things weren’t much better. He only scored one point, and even that was due to the disqualification of two cars ahead. Given how close the field was this year, he can be considered extremely lucky that his lack of points didn’t cost the team 7th in the constructor’s championship.
The only positive is that he showed obvious progress as the season progressed. This is reflected by his rating’s gradual upwards curve in the second half of the year. Further improvements will be expected next year.
18) Lance Stroll
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 59% | 18th | ↓1 (17th) | 18th |
Despite a competitive car, Stroll’s season’s highlights are hard to find. He was praised for receiving some useful points in the early races despite suffering from a hand injury. He also had a (comparatively) strong run at the end of the season, which can be seen in his rating gradually improving over time. However, he never troubled the podium in a car that was often the 2nd fastest.
The comparisons to Alonso are pretty damning, and even more one-sided than predicted at the start of the year. Had the team had two Alonso’s in the car, they would have probably been in the fight for 2nd in the constructors instead of finishing a distant fifth. Of course no-one expects Stroll to actually match Alonso across a season, but if Aston Martin seriously want to challenge for titles they will need two drivers firing on all cylinders.
17) Sergio Pérez
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 59% | 17th | ↓5 (12th) | 17th |
It’s hard to remember now, but Pérez started the season very strongly. In the first 5 grand prix he had 2 wins, 2 poles and 2 second places (plus a sprint win). The poles were particularly impressive given that the Red Bull was typically weaker in qualifying, and Pérez only had two poles in his entire career up to that point. However. from then on things quickly fell apart.
His most obvious weakness was qualifying, where he was only the 7th best qualifier in what was obviously the fastest car. However, his race pace also left a lot on the table. Whilst there were some signs of a return to form in the latter stages of the year, progress is relative. There were still just one podium in the last 8 races. He also was impetuous at the start in Mexico, and lost a place on the last lap in both São Paulo and Vegas.
Pérez scored fewer points in 2023 than 2022 (285 vs 305), despite a much better car and three more sprint races. The only major positives of the last 2/3rds of the year is that he kept his drive and somehow finished 2nd in the championship. We all know that Checo can do better. His 2023 ranking is by far the worst of his career, and an improvement next year is likely. Whether it will be enough for Red Bull is hard to tell.
C+ Tier: 2023 Driver Rankings
16) Zhou Guanyu
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 64% | 2nd | ↑4 (20th) | 13th |
After being ranked bottom of the pile in 2022, Zhou improved in 2023 as the model predicted. His results were fairly competent, but not always spectacular. After the first few races his season rating was remarkably stable, and three 9th place finishes was as good as it got results wise.
The season highlight was surely the 5th place in qualifying at Hungary, less than four tenths off pole. However a poor start and subsequent lap 1 collision ruined what could have been a strong result. Overall teammate Bottas maintained an advantage in both points (10-6) and qualifying (16-6 in head-to-heads). However, the season has helped to cement his reputation as someone who is dependable and worthy of a place in F1. (This was by no means the general consensus when he debuted in 2022.) Unfortunately there’s little evidence so far that he’s able to make the extra step to become one of the stronger drivers on the grid.
15) Kevin Magnussen
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 64% | 15th | ↑3 (18th) | 14th |
Magnussen was given a Haas car that often lacked competitiveness and ate its tyres quickly. Worse still, he spent the majority of the season trailing new teammate Hülkenberg. Despite this, he did achieve some impressive qualifying performances, lining up 4th in Miami and 6th in Singapore. He also got his elbows out in wheel to wheel racing and won a hard earnt point on three occasions. Magnussen was often praised across 2022 for his performances vs Schumacher, but the comparisons with Hülkenberg suggest that this was largely due to Schumacher being a relatively weak driver. Nevertheless, the model rates his 2023 season as perfectly adequate.
14) Valtteri Bottas
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 67% | 14th | —- (14th) | 12th |
After dominating Zhou in 2022, Bottas maintained a narrow but clear edge this year too. His raw speed was still present, and he’s ranked 12th best in qualifying. Similar to Zhou, he lacked any major results. He never bettered his 8th place in the opening round in Bahrain.
N/A) Liam Lawson
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 68% | N/A |
Given that Lawson was AlphaTauri’s 3rd choice for their 2nd seat, the expectations were not especially high for the young New Zealander upon his unexpected mid-season debut. However, he quickly established himself as a capable pair of hands.
Ninth place in Singapore (just behind Pérez) was the highlight of his five race run. It was especially impressive considering Tsunoda did not manage to score during this period. The model initially rated him incredibly highly due to this. However, his rating gradually decreased as it became clear that his results were representative of AlphaTauri’s pace, rather than exceptional.
Typically a driver’s rating is still in flux after just 5 races, and it will need more Grand Prix to fully assess his potential. However, his results were very impressive given his lack of experience. He’s also rated significantly higher than de Vries, and he has certainly earnt the right to stay on the grid. Circumstances outside of his control have unfortunately robbed him of that opportunity for now.
B Tier: 2023 Driver Rankings
13) Nico Hülkenberg
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 77% | 13th | N/A | 10th |
The nature of the Haas car may have meant that Hülkenberg spent most Sundays going backwards, but he still outscored and generally outqualified teammate Magnussen. A year ago Haas had a choice between Hülkenberg or Mick Schumacher for their second seat. There’s surely no doubt that they made a good decision.
However, just one one grand prix in the points (and one sprint race) compares poorly to three for Magnussen. This suggests that Hülkenberg wasn’t able to dominate his teammate consistently, despite winning the qualifying head-to-head 15-7. His top 10 rank in qualifying is reflective of the fact the model thinks he’s a better qualifier than racer.
12) Yuki Tsunoda
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 77% | 12th | ↑3 (15th) | 16th |
A good season overall from the Japanese driver, albeit one that’s hard to judge given his teammates were two rookies and a returning Ricciardo. At the start of the year he took to the role of team leader well and trounced his older (but less experienced) teammate de Vries. His results versus Lawson and Ricciardo were more mixed. He was outscored by Lawson but had a strong end to the year to beat Ricciardo in a direct matchup. He also beat all 3 teammates in qualifying head-to-heads, and finished just outside the points on many occasions.
11) Alex Albon
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 81% | 11th | ↓2 (9th) | 15th |
Albon continued to impress at Williams, and spent another year easily beating a less experienced driver. He seemed particularly impressive in qualifying, with the only 22-0 qualifying head-to-head on the grid. However, this isn’t reflected in his qualifying ranking, given his rookie teammate and poor qualifying form at Red Bull.
Overall he seemed to be getting the best out of his Williams car, but his form is hard to judge given teammate Sargeant’s obvious struggles over most of the year.
His steady increase across the year is mostly due to him being seen as a stronger driver overall. (This is because his results vs Verstappen are considered more impressive.) Despite this his ranking has fallen compared to 2022. This is due to a combination of reasons. Firstly, the addition of mechanical DNFs to the model has lowered his overall rating as a driver by a small degree at the start of the year. Secondly the midfield rankings are extremely close, meaning that the difference of a few percent can affect a ranking significantly.
10) Pierre Gasly
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 84% | 10th | —- | 9th |
Gasly had a slow start with his new Alpine team, as mentioned in the mid-season rankings. However, his form improved after a few races, and he managed an excellent podium in the Belgian sprint race. Gasly followed this up with a podium at the next Grand Prix. This caused a significant jump in his rating, and he maintained an upwards swing overall for the rest of the year. Whilst points finishes continued to be sporadic, he finished the season ahead of teammate Ocon in the standings after a stronger second half.
9) Esteban Ocon
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 85% | 9th | ↓2 (7th) | 11th |
Ocon achieved a fantastic third place at Monaco, and showed flashes of pace elsewhere. The battle with Gasly was largely cordial, despite a costly late collision in Australia. However, his initial edge ebbed away as the season progressed, and he finished the championship behind his teammate. So why is he ranked ahead?
The reason is that Ocon had more DNFs than any other driver. (He failed to reach the chequered flag at 7 grand prix). Whilst he was not blameless for all of these, the model corrects for 4 mechanical issues in races, which give him the honour of the highest ranked Alpine driver despite a steady fall in his ranking after a strong third of the year.
N/A) Daniel Ricciardo
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 86% | ↑4 (13th) (assuming 9th) |
After losing his McLaren drive, it looked as though Ricciardo’s career was probably over. He worked his way back onto the grid though a combination of luck, will power and skill. Ricciardo impressed in the simulator and testing, but it was ultimately de Vries’ underperformance that gave him the opportunity. There appeared to be excitement at Ricciardo’s return, but his results were fairly mixed.
Most of his (relatively) high rating comes from an excellent Mexican Grand Prix, where he qualified 4th and finished 7th. However, other than this he wasn’t able to comprehensively beat Tsunoda like the model expected. In fact, he was outscored by Tsunoda in their time together as teammates, yet he’s still ranked higher overall.
This is due to a quirk in the model, which compares Tsunoda’s results over the whole season. As such, Ricciardo’s average points per race completed is actually higher than Tsunoda’s. You can see from his erratic rating that the model is correcting for this factor over time. Given the fact he only completed 7 Grand Prix, and that he twice had to make mid-season comebacks, his rating should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
8) George Russell
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 86% | 8th | ↓4 (4th) | 7th |
In September Russell labelled 2023 as his “best ever year“. Whilst this was probably an exaggeration on his part, the season has certainly not been as bad as difference in points (234-175) to Hamilton might suggest. Not only did he have more mechanical DNFs, but he matched Hamilton overall in qualifying and achieved three front row starts. He was also unfortunate not to capitalise on his high gridslots in Australia and the Netherlands. However, the last lap error in Singapore was extremely costly, and at times he seemed unable to deliver a good result when opportunities arose. Whether this is a driver trait or bad luck is up for debate, but it was reminiscent of his early Williams days when he couldn’t convert pace into points.
Russell will surely come back stronger next year, and is fast enough that reasserting himself over Hamilton is not out of the question.
7) Oscar Piastri
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 87% | 7th | N/A | 5th |
A ranking of 7th is extremely high for any rookie driver, but richly deserved. There’s even an argument to be made that he is slightly underrated, given he didn’t always receive updates at the same time as Norris. However, a quick glance of the points totals (205-97 in Norris’ favour) show that he finished a long way from his teammate in the championship. Norris is very highly rated though, and Piastri displayed great speed across the year. He also made few of the rookie errors that one might expect.
Tyre management was an obvious weakness, with Piastri often unable to keep pace with Norris across a full grand prix. However, the data indicates that drivers almost always take time to become effective points accumulators, even if their raw pace is on show earlier. (Norris’ debut season in 2019 showed a similar pattern vs teammate Sainz.)
His peaks were as strong as any driver’s, and included a fantastic sprint race win in Qatar. He was also definitely more competitive than Ricciardo had been at McLaren (particularly in 2022). A great first season.
A- Tier: 2023 Driver Rankings
6) Lewis Hamilton
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 94% | 6th | — (6th) | 6th |
A strong campaign from Lewis overall. He was generally the quicker and more consistent Mercedes driver, and scored points at every event until Qatar. His pole lap in Hungary was sublime, and he bounced back from an inconsistent 2022 to establish himself as the undisputed lead Mercedes driver once again.
Whilst he was unfortunate to be disqualified from the US GP, a turn 1 incident in Qatar and a poor final weekend in Abu Dhabi also contributed to a dip in ratings towards the end of the year.
Despite this, he finished third in the championship in a car that was rarely even second fastest. There’s no reason to think Hamilton won’t be able to make the step up to regular race winner again if the car is there.
5) Fernando Alonso
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 98% | 5th | ↑6 (11th*) | 8th |
This was the first year in a decade that Alonso had a semi-competitive car, and he made the most of it. An excellent start to the year saw 6 podiums in 8 races, and he could have won in Monaco with a better strategy call. From then on the car performance slipped away, but he still finished the season forth in the standings and outshone Stroll throughout.
However, he was not always on form in the second half of the year. (This is shown by a fall in ratings in the last few races.) The race in Singapore was generally poor, and he also suffered a costly early spin in Vegas. Nevertheless, few were as consistent across the whole year, and seemingly unlikely podiums in the Netherlands and São Paulo only reaffirmed his quality towards the season’s end.
A+ Tier: 2023 Driver Rankings
4) Carlos Sainz
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 110% | 4th | ↑1 (5th) | 4th |
The battle between Sainz and Leclerc is as interesting as ever, with neither driver able to establish a long-term edge over the other. Sainz’s season peaked just after the summer break. His Monza pole and fighting podium were brilliant, and he followed it up with an even better weekend at Singapore. It was the only non Red Bull win of the year, and was well deserved under high pressure from both Norris and Russell.
Sainz suffered bad luck at times, and was twice irked by penalties. His costly time penalty in Australia dropped time out of the points due to the late safety car, whilst he was blameless for his grid penalty in Vegas that denied him a chance of victory. As per usual, he lacked the searing one lap pace of Leclerc for most of the year, but was still able to almost match his teammate on points.
3) Charles Leclerc
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 111% | 3rd | — (3rd) | 3rd |
Another season of mixed emotions for Leclerc. He started the season strongly, and recorded 2 poles and 3 podiums (to Sainz’s zero) before the summer break. After a comeback from Sainz, Leclerc then reasserted himself at the end of the season. He had 3 poles in the last 5 races, and would probably have made four consecutive podiums if he’d taken the start in São Paulo. Regardless, he had a significant upwards swing in ratings at the end of the year, returning to a more expected level for the season as a whole. Like many others, Leclerc had opportunities to win races that didn’t come together, but his raw pace was as impressive as ever.
2) Lando Norris
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 120% | 2nd | ↓1 (1st) | 1st |
Norris’ rating across the year has been very consistent due to his rookie teammate. He’s also very highly rated by the model due to his previous performances versus Sainz and (especially) Daniel Ricciardo. Despite this, yet few would deny that he had an excellent year. He easily outscored the highly rated Piastri 205-97 and was Verstappen’s closest challenger for much of the second half of the year.
Norris did have the advantage of getting some car upgrades before Piastri. He also seemingly lost the edge over his teammate at one point, with Piastri winning the Sprint Race in Qatar and beating Norris in the Grand Prix too. However, the British driver bounced back and reasserted himself over the remainder of the year. He was also remarkably consistent, regularly getting the most out of the car and only once failing to finish (after a crash in Vegas). Finally, he is ranked as the fastest qualifier of the year despite being self-critical of some minor (but costly) mistakes.
The only real negative is that he’s once again emerged from a season winless. Whilst the McLaren was never truly the fastest car, there will no doubt be frustration that he was able to get 7 more podiums but no wins. In any other year Norris’ season would probably be considered S Tier, but we have one more driver who blew the field away in 2023.
S Tier: 2023 Driver Rankings
1) Max Verstappen
| RATING | RANKING | CHANGE FROM 2022 | QUALIFYING RANKING |
| 133% | 1st | ↑1 (2nd) | 2nd |
What more needs to be said about Verstappen’s season? Despite direct comparisons to historical seasons being difficult, it was a remarkable year by any metric.
| New Verstappen record | amount |
|---|---|
| Most Wins (highest %) | 19 (86.4%) |
| Most Podiums | 21 |
| Most Points (most points per GP) | 575 (26.1) |
| Biggest Winning Points Margin (Highest % From 2nd) | 290 (102% more than 2nd place) |
| Most Laps Led (% Laps Led) | 1,003 (75.6%) |
| Most Wins From Pole | 12 |
| Most Consecutive Wins | 10 |
| Most Hat-Tricks | 6 |
Verstappen redefined domination, both over his teammate and the field in general. His 2023 season is rated as not just the strongest of the year, but as the strongest season of any driver in F1 ever. Whilst this partly due to drivers getting stronger over time, his record score of 133% is unlikely to be broken for a while.
Top 10 F1 performances of all time
| Driver | Year | Performance score |
|---|---|---|
| Verstappen | 2023 | 133% |
| Verstappen | 2021 | 129% |
| Verstappen | 2020 | 128% |
| Norris | 2022 | 127% |
| Alonso | 2014 | 125% |
| Leclerc | 2020 | 125% |
| Alonso | 2005 | 124% |
| Alonso | 2006 | 123% |
| Verstappen | 2018 | 123% |
| Alonso | 2012 | 122% |
Comparisons With Pérez
So why is his 2023 season rated so highly? The most obvious place to start is by comparing with his teammate. Whilst Pérez did just about enough to finish P2 in the standings, the match-up was extremely one-sided.
Verstappen was 19-2 up on Pérez in qualifying, and scored more than double Pérez’s points. This has never happened for a championship winner in the history of Formula One. A search for comparative seasons is almost a who’s-who of greatest ever campaigns. (Alonso scored more than double Massa’s points in 2012 in a less competitive car, whilst Schumacher almost managed it in 2002 with a more generous points system).
Unmatched Consistency
Of course we know that Pérez struggled more than expected. However, the model accounts for this (see Pérez’s poor ranking). The thing that sets his season apart in the model’s eyes is the consistency. There were no race ruining crashes, lost front wings or off-form weekends to speak of. To keep the level of performance up for 22 race is remarkable. Let’s not forget the variety of races present. He dealt with the blistering heat of Qatar to the freezing cold of Vegas. Meanwhile he set a new record for most pit-stops for a victor in the wet Dutch Grand Prix.
Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren were all able to challenge for a win during the season, and despite this Verstappen failed to win only three Grand Prix. With a bit more luck it could have been a clean sweep. (Even in Singapore a win would have been possible if the safety car timing had helped rather than hindered his charge.) That’s not to say that Verstappen should have won every race, as luck obviously ebbs and flows for every driver across a season. However, it’s hard to identify a race where he clearly lost out due to driver error or loss of pace. He was also the only driver to finish every race.
Of course it is easier to be consistent in a strong car. There’s some evidence that Verstappen wasn’t always pushing as hard as required, and there’s less chance of being taken out by another car when you’re at the front. However, one only has to look at Pérez’s start in Mexico to see how easily things can go wrong. Max had his fair share of wheel-to-wheel racing this year and generally balanced aggression and patience well. When performing at such an elite level these things matter, and as few as two DNFs would have swung the top rating towards Norris.
Hunger and Qualifying
Verstappen also kept the hunger to win even after the championship was long over, which does not always happen. (See Schumacher 2004 and Hamilton 2015 for examples of great drivers seemingly coasting to the end of an otherwise dominant year.) It’s these performances that allowed his rating to keep inching upwards as the season progressed.
Were there any weaknesses? Whilst his qualifying was typically strong, there were occasions where he didn’t quite string together a perfect lap. With qualifying margins being so close, there was more than one potential pole position that went astray. However the reality is that this is nitpicking, and there are no points for qualifying. It’s also hard to think of another driver who was more consistent in qualifying. Overall it was an incredible season from Verstappen, and one that deserves all the praise that is heaped upon it despite a dominant car.
Summary of Results
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