F1 Power Rankings: Singapore Grand Prix Edition

1. Max Verstappen (No Change)

Verstappen didn’t look like the champion on Sunday after dropping a few places at the start. He then had to fight back to get to his starting position and eventually gained one spot. The championship battle continues into Japan next weekend, where he will once again have a chance at securing the title. In our season-long tally his point total remained the same, while Leclerc and Perez gained 20 and 30 points on him respectively.

2. Charles Leclerc (No Change)

The Ferraris once again had great pace during qualifying but didn’t have the pace to keep up with Perez’s Red Bull on Sunday. After a tough start from Pole position, Perez overtook Leclerc into turn 1, and never looked back. The top 4 have remained unchanged for most of this series, but Sergio Perez’s performance on Sunday has put him in striking distance to overtake Leclerc in both the Championship and our Power Rankings. They now sit separated by just a single point.

3. Sergio Perez (No Change)

Perez raced extremely well this weekend and even out-qualified his teammate, Verstappen. He then went on a rampage in the race and ended up winning by seven seconds, but then had that dropped to two seconds after a 5-second penalty for having too big of a gap between himself and the safety car. Could Perez pass up Leclerc in the Championship and potentially give Red Bull the one-two finish in the Drivers’ Championship?

4. Carlos Sainz (No Change)

It was an odd race for Sainz. He never had the speed to keep up with the top two but yet is on the podium. He wasn’t able to keep up with his teammate’s pace in the tricky conditions. It was Ferrari’s first double podium since Miami back in May. While you won’t see the movement in his position, that result breaks him out of a tie with Russell and has him safely ahead of the Mercedes’ drivers.

5. George Russell (-1)

The common theme of this weekend was drivers struggling on the wet track, which just didn’t dry quickly enough. George Russell had a weekend to forget. He was the first to make the switch to the slick tires when it seemed that the track was almost dry enough. That gamble ended up costing him, and while he ended up 14th, he was also the last driver that finished the race.

6. Lewis Hamilton (No Change)

Hamilton came into the weekend where many people considered him a favorite to win, at least some of the other writers here at LWOS Motorsports did. If that was ever likely it is unclear, as he was stuck behind Sainz for a majority of the race before dropping a few positions down to 9th where he finished over a minute behind the lead. A what might have been for Hamilton if he had an extra six one-hundredths in qualifying or beat Sainz into Turn 1. It will be interesting to see how Mercedes comes back after a tough weekend in Singapore.

7. Lando Norris (No Change)

McLaren had an amazing race, with Norris finishing 4th. In their fight against Alpine for “Best of the Rest” or 4th place in the Constructors’ Championship fight. Norris helped them improve their position and now have a 4-point lead on Alpine, while Norris is sitting in a very comfortable 7th position in the Drivers’ Championship and our Power Rankings.

8. Esteban Ocon (No Change)

Ocon was one of the six drivers that crashed out and were unable to finish the race. Along with Alonso, Alpine suffered a double DNF and lost crucial points in the championship battle. On a track that was as slippery as it was most of the race, it is almost more surprising that more drivers didn’t DNF. Alpine will certainly be looking for a better result in Japan next weekend to get back in the fight with McLaren for Best of the Rest. Ocon was the biggest loser in our top ten as he is now closer to the bottom half than Norris in 7th.

9. Daniel Ricciardo (+9)

Take a bow Daniel Ricciardo. What a performance from a driver that currently doesn’t have a seat for next season yet. After starting 16th, he clawed back and finished 5th right behind his teammate, Norris. Undoubtedly a race to remember for Ricciardo, and it begs the question if the Aussie still has it in him to race in F1 after so many have counted him out. He jumped nine (!) places, can he keep that momentum at Suzuka?

10. Pierre Gasly (No Change)

Gasly rounded out the points in 10th place. However, he did start 7th and dropped two places, all in all, a good race for Gasly, but it could have been more without a few team errors. He managed to move up two positions in the Driver’s standings and now sits at 13th place, but is only two points from overtaking Sebastian Vettel for 12th. Gasly is technically in a tie for 10th with Lance Stroll, with both of them just a point behind Ricciardo.

The Rest of the Grid

Here is where we typically see the most movement in the F1 Power Rankings. The part of the grid that has far more up-and-down weekends. What a performance by Aston Martin with both Stroll and Vettel making huge gains. Zhou falls considerably, after a poor qualifying run and being taken out by Latifi early on. And it’s back to the bottom for Nicholas Latifi now with just five races left in his F1 career.

11. Lance Stroll (+5)

12. Fernando Alonso (-3)

13. Sebastian Vettel (+7)

14. Valtteri Bottas (No Change)

15. Mick Schumacher (-1)

16. Yuki Tsunoda (-4)

17. Alex Albon (-6)

18. Kevin Magnussen (-1)

19. Zhou Guanyu (-6)

20. Nicholas Latifi (-2)

How would your current F1 Power Rankings look? Let us know in the comments below.

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