After an exciting Brazilian Grand Prix, there was a lot of movement in our F1 Power Rankings. Who saw the biggest gain?
George Russell had the first win of his F1 career this weekend, and it looks like Mercedes is back to form going into next season. There was also major drama between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, when on the last lap of the race, Verstappen didn’t let his teammate pass. This would’ve given Perez sole possession of the second place in the WDC above Charles Leclerc. This will be something to watch for in the season finale on Sunday.
How the F1 Power Rankings are decided
If this is your first time here, a quick reminder on how the rankings are compiled:
- We started the series off with every driver’s points entering ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. In the first edition, a quarter of their Drivers’ Championship points were calibrated along with the weekly activity.
- This week we calculated each driver’s weekend performance based on the following:
- Qualifying results compared to their starting position in the standings.
- Places gained or lost during the race.
- Any change of position in the Championship standings.
- The points scored in the current Grand Prix
- With any ties determined by the race results
The Rankings
This week we continued our trend of focusing more on the movement of the rankings, while there was plenty. George Russell jumped his teammate Lewis Hamilton, while Carlos Sainz continued to put himself firmly in 6th place.
1. Max Verstappen (No Change)
2. Charles Leclerc (+1)
Leclerc started strongly to compete for a win. But after getting tagged by Lando Norris early in the race he dropped to the back of the field and had to fight to get back in the mix. He managed to climb back up to finish 4th. With a season of ups and downs for him and Ferrari, it will come down to the final race to decide who finishes second in the WDC between him and Perez.
3. Sergio Perez (-1)
After a season of doing everything he could to help Verstappen win his second Championship, all he needed was for the Red Bulls to swap places in the final lap. That would have put him ahead going into the final race. Unfortunately for Perez, Verstappen refused, and that had to have caused some tension in the Red Bull Garage. What effect will that happen on the final race or even next season will just have to wait to be seen?
4. George Russell (+1)
Russell had the best race weekend of his year and F1 career. Starting with a win in the Sprint Race, he then dominated on Sunday to win the Grand Prix. Russell has had one of the most impressive seasons on the grid and is poised to help Mercedes fight for a Championship next season.
5. Lewis Hamilton (-1)
A harsh reality for a driver who has finished second on the podium for the last three races, but Russell’s wins did enough to vault him ahead.
6. Carlos Sainz (No Change)
7. Esteban Ocon (+1)
8. Fernando Alonso (+2)
Alonso had another great race after a collision with his teammate in the Sprint race. He then managed to pass both the Red Bulls late in the Grand Prix to equal his season best of 5th place. With the end of the season coming, it will be interesting to see how he does at Aston Martin and help with their development.
Fernando making moves as he charges to P5 👊
🎥@F1 #BrazilGPpic.twitter.com/Da5rHEqXgE
— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) November 14, 2022
9. Lando Norris (-2)
Norris entered the weekend as a question mark suffering from food poisoning. He left Brazil frustrated with no pace and having collided into Leclerc.
10. Sebastian Vettel (-1)
11. Lance Stroll (+5)
Stroll was the biggest gainer this weekend with a finish in 10th after starting 15th. He has had a consistent season while racing in a car that while reliable hasn’t been very impressive. Will he be able to continue this into next season when Fernando Alonso joins the team? It will depend on how the car does next season and how their partnership dynamic unfolds.
12. Valtteri Bottas (No Change)
13. Alex Albon (+4)
It’s often hard to judge a ‘good’ weekend for teams at the back of the pack. Albon has continued to outperform his car and has managed to stay around the bottom of the points positions for much of the year. If the Williams car can continue to improve next year, he should be able to help them into the battle for points more often.
14. Kevin Magnussen (+1)
15. Daniel Ricciardo (-4)
Ricciardo resumed his struggles this season in Brazil. This time it happened in a first-lap collision with Magnussen. Going into what might be his last race in F1 next weekend, hopefully, he will be able to show what he is still capable of for a good send-off.
16. Zhou Guanyu (-2)
17. Pierre Gasly (-4)
The AlphaTauri has been disappointing this year and Gasly’s frustration becomes more visible each weekend. He will be happy to see this season come to an end and the start of his time at the surging Alpine.
18. Nicholas Latifi (+2)
19. Yuki Tsunoda (-1)
20. Mick Schumacher (-1)
Let us know how your F1 Power Rankings look heading into the final weekend of the season.
