Quote:
Originally Posted by steve_r
Driver Rankings -
=1 Verstappen & Hamilton- Its a cop out, but I cannot separate them. These 2 have been head and shoulders above the rest. When non-F1 fans say that it is all about the car, maybe point them towards these two. If RBR had 2 x Perez's or if Mercedes had 2 x Bottas then we would be looking at the most one sided F1 WDC in many years.
3. Norris - Looks like the real deal. Unlucky not to get a race win. Convincingly beat his highly-rated team mate. Several podiums.
4. Sainz - Has matured into a really good driver. Settled in at Ferrari quickly.
5. LeClerc - Quality. I rate both the Ferrari drivers highly.
6. Gasly - Out qualified Perez regularly. Shone at times. Thrashed teammate. The occasional anonymous weekend, which I think is more to do with the car. Maybe needs to move away from Red Bull to progress his F1 career.
7. Ocon - Spells of brilliance. Seemed to go missing for a large part of the season though. Who would of predicted that he would win a race?
8. Russell - Regularly qualified very well, in a car which I can only assume does not have great race pace. We will know whether he is the real deal in 2022.
9. Alonso - I am pleased to see him back on the grid. Great to see him going wheel to wheel. Played a pivotal role in Alpine's race win.
10. Perez - Race winner, but I was probably expecting more drives like we saw at the final race.
11. Bottas - Often equal to Hamilton in qualifying. Did not provide the support that Mercedes desperately needed when it was required. May thrive elsewhere.
12. Ricciardo - Disappointing on the whole, but still won a race. Too many times underperformed.
13 to 16 - Vettel, Stroll, Raikonnen, Giovanazzi
Anonymous for large parts of the season. All occasionally shone. Not easy to catch the eye in the machinery.
17. Latifi. Race pace seemed stronger than his qualifying pace. Contributed to the farcical season end, but generally drove in a tidy manner.
18. Schumacher. Fell out with his teammate, and crashed a few times. No doubt this was the worst car on the grid, so hopefully better things to come. Beat his teammate convincingly.
19. Tsunoda - A couple of really good weekends early season, and then lots of rookie errors crept in. Strong final weekend, so there is talent there.
20. Mazepin - Seemed to be on a mission to upset the whole of the internet before the season started, and then continued to upset the whole F1 grid with various incidents on-track. Lots of spins and crashed. Fell out with teammate. Maybe he has had less controversial incidents in the last few races, so hopefully is maturing? I slightly worry what he will be like if next years Haas enables him to mix it with other teams.
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This is a really good post. I'd agree with this, with minor adjustments
1 - Lewis
2 - Max
...
10 Bottas
11 Perez
I'd put Lewis _slightly_ above Max over the year. And I preferred the way Lewis carried himself throughout the season.
I'd put Bottas above Perez - he quite convincingly outscored him. Given Max won the drivers title, Perez inability to even match Bottas over a season is what cost Red Bull the constructors.