George Russell made the most of his one-off outing for Mercedes, but his consistently excellent qualifying performances at Williams never yielded a points finish.
Driver rankings articles archive
How well did each Formula 1 driver perform over the course of an entire season? RaceFans’ Driver Rankings analyse the data and offer our assessment.
2020 F1 driver rankings #10: Lando Norris
2020 F1 season review
Posted onAfter a strong first half of the season, Lando Norris had a tricky few races, but bounced back with an excellent drive at the finale.
2020 F1 driver rankings #11: Kevin Magnussen
2020 F1 season review
Posted onKevin Magnussen deserved a lot more from his final full season in Formula 1 than a single point after another trying year at Haas.
2020 F1 driver rankings #12: Kimi Raikkonen
2020 F1 season review
Posted onKimi Raikkonen has now started more races than any F1 driver ever, but even his vast experience couldn’t overcome the shortcomings of his Alfa Romeo.
2020 F1 driver rankings #13: Daniil Kvyat
2020 F1 season review
Posted onDespite making some gains, Daniil Kvyat was clearly out-classed by his team mate in 2020, and consequently lost his seat to a newcomer.
2020 F1 driver rankings #14: Esteban Ocon
2020 F1 season review
Posted onOn his return to Formula 1 following a one-year absence, it took Esteban Ocon a long time to get on terms with team mate Daniel Ricciardo.
2020 F1 driver rankings #15: Lance Stroll
2020 F1 season review
Posted onLance Stroll’s season ran true to his usual form, down to the one-off giant-killing performance which he never looked like repeating the rest of the year.
2020 F1 driver rankings #16: Antonio Giovinazzi
2020 F1 season review
Posted onNinth in the season-opener proved Antonio Giovinazzi’s best result of the year. But he steadily improved in qualifying and matched his experienced team mate’s points haul.
2020 F1 driver rankings #17: Romain Grosjean
2020 F1 season review
Posted onA largely frustrating final season in F1 for Romain Grosjean was curtailed by his shocking crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
2020 F1 driver rankings #18: Alexander Albon
2020 F1 season review
Posted onAlexander Albon spent too much time scrapping in the midfield while his team mate was taking the fight to Mercedes.
2020 F1 driver rankings #19: Sebastian Vettel
2020 F1 season review
Posted onSebastian Vettel learned he would lose his Ferrari drive before the 2020 season even began. It turned out to be his worst F1 campaign to date.
2020 F1 driver rankings #20: Nicholas Latifi
2020 F1 season review
Posted onA little later than usual due to the late conclusion to the 2020 season, the RaceFans F1 driver rankings begin today and will count down over the coming weeks.
2019 F1 driver rankings #1: Lewis Hamilton
2019 F1 season review
Posted onFor once, Lewis Hamilton didn’t dominate the fight for pole position, but he still won more than half the races and clinched his sixth world championship with two rounds to go.
2019 F1 driver rankings #2: Max Verstappen
2019 F1 season review
Posted onMax Verstappen was on top of our driver rankings at mid-season, but couldn’t quite sustain his high standard in the second half of the year, and slips to the number two spot.
2019 F1 driver rankings #3: Carlos Sainz Jnr
2019 F1 season review
Posted onCarlos Sainz Jnr was the midfield’s most formidable force throughout 2019, and snatched an unexpected but fully deserved sixth place in the points standings.
2019 F1 driver rankings #4: Charles Leclerc
2019 F1 season review
Posted onCharles Leclerc looked instantly at home in his first season at Ferrari, took more pole positions than anyone and deserved much more than his two victories.
2019 F1 driver rankings #5: Valtteri Bottas
2019 F1 season review
Posted onValtteri Bottas raised his game in 2019 – though perhaps not enough to justify the nickname ‘Bottas 2.0’, nor to beat his title-winning team mate.
2019 F1 driver rankings #6: Sergio Perez
2019 F1 season review
Posted onSergio Perez left very few points on the table throughout 2019 – with one significant and costly exception.
2019 F1 driver rankings #7: Daniel Ricciardo
2019 F1 season review
Posted onDaniel Ricciardo no doubt hoped to be further ahead of the midfield when he signed for Renault, but produced some excellent drives in his first year at the team.
2019 F1 driver rankings #8: Lando Norris
2019 F1 season review
Posted onWe learned two things about Lando Norris in his debut F1 season: He is very quick, and also incredibly hard on himself when he doesn’t measure up to his exacting standards.