The return of F1 from the mid-season summer break comes this weekend, with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort presenting imperious championship leader Max Verstappen with an opportunity to equal Sebastian Vettel's record for most consecutive Formula 1 race wins.
It's been a somewhat disappointing season thus far, after the drama of 2021 and the wheel-to-wheel excitement of the 2022 season, but there have been some standout performers throughout the fans' frustrations.
Ahead of the return of F1 this Sunday, we've crunched the numbers and ranked all 20 (well, 21) of the drivers this season based on their efforts thus far...
Ranking all 20 F1 drivers ahead of the return to racing
(For teammate head-to-head stats below, only GPs where both drivers finished the race are counted)
N/A: Daniel Ricciardo
Only back in the fold for two races, so we've chosen not to rank the Honey Badger against those who've completed all 12 so far. Nonetheless, the signs are positive that the Daniel Ricciardo of old is the one who has returned to action with AlphaTauri. He already boasts a better average finishing position than his predecessor, and managed an impressive P10 in the sprint at Spa. Fingers crossed the real Danny Ric is the one that shows up in the second half of 2023.
READ HERE: Vettel Unimpressed With One "Brutal" Element Of Daniel Ricciardo's F1 Return
20. Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri)
Drivers' championship: P20, 0 points
Best result: P12 @ Monaco
Nyck de Vries has lost his AlphaTauri seat due to poor performances (Photo: Shutterstock)
To say that Nyck de Vries' long-awaited full time stab at F1 was a disappointment was a disappointment would be an understatement. Lost out 6-2 head-to-head against teammate Yuki Tsunoda, with vastly inferior average positions both in qualifying and races, and was prone to incidents throughout the first ten races. Replaced by Ricciardo ahead of Budapest. A bitterly disappointing way for his shot at the big time to end.
19. Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Drivers' championship: P19, 0 points
Best result: P11 @ Silverstone
Has arguably been worse in comparison to his teammate than de Vries was during his time at AlphaTauri, but gets a pass for his status as a rookie. There have been some standout moments, such as his performance across the Silverstone weekend, but Sargeant has left an awful lot to be desired thus far, and his underlying numbers are pretty woeful. Will hope to get closer to teammate Albon in the second half of the season.
18. Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Drivers' championship: P18, 2 points
Best result: P10 x 2
Delivered two of the standout moments of 2022 with his P5 in Bahrain and pole position in Brazil, but has struggled to get anywhere near those heights in 2023. P4 in qualifying in Miami the highlight thus far, but Magnussen has been comfortably beaten by teammate Hulkenberg, who last raced regularly in F1 in 2019. Thoroughly underwhelming thus far from the popular Dane.
17. Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Drivers' championship: P16, 4 points
Best result: P9 x 2
Perhaps his efforts in the poor Alfa Romeo have been underappreciated in the past two seasons, but it's hard to place Zhou ahead of any of those higher up the list here. The Chinese driver delivered an outstanding qualifying performance in Hungary to line up P5, but a dreadful start saw him cause a pile-up at turn one. Has shown he can mix it with his teammate, but has no major results to show for it yet.
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16. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Drivers' championship: P15, 5 points
Best result: P8 @ Bahrain
Oh dear. Valtteri Bottas, who impressed so much during his first season with Alfa Romeo last year, has found things immensely tougher this time around. The Finn has only finished in the points once since the season opener, and has struggled to deliver anything of note in what is admittedly one of the poorer cars on the grid. A sad turn of events for one of the grid's most well-liked drivers.
15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Drivers' championship: P9, 47 points
Best result: P4 @ Melbourne
Lance Stroll has struggled since returning from injury (Photo: Shutterstock)
Make no mistake here, Lance Stroll's performances against his teammate have been pretty woeful all season. He has beaten Alonso only once on race day thus far, and has delivered 0 podiums to Alonso's six. The only reason he is not even closer to the bottom of this table is the fact he has raced the first half of the season while recovering from a double arm break in February. Questions will rightly be asked of him, nonetheless.
14. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Drivers' championship: P2, 189 points
Best result: P1 x2 (Jeddah, Baku)
Despite winning two races this season, Sergio Perez has struggled alongside Max Verstappen (Photo: Shutterstock)
Sure, Checo has won two races this season, and taken two pole positions - neither are things to be scoffed at. Nonetheless, Perez has been arguably the most disappointing performer in the entire field in 2023, and is saved from being closer to the bottom of the pile by those impressive performances in Jeddah and Baku.
Closer to Norris in 8th in the championship standings than teammate Verstappen in 1st. One of only three drivers to line up P20 on the grid on more than one occasion. The only man on the grid to have lost out to his teammate 10 times on race day this season. Five pre-Q3 qualifying exits in a row mid-season. The stats are damning, and Perez will rightly be feeling the pressure for his 2024 seat from the returning Daniel Ricciardo, and youngsters Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.
READ HERE: Christian Horner Clashes With F1 Champ Rosberg In Tense Sky Interview
13. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)
Drivers' championship: P14, 9 points
Best result: P7 @ Melbourne
One of the feel-good stories of 2023 has been Nico Hulkenberg's return to the grid in style. Though the Haas is a poor car and he has occasionally run into similar struggles as teammate Magnussen, he has remained pretty comfortably ahead against his teammate - who is more established within the team.
Provided one of the best qualifying performances of the year in Canada, one of the best sprint performances of the year in Austria, and one of the best race day shifts of the year in Melbourne. Proving he deserves his place on the grid after three years away.
12. George Russell (Mercedes)
Drivers' championship: P6, 99 points
Best result: P3 @ Barcelona
George Russell has struggled to match his scintillating 2022 form (Photo: Shutterstock)
Not quite as disappointing as his counterparts at Aston Martin and Red Bull, but George Russell's drop-off in form from 2022 has been somewhat surprising.
After impressively beating his seven-times world champion teammate last season, Russell finds himself 49 points behind Lewis Hamilton, with only one podium to him teammate's four. There has been some misfortune there, but Russell has also brought trouble upon himself on more than one occasion. He will know he can give more in the second half of the season.
11. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Drivers' championship: P17, 3 points
Best result: P10 x 3
One of the most impressive performers further down the field in 2023, Tsunoda has made the AlphaTauri team his own after the departure of Pierre Gasly.
The car appears significantly slower than many of its competitors, yet Tsunoda has managed to wrangle three points finishes out of it and was routinely ahead of Nyck de Vries earlier in the year. Some slight doubt as to just how spectacular his achievements were comes from the immediately impressive form of Daniel Ricciardo alongside him since the Aussie's return. Nonetheless, pretty flawless thus far from Yuki.
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10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Drivers' championship: P12, 22 points
Best result: P7 @ Monaco
Has been outshone by his teammate in new surroundings, but Gasly has been quietly impressive thus far in the Alpine.
The Frenchman has had a few low points, such as qualifying in last at the season opener and crashing himself and his teammate out in Melbourne, but he's grown into the season, and his P3 in the sprint at Spa was his highlight thus far. Could climb before the season is out.
9. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Drivers' championship: P11, 34 points
Best result: P4 @ Silverstone
Despite being a rookie, Oscar Piastri has hugely impressed this year (Photo: Shutterstock)
You wouldn't guess Oscar Piastri is an F1 rookie based on the Aussie's stellar performances thus far in the McLaren.
A car that looked like it was almost the slowest on pace at some tracks during the opening round has been revitalised by early summer upgrades, and Piastri has proved his mighty ability by sticking right with his more experienced teammate Lando Norris. P3 in qualifying at Silverstone, followed by a push for the win in the Spa sprint, show he is here to stay. That first podium is just around the corner.
8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Drivers' championship: P7, 92 points
Best result: P4 @ Bahrain
Carlos Sainz's 2023 has been among the toughest to judge on the entire grid. On the face of it, he's been fairly routinely dispatched of in the head-to-head on race day by teammate Charles Leclerc, and has been outclassed 3-0 by his teammate in terms of podiums.
But Sainz extraordinarily boasts the second-best average qualifying position on the entire grid this season, and has finished outside the top six only twice since throwing away P4 in Melbourne at the last restart. Sainz has been largely solid all year, but the odd incident and the lack of a killer instinct have really held him back thus far. Underwhelming, but obvious roads to improvement.
7. Alex Albon (Williams)
Drivers' championship: P13, 11 points
Best result: P7 @ Montreal
Alex Albon has contributed some of the most impressive drives of 2023 thus far (Photo: Shutterstock)
You can't really call Alex Albon "underrated," as just about everyone watching F1 this year can see what a tremendous job the Williams driver has done.
Albon falls into a similar category as Yuki Tsunoda, in that his teammate has been so poor it's hard to judge just how much of his success has been down to his brilliance, or whether we have a somewhat false reading of how good his car is. Nonetheless, three points finishes, and stunning top eight finishes at Montréal and Silverstone, show that Albon has at the very least been getting more out of a Williams car than anyone has in recent years, and his brilliance continues to shine through. Wonderful to have him back on the grid for good.
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6. Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Drivers' championship: P10, 35 points
Best result: P3 @ Monaco
Remarkable that Ocon is only tenth in the championship, as the Frenchman has been almost faultless all season in the Alpine.
Up against a highly-regarded talent in the form of Pierre Gasly, Ocon has steadily proven his worth in an Alpine which has disappointingly fallen behind the McLaren as the season has gone on. His podium in Monaco remains the drive of the season, and he was not fair off taking a sensational pole in the principality. One of the most consistent and underrated performers on the grid for the past three seasons. Excellent showing from Ocon.
READ HERE: Watch: Ocon Narrowly Avoids Scary Crash With Journalists At Azerbaijan Grand Prix
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Drivers' championship: P5, 99 points
Best result: P2 @ Austria
Charles Leclerc on the podium of the Belgian Grand Prix (Photo: Shutterstock)
In the 11 races between the finale of last season in Abu Dhabi and this summer's British Grand Prix, across all qualifying, sprint, and Grand Prix sessions, there were only two which ended without a Red Bull car in first place.
Both were won out by Charles Leclerc, who took pole both for race day and for the sprint in Azerbaijan, in a Ferrari that had no right pipping Verstappen and Perez to P1. Though he has been somewhat typically clumsy at points this season, Leclerc's brilliance has been apparent on multiple occasions, and there is clear daylight between him and teammate Sainz in the championship. Three podiums and two pole positions is a hugely impressive record in a largely uncompetitive Ferrari. His time will come.
READ HERE: Report: Red Bull Aiming To Snatch F1 Star To Create Superteam
4. Lando Norris (McLaren)
Drivers' championship: P8, 69 points
Best result: P2 x 2
Lando Norris driving for McLaren during the British Grand Prix (Photo: Shutterstock)
Aside from Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, has any driver performed to a higher level than Lando Norris since 2020?
There is an argument to be made for Charles Leclerc, for sure, but even before the McLaren began contending for race wins, Norris was already one of the standout drivers of 2023. In a dog of a car that finished in P17 three times in the first five races, Lando still managed P6 in Melbourne, and an outstanding P3 in qualifying in Spain.
Despite the brilliance of his rookie teammate, Norris has yet again made the teammate battle his own at McLaren and you feel that, if the stars align, he may finally get his elusive race win before the year is out. One of the finest talents currently in F1.
READ HERE: Lando Norris Wonders If His "Only Shot" At An F1 Win Is Gone
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Drivers' championship: P4, 148 points
Best result: P2 x 2
Lewis Hamilton on the podium after the Spanish Grand Prix (Photo: Shutterstock)
Lewis Hamilton was not exactly bad in 2022, but it was not a vintage year for the Mercedes man either. 2023 has largely been a return to his best.
There have been some iffy moments - mostly on sprint Saturdays - but Hamilton has positioned himself as arguably the leading contender against the Red Bulls as the season has gone on.
His brilliant pole position at Hungary was one of the highlights of the season thus far, and if anyone other than Verstappen or Perez is to win a race before the year is out, it would not be a surprise if it was Hamilton.
2. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Drivers' championship: P3, 149 points
Best result: P2 x 2
Fernando Alonso on the podium after the Bahrain Grand Prix (Photo: Shutterstock)
Has struggled to keep pace with the Mercedes and McLarens in recent races, perhaps understandably, given both of those teams' step forward as the season has progressed. But the first seven races, all the way up to Montréal, were vintage Fernando Alonso, and he has not only proven his worth as a driver, but his worth to the sport by putting in stellar performances all season, and providing much of 2023's entertainment.
Only the Red Bulls and Hamilton have higher average finishing positions, and Alonso is the third best qualifier on the grid this season as well. Outstanding.
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Drivers' championship: P1, 314 points
Best result: P1 x 10
Max Verstappen after winning June's Canadian Grand Prix (Photo: Shutterstock)
Ten race wins, seven pole positions, not a single race finish outside the top two, and a grand total of 28 laps raced while not in P1 since the beginning of May.
The Red Bull is a rocketship, yes. But this is majestic from Max Verstappen, especially against the resurgent Hamilton and Norris, and the brilliance of Alonso. This will be one of the greatest individual seasons in Formula 1 history by its conclusion, and it is now a matter of time before Verstappen is crowned a triple world champion.
Featured image: Shutterstock
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