Welcome to the thirteenth edition of my F1 driver POWER rankings list. I hope you enjoyed my previous edition after the Belgian Grand Prix but if you didn’t get around to reading it and don’t want any spoilers, you can find it here.
I knew the race in Zandvoort, where the Dutch Grand Prix returned after thirty-six years, would be Mental Max Mania but the Dutch fans even topped my expectations and experiences of them. It was amazing, it doesn’t matter who you support on the grid, that level of enthusiasm, passion and energy will always be contagious. The grid was looking and sounding like a festival of speed with the dance music beating in the background, challenging the starting engines on the track and it seemed like an orange flair was constantly lighting up the stands. It did look very cool passing over the track as the drivers came into the stadium section at the chicane towards the end of the formation lap.
Unfortunately, as was expected, the on track action did not live up to the weekend’s atmosphere with overtaking limited to the first lap and Sergio Perez perfecting around the outside of Tarzan (Turn 1). In the race, Verstappen was just too quick for the Mercedes behind, with him being able to react to every move they threw at him. Behind, once the first lap had been sorted out, it was largely processional with no clear overtaking on this high speed, flowing track. It was going to either be chaos, with the close walls and high speed nature of the track, or a procession. Unfortunately this year we got more of the latter but I am looking forward to seeing what it has in store for us next year. What we do know is that the Dutch fans will bring it, and bring it hard. Now, on to the rankings.
After Dutch Grand Prix (13 of 23)
1. Max Verstappen (+1)
Young Max takes the top spot once more and after quite a long time of static at top of this list, I feel that the main two championship rivals will be going back and forth until the end. Verstappen looked focused and quick from the off in Zandvoort and did not relent his control. It looked like he had another two tenths in his qualifying lap with an error and a DRS failure getting in the way and then was able to keep Hamilton at a three second gap for the majority of the race. It was a mature, calm drive that should scare Hamilton fans, Max is becoming the real real deal. The perfect home weekend for the Dutchman who takes the lead in the championship once more.
2. Lewis Hamilton (-1)
Hamilton very nearly silenced the partisan Dutch crowd on Saturday with a lap that Toto Woolf said outperformed the car. It is that sort of lap that separates a Hamilton from a Bottas. They were neck and neck all qualifying and then he finds three and a half tenths to nearly take pole away from the clearly quicker Red Bull. He needed to be starting ahead of Max to have a proper chance at victory and once the race got going, he just couldn’t get close enough to really challenge. He gains second place and the point for fastest lap and moves on to Monza where Mercedes should put up more of a fight.
3. Lando Norris (-+)
Norris keeps his podium place after a tricky weekend for McLaren all round with a mysterious lack of pace compared to their rivals. He missed out on Q3 for the first time this season due to two red flags at the end of Q2 prematurely ending his lap attempts, but he was also just not that quick before, he was the driver on the bubble in Q1. This meant he was stuck in traffic for most of the race but used his time in clear air effectively to jump Russell and Stroll. He went long on softs so was quick enough to get let through his teammate but unable to make any real inroads into the Alpine’s. I think his coming together with Perez was a racing incident, but Perez does like to try and overtake into closing wedges.
4. Charles Leclerc (-+)
It was a quiet race for Charles as he started fifth and finished fifth. The Ferrari’s looked quick, following their trend of performing at tight, twisty tracks, and they locked out the third row on the grid. Charles drove away from his teammate in the race in quite emphatic style but couldn’t get near Gasly for fourth. Ferrari take third place in the Constructors off McLaren in a nice points swing for them.
5. Pierre Gasly (+3)
Gasly is putting together a phenomenal season and one that deserves more credit or, at the very least, air time. He was barely visible in Zandvoort but quietly went about being the best of the rest which included Perez. If only we could know for certain but Gasly must be near the top of the list of drivers getting the most out of their cars this year. I think it would be a mistake from Red Bull if Gasly isn’t back in one of the main cars sooner rather than later.
6. George Russell (+3)
This feels a bit rogue from me but also feels right. After his front row start and ‘podium’ in Spa to now being confirmed in the second Mercedes seat next year. This guy is the hottest young property in F1 and has shown he can lead a team in his ability to pull Williams back into relevance. I think he comes in and jumps into the title fight next year if the Mercedes allows, which I expect it will. He was challenging the points on Sunday in Holland until a gearbox problem ended his race on the final lap.
7. Carlos Sainz (-1)
Even though he was beaten quite convincingly in Zandvoort in the race by Leclerc, I have Carlos above Perez because of his overall performance in a new team and car this season. He is only two and a half points back from Leclerc going into Monza which should give both drivers a big boost with the Tifosi allowed back in to the stands, with Carlos leading the pair in the championship before Zandvoort. He has been very close in qualifying and putting in his own performances, but this round went to Leclerc.
8. Sergio Perez (-3)
Perez has been confirmed for Red Bull for 2022 and that keeps him up this list this week. He is lucky to be able to have another go, with the form of Pierre Gasly and the Bull’s recent happy trigger finger in this department, but it’s probably his experience going into a large regulation change that really helps. He was caught out by traffic on his final run in Q1 but wasn’t quick enough initially to not put himself at risk and was knocked out. He did well getting back through the field from the pitlane but so did Alex Albon when he was in that position (Shoutout Albon for getting a Williams drive).
9. Fernando Alonso (-2)
Alonso drops through no fault of his own. External forces out of his control have submitted him to his temporary fate. It was a great performance by him in Zandvoort and I did think long and hard about putting him above Perez. Alonso will also be back in 2022 and if Alpine can produce a car that can sniff a victory, I wouldn’t put it past Alonso to start digging. His first laps this year have been a thing of beauty and his effort in Zandvoort was right up there. It was the perfect blend of chaos, car control and decisiveness from the Spaniard. He went from ninth to seventh and that helped define his race as he got ahead of his teammate and ran in mainly clear air until he caught Sainz late on to nick sixth, while his teammate finished ninth. That is the sort of sneakily soul crushing performance Alonso can deal out to his teammate’s on a weekly basis.
10. Esteban Ocon (-+)
A frustrating race for Ocon I would imagine after beating his teammate in qualifying. He claimed to be quicker that Alonso in the early stages but when it mattered, Alonso pulled away and didn’t look back. He may well have been ahead at the start but got pinched in the inside of Turn 3 and lost places. Not much else to say here as it was a pretty straightforward after that.
11. Sebastian Vettel (-+)
Seb caught blocked by both Haas’ at the final corner which knocked him out in Q1. The traffic was solid at the final corner all session and unfortunately the chair was pulled from underneath Vettel when the music stopped. With overtaking opportunities limited and a mid-race spin at banked corner number one, his progress was stopped at thirteenth just behind his teammate. He heads now to Monzo for the first time since his split with Ferrari so I am sure he will want to put on a good show.
12. Daniel Ricciardo (-+)
Ricciardo nearly didn’t start the Dutch Grand Prix as he struggled to find first gear and nearly aborted before having to use the left-hand downshift paddle to get the gearbox going. This was not ideal and then he had the stress of the car smoking during the opening laps. You can forgive him for being a bit flustered and that could affect his performance but his teammate was able to use his tyres and strategy better to jump him from thirteenth with the team asking Daniel to let him through. His teammate was stuck behind a slower George Russell for thirty odd lap as well. He can’t let Norris take over this team if he wants a shot at a championship.
13. Lance Stroll (+1)
With his teammate caught out in Q1, we don’t have a comparison but it looked like Q2 was as much as the Aston Martin could give this weekend, with Stroll caught in traffic all race to have a quiet one. He finished where he started in twelfth, frustrated behind Russell for pretty much every lap until the Brit retired, they even pitted on the same lap after miscommunication on the Aston Martin side. We are getting to the stage the season where teams like Aston Martin will have their sights firmly on next year.
14. Nicolas Latifi (+3)
Latifi has taken a step towards George Russell the last couple of races, getting the car into Q2 more often and looking involved in the race. Both Williams crashed in Q2 but the fact both of them were in it in the first place shows the progress Williams, and Latifi has shown. He has also been confirmed for next year at Williams where more progress is expected with the regulations change. He deserved this boost in rating, as others around him stay static.
15. Yuki Tsunoda (-1)
Yuki has still yet to properly get going in the Alpha Tauri and this was another weekend he was behind his teammate by quite a way. He lined up fourteenth and retired in the race. He is confirmed at the team next year so gets another crack with the new regulations where he hopes to take a big step.
16. Valtteri Bottas (+1)
Valtteri showcased why he wasn’t able to keep his Mercedes seat in Zandvoort as he was just not able to have enough pace to get involved in the fight and then didn’t put up much of a fight when Max tried to overtake for the lead. He did hold him up enough to get Lewis close but not close enough. That is what Bottas’ job has become unfortunately, and that must disheartening to any driver. He has been confirmed on a multi-year deal at Alfa Romeo from next year which I am happy about. Bottas is a really quick driver and can help that team progress, it is just brutal at the top and he didn’t quite have what it took. Watching some 2014-2016 races will reacquaint yourself with what Valtteri Bottas can do, not going against the greatest of his generation.
17. Kimi Raikkonen (-2)
The Iceman announced his retirement from Formula 1 before Spa and what a ride it has been. He will go out a fan favourite, a cult legend and one of the quickest men to ever step foot in any sort of motorised vehicle because, believe me, he has tried them all. Unfortunately he has been ruled out of Zandvoort and Monza due to testing positive for Covid-19. What a shame to miss the Tifosi for the last Ferrari World Champion, but hopefully he recovers quickly and we get him for the remaining races of what has been one of the most entertaining careers in F1 history.
18. Mick Schumacher (-+)
Mick beat his teammate on track and off it this weekend with the verbal warfare raging in the media pen just as hot as on the tarmac. There was blocking galore from the Haas’; from both blocking Vettel in Q1, to Mazipin nearly driving Schumacher into the pitwall with a late defensive move as his teammate looked to overtake. Mick shrugged it off and got on with his race while his teammate retired. You just feel Mick is making this team his own, Mazipin is starting to see it and getting flustered. Unfortunately for Mazipin, the name Schumacher is a hard one to go against in the F1 paddock.
19. Antonio Giovinazzi (-+)
Antonio had a brilliant qualifying session, starting in seventh but the race just fell apart with reliability issues costing him again. He lost places at the start to be dropped into the pack and got a right rear puncture very shortly after his first pit stop to just compound the issues. This cost him too much time and he dropped out of contention for points. Finally, Alpine Academy driver Guanyu Zhou is now looking the odds on favourite for his seat which would end an F1 career that never really got going unfortunately.
20. Nikita Mazipin (-+)
Here we go again with Mazipin. He doesn’t learn that you can’t be making defensive moves like that in F1. He reacts and moves way too late and could have caused an airplane crash if his teammate had kept his foot in on the main straight on Lap 1. He complains all over the radio that his team is against him but then seemingly doesn’t want to play the team game, and never really has. This has not been the first time he has been overly aggressive with his teammate. You can see why the team would gravitate towards polite, professional and fast Mick Schumacher without Mazipin giving them a helping hand.
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