Round 1 F1 driver power rankings: Verstappen showcases skill again as top ten filled with surprises

The opening round of the season makes for some interesting reading when it comes to driver power rankings, especially given the mixed up race and action that came from it.

Before we get to the rankings, it’s the usual disclaimer time. If you’ve read these before, you know the drill. These are all subjective and based mainly on my (incredibly smart) opinion mixed with form and on-track results, meaning it is a generally subjective list that holds no real weight except for the large basis of fact I like to think I can generate.

So with all that in mind, let’s get to the rankings.

10. Charles Leclerc

Was mostly solid across the weekend but fell away in qualifying and the race. Would be slightly worried over the performance of the car considering where they were predicted to be this season, but there is still plenty of time left to find the pace and catch up.

9. Kimi Antonelli

Found his way into the car across the weekend and despite a disappointing qualifying was able to storm his way through the field to end up just off the podium and his teammate. Plenty of signs there to show how good he is and why he was hired by Mercedes.

8. Nico Hulkenberg

Mr Dependable does it again, navigating the chaos to bring home some solid points on his return to Sauber. This result will no doubt be a rarity, but the Hulk will gladly take it.

7. Lance Stroll

Another result where Lance does a great job and gets basically no coverage for it. Showed his skill in the wet by keeping it on track and navigating through all the chaos around him to bring it home for his best result in over a year and his equal best ever start to a season.

Similar to Hulkenberg in that this won’t be a regular occurrence, but he’ll gladly take it.

6. Alex Albon

On pace all weekend and drove well in the race to bring home some strong points for Williams. The pace in the car is good and they definitely look like a team who can pull some surprising results across the year. Would be extra happy to get one up on his teammate too.

5. Yuki Tsunoda

It’s hard to see how Yuki leaves Melbourne without any points given how well he did all weekend. An amazing qualifying performance mixed with strong driving in every session, he showed once again that Red Bull are crazy not to have considered him more for that second seat alongside Verstappen. Might need to start a #JusticeForYuki campaign moving forward.

4. Oscar Piastri

One key moment aside, Oscar drove an amazing weekend. Sadly, for him (and for every Australian F1 fan), that key moment cost him a podium and possible win, adding more pain to the local fans who are dying to see an Aussie on the podium at Albert Park. Will be quick to put it aside and push towards catching Lando at China this weekend.

3. George Russell

Just because he was invisible across the weekend doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve credit. Solidly in the top five for most of the weekend, George drove an unspectacular race but scored a podium due to being so solid and keeping out of danger. If Ferrari continue to be behind, he’ll be in a good position to challenge the McLaren drivers in the future when further incidents happen.

2. Max Verstappen

Once again proves why he is the best driver in the field by bringing home a car that isn’t in the top three to a near victory. Kept the top three interesting at the start when he got ahead of Piastri, before pushing hard against Norris in the closing laps to give him a bit of a scare. If he keeps this up, he’ll easily be challenging for title number five this season.

1. Lando Norris

Remember a year ago when a fan shouted at him in Melbourne about not winning a race and he flipped them off? Well, look at him now. Five career wins, his first in Australia and first in the opening race, and starts the season in the best possible way. Lando No Wins is a long distant memory now.

What do you think of this list? Which order would you currently rank the drivers in? Let me know your thoughts below!