PlanetF1.com’s driver ratings are a key element of our post-race coverage, and whether you agree or not with our scores (mostly not, judging by the comments sections…) we are keeping track of each driver’s average rating in F1 2024.
As a result, this is forming our ‘power rankings’ for the season as a whole, so a good race for any driver can push them up and a bad race can push them down. Come season’s end, we’ll have a full table for you to look through – and it aims to reflect driver performance in their cars rather than the outright World Championship order.
F1 2024 power rankings by driver
First, a bit of housekeeping. Any regular reader of our post-race ratings will know that each driver is given a number between 1 and 10 for their performance across the whole race weekend, the majority of which will be for their performance in the Grand Prix but, in other circumstances, their qualifying and Sprint performances can also be taken into account.
We’ll just be looking at full-time drivers to avoid skewing the ratings, so with apologies to Oliver Bearman after his sterling 9 in Saudi Arabia, he’ll not be counted towards the overall average unless he earns a permanent seat later this season.
We will be updating these rankings as the year progresses, with our scores reflective of the averages in our driver ratings all season.
Ready? Let’s take a look.
[Average scores correct as of 2024 Austrian Grand Prix]
1: Max Verstappen: 8.9
[Last race: 6.5]
Max Verstappen dips under an overall average of nine for the first time this season after his error gave him a 6.5 rating in Austria.
Even with this dip, the Dutchman still comfortably tops the rankings.
2: Lando Norris: 8.55
[Last race: 7.5]
A trio of frustrating races in a row for Norris but it will be Austria that hurts the most.
He scored 7.5 as the collision which took him out was not his fault but it will be scant consolation for the British driver ahead of his home grand prix.
3: Charles Leclerc: 8.18
[Last race: 7.5]
A lap one incident meant it was always going to be a recovery drive for Leclerc in Austria and he just missed out on the points.
4: Oscar Piastri: 7.9
[Last race: 9]
Focus was on his team-mate in Austria but Piastri quietly had an excellent race.
With track limits preventing him from a P3 starting spot, he worked his way up to P2 and probably would have got the win if the race was just a few laps longer.
5: Carlos Sainz: 7.7
[Last race: 8]
An unexpected podium for Sainz gave him a rating of eight in Austria and 7.7 overall.
6: Lewis Hamilton: 7.5
[Last race: 7.5]
Hamilton’s run of scoring consecutive nines came to end in Austria where he was outshone by his victorious team-mate.
7 (+1): George Russell: 7.4
[Last race: 8.5]
George Russell backed up his 8.5 from Canada with another in Spain…and the other in Austria as he raced to his unlikely victory.
8 (-1): Nico Hulkenberg: 7.23
[Last race: 8.5]
A great result for Hulkenberg and Haas saw the team gain a number of points in Austria and the German finally get some reward for his qualifying performances.
9 (+1): Pierre Gasly: 6.86
[Last race: 7.5]
Gasly and Alpine seem to be clicking into gear and having made short work of his team-mate, the Frenchman finished in the points in Austria.
10 (-1): Esteban Ocon: 6.82
[Last race: 6.5]
Overtaken by his team-mate for the first time this season and a sign of the trend that looks set to play out for the rest of the season.
11: Yuki Tsunoda: 6.64
[Last race: 6]
Not his best weekend in Austria but an improvement from Spain and he remains in 11th.
=12 (-1): Fernando Alonso: 6.5
[Last race: 4.5]
Alonso falls down the order after an out of sorts race in Austria, including a move that saw him crash into the back of Zhou Guanyu and pick up a penalty.
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=12 (+1): Daniel Ricciardo: 6.5
[Last race: 8]
A solid bounce back from his tough race in Spain and Ricciardo will hope to continue that momentum into Silverstone.
=14: Sergio Perez: 6.18
[Last race: 5]
Another poor race in Austria that was explained by damage but if Perez had qualified higher he may not have been involved in that kind of midfield skirmish.
=14 (+1): Zhou Guanyu: 6.18
[Last race: 6]
With a car that is slow, the only metric you can judge a driver on is their battle against their team-mate.
While Zhou Guanyu had the beating of Bottas early on, the Finn is now back at it and so could overtake the Chinese driver later down the line if things stay like this.
16: Alex Albon: 6.05
[Last race: 6]
It was a case of damage limitation for Albon in Austria with the Williams car slow and his performance earned him a six rating.
17: Lance Stroll: 6.00
[Last race: 6]
Lance Stroll went from his best race of the year at Imola to a weekend where things did not quite click at Monaco, though he does need mentioning for making two whole overtakes after pitting for the soft tyres late in the race. In these cars, no mean feat at all.
He followed that up with a good points score at his home race, but no such luck in Spain and Austria where Aston Martin struggled for pace.
18 (+1): Kevin Magnussen: 5.77
[Last race: 8]
His best race of the year gave him a deserved score of eight and moved him above Bottas in the overall rankings.
19 (-1): Valtteri Bottas: 5.68
[Last race: 6]
Probably as much his team’s issue as his that he features as low for now, given Sauber’s pit stop issues to start the year.
20: Logan Sargeant: 4.8
[Last race: 3.5]
Under pressure at Williams, Logan Sargeant has said he is doing all he can to show his worth to the team and close the gap on team-mate Albon, while putting in performances to try and keep him on the grid for next season.
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