Caporegime
We've just passed the midway point of the season, so why not indulge our penchant for having overly opinionated discussions about what drivers are better or worse? The idea is to rate the drivers on their quality this year, not over their careers so no "Vettel was amazing in 2011" or "Gasly sucked donkey schlong in the Red Bull last year".
I've gone for a tier system - Great, Good, Ordinary, Bad, Ugly - because I don't think I can usefully decide who is 12th or 13th best. There's a way to run in the season yet, so I'll likely revise mine later. Hülk was only in for two races so I've not included him.
The Great: Drivers who are showing truly exceptional levels of skill and talent
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. I don't see much need to explain these.
The Good: These have really stood out from the field but aren't quite at the absolute best level
Daniel Ricciardo: Still short of a podium this year, but he's pulled a number of impressive performances, and I expect a podium from him by the end of the season.
Charles Leclerc: A 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th place is an incredible return in that Ferrari, and he's been particularly impressive in Quali. Against that, he had that ugly collision with his teammate in the Styrian GP, and he seems to struggle to maintain his tyres more than Vettel.
Lando Norris: That opening podium hasn't quite been matched since, but he's delivered a healthy chunk of points none-the-less. Seems about level with Sainz in Quali, but better in the Race and has improved a lot since last year.
George Russell: He's consistently been getting that Williams up where it has no right to be in Quali, and his race pace has been equally impressive. However, he's made a few mistakes when it counts that have kept him out of the points. Last weekend, in Mugello, was a nice example; losing his best chance at a point in a bad restart.
Pierre Gasly: After an absolute horrorshow at Red Bull last year, he's got his head together and delivered brilliantly this year. The stars aligned to give him the win in Italy, but he's been very impressive at most races this season too, managing to be ahead of drivers in much better cars.
The Ordinary: Drivers who aren't awful but haven't really stood out either
Bottas: After an impressive opening race, he's just been nowhere. Hamilton comfortably has his measure in Quali, and he's struggled to match even Max at times. Italy was frankly embarrassing, and he seems to be getting increasingly morose.
Sainz: After a fantastic result last season, he's looked unable to match his teammate this year. Luck hasn't favoured him either.
Stroll: Another candidate for most improved driver, he has the measure of Pérez this year, and has scored good points through the season. Still needs to work on Quali pace, though, and should have won in Italy.
Pérez: A solid, decent, midfielder. He strikes me as the new Hülkenburg, better than many but not good enough for the top tier.
Ocon: After his year out, he hasn't looked all that. Struggling to keep pace with his excellent team mate, I think he's going to struggle to keep a seat in F1. Shame, there are many worse drivers who have stuck around for years.
Räikkönen: His most forgettable season and perhaps his last. I think it's time for him to retire. Still, he's stuck to the job of dragging that lump of an Alfa around and done okay given the machinery.
Latifi: I had expected to drop Latifi into the Bad or even Ugly tier, but looking over his year: yeah, he's not been fast, and Russell is clearly better, but he's also not making stupid mistake, causing accidents, and dropping the car like a lot of weaker rookies in bad cars before him. He's achieved what I'd expect a driver in a shopping trolley like that Williams to be achieving.
The Bad: the Drivers who are clearly performing worse than the rest but not delivering truly shocking performances.
Kvyat: Utterly outclassed by Gasly this season, I cannot imagine there will be a seat for him next year.
Giovinazzi: Even this second-rate version of Kimi is driving better than him.
Vettel: His performance this year has been so poor I'm tempted to put him in ugly. Nowhere near his teammate, making mistakes, and never looking threatening.
Magnussen: He's managing to get over the low, low bar of appearing better than his teammate, but that's about it. Actually retired from more races than he's finished this season, not through faults of his own.
The Ugly: The truly awful performers, those that are letting themselves and their teams down
Albon: A country mile behind his teammate in Quali, he threw away his best chance of the season with an overly aggressive move on Hamilton putting his car in danger it didn't need to be in. Otherwise, he's managed to finish in the best place available to him just twice (Stygian and Tuscan GPs), and usually had multiple cars between him and where he should be. A driver in the second best car on the grid should just be doing way better than this, and some midfield overtaking as he recovers from his dire position in the field doesn't make up for it. He seems like a nice guy but he's showing no sign of being F1 quality let alone top team quality.
Grosjean: Just quit already.
I've gone for a tier system - Great, Good, Ordinary, Bad, Ugly - because I don't think I can usefully decide who is 12th or 13th best. There's a way to run in the season yet, so I'll likely revise mine later. Hülk was only in for two races so I've not included him.
The Great: Drivers who are showing truly exceptional levels of skill and talent
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. I don't see much need to explain these.
The Good: These have really stood out from the field but aren't quite at the absolute best level
Daniel Ricciardo: Still short of a podium this year, but he's pulled a number of impressive performances, and I expect a podium from him by the end of the season.
Charles Leclerc: A 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th place is an incredible return in that Ferrari, and he's been particularly impressive in Quali. Against that, he had that ugly collision with his teammate in the Styrian GP, and he seems to struggle to maintain his tyres more than Vettel.
Lando Norris: That opening podium hasn't quite been matched since, but he's delivered a healthy chunk of points none-the-less. Seems about level with Sainz in Quali, but better in the Race and has improved a lot since last year.
George Russell: He's consistently been getting that Williams up where it has no right to be in Quali, and his race pace has been equally impressive. However, he's made a few mistakes when it counts that have kept him out of the points. Last weekend, in Mugello, was a nice example; losing his best chance at a point in a bad restart.
Pierre Gasly: After an absolute horrorshow at Red Bull last year, he's got his head together and delivered brilliantly this year. The stars aligned to give him the win in Italy, but he's been very impressive at most races this season too, managing to be ahead of drivers in much better cars.
The Ordinary: Drivers who aren't awful but haven't really stood out either
Bottas: After an impressive opening race, he's just been nowhere. Hamilton comfortably has his measure in Quali, and he's struggled to match even Max at times. Italy was frankly embarrassing, and he seems to be getting increasingly morose.
Sainz: After a fantastic result last season, he's looked unable to match his teammate this year. Luck hasn't favoured him either.
Stroll: Another candidate for most improved driver, he has the measure of Pérez this year, and has scored good points through the season. Still needs to work on Quali pace, though, and should have won in Italy.
Pérez: A solid, decent, midfielder. He strikes me as the new Hülkenburg, better than many but not good enough for the top tier.
Ocon: After his year out, he hasn't looked all that. Struggling to keep pace with his excellent team mate, I think he's going to struggle to keep a seat in F1. Shame, there are many worse drivers who have stuck around for years.
Räikkönen: His most forgettable season and perhaps his last. I think it's time for him to retire. Still, he's stuck to the job of dragging that lump of an Alfa around and done okay given the machinery.
Latifi: I had expected to drop Latifi into the Bad or even Ugly tier, but looking over his year: yeah, he's not been fast, and Russell is clearly better, but he's also not making stupid mistake, causing accidents, and dropping the car like a lot of weaker rookies in bad cars before him. He's achieved what I'd expect a driver in a shopping trolley like that Williams to be achieving.
The Bad: the Drivers who are clearly performing worse than the rest but not delivering truly shocking performances.
Kvyat: Utterly outclassed by Gasly this season, I cannot imagine there will be a seat for him next year.
Giovinazzi: Even this second-rate version of Kimi is driving better than him.
Vettel: His performance this year has been so poor I'm tempted to put him in ugly. Nowhere near his teammate, making mistakes, and never looking threatening.
Magnussen: He's managing to get over the low, low bar of appearing better than his teammate, but that's about it. Actually retired from more races than he's finished this season, not through faults of his own.
The Ugly: The truly awful performers, those that are letting themselves and their teams down
Albon: A country mile behind his teammate in Quali, he threw away his best chance of the season with an overly aggressive move on Hamilton putting his car in danger it didn't need to be in. Otherwise, he's managed to finish in the best place available to him just twice (Stygian and Tuscan GPs), and usually had multiple cars between him and where he should be. A driver in the second best car on the grid should just be doing way better than this, and some midfield overtaking as he recovers from his dire position in the field doesn't make up for it. He seems like a nice guy but he's showing no sign of being F1 quality let alone top team quality.
Grosjean: Just quit already.