Sainz is the jenson button of our time, great driver, but to be the champion he needed that brawn gp difference, a car a bit above the rest and a teammate on a bit lower level than him. If williams gets the 2026 regulations on the brawn, merc 2014, or rb 2010, and 2022 level he would become the next champion
@@EntropicExergy i know, just making a comparision, i think no one was expecting brawn, formerly a honda to be the dominatior in 09, jenson just was there at the best time
@@kakmaster6945 true, but already being a champion gives a big morale boost to drivers, after you get that title you become even better, since you have been assured that you are the best, and you no longer fear that you might not be good enough
I absolutely agree with putting Charles in the top tier! This year from Charles reminds me of Max in 2019, just getting rid of the mistakes and becoming the all round great driver who can create magical races and crucially able to go wheel to wheel with Max!! His win in Monza and his save in Mexico were the highlights of his season for me!
For me his best ever drive went under the radar, Zandvoort this year. That Ferrari had no pace compared to the mclaren, yet in the first stint he stayed on piastri's gearbox the whole time. In the second he kept the mclaren rocketship behind to hold on for a podium that Charles before the race he said it needed a miracle
I would agree if you only count 2024. This is very very strong. But 2023 was not that good, that I would put him in the same tier as Max. Max dominated last year in a dominant car and he shows that he is the best in the third fastest car in 2024
@@youngwasabi209you are as good as your last race, or the season in this case. Last year, and two years ago he struggled hard with his car especially when he had to go to overdrive, this year he is much more calm and collected and he hardly makes big mistakes. In Brasil he was able to keep verstappen behind, despite max just cutting through the field, and having clearly slower car (that ferrari really isn't good in wet)
Do you mean compared to everyone else, or should be ranked differently? I'm not being flippant, your statement can be read equally either way. (I do think he's a fantastic driver, btw. This is an honest question about your opinion. Whatever it is, you're entitled to it!)
Massively agree on Leclerc, definitely his best and most complete season so far and it feels like he’s ready to take the fight to anyone if he’s given the adequate machinery, he’s cut out the silly mistakes and has been remarkably consistent even when Ferrari haven’t been, think 2025 could be his year.
There never really were any to begin with, tbh. He made the least amount of mistakes in 2022, he made probabaly the 2nd least in 2023, losing only to max (who was 40 seconds ahead whilst charles was locked in battles with Mercs, Astons and Mclarens) and hes made the least in 2024, just two, and one didnt even cost him a place.
he didn't make many mistakes in 2022 aside from imola and france (admittedly the second one was a big mistake, but having 2 races with clear points dropped due to driver error is not much in the grand scheme of a season, and it's not why he lost the wdc) 2023 he made more (though the final stretch of last season he was the best driver after max imho), but he seems to have improved since then and he's been very consistent this year
@@dylanburston7453 I agree that the mistakes were not as many as is often suggested. They were big ones though, and clearly a result of the direct title pressure. Until he faces that kind of pressure again we do not know if those mistakes are gone. I also think that he can get a bit down when things are not going perfectly, so he does not always maximize the result. I would rate him as the second best driver for 2025 though, so if the Ferrari is clearly better than the RB he could do it, I would fancy him against Lewis and everyone else.
@@rulifaller8474 Leclercs best performances have come under pressue. Spa and Monza 2019, Monaco and Monza 2024, and the final 3rd of 23, where he nearly dragged to Ferrari to 2nd in the constructors. If he gets better with pressure for the championship, as he does with individual races/ fighting for a competitive 2nd, then i hope we get a battle with Max, because that would be absolute cinema
He's doing some stupid mistakes but people should remind who is his teammate and remember that he's doing better than Vandoorne and other drivers before 2010 and he's doing on par against him if we compare to Massa during 2010-13 or even comparing to what Kimi did in 2014, that doesn't mean Stroll is at their level but he's so overhated and the good things that he's doing are under the shadow of the stupid things
Putting Zhou in the same tier as Colapinto is diabolical. Franco has shown more in 4 races than Zhou in 3 years. Also I think Albon and Perez could be dropped, but otherwise a solid tierlist
@@Aldas001 I’m here to disagree with Aldas…Colapinto doesn’t have anything to prove more than lawson or bearman none of them have outperformed him…In respect to the point on his crashes, he’s been cleaner than Albon who has had more costly crashes than him…Lastly as a rookie he’s been close to and at times beaten his quality midfield driver teammate where as Zhou has been dominated for 3 years by a driver that is solid but replaceable…He’s already proven he deserves to be in F1.
@@Aldas001I completely disagree, Alfa Romeo in 2022 especially in first 8-9 races was 4-5th car on the grid, Williams was never since 2016 at the level of that Alfa Romeo . Zhou with that car scored points only in some races where many Top cars didn't finished because of problems. Meanwhile Bottas was best of the rest and a consistent Top 7 finisher in first races of that season. Colapinto jumped in that car after the summer break, he didn't even had a week to get on the car properly and he performed great since his first week and also proved that Albon is not that good as people thought only because he was demolishing Latifi and Sargeant in H2H.
@@Aldas001 if we get into a teammate comparison w alex and bottas being of similar caliber, franco has gotten much closer to albon than zhou has to bottas despite the lack of experience
@@manishv6932 Ain't no way Osama Bin Russell doesn't blow it. Sainz is underrated I think, very logical and clear thinking, good under pressure, all things Russell are not.
How is Max not in his own tier? I'm sorry but 43 year old Fernando Alonso was not on the same level as Max Verstappen this year, Lewis Hamilton has been awful at times too. Leclerc was probably the second best driver this year, but even he isn't in the same tier as Max, he's far closer to Lando and George than he is to Max.
@@thejman99bearman he did one race for ferrari and one race for haas and yet you put him on the same level as K-mag. Hamilton is only fast when he has a car that outperforms everyone else
As said in the video I judge drivers over a 2 years period, in the same vein Lewis dominated George last year by an even bigger margin which I also take into account. If Lewis doesn’t improve next year there’s no way I’ll be able to put him in the same tier this time next year
The Leclerc rating in interesting but saying that, it seems Max does have more respect from him than the likes of Lando - it reminds me of how Mika Hakkinen got Michael's respect over the likes of Hill, Montoya, Villeneuve etc.
He was never overrated, this was always his level but this year the clown errors from the team which ruined so many amazing performances from him dissapeared. And that's making people to see his consistency, but he was always consistent in terms of performances
Absolutely mad to put Perez there. I get what you mean that *maybe* he can be a good midfield driver if he was in a midfield team, but given his performances over the last two years (as you stress so much during the video) he has too often been near touching the edge of the Latifi tier almost comparatively. Something to prove tier 100% based on his last 2 years results. Your supposition that he could still be a good midfield driver is literally the something that he has to prove.
Lewis Hamilton has been no where near Russell this year and Norris is demolishing his teammate so I’d say u should swap them. Norris has done brilliant and the fact that such minor mistakes have led to him losing wins and stuff just shows how close the grid is, not how bad of a driver he is
The last 2 seasons Perez hasnt been in a midfield car, you can't judge him by how he performed many seasons ago. On current form he is at best something to prove tier.
Hey Aldas. If you don't mind I don't want to focus on the drivers (Great video though😊). Great to see you back on RUclips. Hope you have rested well in Japan and everything is going fine from your side. P.S I'm jealous. You got to go to Japan🙃
Not just hating on Lance for no reason, but after 8 years in the sport, 166 entered GP’s, the now most experienced Canadian F1 driver and you’re telling me that Lance Stroll still has “something to prove” is completely incorrect in my opinion. He has good and bad races like any driver and we all know why he has a seat but most importantly, we know what level this guy operates at in comparison with his experience and with this as a factor in mind, is not acceptable at all. Yes I don’t like him but I believe this is fair and reasonable criticism.
I don't feel like the last 3 races will really change my opinion enough on a driver to change their ranking especially given that I take the last 2 years into account. Also I've got a lot of other videos planned already for the off season so I tend to get this video out just before the season ends
Giving Hamilton best of the best in a season he calle a nightmare and can't wait to be over is wild . Hamilton himself said that the season can't end soon enough for him
Wait, Russel out-qualifies Lewis this year. Yet he is below in this list? LOL. Just look at some stats: F1 2024 head-to-head qualifying record: Mercedes Lewis Hamilton 5-16 George Russell. Sprint qualifying: Lewis Hamilton 1-4 George Russell. Even with disqualification, Russel is ahead in the championship. I know that not many fans like Russel, but let's be objective and give the lad his due for the work he has put in.
W. I'm sick of this Colapinto glazing, Lawson and Bearman have shown more this year so far. Good to see someone looking at it more objectively in terms of his performance instead of looking at how marketable he is
not trying to criticize what’s ultimately a subjective tier list, but I’ve got a few suggestions. the tier names feel a bit off, like lance stroll does deserve to be in that position in the list but the name being "something to prove" is funny for someone who's been in F1 for 7 years. also, having only one tier between the best of the best and the midfield seems odd. I’d add another tier for older champions, sainz, and russell. as for lando, he’s shown he might need a bit more time to be a borderline champion
@@Caligula1488 Leclerc had the car in 2022? Mate, you're reaching... Yes he had the car for about a third of the season, and even during that time he had 2 mechanical DNFs that cost him almost guaranteed wins. As for this season, Ferrari have had the clear fastest car for maybe 3-4 races. Are you maybe watching a different championship to the rest of us?
@@markozizic9938That average means absolutely nothing because China Sprint, Silverstone when conditions became better in Q3 and Budapest as well are in favour of him, also the car was suiting on Sainz's style so many times this season and the fact that the Ferrari is completely different this year with the tyres and it takes more in qualy to bring them at a good temp it's against Leclerc but at least it's a great thing for the race
I am eager to see how Lewis compares to Leclerc. It could be very disappointing for either of the fanbases, or be quite equal, alas I think with Charles knowing the car and team, the first year will be really hard for Lewis.
Since you are reviewing the 2024 season I fully agree on your picks for best of the best except Max. I think his performance this year was so good he is in a league of his own.
You said something that makes sense, a lot of sense as a matter of fact. Perez cannot fight with the top drivers, he doesn’t have the skill, the temper, and many other things, but he can fight in the mid field.
Yuki's situation is a bit weird because while it does seem that they have no intention of promoting him, they did activate the clause in his contract and retained him so its a bit hard to see what theyre plans are for him
He goes to Aston Martin when they are the only Honda team on the grid. The interesting thing to see will be if they have a clause in the contract that requires a Honda driver in the car, the same as at Red Bull.
I think Hülkenberg definitely would have deserved a higher tier. Having him on the same tier as the alpines just hurt not because they were bad but I don't see where they were on the same level.
I like Leclerc, he's really quick, talented and when the car is the fastest he's unstoppable. But I wouldn't put him next to Max, there should be another category between 'best of the best' and 'borderline champions' and put him there. I think if Max would be driving for Ferrari this year, he would got 5 or 6 victories and would be fighting for the title until the last race.
@@nathancorfield2609 I know very little about it as well, but Lorenzo, during his career, went from fast and reckless to fast and consistent, winning his three titles while racing legends like Rossi and Marquez, who were the better riders. Like, Leclerc is kind of in the same position ever since he debuted in F1, the difference being that he has no accolades to his name in F1 yet.
@octavio.santos ahh that makes a lot of sense. I definitely think Charles is heading that way. I've been a fan of his ever since he was in formula 3, so I've seen him grow as a driver and I have to say, this season he's been like an entirely different driver
Putting Franco below Ollie and Liam is kinda crazy, yes he had that big shunt in Brazil, but like, so was half the grid. I think I Ollie and Liam and Franco of all preformed equally admirably, they’ve all been thrown into cars unexpectedly this season and have had to make the best of it, and they really have. Though I feel they have been putting up quality midfield driver preformances but I can understand putting them in solid but replaceable due to the brevity of their current experience but Franco? In something to prove? He’s proven enough that everyone wants him full time on the grid, that there are rumors he’s wanted for a RedBull seat, and then say he’s got something to prove.
If there was no Max driver last 5-6 years, there would have been some crazy title races, Lewis perhaps 8 times champ, Charles at least once, Lando as well, maaaybe Danny Ric and/or Checo as champions. But if his mother had balls... BTW Lance not in the Latifi category? Is this a joke? He beached a car on a Brazilian beach during formation lap! He needed a caipirinha to complete his vacation! Also, Zhou is the slowest guy ever...
Hey Aldas this videos are worth watching for the content. However if you want more objective tier list i think it would be better to rank each driver in each race and then do the media. I dont think is fair to evaluate a driver looking on his last season. Is good to see evolution but not for judge. This would add arguments and would lead your videos to have more support by mentionin data, difference in points, Qualys, Races, something you could have focused more.
Okay i get the idea of putting Charles next to max, he had a great season and showed again and again that he is championship material. But as much as i love Fernando, you can't put him and Lewis in the same category as Verstappen, that is just straight up disrespecting his performance an constistency this year imo
Max' car wasn't the most dominant car of all time... the results Max and RB put up didn't reflect the pace advantage they had. It wasn't close to the W11 or the W07.
That was driver dominance, not car dominance. By beating the Ascari record of win % in a season, Max has had the most dominant season for a driver in the history of the sport. By extension (and Perez also winning a couple), he dragged that car to the highest win % for a season as well. But indeed, there were cars that had a larger gap to the remainder of the field.
@@EntropicExergy It was car dominance, mixed with driver and operation dominance. But it was never 2 seconds a lap faster like the 14/5/6 merc were at times.
@@user-pq1bb9bx4q All that talk of the car being the dominant factor is such superficial analysis of what really happened that season. And when even the pundits, so-called "experts", have the same simplistic view, it's rather depressing to see how little anyone really knows. You get the game, unlike most that i see or hear on the sport. You are a bright light in a dark sea of casuals.
@@dylanburston7453 Well, when Newey himself said that Max was winning races they (the RB engineers themselves) had expected not to, i'd say that is a pretty strong case for driver dominance. Especially when you consider the fact that RB went into the wrong dev direction in Spain last year, which has led to their car not being anywhere near as good as the McKaren this season. This season together with the 23 one show it was driver dominance, not so much the car.
Charles was always a top tier driver, but didn't have the much needed stability provided by the team, in the same way that Max did. But of course this season, with a very good package, a much more predictable car to drive, and also smoother with the tyres, hes just able to push more through the races, and doesnt seem on the absolute edge like previous years. I believe george is going through a similar process with mercedes. Very difficult car to drive and to set up, in a team that is lacking identity at the moment, after losing key members over the years. But hes also showing that with the right people around him, a solid project and enough trust on his capabilities, he can be at the a very high level.
If the ranking is based on this season, Piastri being in the same tier as Norris, Sainz and Russell does not feel right. Also Hamilton a tier above Russell...
Great list honestly, I would change some things though. Pérez should 100% be in the Stroll Zhou tier, he has been a disaster for far to long an until he goes to a team and performs, he has to be in the mud. Colapinto has went toe to toe with Albon, I think he deserves to be in the tier above, impressive debut It's a bit weird to see Lando and Leclerc in different tiers, but maybe I overrate Norris (don't think he is in same tier as Max btw). And about Alonso and Hamilton, even though they have shown at times what they are capable of, it looks odd to still see them there after this dissapointing season. With the context of last year and a bit more I guess, but still, it's a bit strange for me at least. We should acknowledge their lows
Only 1 significant change I'd make to this list: Logan Sargeant should be 1 tier lower 😆 I'm not saying I could do better, probably, but lots of people would beat him. I reckon if you put Russell in the McLaren he'd have done as well as LeClerc would. I feel like Max's early season and awesome Sao Paolo drive means he'd have won against anyone, except perhaps Alonso or Hamilton. Best of the rest definitely isn't Yuki either - Fernando has that one nailed unless Yuki gets podiums from now on! Yuki deserves a spot in a decent car though, he's barely put a foot wrong this season. 4 retirements, none his fault although perhaps he could have avoided 1-2 a little, but that's it, he's not even let loose over the radio very much! Edit: I forgot Perez, easy to do this season...he's in something to prove 100%. I've historically been a big fan, he was brilliant until he joined that team, but it just hasn't worked for him.
In my opinion, Leclerc has developed into the best on the grid by learning from his mistakes, which is something Norris will never do if he can't get rid of his massive ego. Leclerc 2025 WDC!
@@inspiredglue2056 Your opinion is meaningless. Who is higher up in the WDC, who won from 17th on the grid? That's Max, not Chuck. Facts show Max is better, no opinion necessary here.
Don't feel the need to call the category literally "Latifi". It's so harsh and non-empathic. Also, I think Perez should be in "something to prove". He has exactly to prove where you put him, namely that he is a quality midfield driver, or alternatively a number two to Max.
Lewis in best and Perez quality mid even considering 2 year time frame is nasty work… Also Zhou deserves latifi class - he might not crash as much but constantly outperformed by Bottas
I think you need to adjust your tiers. Quality midfield drivers and Solid but replaceable are basically the same thing. Those drivers you put in quality midfield are all replaceable. Hulk being the possible exception as someone who has absolutely taken his car to places it doesn't deserve to be. But can you honestly say that any of those drivers you have put in solid but replaceable would be a step down from those in the tier above? The Alpine drivers got a great result in Brazil but that was exceptional circumstances. That aside they have just been meeting expectations. Albon has been decent but hasn't done anyting outstanding. Yuki is fast but can't lead a team and rarely makes forward progress in a race. Perez may well be a quality midfield driver, but considering he has been beaten by both VCARBS several times this season how can anyone argue he is as good or better than any of those three?
Max did not lose any points from Lando partly because McLaren gifted him some points and partly because he was a total A-hole and just focused on ruining Lando's races and also took advantage of the fact that Lando did not really afford any crashes. This is not a guy I would ever consider a worthy champion. But nevertheless he is incredibly ruthless and Lando should copy him for 2025, hopefully the car performance trend will be similar.
off topic but damn you look almost exactly like logan from gilmore girls 😭 i forgot the actor's name but i wonder if anyone else has made that comparison
A very big Alonso fan here, he is definitely not top tier this year. Made too many unforced errors, possibly due to frustration of Aston being awful but still. Sainz was very good but nowhere close to a borderline champion. Russell is literally much better than Hamilton this year. Norris is much better than Piastri, they can't be in the same category. Perez is definitely not better than Bottas and doesn't belong in any category higher than Latifi.
Incorrect. Norris has not been much better than Piastri. Over the full year, maybe slightly better, but even ignoring the whole team orders debate Lando has been prioritised with updates so it is fair to expect he will get the better results. At times both drivers have been exceptional, and both have underperformed occasionally. On balance I think it is fair to say both could probably have done a bit better this year. Difference is that more is expected of Lando due to his experience.
@@JMRope Head 2 Head between Lando and Oscar: 331-262 points 14-7 race 17-4 quali 16-4 fastest lap 3-2 wins 7-0 Lets compare that with Alonso v Stroll: 13-5 race 16-5 quali 14-5 fastest lap Now lets look at Nico v Kevin: 14-4 race 14-5 quali 7-11 fastest lap That is 2 of the most “onsided” pairings on the grid currently and the gap is somewhat similar to the gap between Lando and Oscar. Secondly Both Nico and Alonso has gotten upgrades prioritized as much as Lando has against his teammate. Now lets compare the H2H between another top tier duo where 1 driver is “clearly” superior aka Charles v Carlos: 291-244 points 12-6 races 13-7 quali 8-11 fastest lap 3-2 wins 3-1 poles In other words Carlos is closer to Charles than Oscar is to Lando. And for the people who say Oscar is only in his 2nd year then lets look at some other “future” WDC’s in their 2nd year: Charles v Vettel: 264-240 points 7-10 races 12-9 quali 9-12 fastest lap 2-1 wins 7-2 poles So Charles in his 2nd year was superior than Vettel, but Oscar in his 2nd year isn’t superior to Lando. Either Lando is better than Vettel or Oscar may not be that elite. Now lets look at 2nd year Lando against Sainz: 97-105 points 6-7 races 9-8 quali 6-9 fastest laps So Lando was just as fast as Sainz in his 2nd year(remember this was the weird Covid year so not much practice in the winter). So clearly Lando didn’t have a problem keeping up with Sainz like Oscar has with Lando. And lets be real Carlos has been slower than Charles but not by much so he is no slouch. Piastri is solid and his the right mentality, but his raw pace is not at the George, Lando and Charles level and will probably never be(Max is obviously in a different league of his own). Raw pace is already there in the 2nd year and it is usually mindset, tyre wear, racecraft etc. That you develop after a drivers 2nd year and not pure pace. Oscar has the mind of a champion but not the speed of one while Lando has the speed of a champion but the mind of a Stroll. Neither will be champions unless they sit in a far superior car like the 2022-23 RB, 14-16 and 19-20 Merc or the 2011/13 RB.
@@usernamenotwrittenoutoflaz9865 interesting point of view. Though I''m still not sure what it is. My comment was that Lando is not MUCH better. Quoting figures at me proves nothing. I've worked in statistics and data analysis for 30 years, and I can assure you that clever people can find data to support any argument. In your case, you have looked purely at results which doesn't tell the whole story. Lando could outqualify and finish ahead of Oscar at every race but if Oscar was less than a tenth off him in qualifying and right on his gearbox across the line each time they would still be closely matched. But most confusing is your final comment. You seem to conclude that neither Landoz nor Oscar have all the skills required of a top class driver with one having the raw pace and the other having the mental strenghts. So if neither are top level drivers does this not put them both at a similar level?
@@JMRope Very well worded response and i somewhat agree with what you say. Piastri has obviously been consistently closer to Lando than say Stroll to Alonso. Usually he is 2 places behind him in quali which is not a massive gap, but in my opinion a big enough gap to conclude that he doesn’t have the raw pace of the greats of F1(Lewis, Kimi, Alonso, Vettel etc.) since they all showed their raw pace in their 2nd year if not their 1st or Landos raw pace may actually be really underrated(i consider his raw pace to be similar to some of the best to ever do it but as i stated he lacks a lot of the small things) I do agree that my last part was a bit confusing, but in my opinion Raw Pace > Mentality. The extra ability to communicate with your engineer regarding a strategy or execute a late dive is a bit meaningless if your teammate is ahead by 10 seconds. Someone like KMag has a really strong mentality and excellent tyre wear, but that doesn’t really matter in a head2head against Hulkenberg who is faster. At the same time i also believe that the mental side of F1/the small things(starts, feedback etc.) can be improved upon at a far superior rate than race pace. This follows my statements about most top tier drivers being at the best pace in their first 2ish seasons, but having later improved upon the extra things. I suppose what i tried to say is that Lando is the superior driver to Oscar this year and they can’t be put in the same tier(i actually think they lack an “Race contender” tier in the ranking where i would put Sainz and Oscar while Lando and George stay in their possible WDC winner tier). The extra point would probably be that i doubt Oscar will ever be much better than Lando due to the historical precedent of drivers finding their maximum pace in their first 2ish years. If i had to do a historic driver comp between the 2 i would write Lando down as a Hakkinen ish driver and Piastri as a Button ish driver. This would be my best case scenarios for Lando’s and Oscar’s careers.
@@usernamenotwrittenoutoflaz9865 Fair enough. Personally I don't agree that Lando would be at the level of Hakkinen. I admit I didn't pay close attention to Hakkinen prior to his first championship but I don't think he was making the same sort of mistakes. Yes Lando can work on these issues but how long might that take him? I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a driver to have overcome these little problems after 6 years. But then you equate Oscar to Button, who did win a WDC but you don't think Oscar will?. I guess you rate Hakkinen as a superior driver to Button. If I am honest I probably would agree with that but I am sure many might see those two as equal. Not sure how old you are but would you rate Senna and Prost equally? I don't think many would argue that Senna had more raw pace but I believe Prost was the better driver overall. If the current points system had been in place when Prost was racing he would be a seven times world champion with one of those extra titles being at the expense of Senna. Prost brought the car home when Senna would drive it flat out even if that meant it wouldn't go the distance. But then again the cars are so reliable these days maybe that quality is no longer as important as it was 40 years ago.
when i see you i get gordon ramsy vibes? anyways i think we will see great stuff from Piastri. i think he is one of the most skilled overtakers in the grid and has good racecraft and a calm, focussed mindset.
I'd swap KMag and Franco. KMag has been underwhelming for the last 3 years, but definitely with few moments of utter brilliance here and there. But those are rare.
I agree with pretty much all the rankings except Stroll. He should have his own category too like "Definitely doesn't deserve to be in F1" It might be too harsh but I think every F1 fan had enough of Stroll. He had enough years to prove something and he only proved that his dad has a lot of money. #strolljustgo think is time
He's not Logan Sargeant. Really? THAT is what elevates Zhou Guanyou from the bottom rank from which he's failed to elevate his own car pretty much every qualifying session and race this year?
In before the Zhou triple win streak dates this video
Justice 4 Zhou
WAY before
And then he will still have scored fewer points than Valtteri while they’ve been teammates…
@@not_super_streetHe never should be beating Bottas because Bottas is just so much more experienced and that car is atrocious
I just want to see a real title fight between Max and Charles, those first three 2022 races were awesome
And the couple we got in 2019
Throw in Lewis in the mix and the mclaren boys…if we have does 5 drivers going for it in 2025 it’s gonna be amazing 🎉
Sainz is the jenson button of our time, great driver, but to be the champion he needed that brawn gp difference, a car a bit above the rest and a teammate on a bit lower level than him. If williams gets the 2026 regulations on the brawn, merc 2014, or rb 2010, and 2022 level he would become the next champion
If rb didn't exist in 2011 he'd have been champion.
Williams is not going to do that, they are so far behind, not a chance.
@@EntropicExergy i know, just making a comparision, i think no one was expecting brawn, formerly a honda to be the dominatior in 09, jenson just was there at the best time
@@kakmaster6945 true, but already being a champion gives a big morale boost to drivers, after you get that title you become even better, since you have been assured that you are the best, and you no longer fear that you might not be good enough
@@superkubus-nk8lb Honda was in fact the reason that Brawn won, it was a Honda engineer that first had the idea for the double diffuser.
I absolutely agree with putting Charles in the top tier!
This year from Charles reminds me of Max in 2019, just getting rid of the mistakes and becoming the all round great driver who can create magical races and crucially able to go wheel to wheel with Max!!
His win in Monza and his save in Mexico were the highlights of his season for me!
For me his best ever drive went under the radar, Zandvoort this year. That Ferrari had no pace compared to the mclaren, yet in the first stint he stayed on piastri's gearbox the whole time. In the second he kept the mclaren rocketship behind to hold on for a podium that Charles before the race he said it needed a miracle
I would agree if you only count 2024. This is very very strong. But 2023 was not that good, that I would put him in the same tier as Max.
Max dominated last year in a dominant car and he shows that he is the best in the third fastest car in 2024
That Mexico save was a jumpscare for me. I screamed in horror when i saw that lol.
@@youngwasabi209 Why yall need to say Max is the best everytime, really? Like we don't know that already
@@youngwasabi209you are as good as your last race, or the season in this case. Last year, and two years ago he struggled hard with his car especially when he had to go to overdrive, this year he is much more calm and collected and he hardly makes big mistakes. In Brasil he was able to keep verstappen behind, despite max just cutting through the field, and having clearly slower car (that ferrari really isn't good in wet)
Charles and max are on a different level
Do you mean compared to everyone else, or should be ranked differently? I'm not being flippant, your statement can be read equally either way. (I do think he's a fantastic driver, btw. This is an honest question about your opinion. Whatever it is, you're entitled to it!)
Latifi catching strays with that category bruh
Massively agree on Leclerc, definitely his best and most complete season so far and it feels like he’s ready to take the fight to anyone if he’s given the adequate machinery, he’s cut out the silly mistakes and has been remarkably consistent even when Ferrari haven’t been, think 2025 could be his year.
There never really were any to begin with, tbh. He made the least amount of mistakes in 2022, he made probabaly the 2nd least in 2023, losing only to max (who was 40 seconds ahead whilst charles was locked in battles with Mercs, Astons and Mclarens)
and hes made the least in 2024, just two, and one didnt even cost him a place.
he didn't make many mistakes in 2022 aside from imola and france (admittedly the second one was a big mistake, but having 2 races with clear points dropped due to driver error is not much in the grand scheme of a season, and it's not why he lost the wdc)
2023 he made more (though the final stretch of last season he was the best driver after max imho), but he seems to have improved since then and he's been very consistent this year
@@dylanburston7453 I agree that the mistakes were not as many as is often suggested. They were big ones though, and clearly a result of the direct title pressure. Until he faces that kind of pressure again we do not know if those mistakes are gone. I also think that he can get a bit down when things are not going perfectly, so he does not always maximize the result.
I would rate him as the second best driver for 2025 though, so if the Ferrari is clearly better than the RB he could do it, I would fancy him against Lewis and everyone else.
@@rulifaller8474 Leclercs best performances have come under pressue.
Spa and Monza 2019, Monaco and Monza 2024, and the final 3rd of 23, where he nearly dragged to Ferrari to 2nd in the constructors.
If he gets better with pressure for the championship, as he does with individual races/ fighting for a competitive 2nd, then i hope we get a battle with Max, because that would be absolute cinema
Colapinto in the same tier as Stroll and Zhou is crazy. If you take his crashes into account, then Albon should be at least one tier down.
Stroll has been trying to prove himself for 7 years. He still hasn’t done it
He has proven himself... to be an utter moron unworthy of being in the sport.
Here's to the next 7 years
He can't be a tier higher either as he won't be replaced.
Stroll should be a latifi as he has very well proven that in the last race at sao paulo.
He's doing some stupid mistakes but people should remind who is his teammate and remember that he's doing better than Vandoorne and other drivers before 2010 and he's doing on par against him if we compare to Massa during 2010-13 or even comparing to what Kimi did in 2014, that doesn't mean Stroll is at their level but he's so overhated and the good things that he's doing are under the shadow of the stupid things
Completely agree with Max and Charles being in the best of the best
Let ppl watch the video without spoilers ffs
@@NicotineRosberg Don't read the comments before you watch the video, Dumbo
leclerc finally gets the recognition he deserves
Putting Zhou in the same tier as Colapinto is diabolical. Franco has shown more in 4 races than Zhou in 3 years. Also I think Albon and Perez could be dropped, but otherwise a solid tierlist
Franco has also had a better car in 4 races than Zhou has had in like 2 or so years
@@Aldas001 I’m here to disagree with Aldas…Colapinto doesn’t have anything to prove more than lawson or bearman none of them have outperformed him…In respect to the point on his crashes, he’s been cleaner than Albon who has had more costly crashes than him…Lastly as a rookie he’s been close to and at times beaten his quality midfield driver teammate where as Zhou has been dominated for 3 years by a driver that is solid but replaceable…He’s already proven he deserves to be in F1.
@@Aldas001I completely disagree, Alfa Romeo in 2022 especially in first 8-9 races was 4-5th car on the grid, Williams was never since 2016 at the level of that Alfa Romeo . Zhou with that car scored points only in some races where many Top cars didn't finished because of problems. Meanwhile Bottas was best of the rest and a consistent Top 7 finisher in first races of that season. Colapinto jumped in that car after the summer break, he didn't even had a week to get on the car properly and he performed great since his first week and also proved that Albon is not that good as people thought only because he was demolishing Latifi and Sargeant in H2H.
@@Aldas001 if we get into a teammate comparison w alex and bottas being of similar caliber, franco has gotten much closer to albon than zhou has to bottas despite the lack of experience
Aldas is a borderline champion F1 pundit. The brilliance of this channel is still underrated.
Max, Charles, & George are the top 3, hands down.
💯
Agree 100%. Also I have a hot take: Lec, Sai, Rus, Ham and Alo are ALL winning WDC ih that McLaren.
I mean if they weren't fighting each other, than Yeah, absolutley
Not even a hot take , lando is ass
I don't think Sainz is winning it, but Russell definitely is.
@@manishv6932The opposite for me…i think sainz is more consistent and can handle the pressure better…though russell has a better single lap pace.
@@manishv6932 Ain't no way Osama Bin Russell doesn't blow it.
Sainz is underrated I think, very logical and clear thinking, good under pressure, all things Russell are not.
How is Max not in his own tier? I'm sorry but 43 year old Fernando Alonso was not on the same level as Max Verstappen this year, Lewis Hamilton has been awful at times too. Leclerc was probably the second best driver this year, but even he isn't in the same tier as Max, he's far closer to Lando and George than he is to Max.
How can Lewis be ahead of George even though George is ahead of Lewis in the championship despite a massive points swing due to the Spa DSQ?
He said he’s also taking into account last year to reduce some recency bias and get a larger sample size
@@thejman99bearman he did one race for ferrari and one race for haas and yet you put him on the same level as K-mag.
Hamilton is only fast when he has a car that outperforms everyone else
As said in the video I judge drivers over a 2 years period, in the same vein Lewis dominated George last year by an even bigger margin which I also take into account. If Lewis doesn’t improve next year there’s no way I’ll be able to put him in the same tier this time next year
Its not just 2024, hes accounting for 23 and maybe 22..? Idk.
But does it not balance out?? Lewis comfortably beat george last yr this yr other way round? Coming from a george fan but yk@Aldas001
The Leclerc rating in interesting but saying that, it seems Max does have more respect from him than the likes of Lando - it reminds me of how Mika Hakkinen got Michael's respect over the likes of Hill, Montoya, Villeneuve etc.
Putting Nando and Lewis in the same tier as Max in 24 is borderline insane
Back then, Leclerc was overrated. Now, he is one of the most complete drivers on the grid imo. He will fight against the McLarens next year.
He was never overrated, this was always his level but this year the clown errors from the team which ruined so many amazing performances from him dissapeared. And that's making people to see his consistency, but he was always consistent in terms of performances
Why isn't this video being made after the season. Like, when we actually need extra F1 content.
Absolutely mad to put Perez there. I get what you mean that *maybe* he can be a good midfield driver if he was in a midfield team, but given his performances over the last two years (as you stress so much during the video) he has too often been near touching the edge of the Latifi tier almost comparatively. Something to prove tier 100% based on his last 2 years results. Your supposition that he could still be a good midfield driver is literally the something that he has to prove.
K Mags return in 2022 was so great, and he ruined Mick Schumacher, complete dominated him , cheers Kev 🍻
Only to be dominated by Hulk
Lewis Hamilton has been no where near Russell this year and Norris is demolishing his teammate so I’d say u should swap them. Norris has done brilliant and the fact that such minor mistakes have led to him losing wins and stuff just shows how close the grid is, not how bad of a driver he is
The last 2 seasons Perez hasnt been in a midfield car, you can't judge him by how he performed many seasons ago. On current form he is at best something to prove tier.
I think Colapinto should be pushing as hard as possible… for Liam Lawson to get the Red Bull seat
Fun fact, today's Sauber is faster than last year's RBR
Hey Aldas. If you don't mind I don't want to focus on the drivers (Great video though😊). Great to see you back on RUclips. Hope you have rested well in Japan and everything is going fine from your side.
P.S I'm jealous. You got to go to Japan🙃
Not just hating on Lance for no reason, but after 8 years in the sport, 166 entered GP’s, the now most experienced Canadian F1 driver and you’re telling me that Lance Stroll still has “something to prove” is completely incorrect in my opinion.
He has good and bad races like any driver and we all know why he has a seat but most importantly, we know what level this guy operates at in comparison with his experience and with this as a factor in mind, is not acceptable at all.
Yes I don’t like him but I believe this is fair and reasonable criticism.
Question: Why do you do these vids before the season end? 3 races could improve/decrease a drivers rating.
No it doesn’t it does not change much
So he’ll make a new video if that happens (it won’t)
I don't feel like the last 3 races will really change my opinion enough on a driver to change their ranking especially given that I take the last 2 years into account. Also I've got a lot of other videos planned already for the off season so I tend to get this video out just before the season ends
Giving Hamilton best of the best in a season he calle a nightmare and can't wait to be over is wild . Hamilton himself said that the season can't end soon enough for him
Wait, Russel out-qualifies Lewis this year. Yet he is below in this list? LOL. Just look at some stats: F1 2024 head-to-head qualifying record: Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton 5-16 George Russell. Sprint qualifying: Lewis Hamilton 1-4 George Russell. Even with disqualification, Russel is ahead in the championship. I know that not many fans like Russel, but let's be objective and give the lad his due for the work he has put in.
W. I'm sick of this Colapinto glazing, Lawson and Bearman have shown more this year so far. Good to see someone looking at it more objectively in terms of his performance instead of looking at how marketable he is
not trying to criticize what’s ultimately a subjective tier list, but I’ve got a few suggestions. the tier names feel a bit off, like lance stroll does deserve to be in that position in the list but the name being "something to prove" is funny for someone who's been in F1 for 7 years. also, having only one tier between the best of the best and the midfield seems odd. I’d add another tier for older champions, sainz, and russell. as for lando, he’s shown he might need a bit more time to be a borderline champion
i think you should rename tiers to S, A, B, C etc, for example sainz isnt a borderline champion but hes a A tier driver
He very much is a borderline champion. Only 5 hundreths of Leclerc in qualifying and in race trim this season on avarage.🤷♂️
@@markozizic9938 And Leclerc isn't a champion for a reason, he had the car in 2022 and 2024 but he wasn't even able to mount a title challenge.
@@Caligula1488 yeah why didn't leclerc win in spain, baku, monaco, or hungary in 2022?
oh wait...
@@Caligula1488 Leclerc had the car in 2022? Mate, you're reaching... Yes he had the car for about a third of the season, and even during that time he had 2 mechanical DNFs that cost him almost guaranteed wins. As for this season, Ferrari have had the clear fastest car for maybe 3-4 races. Are you maybe watching a different championship to the rest of us?
@@markozizic9938That average means absolutely nothing because China Sprint, Silverstone when conditions became better in Q3 and Budapest as well are in favour of him, also the car was suiting on Sainz's style so many times this season and the fact that the Ferrari is completely different this year with the tyres and it takes more in qualy to bring them at a good temp it's against Leclerc but at least it's a great thing for the race
Gasly is underrated I feel, last few races he got equally as many points as Perez I saw as a stat, in a really struggling Alpine
Colapinto with Zhou and Stroll? This doesn't make any sense
I am eager to see how Lewis compares to Leclerc. It could be very disappointing for either of the fanbases, or be quite equal, alas I think with Charles knowing the car and team, the first year will be really hard for Lewis.
Last year your evaluations/predictions went pretty well
Since you are reviewing the 2024 season I fully agree on your picks for best of the best except Max. I think his performance this year was so good he is in a league of his own.
Mostly agree, but would move Lewis, Fernando and Perez down a tier and Franco up a tier myself.
As an Alonso Fan i wish he gets a better car next Season. It would be a very good opportunity to prove that he ist still one of the best of the bests
You said something that makes sense, a lot of sense as a matter of fact.
Perez cannot fight with the top drivers, he doesn’t have the skill, the temper, and many other things, but he can fight in the mid field.
The fact that Charles gets the top tier discredits the whole freaking list😂 Bias it’s obviously strong and clouds judgement
Max deserves his own tier at this point, he’s a league above the other 3
Charles Leclerc is the Hakkinen to Max’s Schumacher. Hopefully we get to see it as a title fight in the future.
Yuki's situation is a bit weird because while it does seem that they have no intention of promoting him, they did activate the clause in his contract and retained him so its a bit hard to see what theyre plans are for him
He goes to Aston Martin when they are the only Honda team on the grid. The interesting thing to see will be if they have a clause in the contract that requires a Honda driver in the car, the same as at Red Bull.
I don't think they have since Alonso extended his contract for 2025 and 2026. And while would like to see Lance get replaced I doubt it will happen
@@TheUnsainted Yuki's clause is til 2026 if he meets the standards of his 2025 clause he gets another year
I think you nailed it with this video. Every take you said I agree with. Such a special time to be a F1 fan!
I could actually get behind on this exact list, well done.
How have you put Perez so high
I think Hülkenberg definitely would have deserved a higher tier. Having him on the same tier as the alpines just hurt not because they were bad but I don't see where they were on the same level.
i don't how checo has ended up in quality mid field driver while he was on pace out qualified by logan few times throught the season
Excellent. And the ratings left to right in the first 2 categories are correct.
Mostly agree with you, but with colapinto you were spot on! cheers from Argentina.
Hey Aldas you're featuring in my new video I'm working on right now. It should be out in a couple of hours 👍
It better be good. I’m waiting
It definitely will be 😄
I like Leclerc, he's really quick, talented and when the car is the fastest he's unstoppable. But I wouldn't put him next to Max, there should be another category between 'best of the best' and 'borderline champions' and put him there. I think if Max would be driving for Ferrari this year, he would got 5 or 6 victories and would be fighting for the title until the last race.
Can Leclerc become F1's Jorge Lorenzo?
@octavio.santos explain this to someone who knows absolutely nothing about MotoGP please 🙏
@@nathancorfield2609 I know very little about it as well, but Lorenzo, during his career, went from fast and reckless to fast and consistent, winning his three titles while racing legends like Rossi and Marquez, who were the better riders. Like, Leclerc is kind of in the same position ever since he debuted in F1, the difference being that he has no accolades to his name in F1 yet.
@octavio.santos ahh that makes a lot of sense. I definitely think Charles is heading that way. I've been a fan of his ever since he was in formula 3, so I've seen him grow as a driver and I have to say, this season he's been like an entirely different driver
Putting Franco below Ollie and Liam is kinda crazy, yes he had that big shunt in Brazil, but like, so was half the grid. I think I Ollie and Liam and Franco of all preformed equally admirably, they’ve all been thrown into cars unexpectedly this season and have had to make the best of it, and they really have. Though I feel they have been putting up quality midfield driver preformances but I can understand putting them in solid but replaceable due to the brevity of their current experience but Franco? In something to prove? He’s proven enough that everyone wants him full time on the grid, that there are rumors he’s wanted for a RedBull seat, and then say he’s got something to prove.
If there was no Max driver last 5-6 years, there would have been some crazy title races, Lewis perhaps 8 times champ, Charles at least once, Lando as well, maaaybe Danny Ric and/or Checo as champions. But if his mother had balls...
BTW Lance not in the Latifi category? Is this a joke? He beached a car on a Brazilian beach during formation lap! He needed a caipirinha to complete his vacation! Also, Zhou is the slowest guy ever...
100% agree with Leclerc in best of the best. Given the right machinery, he can definitely put up a good fight against Verstappen.
Hey Aldas this videos are worth watching for the content. However if you want more objective tier list i think it would be better to rank each driver in each race and then do the media. I dont think is fair to evaluate a driver looking on his last season. Is good to see evolution but not for judge. This would add arguments and would lead your videos to have more support by mentionin data, difference in points, Qualys, Races, something you could have focused more.
Okay i get the idea of putting Charles next to max, he had a great season and showed again and again that he is championship material. But as much as i love Fernando, you can't put him and Lewis in the same category as Verstappen, that is just straight up disrespecting his performance an constistency this year imo
With this being Strolls 8th season he has nothing else to prove now
Haha ! Yes we roasted you on Oscar last year. Good job with this list. ( too bad you don’t have an “up and coming” category for Liam Ollie etc
i think stroll deserves to have his own tier below latifi
I love a video like this buy I am disappointed that you did not keep it until the end of the season.
Max' car wasn't the most dominant car of all time... the results Max and RB put up didn't reflect the pace advantage they had. It wasn't close to the W11 or the W07.
That was driver dominance, not car dominance. By beating the Ascari record of win % in a season, Max has had the most dominant season for a driver in the history of the sport. By extension (and Perez also winning a couple), he dragged that car to the highest win % for a season as well. But indeed, there were cars that had a larger gap to the remainder of the field.
@@EntropicExergy Exactly.
@@EntropicExergy It was car dominance, mixed with driver and operation dominance.
But it was never 2 seconds a lap faster like the 14/5/6 merc were at times.
@@user-pq1bb9bx4q All that talk of the car being the dominant factor is such superficial analysis of what really happened that season. And when even the pundits, so-called "experts", have the same simplistic view, it's rather depressing to see how little anyone really knows. You get the game, unlike most that i see or hear on the sport. You are a bright light in a dark sea of casuals.
@@dylanburston7453 Well, when Newey himself said that Max was winning races they (the RB engineers themselves) had expected not to, i'd say that is a pretty strong case for driver dominance. Especially when you consider the fact that RB went into the wrong dev direction in Spain last year, which has led to their car not being anywhere near as good as the McKaren this season. This season together with the 23 one show it was driver dominance, not so much the car.
warning,if you don't like the word "yeah", you gonna suffer, fun vid though
Charles was always a top tier driver, but didn't have the much needed stability provided by the team, in the same way that Max did. But of course this season, with a very good package, a much more predictable car to drive, and also smoother with the tyres, hes just able to push more through the races, and doesnt seem on the absolute edge like previous years.
I believe george is going through a similar process with mercedes. Very difficult car to drive and to set up, in a team that is lacking identity at the moment, after losing key members over the years.
But hes also showing that with the right people around him, a solid project and enough trust on his capabilities, he can be at the a very high level.
Solid list
If the ranking is based on this season, Piastri being in the same tier as Norris, Sainz and Russell does not feel right. Also Hamilton a tier above Russell...
Logan in Latifi tier is disrespectful to Latifi 😂
Gasly should be a "half borderline champions"
Great list honestly, I would change some things though. Pérez should 100% be in the Stroll Zhou tier, he has been a disaster for far to long an until he goes to a team and performs, he has to be in the mud. Colapinto has went toe to toe with Albon, I think he deserves to be in the tier above, impressive debut
It's a bit weird to see Lando and Leclerc in different tiers, but maybe I overrate Norris (don't think he is in same tier as Max btw). And about Alonso and Hamilton, even though they have shown at times what they are capable of, it looks odd to still see them there after this dissapointing season. With the context of last year and a bit more I guess, but still, it's a bit strange for me at least. We should acknowledge their lows
Inmaculate wheel knowledge as usual.
Stroll should be in the Latifi category
2:21 Bro missed the chance to say Back to Baku
Only 1 significant change I'd make to this list: Logan Sargeant should be 1 tier lower 😆 I'm not saying I could do better, probably, but lots of people would beat him.
I reckon if you put Russell in the McLaren he'd have done as well as LeClerc would. I feel like Max's early season and awesome Sao Paolo drive means he'd have won against anyone, except perhaps Alonso or Hamilton.
Best of the rest definitely isn't Yuki either - Fernando has that one nailed unless Yuki gets podiums from now on! Yuki deserves a spot in a decent car though, he's barely put a foot wrong this season. 4 retirements, none his fault although perhaps he could have avoided 1-2 a little, but that's it, he's not even let loose over the radio very much!
Edit: I forgot Perez, easy to do this season...he's in something to prove 100%. I've historically been a big fan, he was brilliant until he joined that team, but it just hasn't worked for him.
In my opinion, Leclerc has developed into the best on the grid by learning from his mistakes, which is something Norris will never do if he can't get rid of his massive ego. Leclerc 2025 WDC!
Max is the best on the grid, not Chuck. Max already beat him in karts quite easily and that won't change in F1.
Massive ego? Lando has had a few poor comments in the heat of the moment but him and Leclerc are two of the most self critical drivers on the grid
@@EntropicExergy In your opinion he is better. In my opinion Max is not. I just think Leclerc has shown more pure pace and this year has been awesome.
max is better
@@inspiredglue2056 Your opinion is meaningless. Who is higher up in the WDC, who won from 17th on the grid? That's Max, not Chuck. Facts show Max is better, no opinion necessary here.
Solid but replaceable is worse than „to have something to prove“ for me, every rookie has something to prove
Don't feel the need to call the category literally "Latifi". It's so harsh and non-empathic.
Also, I think Perez should be in "something to prove". He has exactly to prove where you put him, namely that he is a quality midfield driver, or alternatively a number two to Max.
Lewis in best and Perez quality mid even considering 2 year time frame is nasty work…
Also Zhou deserves latifi class - he might not crash as much but constantly outperformed by Bottas
Checo in a tier ahead of Bottas is so wrong
I think you need to adjust your tiers. Quality midfield drivers and Solid but replaceable are basically the same thing. Those drivers you put in quality midfield are all replaceable. Hulk being the possible exception as someone who has absolutely taken his car to places it doesn't deserve to be. But can you honestly say that any of those drivers you have put in solid but replaceable would be a step down from those in the tier above? The Alpine drivers got a great result in Brazil but that was exceptional circumstances. That aside they have just been meeting expectations. Albon has been decent but hasn't done anyting outstanding. Yuki is fast but can't lead a team and rarely makes forward progress in a race. Perez may well be a quality midfield driver, but considering he has been beaten by both VCARBS several times this season how can anyone argue he is as good or better than any of those three?
Sargeant is better than Zhou, man, come on
Deluded take
Albon needs to drop down a tier
And Zhou has nothing left to prove. This season, he's proven he just isn't F1 material.
Max did not lose any points from Lando partly because McLaren gifted him some points and partly because he was a total A-hole and just focused on ruining Lando's races and also took advantage of the fact that Lando did not really afford any crashes. This is not a guy I would ever consider a worthy champion. But nevertheless he is incredibly ruthless and Lando should copy him for 2025, hopefully the car performance trend will be similar.
15:55 not even a debate he would finish it in singapore
1: Max
2 to 5: the rest
6: Zhou & Sargeant
definate British Bias here
off topic but damn you look almost exactly like logan from gilmore girls 😭 i forgot the actor's name but i wonder if anyone else has made that comparison
A very big Alonso fan here, he is definitely not top tier this year. Made too many unforced errors, possibly due to frustration of Aston being awful but still.
Sainz was very good but nowhere close to a borderline champion.
Russell is literally much better than Hamilton this year.
Norris is much better than Piastri, they can't be in the same category.
Perez is definitely not better than Bottas and doesn't belong in any category higher than Latifi.
Incorrect. Norris has not been much better than Piastri. Over the full year, maybe slightly better, but even ignoring the whole team orders debate Lando has been prioritised with updates so it is fair to expect he will get the better results. At times both drivers have been exceptional, and both have underperformed occasionally. On balance I think it is fair to say both could probably have done a bit better this year. Difference is that more is expected of Lando due to his experience.
@@JMRope Head 2 Head between Lando and Oscar:
331-262 points
14-7 race
17-4 quali
16-4 fastest lap
3-2 wins
7-0
Lets compare that with Alonso v Stroll:
13-5 race
16-5 quali
14-5 fastest lap
Now lets look at Nico v Kevin:
14-4 race
14-5 quali
7-11 fastest lap
That is 2 of the most “onsided” pairings on the grid currently and the gap is somewhat similar to the gap between Lando and Oscar. Secondly Both Nico and Alonso has gotten upgrades prioritized as much as Lando has against his teammate. Now lets compare the H2H between another top tier duo where 1 driver is “clearly” superior aka Charles v Carlos:
291-244 points
12-6 races
13-7 quali
8-11 fastest lap
3-2 wins
3-1 poles
In other words Carlos is closer to Charles than Oscar is to Lando. And for the people who say Oscar is only in his 2nd year then lets look at some other “future” WDC’s in their 2nd year:
Charles v Vettel:
264-240 points
7-10 races
12-9 quali
9-12 fastest lap
2-1 wins
7-2 poles
So Charles in his 2nd year was superior than Vettel, but Oscar in his 2nd year isn’t superior to Lando. Either Lando is better than Vettel or Oscar may not be that elite. Now lets look at 2nd year Lando against Sainz:
97-105 points
6-7 races
9-8 quali
6-9 fastest laps
So Lando was just as fast as Sainz in his 2nd year(remember this was the weird Covid year so not much practice in the winter). So clearly Lando didn’t have a problem keeping up with Sainz like Oscar has with Lando. And lets be real Carlos has been slower than Charles but not by much so he is no slouch.
Piastri is solid and his the right mentality, but his raw pace is not at the George, Lando and Charles level and will probably never be(Max is obviously in a different league of his own). Raw pace is already there in the 2nd year and it is usually mindset, tyre wear, racecraft etc. That you develop after a drivers 2nd year and not pure pace. Oscar has the mind of a champion but not the speed of one while Lando has the speed of a champion but the mind of a Stroll. Neither will be champions unless they sit in a far superior car like the 2022-23 RB, 14-16 and 19-20 Merc or the 2011/13 RB.
@@usernamenotwrittenoutoflaz9865 interesting point of view. Though I''m still not sure what it is. My comment was that Lando is not MUCH better. Quoting figures at me proves nothing. I've worked in statistics and data analysis for 30 years, and I can assure you that clever people can find data to support any argument. In your case, you have looked purely at results which doesn't tell the whole story. Lando could outqualify and finish ahead of Oscar at every race but if Oscar was less than a tenth off him in qualifying and right on his gearbox across the line each time they would still be closely matched.
But most confusing is your final comment. You seem to conclude that neither Landoz nor Oscar have all the skills required of a top class driver with one having the raw pace and the other having the mental strenghts. So if neither are top level drivers does this not put them both at a similar level?
@@JMRope Very well worded response and i somewhat agree with what you say. Piastri has obviously been consistently closer to Lando than say Stroll to Alonso. Usually he is 2 places behind him in quali which is not a massive gap, but in my opinion a big enough gap to conclude that he doesn’t have the raw pace of the greats of F1(Lewis, Kimi, Alonso, Vettel etc.) since they all showed their raw pace in their 2nd year if not their 1st or Landos raw pace may actually be really underrated(i consider his raw pace to be similar to some of the best to ever do it but as i stated he lacks a lot of the small things)
I do agree that my last part was a bit confusing, but in my opinion Raw Pace > Mentality. The extra ability to communicate with your engineer regarding a strategy or execute a late dive is a bit meaningless if your teammate is ahead by 10 seconds. Someone like KMag has a really strong mentality and excellent tyre wear, but that doesn’t really matter in a head2head against Hulkenberg who is faster. At the same time i also believe that the mental side of F1/the small things(starts, feedback etc.) can be improved upon at a far superior rate than race pace. This follows my statements about most top tier drivers being at the best pace in their first 2ish seasons, but having later improved upon the extra things.
I suppose what i tried to say is that Lando is the superior driver to Oscar this year and they can’t be put in the same tier(i actually think they lack an “Race contender” tier in the ranking where i would put Sainz and Oscar while Lando and George stay in their possible WDC winner tier). The extra point would probably be that i doubt Oscar will ever be much better than Lando due to the historical precedent of drivers finding their maximum pace in their first 2ish years. If i had to do a historic driver comp between the 2 i would write Lando down as a Hakkinen ish driver and Piastri as a Button ish driver. This would be my best case scenarios for Lando’s and Oscar’s careers.
@@usernamenotwrittenoutoflaz9865 Fair enough. Personally I don't agree that Lando would be at the level of Hakkinen. I admit I didn't pay close attention to Hakkinen prior to his first championship but I don't think he was making the same sort of mistakes. Yes Lando can work on these issues but how long might that take him? I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a driver to have overcome these little problems after 6 years. But then you equate Oscar to Button, who did win a WDC but you don't think Oscar will?. I guess you rate Hakkinen as a superior driver to Button. If I am honest I probably would agree with that but I am sure many might see those two as equal.
Not sure how old you are but would you rate Senna and Prost equally? I don't think many would argue that Senna had more raw pace but I believe Prost was the better driver overall. If the current points system had been in place when Prost was racing he would be a seven times world champion with one of those extra titles being at the expense of Senna. Prost brought the car home when Senna would drive it flat out even if that meant it wouldn't go the distance. But then again the cars are so reliable these days maybe that quality is no longer as important as it was 40 years ago.
when i see you i get gordon ramsy vibes?
anyways
i think we will see great stuff from Piastri. i think he is one of the most skilled overtakers in the grid and has good racecraft and a calm, focussed mindset.
I'd swap KMag and Franco. KMag has been underwhelming for the last 3 years, but definitely with few moments of utter brilliance here and there. But those are rare.
I agree with pretty much all the rankings except Stroll. He should have his own category too like "Definitely doesn't deserve to be in F1" It might be too harsh but I think every F1 fan had enough of Stroll. He had enough years to prove something and he only proved that his dad has a lot of money.
#strolljustgo think is time
franco two tiers below Alex?
He's not Logan Sargeant.
Really? THAT is what elevates Zhou Guanyou from the bottom rank from which he's failed to elevate his own car pretty much every qualifying session and race this year?
Seems fair, it's tough to do as badly as Logan Sargeant. Zhou has been sub-par, but Logan Sargeant was outstandingly bad.
Where is Aldas from? He has a very mid Atlantic accent. Sounds English but clipped with an American twang
i mean in my opinion sainz has absolutely been better than leclerc this season, weird to put him below leclerc