Formula 1's Driver Power Rankings After 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix
Formula One's 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix lived up to the standards the season so far has set, giving us another action-packed, thrilling race.
It was also somewhat unusual, as most of the recently dominant drivers were beaten by their team-mates.
Nico Rosberg won from pole, holding off Lewis Hamilton from the lights to the chequered flag, while Felipe Massa had the measure of Valtteri Bottas all weekend long.
Daniel Ricciardo was put in the shade as Sebastian Vettel powered to fifth, and Sergio Perez floundered. The Mexican's team-mate, Nico Hulkenberg, had an excellent drive to eighth.
Only at Ferrari and McLaren was the usual (recent) order maintained.
We now enter a two week wait before the final race of the season, the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the penultimate edition of this article, here's how the drivers currently rank.
Note on Power Rankings
These rankings should not be confused with the actual championship table.
Rather than looking solely at points, they also take into account race results, qualifying, overall performance of each driver and how they stack up against their team-mates. The relative pace of each driver's car is factored in, as is the identity of his team-mate.
Only performances at the last six races are considered.
The previous rankings, based on the six races up to and including the United States Grand Prix, are here. All position changes are relative to positions in that article.
Honourable Mentions
1 of 11
Jean-Eric Vergne drops out after a difficult race in an uncompetitive car.
Kimi Raikkonen had an excellent race, brilliantly managing his tyres on a two-stopper which brought back memories of his drives at Lotus. But this was a rare moment of recent brilliance—his form over the last six races has not been good.
Nico Hulkenberg also did a great job, but like Raikkonen has not performed well of late.
10. Sergio Perez
2 of 11
Down Two
Sergio Perez had another weekend to forget. Carrying a seven-place grid penalty for his ill-advised lunge on Adrian Sutil in Austin, he qualified a disappointing 15th. Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was 12th.
The penalty meant he started 18th and last.
He made up a few places at the start to run 15th, but never looked like making inroads on the cars he'd hope to be racing—McLarens and Ferraris. Instead, he spent much of the race acting as a "safety car" to Jean-Eric Vergne, whose quicker Toro Rosso lacked the straight-line speed to get by.
It seemed Perez might finish around 13th, but a lengthy final stop dropped him to the rear of the field, and he finished 15th—almost 40 seconds behind Hulkenberg.
He falls two places to 10th.
9. Daniil Kvyat
3 of 11
No Change
Daniil Kvyat knew on Saturday that this wasn't going to be his weekend. Usually a regular in or around the Top 10, he could only manage the 14th-fastest time, six-tenths quicker than team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne's best.
The Russian was then relegated to 17th, taking the rest of the 10-place grid penalty he received for an engine change at Austin.
But despite starting on the slower medium tyres, Kvyat had a great opening lap and rose to 13th.
Running out of sync with the other cars saw him twice drop to last place after pit stops, but he emerged from his third and final visit to the pits in 12th.
On the soft tyres, he could have gone quicker but got stuck behind Valtteri Bottas. Unable to find a way by, he pressured the Finn all the way to the line for a very credible 11th place finish.
Kvyat remains ninth.
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8. Felipe Massa
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New Entry
Felipe Massa always goes well at home and so it proved once again on Saturday. He qualified third, half a tenth of a second ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
He held the position at the start and looked comfortable, but a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane at his first stop threatened to ruin all his hard work.
But Bottas also had a pit stop nightmare. The Finn's seatbelt came loose and he spent an age in his box having it tightened, allowing Massa to stay a net third.
The home favourite matched the pace of the two Mercedes' during his third stint, before falling back slightly towards the end of the race.
But he had more than enough pace to stay ahead of the cars behind and secured his second podium of the season.
Massa is a new entry at eighth.
7. Sebastian Vettel
5 of 11
Down One
Sebastian Vettel out-qualified Daniel Ricciardo by one-and-a-half tenths of a second to start sixth. It was the first time since the Italian Grand Prix in early September the four-time champion had started ahead.
He got off the line OK, but ran wide at Turn 4 under pressure from Kevin Magnussen. Fernando Alonso also nipped through, and Vettel, down to eighth, spent the next 24 laps staring at the Ferrari's rear wing.
The German undercut both Alonso and Magnussen at the second round of stops and in clean air managed to lap at a similar pace to Jenson Button up ahead. Another earlier stop brought him to within a few seconds of the McLaren, and he closed right up as Button fought Kimi Raikkonen.
But once both were past, Button pulled clear, leaving Vettel to come home in fifth.
He drops a spot to seventh.
6. Jenson Button
6 of 11
Up One
Jenson Button continued his good qualifying form, putting Kevin Magnussen in the shade for the third consecutive race. He started fifth, with his young team-mate down in eighth.
The 2009 world champion held his position at the start and was able to hang onto the back of Valtteri Bottas' Williams. Toward the end of the second stint he looked quicker but couldn't find a way through.
On Lap 24, Button—still behind Bottas—was less than four seconds behind third-placed Felipe Massa, and McLaren failed to capitalise on a golden opportunity.
Had Button made his second stop on the same lap as Massa, who had a five-second stop-go penalty, he would have emerged ahead and had a good chance of staying there.
Instead, he was brought in two laps later and came out in a net fourth, Bottas having lost a lot of time with a seatbelt issue.
Barring a brief but entertaining battle with Kimi Raikkonen, the rest of his race was uneventful.
Button finished an excellent fourth and moves up a spot to sixth.
5. Nico Rosberg
7 of 11
No Change
Nico Rosberg took pole for the second consecutive race, his lap of one minute, 10.023 seconds a mere 0.033 seconds quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton's.
The lap also won the pole position trophy for Rosberg—his total of 10 first-place starts cannot now be overhauled.
He led away at the start but the pace advantage he'd appeared to have all weekend was not present in race conditions. Hamilton stuck behind his team-mate, but Rosberg—so often the one to make errors in 2014—kept his head.
No amount of pressure was enough, and though Hamilton ramped up his attack late on he never once got within striking distance.
Rosberg crossed the line to win his fifth race of the season, closing the championship gap to 17 points ahead of the final race.
He remains fifth.
4. Valtteri Bottas
8 of 11
No Change
Valtteri Bottas was out-qualified by Felipe Massa for only the second time in the last 10 races. As was the case in so many team-mate battles this weekend, the margin was tiny—just five hundredths of a second.
He started fourth.
A good start saw Bottas hold position, but he didn't quite have the pace to stick with Massa on the soft tyres. The gap grew after both had stopped for mediums, the Finn's team-mate clearly the main man this weekend.
Toward the end of the second stint, the gap was around three seconds; Bottas was more concerned with keeping Jenson Button behind. He pitted one lap after Massa, but it turned out he required more than just new tyres.
His seatbelt had come loose, and Bottas lost 13 seconds while a mechanic struggled to tighten it up. He emerged in 14th, needing something special to bring himself back into contention.
But he was way off the pace. Suffering excessive graining and forced into a long final stint, the best he could do was hold off Daniil Kvyat to claim a solitary point for 10th.
He remains fourth.
3. Fernando Alonso
9 of 11
No Change
Fernando Alonso qualified eighth, his worst grid slot since the British Grand Prix in July. Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was a tenth slower in 10th.
A good start saw Alonso sneak ahead of Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap, up to seventh. He held the Red Bull behind him, but only until the second round of stops. Alonso was back to eighth.
The Spaniard then caught and passed Kevin Magnussen to retake seventh, and following his third stop found himself behind two-stopping team-mate Raikkonen. Much quicker on fresh tyres, he cruised up behind.
With no team orders forthcoming, the two world champions enjoyed—or endured—a five-lap scrap for position before Alonso finally prevailed a handful of laps from the end.
Sixth was his reward, for the third race in succession.
Alonso remains third.
2. Daniel Ricciardo
10 of 11
No Change
Daniel Ricciardo was out-qualified by Sebastian Vettel for the first time since Monza. His quickest lap of one minute, 11.075 seconds was a tenth-and-a-half shy of his team-mate's best.
He started ninth, with Vettel in sixth.
The Australian held his position at the start and parked himself in the slow-starting Vettel's wheel tracks.
The first half of his race was spent following his team-mate, and this was a rare occasion on which he didn't quite look as quick. Time lost during his second stint saw him emerge five seconds and three places behind Vettel after his second stop.
But in the end, his pace didn't matter.
While running 11th, his race was ended by a front suspension failure on the 39th lap. Also ended was his 15-race finishing streak—the longest of any driver on the grid.
Ricciardo remains second.
1. Lewis Hamilton
11 of 11
No Change
Lewis Hamilton missed out on pole by the narrowest of margins, a big lock-up on his fastest lap leaving him second. The gap to Nico Rosberg was just 0.033 seconds.
The Brit remained in second at the start, shadowing Rosberg until the two Mercedes cars reached their second round of stops—then came the defining moment of the race.
As Rosberg stopped for fresh mediums, Hamilton exploded into life. He set a lap of one minute, 14.303 seconds—almost a second quicker than the laps he'd been doing behind Rosberg.
It would have been enough to take the lead, but he went for a second quick lap and pushed the worn tyres too hard. He spun off the circuit at Turn 4, losing at least seven seconds, and rejoined from his stop in second.
Though Hamilton caught and pressed Rosberg late on, he couldn't find a way through. His costly error meant his pace advantage counted for nothing, and he finished second.
But he remains first here.
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