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Formula One Driver Power Rankings: Lewis Hamilton builds his gap

By Asher Fair

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 01: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer, Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 and the rest of the field into turn two at the start during the Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on October 1, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - OCTOBER 01: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer, Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 and the rest of the field into turn two at the start during the Malaysia Formula One Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on October 1, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
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KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – OCTOBER 01: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – OCTOBER 01: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) /

#6 through #1

[Last Race: 4th (-2)] — You can’t place if you don’t race, which is what Kimi Raikkonen found out at Malaysia. He qualified in 2nd place and very well could have been a factor to win the race had it not been for a pre-race issue that caused him to sit out.. Ferrari. Ferrari. KIMI RAIKKONEN. #6

VALTTERI BOTTAS. #5. [Last Race: 3rd (-2)] — Valtteri Bottas looks like he is officially, albeit not mathematically, eliminated from this year’s championship hunt. While he has just one retirement and one non-top 5 finish in races he has finished so far this season through 15 races, he has just two wins driving for the sport’s top team.. Mercedes. Mercedes

[Last Race: 4th (-)] — Daniel Ricciardo continued his hot streak with a 3rd place finish at Malaysia. Aside of his three retirements through 15 races so far this season, he has not finished outside of the top 5.. Red Bull Racing. Renault. DANIEL RICCIARDO. #4

#3. [Last Race: 6th (+3)] — For just the second time of his career and first time this season, Max Verstappen found himself in Victory Lane at Malaysia. In the eight races during which he has not been forced to retire so far this season, he has finished outside of the top 5 just once.. Red Bull Racing. Renault. MAX VERSTAPPEN

#2. [Last Race: 2nd (-)] — After starting in last place, Sebastian Vettel made up a ton of ground and finished in 4th place at Malaysia to at least somewhat slow down the bleeding that Lewis Hamilton had been causing for him in the drivers championship over the last few races.. Ferrari. Ferrari. SEBASTIAN VETTEL

#1. [Last Race: 1st (-)] — For the first time in over two months, Lewis Hamilton actually didn’t win at Malaysia. However, he still finished in 2nd place and extended his lead in the drivers championship.. Mercedes. Mercedes. LEWIS HAMILTON

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Max Verstappen’s win, which was his first of the season and second of his young career, shot him up to 3rd in these rankings. Will he be able to maintain that #3 spot in the future even as the only driver ranked in the top 5 who is not mathematically still alive in this year’s championship hunt?

Stoffel Vandoorne also made a sizable wave in these rankings by moving up five spots thanks to back-to-back 7th place finishes. Can his McLaren teammate and two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso start racking up solid results as well? How will these rankings look after the next Formula One race?

Next: Looking back at Lewis Hamilton's record-setting accomplishment

Which drivers will move up and which drivers will move down in the next edition of the Formula One driver power rankings? Stay tuned to find out. Be sure to tune in live to NBC Sports Network at 1:00 AM ET this Sunday, October 8th, 2017 for the next Formula One race at Japan.

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