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Formula One: 2018 preseason driver power rankings

By Asher Fair

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 29: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer, Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 battle for position into turn one at the start during the Formula One Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 29, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 29: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (33) Red Bull Racing Red Bull-TAG Heuer RB13 TAG Heuer, Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF70H and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes F1 WO8 battle for position into turn one at the start during the Formula One Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 29, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 24: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team McLaren MCL32 (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 24: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team McLaren MCL32 (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

#12 through #9

#12. For several races in the 2017 season, Stoffel Vandoorne was ahead of his McLaren teammate, two-time champion Fernando Alonso, in the drivers standings, and he finished just one position behind him. With McLaren set to upgrade from Honda to Renault engines in the 2018 season, it will be interesting to see how well Vandoorne does, especially relative to Alonso. He showed his potential with back-to-back 7th place finishes in 2017.. No. 2. McLaren, Renault. STOFFEL VANDOORNE

#11. Nico Hulkenberg’s first season driving for Renault was full of ups and downs. Of his eight top 10 finishes, four were season-high 6th place results. However, he also retired in seven of the season’s 20 races and had a span of six races during which he failed to finish in the top 12 and was forced to retire four times. He ended up finishing in 10th in the drivers standings, which is right around he should end up in the 2018 season.. No. 27. Renault Sport, Renault. NICO HULKENBERG

Carlos Sainz Jr. has been strong driving for Toro Rosso, the Red Bull Racing junior team, in recent seasons. Now set to drive full-time for Renault Sport, the factory Renault team, after he drove in the final four races of the 2017 season for the team, he looks poised to have even more success and to continue improving upon his results, which he has done in each of his first three seasons in the sport so far from both a top race finish perspective and a drivers standings perspective.. No. 55. Renault Sport, Renault. CARLOS SAINZ JR.. #10

Fernando Alonso wants one thing, and that is to be able to win. In fact, it was widely believed that had McLaren stuck with Honda engines for the 2018 season, Alonso would not still be in Formula One as a full-time driver. But given the fact that they are set to switch to Renault engines, he decided to stay, thus meaning that he believes that he can have success driving for the team following a three-year span during which he did not have a single top 4 finish for them.. No. 14. McLaren, Renault. FERNANDO ALONSO. #9

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