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Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings after 2019 Australian Grand Prix

By Asher Fair

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 17: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 and the rest of the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on March 17, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 17: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 and the rest of the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on March 17, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 17: Race winner Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 17: Race winner Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

Valtteri Bottas opened up the 2019 Formula 1 season by earning his first victory since the 2017 season. How do the sport’s 20 drivers stack up following his dominant performance?

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas opened up the 21-race 2019 Formula 1 season by doing something in the Australian Grand Prix that he failed to do in any of the 21 races on the 2018 schedule.

He won, but he didn’t just win; he dominated, leading 56 of the race’s 58 laps. His 20.886-second margin of victory was the largest for any driver in any Formula 1 race in nearly three years. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg won the 2016 Russian Grand Prix by 25.022 seconds over teammate Lewis Hamilton in second place.

Bottas’s dominant victory in the 58-lap race around the 16-turn, 3.296-mile (5.304-kilometer) Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit road course in Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia was his first victory since he won the 2017 season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and it was the first victory by a Mercedes driver in a season opener since Rosberg won the 2016 Australian Grand Prix.

How did Bottas’s first victory in more than one full season and the rest of the action at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit affect the Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings? Here are the non-formulated Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings following the 2019 season opener.

NOTE: The “trend” column of these non-formulated Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings reflects driver movement since the preseason Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings, which you can see here. 

Non-formulated Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Valtteri Bottas – #77, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Mercedes – [5th (+4)]
2nd – Lewis Hamilton – #44, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Mercedes – [1st (-1)]
3rd – Max Verstappen – #33, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Honda – [3rd (0)]
4th – Sebastian Vettel – #5, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari – [4th (0)]
5th – Charles Leclerc – #16, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari – [2nd (-3)]
6th – Kevin Magnussen – #20, Rich Energy Haas, Ferrari – [11th (+5)]
7th – Nico Hulkenberg – #27, Renault, Renault – [8th (+1)]
8th – Kimi Raikkonen – #7, Alfa Romeo Racing, Ferrari – [13th (+5)]
9th – Daniel Ricciardo – #3, Renault, Renault – [7th (-2)]
10th – Romain Grosjean – #8, Rich Energy Haas, Ferrari – [10th (0)]
11th – Lance Stroll – #18, SportPesa Racing Point, Mercedes – [12th (+1)]
12th – Daniil Kvyat – #26, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Honda – [20th (+8)]
13th – Pierre Gasly – #10, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, Honda – [6th (-7)]
14th – Lando Norris – #4, McLaren, Renault – [15th (+1)]
15th – Carlos Sainz Jr. – #55, McLaren, Renault – [14th (-1)]
16th – Sergio Perez – #11, SportPesa Racing Point, Mercedes – [9th (-7)]
17th – Alexander Albon – #23, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Honda – [17th (0)]
18th – Antonio Giovinazzi – #99, Alfa Romeo Racing, Ferrari – [16th (-2)]
19th – George Russell – #63, ROKiT Williams Racing, Mercedes – [18th (-1)]
20th – Robert Kubica – #88, ROKiT Williams Racing, Mercedes – [19th (-1)]

Biggest Movers
Up: Daniil Kvyat (+8)
Down: Pierre Gasly, Sergio Perez (-7)

Here are the formulated Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings following the Australian Grand Prix. To see how the formulated Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings are calculated, click here.

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