Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Formula 1 Power Rankings: Valtteri Bottas ends win drought, rises

By Asher Fair

SUZUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 13: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF90 and the rest of the field into turn one at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on October 13, 2019 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
SUZUKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 13: Valtteri Bottas driving the (77) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W10 leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF90 and the rest of the field into turn one at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka Circuit on October 13, 2019 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
SUZUKA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 13: Race winner Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
SUZUKA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 13: Race winner Valtteri Bottas of Finland and Mercedes GP (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /

Following Valtteri Bottas’s first victory since late April, how do the Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings stack up against one another?

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Valtteri Bottas took advantage of poor starts by Scuderia Ferrari teammates Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc from the pole position and second place on the starting grid, respectively, in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, and he went on to secure his first Formula 1 victory since he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in late April.

How did Bottas’s victory in this 52-lap race, shortened from 53 laps as a result of a system glitch that led to the checkered flag being displayed one lap early, around the 18-turn, 3.609-mile (5.808-kilometer) Suzuka Circuit road course in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan, affect the Formula 1 Power Rankings?

These Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings were calculated using a formula, which you can see here. But before they are revealed, take a look below at some of the highlights of this edition of these rankings.

Alternatively, click here to get started.

Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings Analysis

After roughly five and a half months of disappointment that followed a hot start to the season that included two victories and the lead of the driver standings through the first four races, Valtteri Bottas was finally victorious once again in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Although he entered this race on a 12-race win drought, his victory in this race made him just the second driver to win more than two races this year. With three victories, he trails only teammate Lewis Hamilton with nine victories.

The 30-year-old Finn was previously tied with Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen in this category.

As a result, Bottas jumped back up into the second position in these formulated Formula 1 Driver Power Rankings. His average finish in the last five races is now 2.60, which is tied for the best in the series.

Leclerc replaced him in second following the Russian Grand Prix, but his stay as the highest ranking driver other than Hamilton, who effectively has his sixth championship locked up, ended up being a short one.

Now let’s get started with the rankings.

Home/Formula One