Formula 1: Way-too-early 2020 power rankings

By Asher Fair | Dec 9, 2019

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 01: Top three finishers Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP, Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing and Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Ferrari celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 01, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

5 of 10

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – OCTOBER 27: Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR14 Honda leads Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Racing Point RP19 Mercedes (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

#12 and #11

No. 31. Renault, Renault. ESTEBAN OCON. #12.

Esteban Ocon is the only driver in the 2020 driver lineup who has competed in Formula 1 before but did not do so in 2019. He is set to replace Nico Hulkenberg at Renault after Mercedes passed him up to retain Valtteri Bottas. Many fans saw Ocon as being somewhat overhyped considering the fact that he did not beat his teammate, Sergio Perez, in either of his two seasons at Force India/Racing Point, and it won’t exactly be easy for him to change that in 2020 with him set to be paired with Daniel Ricciardo.

#11. . No. 10. Scuderia AlphaTauri, Honda. PIERRE GASLY

After struggling in the first 12 races of the 2019 season driving for Red Bull Racing, Pierre Gasly was demoted back to Toro Rosso, where he seemed to rediscover his mojo, the mojo he had throughout the 2018 season with the Faenza-based team that ultimately resulted in him being promoted to Red Bull Racing. He consistently beat teammate Daniil Kvyat, even recording a career-high second place finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team’s highest result since 2008. Red Bull Racing were wise to retain him with Toro Rosso for 2020, both from the standpoint of not giving up on him and from the standpoint of not rushing him back to the Milton Keynes-based team.

Home/Formula One