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) /

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SUZUKA, JAPAN – OCTOBER 11: Carlos Sainz of Spain and McLaren F1 and Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren F1 (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) /

#8 and #7

#8. . No. 4. McLaren, Renault. LANDO NORRIS

The resurgence of McLaren took them from a lower-tier mid-pack team to the dominant mid-pack team, and that led to an incredible rookie season for Lando Norris, who won the head-to-head qualifying battle over teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. 11 to 10. Unfortunately, he was struck with vast amounts of misfortune in the form of mechanical errors, even losing what would have been a career-high fifth place finish in the Belgian Grand Prix on the race’s final lap. Had he not lost that result, he would have finished behind only Sainz in the “best of the rest” driver standings. Nevertheless, as long as McLaren continue at their current pace or improve even more, Norris should be a legitimate “best of the rest” contender.

#7. . No. 55. McLaren, Renault. CARLOS SAINZ JR.

Carlos Sainz Jr. didn’t just win the unofficial “best of the rest” title in 2019. He dominated the rest of the mid-pack. Sure, Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly finished right behind him in the driver standings, but they both competed for Red Bull Racing for roughly half the year. Sainz finished the season with 96 points, while the next “best of the rest”, Daniel Ricciardo, finished with just 54. As noted above, McLaren’s resurgence in 2019 made them the dominant mid-pack team, so expect more of the same from the 25-year-old Spaniard in 2020.

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