Formula 1: Way-too-early 2020 power rankings

#6 and #5

Alexander Albon was exactly what Red Bull Racing wanted when they replaced Pierre Gasly with him 12 races into the 21-race 2019 season. He gave them consistency they needed by consistently running in the top six, something Gasly couldn’t do, and he only finished outside of the top six in the Brazilian Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton spun him out of what would have been a career-high second place with a lap and a half remaining. The questions for Albon will be whether or not he can regularly challenge the other Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and Mercedes drivers and whether Red Bull Racing can enter 2020 with a more competitive package in their second year with Honda engines.

Kimi Raikkonen, Charles Leclerc, it doesn’t matter; whoever Sebastian Vettel’s teammate is, he has demonstrated over the last few years that he will make more than his fair share of unforced errors each season, even costing himself the titles in both 2017 and 2018. In 2019, perhaps the most disastrous season of his career, he even nearly faced a suspension for dangerous driving. Perhaps he will enter he 2020 season more relaxed after Leclerc became the first driver to beat him in the driver standings during his Ferrari tenure. Then again, perhaps he will feel even more pressure to perform and make more silly errors.