Formula 1: Way-too-early 2022 driver power rankings

#12 – Esteban Ocon, Alpine

Obviously headlined by a career-defining first victory in Hungary under pressure from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Esteban Ocon put together an impressive 2021 campaign. He had one of the closest teammate battles on the grid with another world champion in Fernando Alonso. Ocon drew level with the Spaniard in both the qualifying and finishing position battles and only trailed by seven points in the final standings.

After ending the season with back-to-back standout performances in Qatar and Jeddah, the latter of which he missed out on a podium finish at the line by a single tenth of a second, Ocon carries plenty of momentum into the new era of Formula 1. Having been the longer tenured of the two drivers with the team, Ocon will likely have a car underneath him suited to his liking, with input from the two-time world champion.

#11 – Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri

Following a 2021 campaign in which the AlphaTauri team centered their point-scoring efforts and development around Pierre Gasly, it can be expected that the outfit will enter 2022 with a similar mentality and a vehicle that has been tailored to their lead man.

Finishing only three races outside of the points (excluding retirements), Gasly has been a model of consistency, single-handedly keeping AlphaTauri in the battle for fifth place in the constructor standings with French powerhouse Alpine.

Alongside his consistency, this constant presence in point-scoring positions enabled him to capitalize when chaos would unfold, highlighted by a podium finish in Baku as well as top five finishes at the Hungaroring, Zandvoort, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. With this big-picture turn of form since returning to the Red Bull development team, the Frenchman is primed to continue the trend of putting himself in a position to take what is given to him.