Lewis Hamilton
1st | Pts: 413 | Wins: 11 | Podiums: 17 | Poles: 5 | FL: 6 | Ret: 0
The above statistics sum it up pretty well. Whilst Lewis Hamilton was unusually lacking in pole positions this year – by his usual standards at least – he dominated pretty much every other aspect of the season. He finished every single race in the points, was only off the podium in four of them and won more than half.
It’s that relentless consistency that sums up the world champion these days. Whilst still obviously incredibly quick, it is the metronomic excellence of his performances that have made this championship something of a formality, wrapped up fittingly with a ‘grand chelem’ in the final race.
And with no real changes to next season’s regulations, could we be talking about Hamilton as statistically the greatest driver ever this time next year?
Highlight: Clinching his sixth title with all his family (and Matthew McConaughey…) there.
Lowlight: Uncharacteristic mistakes from driver and team in Germany.
GRADE: A
Valtteri Bottas
2nd | Pts: 326 | Wins: 4 | Podiums: 15 | Poles: 5 | FL: 3 | Ret: 2
2019 proved to be something of a false dawn for Valtteri Bottas, or certainly ‘Bottas 2.0’ anyway. Whilst the Finn undoubtedly improved on what was a disappointing 2018, he still ultimately came up a fair way short of his world champion teammate in the end.
Of course, being Hamilton’s teammate is one of the hardest ever jobs in Formula 1 but, even in what was probably his best year so far, Bottas did not challenge Hamilton to the extent that Nico Rosberg did.
He will need to find another way to step up his level next year if he is to do so. Bottas 3.0 maybe?
Highlight: Redemption in Baku after last year’s heartbreak.
Lowlight: That costly crash at the Hockenheimring.
Grade: B
Sebastian Vettel
5th | Pts: 240 | Wins: 1 | Podiums: 9 | Poles: 2 | FL: 2 | Ret: 3
Sebastian Vettel came into this season as Ferrari number one and with aspirations of a world title challenge after the Italian team’s strong showing in winter testing. But that challenge looked thoroughly over by the summer break and he finishes the season with his number one status severely under threat, if not already gone.
Things went from bad to worse when the Ferrari drivers collided in Brazil and were both forced to retire, with most attributing the largest share of the blame to Vettel. The German has some soul-searching to do over the winter and will need to come back stronger next year to compete with his increasingly impressive teammate.
With his contract up at the end of 2020, will next season be Vettel’s last in the red of Ferrari? Could it even be his last in the sport?
Highlight: Laying to rest his Hockenheim demons with a drive from last to second place.
Lowlight: The highly controversial penalty that cost him a win in Canada.
Grade: C+
Charles Leclerc
4TH | PTS: 264 | WINS: 2 | PODIUMS: 10 | POLES: 7 | FL: 4 | RET: 3
Charles Leclerc has made quite the impression in his debut year for Ferrari. He came in hoping to be able to match the four-time world champion on the other side of the garage but has ended up beating him in pretty much every measurable way: more points, more wins, more poles and comfortably winning the qualifying head-to-head.
After a period of things not quite clicking, Leclerc changed his approach on a Saturday and promptly outqualified Vettel nine times in a row, claiming five poles and two wins during that run. The wins were both very emotional. His maiden victory coming on the tragic weekend in Spa where his friend, F2 driver Anthoine Hubert, was killed and the second in front of the Tifosi in Monza; a first win for Ferrari on home soil since 2010.
The crash at Interlagos may have cost him third in the championship but he can be very satisfied with his performances this season under the severe pressure of driving for the Scuderia in only his second year in the sport. With a bit more experience under his belt, next year could be even better.
Highlight: Making himself an instant hero for the Tifosi with a hard-fought win at Monza.
Lowlight: The victory that was snatched oh so cruelly away in the closing laps in Bahrain.
Grade: B+
Max Verstappen
3rd | PTS: 278 | WINS: 3 | PODIUMS: 9 | POLES: 2 | FL: 3 | RET: 2
Max Verstappen has competed with Hamilton for ‘driver of the year’ rights throughout the season and there is very little to separate them. Verstappen has often outperformed his Red Bull machinery and his level of performance is causing those in charge to struggle to fill the seat alongside him. The flying Dutchman crushed Pierre Gasly into a mid-season demotion to Toro Rosso and, certainly on sheer pace, his replacement hasn’t managed to get much closer.
We did see a couple of glimpses of ‘the old Verstappen’ in a first corner crash at Spa and some impetuosity during the qualifying debacle in Mexico. But, overall, he appears to have reached a new level of maturity whilst holding onto his raw speed.
He can be very proud of three wins this year. If Red Bull can keep up the momentum they have ended the year with, he could take even more next season.
Highlight: All three wins were showstoppers but the Austria comeback was particularly impressive.
Lowlight: Throwing away pole in Mexico by not slowing for yellow flags and then crashing early in the race.
Grade: A
Alexander Albon
8th | PTS: 92 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 4th) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 1
What a journey Alexander Albon has been on. A little over a year ago, he thought his F1 dream was over and was preparing to join the Nissan e.dams teams in Formula E. But when Daniel Ricciardo announced he was leaving Red Bull, and Gasly was brought in to replace him, Albon was urgently parachuted into a Toro Rosso drive for 2019.
He gave a good account of himself in the first half of the year, generally matching his more experienced teammate, Daniil Kvyat, despite never having driven a Formula 1 car before pre-season testing. And then, suddenly, he was presented with a race-winning seat when Red Bull decided to give him a chance after Gasly’s demotion. He started promisingly with a great comeback drive in Spa but has not quite been able to keep up with Verstappen in a straight fight thus far.
Still, he did enough to retain the seat for 2020 and time will tell what he can do with a proper winter’s preparations.
Highlight: Impressing on his Red Bull debut and even passing Ricciardo around the outside during his comeback.
Lowlight: Being denied a first podium by an overambitious move from Hamilton on the penultimate lap in Brazil.
Grade: B-
Carlos Sainz
6TH | PTS: 96 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 3rd) | PODIUMS: 1 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 4
Carlos Sainz re-announced himself as a star of the future – if not present – this year. After never quite getting to grips with the Renault, his star had seemed to be fading but, having stepped into the racing boots of his compatriot and idol Fernando Alonso, he has flourished as McLaren team leader.
One solid, understated, rarely filmed performance followed another, Sainz making the position of ‘best of the rest’ his own and was properly rewarded with an unlikely podium in the chaos of Brazil. He then claimed sixth in the drivers’ standings thanks to a great pass on the last lap of the last race. A fitting way to cap off his year.
Whilst obviously two drivers shared the second Red Bull seat, breaking into the top three teams’ usual lock-out of the top six positions is some achievement. He is one smooth operator.
Highlight: A first ever podium in Brazil and (eventually) celebrating it with the entire team.
Lowlight: Forgetting how few prisoners Verstappen takes in Bahrain and costing himself dearly.
Grade: A-
Lando Norris
11TH | PTS: 49 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 6TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 6
Lando Norris had more than his share of bad luck in his first F1 season but, nonetheless, he has made a name for himself. He got into Q3 in his first ever qualifying session and finished sixth in the next race. Whilst thoroughly outscored by Sainz, the gap in their points tallies isn’t totally representative due to the high number of issues outside the young Brit’s control. Numerous mechanical failures, poorly timed safety cars and botched pit stops have all blighted him.
But he has remained positive throughout and even made memes out of most of his misfortune. Norris is a breath of fresh air in the sport and has marked himself out as the joker of the paddock. He can be serious when needed, though, and shouldn’t be underestimated. He certainly has the speed, as shown by clinching the qualifying head-to-head with his teammate 11-10 at the final race of the season.
Highlight: Sixth place in only his second ever race.
Lowlight: A gut-wrenching mechanical failure on the last lap when running fifth in Spa.
Grade: B+
Daniel Ricciardo
9TH | PTS: 54 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 4TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 5
For the most part he has put on a brave and predictably smiley face…but this year must have been tough for Daniel Ricciardo. Renault splashed the cash and were aiming to close the gap to the big three but, in fact, dropped further back into the midfield and Ricciardo has been left fighting to scrape into the points at most races. He certainly enjoys that scrap and the intense racing that comes with it but, surely, he will be evaluating his options if Renault don’t make significant progress next year.
After a period of acclimatisation to his new surroundings, he stamped his authority over teammate Nico Hülkenberg and, by the end of the season, was comfortably ahead. Next year he will have a new challenge in the form of the incoming Esteban Ocon. He will once again be the elder statesman of the team with a feisty young upstart challenging him. Isn’t that what he was aiming to leave behind?
Highlight: Fourth place in Italy was Renault’s highest finish since the start of 2011.
Lowlight: Another mechanical failure in Germany costing him the chance of an upset.
Grade: B
Nico Hülkenberg
14TH | PTs: 37 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 5TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 3
Whatever or whoever cursed Nico Hülkenberg, did so very thoroughly. This year’s German GP looked like being his best chance of a long overdue podium but yet again it wasn’t to be, as he slid agonisingly into the barriers whilst very much in contention. And that may have been his last chance, it turns out.
Renault have decided to replace him with Ocon and, after deciding a pay cut to drive for Haas wasn’t worth it, he is suddenly out of the sport. Will he be back? Potentially. There will be a lot of change in 2021 and his reputation as an experienced head and reliable source of points remains intact, despite losing out to Ricciardo this year. Maybe at Alfa Romeo if Kimi Räikkönen finally decides to call it a day next year?
Highlight: A strong fifth place at Monza.
Lowlight: That crash in Germany costing another chance at a podium.
Grade: C
Daniil Kvyat
13TH | PTS: 37 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 3RD) | PODIUMS: 1 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 3
Daniil Kvyat had some good moments this year – particularly the podium in Germany, obviously – but has returned somewhat to his previous grumpy persona and torpedo-ish ways since missing out on the Red Bull drive when Gasly was demoted. He seemed to be glad just to be back in the sport early in the year but that has evaporated and back-to-back penalties for late, desperate lunges in Mexico and the US (and his reaction towards those justified penalties) revealed the frustrations boiling under the surface.
He was also beaten too often by a rookie in the first half of the year and what was initially a crushed man in the second half of the year. He keeps his drive for next year (potentially competing under a neutral flag) but you get the feeling it may be his last one in the Red Bull system.
Highlight: An unlikely podium on the same weekend that his first child was born.
Lowlight: Missing out on a Red Bull seat again; another dip in his Red Bull rollercoaster.
Grade: C+
Pierre Gasly
7th | PTS: 95 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 2nd) | PODIUMS: 1 | POLES: 0 | FL: 2 | RET: 3
One could describe Pierre Gasly’s 2019 season as a rollercoaster but, if so, it was basically a big dipper with just the one drop at the start before being returned to the station. So, it’s an overused cliché from football rather than F1 that best sums up his year: it was very much a tale of two halves. He never got to grips with the Red Bull and, under the pressure of Verstappen’s relentless performances, started to fall apart. A demotion after just 12 races seems harsh but was ultimately not that much of a shock to the paddock.
To compound an already tough weekend in Belgium – his first since being demoted – Gasly lost a very close friend in Hubert and his performance in that race is a great credit to him. In fact, once back in the more familiar surroundings of Toro Rosso, the Frenchman showed what he is capable of on a consistent basis. And that culminated in a fully-deserved second place in Brazil, the release of emotion after the crossing the line palpable.
Highlight: That incredible podium at Interlagos and the Ayrton Senna-esque radio message that followed.
Lowlight: Finishing a lap down on his teammate in Hungary spelt the end of his time at Red Bull.
Grade: (D-)+(B+)=C
Sergio Pérez
10TH | PTS: 52 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 6TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 2
After a pretty disappointing first half of the season, Sergio Pérez had a ridiculously consistent second half. He went into the summer break with just 13 points – most of which came in Azerbaijan – but since coming back from his ‘holidays’ scored points in every race bar a mechanical retirement in Singapore. It was often, as ever, his expertise when it comes to preserving tyre life that proved crucial.
That consistency saw him climb into the top half of the standings and, in the end, crush his teammate in the way many were expecting. Racing Point made decent progress with their car after a step back at the start of the year – most likely due to the transition from Force India – and Pérez is staying with the team next year for a sixth season.
Whilst he continues to prove himself an ever-reliable set of hands, will he ever get another shot in a top team?
Highlight: Qualifying fifth and then holding on to sixth in Azerbaijan.
Lowlight: A clumsy spin in the German rain ending his chances in his type of Grand Prix.
Grade: B
Lance Stroll
15TH | PTS: 21 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 4TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 3
In stark contrast to his teammate, Lance Stroll barely picked up another point after the summer break, with just a 10th place in Spa and a ninth in Japan – the latter only coming courtesy of Renault’s double disqualification. Truthfully, even his 21-point tally is somewhat flattering, given 12 of them came from Racing Point’s successful gamble to switch to dry tyres in Germany which left the Canadian temporarily leading the race.
Stroll has held up his reputation for starting races very well but much of that is down to his awful qualifying record. He finished 18-3 down against Pérez and had the worst average grid position of anyone other than the Williams drivers. He will have to do more than this to shake off that ‘pay driver looked after by Daddy’ reputation.
Highlight: Suddenly, incredibly finding himself leading a Grand Prix in Germany.
Lowlight: Most qualifying sessions.
Grade: D+
Kimi Räikkönen
12TH | PTS: 43 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 4TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 2
Kimi Räikkönen started the season very well with talk of rejuvenation and Indian summers as he consistently racked up points and spent some of the first half of the season as ‘best of the rest’. But, as Alfa Romeo went off the boil after the summer break, so did Räikkönen to some extent, scoring points just once.
He also went from having his teammate comfortably covered to suddenly being pretty evenly-matched and often qualifying behind him. But Kimi doesn’t seem to care, as ever. He’s just enjoying racing still…even at 40. Who’d have thought that possibly the most apathetic driver ever will next year take the record for the most races in F1 history? He must love it really.
Highlight: Bwoah, who knows? It was all okay.
Lowlight: See above.
Grade: B-
Antonio Giovinazzi
17TH | PTS: 14 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 5TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 2
In the first half of the year, it looked like Antonio Giovinazzi was potentially not up to scratch as he failed to score points whilst teammate was racking up a fair haul. But the Italian got stronger as the year progressed and did enough to convince Alfa Romeo to keep him on for another season.
Unfortunately for him, as his performances increased, his team’s dwindled and, whilst he was often matching or beating Räikkönen, he wasn’t earning points. A freak fifth place in Brazil accounts for nearly 75% of his points tally. He will have to push on and find another level in 2020 to prove to Ferrari that he is worthy of their young driver slot in the junior Alfa Romeo team. After all, he’s not particularly young at 26.
Highlight: An unlikely fifth place at Interlagos.
Lowlight: Crashing out of a points-paying position on the last lap at Spa.
Grade: C-
Romain Grosjean
18TH | PTS: 8 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 7TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 7
It has been another error-strewn season for Romain Grosjean. From repeated clashes with his teammate to spinning at the pit exit during a practice session, these are incidents that a driver of his experience shouldn’t be making; certainly not with this frequency.
He certainly still has a flash of speed on his day and the fact that he was proven right with regards to his idea to revert to the Australia-spec Haas car is probably what kept him in a seat for next year. Grosjean performed more consistently towards the end of the year but the Haas performance had fallen off a cliff and he didn’t pick up a single point after the summer break.
Highlight: Having his suspicions that the car had actually become worse proven right.
Lowlight: Immediately spinning into the barriers at the pit exit during Practice 1 in Britain.
Grade: D
Kevin Magnussen
16TH | PTS: 20 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 6TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 1 | RET: 3
Earlier in the year, Kevin Magnussen was generally qualifying very well but then suffering from Haas’s non-existent race pace and coming out of the weekend without much to show for his efforts. And, again, as the Haas car fell down the pecking order through the season, his qualifying performances were barely getting him out of Q1.
He was also, obviously, on the other end of those inter-team collisions with Grosjean, though, which didn’t help. The fault has generally laid somewhere between 50/50 and Magnussen and he continues to not make many friends out on the track. Not that he seems to care. His outright speed is currently keeping him in an F1 seat but, at some point, surely he’ll have to ask himself if there isn’t another way when it comes to wheel-to-wheel racing. Particularly with your teammate.
Highlight: Starting the season with a strong sixth-place finish in Australia.
Lowlight: The collision with Grosjean at Silverstone taking out both cars.
Grade: C+
Robert Kubica
19TH | PTS: 1 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 10TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 2
Robert Kubica’s return was not quite the fairy-tale story that many had hoped for. The Williams has, of course, been a long way off the pace but Kubica has also been a fair way off the pace of his rookie teammate. There had been rumours regarding whether the drivers had equal machinery but, even after swapping chassis, it would appear that the Pole sadly just didn’t have the pace and that was backed up by an eventual qualifying 21-0 whitewash.
He did at least claim the unlikeliest of points in Germany to have something to show for what was nonetheless an incredible comeback, almost a decade after a near-fatal injury. We must not forget the man was basically driving with one hand.
Highlight: A points-finish in Germany in a car that seemed unlikely ever to achieve one.
Lowlight: Consistently driving round in last place, being lapped two or three times.
Grade: D (But A for Effort)
George Russell
20TH | PTS: 0 | WINS: 0 (BEST: 11TH) | PODIUMS: 0 | POLES: 0 | FL: 0 | RET: 2
George Russell finished the season as the only driver without a point but that is far from the story of his impressive debut season thus. Whilst Kubica is an unknown quantity since his return, Russell frankly destroyed him. 21-0 in qualifying and 17-4 on Sunday. And beating your teammate is about all you can do in a car so off the pace as this year’s Williams.
Russell very nearly dragged the car miraculously into Q2 when the playing field was levelled a little in Hungary and even set a lap record whilst testing the Mercedes earlier in the year. Last year’s F2 champion would appear to have a very bright future ahead of him.
Highlight: That Hungarian qualifying lap. 16th in this Williams is stunning.
Lowlight: Missing out on a point in Germany.
