Sebastian Vettel led the world championship for more than half the year not because he had the best car, but because of how well he drove it.
Driver rankings articles archive
How well did each Formula 1 driver perform over the course of an entire season? RaceFans’ Driver Rankings analyse the data and offer our assessment.
2017 F1 driver rankings #4: Alonso
2017 F1 season review
Posted onFernando Alonso relished F1’s return to faster cars in 2017 and gave every indication that he is ready to deliver with a more competitive car next year.
2017 F1 driver rankings #5: Ricciardo
2017 F1 season review
Posted onDaniel Ricciardo out-scored Max Verstappen this year despite having more race-ending technical failures. So why is he ranked behind his team mate?
2017 F1 driver rankings #6: Bottas
2017 F1 season review
Posted onIn his first year at Mercedes Valtteri Bottas produced a season of two halves which contrasted sharply, though he won three times.
2017 F1 driver rankings #7: Perez
2017 F1 season review
Posted onSergio Perez had his work cut out to keep rising star Esteban Ocon in his place during 2017. He prevailed, but it was too close for comfort.
2017 F1 driver rankings #8: Ocon
2017 F1 season review
Posted onThere was very little to choose between Esteban Ocon, in his first full season of Formula One, and his considerably more experienced team mate.
2017 F1 driver rankings #9: Hulkenberg
2017 F1 season review
Posted onNico Hulkenberg assumed the role of Renault team leader in his first season with the team and scored the vast majority of their points.
2017 F1 driver rankings #10: Sainz
2017 F1 season review
Posted onCarlos Sainz Jnr produced some giant-killing drives for Toro Rosso but also committed a few howling errors.
2017 F1 driver rankings #11: Raikkonen
2017 F1 season review
Posted onKimi Raikkonen ended the season 112 points behind Sebastian Vettel. This was a pretty fair reflection of how far off his team mate’s pace he was.
2017 F1 driver rankings #12: Grosjean
2017 F1 season review
Posted onThe running joke about Romain Grosjean used to be first-lap crashes. Now it’s angry radio messages, of which there was plenty in 2017.
2017 F1 driver rankings #13: Massa
2017 F1 season review
Posted onAbandoning his plans to retire and coming back for one last season initially looked like being a smart move for Felipe Massa.
2017 F1 driver rankings #14: Vandoorne
2017 F1 season review
Posted onRare were the occasions when Stoffel Vandoorne had an opportunity to show what he could do in his first full season of Formula One.
2017 F1 driver rankings #15: Magnussen
2017 F1 season review
Posted onKevin Magnussen gained a reputation for being F1’s “bad boy” during 2017. It wasn’t entirely undeserved, but he also put in some strong performances in his first year with Haas.
2017 F1 driver rankings #16: Wehrlein
2017 F1 season review
Posted onPascal Wehrlein’s start to the season was badly disrupted by his crash at the Race of Champions which left him with an injured neck.
2017 F1 driver rankings #17: Stroll
2017 F1 season review
Posted onLance Stroll flummoxed his doubters by achieving a pair of spectacular results in an otherwise deeply unimpressive debut season.
2017 F1 driver rankings #18: Ericsson
2017 F1 season review
Posted onMarcus Ericsson was probably unfortunate not to score any points again in 2017, but was clearly the weaker of the two Sauber drivers.
2017 F1 driver rankings #19: Kvyat
2017 F1 season review
Posted onDaniil Kvyat joins Jolyon Palmer, the other driver who lost his seat, at the foot of this year’s driver rankings. Did they really have comparably bad seasons?
2017 F1 driver rankings #20: Palmer
2017 F1 season review
Posted onJolyon Palmer’s awful second season was cut short by Renault after months of rumours about who would replace him at the team.
2017 driver mid-season rankings: 4-1
Driver Rankings
Posted onWho’s been the best driver so far in the 2017 season? Read on for F1 Fanatic’s verdict on the top four.
2017 driver mid-season rankings: 10-5
Driver Rankings
Posted onWho have been the ten best drivers of 2017 so far? Here’s the F1 Fanatic verdict – keep an eye out for the final part tomorrow.