Best Formula 1 drivers 2022

9 ELO points separate Lewis Hamilton from Max Verstappen at the top of the Formula 1 ranking, after 3378 duels.

The podium reflects the season's hierarchy, but the biggest gap sits just below: 78 ELO points separate Charles Leclerc in 3rd from George Russell in 4th. Hamilton leads with 1380 points over 35 duels and a 71% win rate, while Verstappen trails at 1371 points with a 73% win rate across 33 duels. Leclerc completes the top 3 at 1355 points. Sebastian Vettel rounds out the top 5 with 1266 points after 41 duels, edging Russell by 11 points. The tight margin at the summit contrasts sharply with the divide below the podium, suggesting a clear tier structure in fan preferences. At the bottom, Guanyu Zhou sits last with 987 points and a 21% win rate over 28 duels, behind Mick Schumacher at 1036 points and Yuki Tsunoda at 1048 points. The ranking's lower end highlights drivers the community finds less compelling this season, with Zhou winning barely one duel in five.

The Formula 1 ranking draws from 3378 duels submitted by 55 players across 21 contenders. Updated on 12 October 2026, the ranking captures fan preferences as the season progresses. Head to VAINKEURZ to cast your vote, pit your favorite driver against another, and influence the standings with each choice you make.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →