Best Formula 1 drivers 2023

5678 duels later, Charles Leclerc remains #1 in the Formula 1 ranking with 1421 ELO points, Lewis Hamilton close behind at 1379.

Leclerc opens a 42-point gap over Hamilton at the top, the widest margin anywhere in the ranking. This advantage reflects consistent performance across 239 duels with a 68% win rate. Max Verstappen sits third at 1370 ELO, trailing the leader by 51 points despite competing in 258 duels, more than either of his podium rivals. His 57% win rate suggests tight contests throughout. Pierre Gasly claims fourth place with 1356 ELO across 305 duels, edging out George Russell who rounds out the top 5 at 1329 ELO after 329 duels. The bottom of the ranking reveals which drivers failed to connect with voters. Nyck de Vries languishes at rank 19 with 933 ELO and a 29% win rate across 665 duels, the highest volume of any driver. Guanyu Zhou anchors the ranking at 922 ELO with a 33% win rate, just 11 points behind Lance Stroll at 960.

This ranking draws from 5678 duels judged by 92 players across all 20 contenders, updated on 11 October 2026. The vote remains open: head to VAINKEURZ to cast your verdict and reshape the standings.

Updated on October 11, 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 →