Best Formula 1 drivers

21 ELO points separate Lewis Hamilton from Lando Norris at the top of the Formula 1 ranking, after 3761 duels.

Hamilton commands the podium with 1356 ELO points across 60 duels, edging ahead of a tightly packed group behind him. Norris and Sebastian Vettel share an identical 1335 ELO rating, both securing positions ahead of Charles Leclerc in fourth place. The sharpest drop in the entire ranking occurs between Vettel and Leclerc, where 26 ELO points mark the biggest gap in the standings. Despite his championship credentials, Max Verstappen sits fifth with 1294 points from 70 duels, the highest duel count in the top five, suggesting fan preference gravitates toward other personalities on the grid. The ranking captures a surprising hierarchy where on-track results do not always mirror personal popularity. At the bottom, Nikita Mazepin occupies 20th place with 890 ELO and a 17% win rate across 53 duels, a stark reflection of his struggle to connect with the fanbase.

This ranking draws from 3761 duels submitted by 62 players, weighing opinions on all 20 drivers who competed that season. The figures were last updated on 11 October 2026, capturing how the community continues to assess these personalities years later. Head to the Formula 1 TopList and cast your own votes to influence the standings and shape the conversation around your favorite drivers.

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 →