The Independent’s Formula 1 power rankings and fantasy tips

"Get Instant Breaking News Alerts Via Email - Free!"

Get Free Breaking News Emails - Sign Up Now!

We have completed two races and there are still 22 to go. Presently, Red Bull is leading far in front of the other racers, and it seems like we will have the same predictable outcomes as last year in Formula One racing, as of 2024.

During the first two grand prix events of the season, Max Verstappen showed an impressive dominance by taking the pole position and winning the race with ease in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. However, we must not overlook the remarkable show performed by Sergio Perez, the other Red Bull driver, who secured second place in both events.

The other competitors are now facing a difficult challenge as they fight for position and try to earn any remaining points. Ferrari's new driver, Ollie Bearman, showcased his talent during his debut race in Jeddah by finishing in seventh place. This was quite a remarkable achievement for an 18-year-old driver.

Bearman won't have a say in this, as The Independent lists the 20 regular drivers in order of their strength this season. The rankings are based on their recent achievements and the expectations they had at the beginning of the season.

Finally, The Independent provides their opinion on prospective selections for F1 Fantasy, prior to the upcoming third race in Australia.

Alpine has had a terrible beginning to this season. They have consistently been in last place right from the start, and their car simply isn't up to par. Despite this, Gasly has managed to keep his team radio rants to a minimum which is quite impressive. In Bahrain, he qualified in 18th place and finished in the same position, and in Saudi Arabia, he was the first driver to retire from the race. It's hard to imagine things getting any worse for them at this point.

The Finnish racer is not performing well in his third season with Sauber. He is towards the back of the grid and has finished in 19th and 17th place. He has also been eliminated in Q1 twice, but he managed to secure the 16th spot. This may show that the Sauber team is not doing well in the early stages of the season. The racer is hoping to do better in Australia, which he considers a second home. This is the last season of his current contract, so he needs to improve his performance.

so far, struggling to keep up with his teammate Lewis Hamilton. Despite showing promising pace in qualifying, Bottas has often struggled to convert this into strong race finishes, with a best result of third place in the opening two races. Bottas will need to improve if he hopes to challenge Hamilton for the championship, especially with the emergence of Red Bull's Max Verstappen as a serious contender for the title.

This year is a crucial one for the American in Formula 1, as he must perform better against his team-mate Alex Albon in order to secure his position. Albon has been ahead of him in all 24 qualifying rounds since last year, and although Sargeant was unable to advance from Q1 in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, he managed to climb from 19th to 14th place in Jeddah, moving ahead of Bottas.

Ocon finished the Saudi race in 13th place, placing him just slightly ahead of his Alpine teammate. During the race, he faced difficulties navigating around Kevin Magnussen's strong defense, but was determined to assist his Haas teammate who was leading ahead. Much like his fellow French driver Gasly, Ocon is eagerly hoping for Alpine to display noticeable progress during their time in Melbourne.

At the beginning of the season, there were some issues between Daniel Ricciardo and his teammate, which caught people's attention. However, despite a promising performance during testing with the new RB car, neither driver lived up to expectations. Tsunoda's reckless move on Ricciardo after the Bahrain race has caused him to rank lower than the Australian in the eyes of many.

The 34-year-old driver has achieved 13th and 16th place finishes in the races so far. Unfortunately, these results are not impressive enough for Red Bull to consider hiring him for the following year. Now, he has a crucial weekend ahead at his home race in Albert Park, especially since he didn't participate in last year's event. The question remains whether he can secure enough points for a decent finish?

During the Bahrain Grand Prix, there was an incident involving Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo. The two drivers collided with each other on the track.

Although Zhou, the Chinese driver, was close to scoring points in the previous race in Bahrain by finishing 11th, his chances for qualifying in Saudi were ruined due to a third practice crash that his mechanics were unable to fix in time. Now, facing his teammate Bottas, it seems that Zhou has the upper hand, potentially even influencing the decision for a 2025 seat.

In Bahrain, there was a particular incident, while in Saudi Arabia, there was a crash. Unfortunately, Stroll's accident in Jeddah had a significant impact as he was in a good position at the time. Even though he has to compete against the seasoned and accomplished Fernando Alonso as his teammate, Stroll needs to step up his game to perform better for Aston Martin. This season marks the eighth consecutive year that he has competed in Formula 1.

In both races, he has finished twelfth. There was only one position that worked well for him. He defended brilliantly in Saudi Arabia to help Hulkenberg, despite receiving several penalties. Though others were annoyed, Magnussen was able to concentrate and secured his team's first point of the year.

It's a shame that the Williams driver didn't get a point in Saudi Arabia. He was delayed by Magnussen for quite a while. Nevertheless, he managed to make progress and qualify for Q2, which keeps his unbeatable record against Sargeant in qualifying. It's clear that his aim for the next race in Melbourne is to finish in the top 10. This is a track where he scored a point for his team two years ago.

Despite all the excitement surrounding this year, as it is Hamilton's final year with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari in 2025, he hasn't performed as well as expected. He finished ninth and eighth in qualifying, which was disappointing. Moreover, he has been beaten by Russell in four consecutive qualifying sessions, including last year. His best performance was in Saudi Arabia, where he managed to keep Oscar Piastri behind him in the race. Hamilton had a good start to the 2023 racing season with a podium finish in Australia. Hopefully, he will continue to perform well this year.

Hulkenberg, who is the only one to have scored points outside the top five teams at the moment, was over the moon with his 10th place finish in Saudi Arabia. He managed to achieve this by having an amazing start and Magnussen's defensive driving later on in the race. Although he couldn't hold off Ollie Bearman, he skillfully kept his Haas car within the tight confines of the narrow walls, resulting in him earning a point for his team.

Nico Hulkenberg is the singular competitor who received points but does not belong to the leading five teams.

In contrast to past years, when McLaren struggled at the beginning of the season, Lando's performance so far has been decent. During the race in Jeddah, McLaren decided not to bring him in for a pit stop during the safety car period, which led to him temporarily being in first place before eventually finishing in eighth. Nonetheless, he has yet to put together a flawless qualifying lap in Q3.

Suffers a decline in position, without any blame placed on himself. The person from Spain, who achieved a top-three finish in Bahrain, was not present in Saudi Arabia because of surgery to remove his appendix. Sainz aims to make a strong return in Melbourne.

Aston Martin's top driver has had some great performances during qualifying, but unfortunately, these haven't translated into podium finishes like they did last year. In Bahrain, he went from sixth to ninth place, and in Saudi, he went from fourth to fifth. As for race pace, it seems that they're lagging behind their main rivals. Their focus now is on doing well at Albert Park, almost two decades after he won his one and only victory in Australia.

During the past year, Fernando Alonso achieved a podium finish in the Australian race.

The British driver can feel content about how well he has been performing up until now. His third place qualification in Bahrain was very impressive, especially considering Hamilton's position down in ninth. He has also managed to drive very consistently in the past two races, finishing in fifth and sixth place. Will Mercedes be able to improve their performance this weekend?

The young Australian has performed better than his teammate Norris up to this point, which is what you would hope for. While trailing Hamilton in Jeddah, he seemed agitated but managed to secure fourth place. He is eager for a noteworthy performance in his home race in Melbourne.

After battling brake problems and finishing fourth in Bahrain, followed by a third-place finish in Saudi Arabia where he had qualified second, the Ferrari driver did a pretty decent job. However, the driver from Monaco is determined to snatch a pole position from Max Verstappen in the upcoming races. Even though Red Bull seems to be the leading team, Ferrari is a close contender during qualifying sessions. Additionally, the driver loves Albert Park and managed to win there back in 2022.

Mexican driver Sergio Perez may have the best car in the grid. Although he was not able to beat Max Verstappen, Perez has proven himself by grabbing second place twice. At this point in the championship, he is 15 points behind the Dutchman. However, if Verstappen experiences any sudden issues with his car, Perez could easily take the lead. But realistically, it seems unlikely to happen.

Verstappen had an amazing start with two pole positions and two race victories, and he also secured an extra point for the fastest lap. Despite the many challenges that have been plaguing Red Bull, Verstappen is on track to win his fourth consecutive championship. If he triumphs in Australia this weekend, he will equal his own impressive record of 10 successive grand prix wins in F1.

Max Verstappen easily clinched victory in the first two races of the season.

F1 Tips For Aussie GP: How To Dominate Fantasy Racing

The drivers' rankings have changed slightly with Max Verstappen now bringing in a total of $30.4 million, which is an increase of $0.2 million. Fernando Alonso follows with $16.2 million, experiencing a growth of $0.3 million. Alex Albon ranks third with $7.3 million, displaying a gain of $0.3 million. Nico Hulkenberg comes fourth with $6.7 million, having an increase of $0.5 million. Finally, Valtteri Bottas is fifth with $$6.0 million, but there has been a decline of $0.2 million in his earnings.

In the world of racing teams, Red Bull Racing and Williams are two popular names. Red Bull Racing has a net worth of $28.2 million and has recently increased by $0.2 million. On the other hand, Williams has a net worth of $6.7 million, which has increased by $0.5 million. Both teams have a significant presence in the racing world, and fans eagerly await their next move.

The total cost of the project was $99.7 million, which is very close to the initial budget of $100 million.

Due Date: Saturday at 5am (Greenwich Mean Time)