ESPN’s 2022 Formula One driver rankings

It may not have come down to the final lap of the final race like 2021, but 2022’s Formula One season still threw up plenty of drama.

There were plenty of standout performers and a handful of disappointments from the 20 drivers who make up the grid.

Here’s our full driver rankings, listing the best and worst from the season.

1. Max Verstappen

Team: Red Bull
Championship position: 1st
Points: 454
Qualifying record v teammate: 18-4

He may have had the fastest car this year, but Verstappen made incredible use of it. With 15 victories to his name from 22 grands prix, he set a new record for wins in a season while utterly demolishing Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in both qualifying and the races. At the start of the year he had to deal with two car failures in the opening three races, but when the RB18 held together he racked up the points despite the Ferrari looking like the quicker package at the first four rounds.

His weakest results had good reasons behind them — in Silverstone his car was damaged by debris and in Singapore he started from tenth after his team midjudged his fuel load in qualifying — although there were unforced errors in Spain, Hungary and while trying to come back through the pack in Singapore (yet in two of those three he still won the race). If the occasional low showed some room for improvement, the highs were incredibly high, with memorable and dominant victories from low grid positions in Hungary and Spa. No one else got close in 2022.

2. Lando Norris

Team: McLaren
Championship position: 7th
Points: 122
Qualifying record v teammate: 20-2

It’s easy to take Norris’ performances for granted after four years of consistently strong showings in a midfield car, but he was hugely impressive once again in 2022. The 23-year-old was the only driver outside the top three teams to score a podium (at Imola) and destroyed his more experienced teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, over the course of 22 races.

Despite an incredibly tight midfield battle and McLaren taking a step backwards relative to the front runners, he only finished outside the top ten on four occasions and finished in the top seven in over half of the 22 races despite having the fifth fastest car on the grid. It would be fascinating to see what he could do with a more competitive package and after four years of consistently outperforming his car, there’s no doubting he is among F1’s very best.

3. George Russell

Team: Mercedes
Championship position: 4th
Points: 275
Qualifying…