2019 F1 Race Rankings

Season Stats:

  • Drivers’ Championship: Lewis Hamilton
  • Constructors’ Championship leader: Mercedes
  • Most retirements: German GP (7)
  • Golden Pineapple King: Lando Norris, McLaren
  • Last Place King: Robert Kubica, Williams

Race Rankings:

Note: The Canadian, Mexican, US and Brazilian Grand Prixs were not ranked because I was unable to watch them. Sorry!

  1. German Grand Prix – Max Verstappen took victory in a rain-drenched Hockenheim race where the other podiums were filled in by Vettel (staring from the very back) and Daniil Kvyat. Mercedes ruined their chances. Four safety cars were deployed. Wheel to wheel racing and lots of slip-ups were seen thanks to the difficult conditions. After the race, the Alfa Romeo drivers were penalised after having been found out using driver aids at the start, leading to Hamilton scoring points despite originally finishing outside the Top-10 and granting Williams their first point of the season.
  2. Monaco Grand Prix – Despite only one retirement, we saw an excellent battle for the victory between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Verstappen unfortunately lost his 2nd place podium to a 5 second penalty. Charles Leclerc was hopeless, Red Bull and Toro Rosso dominated the scoreboard and someone other than a Williams was last for a change.
  3. Austrian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen broke the Mercedes victory streak with a furious battle with Charles Leclerc for the race victory on the final laps. Mercedes fumbled a bit, Vettel fought for points and both Alfa Romeos made the score-board. Also, an excellent showing from both McLaren drivers (one of whom started from the back).
  4. Belgian Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc took his maiden victory fending off against a Mercedes attack. Alexander Albon took the top-5 in his first Red Bull race after his team-mate totalled his suspension on the first lap. Antonio Giovinazzi crashed out despite a solid drive, with both Toro Rossos and Racing Points also making points.
  5. Italian Grand Prix – Charles Leclerc controlled the Italian race which saw the Mercedes make mistakes, Renault occupy two positions in the top-5, as well as Vettel and Stroll return to the track unsafely. We even saw some questionable moves from Leclerc but a solid drive from the new Ferrari talent.
  6. Singapore Grand Prix – After tough spot in the mid-season, Sebastian Vettel managed to pull off his first victory of the season chased down by his team-mate. Verstappen fended off Hamilton and there were three safety cars thanks to bump-ins on the circuit. An embarrassing race for Renault and Haas, due to multiple collisions.
  7. Bahrain Grand Prix – Mercedes took an easy double victory with Lewis Hamilton at top, despite Ferrari’s better starting positions due to them losing to technical problems and simple mistakes. Also, a supreme embarrasment for Renault whose both drivers retired on the same lap with technical issues.
  8. Australian Grand Prix – Valtteri Bottas took victory in the season opening round with Ferrari unable to do anything worth-while. Not only did the rookies fail to impress, Daniel Ricciardo also totalled his front wing on the starting line.
  9. British Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton stole away to victory thanks to a safety car and Sebastian Vettel bumped himself out of the race. Verstappen was shunted by Vettel which was sad as he and Leclerc gave the British audience some excellent driving action. Also, the Haas cars collided together taking each other out of the race.
  10. Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Valtteri Bottas dominated the track, it was also the first race to see both Racing Point and McLaren cars on points. Daniel Ricciardo also made an ass of himself by forcing himself and Daniil Kvyat off the track, then accidentally backing up into Kvyat.
  11. Russian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton returned on the victory trail after faultering in the mid-season. Alfa Romeo had a false start and a triple-collission. Lots of technical issues including Sebastian Vettel being forced to retire after a good start. Williams also lost both cars, one to a breaking problem with the remaining car retired to conserve parts.
  12. Japanese Grand Prix – Valtteri Bottas took a surprise victory after Sebastian Vettel fumbled his pole position away. A few collissions between drivers were seen: Verstappen-Leclerc, Norris-Albon and Gasly-Perez. The race was ended one lap early due to technical errors and Renault is currently under investigation which might change the results. But over-all, quite a hum-drum race.
  13. French Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton dominated the race which saw many drivers go wide, Kimi and Hülk battled their way to points, McLaren scored on both cars, as well as a few solid disappointments from Haas, Toro Rosso and Racing Point.
  14. Hungarian Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton chased down and passed Max Verstappen for the race victory in a very dull race. The Toro Rossos clashed and Bottas had to fight his way back up after having his wing destroyed on the first lap. Nothing much else happened.
  15. Spanish Grand Prix – Another easy victory for Lewis Hamilton. Apart from some clashes with Grosjean, this was a rather dull race, albeit Haas finally had both cars on points.
  16. Chinese Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton’s second victory of the season also saw Ferrari gain the ire of F1 fans for needlessly gifting points to Vettel over Leclerc. Toro Rosso’s Albon gained his first championship point.
  17. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Despite a DRS system failure on the circuit, the Abu Dhabi was another hum-drum affair where Lewis Hamilton went completely unchallenged.