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F1 Power Rankings | Verstappen undisputedly the best driver in Qatar
- Corwin Kunst
According to the F1 Power Rankings panel, Max Verstappen was undisputedly the best driver at the Qatar GP. The now four-time world champion received a 9.2 for his performance at the Losail International Circuit. Lando Norris was not among the top 10 last Sunday.
The judges saw Verstappen unexpectedly take the weekend completely to his own devices after a dramatic Friday. " Max Verstappen started the Qatar weekend on the back foot with an ill-handling car and only P6 in Sprint Qualifying. He and Red Bull got their act together when the 100-kilometre dash was out of the way, though – making some effective set-up changes and charging to P1 in the main qualifying session. Starting second via a penalty for baulking George Russell at the end of Q3, Verstappen claimed the lead at Turn 1 and expertly defended against Lando Norris before the McLaren man’s costly penalty."
Pierre Gasly was awarded an 8.8 after finishing fifth on Sunday. Guanyu Zhou scored the first points of the year for Stake F1 by finishing eighth. That earned him an 8.4. Other positive outliers were Kevin Magnussen (8.0), Charles Leclerc (7.8), George Russell (7.8) and Fernando Alonso (7.8)
Verstappen stands at an average of 8.2 after 23 races, and so does Norris. The Abu Dhabi GP will therefore decide which driver performed the best throughout the season in terms of Power Rankings this weekend.
Power Rankings after the Qatar GP
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sárközi
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