F1 driver power rankings: Sergio Perez impressive but Nico Rosberg top
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ByEurosport
Published 20/06/2016 at 19:40 GMT
Keith Collantine rates the F1 field after an eventful race in Baku, with Nico Rosberg still can't topping the pile.
Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany celebrates winning the race
Image credit: Reuters
Rosberg may have had the best car at his disposal but he made the best possible use of it in Baku and heads the drivers' rankings.
1 Nico Rosberg (up 18)
Mercedes were untouchable in Baku, further ahead of their rivals than at any points since the beginning of last year. And once Hamilton took himself out of the equation with an error-strewn qualifying performance, Rosberg's path to victory was clear. Even so, he delivered his 19th career victory in style, taking pole position, never losing the lead and setting fastest lap along the way.
2 Sergio Perez (up 9)
Force India had the second-fastest car and Perez would have started alongside Rosberg. But he crashed in final practice, damaging his gearbox which had to be replaced, incurring a five-second penalty. Nonetheless he recovered to third, passing Raikkonen on the way.
3 Sebastian Vettel (down 1)
There was potentially a higher starting position in the car, but it's doubtful the Ferrari was ever going to finish higher than second. Vettel resisted Ferrari's original strategy, indicating their errors in Australia and Canada have made him wary of their calls.
4 Valtteri Bottas (down 3)
Was justifiably unimpressed to miss final practice after an improperly secured drain on the new Baku circuit badly damaged his car. In qualifying he kept catching Verstappen at awkward moments, leaving him a lowly eighth. However he made decent progress in the race, keeping Hamilton behind as long as he could.
5 Daniel Ricciardo (up 4)
Finished lower than he started for the sixth race running but that's less a reflection on his driving than it is the Red Bull's one-lap speed and recent race pace problems. The latter was much in evidence in Baku as the team went for a low downforce set-up on which they chewed up their tyres and slipped backwards.
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Red Bull Racing's Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, Scuderia Ferrari's German driver Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Ferrari's Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen steer their cars at the Baku City Circuit, on June 19, 2016 in Baku, during the European Formula
Image credit: AFP
6 Max Verstappen (down 1)
Did well to finish within sight of Ricciardo after being out-qualified again.
7 Fernando Alonso (up 1)
Exciting to watch on Friday when he put the McLaren surprisingly high on the time sheets during practice. Qualifying brought him back down to earth and though it was clear the team wasn't on course for points this weekend he was running well when the gearbox broke.
8 Daniil Kvyat (up 4)
His best weekend since being ejected from Red Bull was cruelly curtailed by a suspension problem.
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Toro Rosso Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat of Russia walks during the drivers parade ahead of the race
Image credit: Reuters
9 Felipe Nasr (up 13)
Another driver who badly needed a decent weekend and finally got one, though the Sauber wasn't a points contender.
10 Romain Grosjean (up 5)
Might have put Haas back in the points had he not needed to make an extra pit stop to have his clogged radiators cleared.
The rest of the grid
- 11 Kimi Raikkonen (down 6)
- 12 Jenson Button (up 8)
- 13 Pascal Wehrlein (down 5)
- 14 Carlos Sainz Jnr (up 4)
- 15 Kevin Magnussen (down 9)
- 16 Rio Haryanto (unchanged)
- 17 Nico Hulkenberg (down 3)
- 18 Felipe Massa (down 7)
- 19 Lewis Hamilton (down 11)
- 20 Esteban Gutierrez (down 1)
- 21 Marcus Ericsson (down 9)
- 22 Jolyon Palmer (unchanged)
Keith Collantine is the editor of Formula One blog F1 Fanatic
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