F1 Driver Power Rankings: Lewis Hamilton drops out of top 10, Nico Rosberg still not No 1

ByEurosport

Published 19/09/2016 at 17:02 GMT

Lewis Hamilton lost his grip on the F1 championship lead in the Singapore Grand Prix - and doesn't figure among the top ten in the driver rankings.

Rosberg celebrates

Image credit: Reuters

F1 Fanatic editor Keith Collantine gives his verdict on the drivers' performances over the weekend:

1. Daniel Ricciardo (no change)

The Red Bull driver was a thorn in Mercedes' side all weekend long and successfully split the silver cars in qualifying and the race. The one-lap pace clearly wasn't there for pole position, but he gave Rosberg a good run in the race. His dramatic late charge fell short by less than half a second.

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2. Nico Rosberg (no change)

In rare form all weekend, consistently delivering while his team-mate struggled to bounce back from time lost with a hydraulic problem on Friday. He's now back in the lead of the championship - something which seemed unlikely when he lost it before the summer break.

3. Fernando Alonso (up 4)

A strong qualifying lap and a good start got the Spaniard up to fifth place. He fell two spots by the chequered flag but his car wasn't quick enough to keep a Ferrari and a Red Bull behind. His patient tyre management early in the race may not be what he cares for as a racing driver but it reaped rewards for him on Sunday.

4. Kevin Magnussen (up 12)

Renault's second appearance in the points this year came thanks to a gritty drive by Magnussen. There were plenty of other lower-midfield drivers who needed this point just as badly and could have taken it - his team-mate, the Sauber drivers, Gutierrez - but it was Magnussen who got the job done.

5. Kimi Raikkonen (up 1)

A minor error on his final run in Q3 was Raikkonen's only mistake worthy of the name. The same couldn't be said for the Ferrari pit wall, however, who, after he'd got ahead of Hamilton, squandered his podium chance with a questionable stop.

Ferrari's driver Kimi Raikkonen

Image credit: Reuters

6. Sebastian Vettel (down 3)

Last on the grid through no fault of his own, Vettel took advantage of an early Safety Car period and the benefit of having many sets of unused tyres to climb to fifth place.

7. Max Verstappen (up 3)

Quick in qualifying and fought hard in the race to get back up to sixth. But it wouldn't have been necessary had he not made another indifferent start.

8. Daniil Kvyat (up 11)

Delivered some much-needed points but Toro Rosso set their sights higher than ninth.

9. Pascal Wehrlein (up 6)

Comfortably the quicker and most error-free of the Manor drivers on his first visit to this demanding track.

10. Sergio Perez (up 1)

Superb tyre management brought him into the points but a needless penalty for a potentially dangerous error in qualifying meant he started much further back than he should have done.

The rest of the grid: