Grapevine: Rankings: Webber, Hamilton eye boost

While Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel is virtually certain to retain his top spot for a 23rd consecutive week, both his team-mate Webber and McLaren driver Hamilton are chasing him hard.

It is World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb who currently occupies second in the Castrol Rankings, but the Frenchman, who won Rallye Deutschland earlier this month, is not in action this weekend.

Both Webber (3) and Hamilton (4) are within spitting distance of Loeb, however the Australian is more likely to overhaul him this weekend.

That is because the world championship leader is defending a low score from the corresponding race last year - the European Grand Prix - and only needs to finish higher than ninth to boost his points total.

Hamilton, on the other hand, was second in Valencia last year and needs a victory at Spa Francorchamps this weekend in order to advance his score. Even that may not be enough to gain a spot.

A retirement though, could drop him behind Jimmie Johnson, especially if the NASCAR Sprint Cup champion can re-discover his form at Atlanta. Johnson, fifth in the Castrol Rankings, only needs to finish higher than 36th to boost his score. But he probably needs to win to stand any chance of passing Hamilton.

He also needs a good finish to stem the pressure coming from IndyCar championship chasers Dario Franchitti (6) and Will Power (9), who will continue the Ganassi v Penske battle at Chicagoland oval.

Also in the mix are F1 world champions Jenson Button (7) and Fernando Alonso (8), either of whom can work their way into the top five if one of them can win in Belgium.

To see the full Castrol Rankings, visit www.castroldriverrankings.com.