Ranking the top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2022

Among the movers, shakers and re-entries, no one stays where they were last year in our end-of-season ranking. So who were the biggest hits of 2022?

Alex Kalinauckas Matt Kew Dec 15, 2022, 3:11 PM

Upd: Dec 15, 2022, 3:28 PM

With the most seismic regulation overhaul in Formula 1 history looming, the 2022 pre-season attention was focused almost entirely on the new cars that were poised to break cover. But thanks chiefly to the titanic early duel between title protagonists Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, plus the toils of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton versus his new Mercedes team-mate George Russell, the drivers soon wrested back the limelight.

Immediately after each of the 22 rounds, Autosport awarded every racer a score out of 10 for their efforts as per our long-standing Driver Ratings. Now, though, with the benefit of hindsight and more information subsequently surfacing, there’s greater justification for why some flourished and others suffered during any given weekend. With that wider context now established, here we present our best drivers of the season.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.