Disparity in Rankings: Team Principals And F1 Drivers Pick Different Top Tens

Formula 1 recently asked all current team principals and F1 drivers to give their top ten drivers ranking after the 2023 season, and their opinions varied quite widely.

Team principals' and F1 drivers' opinions met in ranking of only three drivers in the top ten - Max Verstappen in P1, Carlos Sainz in P6, and Sergio Perez in P10.

Max Verstappen's P1 is quite undisputable after winning 19 out of 22 races and being the only driver who finished all the season races in point positions.

Everybody knows Sergio Perez's qualities, and they believe the Mexican driver deserves to be in the top ten. However, his performances were insufficient in 2023, lagging too much behind Verstappen, so the majority put him in P10.

While Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race, both team principals and drivers thought he deserved a P6.

Where the two rankings didn't meet was Lewis Hamilton. While 20 drivers believed he deserved a P2, team principals thought the seven-time World Champions' performances were good enough only for P5.

The ten principals believed Fernando Alonso, with young drivers - Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, showed more talent and speed during the 2023 season compared to the Mercedes driver.

Both rankings include Alex Albon in the top ten. While racers put him in P8, the team principals believed he deserved to be above the rookie of the year - Oscar Piastri.

What is interesting is that George Russell didn't make it in the top ten rankings made by F1 drivers. Team principals, on the other hand, put him in P9 instead of Pierre Gasly,

For the complete overview, see the tables below. Do you agree more with the drivers or the team principals after the 2023 season?