These drivers have mastered 2022 cars the best

After the first three races now is a good moment to take stock. Which drivers started strongly with their new car, and who has failed to grasp theirs? GPblog gives figures to the drivers after each race and after the first three races, we've looked at who is in the best shape based on these figures.

The new title fight

It is not surprising that Charles Leclerc's name is at the top of this list. The Monegasque was virtually flawless throughout the first three races and immediately took a big lead in the driver standings. With two wins and a second-place, Leclerc was good for a 9.5 and thus the first place in the ranking.

Max Verstappen is the only one who can come close in terms of performance. The Dutchman himself is still struggling a bit with his new RB18, but is making the most of it by staying close to Leclerc. Verstappen was the winner of the second race in Saudi Arabia but has already been let down twice by reliability.

Who hooks up with the leaders

There is a large group on similar grades. They may be able to step up to the front duo if the car allows it, but that is not the case for now. Kevin Magnussen continues to impress. Valtteri Bottas also ranks high with a 7.2, after his great start for Alfa Romeo.

World champions disappoint

In eleventh place we find the changeable Fernando Alonso. With a 6.7, Hamilton has not started his season well. Despite only having one race, Sebastian Vettel lies bottom of the table with just a score of two in Australia. 

Daniel Ricciardo has yet to prove himself as the top driver for the team at McLaren, where Mick Schumacher was under immediate pressure after his first two appearances in 2022. Carlos Sainz also scores very low on average compared to his teammate. If you look at the difference with his teammate, the Spaniard is simply still disappointing. In Bahrain and Jeddah, he did okay, but in Australia, things went completely wrong.

Problems at Williams and Aston Martin

Three of the bottom five drivers are from Aston Martin. For drivers who have raced in all three events, Nicholas Latifi is the driver who performed the worst. From the first moment Albon stepped into that Williams next to him, the Thai has been faster than his Canadian teammate. Latifi feels that pressure too and under that pressure he makes even more mistakes. For example, he folded his car in qualifying in Saudi Arabia, in the race that same weekend and also in qualifying for the Australian GP. The contrast with his teammate is too great and he is now costing his team too much money.

The GPblog rankings after three Grands Prix in 2022

* Hulkenberg only took part in the first two races

**Vettel only took part in one race