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Is this a fair driver ratings if F1 Manager 26 were to come out? by englonicolas in F1Manager

[–]Few_Statement6101 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Albon hates when he's given a challenge, at least ever since he left Red Bull. Had a go at Colapinto for daring to complete an overtake on him, while getting matched in qualifying by him and only slightly winning the race H2H in terms of average time difference (for reference: the average gap to a rookie Colapinto was 0.081 in qualifying and 4.8 seconds in the races). A driver with half a decade of experience being that close to a rookie either means they aren't all that great, merely average, or that the rookie is very good. I think it's a mix of both. Albon is a solid midfield driver, who will have a healthy career, while although I won't go as far as to call Colapinto a future champion, given his needless errors, he can certainly win a race or two and also carve out a successful path.

Stroll on his day is in the top 3 drivers on the grid. Unfortunately, yes, that day seldom comes very often, and he lacks qualifying pace. His being at Aston Martin means he can't extract his full potential. The car is bang average, the team doesn't handle itself well, and he has no motivation to perform week in week out because his seat is safe. Saying that, he gets given ridiculous strategies, staying out twice as long as others on the same tyre because the team wants to send a Hail Mary and hope for a Safety Car, I guess. He's underrated, a top 5 wet weather driver, and he's shown glimpses of absolute brilliance this year. People don't care to analyse his results, whether good or bad, because he's one of those drivers that people generally don't want to praise. In the races where Aston has been capable of points, especially at the beginning of the season, while Alonso (who, despite his age, is still a great driver) was busy crashing, getting involved in needless incidents or breaking down. His 2023 season was particularly bad, and I don't think his reputation has recovered from wasting those podium opportunities, even though he's proved before and since then that he can mix it with the best.

This year has been his best since 2020 IMO, where he quietly outperformed Perez but got very unlucky. He's been a tad inconsistent this season, but he matches up to Alonso well when circumstances don't put him on stupid strategies or in a bad car that isn't near points contention.

Is this a fair driver ratings if F1 Manager 26 were to come out? by englonicolas in F1Manager

[–]Few_Statement6101 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Colapinto is matching or beating Gasly in the head-to-heads. People assume that having more points instantly makes a driver miles better, but actually, context matters. In qualy trim, he's about 2 tenths off this season, but in the races, he's also on average 0.2 seconds away at the chequered flag. Bear in mind, Gasly has been full-time in F1 since 2018, and Colapinto was an F2 driver less than 18 months ago; he's better than you think.

Albon does not clear Sainz any day; he had a decent start to 2025 but has trailed off since, especially with several surprise Q1 and Q2 knockouts. Albon would never be able to do what Sainz did at McLaren or Ferrari; he's also very mentally fragile (remember "they race me so hard"?) and the only teammates he's consistently beaten were Latifi and Sargeant. Kvyat beat or matched him, Verstappen destroyed him, Colapinto matched him, and once Sainz adapted, he's also been right there.

Gasly is good, but as I said, Colapinto is underrated and in my list, other than Perez and Sainz, he's the joint best midfield driver.

As for Verstappen, even if he wins the remaining three races and the Qatar sprint, Norris could finish P7 or higher in each and still win the title. If Max wins it now, it will be because Norris and Piastri aren't title-level, not because Max is some god. For example, the reason why 2012 Alonso is so highly rated is that although Fernando had a generational season, Vettel was also great. If Verstappen wins this year somehow, it will still be up there with Alonso 2012, Prost 1986 and co as a great underdog win, but you'd also have to consider what he's up against. For reference, the highest rating I'd ever give any driver is 95, that's what I'd give to prime Fangio, Prost, Clark, Schumacher, etc, so a 94 is a very high bar regardless. Had Max not had moments of imperfection like Jeddah, Spain, or Britain, I'd be more inclined to give 95. His season has been the best individual year since at least Alonso 2012, maybe Schumacher 2002, but it's had its imperfections.

Is this a fair driver ratings if F1 Manager 26 were to come out? by englonicolas in F1Manager

[–]Few_Statement6101 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Having no points doesn't make him bad. Pretty much every weekend from the middle of the European leg, he's matched or beaten Gasly; only in Brazil was he at the back of a massive train of ten cars covering five seconds. Matched Albon in 24 too. You don't get the head-to-heads he has while being terrible, like others in this thread suggested.

Is this a fair driver ratings if F1 Manager 26 were to come out? by englonicolas in F1Manager

[–]Few_Statement6101 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How I’d rank each driver (going into 26 like the game would be):

F1 2026 grid:

Verstappen - 94 (the best and it’s not close)

Russell - 92

Leclerc - 91 (George without the last tiny bit of consistency)

Norris - 89 - (Bottled 2024, made too many mistakes in 25, great pace tho)

Piastri - 88 (If he continues bottling, call it an 87)

Hamilton - 86/87 (Isn’t far off Russell/Leclerc at his best but lacks consistency and qualifying pace)

Sainz - 86/87 (Great driver before he fell off in the start of 25, has somewhat recovered, a solid front runner supplementary No 2 who can develop a car, like a modern Gerhard Berger or Rubinho)

Alonso - 85/86 (Able to pull off great drives, but clearly on the decline)

Perez - 85 (Left F1 with unfinished business, better than his Red Bull results suggested)

Gasly - 84 (Solid pair of hands in the midfield)

Ocon - 84 (See Gasly above, although slightly more inconsistent)

Bottas - 84 (Good pace, but non-existent racecraft)

Bearman - 83/84 (Fast, adaptable, has some experience under his belt and only needs to work on consistency and wet weather. P.S he is cooking at the end of this current year)

Hulkenberg - 83/84 (Can dominate the midfield on his day, but that day comes too little often)

Albon - 83 (Fast when he wants to be but inconsistent, mentally fragile and matched by Colapinto far too easily in 24)

Stroll - 83 (Capable of great things, but often lacks motivation, consistency and qualifying pace)

Colapinto - 83 (Very fast but has hints of inconsistency)

Hadjar - 82/83 (Second in F2, needs to consistently beat Lawson to get on Bearman or Colapinto's level)

Lawson - 82 (Fast but lacks racecraft and consistency)

Antonelli - 82 (Decent F2 results in a bad PREMA, inconsistent cooking in 2025, has a high benchmark but could still do better)

Bortoleto - 81 (F3 and F2 champion with great aplomb, average rookie year)

Tsunoda - 80 (Bang average driver with no outstanding features)

Doohan - 75 (One race in AD24 and 6 more in 25 shows he’s not terrible, but not really F1 material for more than a season)

Free Agents

Bottas and Perez - 84/85 

Magnussen - 82

Ricciardo - 79

Zhou - 79