F1 adjusted driver ratings for the 2018 season: Who is in our top 10?

It's over. The equal longest season in F1 history. 21 races and a title each for Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team. Ferrari battled hard, came close but came up short.

The 2019 grid will have a very different look, with plenty of drivers vacating their race seats at the end of the season, a handful of new faces and one old but familiar face returning after eight years out.

As ever, it's a season of highs and lows for every single man on the grid. But how do we assess them all over the course of a season? Read below for our 2018 season driver rankings and ratings.

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Our rankings system is made up of various factors. It takes into account the adjusted performance index we have used for our ratings over the course of the season, championship points, qualifying performance, any penalty points a driver has accrued and our subjective rating out of 100. From this they get their total end-of-season ranking points.

We're also going to look back at our predictions that we made at the start of the season and see how they fared.

20. Brendon Hartley (1151 ranking points)

Perhaps Hartley, like Vandoorne and Ericsson, has struggled in comparison to a very talented team-mate. But perhaps he just has been found wanting at the highest level. Bad luck has certainly not helped him this year but he always seemed to be living on borrowed time at Toro Rosso in any case. A few spirited performances is not enough to mask the mistakes and lack of race pace.

Pre-season prediction: 18th (19th in final standings)

Our rating:  55/100

19. Stoffel Vandoorne (1232pts)

The tale of Stoffel Vandoorne shows just how tough F1 is. When he arrived with a points-scoring finish in his debut race filling in for an injured Fernando Alonso in 2016, the Belgian looked a prospect for future success. His struggles have reflected those of McLaren's and the fact is he was not good enough to get as much out of the car as Alonso, being outqualified 21-0 by him across the season. A tough experience but at least he will have the chance to restore his reputation in the increasingly popular Formula E series in 2019.

Pre-season prediction: More regular points, 14th (16th in final standings)

Our rating: 55

18. Sergey Sirotkin (1208pts)

A tough first year for the Russian in a poor car. The relatively strong performances (e.g. qualifying 13th in Monaco) never look that impressive overall but deserve some credit. Williams, perhaps, should have opted for more experience in their 2018 line-up but that was not Sirotkin's fault. Still, he finds himself shunted out of the team after one season but should be able to come out of it with some credit, despite finishing 20th and last in the championship.

Pre-season prediction: Behind Stroll in the standings, 16th (20th in the final standings)

Our rating: 60

17. Marcus Ericsson (1232pts)

Off to Indycar in 2019, it was pleasing to see Ericsson have his strongest year in F1. He was outclassed by Leclerc, yes, but six points finishes and a few Q3 appearances show he's not the mug a lot of people make him out to be. Perhaps he could have found a little more from the car. Failed to challenge Leclerc once the youngster got his eye in. But F1 is a tough environment. Don't be surprised if he finds success across the pond.

Pre-season prediction: 20th, his first points since 2015 (17th in the final standings and his first points since 2015)

Our rating: 65

16. Romain Grosjean (1235pts)

It was another year of ups and downs for Grosjean. After some expensive - and embarrassing - mistakes early on in the year (Azerbaijan and Spain, notably), his fourth place in Austria was a long wait for a points but it also had the bonus of being Haas's best ever finish. Another chunk of points came from Germany to Italy, before he was disqualified from a decent sixth in Monza through a floor irregularity on his car. His poor performances early in the season blot his copybook however, though and his (deserved) penalty points affect his rating.

Pre-season prediction: 10th and more brake-related woes (14th in the final standings)

Our rating: 65

15. Lance Stroll (1305pts)

It is hard to know how to judge either Williams driver given how flawed their car was. Clearly the worst package on the grid, it means something that Stroll has a) outscored his team-mate and b) finished ahead of Hartley's Toro Rosso. He scores so highly because of his adjusted performances, doing particularly well in Spain and Singapore, where he finished 14th, ahead of many of his rivals, when the Williams was at its absolute worst.

Points in Azerbaijan and Italy were the obvious highlights. Still, it's difficult to say that Stroll has out-performed his machinery too often this year and he lost the head-to-head qualifying battle against rookie Sirotkin, too, something that was a weakness last year.

Pre-season prediction: 15th (18th in the final standings)

Our rating: 60

14. Carlos Sainz (1389pts)

You would say Sainz's first full season at Renault was good but not great. He has scored points almost as regularly as his team-mate but more eighth and ninth places than Hulkenberg's sixths and sevenths. Although comfortably beaten by the German in qualifying, Sainz has still been a crucial part of Renault's fourth place in the constructors' standings. Still, a slightly disappointing season and arguably less impressive than his ninth place for Toro Rosso in 2017.

Pre-season prediction:  Marginally behind Hulkenberg, 8th (10th in the final standings)

Our rating: 70

13. Kevin Magnussen (1427pts)

A lot of drivers in the midfield had fairly similar seasons scrapping among the lower points places on Sundays. Haas's car was an improvement and generally more consistent than in their first two years but still had some horrendous off weekends in Monaco and Mexico. The Dane put it to good use when he was able to, though.  Probably the second punchiest driver on the grid after Max Verstappen, Magnussen seemed to benefit from the stability of a second season at Haas and brought the car home with a bit less fuss than his team-mate.  Ninth in the overall standings and his best F1 season, Magnussen's rating falls down a little here due to the Haas's tendency to be better in qualifying (the fourth quickest team on raw pace) than the race.

Pre-season prediction: 13th (9th in the final standings)

Our rating: 70

12. Pierre Gasly (1450pts)

His performances in 2018 have been enough to secure him a promotion to Red Bull in 2019, replacing the outgoing Daniel Ricciardo. Like Leclerc and Alonso, Gasly has comfortably beaten his team-mate, scoring 29 points to Hartley's four. Fourth in Bahrain was the finest moment of his season but seventh in Monaco and sixth in Hungary were almost equally impressive in a car that was the eighth quickest over the course of 2018.

Pre-season prediction:17th (15th in the final standings)

Our rating: 75

11. Valtteri Bottas (1458pts)

2018 initially appeared to be an improvement on Bottas's first season at Mercedes, which brought three wins. But a combination of bad luck early in the season, a Mercedes car that struggled relative to Red Bull and Ferrari at various points in the season, and failure to extract the most from the car meant it was a season of unfulfilled promise for the Finn. He improved his qualifying performances relative to Hamilton, but fifth place in the championship (with no wins to Hamilton's 11) and with his team-mate champion is a huge disappointment.

Pre-season prediction: 2nd, an improved 2018 (5th in the final standings)

Our rating: 70

10. Sergio Perez (1462pts)

Perez's Force India team struggled to find their 2017 form until nearly the mid-way point of the season. The Mexican did, though, score another excellent podium in Baku which was, depressingly, the only time a driver outside of Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes finished there all season. A regular points scorer on the final half of the season.

Pre-season prediction: A tougher season, 12th in the championship (8th in the final standings)

Our rating: 75

9. Esteban Ocon (1511pts)

Ocon was again closely matched with Perez in 2018, again just falling behind the Mexican in the standings. Although he did not manage a podium, he put in some eye-catching performances along the way, notably a superb third place in qualifying at a damp Spa-Francorchamps. A couple of collisions - with his team-mate in Singapore and when trying to unlap race leader Verstappen in Brazil - were the low points. No race seat for 2019 but should Bottas underperform, Ocon will be the man to replace him in 2020.

Pre-season prediction: Beating Perez but outside the top 10 (12th in final standings, behind Perez)

Our rating: 75

8. Kimi Raikkonen (1523pts)

Raikkonen's best season of his Ferrari comeback, without a doubt. He has found a bit of extra pace on Saturdays and Sundays this year and has been reliable and consistent. 11 podiums is his equal best ever return and his 21st victory in Austin and his pole at Monza were standout moments. He finds himself down in a relatively low eighth in these rankings as the midfield is fairly fought. With better qualifying he could be a few places higher.

Pre-season prediction: Splitting the Red Bulls in the standings, 5th (3rd in final standings)

Our rating: 75

7. Daniel Ricciardo (1534pts)

A big contrast with Max Verstappen. Ricciardo won twice in the opening six races including a memorable and redemptive triumph on the streets of Monte Carlo. Since that victory he has not finished on the podium and has retired in six of fourteen races and eight times in the entire season. Whilst Ricciardo still seems to get the most out of his talent and with very few errors, he has fallen a little short of his team-mate in 2018.

Pre-season prediction: Behind Verstappen but close to Raikkonen, 6th (Behind Verstappen but a long way from Raikkonen, 6th in the final standings)

Our rating: 75

6. Nico Hulkenberg (1569pts)

It has been a fairly typical season for Hulkenberg. Consistent points scoring throughout the season - one small mid-season blip aside - has meant he has comfortably seen off his team mate and has taken seventh place in the standings to be the highest-ranked driver outside of the big three teams, and comfortably so. Aside from a major incident at Spa there has been little to fault him for and six finishes inside the top six cements his status as the "Class B champion", or the best-of-the-rest, as it were.

Pre-season prediction: A first podium, 70 points and 7th in the championship (7th in the championship and 68 points)

Our rating: 80

5. Charles Leclerc (1665pts)

No doubt Leclerc has been helped by an improved Sauber package and a decent Ferrari engine in 2018 but he has looked at home in F1 since his stunning sixth in Baku. That came after a difficult first three races but since then he has delivered another nine points finishes, including three seventh places in the final three rounds. Regular Q3 appearances (seven in total) and very few mistakes along the way, too. He could cause Vettel and maybe Mercedes a few headaches next season.

Pre-season prediction: 19th, a few points (13th in the final standings with 39 points)

Our rating: 85

4. Sebastian Vettel (1680pts)

Whilst there is a tendency to focus on the errors that have cost Vettel this season, we should not forget his better moments. Again he has comfortably beaten his team-mate and has five victories and five poles to his name. Whether or not cutting out a mistake or two would have been enough to win him the title is uncertain. But the fact is he made two very expensive errors when Ferrari had the quickest car. Fighting for the championship means he is under greater scrutiny and pressure than everyone else but this was still a good - if unfulfilled and disappointing - season for the German.

Pre-season prediction: 3rd (2nd in the final standings)

Our rating: 75

3. Max Verstappen (1734pts)

A season of two halves for the Dutchman. After numerous errors and crashes in the first part of the season Verstappen has driven as well as anyone except for Hamilton in its second half, especially after the summer break, where he challenged for victory (taking an excellent win in Mexico) and drove superbly through the field in Russia and the USA.

Two victories could and perhaps should have been more. The Brazilian GP was taken from him by a shunt with Ocon and had he not destroyed his Red Bull in practice in Monaco, he could have been quick enough to beat his team-mate to victory in the best car in the field. Perhaps even China should have been his but for a collision with Vettel.

Still, a very fine year for Max. From France onwards he and Vettel scored exactly the same number of points. If Red Bull can start next season as they ended this one, then things could be very interesting next year.

Pre-season prediction: Beating at least one Ferrari, 4th place (4th place in the standings)

Our rating: 80

2. Fernando Alonso (1665pts)

In what looks likely to be his final season in F1, Alonso has excelled in a car that has been at the back of the midfield for much of the season. Incredibly, he finished the first five races with 32 points (only five behind Max Verstappen), including a superb drive in Azerbaijan when his car could barely get back to the pits. Since then, though, McLaren fell further and further back and the Spaniard was affected by reliability issues. If 2018 is his final season in F1 he went out with a fight and regularly put his McLaren where it had no right to be. Did any other driver get more from their car? I doubt it. Farewell, Fernando.

Pre-season prediction: 9th, a happier but still unhappy Fernando (11th in the standings)

Our rating: 85

1. Lewis Hamilton (1879pts)

Well, who else? What more can you say about 2018? It started off a little poorly by his own high standards but from Azerbaijan through to Japan he won nine races out of 14 in a period when Vettel won just three. His brilliance in the wet was a factor in an excellent mid-late season run (which included six wins in seven) as well as his skill in fighting from well down the field, as we saw in Germany and Great Britain. Along with Leclerc, Hamilton was one of only two drivers to end the season with no penalty points on their licence.

Three of his finest moments in F1 came in this season, for certain. Victories at Hockenheim and Monza were celebrated with the passion they deserved. And that qualifying lap at Singapore, well. Simply a class above everyone else. A fully-deserved fifth title.

Pre-season prediction: Champion (Champion)

Our rating: 90