F1 driver power rankings: Ricciardo reclaims top spot after scintillating Monza performance

Oh boy, does Daniel Ricciardo love Monza! He put on another sensational show, and unlike his teammate, he kept his moves contact-free. The smiling Aussie was undoubtedly the driver of the weekend, and without the strategic penalties, he would have easily been on the podium, as he was in Spa after another spectacular piece of overtaking. (Toby Durant)

Hamilton takes the outright championship lead for the first time this season after yet another dominating weekend, but will he be able to hold Vettel off for the rest of the year? (Pat Galic)

Kimi is past it. Ferrari's one driver team mentality is rapidly becoming outdated, and may cost them the opportunity to procure the services of Dani Ric in a years time. On the other side of the garage, Vettel is having a better season than Lewis. In similar cars, Vettel may lack the raw speed of his rival, but he makes up for it by composing himself in a manner we aren't that accustomed to seeing from the German. (Matt Ashman)

In another season we may see Bottas fighting Vettel for the F1 drivers' crown. His early season unfamiliarity with Mercedes W07 is long gone and steady results are following. Hamilton And Vettel still exist on a level above but race after race, Bottas is closing that gap. After a textbook drive in Monza, it will be interesting to see how much ground he can make up over the remaining races on the calendar. (Tommy Wharton)

Esteban Ocon has only just completed a full year in F1, but he already looks at home. He was masterful in the wet qualifying in Monza, and brave enough to try the same move twice on his teammate. Speaking of his teammate, Ocon has made a home deep inside Sergio Perez's head, and the Mexican is not happy. While Force India has said they are no longer racing each other, I don't think we have seen the end of their rivalry. (Toby Durant)

An awful McLaren cannot mask how good of a driver Fernando Alonso is, and you could even make an argument for him being the best performer of 2017 so far. Belgium and Italy were always going to be difficult races but his lightning start in Spa was yet another flash of brilliance. Singapore is an opportunity to score points again... If His Honda engine holds out till the finish... (George Howson)

Outqualified his highly rated teammate more than enough this season, but just needs better luck with reliability and first lap incidents to regain the points he's lost. Could easily be fighting for 4th in WDC. (Sam Dulledge)

Kimi may have a new contract with Ferrari but he's not on Vettel's level; few drivers are. 4th place in Both Belgium and 5th in Italy simply isn't good enough for Ferrari to win the constructor's championship, and he gets a mid-grid rating from me. (George Howson)

Sergio Perez has been consistent all year and enjoyed an early season advantage over his rookie teammate. However, Ocon has come back strong in the last few races, and this seems to have got under Checo's skin, causing him to make uncharacteristic errors and appear generally uncomfortable with this new team dynamic.

He is capable of beating Ocon over the rest of the season, but he needs to get his head straight first. (Nick Brown)

Nico had a fantastic race in Belgium, finishing P6 in an underpowered Renault. Monza proved too much for the German's car, complaining of a top speed that flatlined too early. Singapore and Malaysia should yield more points for the Hulk. (George Howson)

Sainz may be the most underrated driver on the grid. His consistency with Toro Rosso has been incredible this year as he has brought the bulk of the points to the team (36 of the 40 points).

He did have an average weekend at Monza but was able to bring it home for the team. His abilities may get hidden in the clutter of the midfield but don't let that fool you, Sainz Jr. is a serious talent on the grid. (Ansh Sanyal)

Stroll put in a brilliant qualifying display in tricky conditions in Monza, and eventually started on the front row after the Red Bulls took their penalties. He then ran a solid race to come home ahead of his teammate Massa.

It's taken him a while, but Stroll finally seems to have found his feet in F1, and if he keeps this sort of form going, he could be a mainstay on the grid for years to come. (Nick Brown)

After missing the Hungarian race due to illness, Massa returned after the summer break with 2 8th places in Spa and Italy. The Williams may not be the best qualifying car at the moment, but at least their drivers seem to go forwards in the race more often than not, and it's always good to see Felipe charging through the field. (Nick Brown)

2017 really has been a mixed bag for Romain so far. Some weekends his Haas works brilliantly, catapulting him up the grid to finish 6th or 7th, and others he ends up cruising around well out of the points, complaining about a variety of issues over the team radio.

This said, Grosjean and Haas are having a much better season than they were in 2016, and a bit more consistency would see their lead driver be in the points a lot more often. (Nick Brown)

You feel a bit for both the Sauber drivers. The team are well and truly propping the grid up at this point, with even McLaren overtaking them after Hungary.

Pascal stays ahead of Kvyat and Vandoorne for now, but his points scores came earlier in the season, and with the performance of the Sauber looking increasingly cut adrift from the rest of the field, he will probably struggle to retain this position for the rest of the year. (Nick Brown)

After scoring his first point of the year in Hungary, Vandoorne struggled, as he was likely to given the car he's driving, at both Spa and Monza. Upcoming tracks give cause for optimism, as they are less dependant on engine power, but Vandoorne will likely still have his work cut out for him to score points in an increasingly competitive midfield. (Nick Brown)

Magnussen came agonisingly close to scoring points in Monza, finishing 11th, but at least he beat his teammate. The record between the Haas drivers isn't actually that one sided, but it is Grosjean who has nearly double Magnussen's points at this stage of the year.

I think K-Mag deserves a seat for 2018, but he probably has to start scoring points on a more regular basis to convince the team of this. (Nick Brown)

Kvyat isn't being helped by a general drop off of the Toro Rosso's pace at this point in the year, but this hasn't stopped him trying his hardest, scoring 12th in Hungary, and 11th in both Spa and Monza.

The main issue for Daniil is that he is being totally overshadowed by his teammate Carlos Sainz, and if this continues much longer, you suspect the usually ruthless Dr. Helmut Marko will clear him out to make way for the next Red Bull junior talent for 2018. (Nick Brown)

Ericsson may not have had the best chance to impress this, but considering he has had more of the car than his teammate this year, to be sitting dead last of the active drivers in the standings, and to be only 1 of 2 drivers with 0 points scored, doesn't look good.

It might be too late for him to score points in this year's Sauber, but he has to up his game within the team if he wants to remain on the grid for next season. (Nick Brown)

Palmer may not have karma on his side, but he definitely doesn't have the pace to help him either. Hulk has still scored 100% of Renault's points in 2017 and it'll be a miracle if Jolyon is in yellow and black this time next year. (George Howson)