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The latest Power Rankings were announced on the official Formula One website on Wednesday, three days after that awe-inspiring Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos circuit.
Lewis Hamilton took the race win, but Red Bull's Max Verstappen stole the show the past weekend and almost came away with a famous race win to better Mercedes and the Ferrari machines.
Points are assigned to the drivers by experts based on their performance on the track across the weekend, which could be used to determine the driver's current form.
Max Verstappen took the first place after the Mexican Grand Prix and with another spectacular drive, there aren't many surprises in the latest rankings.
Without further ado, let us look closer at the 5 drivers that stood on the top of the power rankings table after the completion of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
#5 Charles Leclerc
After that spectacular show both during the qualifying session and the race, Charles Leclerc gains a spot and moves to the fifth place on the Power Rankings table.
The Monegasque racing driver put on a breath-taking flying lap during the dying stages of Q2 under tricky track conditions to leapfrog into Q3, where he went on to finish the session in the eighth place.
Leclerc was promoted to seventh due to Ricciardo's grid penalty, and the 21-year-old showed brilliant composure during most parts of the race to come away with a well-deserved seventh place. Interestingly, it is Leclerc's joint-highest finishing position in the 2018 Formula One season so far.
Currently, Leclerc takes the fourteenth spot on the drivers' championship but another drive like that at the last race of the season would allow not only allow him to finish higher in the championship but also would ensure that he would step into the shoes of a Ferrari driver next season with supreme confidence.
#4 Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen put on a good show in his penultimate race for the Ferrari team, allowing him to secure a podium finish, which cemented his third spot on the drivers' championship table with 251 points. That drive also ensured that the Finn would retain his fourth spot on the Power Rankings table.
Raikkonen started the race from the fourth spot, less than 0.5 seconds behind the polesitter Lewis Hamilton. The Finn continued the mesmerising form that he had found in the recent past and held onto his position for most of Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen's firm driver helped him to cruise to his second consecutive third-place finish, which was also his third successive podium.
Another podium finish at the Abu Dabhi Grand Prix would be the perfect parting gift for Kimi Raikkonen, who will switch places with Charles Leclerc for the 2019 season.
#3 Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo holds on to the third place on the Power Rankings after producing yet another spectacular driver at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix. The Australian driver finished the race in the fourth place, less than a second behind third-placed Kimi Raikkonen.
Ricciardo endured a frustrating qualifying session that saw him start the race from the eleventh place due to a grid penalty. Before the penalty, the Australian took the sixth spot, only 0.002 seconds behind his teammate Max Verstappen.
Unfettered by his bad luck, Ricciardo, like his teammate, showed tremendous race pace and zoomed past the chequered flag to take a brilliant fourth place.
Currently, Daniel Ricciardo is in the sixth place in the drivers' championship, nearly hundred points ahead of Nico Hulkenberg. Regardless of the position that finishes at Abu Dabhi on 25 November 2018, the Australian will retain his sixth place with the Red Bull machine.
#2 Lewis Hamilton
With a win at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton ensured that the Silver Arrows cruised to their fifth consecutive constructors' championship. That drive ensured that the Briton retained his second place on the Power Rankings table.
Lewis Hamilton put on a wonderful show during qualifying, securing yet another pole position in the 2018 Formula One season. The five-time world champion started the race well and held the lead during the initial stages of the Grand Prix before surrendering the lead to Red Bull's Max Verstappen. However, after the halfway mark, the British driver regained his lead as the Dutchman got into a scuffle with Force India's Esteban Ocon. Since then, Hamilton held on to his position and took home his second win at this track despite the late surge by Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton is already the 2018 World Champion and a win at the final race of the season at Abu Dabhi would allow him to finish the season on a high with an eleventh race win in the 2018 season.
#1 Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen retains his top stop after that brilliant drive at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, which he almost won. The Dutchman finished the race in the second place, less than 1.5 seconds behind the world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen had a decent qualifying session that saw him start the race from the fifth place. From this position, it was likely that the Red Bull driver would struggle to just get a podium place on a track that has been difficult for the Austrian team. However, Verstappen defied all odds when he overtook both the Ferrari cars and the Mercedes machines to take the lead, much to everyone's surprise.
Unfortunately, for the Dutchman, his tussle with lapped Esteban Ocon during the second half of the Grand Prix cost him a memorable race win and taught him a very important race lesson, which the 21-year-old would remember for a very long time.
Currently, Max Verstappen is fifth in the drivers' championship, three points behind Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas. Another driver like that at the Abu Dabhi Grand Prix would allow him to get past his Finnish adversary.
