If you read the latest entry in these rankings, it might seem controversial that a driver who has scored scored just one point over the last two-plus months is ahead of one who has 14 in a shorter period of time.
And that's a fair critique! It's two rookies up against each other in Gabriel Bortoleto vs. Isack Hadjar — one who didn't score at all until recently, and another who scored a bunch early and very little since.
So, at that point, the decision comes down to who has had a bit more overall consistency in all fields. Of course ... you could debate that too, since Hadjar seems to have a more consistent car under him. It's hard to tell pure pace in F1, after all. But alas, Hadjar still very slightly comes in No. 9 ahead of Bortoleto, to me.
Standings Position: 13th
Points: 22
Best Finish: 6th
Best Qualifying Position: 5th
Head-to-head race finishes (vs. Lawson/Tsunoda): 9-4
Head-to-head qualifying: 10-4
Head-to-head points: 22-20
Hadjar starts at impossibly low moment, but bounces back
It seems incredible to say that Hadjar is the top rookie after how things started for him. He didn't even make it past the opening turns of his first-ever formation lap before crashing. It was a mortifying moment that put his worthiness for an F1 seat in question before it even started.
Hadjar then posted back-to-back P7 qualifying efforts in China and Japan, and he netted his first F1 points on the back half of the Asian doubleheader.
The most impressive part of Hadjar's season has been his one-lap pace. Hadjar has advanced to at least Q2 in every single grand prix qualifying session, and has started in the top 10 in 50% of this season's races. He parlayed a P5 quali in Monaco to a P6 finish, his best effort of the season so far.
From Japan to Spain, a seven-race stretch, Hadjar scored five times, including three top-8 finishes. At this point, Hadjar was ninth in the drivers' championship with 21 points.
Since then, five grand prix weekends have passed. Hadjar has scored just one point.
Next step: Shake off a midseason slump
Hadjar's late slump has definitely drawn some concerns about his consistency, which previously seemed like what he was all about.
Hadjar finished 16th in Canada, after strategy and speed was nowhere to be found. He drove up into the points in Austria, but damage to his car saw the pace drop out late.
In near-blind conditions, Hadjar DNFed from the British Grand Prix when he rammed into the back of Kimi Antonelli. He finished dead last in the Belgian Grand Prix after a P8 start due to what his team only said was a "car issue," and with the struggles he showed, it had to have been out of his hands. It came just a day after he put up a point in the Belgian sprint race.
Hadjar ended his first half with another Q3 appearance, a performance that he said he could've done better in, so a P10 start meant he struggled to move up on the difficult course.
Hadjar's promise and abilities have shone through in his first 14 F1 races. He clearly can continue to push for more as Racing Bulls aim for a team P6 finish. But we've also seen a promising rookie in Antonelli have his season completely derailed by brutal performances.
How the French driver can reemerge at Zandvoort will tell us which side he'll end up on.