F1 2021 driver ratings unveiled as Verstappen equals Hamilton

Ahead of the release of F1 2021 next week, developer Codemasters has revealed the driver ratings for this year’s crop of drivers.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have the joint highest overall ratings at 95, which is higher than they both were after the final driver ratings update to F1 2020, which had put the pair at 93 and 92 overall respectively.

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It also means both of this year’s championship rivals are one overall ahead of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna, who will both be in the Deluxe edition of the game as two of the seven Icons.

Codemasters has decided the overall ratings after scoring the drivers in four different attributes – experience, racecraft, awareness and pace – based on their performances in real-life.

Fernando Alonso wasn’t given a rating for F1 2020 due to his absence from the sport last year, but has been given an 89 overall rating for F1 2021. That makes the Spaniard one of the best drivers in the game but behind some drivers who have had their ratings shoot up from where they were in F1 2020.

Lando Norris is the fourth-highest rated driver in the game, excluding the Icons, as his 91 overall rating is only lower than Hamilton’s, Verstappen’s and Bottas’.

Last year’s Italian Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly has also had his attributes increased massively and now boasts a 90 overall rating. That’s one higher than both Alonso and Vettel as well as two above Charles Leclerc.

Yuki Tsunoda’s overall rating is 82, which puts him six ahead of Mick Schumacher who beat him to the Formula 2 championship last year.

Only two current F1 drivers have a lower overall rating than Schumacher – with Nicholas Latifi at 71, which is one higher than his rating after the final F1 2020 update, and Nikita Mazepin the lowest-rated F1 driver at 67.

Ratings in full