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The battle for being best of the rest in the driver's table is close & has all to play for. There are 5 drivers who can claim this honour.

Sergio Perez - 53 points
Kevin Magnussen - 53 points
Nico Hulkenberg - 53 points
Fernando Alonso - 50 points
Esteban Ocon - 49 points

IMO, the fight for this honour this be between Perez & Magnussen & maybe Ocon has an outside chance but Hulk & Alonso I don't see much wagering a fight for this anymore.

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Feel The Fourth

I see Perez. He has the car and he will fight. I know we have a certain mr. Alonso there too, but somehow I think the Perez/FI combo is mightier at the moment

Perez, but it's close enough that it could go any way really.

Genuinely surprised Alonso is still in contention for best of the rest, with McLaren having basically left this car to focus on next year months ago it would take a magic 4 final races for him to pull it off though.

With the Mexican GP coming up, I imagine Perez will be motivated more than others. Certainly moreso than Alonso, who is putting in four final appearances before leaving a sport that doesn't deserve him (according to him, LOL)...

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Short-time member, Life-Long Fan from 1965 -- More than 550 Grand Prix recorded since 1982 (all but 3), and counting...

The guy who always seems to pull it off, Perez.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

I voted for K Mag.



I think same goes for Renault. I thought they will easily be 4th best team but they have been pretty disappointing this year. Probably next year they will be much better.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM9-GK3MeLI

If the Mclaren car was at even Renault’s level, I think Alonso would have wrapped it up already. As it stands I can see kmag doing it or Perez. Amazing how Renault has basically vanished.

Probably Perez which is a great achievement seeing as I think there are 4 other drivers who should probably be ahead of him right now. Alonso's championship position is almost unbelievable seeing as the Mclaren has probably been better than only the Williams over the season.

I'd say Perez. The momentum is firmly with Force India at the moment, and he's got a few points on Ocon. Ocon is the other main possibility, and I expect them to finish 7th and 8th in the championship.

As others have stated, it's pretty incredible for Alonso to be that close in the car he has. Really drives home what a loss he's going to be to the grid...

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PICK 10 COMPETITION (4 wins, 14 podiums): 3rd in 2016
TOP THREE CHAMPIONSHIP (No Limit Excedrin Racing): Champions in 2015 & 2018 | 2nd in 2017
AUTOSPORT GP PREDICTOR: 2017 USA & P-F1 Champion | #2 in the world in 2017

Car wise it should be Mag and already sewn up but I think it'll be Perez or Ocon. Renault too far away, the engine and car development not good enough so I don't think Hulk or Sainz can do it and it's borderline hysterical Alonso's name is even on there when he's had the slowest car on most recent tracks bar Singapore and I don't think any track in the run in offers similar value for them.

They do supposedly have upgrades coming at last though so we'll see if they make a difference.

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"Clark came through at the end of the first lap so far ahead that we in the pits were convinced that the rest of the field must have been wiped out in an accident."
-Eddie Dennis, describing the dominance of Jim Clark in the Lotus 49 at Spa 1967

I voted Perez but he's only 4 points ahead of Ocon so the great achievement might be an over statement?

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Indeed KMag is so overrated.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Not really. It's a great achievement for both IMO. They are the best two drivers in the midfield outside of Alonso. Hulk still gets the hype but this season has once again exposed his inconsistentcy. He should be ahead of both FI drivers at this stage.

You mean Mclaren are William 2.0 ? lol. To be fair to Mclaren they have scored lots of points this year in the first half but sadly for them midfield is very competitive. They look bad on Saturdays but 0.2 can move up some 5-6places in qualifying on race they have much better performance. I think Alonso will finish at P11.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM9-GK3MeLI

Alonso scored a lot of points. I don't think the Mclaren was ever better than the 6th quickest car. The mystery one for me is the STR.

I think it was 5th in Oz and Spain but yeah it's been falling back since then because of no real upgrades. Speaking of which it looks like they're bringing a new nose to Austin so hopefully it helps some of that air flow issues further down the car but it's hard to be optimistic at the minute.

Nose comparison from Albert Fabrega Twitter...

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"Clark came through at the end of the first lap so far ahead that we in the pits were convinced that the rest of the field must have been wiped out in an accident."
-Eddie Dennis, describing the dominance of Jim Clark in the Lotus 49 at Spa 1967

Definately 6th best in Oz Haas was comfortably 4th best and Renault out qualified them as well. Alonso only got ahead because of the VSC. I don't remember Spain TBH so I'll take your word for it.

Ocon will win this battle mark my words

STR lost James Key quite early this year. They have rookie drivers and Hartley probably is not F1 material. I think Gasly has done better job than Charles. Especially his drive in Bahrain was probably one of the surprise of this year. Like RBR are good in race than in qualifying I think Mclaren is also some what similar. They may be loose to Sauber, STR in qualifying but in the race they are more competitive.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM9-GK3MeLI

Coming from behind?

Ok, let's have bets!!!

He's only 4 points behind.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

I know, that's the point! It's so very close! I do not see how he will outperform Perez, but here's to hoping I guess!

Ocon can outscore Checo mainly through Checo having DNFs. Ocon usually qualifies better but when it comes to race, Checo finds an extra accelerator & gets good points.

Magnussen's form has declined in the last few races (surprisingly as if a coincidence to Grosjean's upturn in form). Hulk has scored just 1 point or so in the last few races & Alonso's McLaren has given up already!

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Feel The Fourth

Funny enough, Checo is ahead partly because Ocon has 4 DNF to his 1!

Yeah. For most of the year, their car was close to being the 6th best team. Ocon & Checo IMO are the most closely matched team-mates. BTW, here's their & the other contenders results throughout the season in the points table:


Source - http://www.imgur.com

Perez has finished in the points - 8 times
Ocon has finished in the points - 10 times

What else I noticed is apart from his podium finish in Azerbaijan & one 5th in Belgium, Perez has had a few 7th placed finishes but nothing better whereas Ocon has finished a few races in 6th.

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Feel The Fourth

I also find interesting that when both finished Ocon was ahead Perez 8-4. The points from that podium were a treat for Perez really, otherwise he'd been far behind.

So close you might say it's close to 50/50?

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

Yes, but that podium wasn't a lucky win over Ocon, it was a case where Ocon threw away the possibility of taking it for himself. Purely in terms of their head-to-head, it's deserved points.

Singapore, on the other hand...

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PICK 10 COMPETITION (4 wins, 14 podiums): 3rd in 2016
TOP THREE CHAMPIONSHIP (No Limit Excedrin Racing): Champions in 2015 & 2018 | 2nd in 2017
AUTOSPORT GP PREDICTOR: 2017 USA & P-F1 Champion | #2 in the world in 2017

Perez, Ocon, Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Alonso but frankly it's very close and any of them could do it. Avoiding mishaps and some luck too maybe needed. Probably the most interesting part of the WDC now.

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Kimi: "Come on, get the McLaren out of the way!”

Hulkenberg takes a 4 point lead over Perez. Ocon is now 12 point behind.