Frequently Asked Questions

The Castrol Rankings are a rankings system based on the performance of every race and rally driver across 47 of the world's leading international and national championships and major races.

a) RESULTS

Castrol Index Score: Each driver is given a score depending on his qualifying position and his race result from each event that counts towards the Castrol Rankings. Additional points are given for fastest lap in the race, leading the race or rally, leading the most laps, finishing on the lead lap, most positions gained, and starting the event.

b) WEIGHT THE PERFORMANCE

Castrol Index Score x weighting x race adjustment = Castrol Rankings points: The driver's Castrol Index Score is multiplied by a pre-determined weighting. The weighting is based on the type of race or rally contested so the more important the race or rally, the higher the weighting. For example, a Formula 1 World Championship race will be weighted higher than a round of the British Touring Car Championship. Points are then adjusted depending on the number of rounds in the championship to equalise each series to a theoretical 20 rounds. Therefore, a race win in the 36-round NASCAR Sprint Cup would carry exactly half the value of a race win in F1 if there were 18 grands prix in the season. The result is a Castrol Rankings points total awarded for every driver in the race.

c) CREATE THE RANKINGS SCORE

The points total is then added to all previous points to provide a cumulative Castrol Rankings points total for the past 12 months. Each week the driver with the highest Castrol Rankings points total over the last 12 months will lead the Castrol Rankings.

The Castrol Rankings includes all drivers participating in: Formula 1 World Championship, NASCAR Sprint Cup, IndyCar Series, World Rally Championship, GP2 Series, GP2 Asia, A1GP, Superleague Formula, Formula Renault 3.5, Japanese Formula Nippon, Formula 2, GP3 Series, World GT1/FIA GT2 (and formerly FIA GT) Championships, World Touring Car Championship, Porsche Supercup, Eurocup Megane Trophy, Intercontinental Rally Challenge, American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, Le Mans 24 Hours, Masters of F3, Macau F3 Grand Prix, NASCAR All-Star races, F3 Euro Series, International Formula Master, AutoGP (and formerly Euroseries 3000), South American F3, Brazilian V8 Stock Cars, Australian V8 Supercars, Australian F3, British Touring Cars, British F3, DTM, German F3, Italian F3, Japanese F3, Japanese Super GT, European F3 Open, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Truck Series, Indy Lights, Atlantic Championship, Grand-Am, Speedcar Series.

Our analysts use their knowledge of the drivers and teams in each championship, plus the relative strength in depth of competition, to generate a strength rating for each series.

The Castrol Rankings committee, comprising experts with knowledge across the spectrum of motorsport, monitors each of the championships and races to assess their value.

The Castrol Rankings are a rolling ranking system that looks at the past 12 months (eg October 1 2008 - September 30 2009). The Castrol Rankings will be made available each week via www.castroldriverrankings.com and Castrol's global and local PR office.

All drivers are ranked irrespective of how many events they have competed in. However, a driver's points total for each event will still be adjusted corresponding to the total number of rounds of the championship. In a 17-round Formula 1 season, if a driver contests just two races his/her points will be adjusted to the same formula as a driver who contests all 17.

If a driver competes in more than one series he or she will count all scores from their 'primary' series, plus up to two bonus scores from others.

No. While this is likely if a driver dominates for a long period, an F1 season in which the top drivers are closely matched could always open up the possibility of a driver from World Rally Championship, NASCAR Sprint Cup or the IndyCar Series topping the Castrol Rankings. For example world rally champion Sebastien Loeb led the 2009 Castrol Rankings from April to September.

No, all rounds of a championship are of equal value.

No, it is impossible to objectively calculate the exact performance of each car relative to the opposition.

The points are adjusted immediately for each driver whose position is affected by a penalty or exclusion, or the overturning of one.

Simple. The majority of the drivers in the categories covered by the Castrol Rankings have already made some headway up the motorsport ladder. Championships within and outside of the Rankings will always continue to be monitored as to whether they should be included at a future date.

Click on the 'RANKINGS' tab, second from the left near the top of the home page. Then, to the right, you will see the 'DRIVER SEARCH' function. Enter the name of the driver you wish to search for.

Click on the 'RANKINGS' tab, second from the left near the top of the home page. At the bottom right of the page, you will see the 'Castrol Rankings SERIES LEADERS' function. Click on the 'Full Series Leaders' tab at the bottom. Then just click on whichever series you are searching. This will only give you a driver's score in this particular series, although he or she may have competed in other series and therefore have a different overall Rankings score.

Click on the 'RANKINGS' tab, second from the left near the top of the home page. At the bottom left of the page, you will see the 'Castrol Rankings NATIONS' function. Click on the 'Full Nations Rankings' tab to discover which country's drivers have scored the most Rankings points. Click on the country of your choice to discover who are the best-performing drivers from each nation.

Castrol is committed and passionate about motorsport, and intends to continue the Castrol Rankings beyond 2010.