Castrol EDGE Performer of the Month

Just who has been the world's best driver over the month? Who has had the most wins, the most pole positions? In short, who is hot and who is not?

Has Sebastian Vettel's Formula 1 form proved too good not just for his immediate rivals, but also for the rest of the motorsport world? Has Tony Stewart or one of his NASCAR Sprint Cup rivals hit a purple patch, or is Dario Franchitti the in-form driver in the USA?

Castrol EDGE Performer of the month answers this question.

What is the Castrol EDGE Performer of the Month?

Vettel's 2011 form was not just exceptional, it was exceptionally rare. It is not common for a driver to produce the perfect season. Often in motorsport, as in most sports, it is the individual who performs at a high level most consistently that walks away with the accolades at the end of the year.

But where Castrol EDGE Rankings differs from championship standings is that it constantly changes, measuring on a rolling basis a driver's form over the last 12 months.

With Castrol EDGE Performer of the Month we can focus on drivers' more immediate performance levels - to highlight a run of strong performances at any point of the season. Take last November, when NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards managed a string of three consecutive second-places. He lost the title by the narrowest of margins to Tony Stewart, but beat Stewart and the rest of the motoring world - including the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton - to secure the Performer of the Month award.

How does it work?

The Castrol EDGE Rankings measures each driver's competitive level on a monthly basis, to produce the Castrol EDGE Performer of the Month - highlighting those inevitable purple patches and dips in form.

The Castrol EDGE Rankings uses the same objective analysis of drivers' performance but measures it over a one month period, instead of 12, taking into account all race or rally results during that time. It then balances out and weights the results to ensure equality across different disciplines, to produce the Castrol EDGE Performer of the Month.