Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Miami International Autodrome, 2022

2022 Miami Grand Prix driver ratings

2022 Miami Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

The first ever Miami Grand Prix offered plenty of challenges to the 20 Formula 1 drivers, with high temperatures, a low grip surface and plenty of walls to punish mistakes.

Here are RaceFans’ driver ratings for the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

Lewis Hamilton – 6

Qualified: 6th (+6 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 6th (-1 behind team mate)

  • Qualified sixth behind former team mate Bottas
  • Lost two places at start after bump from Alonso at turn two
  • Passed Alonso, then passed Gasly in early laps
  • Ran behind Bottas before and after pit stop, staying out under Safety Car
  • Gained a place through Bottas’s turn 17 error, lost one to his team mate soon after
  • Was briefly handed his place back from Russell before being passed a second time, finishing sixth
Russell benefited from a well-timed Safety Car

George Russell – 5

Qualified: 12th (-6 behind team mate)
Finished: 5th (+1 ahead of team mate)

  • Set the pace on Friday with the fastest lap of the day
  • Eliminated from Q2 by 0.045s in 12th, admitting lack of confidence in the car
  • Started on hard tyres and fell to 15th at start, later losing another place to Albon
  • Passed Ricciardo and inherited places when medium runners pitted and to move up to fifth
  • Pitted under convenient Virtual Safety Car, losing only two places and switching to mediums
  • Passed Bottas after his mistake at turn 17, then passed Hamilton outside of track limits, having to give up place
  • Overtook Hamilton a second time after handing back position, holding onto fifth at the finish
Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Miami International Autodrome, 2022
Verstappen missed most of Friday but still secured the win

Max Verstappen – 8

Qualified: 3rd (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: Winner (+3 ahead of team mate)

  • Overheating problems on Friday led to him setting no timed laps in second practice
  • Had provisional pole in Q3 but turn five mistake allowed Ferraris to jump him on grid
  • Passed Sainz to take second at the start
  • Caught Leclerc in early laps before passing him for the lead into turn one
  • Managed the gap to Leclerc on the hard tyres before Safety Car
  • Resisted pressure from Leclerc in closing laps to claim second successive victory, with fastest lap

Sergio Perez – 5

Qualified: 4th (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 4th (-3 behind team mate)

  • Qualified fourth after admitting leaving time on the board in sector two on final Q3 lap
  • Held fourth at the start and kept in touch with Sainz before sensor failure cost him seven seconds
  • Unable to close gap to Sainz ahead after switching to hards
  • Pitted for another set of mediums under Safety Car
  • Tried to pass Sainz at restart but could not get past
  • Almost able to pass Sainz with lunge into turn one but ran wide, finishing fourth

Carlos Sainz Jnr – 5

Qualified: 2nd (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 3rd (-1 behind team mate)

  • High speed spin in first practice led to puncture
  • Crashed at turn 14 in second practice
  • Took advantage of Verstappen’s Q3 error to take second on grid by five thousandths of a second
  • Lost second to Verstappen at the start
  • Slow pit stop but had enough margin to retain third
  • Struggled to match team mate on hards, dropping off by over half a second a lap
  • Almost lost position to Perez after bad restart, then did well to repel his later attack
  • Finish third and claimed his fitness was not 100-percent after recent lack of race distances
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Miami International Autodrome, 2022
Leclerc was never lower than second in every session

Charles Leclerc – 7

Qualified: Pole (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 2nd (+1 ahead of team mate)

  • Took pole after being quickest in all three qualifying phases
  • Held his lead off the line and led the early laps before being passed by Verstappen
  • Pitted first of the frontrunners but lost time to Verstappen in the pit cycle
  • Tried to pressure Verstappen after restart but unable to get close enough to make a move for the lead
  • Never lower than second all weekend

Lando Norris – 5

Qualified: 8th (+6 ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Crash – L40)

  • Comfortably reached Q3, securing eighth on the grid
  • Lost one place at the start, running ninth until switching to hards and dropping to 16th
  • Struggled to catch and pass Schumacher but later passed Vettel for 14th
  • Collided with an ailing Gasly ending his race on the spot, deemed racing incident

Daniel Ricciardo – 4

Qualified: 14th (-6 behind team mate)
Finished: 13th

  • Reprimanded for failing to follow practice start procedure correctly
  • Eliminated in Q2 after delay leaving the garage compromised his final run
  • Gained one place on opening lap, then lost two in consecutive laps
  • Pitted the latest of the medium starters, but fell to 17th
  • Switched to softs under Virtual Safety Car and gained two places after melee at restart
  • Passed Magnussen on penultimate lap at turn 12 outside of track limits, earning five second penalty
  • Crossed the line 11th but fell to 13th after penalty
Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Miami International Autodrome, 2022
Alonso received two time penalties in the race

Fernando Alonso – 3

Qualified: 11th
Finished: 11th (-3 behind team mate)

  • Disappointed to miss out of Q3, blaming traffic
  • Gained four places at the start, bumping Hamilton at turn two
  • Passed by Hamilton on lap three, dropping to eighth, then ran close to Gasly over opening stint
  • Tried to undercut Gasly but failed, spending 22 more laps unable to pass him
  • Hit Gasly at turn one, earning a five second time penalty which he later apologised for
  • Investigated twice for missing the turn 14 chicane and gaining an advantage, handed a second time penalty for one of them
  • Finished eighth on track but penalties demoted him to 11th

Esteban Ocon – 4

Qualified: 20th – No time set
Finished: 8th (+3 ahead of team mate)

  • Reprimanded for nearly hitting Russell in pits in first practice
  • Heavy 51G crash at turn 14 in third practice forced him out of qualifying
  • Passed Latifi on the second lap before running behind Albon on hard tyres
  • Gained places from rivals ahead stopping, eventually rising to eighth
  • Pitted after Virtual Safety Car was upgraded to Safety Car, allowing him to rejoin in tenth
  • Ran tenth at restart, gained ninth after Vettel and Schumacher collided
  • Claimed after the race to have been feeling “50 percent physically” after Saturday crash

Pierre Gasly – 5

Qualified: 7th (+2 ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Crash damage, L45)

  • Secured seventh on the grid after “best qualifying of the year”
  • Passed Hamilton at the start to sit sixth before Hamilton retook the place on lap six
  • Absorbed pressure from Alonso and had to pit early to defend undercut attempt
  • Faced more pressure from Alonso until being hit by the Alpine at turn one
  • Told that his car data looked clear after clash but complained of bent steering
  • Suddenly lost grip entering the marina, losing multiple positions until contact with Norris ended his race

Yuki Tsunoda – 4

Qualified: 9th (-2 behind team mate)
Finished: 12th

  • Struggled for practice pace compared with team mate
  • Reached Q3 to secure ninth on grid
  • Lost one position to Alonso at the start
  • First to switch from mediums to hards, dropping him to the back
  • Pitted for softs under Safety Car but only able to pass Latifi, finishing in 12th
Vettel’s race ended after contact with Schumacher

Sebastian Vettel – 4

Qualified: 13th (-3 behind team mate)
Classified: 17th (-7 behind team mate)

  • Eliminated in Q2 after admitting “small wobble” in final sector cost him Q3 berth
  • Forced to start from the pit lane after fuel legality concerns
  • Followed team mate Stroll up the order on hard tyres until passed by Magnussen
  • Repassed Magnussen at turn 17 before losing position to both Haas at turn 11 the next lap
  • Gained two places after restart clash between Stroll and Magnussen to sit 11th
  • Snatched two places from Ocon and Schumacher at turn 17
  • Collision at turn on with Schumacher ended race, deemed racing incident

Lance Stroll – 6

Qualified: 10th (+3 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 10th (+7 ahead of team mate)

  • Reached Q3 but “messy” final sector left him ninth
  • Forced to start from the pit lane after fuel legality concerns
  • Ran hard tyres on first stint, passing Latifi and fighting off Magnussen
  • Stuck behind Alonso for 24 laps until pitting under Virtual Safety Car
  • Clashed with Magnussen at restart, losing three places
  • Received black-and-white warning flag for weaving
  • Second collision with Magnussen at turn 11, but deemed not responsible by stewards
  • Finished 12th on track but inherited a point for tenth after Alonso and Ricciardo penalised

Nicholas Latifi – 3

Qualified: 19th (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 14th (-5 behind team mate)

  • Slowest in all three practice sessions
  • Eliminated slowest in Q1 to start 19th
  • Started on hard tyres but struggled for pace over first stint
  • Ran at back of the field before pitting but could not take advantage of medium tyres
  • Finished ahead of both Haas drivers after their late problems
Alex Albon, Williams, Miami International Autodrome, 2022
Albon scored points for the second time in three races

Alexander Albon – 6

Qualified: 18th (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 9th (+5 ahead of team mate)

  • Fined for exceeding pit lane speed limit by 7.6km/h in first practice
  • Baffled by failure to convert promising practice pace into qualifying, leaving him 18th
  • Used medium tyres to pass Russell in early laps
  • Made early switch to hards, passing Tsunoda and Latifi still on old tyres
  • Jumped five spots to 11th under Safety Car
  • Passed by Vettel after restart, dropping to 12th
  • Gained two places after Vettel and Schumacher collided to finish tenth, which became ninth after Alonso penalty

Valtteri Bottas – 6

Qualified: 5th (+12 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 7th

  • Crashed at turn seven in first practice, causing heavy damage that ended his Friday running
  • Secured ‘best of the rest’ honours with fifth on the grid in qualifying
  • Kept fifth off the line and ran there through the entire opening stint
  • Gained fifth back under Safety Car but lost two places to Mercedes after turn 17 mistake
  • Unable to challenge Hamilton ahead and finished seventh

Zhou Guanyu – 5

Qualified: 17th (-12 behind team mate)
Finished: Retired (Water leak – L6)

  • Eliminated in Q1 for only the first time this season after hitting traffic on final lap
  • Gained one place over Russell on opening lap
  • Ran 14th until being called in to retire with a water leak on lap six

Mick Schumacher – 4

Qualified: 15th (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 15th (+1 ahead of team mate)

  • Reached Q2 but eliminated as slowest in second session
  • Passed Ricciardo and Tsunoda in early laps, before being told to let Magnussen by for tenth
  • Gained ninth after rivals pitted under Safety Car
  • Took advantage of Magnussen’s lunge on Vettel to pass him before Magnussen error moved him 12th
  • Clashed with Vettel in closing laps, causing him to pit for new front wing, deemed racing incident
Kevin Magnussen, Haas, Miami International Autodrome, 2022
Magnussen described Miami as his hardest race ever

Kevin Magnussen – 3

Qualified: 16th (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 16th (-1 behind team mate)

  • Eliminated in Q1 after losing radio communication in qualifying
  • Passed Ricciardo and Tsunoda in early laps before being allowed past Schumacher
  • Dived past Vettel for 13th but mistake at turn 17 allowed Schumacher back through
  • Clashed with Stroll at the restart, suffering front wing damage
  • Made further contact with Stroll at turn 11, receiving a five second penalty
  • Described the race as the “hardest I’ve ever done”

Over to you

Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:

2022 Miami Grand Prix

Browse all 2022 Miami Grand Prix articles

Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

85 comments on “2022 Miami Grand Prix driver ratings”

  1. The averages so far:

    Max Verstappen: 7.6
    Valtteri Bottas: 6.8
    Charles Leclerc: 6.8
    Alexander Albon: 6.4
    Lando Norris: 6.2
    Sergio Perez: 6.2
    George Russell: 6.2
    Kevin Magnussen: 5.6
    Pierre Gasly: 5.6
    Fernando Alonso: 5.6
    Lewis Hamilton: 5.4
    Yuki Tsunoda: 5.3
    Esteban Ocon: 5.2
    Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
    Zhou Guanyu: 4.8
    Daniel Ricciardo: 4.8
    Carlos Sainz Jnr: 4.8
    Lance Stroll: 4.6
    Sebastian Vettel: 4.3
    Mick Schumacher: 3.8
    Nicholas Latifi: 3.4

    1. Nice oveview

    2. Reading these averages, one thing seems clear : Alfa Romeo’s package is quite a bit underrated. Bottas shouldn’t be in any circumstances the second best driver of this grid and Guanyu Zhou is a rookie whose junior career is very similar to Latifi, thus making 15th generous.

    3. Thank you for the scores ! I have a question which formule you using because this aren’t all the parameters :)

      1. Simple averages.
        Identical scores presented in reverse order of the ratings by @WillWood.

        Let me know if you think I made a mistake.

  2. BOT over the weekend, no one else really.

    1. Made a big mistake that cost him points. I don’t think Hamilton would have overtaken him without the mistake.

    2. He drove into the wall when he overshoot his breakings point.

  3. These ratings are all over the place. How is Bottas a 6, same as Hamilton? only that tiny mistake late in the race spoiled almost a perfect weekend for him. 5th on the grid, 7th in the race missing out on both Mercedes by a tiny margin and bad luck with the safety car.

    He tied with Stroll who had a torrid race and lucked out on a point after Mick and Seb crashed and Alonso was pensalized and only 1 point ahead of his team mate that did nothing spectacular all weekend and didn’t even finish the race?!

    1. It’s a random number generator… Surly Hamilton 6 Russell 5?! Comedy…

      1. Yep, ludicrous, to have Ham above Rus on this race – clearly an unbiased report…

    2. “that tiny mistake late in the race spoiled almost a perfect weekend for him”

      That tiny mistakes was obviously a very costly one, if you don’t realize the car’s potential on race day it has to result into the ratings…. there was no one else to blame than Bottas.

      1. @Matn understandable. But if so, then Perez should be an instant 1 because he didn’t fulfill the car’s potential, as it was the winner.

        Makes no sense.

        1. Not really since the sensor failure caused a reduction in power for him.

  4. Generally, fair ratings this time around. Albon a bit higher given the car he had and the fights he managed to put on. Bottas a bit lower given that he had a very good car and lost two positions towards the end due to what seems to be a mistake …

    1. Bottas a bit lower given that he had a very good car and lost two positions towards the end due to what seems to be a mistake …

      There was no way Bottas could’ve kept Russell behind given that Russell had fresh mediums after the SC. So the mistake probably cost one position, even though Mercedes seemed to be faster car with hards, so Hamilton could’ve overtook Bottas nevertheless.

      1. Probably right but Bottas made it easier for them by making that mistake. Anyway, I think the ratings are fair overall.

        What is surprising is that almost everyone got mediocre ratings (again, fair ratings). This goes to show that, except for Verstappen’s performance (and I’d say Albon’s), the rest of the race was quite mediocre.

  5. George Russell did better than that

    1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      10th May 2022, 18:51

      Russell didn’t do well in qualifying and gained as many positions on track as he lost at the start. The only positions he gained on track were on ricciardo who went wide and Zhou who had issues. He only caught hamilton and Bottas because of the safety car. All the other passes were done due to drivers pitting. that said, he managed his strategy well. But it certainly was overall just an average weekend. A 5 is pretty accurate I’d say.

  6. Jelle van der Meer (@)
    10th May 2022, 8:40

    Albon scoring a point in one of the slowest cars gets a 6
    Hamilton finishing 6th in 3rd fastest car and finishing behind his teammate that started 6 places behind him also gets a 6. Oh his teammate Russell only got a 5.

    How can you rate Lewis the joined 3rd best driver of Miami weekend, just more of the usual BS from the Hamilton fan website.

    1. Hamilton finishing 6th in 3rd fastest car and finishing behind his teammate that started 6 places behind him also gets a 6. Oh his teammate Russell only got a 5.

      Did you watch the race (and the qualifying) or only the results?

    2. I think the ratings are harsh but fair. If you compare Russel and Lewis it is clear that Lewis overall did the better job this weekend but Russel had a great race with some more luck as well after poor qualifying. Albon had a great race result but partly luck, the rarings are based on the weekend so 6 is fair.

      1. I think the ratings in general are extremely harsh but I agree on this point, said it before on another article too: hamilton did the better job and deserves at least something more than russell, maybe half a point, but this rating system doesn’t give half marks, so.

    3. HAM had a pretty good qualy, overtook some cars after the start (where he got held up by behind early braking Perez), and he only got overtaken by RUS due to the different tyre strategy in combination with the luck of a SC at the right time. Pretty close to the maximum the car currently allows.

      1. Russel maybe overtook him because of safety car, but that’s just one position. He gained the rest previously and got close enough. Well, in truth, nothing spectacular from either of them once again. We talk so much about how bad that car is, but it’s clearly third best. It’s not like either driver would prefer driving Sauber or Williams…

        1. Frankly, either Bottas magically improved like crazy this winter, or this Alfa package, including engine, is all in all equal or even slightly better than Mercedes.

          1. Yes, it looks like that indeed, mercedes have 2 drivers who on form can extract the most from their car, alfa has 1, so I don’t think bottas is overachieving, it’s his team mate underachieving.

          2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
            10th May 2022, 21:14

            @mxmxd scary, right? But I still think Mercedes have a lot of legroom in the engine but the porpoising is slowing them down.

    4. Russell got the results mainly thanks to a lucky SC, other than that his performance was so, so… same goes for Lewis, he did loose two places at the start afterall. Russell at least made a good strategy call, while Lewis was again bickering with the team…

      Albon doesn’t end up in the points (9th) just by luck….he simply does a very good job, just like Russell keeps on ending up ahead of Lewis. Part of luck is doing the right thing at the right time.

      1. It’s interesting how George and Lewis both differed on the radio to their team. George seemed fully aware of what was going on and made his own luck by managing his tyres and holding out for a likely safety car.

        1. +1, George was heard on the radio describing his strategy to the team. On a circuit with so many walls a safety car was absolutely likely. Choosing to start on hards and run them deep into the race was another smart call from the young man. The harder he tries, the luckier he gets..

        2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
          10th May 2022, 21:17

          It was pretty clear for George but less clear for Lewis. That being said, the team should have known what to do and been decisive as opposed to showing up with tires and then having a conference call with Lewis to decide if he wants to drop to last with a fresh set of tires.

          It’s like discussing a pass in soccer that needed to happen 20 seconds ago :-)

          1. Russell likes to take on a challenge while Lewis seems to be stuck in conservative modus, something he’s been used to in recent years. Mercedes simply aren;t the best team when it comes to strategies and pitstops, they got away with for a long period of time, but they are getting quite exposed with it lately.

            I remember various dubious strategy calls, or better, lack of strategy calls last season as well, Lewis and his eam often kept on bickering about tyres….Turkey being the ultimate low of last season…simply giving away a podium cause of the bickering.

            Lewis hasn’t suddenly lost the ability to drive a car fast, but thinking outside the box is becoming an issue, Russell….and Albon are making the most of it

      2. I don’t remember having read the rankings for the 1st race of this season (and I won’t bother looking for them) but I’m sure Hamilton got 9.99 or more than 10 for getting the podium. Oh, he lucked into it when both RBs retired right? Nah, Will Wood mostly sure turned a blind eye to that fact.

  7. Why give George a 5, he gained 10 positions over the race and finished ahead of Hamilton again?

    1. There lives a peculiar persistent Sir Lewis is the universe’s gift to F1 narrative amongst some Brits. In the process totally ignoring how well Lando and George drive. I guess it has to do with his tally of 7, being on par with Michael and almost getting an 8th. Thing is, those 7 are largely colored by chance rather than ‘out-skilling’ others. Lewis started believing he was really better and rarely leaves an opportunity unused to air it and a lot of people just went with it. Meanwhile, looking at it from a more neutral perspective it is clear he has above average skills and stumbled upon a unprecedented dominance streak of Mercedes. Without that entire V6 Hybrid era dominance of the team he would have gotten exactly zero additional titles on top of his 1st. Or if he wouldnt have switched to Mercedes, mr X (whomever would have taken that seat) would be a multiple WDC. Depending on who would have taken that seat we might be looking at Bottas as a 4 or 5 time WDC while Lewis would be a 1 time WDC. They all need a race winning car to become WDC. Lewis just happened to have had it for a far longer period than we usually see in F1. That does not make him better, just more lucky.

      1. I agree. He was in a car far superior than the rest, which of course isn’t his fault. I’m sure he would like to win a close title against a driver from another team for his legacy and I’d like to see that happen next year or at least before he retires. In his title winning years he just happened to be slightly better than Rosberg and a lot better than Bottas. I hope those days are over for good and F1 keeps to rules which prevent that sort of dominance ever again. It was just too damaging to the sport.

        1. Agreed. It is frustrating to see how now the press talk about the car being the problem; for the last few years it was not possible to say the car was a big part of the reason for his success without being called a hater.

          On a good day in a good car LH is a fantastic driver – one of the best around at the moment. Brazil 2021 was an example of this.

          But he is not 3.5 x better than Alonso, or 2 x better than Lauda or 7 x better than Rosberg.

          1. Absolutely, got considered a h-a-t-e-r (just making sure) as well when I pointed out about the car.

            From what I saw alonso at peak should be up there with hamilton at peak, alonso is one of the drivers who drove the worst cars that went on to win a title, none of his 2 titles was done with a dominant car, and they have different qualities, alonso can extract more from a bad car than hamilton can, on other hand hamilton is a better wet weather driver and qualifier, alonso is a better starter and more consistent in general. Rosberg is only a bit worse than hamilton, had he stayed at merc he wouldn’t have won more titles but if his team mate was bottas he also could’ve had several titles.

          2. Absolutely, got considered anti-hamilton as well when I pointed out about the car.

            From what I saw alonso at peak should be up there with hamilton at peak, alonso is one of the drivers who drove the worst cars that went on to win a title, none of his 2 titles was done with a dominant car, and they have different qualities, alonso can extract more from a bad car than hamilton can, on other hand hamilton is a better wet weather driver and qualifier, alonso is a better starter and more consistent in general. Rosberg is only a bit worse than hamilton, had he stayed at merc he wouldn’t have won more titles but if his team mate was bottas he also could’ve had several titles.

    2. Well, you misunderstand this.
      If Hamilton gains 10 places in a race he’s the best thing since sliced bread. If Russell does this, he just qualified bad.
      If Hamilton decides on a strategy to go long on the hards to be in a position to gain from a safety car, he’s smart. If Russell does this, he’s just lucky.

      Hamilton is a very good driver, and he showed sufficiently talent and speed to start in a fast McLaren, and I think it was more than luck he got in the most dominant team of modern F1. But indeed, as you say, several other drivers could have gotten 6 or 7 WDC’s with Mercedes.

  8. I know it has been commented here before, but I think you really should change the scale of these ratings and drop the comparison to historical races. Given that in these ratings 9 and 10 are practically unused, 8 is a rare achievement and 1 to 3 seem to be reserved for blunders, all the drivers who didn’t have an epic or a disastrous weekend are stacked in to the same pile.

    For instance: Bottas 6 and Zhou 5, really? Were their performances over the weekend almost the same?

    1. I agree with you about the scale of the ratings they seem to be a bit low overall. But changing the scale during the season makes it more confusing. Maybe it would help to round up to half points to make more distinction in the midfield. I sure hope we get a epic 10 this year :-)

    2. Mr Scallywag
      10th May 2022, 10:22

      I wonder if Toto was using Will’s system when he gave the GP a 9.

      “Yah I just love ze razzamatazz”

    3. COTD.

      Really it comes down to a choice of 6,5 or 4 for 95% of the field.

    4. There is no way Zhou should get a 5 and Bottas only one point above. This rating lacks logic.

  9. Gasly’s 5 seems harsh. Good qualifying, just didn’t have the car to do better in the race and got eliminated after a mistake by Alonso.

  10. come on guys, 6 for stroll, 4 for vettel? you should stop doing these ratings asap

  11. Surely only the performance in the race really matters, as what comes before is practice (and that is not a clear indicator of driver or car performance) and qualifying (which is an indicator of driver and car one lap pace and so prone to queues and red flags and all).

    Some of those factors will come into the race but the length of the race gives time for drivers and teams an opportunity to overcome those glitches as RedBull did with Perez who deserves a high score for his overall performance and in handling the sensor problem so well.

    Hamilton did well in qualifying but made no overall progress in the race yet Russel had a poor qualifying for whatever reason yet came across the line ahead of his team mate who started so far ahead of him yet gets a lower score ‘for the weekend’!

    1. Luck shouldn’t be rewarded, he already got more points, enough reward already imo. Yes, he made the decision to wait, but because of the starting tyre he was in a position to wait without risking much, hamilton wasn’t.

      1. But was it pure luck, or was it a smart strategy where luck helped a bit?

  12. A 3 for Alonso is tough and not representative. Things are clearly not falling into place for him this year but he is performing at a very high level and far better than Ocon.

    I can’t see how Stroll is a 6 and Alonso is a 3…

    1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      10th May 2022, 21:42

      Stroll qualified into Q3, which is pretty impressive I’d say. Then had a penalty to start at the back and had a pretty solid race and ended up grabbing the final point. 6 is fair I think.

      Alonso had a good start, but other than that, was not good. He hit hamilton on the first lap, had a collision with gasly, which got him a penalty and then had another penalty on the last lap for track limits which knocked him out of the points. it was a very scrappy weekend from him. Stroll was far better. Simple reason for difference in scores i would say.

  13. Roger A Vandevelde
    10th May 2022, 11:59

    New and unusual track that offers many challenges that tests drivers’ skills, taxes durability of cars that tests manufacturers. A tight and compact course always room for improvement.

  14. Really low ratings for all…. I realize none of them are perfect, but when someone makes up from a poor Friday and takes a dominant win on Sunday a ‘solid’ 8, maybe is a bit low… it was no 10 I agree, but a deserved 9 seems more correct.
    Leclerc imo eanred an 8, he did everythign right apart from a few (costly) oversteer moments. just a level below Verstappen, but imo far better than a 7.

    Both Sains and Perez are a true class below their team mates, who simply drover away from them, Perez did suffer from a sensor issue than cost him around 20-30 bhp…I expected more from Perez on new tyres, but if he really was down on horse power there’s little he could do.

    1. Nah, verstappen no way should get a 9, he did well, absolutely, but this was no different than any other weekend any winner had so far, he even made a mistake in quali.

      Agree about leclerc deserving an 8 (oh, and I’m talking about this very harsh scale where being perfect you get 8, ofc at school we used to get 10 with a perfect test).

      1. Ok..so despite Verstappen did beat Leclerc on track they both deverse the same rating….?
        I am glad the FIA is in controle over the real points rather than fans and journalists

  15. Again the safety car decided the outcome and position of drivers
    Need to close pit stops during safety car periods to keep the race fair

    1. @Tielman closing pits during SC is as unfair for those who haven’t pitted yet as is keeping pits open for those who have already pitted.

      An SC is always going to benefit some and disadvantage others. No one solution will solve that. Aggregate time is the solution that comes closest, but we’ve had that in the past and it was confusing for viewers.

      1. @mattds Yes past experience has told us that locking the pit-lane during a safety car period makes it even more unfair and more of a lottery than the current system. Currently, the most that a driver can gain is around 20 seconds of race time. If the pit lane is closed under safety car and closes just before a driver needs to pit, they can lose positions to half the field or more because when they pit at the end of the safety car period the pack is completely bunched up.

        They could make it completely fair by using a VSC type system at the end of the safety car period to restore the gaps that were present at the point the safety car was released. However, I don’t think there is much appetite for that as the safety car is what provides a wild-card for races that are otherwise very dull (like this race for example).

  16. To anyone upset with the ratings, just add two points to everyones score and it seems far more reasonable.

    1. Yes, that’s true.

  17. how does hamilton get a 6 when Russell gets a 5?

    Some sheep i think…

    1. Hamilton had the better weekend, russell ended up ahead because of SC luck. There’s also no half marks, but I think 0,5 higher for ham was justified.

  18. So, Russell takes a 5, after starting 12th to finish 5th.
    And Zhou also takes a 5, after starting 17th and DNF.
    mmmkay…

    1. Exactly, I was going to write the same thing. A similar rating for Russel and Zhou makes no sense at all.

      1. Very true.

  19. Ok, overall I think these ratings are way too harsh, and I wonder something: since apart from really exceptional circumstances a perfect weekend earns an 8 here, unlike a 10, which could be expected, should a 5 be considered the sufficient mark, what normally is 6? Cause 60% of 8 is 4,8, so if the other ratings are scaled the same way 5 should be plenty to be a passing mark, as I see it.

  20. Russell is the best thing since sliced bread. He deserves a 10 every race if he beats Sir Lewis Hamilton.

    In reality, he had a poor qualifying. Cars pitted in front of him and without the safety car he would’ve finished 7th at best. Hard tyres were a no brainer with an offset strategy and he didn’t need to manage those tyres in reality. Ricciardo eked out the mediums for nearly as long and got unlucky with the VSC. So nothing special and I barely noticed him in the race.

    So he’s been lucky and now is the boy wonder and better than Verstappen and Hamilton put together according to many here who I bet the majority of don’t even watch the full live race.

    We’ll only have a fair comparison when the car allows the drivers to push to the limit and challenge RedBull and Ferrari. Look at Sainz, he looked serene last year but the pressure has got to him. He may be great or he may be just very good but time will tell as F1 exposes all.

    1. Absolutely nobody said the things you claim about Russell, so please stop your straw man argumentation.

      1. It’s all over this comments section. My straw man is at least based on facts to emphasise the fact that people are so desperate to raise Russell to undeserved levels of praise and to unfairly criticise Hamilton when both have been maximising their results whether through luck or not and are clearly being limited by the car.

        I watch all the races live so can clearly see when people are judging based on the result without having sat through the race.

        The result alone is not an indicator of outright performance and we must all balance the judgement.

  21. I have used a scoring system equivalent to that of Autosport (which defines each number with an explanation) but with one mark deducted from each explanation to reserve a 10/10 for great performances, inspired by racefans’ system which I really like (and am particularly looking forward to the article of all the 10/10 drives in history). In my ranking, the only 10/10 performances of 2021 are Norris in Austria and Leclerc in Silverstone (which would probably be 9/10 on racefans) and Lewis Hamilton in Brazil (surely 10/10 on racefans).

    So here are my rankings from Miami:

    Max Verstappen – 8. Deducted a point for the qualifying mistake that left him third on the grid but an impressive fightback in the race allowed him to take the lead and win, fending off a late threat from Leclerc after the safety car. After reliability issues earlier in the season, he is right back in the championship battle.

    Charles Leclerc – 8. Another great qualifying lap to lead the race, but lost out to Verstappen and was unable to challenge him again until the safety car, after which he did very well to get so close to his rival in what seemed the inferior car. Maybe he would have been better off pitting.

    Carlos Sainz – 7. Maybe a little generous as he was outclassed once again by his teammate and also crashed in practice, but he did manage to beat Verstappen to second on the grid and did well to defend against Perez’s faster Red Bull for another podium.

    Sergio Perez – 7. Difficult to rate as we don’t know the extent of his engine problem, so maybe this is too generous as I would have expected him to beat Sainz with better tyres at the end, but he did appear faster than the Ferrari before he lost power, and then held on well behind him after.

    George Russell – 6. Another good fightback from a poor grid position but it can’t be ignored that it was his own mistake that put him 12th on the grid, and he was lucky that the safety car allowed him to be right behind Hamilton and Bottas, althoughh he still had to make the moves himself.

    Lewis Hamilton – 7. Beaten by Russell again but was the better Mercedes driver, beating him in qualifying and then would have beaten him in the race but for the safety car giving Russell a good chance. Maybe he could have done more against Bottas before the safety car.

    Valtteri Bottas – 8. It is difficult to know how good the Alfa Romeo really is as his teammate is a rookie, but it might well be faster than the Mercedes as Bottas qualified an excellent fifth and was looking like he had that position under control before the safety car put the Mercedes on his tail and then he made a poor mistake, going wide and costing him a 9, to drop behind both.

    Esteban Ocon – 6. This rating could be a bit harsh as Ocon fought from the back of the grid to claim points, but the practice crash was his fault and he was very fortunate with the safety car, without which he wouldn’t have scored points.

    Alexander Albon – 7. A poor qualifying session but once again he was excellent in the race, staying towards the back before making up places behind the safety car and keeping out of trouble, while holding up those on fresh tyres, to claim an impressive ninth.

    Lance Stroll – 7. He did well to make Q3 but was unlucky to start from the pitlane due to the team’s error. Then kept pace well with Alonso despite older tyres and the safety car gave him a chance to score before he was hit twice by Magnussen, and then scored anyway thanks to incidents for others.

    Fernando Alonso – 5. A disappointing qualifying session but he made up for it with a super first lap and was shadowing Gasly before a slow stop denied him the chance of an undercut. Then the first penalty was deserved for a silly incident with Gasly, while the second was more harsh. Has been very unlucky this season.

    Yuki Tsunoda – 4. A good qualifying session to make Q3 but in the race Tsunoda was nowhere, struggling with tyres, falling a long way behind his teammate and being lapped, before making progress at the end after numerous incidents for other drivers.

    Daniel Ricciardo – 4. Wasn’t entirely to blame for the bad grid slot due to a quick outlap, but he had very little pace in the race and never looked like scoring until the late race chaos briefly promoted him to tenth before a penalty. Probably should have scored points.

    Nicholas Latifi – 4. Continues to have a very poor season as he was not far behind Albon in qualifying but then was considerably slower than the rest of the grid, falling to the back even when he had pitted and others hadn’t.

    Mick Schumacher – 5. One of his best races in Formula 1 after outqualifying his teammate and running in ninth, before a major error into turn one saw him take out Vettel and ruin his own race, thus earning him a low score. Deserves a point soon.

    Kevin Magnussen – 4. Was generally slightly slower than Schumacher this weekend but was right behind his teammate before the safety car. Then had a shocker after that with two collisions with Lance Stroll leaving him to finish last.

    Sebastian Vettel – 6. Outqualified by Stroll but generally seemed faster in the race and was right behind his teammate before a mistake cost him places. Then did well to make it through to ninth after the safety car before being taken out by Schumacher.

    Pierre Gasly – 5. Was having an excellent weekend, qualifying seventh and running in a solid provisional eighth before being spun by Alonso and sustaining damage. However, he earns this low score for the incident with Norris which was clumsy as he turned into the McLaren.

    Lando Norris – 5. Did a good job to make Q3 in qualifying but the race was disappointing as, after being unlucky with a slow pitstop, he was unable to challenge the Astons and Haases and then was not blameless in the incident with Gasly that took him out.

    Zhou Guanyu – 4. Although he was impressive on his first lap of qualifying, Zhou ended up a disappointing 17th, far less than the car was capable of, and then made a bit of progress before being force to retire from the race.

    Team of the Grand Prix – Red Bull. It was their low downforce setup that played a big role in allowing Verstappen to win and they also generally appeared to have the fastest car all weekend.

    1. Well done F1 frog. I agree with all your ratings and reasoning behind them.

    2. Now this looks more like it, this f1 fanatic rating system seems way too harsh, I haven’t got an answer but I feel like, considering 8 is given in a perfect race normally, 5 could be a passing mark on the site’s rating system, unlike 6 in normal situations.

  22. I only disagree with Russell rating vs Hamilton. I would like the numbers reversed. Its not easy to keep those hards in good condition, stay out by your decision waiting for a SC and deliver.

    1. Russell no doubt did a good job in the race, but so did hamilton, and there was luck deciding the ending position, at least half a point more for hamilton is fair imo, and the site doesn’t give half marks.

    2. Qualifying being the difference maker ofc.

  23. Very very harsh on Mick.
    It was not his mistake, in my opinion.
    This was a really good weekend by him.

    1. Agree, he did well, then again mistakes are usually punished heavily, so if they blamed him for his mistake it’s understandable, vettel was having a great dominant race in hockhenheim 2018, then a mistake and most sites gave him 4, what would’ve been a 9 or 10 before.

  24. Bottas and Albon have been incredibly hard done by here…

  25. Hards are designed for 30-40 laps.

    No brainer to stay out during the safety car window. If it works great, otherwise a maximum of 7th or realistically Russell was on for 8th. He was anonymous through the race.

    1. Yes, he was lucky that he started on hards, the decision was made much easier by that.

  26. Oh boy here we go again. Forget the logarithmic scale, problem is the criteria is all over the place.

  27. 8 Verstappen Worthy winner but his straight line speed made passing and defending fairly easy
    7 Leclerc Dominated teammate and perfect qualifying, but maybe he could have been cannier with Verstappen
    7 Albon Took 9th in the slowest car on the wrong strategy. Navigated a busy midfield on a tricky track without crashes or errors (unlike most)
    7 Hamilton I think he did all he could other than a poor start but was unlucky with strategy vs Russell
    6 Sainz Didn’t have the pace of Leclerc but defence against Perez was inch perfect
    6 Ocon Costly crash in practice but kept is head as others failed to around him
    6 Russell Poor qualifying and start to the race but made the hard tyres work and last and the safety car suited him perfectly but messy pace on teammate meant he could not put pressure on a squabbling Sainz and Perez
    6 Bottas Probably in the third fastest car and was doing well in 5th but mistake to brush the wall cost him places but luckily did no damage. Alfa front wings again shown to be the strongest in F1 (strongest ever?)
    6 Vettel Unlucky to start last and had solid pace and navigated the collisions well before Schumacher took him out. Best overtake of the race on Latifi
    5 Stroll Bad tempered battle with Magnussen did him no favours but was unlucky to lose 8th on the grid which would have elevated him above that scrap
    5 Perez Unlucky with engine sensor issues but didn’t have the pace of Verstappen or the judgement to pass Sainz. His move on Sainz was not dissimilar to Alonso’s or Schuamcher’s
    5 Latifi Slower than Albon and quiet race was in the slowest car so not a bad achievement to race with Tsunoda and beat the two Haas
    5 Ricciardo A bit slower than Norris, got a penalty which cost him a point, but at least he didn’t crash
    4 Gasly Looked to have good pace especially compared to teammate. Blamesless in Alonso crash but could he could have stayed out of the way more with his damaged car to avoid Norris crash
    4 Norris Was doing OK until poor pitstop, slow pace on hards was finished with isnufficient care passing Gasly’s slow car
    4 Tsunoda Was very slow compared to Gasly and too far back in capitalise on some of the mistakes of others
    4 Magnussen Seemed like a caged animal on this Miami track and made too many mistakes to finish last
    4 Zhou The gap to Botttas in qualifying was huge but didn’t get the chance to redeem himself in the race
    4 Schumacher In the hunt for points until race unravelled in two corners. Ran Ocon off the road losing a place to Vettel then took out Vettel with an over-optimistic move
    3 Alonso Solid pace but, collided with Hamilton and Gasly from a long way back and tried to cheat DRS. Very poor

Comments are closed.