Sergio Perez, Red Bull, Singapore, 2022

2022 Singapore Grand Prix driver ratings

2022 Singapore Grand Prix

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The return of the Singapore Grand Prix after a two-year absence from the F1 calendar proved a challenging weekend for the 20 drivers, made even more difficult by heavy rain on both Saturday and Sunday.

The two-hour long race pushed drivers’ concentration to the limits, with a high rate of attrition in no small part due to many driving errors committed through the field.

However, while some wilted under the floodlights, others flourished and enjoyed their best results of the season so far. Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton – 4

Qualified: 3rd (+8 places ahead of team mate)
-1.321s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 9th (+5 places ahead of team mate)

  • Fastest in opening practice
  • Secured best qualifying of the season in third, half a tenth of a second from pole
  • Lost out to Sainz off the line, running in fourth through the first half of the race
  • Got within a second of Sainz but crashed head-on into the barriers at turn seven, damaging front wing
  • Pitted for new front wing and slicks, rejoining ninth before Safety Car
  • Pressured Vettel for many laps after restart but could not find a way by
  • Lost eighth to Verstappen after running wide trying to pass Vettel at turn eight, eventually finishing ninth
George Russell, Mercedes, Singapore, 2022
It was a rare error-strewn weekend for Russell

George Russell – 3

Qualified: 11th (-8 places behind team mate)
+1.321s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 14th (-5 places behind team mate)

  • Lightly hit the barriers in opening practice, then close to repeating error in second practice
  • First car eliminated in Q2 after complaining of braking problem, qualifying 11th
  • Forced to start from pit lane after team took whole new power unit
  • Started from the pit lane, gaining one place from Albon and passing Zhou and Latifi in opening laps
  • Spent multiple laps behind Bottas, running off at turn seven after locking up attempting to pass
  • First driver to gamble on slick tyres on lap 21, dropping to the rear and losing almost a minute to the field ahead
  • Pitted for softs at second Safety Car, then passed Bottas at restart
  • Clashed with Schumacher at turn one, fortunate not to be penalised but pitted again with a puncture
  • Pitted one final time for soft tyres ten laps from the end, taking fastest lap but finishing last

Max Verstappen – 5

Qualified: 8th (-6 places behind team mate)
+1.961s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 7th (-6 places behind team mate)

  • Logged only eight laps in second practice as team worked on settings changes
  • Ahead of team mate in every practice session
  • Abandoned penultimate Q3 lap after mistake, then was 0.9s up on pole time after two sectors before having to abort lap
  • Started eighth on the grid but fell four places on the opening lap to 12th
  • Overtook Magnussen, Stroll, Tsunoda, Vettel and Gasly to move up to seventh in early laps
  • Pitted for slick tyres a lap before Safety Car, sitting fifth for restart
  • Locked up heavily trying to pass Norris at turn seven, ruining his tyres and having to pit for softs, falling to 13th
  • Gained two places from Russell and Schumacher retiring, then passed Magnussen, Bottas and Gasly to sit ninth
  • Picked up eighth when Hamilton ran wide at turn seven, then passed Vettel on final lap to finish seventh
Sergio Perez, Red Bull, Singapore, 2022
Perez won – despite a five second post-race penalty

Sergio Perez – 7

Qualified: 2nd (+6 places ahead of team mate)
-1.961s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: Winner (+6 places ahead of team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every practice session
  • Just missed out on pole by 0.02s to line up on front row
  • Jumped into the lead at the start, beating Leclerc off the line
  • Appeared comfortable in the lead, keeping Leclerc at arm’s length on intermediate tyres
  • Switched to dry tyres a lap after Leclerc, growing his lead over the Ferrari before the second Safety Car was deployed
  • Held firm under heavy pressure from Leclerc behind after restart, eventually pulling out of DRS range
  • Successfully pulled out gap of over five seconds in final laps under instruction from team to cross the line first
  • Reprimanded and then penalised 5s after the race for falling back too far behind Safety Car twice, but retained win
  • Led every lap of the race

Carlos Sainz Jnr – 5

Qualified: 4th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.171s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate)

  • Fastest at the end of Friday practice
  • Disappointed to qualify fourth after snap of oversteer at turn 16 on fastest lap
  • Beat Hamilton off the line to take third place at the start
  • Struggled to keep pace with team mate ahead in damp conditions, falling behind the leaders
  • Kept Hamilton at bay until Mercedes driver’s crash relieved pressure
  • Switched to slicks behind Safety Car and restarted third, fending off Norris behind
  • Completed a lonely final 20 laps to take final podium position in third
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Singapore, 2022
Leclerc fought but had to settle for second

Charles Leclerc – 7

Qualified: Pole (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.171s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate)

  • Missed half of second practice as team worked on undisclosed car problem
  • Fastest in final practice
  • Took pole position despite mistake on faster final lap and Verstappen looking certain to take pole before abandoning
  • Lost lead to Perez off the line to sit second
  • Kept within touch of the leader throughout the first half of the race, pulling away from team mate behind
  • Pressured Perez for lead after final restart, spending multiple laps within DRS range before mistake dropped him beyond a second behind
  • Failed to keep within five seconds of Perez by the finish which would have earned him victory, instead taking second

Lando Norris – 8

Qualified: 6th (+11 places ahead of team mate)
-0.312s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 4th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

  • Received benefit of multiple updated parts for the weekend
  • Got through to Q3 in ninth, then took sixth on the grid behind Alonso
  • Passed Alonso on opening lap to take fifth, staying there as track dried out
  • Waited to switch to slicks as others pitted before taking advantage of the second Safety Car to fit to dry tyres
  • Restarted in fourth place, with Verstappen’s mistake at turn seven relieving pressure on him
  • Led team mate home in fourth by over half a minute at the chequered flag
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, Singapore, 2022
Ricciardo took his best result of the season

Daniel Ricciardo – 7

Qualified: 17th (-11 places behind team mate)
+0.312s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 5th (-1 place behind team mate)

  • Competed without updated parts given to his team mate
  • Disappointed to be eliminated in Q1 after being inside the top ten in final practice
  • Moved up three places at the start into 13th, which became 12th when Magnussen pitted
  • Ran behind Stroll and stayed out when rivals began to switch to slicks, pitting under the Safety Car to jump into sixth
  • Picked up fifth from Verstappen’s error after second restart
  • Fell back from team mate over final laps but recorded best finish of the season in fifth
Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Singapore, 2022
Power unit failure ended Alonso’s race early

Fernando Alonso – 6

Qualified: 5th (+13 places ahead of team mate)
-0.977s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Power unit – L21)

  • Set new all-time benchmark with his 350th grand prix start
  • Lost track time in first practice with a gearbox problem
  • Took fifth position on the grid behind Hamilton and Sainz
  • Lost one place to Norris at the start, running in sixth
  • Absorbed pressure from Verstappen until pulling off into retirement with power unit failure on lap 21

Esteban Ocon – 5

Qualified: 18th (-13 places behind team mate)
+0.977s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Power unit – L27)

  • Eliminated in Q1 after experiencing a braking problem on final push lap
  • Started 17th on the grid, moving up two positions at the start, then gaining 14th with Magnussen pitting
  • Under pressure from Bottas for the early laps until his power unit failed, putting him out of the race

Pierre Gasly – 7

Qualified: 7th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.772s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 10th

  • Ahead of team mate in every practice session
  • Comfortably reached Q3, then took seventh on the grid ahead of team mate
  • Held seventh at the start and over the early laps until passed by Verstappen
  • First driver – after Russell – to pit for slicks just before Safety Car, dropping to tenth
  • Gained ninth after second restart with Verstappen’s error, but lost it after Verstappen caught and passed him
  • Held on to take final point in tenth, disappointed not to have scored more
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Singapore, 2022
Tsunoda would end his race in the barriers

Yuki Tsunoda – 4

Qualified: 10th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.772s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: Retired (Crashed – L35)

  • Behind team mate in every practice session
  • Lost running time in second practice with fuel system problem
  • Reached Q3 to secure tenth on the grid
  • Gained one place on the opening lap but lost ninth to Verstappen on lap three
  • Ran in tenth for first half of the race, but lost two places falling into anti-stall with a mistake at turn seven
  • Pitted for slick tyres on lap 33, then crashed out at turn ten after misjudging braking point

Sebastian Vettel – 7

Qualified: 14th (-2 places behind team mate)
+0.169s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 8th (-2 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every practice session
  • Knocked out in Q2 behind team mate after switch to slicks did not prove faster, leaving him 13th on the grid
  • Jumped five places at the start to run eighth in the early laps, losing one position to Verstappen after first restart
  • Ran behind Gasly and ahead of team mate before switching to slicks just before second Safety Car
  • Came under pressure from Hamilton for seventh after second restart but kept the Mercedes at bay
  • Lost seventh place to Verstappen on the final lap to finish eighth
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, Singapore, 2022
Stroll enjoyed his best race of the year

Lance Stroll – 8

Qualified: 12th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
-0.169s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 6th (+2 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every practice session
  • Eliminated from Q2 after slicks gamble failed to pay off but beat team mate to 12th
  • Gained one place over Magnussen on the opening lap
  • Overtaken by Verstappen on lap two, then ran behind Tsunoda in 11th
  • Pitted for slicks when second Safety Car deployed, moving up to sixth for restart
  • Held sixth place until the chequered flag to secure best result of the season
Latifi earned a penalty for contact with Zhou

Nicholas Latifi – 3

Qualified: 20th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.547s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Collision – L8)

  • Slowest driver in every timed session
  • Eliminated slowest in Q1
  • Started 19th, gaining two places on opening lap, then overtaken by Russell on lap four
  • Hit Zhou at turn seven, admitting he had missed the Alfa Romeo in his blind spot
  • Developed a puncture from the clash, forcing him out of the race due to damage
  • Handed a five-place grid penalty for the Japanese Grand Prix for being “predominately to blame”

Alexander Albon – 3

Qualified: 19th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.547s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Crash damage – L25)

  • Ahead of team mate in every timed session
  • Eliminated 19th in Q1 to line up 18th on the grid
  • Gained three places at the start before locking up at turn seven and spinning into barriers, dropping to the rear
  • Ran behind Russell, picking up one place when Magnussen was forced to pit before being overtaken by the Haas
  • Locked up and hit the wall at turn eight, breaking his front wing
  • Recovered to the pits but retired due to damage sustained

Valtteri Bottas – 5

Qualified: 16th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.708s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 11th

  • Ahead of team mate in every practice session
  • Eliminated in Q1 after using up the best of his tyres before the end of the session
  • Started 15th, losing one position to Ocon on opening lap
  • Ran in 15th behind Ocon and under pressure from Russell during the first half of the race
  • Pitted for soft tyres and ran behind Gasly in tenth
  • Passed by Verstappen in final ten laps, eventually finishing out of the points in 111th
Guanyu Zhou, Alfa Romeo, Singapore, 2022
Zhou’s misfortune continued in Singapore

Zhou Guanyu – 5

Qualified: 15th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.708s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Crash damage – L7)

  • Behind team mate in every practice session
  • Comfortably reached Q2 but couldn’t match fastest intermediates time on slick tyres, eliminated in 15th
  • Poor start dropped him from 14th to 18th over the opening lap before being passed by Russell on lap two
  • Fought with Latifi and was hit while trying to pass the Williams around the outside of turn five, putting him out of the race

Mick Schumacher – 5

Qualified: 13th (-4 places behind team mate)
+0.364s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 13th (-1 place behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Eliminated from Q2 after overheating his tyres on final push lap
  • Started 12th and dropped to 14th on opening lap
  • Ran behind Ricciardo for first half of the race before switching to mediums, then overtaken by Gasly
  • Had gained tenth when Verstappen pitted with a flat spot before clash with Russell caused a puncture
  • Pitted for soft tyres and finished 13th, one lap down
Lap one damage ruined Magnussen’s race yet again

Kevin Magnussen – 6

Qualified: 9th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
-0.364s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 12th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

  • First race weekend with new race engineer Mark Slade
  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Squeezed into Q3 in tenth, then qualified ninth
  • Lost two places on opening lap while contact with Stroll caused front wing damage that led to black-and-orange flag
  • Forced to pit for front wing damage on lap seven
  • Ran near the back of the field behind Bottas, unable to challenge the Alfa Romeo for majority of race
  • Crossed the line in 12th, the last driver on the lead lap

Over to you

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

2022 Singapore Grand Prix

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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...

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49 comments on “2022 Singapore Grand Prix driver ratings”

  1. YTD average based on @WillWood‘s ratings:
    Nyck de Vries: 8.0
    Max Verstappen: 7.3
    Lando Norris: 6.7 ↑
    Charles Leclerc: 6.7
    Fernando Alonso: 6.5
    George Russell: 6.2 ↓
    Lewis Hamilton: 6.0
    Pierre Gasly: 5.7 ↑
    Carlos Sainz Jnr: 5.7
    Valtteri Bottas: 5.6 ↓
    Sergio Perez: 5.6
    Esteban Ocon: 5.6
    Alexander Albon: 5.5 ↓
    Kevin Magnussen: 5.5 ↓
    Sebastian Vettel: 5.4
    Lance Stroll: 5.1 ↑
    Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
    Zhou Guanyu: 4.9
    Mick Schumacher: 4.9 ↑
    Yuki Tsunoda: 4.8
    Daniel Ricciardo: 4.6 ↑
    Nicholas Latifi: 3.8 ↓
    (‘↑↓’ trend last 3 races vs season, competed less than 3 races)

    1. Why the race winner 8 and Norris 8 also Stroll 8……

  2. these ratings are a joke :) ricciardo and stroll were insanely slow compered to their teammates, they had incredible amount of luck with timing of the pitstops. will, did you see the average lap charts? please, have a look at it, you might be surprised…

    1. They sure had some great results from being so “insanely slow.”

      1. It appears that David, thinks you need to be fast to finish in front, when all you need is to finish in front of the cars behind you & on a street circuit where passing is difficult a slower car can still finish in front of faster rivals if they can’t get past.

        1. It appears that Lucky thinks that a high driver rating is only determined by finishing position, rather than what the driver was able to do on track given the car and the circumstances.

          1. So way is Sainz rating so low compared to Ric?

          2. Agree, cronies, both underperformed compared to their team made, such a difference doesn’t make sense between those 2.

      2. stroll was lapping 0.227 sec slower than vettel in average
        ricciardo was lapping 1.5 seconds (!) slower than norris in average
        https://twitter.com/FormulaStats_/status/1576606396778688512
        vettel and stroll deserve same rating, ricciardo deserves only a 5 maximum. 8 is absolutely too much

        1. …i mean 8 for STR + 7 for RIC are too much. probably me and will watched different races

        2. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
          4th October 2022, 22:11

          Stroll outqualified vettel.

          That is one think Stroll did better. Vettel had a better start, but stroll overcut him, despite vettel pitting at a time that the slicks were decent (russell was at this stage setting fast times). Stroll then maintained his lead ahead of vettel that was down to his performents in the inters early on. In the end, Stroll was slowly pulling away from vettel when vettel was getting pressured by verstappen. Stroll finished 2 places higher than vettell in the end.

          He also looked much better in practice too.

          Overall, I think Stroll clearly was good enough to be rated higher than vettel, but I think a 6 and a 7 would be more appropriate. As vettel made a mistake in qualifying and stroll didn’t manage to get through to Q3 either.

          1. higher finishing positions based on pure luck shouldn’t deserve higher rating. vettel was significantly faster on wet track, his race performance was better, he was the 7th fastest driver on average – but he was unlucky. if stroll is an 8, then vettel too (better race performance balences -2 position in qualy), if stroll is a 7, then vettel too. i stick what i said: these ratings are a joke and completely unnecessary

          2. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
            5th October 2022, 8:20

            Stroll’s higher finishing position was NOT based on pure luck… Vettel was a lot slower than stroll when he pitted for inters and at this stage russell was fast on slicks so vettel should have been too after his first lap. Stroll unlike many think did not pit during the safety car. He entered the pit lane fractionally before tsunoda crashed and had his stop during yellow flags. He came out ahead of vettel because he had been faster at that stage, not luck.

          3. ben, it WAS pure luck. as alphatauri with gasly, aston gambled with vettel too early on slicks. because of pitwall’s decision gasly (1st in pit) lost the most time with slicks, then vettel. stroll had pure luck: he was called later to pit, when he rejoined race was neutralized with safety car, so his position was fixed even on cold slicks. probably he was never able to hold his position under green conditions. he was not faster, he was lucky with the circumstances. singapore was not a good, but only a very lucky race from him, 8 as rating is a disgrace. vettel had a better race than him, as i said he was unlucky and faster

        3. Wow Russell was the slowest car on track by far all the time – no wonder he struggled when attempting overtakes.

    2. I don’t know how Ricciardo got a higher rating than Alonso this weekend. Alonso missed out on an Fp session and still managed to maximise his grid position. During the race, he was keeping a much faster Verstappen at bay, and racing for an easy p5 or p6 position. I thought if Lando got an 8, then Alonso should have been a 7.. and Ricciardo probably a 5.

      1. True, I really do not understand the low rating of Alonso.

      2. @todfod While this weekend Alonso definitely deserved better than six he has been so sickly overrated during yet another supbar campaign I’m happy he didn’t receive extra-Alonso points (a tradition of F1Fanatic since the dawn of time).

      3. +1 he should have had a solid 7

    3. Norris’s up grades were significant and so was his pace advantage , Riccardo was managing the gap to stroll not competing with Norris??..not sure what U are banging on about

  3. Once again, the driver ratings scale seems to be from 3 to 8, not 0 to 10.

    1. Nobody did a stellar drive like we’ve never seen it, and at the other end nobody did abysmal performance and reckless driving which would be the two extremes so only logical there is no 0 or 10 in the rankings.

      I think a few cases can be discussed and argued for adjustment but looking at the averages compiled by jff above, it is a good reflection of drivers over the season so far.

      1. I think there’s an argument to be made for Latifi getting a 2 instead of 3 given how he ended his and Zhou’s race, but other than that, agreed.

        It seems weird we’re in Singapore and people are still complaining about the scale. It should be pretty clear what it is now, either get over it and move on, or just don’t click on them if it bothers you that much.

        1. @sjaakfoo Yes, because all criticism is hate, and critics should just shut up, right? Gotcha.

        2. Stupidest rating system ever….. hard not to comment on the inadequacy when it is shown up time.and time again……

          1. Agree, if a system sucks it’s fair to complain, people however mentioned ratings from 0 to 10, at school the minimum possible was 1, so I would say there are 4 marks that are typically unachievable here: 1, 2, 9, 10, unsure if anyone got a 2 this year but verstappen got a 9 at spa this year and I would say it’s likely there won’t be another.

      2. @jeanrien I feel it artificially reduces the field spread, due to how conservative the ratings are. The variance in performance makes the distribution almost uniform rather than normal, which granted, is not that improbable in a sample size of 20, but still.

        1. @wsrgo Fair point that we are using 5 out of 10 possible values and risk giving the same grade to drivers that performed differently. One might be an upper 6 and the other a lower 6, and using a broader scale would allow to differentiate them.

          Not sure it is necessary given the amount of arguments with the current system, going for more precise grades would inevitably create more disagreement and since there is quite a bit of judgement involved, I don’t mind the approach.
          Would be interesting to have the same ranking available to all to vote for and check what it gives for averages though.

          1. You’re using 6 values, not 5: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!

        2. @wsrgo since the person rating cannot employ a scientific grading score of any sort why use a number system? Instead of the 3-8 go for “race to forget” “bad race” “meh race” “solid” “good” “outstanding” that way we wouldn’t have so many reasons to criticize.

          1. @peartree You’re not too far off. I’ve been around statisticians who say that while it’s generally better to use continuous scores instead of grades, when the scores become too discrete and non-normally distributed it might actually be a better idea to use a rank/grade type of categorical system.

            I believe Racefans used to have a stars and strugglers grading earlier. While that’s not exhaustive, I prefer that since it isn’t trying to masquerade as a system of continuous scores but is actually a condensed ranking system.

          2. I don’t like the star and struggler system because sometimes strugglers or stars are omitted, this one at least gives a mark to everyone.

  4. Vettel, the king of Singapore, being behind Stroll in every session says a lot about the downturn of the 4-time champ.

    1. He held the position he gain at the start pretty well and defended well against Hamilton. He couldn’t hold up Verstappen in the fastest car though.

  5. These charts are back on form. Can’t wait to not see this feature b

    1. ack next year.
      I mean Sainz jr has the same score as Max. Lando has an 8, stroll has an 8 but perez and lec have 7.

      1. That is indeed strange why does has Stroll and Lando a 8? i would say Charles and Sergio a 8 and Lando and Stroll a 7

        1. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
          4th October 2022, 22:19

          if you are against stroll getting an 8, I don’t really see why Perez should. He was in by far the best car and he failed to get pole. Before verstappen had to abort his lap, he was nearly a full second up on Perez’s and Leclerc’s final times in sectors one and two alone.

          Perez did have a good start and decent pace, but he wasn’t without small errors. He also broke the rules twice, the 2nd time earning a penalty for doing so. All this considered, I could see why Stroll and Norris are rated higher.

  6. Most impressing: PER, NOR, & ALO
    Most disappointing: SAI, VER, & RUS

  7. Lando had the best performance for me, I’d love to see him in a quicker car.
    George let himself down badly with his driving and comments.
    It also seems that if you drive a Merc, you can just drive into people without receiving a sufficient penalty.

    1. Indeed about norris, I think he already showed in russia 2021 that he can go fight with hamilton when the car is good enough.

      Russell had a bad slick gamble also, lost a lot of time there too.

  8. Bad day for bottas!
    “Passed by Verstappen in final ten laps, eventually finishing out of the points in 111th”

    1. Ahaha, didn’t notice that!

  9. Disagree with Charles Leclerc rating as high as Checo Perez. Charles had a big mistake (was it wheelspin??) after the launch and Checo got ahead in the crucial rush to T1. A race-losing mistake. Checo had only minor mistakes. Charles should be a 6 (o Checo an 8 but nit seems s abit too much)

    Both McL pilots were lucky with the timing of the second SC, I see neither of them as an 8. Lance maybe.

  10. When I read racefans.net I understand Perez’s complaint that he is mistreated by the press. After his quali and his race his rate is only 7 ? Not sure what he needs to get a higer grade …

    1. He won, but compared to say – Verstappen in Belgium – his drive was good, but not great or exceptional. Which this rating scale tries to account for by looking at all of F1 history. Nobody will talk about Pérez win here in five, or even twenty years. But those drives certainly do exist, whether that’s Hamilton’s 2008 England win, Vettel’s 2013 Singapore masterclass, or plenty of other true classics.

      1. Yup, pretty good for Sergio and I’d rate it slightly higher than 7 but he didn’t get the pole he should have, made up for that somewhat by a great start and not throwing away the lead but also got two penalties on the way to the flag, only keeping the win by the grace of the stewards.

        1. Agree with both of you. Your points are very well taken. But i think Perez was the best of the weekend and yet he wasn’t the best graded. So if you keep the 9s and the 10s for the masterclass drives, at least, give the highest grade to the best of the weekend. Leclerc can’t have the same grade as Perez, when Perez was clearly better (and I am talking about this weekend’s race and not in general as a driver). Also, Stroll and Norris better than Perez ? Ricciardo same as Perez ? I don’t see anything special about their drives other than being fast. Perez was also fast and was under pressure all through the race. That’s my comment here, that there’s something wrong with the sport if the fair winner of the race is given a 7 only.

  11. It was interesting that the one of the worst things that could happen this race was to be faster than the car in front. This lead to overtaking attempts ending in failure – Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Zhou, or aggressive strategy leaving them vulnerable to the overcut – Vettel or mistakes through over driving – Hamilton, Tsunoda

    The most effective way to progress through the field was to stay out of dirty air, not make mistakes and pit late which helped McLaren and Ricciardo turn a probable 10th place into 5th.

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