Which Formula 1 driver made the most of the Italian Grand Prix weekend?
It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.
Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Monza.
Driver performance summary
| Driver | Q stage | Q position | Q gap to team mate | GP grid position | GP result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Q3 | 2 | -0.381s | 2 | 1 |
| Sergio Perez | Q3 | 5 | +0.381s | 5 | 2 |
| Charles Leclerc | Q3 | 3 | +0.067s | 3 | 4 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | Q3 | 1 | -0.067s | 1 | 3 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Q3 | 8 | +0.149s | 8 | 6 |
| George Russell | Q3 | 4 | -0.149s | 4 | 5 |
| Esteban Ocon | Q1 | 18 | +0.003s | 18 | Not classified |
| Pierre Gasly | Q1 | 17 | -0.003s | 17 | 15 |
| Lando Norris | Q3 | 9 | +0.194s | 9 | 8 |
| Oscar Piastri | Q3 | 7 | -0.194s | 7 | 12 |
| Valtteri Bottas | Q2 | 14 | -0.141s | 14 | 10 |
| Zhou Guanyu | Q1 | 16 | +0.141s | 16 | 14 |
| Lance Stroll | Q1 | 20 | +0.817s | 20 | 16 |
| Fernando Alonso | Q3 | 10 | -0.817s | 10 | 9 |
| Kevin Magnussen | Q1 | 19 | +0.249s | 19 | 18 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | Q2 | 13 | -0.249s | 13 | 17 |
| Liam Lawson | Q2 | 12 | +0.164s | 12 | 11 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | Q2 | 11 | -0.164s | 11 | Not classified |
| Alexander Albon | Q3 | 6 | -0.672s | 6 | 7 |
| Logan Sargeant | Q2 | 15 | +0.672s | 15 | 13 |
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Vote for your driver of the weekend
Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?
Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?
Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.
Who was the best driver of the 2023 Italian Grand Prix weekend?
- No opinion (2%)
- Logan Sargeant (0%)
- Alexander Albon (16%)
- Yuki Tsunoda (0%)
- Liam Lawson (2%)
- Kevin Magnussen (0%)
- Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
- Fernando Alonso (1%)
- Lance Stroll (0%)
- Guanyu Zhou (0%)
- Valtteri Bottas (0%)
- Oscar Piastri (0%)
- Lando Norris (0%)
- Pierre Gasly (0%)
- Esteban Ocon (0%)
- George Russell (1%)
- Lewis Hamilton (2%)
- Carlos Sainz Jnr (55%)
- Charles Leclerc (0%)
- Sergio Perez (1%)
- Max Verstappen (20%)
Total Voters: 122
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2023 Italian Grand Prix
- Despite close battles at Monza, F1 drivers want more powerful DRS
- Monza “frustrating” for Alonso but Aston Martin expect better form in coming races
- F1 changed rules to stop Mercedes in 2021 but we won’t ‘cry foul’ now – Wolff
- McLaren will bring ‘follow-up to Austria upgrade’ before focusing on 2024 car
- Magnussen explains why his driving style rarely works with the Haas VF-23
Debates and polls
- Will Verstappen race on with Red Bull until the end of 2028?
- Will Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
72defender (@72defender)
3rd September 2023, 16:10
Lance Stroll of course!
There’s a better chance of Verstappen losing his race w seat before Lance does! 🤦♂️
elchinero (@elchinero)
3rd September 2023, 16:14
Jahahahaha! Good one …
senproman
3rd September 2023, 16:14
lol Hamilton diehards coming in quick 😂😂
elchinero (@elchinero)
3rd September 2023, 16:15
Also jahahaha … Ol’ #44. SOS for 2 more years.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
3rd September 2023, 16:17
That’s nothing.
Wait until the morons automatically vote for the guy who won…
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
3rd September 2023, 16:15
I will go Sainz this weekend but I still want to vote Lawson.
I am delighted with this new guy :)
BasCB (@bascb)
3rd September 2023, 17:38
I’m on board with that @nullapax. Sainz really drove amazingly today and deserves the vote.
But Lawson is showing us very fast that he has the pace and racecraft to be in the field. I hope he gets another few races before Daniel returns (with Red Bull, I could see them just keeping him, maybe Daniel will then take Yuki’s spot or who knows what since it seems Perez is back at a decent pace so they do not need to replace him that bad now)
PacificPR (@streydt)
4th September 2023, 18:33
It’s great to see Lawson do well. But maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise, for one he almost won the DTM title in first season – beating ao his teammate Albon and of course his current form in Super Formula. It looks like he might get at least two more races this season to prove himself and maybe AlphaTauri (or should say Team Untitled) will be spoiled for choice. Lawson, Tsunoda or Ricciardo ?
Jere (@jerejj)
3rd September 2023, 16:16
DOTW & DOTD: ALB.
I would give the honor to SAI if he wasn’t so desperate & driving so much in the grey area.
Simon
3rd September 2023, 16:25
So I’m in a pizza restaurant, jerejj is the server and I order a Margherita pizza because I’m Vegetarian.
What do I receive? A Margherita with Pepperoni…
https://shorturl.at/wKQX6
MichaelN
3rd September 2023, 16:22
Lawson is quite the twist in the old Red Bull saga. The guy’s doing a good job and could well be ending what was left of Ricciardo’s F1 career.
But Sainz giving it his all at the most important race for Ferrari is good stuff. Even if he can’t win, it’s good to see him try. Way too many drivers just don’t even bother to defend their positions.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
3rd September 2023, 16:31
There is a possibility that Lawson could well end up getting the full time seat at the rebranded Alpha Tauri. Quite impressive to be driving clean and knocking close to the points.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
3rd September 2023, 16:35
Sainz defended amazingly for almost the entire and Leclerc made his life miserable, lending less help than Max Verstappen.
Hamilton had a great end to his race too. He made a mistake but there was little choice there with Piastri, Albon, and Norris being triple roadblocks throughout the entire race.
Albon was sensational and Perez drove a great race.
McLaren
3rd September 2023, 16:39
The 5 second penalty was a joke. You ram off your opponent, ruin his race, and get a penalty which doesn’t influence your result.
It’s ridiculous.
Ajaxn
3rd September 2023, 17:24
To be fair, Hamilton ahead and approaching that corner was looking left, whilst Piastri saw him coming and simply held ground.
Mclaren
3rd September 2023, 21:43
What was Piastri supposed to do? Move over onto the grass? They were in the braking zone. Brake harder? We both know what happens then…
He had no place to go, and Hamilton moved over like nothing was there.
slowmo (@slowmo)
4th September 2023, 0:18
Well brake earlier, slip into Hamilton’s slipstream and look for opportunities on the next car were a better option than break your front wing and lose a points finish. The stupid rules on leaving a cars width and let them race is the cause of these stupid accidents, 10 years ago, drivers knew when a move was done and didnt leave their cars in the danger zone. Sure it was Hamilton’s fault but even if you disqualified him from the race, Piastri aint getting any points. He made a poor choice leaving his car there.
My thoughts for a long time have been remove the 5s penalty and leave a 10s time penalty, drive through or 10s stop and go as the only available penalties. The 5s penalty isn’t a worthwhile penalty for anything and every driver knows it.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
3rd September 2023, 16:37
Voted for Max. An incredible machine matched with a driver in his prime.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
4th September 2023, 11:18
I too voted for Max. Getting 10 wins in a row is an amazing achievement.
knightameer (@knightameer)
3rd September 2023, 16:42
1. Sainz
2. Lawson
3. Albon
PS. Max and Perez did what everyone would expect from this RBR.
MaddSusie (@maddsusie)
3rd September 2023, 16:51
It was a difficult choice.
A minor error from Max in Quali, a few errors in the race from Sainz
In this instance, I gave it to Max, he drove a superb race and got another record, showing good tyre management even whilst chasing Sainz down at the start of the race (reflected by the lack of lost time between him and Sainz after Max stopped).
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
4th September 2023, 0:52
I do find it difficult to make this choice each race.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
4th September 2023, 1:04
Ooops. Premature posting there.
In short, I voted for Max.
In retrospect, and reading a lot of very good argument’s in the comments, I am unsure I made the right choice, though I am no clearer whom I would have chosen if I made an alternate selection.
I know Max “only” qualified second and, unusually for him of late, took a little while to make a pass. I also know that a number of drivers clearly had hard fought battles. So whilst Max may not have been the most entertaining to watch it was difficult to presume he drove any worse than other contenders. Part of me feels that I need to watch every driver’s onboard to offer a truly representative opinion.
In hindsight I think perhaps I would have gone with Albon (And as someone who is really not a Verstappen fan, I rather wish I had).
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
4th September 2023, 1:10
For me it’s only between Sainz and Albon. Although Perez did do a decent job today.
I went for Carlos. Pole position and one of his best drives today. Great defence against Max.
David BR (@david-br)
5th September 2023, 0:59
@phil-f1-21 Between Sainz and Albon too. I voted Albon but changed my mind almost immediately after. Disappointment that Sainz couldn’t keep at least one Red Bull back, but really that wasn’t down to any failing on his part.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th September 2023, 19:41
The williams is very clearly in the upper half of the grid now, but it does seem that Albon doesn’t have to do much to get DOTW any more. I would say it is the car improving much more than his performance. A top driver like Verstappen in that car as it is at the moment likely would be close to getting podiums. I would probably go for Sainz, but on race day, I would say Bottas quite posibly did among the best of anyone. That alfa romeo is pretty close to being the worst on the grid. I would only say that Haas were worse than them this time out, so managing to get a points finish is very impressive. He also did the most laps on one set of mediums of any driver out there and did quite a few overtakes and pretty moch none were televised.