The Italian Grand Prix weekend was an especially intriguing one as Red Bull did not enjoy the same level of advantage they have at other rounds this season and Ferrari pushed them harder than they have all season.
The first grand prix weekend without any rain since Miami in May also saw a lot of drivers constricted by the performance of their cars around the fastest circuit on the calendar. But some did manage to stand out among their peers.
Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Italian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen – 7/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Winner (+1 place ahead of team mate)
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- Earned a €500 fine for pit speeding in FP2
- Missed out on pole position by 0.013s
- Ran second in early laps challenging Sainz for the lead, eventually passing on lap 15
- Pitted for hard tyres and passed Hamilton to retake lead, slowly building gap over cars behind
- Built lead of almost 13 seconds before being asked to back off in later laps to cool car
- Claimed record-breaking tenth consecutive grand prix victory, six seconds ahead of team mate
On a record-setting weekend for Verstappen, he had to fight for his tenth straight victory. The championship leader just missed out on pole by the smallest of margins and had to bide his time in second over the early phase of the race. But once he was ahead, his victory never looked in doubt and he was able to dictate the pace as he required, even having time in hand to slow down in the later laps before taking his historic triumph.
Sergio Perez – 5/10
Qualified: 5th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.381s)Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate)
- Crashed lightly out of FP2 after mistake at Ascari
- Missed the final third of FP3 with a power unit leak
- Qualified fifth behind Russell, then spent the first 16 laps behind the Mercedes before passing
- Pitted for hard tyres, then caught and passed Leclerc for third
- Put Sainz under sustained pressure before eventually getting by into second place
- Finished six seconds behind team mate to secure one-two for Red Bull
On a weekend where his team mate continued to make history, Perez again felt like the weak link in the Red Bull winning machine. From crashing out in Friday practice with a mistake to being out-qualified by Russell’s Mercedes, Perez once again left himself with work to do on Sunday. In fairness, it was not an easy race to get by Russell and the Ferraris, but he managed to redeem his earlier efforts by finishing where he should have behind his team mate.
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Charles Leclerc – 7/10
Qualified: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate, +0.067s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Missed out on pole position by just 0.067s, having to settle for third
- Ran within DRS range of Verstappen for early laps before dropping out, then pitted for hards
- Caught and passed by Perez for fall to fourth, then battled team mate hard in closing laps
- Could not overtake team mate and finished off podium in fourth, 0.18s behind
Leclerc spent the entire weekend only just a bit behind his team mate whenever it mattered, but still put in a strong performance as a whole. He was just over a half a tenth off pole, did well to keep Perez behind him until the Red Bull inevitably got passed and put up a heck of a fight against Sainz in the final laps before running out of time. But there was no shame in being the second-fastest Ferrari this weekend.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 8/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Quickest of all in final two practice sessions
- Pipped Verstappen in Q3 by 0.013s to secure first pole of the season
- Held the lead at the start, then fought to keep Verstappen behind him over opening laps
- Lost the lead on lap 15, then pitted for hard tyres and rising back to second
- Fought thrilling, multi-lap battle with Perez before eventually losing second
- Held off team mate over the final laps to take first Monza podium in a Ferrari
All season long, Sainz has been lacking that stand-out weekend performance to really look back on as a sign that he is among the top tier of drivers in the field. Now he has one. From Friday to Saturday, Sainz looked in fine form and his pole lap may have been his best in a Ferrari. He showed intense spirit to fight the Red Bulls and try to keep them at bay for as long as possible and earned his podium by holding off his team mate over the final laps. Easily his best weekend of the season.
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George Russell – 6/10
Qualified: 4th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.149s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 5th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Beat Perez to second row of the grid in qualifying, four places ahead of team mate
- Held fourth at the start, then spent 15 laps under pressure from Perez behind before being passed
- Pitted for hards and rejoined tenth, missed chicane next to Ocon to earn 5s penalty
- Passed Bottas and climbing back to fifth, slowly falling from Leclerc ahead
- Finished 20 seconds ahead of team mate in fifth after penalty applied
Russell was the better of the two Mercedes drivers on a weekend when Mercedes lacked the pace of rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, but were at least faster than the McLarens. He secured the likely best possible result in qualifying to line up fourth and was able to keep Perez at bay longer than he likely should have been able to. He was, however, cheeky enough to miss the chicane to stay ahead of Ocon after pitting and was fortunate his penalty cost him nothing in the end.
Lewis Hamilton – 5/10
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 6th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Couldn’t match team mate in qualifying to line up behind Piastri and Albon in eighth on the grid
- Started on hard tyres, losing out to Norris at the first corner to ruin ninth
- Followed the McLarens until gaining the lead as others pitted before overtaken by Verstappen
- Pitted for mediums and rejoined tenth, quickly passing Alonso
- Caught the McLarens but clashed with Piastri, earning a five second penalty
- Overtook Norris and Albon to finish sixth behind team mate despite penalty
Despite struggling to figure out his car over the first two days of the weekend, Hamilton arguably secured a result that fairly reflected Mercedes’ potential at Monza. He did a decent job starting on the hards to stick with the McLarens and make passes when he needed to in his stint on mediums, but the clash with Piastri was his fault and he apologised for it. While the penalty did not affect his position, it does affect his rating.
Esteban Ocon – 6/10
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Retired (Steering – L40)
- Knocked out of Q1 for second straight weekend, three-thousandths slower than team mate
- Got ahead of team mate at start to run 16th behind Zhou until late stop for hards on lap 24
- Fell to the back of the field before rising to 15th
- Forced into retirement on lap 39 due to steering concerns
On Alpine’s worst weekend of the season so far in terms of raw performance, Ocon certainly didn’t do anything to disgrace himself. He was just as fast as his team mate in Q1 but it was not enough for either to progress to Q2, but he jumped ahead at the start. Trying to go long on his first stint did not offer any advantages but he was ahead of Gasly when he had to call it a day.
Pierre Gasly – 6/10
Qualified: 17th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.003s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 15th
- Failed to progress out of Q1 but felt he had extracted maximum from the car
- Fell behind team mate at the start, then ran behind him until pitting first for hard tyres
- Moved up to 15th before making a second stop for mediums, rejoining last
- Ran within three seconds of Zhou until the finish, passing Stroll on the penultimate lap for 15th
Like his team mate, Gasly was confined by his Alpine’s base level of performance over the Monza weekend. He had the slightest of edges over Ocon in qualifying but fell behind him at the start. Trying a two-stop did not help matters and 15th was more reflective of his car than his driving.
Lando Norris – 6/10
Qualified: 9th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.194s)Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 8th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
- Out-qualified by rookie team mate to line up ninth on the grid
- Moved ahead of Hamilton at the start to sit in eighth behind team mate
- Pitted for hards a lap before team mate, emerging ahead despite touch at first chicane
- Spent 17 straight laps within DRS range of Albon but couldn’t get by
- Fell to eighth when passed by Hamilton, finishing three tenths behind Albon
Norris was limited by two main factors during the Italian Grand Prix; the first was his McLaren not being as strong as it has been at more recent rounds of the calendar and the second was Alexander Albon. After being out-qualified by his team mate, Norris was at least able to get ahead of Hamilton using his medium tyres and appeared to have stronger pace than his team mate. But once he got ahead after the pit cycle, Norris could not find anyway by the Williams despite several attempts over the second half of the race.
Oscar Piastri – 6/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 12th (-4 places behind team mate)
- Beat team mate and Hamilton in qualifying to line up seventh
- Passed Albon on opening lap but was re-passed on lap two, running behind him in seventh
- Made a relatively late stop for hard tyres, making minor contact with Norris out of the pits
- Followed behind team mate but suffered wing damage after being hit by Hamilton
- Pitted for a new wing and rejoined 14th, passing Stroll, but passed Lawson off track
- Passed Sargeant to finish 11th but demoted to 12th after five second penalty
- Set fastest lap but no bonus point as outside the top ten
On a weekend when the McLaren was not as strong as in recent rounds, Piastri was again able to perform on the same level as team mate Norris, even out-qualifying him and Hamilton’s Mercedes on Saturday. Although he lost position to Norris after his stop, he continued to stick with him before being rudely shoved by Hamilton and being forced to pit. He fought well to recover, except his ‘pass’ on Lawson was just silly and was always going to earn a penalty.
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Valtteri Bottas – 7/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 10th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
- Sole Alfa Romeo into Q2 but knocked out in 14th
- Started on hard tyres, running behind Sargeant in 14th
- Gained places and eventually pitted from seventh on lap 25 for mediums, dropping to 16th
- Overtook Hulkenberg and caught up to Sargeant, eventually passing despite being hit
- Held tenth over the final nine laps to take final point
A rare top ten finish for Bottas and Alfa Romeo this year in a race where he gained four places from his starting position in a race did not benefit from no Safety Cars, or retirements or penalties for cars ahead. He made excellent use of his alternative strategy to catch and pass Sargeant despite the clash at the second chicane and given the calibre of cars who finished ahead, it was as good a result as he could’ve hoped for.
Zhou Guanyu – 5/10
Qualified: 16th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.141s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 14th (-4 places behind team mate)
- Couldn’t follow team mate into Q2 as first driver eliminated from Q1
- Ran directly behind team mate in early laps before very early stop for hard tyres
- Ran behind Lawson but unable to get by before making second stop for mediums
- Rejoined 17th behind Lawson but passed Stroll on the penultimate lap to finish 14th
Pretty much the definition of an average weekend for Zhou who made no major mistakes of note and who wasn’t dramatically slower than his team mate over the weekend but who also did not stand out at any point either. His Sunday was defined by his team’s gamble on an early switch to hard tyres and eventual two-stop strategy not being the best way to go as his lap times were very comparable to Bottas ahead, but he had already lost too much time with his second stop.
Lance Stroll – 4/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 16th (-7 places behind team mate)
- Missed the opening practice session to allow Drugovich to drive his car
- Completed just a single lap in FP2 before fuel system problem ended his Friday
- Eliminated slowest in Q1 to start from back of the grid
- Was last after the opening lap but overtook Magnussen for 18th, then rose to 12th before pitting
- Emerged on hard tyres in 18th and gained places as other pitted, then overtook Hulkenberg
- Sat in 13th but was passed by Lawson, Piastri, Zhou and Gasly
- Finished as the last car on the lead lap in 16th
- Behind team mate in every session
Yet again, Stroll was well, well off the pace of his team mate across the weekend. But he also missed effectively the entire first day of running which naturally compromised his preparation. It’s difficult to know how much of an excuse that should be as he knows the circuit and car extremely well and got to run on the hards in FP3 before being eliminated in Q1 on them. His race pace was not close to Alonso’s but the Aston Martin was not a strong car all weekend, so this is probably a generous grade.
Fernando Alonso – 6/10
Qualified: 10th (+10 places ahead of team mate, -0.817s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 9th (+7 places ahead of team mate)
- Ahead of team mate in every session
- Reached Q3 but was slowest by half a second, leaving him tenth on the grid
- Dropped to 11th at the start but overtook Hulkenberg on lap eight for tenth
- Switched to hard tyres on lap 21 and undercut Hamilton but was soon passed by him to run tenth
- Picked up ninth from Piastri in later laps and caught Norris and Albon but had to settle for ninth
A decent enough weekend for Alonso, but not one where he was particularly outstanding, even with the relative lack of performance for Aston Martin. Given the impressive displays of defensive driving seen in the race, it could be argued he could have fought harder to keep Hamilton behind and he lost a place on the opening lap, but soon recovered it. Naturally, he was again his team’s dominant driver.
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Kevin Magnussen – 5/10
Qualified: 19th (-6 places behind team mate, +0.249s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-M)
Finished: 18th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Knocked out of Q1 in 19th after almost exceeding maximum lap time and getting caught behind Stroll
- Picked up a place from Tsunoda’s retirement and overtaken by Stroll on lap four
- Ran at the very back of the field for the majority of the race, finishing last in 18th
Haas’s practice pace severely flattered them and they were comfortably slowest of the ten teams in the race. But Magnussen’s performance was still slightly underwhelming. He claimed to be a victim of sorts from the maximum qualifying time rule that left him knocked out in 19th, but that was a convenient excuse. In the race, he at least ran at a similar pace to his team mate – as slow as it may have been.
Nico Hulkenberg – 6/10
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 17th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Squeezed into Q2 but knocked out 13th
- Gained three places at the start to run tenth before passed by Alonso and Lawson
- Pitted for hard tyres, then ran 14th before passed by Bottas and Stroll
- Made second stop for hard tyres, falling to 17th
- Finished ahead of team mate, the last car to be lapped
An all-too familiar tale for Hulkenberg who, again, was quicker than his team mate over the weekend and, again, slipped down the order in the race as Haas struggled on Sunday. Hulkenberg got a better start than anyone else in the race, but it wasn’t long before he started losing places. A weekend where his result was not at all reflective of his performance.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6/10
Qualified: 11th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.164s)
Finished: Did Not Start (Power Unit)
- Comfortably progressed into Q2 in the top ten but first driver eliminated in 11th
- Pulled off the track at end of formation lap with a smoking car, failing to start
It’s difficult to grade a driver when they do not even get to take the start of the race through no fault of their own. However, Tsunoda did participate in qualifying and secured one of his better grid positions of the season. Even if he was just ahead of his inexperienced team mate, it seems fairer to reward him for the job he did rather than punish him for the job he couldn’t do.
Liam Lawson– 6/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 11th
- Completed full practice programme for first time
- Backed up team mate in qualifying by lining up directly behind him in 12th on the grid
- Ran 12th in the early stages before passing Hulkenberg for 11th, then pitted for hards
- Kept Zhou behind him before making second stop for hard tyres on lap 33, falling to 16th
- Overtook Stroll for 12th, then was overtaken illegally by Piastri at the Roggia chicane
- Crossed the line 13th but promoted to 11th after Piastri and Sargeant’s penalties
A first ‘true’ grand prix weekend for Lawson and one in which he acquitted himself very well again. He did a good job to match Tsunoda in qualifying to put his team in a decent position to fight for points, but admitted that he did not get the best of starts. He struggled with rear tyre wear compared to his rivals and a two stop strategy wasn’t optimal, but 11th was a higher finish than his predecessor Nyck de Vries managed all season.
Alexander Albon – 8/10
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 7th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
- Inside the top ten in every session
- Easily reached Q3, then out-qualified both McLarens and Hamilton to take sixth on the grid
- Lost a place to Piastri at the start but claimed it back on lap two to run sixth
- Made early stop for hard tyres on lap 15 to fall to 13th, but passed Ocon on his way back to sixth
- Spent 17 laps under pressure from Norris but could not hold Hamilton behind him
- Fell to seventh but held on despite heavy pressure from Norris over the final laps
Yet again in 2023, Albon delivered points for his team when he had the opportunity to. And once more, he had to put on another masterclass of defensive driving to do so. A top-six grid position was as good as he realistically could have hoped for and even though he lost a place at the start, he quickly gained it back. He may not have held Hamilton off but he absorbed intense pressure from Norris to be the first finisher outside of the three biggest teams in seventh for another excellent performance.
Logan Sargeant – 4/10
Qualified: 15th (-9 places behind team mate, +0.672s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 13th (-6 places behind team mate)
- Breezed into Q2 but struggled on mediums, knocked out 15th after running wide on last lap
- Ran 13th for most of opening stint, dropping to 16th after pitting early for hard tyres
- Picked up places as others pitted ahead to climb to 11th
- Came under pressure from Bottas but clashed with him at the chicane, earning five second penalty
- Overtaken by Piastri to finish 12th, then dropped behind Lawson after penalty applied
All season long, Sargeant and Williams would have had the Italian Grand Prix circled on their calendars as their biggest opportunity. With Albon showing that the FW45 was quick enough to bag points, Sargeant’s failure to record a top-10 finish was simply an underachievement. He didn’t have the optimal strategy and he at least was in the fight for the final point, but he lost any chance with a clumsy clash with Bottas which cost him the first point of his career.
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Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
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
Facts&Stats
5th September 2023, 8:03
Was Albon (8) twice as good as Sargeant (4)?
And maybe it’s even more extreme? I guess a zero doesn’t exist; the lowest score given is more likely a two or three. Also an eight is just a tad shy of perfection based on previous recipients.
Todfod (@todfod)
5th September 2023, 11:04
I thought Sainz and Albon were both the best drivers this weekend. It’s debatable whether an 8 or a 9 would be justified.. as I can’t remember a 10 ever being handed out. So, if 9 is the higher limit, I think an 8 might be justified.
Also looks like the lower threshold is 3. Can’t believe Stroll got a 4 for his performance this weekend. He was a clear 2 in my books.
Alex (@)
5th September 2023, 13:40
On Sainz: in the first half of the race, be defended well against faster cars. But in the latter part of the race, he had to defend against his teammate in the same car.
I feel like a 9/10 performance should see you clear of your teammate, not barely staying ahead of them.
So 8 is fair
melanos
5th September 2023, 11:10
Someone fought hard for a zero but got a 5 instead, business as usual
MacLeod (@macleod)
5th September 2023, 8:09
Watching the score of the first four i can’t agree with those scores at all
Max should get a 8, Checo a 7, Carlos a 9 (10-1) Charles a 6 why:
Max did had a good Qualifier didn’t get pole but that was not possible with the straight line speeds they had and Ferrari straight line speed and new engines. But overtook Sainz without DRS when he locked pu when his tryes were gone.
Checo had a soso Qualiflier but he never was a good qualiflier on normal circuits but overtook all drivers to get second at he should.
Sainz had a great weekend a good Qualify but was overtaken when his tyres were gone but kept his team mate behind.
Charles had a not so good weekend as he was always behind his teammate and didn’t get second during Qualify and couldn’t get even past his teammate (with DRS)
Anuj Chopra
5th September 2023, 8:40
All the overtakes of Checo were epic. I think he should get at least 7.
The writer is quite biased.
CarWars (@maxv)
5th September 2023, 9:28
I think its less a bias, more like a calibration issue. Just add 1 to each score.
melanos
5th September 2023, 11:13
I agree, this was a decent weekend for Checo and 5 seems a bit too poor
And Carlos Sainz, he could hardly have done anything better, but a 9 is very rarely given so we have to settle for 8 (or give him an extra point for recovering his watch ;)) No problem with Albon’s 8, well deserved too.
Edvaldo
5th September 2023, 14:12
6 for Perez would be fine. Wasn’t great but didn’t make any serious mistakes.
Of course he still lacks in qualifying, putting himself out of contention for wins before the races even begin, but it was his best weekend for quite a while.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th September 2023, 17:11
Yes, had something happened to verstappen he would’ve extended the red bull win streak, which is saying something considering his last few performances.
Ankita
5th September 2023, 21:00
But he is always biased against PER. I don’t know why but since PER’s times at Force India he always focuses on the weak points of PER’s weekend whereas for others he does the opposite.
RR
5th September 2023, 15:37
Sainz showed up his more highly regarded team-mate both Saturday and Sunday. It is no small achievement at Ferrari. There the “second” driver is not as a rule allowed a look in. Unless he gets the job done just by being quicker in quali and smarter in the race. This Sainz did, and now Vasseur and the team have to make a decision as to who really is their No1 pilot.
They will probably stick with LEC.
Unless Sainz takes him to the cleaners one more time…
JGR
5th September 2023, 16:58
A 5 for Checo is indeed a bit ridiculous considering he had a pretty good race. And furthermore, Stroll having a terrible weekend earned a 4. Was Checo just “a bit better” than Stroll this weekend? One started in the top 10 and finished second. The other started dead last and finished sixteenth.
moctecus (@moctecus)
5th September 2023, 8:21
I actually thought Sargeant had a solid weekend for once, if you look beyond the results.
Sargeant was running an older front wing (pre-Silverstone) and a higher mileage engine, putting him 1–2 tenths down on Albon according to the team. On the older front wing they, apparently, couldn’t get the same balance that Albon had. Consequently, he had difficulty getting the medium and soft tyres to work — his Q2 laps on mediums were slower than his Q1 lap on hards — and the tyre degradation during the race was higher. Racing in dirty air all race probably didn’t help his tyre degradation either. Considering the car he had, doing the longest stint of anyone was a mistake. He lost his points finish when he ran out of tyres to defend against Bottas’ Alfa Romeo, which had a similar top speed but 11 laps fresher tyres. He clashed with Bottas during a last-ditch attempt to retake the position. With or without the penalty, he had no chance of points after that. Bottas pulled away at a rate of up to 1 sec / lap, and soon the 2-stoppers started approaching from behind. Apart from that overly robust defensive move, he held it together all weekend. Albon had an exceptional weekend, but Sargeant’s performance this weekend wasn’t as bad as the results might suggest.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th September 2023, 8:30
Most impressed: VER, SAI, & ALB
Most disappointing: Alpine, & HAM
MaddSusie (@maddsusie)
5th September 2023, 8:30
These results get more and more farcical after each week.
Verstappen drove a solid fault free race and he only gets a 7, Sainz made errors (locking up) a few times throughout the race and yet he gets an 8.
Liam Lawson in his second race finished a place higher than Quali on only gets 6.
It’s time you pu listed your framework for the rankings as it is clearly flawed!
melanos
5th September 2023, 11:20
Agree, a solid fault free race, but nothing too special. Was outqualified by Carlos and took 15 laps to overtake him. Pretty good but not outstanding. I believe that for an 8 or 9 you have to run the extra mile and Max did not (of course he needed not to).
Or give Max the 8 for the circumstance of the record (although I reckon this is still Jim Clark’s, with 11 straight wins in counting races, i.e, discounting driver-unrelated mech retirements, which were way way more frequent in the sixties than now. However Max will probably match this record in Singapore, which is anyway the trickiest race ahead this season I believe)
Jimmy Cliff
5th September 2023, 13:42
Not that strange to be out qualified by a quicker car – the Ferrari was the quickest car on Saturday – the gap was marginal with 0.013 and Max beat Leclerc who usually is the quickest qualifier.
Since when is it bad to take your time to make an overtake – Max only needed to make 1 overtake so there was no risk. Max did it brilliantly by continuously pushing Carlos to use his tires, had a look around the outside but didn’t want to risk anything and the first small error Carlos made he immediately overtook Carlos without using/having DRS.
Afterwards it clearly showed Max saved his tires well despite being within 1 second for 15 laps, quickly extended the gap using the tires knowing Carlos had to pit relative early and after his pitstop Max controlled the pace and build a steady gap.
RH
5th September 2023, 14:51
Max’s lap was very good. Probably just as good as Carlos’ even given that Carlos had a tow from Max himself.
It’s almost like that the rating is based on recency bias – RB19 gets pole on some other track so it should get pole here as well.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th September 2023, 17:31
I have a hard time saying ferrari was the quicker car in quali, sainz was on it this weekend and when that happens he and leclerc are quite close, while we know perez is not a very good qualifier, so the cars looked similar in quali to me.
melanos
5th September 2023, 23:19
Oh, but I never said Max was bad. I rate Carlos a bit ahead from Max this weekend for an almost race-long extraordinary defense, successively from Max, Checo and an extremely selfish Charles. Max just did what he had to do and did it right. But not much to write home about. Seriously, do you think this race will be remembered for Max’s overtake or for Carlos’ defense? About Alex Albon, well, he drove a Williams, enough said.
Alex (@)
5th September 2023, 13:37
A solid, fault-free, good quality race that most drivers would be happy with probably IS a 7.
You have a case for 8 on the basis of the close, tense, clean racing and sticking those overtakes… I think either would be reasonable.
Formula 1 fan
5th September 2023, 8:39
Hmm I am not sure I would agree with these numbers. Having beaten a 75 year old record and doing so with patience, by being smart and in the ‘worst’ track for the RB19, I do not quite understand a 7 out of 10, neither a 5 out of 10 for Perez.
Mayrton
5th September 2023, 12:11
As a rule of thumb I always use: add 1 for each RB driver (to level the bias out) and then it makes more sense.
Alex (@)
5th September 2023, 13:44
If we were rating Max for his performance across the last 10 races as a whole, I would definitely give him a 10… based on focus, consistency, dealing with every situation with excellence.
This rating though is just for a single weekend. Max drove well this weekend, and one again made no significant mistakes, and brought home the win – sticking string overtakes against a strong defender. Ultimately though, last week’s wet weather race was a masterclass where Max and Fernando were better than the rest; this wasn’t on the same level.
Edvaldo
5th September 2023, 14:22
Did anyone expect Max not to win this? Not even Sainz did.
So Max goes, does exactly what is expected of him, no more, no less and gets a 7.
Everything beyond 7 is for special performances or complete domination of the weekend, so 7 is fair and the according to the standards.
BamBoomBots
5th September 2023, 9:19
As other readers have expressed, some ratings seem to be a bit off. I fail to see how Verstapoens weekend was any worse than Sainz’ or Albons weekend, to me it was a very mature, patient (dare I say Prost-like instead of Senna-like?) execution of his weekend, playing the cards he had been dealt excellently.
Also I think Perez deserves at least a 6, he should have qualified ahead of Russel, but did repair this in the race and finished exactly where he should have finished for once, without negatively affecting any other driver.
Also, I think the 4/10 for Stroll is rather kind.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th September 2023, 10:01
I think it is considering the fact that stroll had no running on Friday and that the car also wasn’t strong either.
Jimmy Cliff
5th September 2023, 9:36
How are Perez and Hamilton the same score?
* They both had a poor qualifying but relative speaking Perez did better than Hamilton
* They both finished behind their teammate and relative to the car performance – Perez was closer to Max than Hamilton was to Russell.
* Perez didn’t crash into anyone and didn’t get a penalty.
Perez certainly at least deserved a 6 but in my opinion a 7 because he had an OK qualifying was only marginally beaten by Russell and Red Bull didn’t have the fastest qualifying car so 5th ain’t that bad. He had a good race with good fights, at times I felt he was too conservative but maybe that was the smart approach, avoid accidents, keep tires good and he overtook Russell, Leclerc and Sainz all on track which we all could see wasn’t easy at all to do.
Amazed that Max is only given a 7 – can the author please tell what Max should have done better and be realistic about it.
He beat Leclerc in qualifying with Ferrari having the fastest qualifying car, nearly beat Sainz as well.
In the race he had a good start, held position, clearly stayed out of any trouble.
Then he patiently waited, while keeping full pressure on, for Sainz to make mistake and/or cook his tires. The first mistake Sainz made, Max immediately and decisively made the overtake.
After he streched his legs, showing he took care of his tires much better despite being 15 laps within 1 second of Sainz and extended his lead to a 12 seconds till he was told to slow down.
Max once again was near flawless and got the maximum result – now for 10 races in a row – that achievement on its own deserves an extra point. I can’t recall any driver that had 10 (near) flawless races in a row – not necessarily talking about winning but being (near) flawless.
melanos
5th September 2023, 11:24
Easy, you have to take into account the -2 point factor if your name is Sergio, and the +4 point factor if your middle names are Carl Davidson.
ILoveConspiracyTheories
5th September 2023, 13:10
COTD :-)
RH
5th September 2023, 14:52
The best comment!
Kotrba
5th September 2023, 16:40
* They both had a poor qualifying but relative speaking Perez did better than Hamilton.
Based on what? Hamilton was 0.15 sec behind Russell. Perez was almost 0.4 behind Verstappen.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
5th September 2023, 9:46
Was Bottas really as strong as Max? I know who my money would be on all things being equal this weekend.
Edvaldo
5th September 2023, 14:29
Really bad comparison to make. You obviously have to take the equipment in consideration. If not, then just rate them according to their position at the end of the races, and there won’t be any reason to even have a ranking.
Alfa Romeo is one of the worst cars at the moment, worse than Williams, so the driver bringing it, or a Haas, to the points, deserves a decent rating.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
5th September 2023, 22:36
You honestly believe Bottas was a strong as Max this weekend?
Edvaldo
5th September 2023, 22:45
It’s not about being “as strong” man, my God…
It’s about doing a good job with what you have. Simple as that. He scored a point in a pretty weak car, why shouldn’t he get a 7? This has nothing to do with Max’s rating.
As i said, people like you only care about the one coming first. So look at the standings table instead of these rankings. These are personal opinions anyway, you’re free to disagree.
Dusty
5th September 2023, 12:22
Poor Perez, he was not a star this weekend but his race was acceptable, and he showed great sportsmanship by return the position every time he went off track, his overtakes were legal and honest, he could easily pull 5s gap on clear air. This race was a 6 for him.
slowmo (@slowmo)
5th September 2023, 12:55
Outqualified by 3 slower cars and delivered nothing but the minimum expected result given his car. A distinctly average performance, worthy of a 5.
Jimmy Cliff
5th September 2023, 13:36
3 slower cars – come on – the Ferrari was the quickest qualifying car or at bare minimum equal to Red Bull over a lap. Russell got in a very good lap and only very marginally beat Perez by 0.017 of a second.
melanos
5th September 2023, 13:46
I agree that Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon did the best out there so I buy their 8s, and Max’s 7 but I would have given Oscar another 7, Checo a 6. Charles, Lando, Pierre, Fred, Valtteri, Liam, Nico and George also 6. Esteban, Zhou, Kevin and Logan 5, Lance a 3. Cannot really rate Tsunoda. For the rest 1, provided it cannot go any lower than that.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th September 2023, 14:02
Given how good the williams is though, what really makes albon worth an 8 if Bottas is a 6? I would say a points finish for Bottas was more impressive than albon, who arguably put his car behind the 3 teams that were faster than him. I now think the williams is the best car after Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. At least for the past few races.
Edvaldo
5th September 2023, 16:05
People talk as if Albon was doing this while Sargeant was racing dead last, and he wasn’t. He was near a points scoring position for most of the race, ahead of half a dozen cars.
Williams has improved a lot, the may be on par with Alpine now, so it’s not like Albon deserves a 8 rating every time he scores some points anymore.
Kotrba
5th September 2023, 16:18
It is really pathetic that you take your time to write 19 names (without any interest to rank them justly, only all randomly) only that you do not have to name the sole remaining one person, who is the true purpose of your participation in chats on this website and the vast amount of pettiness that comes with it.
melanos
5th September 2023, 23:09
You just won the Tin Foil prize for mind readers, congrats
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
6th September 2023, 5:12
But he’s right…. And by the way, your tag could be viewed as racist given your comments about Lewis.
melanos
6th September 2023, 21:34
Show me where I said anything remotely related to race
melanos
6th September 2023, 21:50
And btw you probably have no idea what “melanós” means. You can check “μελανός” instead.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
5th September 2023, 17:16
To me the obvious error in these ratings is Checo. 5/10 is too low a score for his drive this weekend. He qualified too far down bearing in mind his car but he still finished in the best place he could ie 2nd. No mistakes on race day. To give him 5 seems very mean. Should be a 6 I think.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th September 2023, 18:13
Agree he should’ve been 6, and many pointed this out as well, it explains why he’s been potentially under-rated in the mid season rankings, as these marks directly determine those rankings too.
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
5th September 2023, 18:29
Small correction. Lawson passed Sargeant on track and finished P12 not P13. Piastri overtook Lawson off the track and got a 5s penalty. So P11 and a very decent second race for Lawson.
Aussie Rod (@aussierod)
5th September 2023, 23:42
Below is the current average position of both drivers (excluding Ric and Law) based on these rankings.
First (Verstappen) is a 1 and last (Sargent) is a 20.
6.0 Mercedes
6.5 McLaren
*British bias?
9.0 Red Bull
9.5 Fer
9.5 Alpine
10.0 Aston
12.0 Williams
12 Alfa
**most teams sit near the middle with higher performing drivers (Ver, Alo, Alb) directly impact their team mates (Per, Str, Sar).
Haas 14
Tauri 16.5
****the sad fact is that an average car makes most drivers look average.
Dex
6th September 2023, 0:14
Are these some random numbers or what? Because we haven’t been watching the same race. Results don’t correspond to these ratings, nor what I’ve seen watching the race. There’s no consistency between these ratings as well. Perez seems to be subscribed to low marks in particular, while Verstappen simply must be 7 or 8 almost no matter what. Also most of the field is plain 6 for some reason, which seems a bit lazy, and Albon 8 why? He didn’t drive a Minardi, Williams is obviously very fast on this track and, actually, it’s not so slow anywhere these days. It’s a better car than some, but only Albon gets at least +2 on his ratings because of what he drives. He did have a good race by the way, but those who could overtake him did (Hamilton), while McLaren drivers stood no chance because of his high speed. That doesn’t make him a hero. It could easily have been a 7, if Verstappen is 7.
fmiskolc
6th September 2023, 18:33
Some truly weird ratings for this weekend – both under and over (Gasly a 6? Perez a 5?)
Don’t quite get what the numbers seem to be based on in general –
Gasly got a 7 last week for putting the 6th best car on the grid on the podium, Ocon got a 9 for doing the same. This week Gasly and Alpine were complete non-factor no-shows how is that a 6? Should be a 4-5 at least in my book…
someone please help make it make sense!