2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings

The first Las Vegas Grand Prix proved a memorable weekend – both for what happened off track as much as on it.

The high speed straights and bumpy corners of F1’s newest street circuit presented its challenges to drivers during the grand prix weekend, but only a small handful found themselves bumping into the barriers on the track.

But at the end of a chaotic and often controversial weekend, there were only two drivers who stood out above the rest.

Max Verstappen – 8/10

Qualified: 3rd (+9 places ahead of team mate, -0.283s)
Grid: 2nd (+9 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: Winner (+2 places ahead of team mate)

• Missed out on the top two in qualifying but promoted to front row by Sainz’s penalty
• Took lead at turn one by forcing Leclerc off track, earning a five second penalty
• Lost lead when passed by Leclerc into turn 14, then pitted for hards and served penalty
• Made second stop under Second Safety Car to restart fifth
• Passed Gasly and Piastri before overtaking team mate, then took lead from Leclerc
• Pulled out of DRS range of team mate but slowed to help give Perez tow before winning race

Even without qualifying on the front row, Verstappen still came out of turn one with the lead thanks to bullying Leclerc out of the way, which was likely not intentional. But Verstappen had to fight to reclaim the lead after Leclerc took it back, following his penalty and the Safety Car. There was no surprise when he did find his way back to the front, however, as he secured yet another victory.

Sergio Perez – 6/10

Qualified: 12th (-9 places behind team mate, +0.283s)
Grid: 11th (-9 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate)

• Appeared to block Norris early in qualifying but not investigated
• Knocked out of Q2 while stranded in the garage in the final minutes
• Suffered front wing damage at turn one hitting Bottas in melee, pitting at end of first lap
• Fitted new wing and restarted 17th behind Safety Car, passing Stroll, Ricciardo, Zhou, and Ocon
• Gained lead when Leclerc stopped, then pitted under second SC for second set of hards
• Restarted second and passed Leclerc for lead but lost it again soon after before passed by team mate
• Moved up to second when Leclerc ran off but lost position on final lap to finish third, a tenth behind

A tumultuous weekend for Perez to say the least. For once, he had a reasonable excuse for not reaching Q3 as Red Bull opted to leave him in the garage at the end of Q2 and he was beaten by almost everyone and he was unfortunate to get caught up in the mess at turn one and suffer damage. But after that, Perez put in a solid first stint to move up the order before the Safety Car allowed him to leap up into a net second place. He took the lead for a handful of laps, but once Leclerc got back by him he never looked like he would in contention for the win again. He was gifted second, then Leclerc mugged him on the final lap to deny Red Bull a one-two yet again.

Charles Leclerc – 8/10

Qualified: Pole (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.044s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (+4 places ahead of team mate)

• Fastest in extended practice session
• Quickest in all qualifying phases to take pole by less than a tenth from team mate
• Lost lead at turn one after being pushed off track by Verstappen, but took back lead with pass at T14
• Pitted for hard tyres, then inherited lead back when Perez pitted under Safety Car
• Lost lead to Perez but re-passed him before overtaken for lead by Verstappen
• Lost second to Perez with turn 12 mistake but took back second with final lap lunge

If Charles Leclerc was going to win a grand prix in 2023, this was surely going to be it. But not even Red Bull or Verstappen could allow him the privilege of winning the jackpot in Vegas. However, it was not for lack of trying as Leclerc was on it from the moment he arrived in Nevada. He stormed to pole position and was rudely shoved out of the lead at the start, but kept his composure and took on both Red Bulls single-handedly. Even if he couldn’t keep Verstappen behind him, he fought hard with Perez on colder tyres. Although he looked to have thrown second away, his last lap lunge was fantastic and provided him some satisfaction even if the win did not come.

Carlos Sainz Jnr – 6/10

Qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate, +0.044s)
Grid: 12th (-11 places behind team mate)
Start: -6 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 6th (-4 places behind team mate)

• Suffered heavy damage in opening practice when hitting unsecured water valve cover
• Hit with ten place grid penalty for exceeding energy store allocation
• Just beaten to pole by team mate but dropped to 12th on grid due to penalty
• Lost grip into slippery first turn, hitting Hamilton and spinning to 18th
• Pitted under Safety Car for hard tyres to restart 17th, but lost a place to Alonso at restart
• Overtook Alonso and moved up to as high as fourth until caught by rivals on newer tyres
• Pitted under second SC for new set of hards, dropping to tenth for restart
• Ran behind Albon and passed Gasly for seventh, finishing just behind Stroll with Hamilton chasing
• Promoted up to sixth in final results after Russell’s penalty applied

Sainz deserved to start the Las Vegas Grand Prix from the front row where he qualified but a brutally unfair rulebook denied him that opportunity. Unfortunately, while he was not the only driver to start on the oily side of the grid, he was the only one of the 10 who ended up bumping into a rival driver at turn one, resulting in a spin which set him back further still. His race of recovery from that point was pretty solid, taking advantage of the two Safety Cars to pit. Although he gained places in the final stint, he might have expected to pass either Russell, Stroll or both; he was only classified ahead of Russell due to the Mercedes driver’s penalty.

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George Russell – 6/10

Qualified: 4th (+7 places ahead of team mate, -0.486s)
Grid: 3rd (+7 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 8th (-1 place behind team mate)

• Quickest of all in final practice
• In top four of all qualifying phases to take fourth, which became third on the grid
• Held position at the start to run third until pitting for hard tyres
• Recovered to fourth, passing Sainz, but clashed with Verstappen, earning a five second penalty
• Pitted for more hards and restarted ninth after second SC, passing Albon and Gasly to sit sixth
• Overtook Stroll and Ocon in final laps to finish fourth, but demoted to eighth after five second penalty applied

Russell started fourth and finished there. Technically. But it took him a very long and complicated route for him to get there. For the first half of the race he was looking strong, but he somehow seemed to miss Verstappen in his mirrors despite his best efforts to make himself obvious in the mirrors. After pitting under the Safety Car, Russell’s pace until the finish was decent and he make his way back up the order, but the five second penalty – which he accepted blame for – would cost him a large chunk of points.

Lewis Hamilton – 6/10

Qualified: 11th (-7 places behind team mate, +0.486s)
Grid: 10th (-7 places behind team mate)
Start: -5 places
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-H)
Finished: 7th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

• Eliminated from Q2 in 11th, slower than team mate in both qualifying phases
• Only top 16 starter to fit hard tyres for the start, touched by Sainz into turn one, falling to 14th
• Ran 12th under SC after Norris crashed, then passed multiple cars to gain eighth
• Suffered puncture after slight touch with Piastri, spending a full lap off pace
• Pitted for mediums and rejoined 18th, then stopped again under second SC
• Restarted 17th, passing eight rivals to move up to eighth by the chequered flag
• Promoted to seventh in final classification after team mate’s penalty applied

Hamilton was determined to salvage a decent finish in Vegas despite having perhaps the most eventful afternoon of any driver in the field. He didn’t get things right in qualifying but was one of the victims of turn one which left him down the order. It’s unfortunate that he suffered a puncture from such a mild clash with Piastri but the second Safety Car gave him a lifeline in the second half of the race and he made the most of it, running through the field place-by-place and catching his team mate to move ahead of him in the results in seventh – a decent enough recovery at the end of an eventful night.

Esteban Ocon – 7/10

Qualified: 17th (-12 places behind team mate, +0.562s)
Grid: 16th (-12 places behind team mate)
Start: +8 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 4th (+7 places ahead of team mate)

• Suffered damage from debris in opening practice
• Knocked out of Q1 after altercation with Verstappen on final push lap
• Kept out of trouble into turn one and gained eighth as a result, then seventh when Norris crashed
• Passed Magnussen after restart and then overtook Sargeant before pitting for hard tyres and falling 12th
• Jumped to sixth by staying out under second SC and then got by team mate for fifth
• Gained fourth when Piastri pitted but passed by Russell on last lap
• Finished fifth on track by promoted back up to fourth after Russell’s post-race penalty

Ocon was one of the stand-out performers of Saturday night in Vegas. He suffered an early elimination in qualifying which betrayed the speed of the Alpine, partly a consequence of his impatience behind Verstappen, which provoked a futile but entirely predictable reaction from the Red Bull driver. But in the race, he showed a very strong ability to keep his old, hard tyres alive in the second stint and after the final Safety Car restart, doing a better join of it than his team mate. Although Russell passed him late on, he knew it didn’t matter and he secured some decent points in fourth place.

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Pierre Gasly – 6/10

Qualified: 5th (+12 places ahead of team mate, -0.562s)
Grid: 4th (+12 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 11th (-7 places behind team mate)

• Easily reached Q3 to secure top five qualifying position, promoted to fourth on the grid
• Retained fourth into slippery first corner, running there behind Russell until pitting for hards
• Rejoined in tenth and worked his way up to eighth before second Safety Car
• Stayed out on old hards to restart in third, but passed by Piastri at restart
• Overtaken by Verstappen, team mate, Stroll, Russell and several others to fall to tenth
• Lost final point to Piastri on over 30 lap old hards to finish 11th

Both Alpine drivers have endured some frustrating weekends in 2023, but Lady Luck did not seem to be smiling on Gasly on Saturday in Vegas. After a brilliant performance in qualifying to secure a second row start, he arrived there to find his grid box coated in oil. He avoided getting into trouble at turn one and kept his place to run ahead of the Williams until his first stop. But once on the hard compound, things started to turn into a struggle as his graining tyres caused him to slowly slip down the order. The second Safety Car period occured at the perfect time for many of his rivals to fit newer tyres, and he slowly sank down the order. He deserved at least a point for his efforts up to that point, but he ultimately missed out.

Lando Norris – 4/10

Qualified: 16th (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.147s)
Grid: 15th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Finished: Retired (Crashed – L3)

• Lost track time in second practice with a cooling problem but still covered 33 laps
• First driver eliminated from Q1 in 16th, but ahead of team mate
• Avoided the various cars on track to sit 16th after turn one, then passed Ricciardo at the Sphere
• Overtook Hamilton at end of first lap to snatch 14th, then gained an extra place when Perez pitted
• Crashed out after losing control into turn 11, taken to hospital for checks but later cleared

For the first time in 2023, Norris failed to finish a grand prix. Not for a car or power unit problem either, but because he lost control when his car appeared to bottom out on cold tyres on lap three, sending him skidding into the barrier. Until this point, Norris was having a so-so weekend – running with his team mate but joining him in early elimination from qualifying on a track which did not suit McLaren’s car. It took just one minor mistake for his weekend to come to an end, but as he was the only one who committed such an error, he can’t be excused.

Oscar Piastri – 6/10

Qualified: 19th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.147s)
Grid: 18th (-3 places behind team mate)
Start: +5 places
Strategy: Two-stop (H-H-M)
Finished: 10th

• Second-fastest in final practice but failed to emulate that pace in qualifying, eliminated in 19th
• Started on hards and avoided carnage at the start to move up to 12th
• Gained 11th when Stroll pitted under SC before picking up tenth passing Tsunoda at restart
• Passed both Haas and Sargeant before suffering puncture after contact with Hamilton
• Immediately pitted for hards and climbed up to fourth, staying out for second SC
• Passed Gasly at restart to run fourth before final stop for mediums, rejoining 11th
• Overtook Gasly a second time for tenth where he would finish, along with bonus point for fastest lap

Piastri experienced a rollercoaster of a weekend in Vegas where there was rarely little going on for him during the grand prix. He somehow couldn’t emulate the single-lap pace he showed in practice during Q1 which was a disappointment, but he benefitted from the drama at turn one to gain many places. After his team mate retired, Piastri drove well through the rest of the race and would’ve happily stayed on his hard tyres if only he wasn’t forced to by the rules. At least he salvaged a top 10 and the fastest lap point as a consolation reward after a busy day, but likely would have got more were it not for the Safety Car timing.

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Valtteri Bottas – 7/10

Qualified: 8th (+10 places ahead of team mate, -0.544s)
Grid: 7th (+10 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -13 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 17th (-2 places behind team mate)

• Suffered from “stomach bug” all weekend
• Ahead of team mate and inside the top ten in every timed session
• Squeezed into Q3 in tenth to go eighth-fastest, which became seventh on grid
• Sandwiched by spinning Alonso and Perez into turn one, causing floor damage and dropping him last
• Pitted for repairs and rejoined last behind Safety Car but struggled for pace with damaged car
• Overtaken by Tsunoda after second SC restart to fall to last where he would finish

Deceptively, Bottas had probably one of his best performances of the season in Vegas. He showed strong pace through the first two nights of the weekend and reached Q3 for the fifth time this season but his race and weekend was utterly ruined when he was caught up in the mess at turn one when he was no more than an innocent bystander. He remained out to try and salvage some good luck but he was clearly nursing damage that was slowing him down. It’s a shame he never got the opportunity to fight for points as he likely deserved.

Zhou Guanyu – 5/10

Qualified: 18th (-10 places behind team mate, +0.544s)
Grid: 17th (-10 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 15th (+2 places ahead of team mate)

• Behind team mate in every timed session
• Failed to progress out of Q1 after getting caught up in traffic ahead of final lap attempt
• Started on hards in 17th, successfully avoiding various spinning cars
• Restarted 14th behind SC and immediately passed Ricciardo, then Hulkenberg
• Ran long opening stint until pitting for mediums under second SC, restarting 13th
• Passed Sargeant for 12th, but lost places to Hamilton, Magnussen and Ricciardo to finish 15th

Once again, Zhou’s result was largely limited by the race pace of his Alfa Romeo. While he blamed traffic for missing out in qualifying, there’s enough time in Q1 to make sure you get space for that final lap in. He played it suitably cautious at the start and avoided trouble and spent the bulk of the race hovering outside of the top ten. Although he faded late in the race with his old medium tyres, he probably did as well as he could have been asked to do in the race, but wasn’t on the same level as his team mate all weekend.

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Lance Stroll – 6/10

Qualified: 14th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.582s)
Grid: 19th (-10 places behind team mate)
Start: +10 places
Strategy: Two-stop (S-H-H)
Finished: 5th (+4 places ahead of team mate)

• Hit with five-place grid penalty for overtaking under double yellows in practice
• Failed to follow team mate into Q3, leaving him 19th on the grid
• Started on softs and successfully navigated through turn one to jump ten places into ninth
• Pitted under SC for hards and restarting from 15th, losing a place to Perez but passing Ricciardo
• Passed Zhou and ran as high as second before pitting just before second SC to restart seventh
• Traded places with Albon, then passed Gasly before losing fifth to Russell and finishing sixth

Stroll had a bad qualifying night and somehow managed to somehow get a strong result out of it in the race. He had no excuses for his yellow flag penalty, even if the electronic system was not working correctly, but his grid penalty ironically helped him avoid the worst of the chaos at turn one. Although he benefited from a smart strategy from his team mate, Stroll showed decent pace and got by rivals on older tyres to secure a badly needed top-five finish.

Fernando Alonso – 5/10

Qualified: 10th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.582s)
Grid: 9th (+10 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -10 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 9th (-4 places behind team mate)

• Third-fastest in extended practice session, then comfortably reached Q3 to line up ninth on grid
• Lost control at turn one, spinning and falling to 19th position before pitting
• Took SC restart from 18th and passed Sainz before losing place back to the Ferrari
• Moved up to seventh before pitting under second SC for hards, falling to 12th
• Passed Sargeant at restart, then Albon and Gasly to sit in eighth
• Lost eighth to Hamilton in closing laps, finishing ninth

For the start of the weekend, everything appeared to be trending in a positive direction for Alonso. Although he reached the top 10 in qualifying, 10th-best was all he managed in the close final session, but he almost threw his race away when he lost control in the very low grip at the first corner. Fortunately, his car wasn’t too badly damaged and he could continue. He enjoyed even more fortune from the two Safety Cars during the race which helped jump him back into the top 10. Although the first corner was abnormally slippery, he shouldn’t be excused as many others managed without spinning.

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Kevin Magnussen – 6/10

Qualified: 9th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.315s)
Grid: 8th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Finished: 13th (+6 places ahead of team mate)

• Ran newer configuration of Haas over the weekend compared to team mate
• Reached Q3, unlike team mate, to line up eighth on the grid
• Kept nose clean at the start to move up to sixth before losing a place to Sargeant before end of L1
• Dropped to eighth on L3, then lost three more positions until first stop for hards
• Passed Bottas to sit in 14th before making second stop under second SC to restart 14th
• Lost place to Hamilton but passed Sargeant and Zhou to finish 13th

Although he didn’t come close to a top ten finish and the vital points that Haas need so desperately at the end of the season, Magnussen could still hold his head high after putting in a decent effort through the weekend. He did well to secure a place in Q3 and stayed out of trouble at the start, slowly started to sink down the order when swallowed up by faster cars. While he eventually drifted out of the top ten, he at least spent the race ahead of his team mate and finished ahead of an AlphaTauri, a Williams and both Alfa Romeos.

Nico Hulkenberg – 5/10

Qualified: 13th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.315s)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Classified: 19th (-6 places behind team mate)

• Ran old-spec Haas throughout the weekend
• Failed to follow team mate through into Q3, eliminated in 13th
• Gained one place at the start despite running wind, then passed Tsunoda for 11th
• Took SC restart in ninth after Perez pitted, falling three places before pitting for hards
• Lost further place to Bottas, then pitted again under second SC
• Passed Ricciardo and Sargeant with fresher tyres to sit 15th before retiring with five laps left

If Haas were hoping to answer the question ‘which of their car configurations is quickest?’ in Vegas, then the fact that Hulkenberg was running directly behind his team mate over the final stint of the race would have told them little. Hulkenberg didn’t get through into Q3 like his team mate but they spent the entire race never more than four seconds away from each other. Despite several laps behind his team mate, he could not pass and eventually had to retire with a power unit problem with five laps remaining.

Yuki Tsunoda – 4/10

Qualified: 20th (-5 places behind team mate, +1.764s)
Start: +8 places
Strategy: Two-stop (S-M-H)
Classified: 18th (-4 places behind team mate)

• Very fortunate to avoid a penalty after overtaking Bottas under double yellows in practice
• Quicker than team mate in practice but was eliminated slowest from Q1
• Started on softs, picking up eight places avoiding turn one chaos to run as high as tenth under SC
• Lost two places at restarted before pitting early for mediums, falling to last
• Returned to last after second stop for hards, lining up at the back under second SC
• Overtook Bottas before being called into retirement with five laps left, classified 18th

After a fairly strong run of form, Tsunoda was not at his best in Vegas. How he avoided the same penalty as Stroll for overtaking under double yellow flags is a question for the stewards, but he did not need a penalty to line up at the back of the grid. Starting on soft tyres was worth a risk but the Safety Car timings sunk his strategy. Not his best performance of the season.

Daniel Ricciardo – 5/10

Qualified: 15th (+5 places ahead of team mate, -1.764s)
Grid: 14th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 14th (+4 places ahead of team mate)

• Slowest of all in final practice
• Just reached Q2 in 15th but eliminated slowest to line up 14th on the grid
• Lost one place off the line after being forced to run off the track in avoidance
• Lost a place to Zhou at the restart, then dropped four more before pitting for hards
• Continued to fall down the order over second stint but passed Zhou on penultimate lap to finish 14th

Ricciardo endured a challenging weekend where AlphaTauri never had the pace he had expected them to have. He out-qualified his team mate but dropped like a stone over the course of the race, although his one-stop strategy worked more in the favour of his rivals with the Safety Car. He struggled to keep his rivals behind, but at least his strategy was better than his team mate’s.

Alexander Albon – 5/10

Qualified: 6th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.19s)
Grid: 5th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 12th (+4 places ahead of team mate)

• Struck the turn five wall in final practice, damaging left-rear wheel
• Breezed into Q3 to secure third row start just ahead of team mate in fifth
• Ran fifth in the early laps before sole pit stop for hards, falling to 11th
• Passed by Piastri and Ocon, then stayed out under SC to restart eighth
• Overtook Stroll at restart but passed back before losing eighth to Russell
• Dropped three places with error at turn five to fall to 12th where he would finish

For the first laps of Vegas, Albon and Williams would have been dreaming of not just a top 10 but perhaps their best points haul of the 2023 season. However, the chips simply didn’t fall that way with the second Safety Car timing working against him and actively working in favour of their rivals in the midfield. But despite some genuine bad luck, Albon made more mistakes than most in Vegas, hitting the wall in practice and dropping several places at the same turn in the race. Although that was as much to do with his old, graining hard tyres than anything, he didn’t help himself.

Logan Sargeant – 5/10

Qualified: 7th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.19s)
Grid: 6th (-1 place behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 16th (-4 places behind team mate)

• Secured career-best qualifying position of seventh to line up behind team mate on third row
• Ran behind team mate in sixth in early laps before passed by three cars on lap 14
• Lost a place to Piastri, then stayed out under second SC to restart 11th
• Passed by Alonso and Zhou at restart, then lost several places over final stint
• Finished 16th, four places and seven seconds behind team mate

Logan Sargeant has had enough disappointing results during the 2023 season, however in Vegas, he could at least blame the unfortunate timing of the second Safety Car for ultimately dropping him down the order. He kept his car out of the barriers all weekend and backed up his team mate’s pace in qualifying to earn praise from his team principal and matched Albon’s race pace in the opening stint, but perhaps made it a little too easy for rivals to pass him. Once the Safety Car locked him into a one-stop, he was never going to have much chance of points but at least he largely matched Albon’s pace ahead. A decent enough effort.

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2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix

• Tost blames track inspection oversight for Sainz’s damage in Las Vegas
• Hard to repeat “rare” combination of factors behind Vegas shunt – Norris
• Las Vegas Grand Prix “got a lot more hate than it deserved” – Sargeant
• Williams’ “incredible” Vegas qualifying made us “poor” in race – Vowles
• Piastri is first rookie to take two fastest laps in a season since Hamilton

Browse all 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix articles