Imola challenged Formula 1 drivers with its rapid corners and limited run-off, amplified by the extension of gravel traps at several key corners which meant mistakes were punished more than usual.
Some drivers, including multiple world champions, found themselves struggling to keep their cars on the road over the weekend, even though conditions were near-perfect across the three days.Throughout the field, there were some drivers who put in some stand out performances during the race. Although there’s no surprise as to who was the most outstanding of them all.
Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend.
A guide to RaceFans’ driver ratings system
RaceFans’ driver ratings system assesses driver performance across all three days of a grand prix weekend. Naturally, performances during competitive sessions – qualifying, sprint races and grands prix – will carry the most weight to their rating.
However, practice performance can affect a driver’s weekend rating in the event of a major mistake, such as a crash, consistent errors throughout practice sessions or if a driver shows a notably impressive speed throughout all free practice sessions relative to their team mate.
The system attempts to take into account the relative performance of each driver’s car and the expected results from that, meaning that a driver who wins a race in a car clearly superior to the rest of the field may not necessarily score as highly as a driver who claims a low points finish in a midfield car.
Ratings also attempt to take into account mitigating factors outside of a driver’s control. If a driver is forced to miss considerable track time due to car problems, is the victim of being blocked in qualifying, finishes far lower than expected because of a heavily botched pit stop or suffers any other misfortune they cannot be reasonably expected to control, their rating should not be penalised.
RaceFans rates each driver’s weekend performance on a scale of 0 to 10, where ‘5’ is considered to be a typically average weekend performance from a typically average Formula 1 driver.
Here is a rough guide to each possible score:
N/A – Not applicable – No rating is given as the driver did not sufficiently participate in the competitive sessions
0 – Disqualified – Only in the most extreme instance where a driver’s conduct disqualifies them from participation
1 – Appalling – An appalling display that brings a driver’s competency under immediate question
2 – Awful – A very, very poor performance of repeated errors with almost no redeeming qualities
3 – Very bad – Far more negatives than positives across the weekend which a driver should be very disappointed with
4 – Underperformance – Driver failed to achieve the base level expected for a Formula 1 driver
5 – Acceptable – The standard level of performance that should be expected from an F1 driver
6 – Good – A decent overall performance across the weekend, but not one of the best
7 – Very good – A strong performance across the weekend that any driver should be very pleased with
8 – Brilliant – A truly great weekend where the driver stood out as one of the very best of the field
9 – Exceptional – An outstanding performance that ranks as one of the best, if not the very best, of the entire season
10 – Legendary – One of the few all-time greatest performances by a driver in the history of Formula 1
Max Verstappen – 8/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Winner (+7 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Used slipstream from Hulkenberg to snatch pole position from McLarens
▲ Escaped DRS range of Norris on opening lap to hold lead over opening stint
▶ Received black-and-white warning flag for three track limits violations
▲ Absorbed pressure from Norris as tyres wore down late to secure tight victory
Max Verstappenhas won many, many races over recent years. However, this will sure rank as one of his better victories of his career. After struggling for balance across practice, he likely only secured pole with the benefit of a tow from Hulkenberg. But although McLaren appeared quicker at times at Imola, Verstappen found a way to hold on and secure a very satisfying win.
Easily deserving of an ‘8’, but at a track as tough to pass on as Imola and his help from Hulkenberg in qualifying, it’s hard to justify a higher grade.
Sergio Perez – 3/10
Qualified: 11th (-10 places behind team mate, +0.53s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 8th (-7 places behind team mate)
▼ Crashed at Variante Alta at end of final practice
▼ Eliminated from Q2 in 11th
▶ Highest starting car on cars, running long first stint
▼ Ran off into gravel into first Rivazza, losing several seconds
▲ Passed Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Tsunoda after pitting to finish eighth
For the first quarter of the 2024 season, Perez appeared to have made a significant step forward in his form. But at Imola, it was as if he had fully reverted to his woeful 2023 self. Not only was he nowhere near the pace of his race winning team mate on Saturday or Sunday, he also crashed his car in final practice and lost time with an error in the race that a veteran like him should not be committing.
While his results alone would typically warrant a ‘4’ at best, having his weekend blighted by three major mistakes across the five sessions means he must lose another mark.
Lewis Hamilton – 5/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 6th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Out-qualified by team mate and Tsunoda to line up eighth on grid
▲ Passed Tsunoda at start to run behind team mate in first stint
▼ Ran off track at Acque Minerali, losing around five seconds
▶ Gained a place when team mate pitted, finishing ahead of him in sixth
Hamilton may have finished as the leading Mercedes in Imola, but he was not the better performer in the team again. Sixth was probably the best result he could have achieved given the performance of the Mercedes at Imola, but he should not have been out-qualified by a RB and only finished ahead of Russell thanks to his extra pit stop.
Although his race pace was level with that of Russell’s and he successfully passed Tsunoda at the start, he loses credit with his unforced race error. All in all, a ‘5’ feels like a fair grade.
George Russell – 6/10
Qualified: 6th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.27s)
Grid: 6th (-2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-M)
Finished: 7th (-1 place behind team mate)
▲ Took a respectable sixth on the grid behind McLarens and Ferraris
▶ Held position over the first stint before slightly early stop for hards
▶ Called in for a late stop for mediums as tyres began to wear excessively
▶ Finished behind team mate in seventh, claiming fastest lap point
Russell should have been the first Mercedes to the chequered flag after being ahead of his team mate practically the entire weekend. However, the state of his tyres meant Mercedes chose to pit him to try and defend from Perez behind, sacrificing his personal result for the team.
You could argue he should have done a better job at managing his tyres, but he was the earliest of the leading group to pit. Overall, a ‘6’ feels earned for being largely better than his team mate.
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Charles Leclerc – 6/10
Grid: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 3rd (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Quickest in both Friday practice sessions
▶ Just beat team mate to line up on second row of the grid
▶ Ran third in opening stint on mediums before pitting later than cars ahead for hards
▼ Fell out of DRS range of Norris with mistake into chicane
▲ Remained out of reach of Piastri behind to claim final podium place
Leclerc achieved one of the many dreams for a Ferrari driver of standing on the podium at Imola for the first time last weekend, but he admitted he could not be satisfied with third. It was likely the best result he could have hoped for, however, given the performance of the car relative to Red Bull and McLaren, and he was the quicker of the two Ferraris all weekend.
Although a ‘6’ might seem a little low, it feels fairer than a ‘seven’ when he threw away a chance to possibly fight for second place with Norris after his mistake at Variante Alta.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 5/10
Qualified: 5th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.263s)
Grid: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 5th (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Two tenths slower than team mate but lined up one place behind him
▶ Held position through long opening stint before being one of the last to pit
▶ Fell behind Piastri after pitting, gradually dropping back from cars ahead
▶ Finished fifth, eight seconds behind Piastri
A fairly underwhelming weekend for Sainz but also one where he did not make any major errors of note or appear to be especially struggling for pace. He was just ‘there’, running in a position that his team could be satisfied with given the relative better pace of their rivals.
Given that he achieved pretty much what the team could have asked of any driver at Imola, the average rating of a ‘5’ feels appropriate for this weekend – one lower than his team mate who was above him all weekend.
Lando Norris – 7/10
Grid: 2nd (-3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Beaten by team mate in qualifying but gained second after Piastri’s penalty
▶ Ran behind Verstappen in early laps but without falling too far behind
▲ Managed his hard tyres well over the start of his second stint
▶ Put Verstappen under pressure over the closing laps but missed out on win by 0.7s
As the newest member of the grand prix winners club, Norris was perhaps just one lap away from back-to-back wins in Imola. He managed his hard tyres superbly to give himself a chance to challenge Verstappen for victory at the end and was probably one DRS zone from snatching a win from the Red Bull driver.
Although he was one of the strongest drivers on Sunday, with no errors to note over the weekend, he was out-qualified by his team mate on Saturday and was ultimately beaten by a likely slower car. For that, a ‘7’ seems an accurate assessment of his overall performance.
Oscar Piastri – 6/10
Qualified: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.017s)
Grid: 5th (-3 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 4th (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Received team’s full raft of upgrades for first time
▲ Out-qualified team mate to take second behind Verstappen
▶ Hit with three-place grid penalty for impeding Magnussen, dropping him to fourth
▲ Undercut Sainz to gain fourth place
▶ Got within DRS range of Leclerc for one lap but faded to finish six seconds behind
It’s fair to say Oscar Piastri would not have left Imola as the biggest fan of Haas from last weekend. He likely lost his first career pole position thanks to Verstappen gaining a tow from Hulkenberg, then dropped three places after his team failed to inform him Magnussen was approaching at the end of Q1. He went from being on the front row to fifth, only managing to pass Sainz in the pits, but was surprisingly unable to challenge Leclerc ahead on the hards.
A ‘6’ might seem slightly harsh, but given that he didn’t same to have the same race pace as his team mate, he does not deserve the same mark as Norris. As Piastri was not at fault for impeding Magnussen, but McLaren were, his rating is not affected by his grid penalty.
Fernando Alonso – 4/10
Grid: 20th (-7 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Three-stop (S-H-M-S)
Finished: 19th (-10 places behind team mate)
▼ Crashed out in final practice after spinning at second Rivazza
▼ Eliminated 19th from Q1 after suffering ‘issue’ late on
▶ Made to start from pit lane after breaking parc ferme
▶ Started on softs gambling on SC which never came
▶ Ran a ‘test session’ using various compounds to finish late in 19th
A rare bad performance for Alonso whose Imola weekend pivoted with a crash in final practice. He was knocked out of Q1 after setting his best time with high fuel and then headed into Sunday having effectively given up hopes of recovering into the points. He made three stops after an early gamble on softs didn’t pay off and was more concerned with data gathering than gaining places.
Although he appears to have vastly underperformed given his results, the wider circumstances make his performance seem more excusable than someone like Perez, which is why he gets a ‘4’ rather than the Red Bull driver’s ‘3’.
Lance Stroll – 7/10
Qualified: 13th (+6 places ahead of team mate, -0.459s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 9th (+10 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Reached Q2, unlike team mate, but eliminated 13th
▲ Passed Ocon for 12th, then extended first stint on mediums until lap 37
▲ Overtook Bottas, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Tsunoda after fitting hards
▲ Claimed two points in ninth, behind Red Bulls, McLarens, Ferraris and Mercedes
Stroll’s 150th grand prix start was probably one of the better ones of his entire career. While Alonso let the team down, Stroll executed his team’s strategy brilliantly to finish ninth – likely the best result Aston Martin could have expected from a race with no retirements among their rivals ahead. A reminder of the talent that Stroll possesses, even if he is unable to tap into it more regularly.
While it may seem generous given a failure to reach Q3, the prowess Stroll showed on Sunday makes him worthy of a strong grade. Demonstrating excellent tyre management in the first stint and the ability to overtake several rivals in the second to gain four places from his starting position over a race with no Safety Cars, that deserves a ‘7’.
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Pierre Gasly – 5/10
Qualified: 15th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.475s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)
Finished: 16th (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Quicker than team mate in Q1 but eliminated slowest in Q2
▶ Pitted early for hard tyres before making a second stop for mediums
▶ Ran behind Zhou for entirety of final stint
▲ Passed Bottas on penultimate lap to finish six seconds behind team mate
Another frustrating and fruitless weekend for Gasly in a season full of frustrating and fruitless weekends, but at least he could say he did not let himself down over the course of the grand prix. His team’s attempt at an alternative strategy did not seem to pay off and his later laps were plagued with having to move out of the way of leaders because of blue flags.
Although there was little to stand out about Gasly’s weekend, he did not make any major errors of note or do anything particularly wrong. Given that and that he was behind his team mate in both competitive sessions, a ‘5’ seems a reasonable rating for an average weekend.
Esteban Ocon – 6/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 14th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Out-qualified team mate to line up 12th
▼ Passed by Stroll in early laps before switching to hard tyres
▲ Overtook Alonso, then Bottas late to move up into 14th
▶ Finished 14th, six seconds ahead of team mate
After taking points in Miami, Alpine were not in contention for a top ten finish in Imola. But Ocon still put in a respectable performance. A finish of 14th was probably a fair reflection of where his car was around the Italian circuit over the weekend and he was at least quicker than his team mate on both Saturday and Sunday.
While there was little to shout about for Ocon in Imola, he was the better of the two Alpine drivers over the weekend. As he was likely more limited by the car than himself, a ‘6’ feels like the right reward
Alexander Albon – 5/10
Qualified: 14th (+6 places ahead of team mate
Start: Held position
Strategy: Four-stop (M-H-M-M-M)
Finished: Retired (Withdrawn – L50)
▶ Suffered car stoppage in opening practice
▶ Reached Q2 but eliminated 14th
▶ Lost a lap after being released with loose wheel after pit stop
▶ Hit with ten second stop/go penalty
▶ Brought in by his team to be race’s only retirement
A weekend to forget for Albon and Williams. He was in a relatively good position in 14th with only faster cars ahead of him before his race was ruined by his botched pit stop. At the very back of the field, he used the race as a test session to try out different techniques and settings, relaying his findings for the team to pass on for his team mate before they called him in to save his components.
Although he was unable to complete the race, Albon had a decent performance across the weekend, especially having lost track time in the opening practice session. On balance, a ‘5’ feels about the only grade for him and his rivals given the circumstances.
Logan Sargeant – 4/10
Grid: 19th (-5 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 17th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Failed to set a single legal lap time in Q1 after errors and track limit infringements
▶ Started on hard tyres, running long opening stint before switching to mediums
▶ Passed by Alonso to drop to the final car running
▲ Overtook struggling Bottas on penultimate lap to finish 17th
Sargeant’s Imola weekend followed a similar pattern to many of those in his F1 career. Although he kept his car on track over the three days, he was slower than his team mate but underperformed in qualifying yet again by failing to complete a single legitimate lap time.
Although his Sunday performance was reasonable and would be worthy of a passing ‘5’ grade, his inability to keep the car on track in Q1 cannot be ignored. For that, he falls to a ‘4’.
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Yuki Tsunoda – 7/10
Start: -2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 10th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Inside top five in Q1 and Q2 before qualifying seventh on the grid
▼ Dropped two places with a less than ideal launch off the grid
▲Undercut Hulkenberg, then pulled off excellent pass on Sargeant into Tamburello
▶ Fell to eighth when passed by Perez
▶ Passed by Stroll on fresher tyres but pulled away from Hulkenberg to secure final point
Tsunoda continues to be one of the more outstanding drivers outside of the top five teams with another impressive performance at his team’s home circuit of Imola, bringing home another top ten finish. He was quicker than his team mate across the weekend and with Alonso out of contention, he happily grabbed the sole ‘spare’ point available with a mature drive.
The only negative for Tsunoda’s weekend was his underwhelming start, but even without it, tenth was probably the best he could have hoped for. For that, he deserves a ‘7’ for his very good weekend performance.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5/10
Qualified: 9th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.209s)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 13th (-3 places behind team mate)
▲ Followed team mate into Q3 to qualify two places behind him
▼ Lost two places at the start to run 11th early on
▶ Ran behind Hulkenberg for lengthy second stint
▶ Passed by Magnussen late as tyres degraded to finish 13th
Although Ricciardo was unable to fight for a point at Imola and was not on the same level as his team mate again, it would be wrong to say he was struggling over the weekend either. He put in a good qualifying performance, but after losing places at the start his race seemed to be defined by dirty air and an inability to get by cars ahead. He may have lost a place late, but there was little shame in losing out to a car on 20+ lap newer tyres.
Given that he had no major negatives from the weekend but failed to gain any places or overtake anyone during the race either, a ‘5’ seems a fair reflection for an average outcome.
Valtteri Bottas – 6/10
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 18th (-3 places behind team mate)
▶ Knocked out of Q1 in 16th but ahead of team mate
▶ Started on mediums but pitted very early for hards
▶ Ran behind Gasly for several laps until Gasly pitted
▼ Faded on his old hard tyres, losing four places in closing laps to finish 18th
Bottas’s performance in Imola was probably better than his result suggested. He was the quickest Sauber in every single session over the weekend except for the race, where his strategy for a very long second stint of over 50 laps on hards failed to pay off and he dropped behind his team mate and many others at the end.
It is difficult to make a strong impression when you’re driving a car incapable of escaping Q1, but Bottas ran a clean weekend and was a victim of his strategy failing to pay off more than anything, so a ‘6’ overall feels about right.
Zhou Guanyu – 5/10
Qualified: 17th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.208s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 15th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Knocked out of Q1 just behind team mate
▶ Started on hard tyres, running 33 lap opening stint
▶ Emerged 17th but lost a place to Magnussen
▶ Ran behind Ocon for several laps but unable to pass
▶ Overtook fading team mate late to finish behind Ocon in 15th
Zhou had a very typical ‘Zhou’ like weekend in Imola where he made virtually no errors but also failed to do anything to attract attention, even if that is hard to do in a Sauber. He did a pretty respectable job making a hard-medium strategy work for him, but probably should have found a way by Ocon with quicker and newer tyres.
Although Zhou finished ahead of his team mate, it’s hard not to put that down to Bottas’ extremely long second stint failing to pay off for him. Looking at the total weekend, he was the slower of the two, so is graded lower.
Nico Hulkenberg – 7/10
Qualified: 10th (+8 places ahead of team mate, -1.013s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 11th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Reached Q3 to line up tenth on the grid
▲ Picked up two places at the start to run in eighth
▶ Pitted relatively early for hard tyres but undercut by Tsunoda
▶ Fell away from Tsunoda gradually but kept out of reach of Ricciardo
▲ Finished just outside the points in 11th, ahead of team mate
Alongside Tsunoda, Hulkenberg continues to be one of the midfield’s more consistently impressive performers in 2024. It was the same again last weekend in Imola, where he gave his team another decent chance of scoring a point, even if he wasn’t able to beat the RB driver to it this time around. He did a better job than others at keeping his tyres healthy over the course of the second stint and just needed a retirement ahead of him to record another top ten.
Although a finish towards the top of the midfield in this car might be worthy of a ‘six’, typically, his qualifying performance, start and consistent race pace make him easily worthy of better.
Kevin Magnussen – 7/10
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 12th (-1 place behind team mate)
▶ Missed FP1 to allow Oliver Bearman to participate in session
▶ Eliminated from Q1 but was impeded by Piastri on final push lap
▲ Picked up two places off the line, then ran long first stint on mediums
▲ Fell to 17th after pitting for hards, then passed Zhou, Ocon and Bottas
▲ Overtook Ricciardo in closing laps to finish just behind team mate in 12th
It was easy to overlook what a good Sunday Magnussen had in Imola as he rose from 18th on the grid to 12th to be just a second away from his team mate at the chequered flag in a race without any Safety Car interventions. Although he started far lower than his team mate, he at least had Piastri as an excuse for that. After many races on the defensive, it was good to see Magnussen show he knows how to attack, too.
Although Hulkenberg was ahead of him across the weekend, Magnussen genuinely did suffer from being impeded in qualifying. But his race pace was probably superior to that of Hulkenberg on Sunday, so all things considered, he likely deserves the same overall rating, especially having missed first practice.
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2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
- Ferrari expect qualifying gain after spotting rivals’ power strategy tactics
- How Alonso and Stroll copied Verstappen’s tactic plus more unheard Imola radio
- Verstappen beats Hamilton’s winning rate with Emilia-Romagna GP victory
- How Russell resisted losing position to Hamilton “for no reason” with extra stop
- “Lando’s found some pace”: Unheard radio from Verstappen-Norris Imola duel
Nitzo (@webtel)
21st May 2024, 8:11
Have to admit it was surprisingly a good race for Lance. Am not really sure about the 7 for both Haas drivers, seems a bit generous. Just a bit…
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
21st May 2024, 8:34
While I think Magnussen did well, He basically had better pace on Sunday for the same reason Zhou got past Bottas, which didn’t get mentioned. Hulkenberg and Bottas both had the same really long stint on hards. If Bottas gets rated higher than Zhou, which for the reasons given, Hulkenberg should be ahead of Magnussen I’d say.
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
21st May 2024, 8:43
@thegianthogweed
Agreed, Magnussen had a really strong race, sure, but his strategy was also better than Hulkenberg’s. Haas shouldn’t have reacted to Tsunoda’s pit stop by pitting Hulkenberg. He would have scored points had he gone much longer into the first stint like Magnussen.
Stephen Taylor
21st May 2024, 9:17
Good to see Stroll’s weekend get the credit it deserves here
Terrion (@terrion)
21st May 2024, 11:32
I always enjoy these articles and rankings. Adding the green up and red down triangle was a really good idea!
But I just looked at the average rankings from thus year. Tell me… do you really think Esteban Ocon is the 5th best driver on the grid right now? I don’t even remember if he finished ahead or behind Gasly on most of the occasions. And Pierre is 5th worst.
Tristan
21st May 2024, 13:55
Because everyone’s so mushed together at 5-7, who knew F1 had so many mid drivers.
Tristan
21st May 2024, 14:23
It’s because everyone’s so mashed together between 5 and 7.
Being unwilling to use the full scale means when drivers have a somewhat good weekend it rates them up there with the best of the weekend, theres not enough spread. They’re completely incomparable, the level of pressure, expectation, quality of driver around them, etc…
Looking at the averages if Max was where he should be, up around 9, and Logan down closer to 2, that would have allowed much more scope for differentiation for the rest.
hje
22nd May 2024, 10:08
It’s because you don’t watch races, lol. Gasly finished ahead of Ocon just once this season – in Australia, when he had a tearoff stuck in his brake duct, and had a long stop to remove it.
There are plenty of cars behind Sainz, trust me.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd May 2024, 12:16
It’s not so much about people not watching races, more like not caring for far back positions; fights for important places are much more enticing.
Urvaksh (@thedoctor03)
21st May 2024, 12:04
Pleasantly surprised to see Ocon creep up surely but steadily in the standings. Tsunoda and Hulkenberg definitely have had the most headline grabbing races from the bottom 5 teams but Ocon has consistently managed to drag that car to the bottom reaches of the points and outclassed his team mate more often than not. It goes to show that consistency always helps if performances are observed not just from a points scored metric.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
21st May 2024, 12:46
@thedoctor03 Another reason i’m looking forward to them extending points finishes to the top 12. It will give a more representative showing of the drivers who are consistently performing well with poor cars, but often getting no rewards for it.
John Beak (@johnbeak)
21st May 2024, 12:08
Whoever said that a “drive worthy of Senna” was an 8 under the other article absolutely nailed it.
For those frustrated with the rankings being on a 2-8 scale there’s a simple solution: interpolation.
To map values used by Race Fans to a 0-10 scale, use the following formula (ha!): interpolated rating = (Race Fans’ rating – 2) / 6 * 10
Instead of 8-7-6-5-4-3-2 you’ll get 10.00-8.33-6.67-5.00-3.33-1.67-0.00
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st May 2024, 12:26
How would you consider the 9s? Because they exist, are they 10+?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
21st May 2024, 12:27
I like that you added the discussion as to why a driver deserved 6, 7, etc.
Tristan
21st May 2024, 12:47
Still can’t get behind these at all, a 4 for Alonso is baffling, what wider circumstances excuses his performance? Literally could not get worse.
Think about it, that’s only 30% (of total possible points) worse than Norris who obviously had a great weekend.
Something’s just off about these.
MXMXD (@mxmxd)
21st May 2024, 14:48
Again, it’s probably worth noting that the Aston was not the 5th fastest car this weekend.
Tristan
22nd May 2024, 3:11
Stroll did alright on race pace… Alonso has a bad weekend (all of his own doing) and all of a sudden the car is terrible and Stroll is driving above and beyond? I don’t buy it.
kuvemar
21st May 2024, 13:09
Phew. Hard to justify giving VER in the dominant car an 8 when he managed to just beat Norris with a 7 in a McLaren that is obviously not on the same level as the RBR yet. Actually one of the weaker GPs for Verstappen, I reckon.
tielemst
21st May 2024, 14:49
Could you clarify on the ‘obviously’ remark? Maybe it’s track specific, but the McLaren did look the faster car to me last weekend. And judging by the difference between Verstappen and Perez, I’d say this was one of the weaker GP’s of the RB20.
Schumi
21st May 2024, 15:44
The McLaren was faster than the RB, so credits to Max for keeping him (just) behind. Sames material als CP and look where he ended. MV had to work hard for it and for me deserved a 9 instead of 8, and that is for the black and white.
MXMXD (@mxmxd)
21st May 2024, 14:46
It seems very obvious to me that the VCARB was the 5th fastest car for THAT SPECIFIC RACE (with Aston having issues assimilating and optimizing) their numerous upgrades and I don’t know why the ratings don’t reflect this.
7 for KMAG seems generous, but his race is very similar to Stroll (who absolutely deserves a 7) and his bad quali can be explained by being impeded to a certain extent. I have no issue with it.
Edvaldo
21st May 2024, 15:58
Alonso should’ve gotten a 3. 4 for this weekend feels like a pity score.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st May 2024, 17:34
Most impressed: NOR, STR, & TSU
Most disappointing: PER & ALO
An Sionnach
21st May 2024, 18:15
Isn’t it false that Max only got pole due to the tow in sector 1? I’ve seen Peter Windsor and people here state this. Does someone have the data? It should be then possible to see if Max gained enough time in sector 2 and 3 to get pole. Thanks!
M2X
21st May 2024, 23:00
Peter Windsor stated Max was phenomenal in S1 throughout the whole of qualifying.
So much so that Max’s S1 from Q1 combined with S2nS3 from Q3 would have given Max pole aswell.
An Sionnach
21st May 2024, 23:50
I looked at the replay and here’s the data.
Max’s times in Q3 (S1 S2 S3; cumulative times first, then sector times):
Run 1:
23.474 49.479 1:14.869
23.474 26.005 25.390
Run 2:
23.408 49.330 1:14.746
23.408 25.922 25.416
Difference:
-0.066 -0.149 -0.123
-0.066 -0.083 +0.026
Without any improvement in S1: 1:14.812
Norris: 1:14.837 +0.091, or +0.025 slower than Max without the tow
Piastri: 1:14.820 +0.074, or +0.008 slower than Max without the tow
Max would have been on pole without the magical Hulkenberg tow. Since this myth will probably never die, how’s about we say it would have been enough to send him around the world on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to children everywhere?!?
Mayrton
22nd May 2024, 9:38
Thanks for this. Comes to show there is a need to question what you hear in the media as they have most certainly an agenda.
An Sionnach
22nd May 2024, 23:40
You’re welcome. It was others who had pointed it out. I wanted to confirm that there hadn’t been any oversights. Max himself talked about the tow. There are certainly those in the media with an agenda to diminish his successes… and then there are those who do not check their facts. One of the most bizarre commentaries on a driver’s performance was about Lewis at Interlagos in 2021, which was breathlessly reported with every DRS pass. You’d swear he’d accomplished something much greater than Prost on one of his charges from a lowly position. It can be hard to separate out what part of a performance is the driver and what part is the car… but not always. I would liken Max’s drive to Prost’s at Suzuka in 1989, which was a race he had won… until someone drove into him. I would rate Prost’s race higher, but then he had (maybe?) equal machinery to Senna. At tracks like this where you can’t overtake, you’ve got to get ahead at the start, build a gap for the pit stop and then defend like hell. Prost was under constant pressure from someone who had no sense of self-preservation. They couldn’t stop him from pulling away up to the pit stop. Then the calculus changed and Prost focused more on minding the car, before soaking up the pressure from one of the sport’s most aggressive and petulant drivers. While Max was working hard for much of the race too, Lando was never likely to spear him should he find there is no fair way past.
An Sionnach
21st May 2024, 18:22
After providing so much of the racing action in the first several races… Alonso had a very disappointing race here. Miami wasn’t so great, either. Perhaps that’s the difference between the likes of Lewis, Alonso and Max? Champions can have off days, but Max’s flame rarely flickers. I’d like to see more Alonso action over the rest of the season, but I can’t cover my eyes when he has a stinker.
George (@fedar)
21st May 2024, 20:28
To add a counterpoint to most of the views usually expressed in this comments section, I, for one, am happy with this scoring system. I think leaving 1-2 and 9-10 for really extraordinary performances is a valid decision. I am also not that concerned that many drivers are cramped withing the 5-7 range, it makes sense to me as (1) those are (supposed to be) the best of the best and therefore similarly talented drivers, and (2) it is by the nature of the sport quite difficult to separate the driver from the car and make an objective evaluation of the performance of the former. Even without taking into account specific race circumstances, team strategy, etc., which impact the result of the driver without him having any real impact on them.
Additionally, I generally agree with the individual ratings assigned by the author. Of course, I do also have my disagreements and the main one today is Leclerc, who in my view had an excellent weekend overall and deserves the same score as Norris (a 7).
Lastly, as a kind of response to few of the comments above, yes, an 8 would indeed be a drive worthy of Senna as it is a very high score, and yes, it seems about right for Ocon to share 5-6 place with Piastri in the overall season rankings so far. After all, no scoring system is perfect.
Ben-Hur (@ben-hur)
21st May 2024, 23:33
Does Ferrari really need the third worst driver in the grid?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd May 2024, 12:24
I’m absolutely no fan of these moves where underperforming drivers get to replace drivers who are currently doing better just because of their past championships (hamilton over sainz now and vettel over perez few years ago), even though at least hamilton in ferrari is an interesting move, I just don’t think on performance he deserves the seat more than sainz.
Honda
22nd May 2024, 0:22
Stroll and KMag were the surprise in the race for sure. But honestly it is mainly due to their strategy. They did only 25laps on hard and were able to run on their own pace where as Yuki did 50, Ricciardo 51 and Hulk 49. These guys also had traffic and had to manage their pace to make them last till the end. RB drivers had poor start again like Japan and this time they were on same tyre as others so something they need to fix that really forced them to go with this aggressive strategy.
Isaac
22nd May 2024, 13:12
Hamilton’s race pace was significantly faster than Russell, even despite his error, so I don’t get why the error was counted against him but his race pace was ignored. Hamilton would also likely have passed Russell if Mercedes didn’t pit him. All in all, I’ve noticed that Hamilton is always rated very lowly. Definitely not the 3rd worst driver this season.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd May 2024, 12:28
This is true, in case he’s halfway between 2 marks he always tends to get the short end of the stick, and I noticed this too with perez last year in the rare cases he performed well.
Dale
22nd May 2024, 18:32
LOL what an absolute JOKE.
Perez 3/10 … Alonso 4/10 – In what world?
Norris 7/10 … Stroll 7/10 – Seriously, you have to be taking the p1$$
and Stroll ahead of Charles, Carlos & Oscar???
Just how much money is Papa Stroll paying for the PR???
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd May 2024, 12:25
Hey, that was ONE rare good performance by stroll, let him get some credit!
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd May 2024, 12:27
I’m guessing alonso’s off weekend is maybe causing stroll to be overrated a bit here.