The weather at Silverstone over the British Grand Prix weekend made life particularly challenging for drivers with both qualifying and the race itself affected by rain.
But despite the changeable conditions seeing several drivers staying out on a damp track with slick tyres, there was not a single yellow flag incident or Safety Car intervention throughout the grand prix – showing just how skilled these drivers are.At the end of the weekend, there were some very strong performances to look back on and one driver in particular who earned themselves a result they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
These are the RaceFans driver ratings for the British 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 – 7/10
Qualified: 4th (+15 places ahead of team mate, -7.006s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-H)
Finished: 2nd (+15 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Damaged floor running off in Q1 but still qualified fourth
▲ Passed Norris on opening lap to run third early on
▼ Overtaken by Norris and Piastri to fall to fifth before pitting for inters
▶ Ran third before pitting for hard tyres once the track dried
▲ Caught and passed Norris for second but could not catch Hamilton for the win
Another weekend where Red Bull may not have been the fastest package, but where Verstappen was in the fight for the victory right until the end of the race. Not for the first time this season, this was a race where he was happier to have finished second than he was to have missed the victory – although who’s to say what could have happened if the race was a lap or two longer. However, he does get penalised for his mistake in Q1 that left his car damaged, even if he did well to qualify where he did in spite of that.
Sergio Perez – 4/10
Grid: 20th (-16 places behind team mate)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Four-stop (H-I-I-M-S)
Finished: 17th (-15 places behind team mate)
▶ Sat out first practice to let Hadjar participate in session
▶ Did not have latest floor but team said difference was minor
▼ Spun out of Q1 with slick tyres on damp track, leaving him 19th
▶ Forced to start from pit lane after changing power unit parts
▲ Moved up to 15th place before making very early switch to inters
▶ Had to make a second stop for fresh inters, leaving him down in 17th
▶ Switched to mediums when the track dried, then made fourth stop for softs
▶ Finished 17th, two laps down
At this point, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the temptation to just copy and paste the assessment of Perez’s performance from his previous weekends. Once again, his team mate was fighting for the win and Perez was never a factor. However, while his Sunday result could be excused by being one of many drivers whose early gamble for intermediates did not pay off, he cannot be excused for spinning off on his out lap in Q1 on slick tyres when multiple rivals did the same before him without falling off track. Yet another bad weekend.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Lewis Hamilton – 8/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: Winner
▲ Just missed out on pole by a tenth from team mate
▲ Ran behind team mate before taking the lead on lap 18
▶ Fell behind McLarens on damp track before pitting for inters
▶ Ran second behind Norris before undercutting him with earlier switch to slicks
▲ Managed his rapidly wearing softs brilliantly to keep Verstappen away and win
Hamilton’s British Grand Prix victory delighted him, his team and his many fans, but it was also very pleasing to see the Hamilton looking like his old self again through Sunday. Although he narrowly missed out on pole on Saturday, he was the stronger of the Mercedes drivers when it mattered most and when the pressure was at its highest in the closing laps with Verstappen in pursuit, he looked every bit like the seven-times world champion he is as he broke the longest winning streak of his career.
George Russell – 7/10
Qualified: Pole (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.171s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-I)
Finished: Retired (Water system – L34)
▲ Secured pole position to head all-Mercedes front row
▲ Held the lead over the early laps from pole
▼ Passed by team mate in damp conditions, then overtaken by both McLarens
▶ Pitted for intermediates to run fourth, then called in to retire just after half distance
One of the most disappointing races Russell will probably ever have given that he had a genuine shot at winning his home grand prix and was forced out through no fault of his own. Did a brilliant job in qualifying to beat Hamilton and Norris to pole but did not seem to do as good a job at managing his tyres as those behind and was eventually caught by them. Sadly, he never got the opportunity to fight back as the race progressed, but can definitely hold his head high.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Charles Leclerc – 5/10
Qualified: 11th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.254s)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: Three-stop (M-I-I-S)
Finished: 14th (-9 places behind team mate)
▼ Knocked out of Q2 after failing to fully prepare tyres before final push lap
▲ Gained several places on the opening lap, then passed Stroll for seventh
▶ Made ill-judged switch to inters too early, forcing him to pit a second time for inters
▶ Fell a lap down and pitted for soft tyres when track dried out
▶ Caught and passed Bottas late to finish 14th
Another weekend of absolute frustration for the Ferrari driver. Things started to go off track on Saturday when he was eliminated from Q2 but he at least went a way towards making up for that with a good start. However his gamble to fit inters earliest of anyone was the wrong call and that single decision doomed his race. But without a Safety Car or other intervention, there was little he could do to make up all of that time lost early on.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 7/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Three-stop (M-I-H-S)
Finished: 5th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Beaten by a Haas to line up seventh on grid
▲ Passed Hulkenberg at the start to run sixth before pitting for inters
▶ Got ahead of Piastri before being undercut through transfer back to slicks
▲ Pitted late for softs to take fastest lap and finish fifth
Sainz enjoyed another very solid weekend at Silverstone and came away with a result as good as he could have expected given the relative performance of Ferrari’s rivals. He race was often a lonely one, ahead of Hulkenberg but unable to challenge the Mercedes, Verstappen and McLarens ahead. But it was difficult for Ferrari to have expected or asked for more from him.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Lando Norris – 6/10
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Beaten to pole by Mercedes after admitting error on final push lap
▶ Lost a place to Verstappen at the start but re-passed the Red Bull early on
▲ Passed Russell and Hamilton to take the lead, then pitted for inters
▶ Held the lead during the wet stint but lost it to Hamilton with slow stop for softs
▼ Could not keep Verstappen behind, falling to third where he would finish
Norris was disappointed to miss out on a genuine opportunity to win his home grand prix and for McLaren having let another chance of victory go begging, but this time he does share some responsibility. A mistake on his final Q3 lap opened the door that the Mercedes walked through, then he dropped behind Verstappen at the start and missed his marks during his final stop. Even with all that, had McLaren fitted his untouched set of mediums for his final stint, he could’ve won.
Oscar Piastri – 7/10
Qualified: 5th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.207s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-M)
Finished: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
▶ Qualified fifth on the grid after being caught in rush to the line at end of Q3
▲ Ran fifth early but passed Verstappen and both Mercedes to gain second
▶ Remained out on slicks one lap longer than rivals, losing 18s and falling to sixth
▶ Gained fifth back switching for mediums a lap before Sainz
▶ Reeled in team mate over final laps to finish just off podium in fourth
Another race, another result where Piastri could feel he probably deserved better and maybe even have been in the fight to win. He likely could and would have qualified higher had he not been caught up in the rush to reach the line before the chequered flag at the end of Q3, leaving him behind his team mate. Then, in the race, McLaren’s choice not to double-stack him when switching to inters was the defining moment of his grand prix. He was just as strong as his team mate was when it mattered and maybe even slightly faster.
Fernando Alonso – 6/10
Qualified: 10th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.332s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-M)
Finished: 8th (-1 place behind team mate)
▶ Reached Q3 but compromised by traffic at end of session as last car over line
▲ Ran tenth over early laps before overtaking team mate for eighth
▶ Pitted for inters a lap later than team mate to fall behind him before pitting for mediums
▶ Matched team mate’s pace over final laps to claim eighth behind team mate
Alonso played his part in giving Aston Martin some reason for cheer in their home grand prix, even if their ambitions are higher than seventh and eighth position. His starting position was impacted by factors he couldn’t control and he snatched a place from his team mate before losing it with an extra lap on the wet on slicks. But he was never able to get back ahead of Stroll in the second half of the race and finished seven seconds behind at the flag.
Lance Stroll – 6/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-M)
Finished: 7th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Secured spot in Q3 to secure eighth on the grid
▶ Passed Hulkenberg at the start but overtaken by Leclerc and Hulkenberg
▶ Overtaken by team mate, then pitted lap earlier for inters, jumping back ahead
▶ Ran ahead of team mate on inters, then pitted for mediums a lap later
▶ Maintained gap to team mate in final stint and finished within second of Hulkenberg
Stroll got back into the points in Silverstone with a very solid weekend in his team’s home grand prix. The Aston Martin was clearly in a better place at Silverstone than it had been in recent rounds and Stroll did good work to be as fast as Alonso through the weekend. However, Stroll did get overtaken by Alonso only to regain the place by pitting earlier for intermediates which was the right call. Given how the pair’s performance was pretty even overall, Stroll gets the same grade as his team mate.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Pierre Gasly – N/A
Qualified: 20th (-2 places behind team mate, +5.24s)
Grid: 19th (1 place behind team mate)
Finished: Did Not Start (Gearbox)
▶ Missed first practice as Doohan ran in his car
▶ Hit with ‘back of grid’ penalty before qualifying due to power unit usage
▶ Pulled into pits on formation lap with gearbox problem, putting him out of race
Gasly might as well have not bothered showing up at Silverstone. He knew he would start last because of factors out of his control, so did not need to put in a representative time in qualifying. Then, his race ended before the lights went out because of a gearbox problem. As he did not complete any representative running in the weekend, his performance cannot be judged.
Esteban Ocon – 5/10
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Four-stop (S-I-M-I-M)
Finished: 16th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Knocked out of Q1 after confusion with team over final lap
▶ Started on softs but quickly faded before early gamble on inters
▶ Forced to fit second set of inters when heavier rain came, running 18th
▶ Continued to sit second-to-last before gaining 16th from Perez’s fourth stop
If this was a matter of grading how much fun a driver had in a race weekend, then Ocon would be barely earning a two. Nothing seemed to go his way at Silverstone and any chance of a decent result was thrown away by every strategy call seeming to be the wrong one. It’s hard to be too critical of him given the circumstances around his lowly finish, but he did not hit anyone, spin off or earn any penalties, so he certainly does not deserve less than an average grade.
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
Alexander Albon – 7/10
Grid: 9th (3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -3 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-M)
Finished: 9th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Progressed into Q3 to secure ninth on the grid
▼ Lost places off the line, then front wing damaged in crush at Village
▶ Ran within DRS range of Tsunoda before pitting for inters
▶ Lost time with slightly slow stop, running 11th in the wet
▲ Caught and passed Tsunoda after switching to mediums to finish ninth
A very good result for Albon and Williams at their home grand prix. The car had the potential for a good showing at Silverstone and Albon duly delivered, even despite suffering front wing damage on the opening lap. He managed his tyres well throughout the race and passed Tsunoda to claim an extra point in ninth. Given his consistent pace through the weekend, Albon gets a strong grading.
Logan Sargeant – 6/10
Qualified: 12th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.242s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 11th (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Missed first practice to allow Colapinto to drive car
▶ Followed team mate into Q2 but eliminated, two tenths slower in 12th
▶ Dropped behind Tsunoda at the start, then passed by Magnussen on lap 22
▶ Lost time stacking behind team mate for inters, then ran behind Magnussen
▲ Passed Magnussen for 11th after switching to softs late, finishing just outside points
Sargeant was satisfied with his driving across the Silverstone weekend and he should be. He avoided major errors in conditions that would have been easy to do so and was not that much slower than his team mate until the final stint on softs, while Albon had mediums. He managed to catch and pass Magnussen in what was clearly a quicker car that weekend, so this easily counts as a good weekend for the Williams driver.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Yuki Tsunoda – 6/10
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 10th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Spun out of opening practice session
▶ Out-qualified team mate but eliminated 13th in Q2
▲ Passed Williams at start to run 11th before pitting for intermediates
▶ Kept out of reach of Albon in wet conditions before pitting for softs
▶ Overtaken by Albon in later laps but held onto final point in sixth
Although he was undoubtedly helped by Leclerc and Perez not being in the points to take the final one in tenth, Tsunoda had a decent enough showing in Silverstone. After his embarrassing start to the weekend on Friday, he got his act together and was the team’s better driver from that point forward. Ultimately, he only gained one position on merit from start to finish, but it still counts. Added to the fact he beat his team mate, he earns a decent score.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5/10
Qualified: 15th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.68s)Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 13th (-3 places behind team mate)
▼ Reprimanded for weaving in the pit lane in third practice
▼ Knocked out slowest in Q2 complaining of dirty air behind Zhou
▶ Passed ailing Zhou early but overtaken by Magnussen and Perez
▶ Pitted for intermediates to run in 14th
▶ Fitted softs for final stint, finishing 20s behind team mate
Ricciardo did not have the best weekend at Silverstone, but it was more ‘underwhelming’ than bad. He did not have the ideal run in qualifying which resulted in a disappointing grid position and he made no major errors in the race, but just seemed to be lacking the same pace as his team mate. An incredibly ‘mid’ weekend.
Valtteri Bottas – 5/10
Qualified: 16th (-2 places behind team mate, +1.241s)
Start: -2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 15th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Failed to follow team mate through into Q2 but just missed out in 16th
▼ Lost two places at the start, then passed by Perez
▶ Overtook team mate and Ocon on softs before switching to intermediates
▶ Ran between Ricciardo and Leclerc before pitting for softs
▶ Passed by Leclerc in closing laps to finish 15th
Although he finished well ahead of his team mate, Bottas did not deserve to, all told. He could not beat his younger team mate in qualifying and lost two places at the start but then was limited by his car’s performance through the rest of the race. He did not make any mistakes, however, and did not have his race compromised by bad strategy calls, so he earns an average grade.
Zhou Guanyu – 6/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: Four-stop (S-M-I-I-S)
Finished: 18th (-3 places behind team mate)
▲ Progressed into Q2 then beat Ricciardo to line up 14th on the grid
▶ Started on softs but dropped down the order, forced to pit for second set of slicks
▶ Gambled on early switch to inters which did not pay off, having to pit for second set
▶ Already a lap down before switching over to slicks, falling two laps down to finish last
Zhou had the worst afternoon of anyone on Sunday in Silverstone, but in truth it was hardly his fault. Every strategy decision made in the race seemed to go against him, which left him making four pit stops over the race, from which he had no chance to recover. He out-qualified his team mate and once his race had stabilised with all the blue flags, he was actually a little quicker than Bottas. As such, he gets rewarded for his efforts.
Nico Hulkenberg – 7/10
Start: -3 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 6th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Reached Q3 and beat Sainz to qualify sixth on the grid
▼ Lost multiple places through opening corners
▶ Pulled off excellent pass on Stroll at Copse, then pitted for intermediates
▶ Ran behind Piastri before switching to softs
▲ Held off Stroll in closing laps to equal best result of season in sixth
There’s no doubt Hulkenberg had a very good weekend in Silverstone, but his performance was slightly flattered in a few ways. The upgrades for the weekend clearly had an instant impact, although Magnussen’s Q1 exit made that less clear. He also clearly benefited from Leclerc and Perez being well out of the picture and his opening lap was bad, but he held his nerve well in the closing laps to hold onto sixth. He falls just short of an even higher mark.
Kevin Magnussen – 6/10
Qualified: 17th (-11 places behind team mate, +0.976s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-I-S)
Finished: 12th (-6 places behind team mate)
▶ Stepped aside in first practice to allow Bearman to drive car
▶ Did not have latest car update
▼ Knocked out of Q1 after running off at Copse
▲ Overtook Ocon, Zhou, Ricciardo and Sargeant before pitting for intermediates
▶ Almost spun exiting Stowe in wet running behind Albon, then pitted for softs
▼ Lost time to Albon in pits, then passed by Sargeant, finishing 12th
Once again, Magnussen was out-shone by his team mate in a grand prix weekend. He does deserve credit for a series of passes he made as he made his way up the order in the race, but he cost himself a serious chance at points by failing to escape Q1 and suffered more graining in the race. But for his recovery work, he gets a passing grade.
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
Become a RaceFans Supporter
RaceFans is run thanks in part to the generous support of its readers. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the same in whichever currency you use) you can help cover the costs of creating, hosting and developing RaceFans today and in the future.
Become a RaceFans Supporter today and browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below:
2024 British Grand Prix
- The ‘good and bad’ reason Piastri is sure he can win after three near-misses
- Gasly solved mystery handling problem by using Ocon’s settings
- Mercedes “will be in an even stronger position” after next upgrade – Hamilton
- Verstappen “refuses to believe” Red Bull are reaching limit of RB20’s potential
- Why “under construction” McLaren still celebrate third place after missing a win
Jere (@jerejj)
9th July 2024, 12:08
Most impressed: HAM, RUS, HUL, ALB, & SAR
Most disappointing: PER & LEC
notagrumpyfan
9th July 2024, 12:26
I’m stoked for Hamilton winning this race; but let’s get real, he wasn’t the single best driver this weekend.
– lost quali against his teammate
+ DRS overtake on teammate
– being overtaken by Norris and Piastri
I’d rate Hulkenberg just as high this weekend, if not higher.
And is Norris’ mistake by overshooting his grid spot, bigger than being slower on Saturday.
And Piastri had the same loss to his teammate on Saturday, but drove a faultless (him, rather than the team) race on Sunday.
I’d give them all a 7 (based on Will’s ratings) and maybe Hulkenberg the only 8 (didn’t see a lot of him).
baasbas
9th July 2024, 13:00
@notagrumpyfan
I agree mostly with your view, more than I do with Will.
But one could argue in the case of Norris that the moment to pit and what tires to use are moments to excel as a driver and make that extra impact. He could make the call to use the medium from the car. In my book that would change his mark (also the outcome of the race I suspect). So where he could make a difference, he didn’t. Compare that with a Hamilton who used his experience and I think it is fair to say he should be marked higher than Norris.
But because of the points system it translates to only full points. So the end result is exaggerated
ben
9th July 2024, 13:07
“– lost quali against his teammate” – Disagree here. Hamilton set up with more downforce knowing it’d help him in the wet conditions predicted on Sunday. The original weather forecast was for thunderstorms on Sunday, so this was the better option. The whole weekend is there to prepare and setup with the best chance of winning the race. Who actually had the better qualifying, the guy starting P1 with a slower race car, or the guy starting P2 with the faster race car?
Lap times only tell one side of the story. Hamilton was a huge winner to qualify P2 with the stronger race car in my opinion, as too were McLaren. Look how much that decision gained Hamilton in the race. The ability to pass into P1 and not have to double stack won him the race. It’s actually similar to the old refuelling days. Anyone could stick it on pole if they ran on fumes, but you had to optimise and often take the hit on Saturday for the best strategy on Sunday.
rprp
9th July 2024, 13:24
I think there’s merit in this opinion. Though it could just be that Hamilton is plain better in the wet than Russell, and the view is clouded by Hamilton’s statement that there was time left on the table in qualifying. Also there’s no proof that the higher downforce cost him P1 in qualifying – if I remember correctly (which is possibly not the case) he was slower than Russell in the high-speed sections in Q3.
Empee
9th July 2024, 13:29
Agree with ben. I really do think that anyone who holds qualifying against Hamilton given the circumstances is too binary in their assessment. This struck me as a throwback to the Merc domination days; teammate scores a pole yet more often than not they got overtaken during the race because there wasn’t much to their strategy beyond going all-in on track position. If one’s tactics in qualifying demonstrably cost them the win on race day, should we really declare them superior in any respect during a weekend?
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
9th July 2024, 13:29
Shortly after Lewis was overtaken by both McLaren’s in the wet conditions despite Mercedes having the stronger wet car.
Lewis drove a strong race but also made mistakes – he won the race because McLaren screwed up pitstop strategy and the Red Bull mysterious lack pace on medium & intermediate compared to McLaren & Mercedes.
Everyone picks and choses whatever suits their own narrative – you obviously pick what favors Hamilton.
Weirdly enough when Max focused on race pace in 2023 and therefore sometimes didn’t get pole you were critical of Max not getting pole. Now your favorite does the same and you applaud it.
The fact remains that Lewis was outqualified by his teammate – that should be an arrow down not up:
“▲ Just missed out on pole by a tenth from team mate”
Another clear website biased example:
▼ Overtaken by Norris and Piastri to fall to fifth before pitting for inters
▶ Fell behind McLarens on damp track before pitting for inters
Lewis got overtaken by both McLarens (partly due to Lewis fault) and gets rated ▶
Max got overtaken by faster McLarens and gets rated ▼
ben
9th July 2024, 13:47
I understand your point @f1statsfan but I think the two are completely different situations.
Max was passed by Lando when it was completely dry. Piastri also closed the gap and made the pass just as the rain started. 2 laps later it really came down and became more of a lottery. The top 4 all went off track at some point and switched positions. While the end result of 2 cars passing was the same, the situation of how that happened was very different.
Osnola
9th July 2024, 14:28
Yep, faster car and drs overtake.
nope, quality comes before luck
Drg
10th July 2024, 20:26
Err – he won the race?
He is also statistically the best wet racer ever – kind of proved it again (feel free to look up those stats) despite the hype that follows Verstappen at the moment – he is great but a race or two as this one showed does not fill a broad canvas. He is a fast guy but when the car is off – well let’s not worry he is second
Regardless of the minutia – he won the race.
notagrumpyfan
9th July 2024, 13:49
Then I guess you disagree as well with + DRS overtake on teammate, as the more downforce helped him here.
You cannot have it both ways ;)
ben
9th July 2024, 13:59
No, he used DRS to complete the overtake. I’m failing to see your point?
He had more downforce which allowed him to close the gap and pass, which he did throughout the lap and not just in the DRS zone.
André
9th July 2024, 19:12
If you watch their laps side by side, you’ll see that any gain by George on the straights was marginal. Lewis lost mostly on the last corner. He gained on braking, but lost mid-corner waiting for traction. George didn’t brake as deep and carried more speed through the corner with a more stable car. I wonder if that was a one-off, or if this is a characteristic of the driving style necessary for these Venturi cars. It’s all about keeping the platform stable and as low as possible to the ground to maximise grip. Lewis is known for being excellent in keeping the car stable while braking late and turning into a corner, but maybe for these cars, you don’t get most grip like that. You see for example Max very often not braking as late as most of his competitors, but often carrying more speed through the corner and out. At least with last year’s car.
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
9th July 2024, 12:40
Russell is often favored in these ratings, but I think the reasoning is a bit silly this time, especially this part: “Sadly, he never got the opportunity to fight back as the race progressed”. This implies that he would have suddenly driven better than he had until his retirement. Isn’t it more likely that he wouldn’t have done any better?
According to the rating system guide, a 7 means: “Very good – A strong performance across the weekend that any driver should be very pleased with”. Did Russell really perform that well? He started from pole but was running 4th when he retired, while his team-mate was maintaining his starting position (2nd) at the time.
Osnola
9th July 2024, 14:30
Maybe..just maybe the engine losing power helped lewis . But of course that does not fit your narrative.
grat
9th July 2024, 15:23
The engine was running hot, but I never heard anyone suggest Russell’s engine was losing power as a result. Russell’s problem is that he gets slightly more performance out of that car at the cost of his tires.
Empee
9th July 2024, 16:49
@osnola: Except Russell’s own account was that he didn’t notice power loss until after his stop. He’d already lost position to Hamilton and the McLarens on track by then, and I’d think that if car failure was a factor, he’d have said so or it’d have been picked up on the race feed.
rprp
9th July 2024, 12:47
I’m amazed at “▲ Just missed out on pole by a tenth from team mate”. That’s a negative, surely, unless qualified by “despite choosing a higher downforce set up for the race” which as far as I know is debatable whether it cost him qualifying time. Even Hamilton suggested there was time left on the table.
Still, I think it was a masterclass of tyre management at the end of the race, as well as overall race management (pitting at the right time, not pitting at the wrong time and overriding his team’s view) so I think 8 is just about justified.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
9th July 2024, 13:35
Will & Keith – it would be better to change back to F1Fanatic.co.uk – using Racefans.net with the .net to look more neutral is just false advertising – the website is and always has been very biased to Lewis.
Being out qualified by your team mate should never be an arrow up – yet Lewis gets it. On Lewis favorite track in the same car, same conditions he gets out qualified by his (relative) rookie and you find that positive.
“▲ Just missed out on pole by a tenth from team mate”
Another clear website biased example:
▼ Overtaken by Norris and Piastri to fall to fifth before pitting for inters
▶ Fell behind McLarens on damp track before pitting for inters
Lewis got overtaken by both McLarens (partly due to Lewis going off) and gets rated ▶
Max got overtaken by faster McLarens and gets rated ▼
Given that these ratings are to factor in car performance it is very weird that Albon and Hulkenberg who both drove better races with available material than Lewis only get 7 and Lewis gets an 8.
Osnola
9th July 2024, 14:32
Agreed, bias sometimes drips of the pages.
sam
9th July 2024, 18:08
Internet Irony at it’s finest.
SteveP
9th July 2024, 19:58
Good to see you’ve recovered somewhat from Max not winning as you expected/predicted, although you do still seem to have a problem with excess bile.
It was a good race, I enjoyed not knowing who the winner would be until the last portion of the last lap.
Drg
10th July 2024, 20:32
I will say it again..
He won the race!
Largely through his ability with slicks in the wet and tyre whispering beyond anyone on the grid.
Jeez max guys – he came second
And knows the only person that can outdrive him might just have a car able to compete. Have fun – it’s not like the fia took away this year is it?
Neil (@neilosjames)
9th July 2024, 15:06
Until Silverstone, these ratings had scored Hamilton as having driven worse than Lance Stroll this season. He’s still down as the sixth-worst driver of 2024. And you think it’s biased towards him?
Always seems to be the case that the readers complaining about ‘bias’ the most are those who are themselves very biased.
SteveP
9th July 2024, 20:01
Can’t fault that at all.
You do, of course, now have a large target painted on you.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:21
Someone already pointed it out, but I wanted to say it as well: there’s maybe some bias in favour of hamilton in THIS particular race’s rating, BUT if you look at the season ratings, if anything, imo, you can say hamilton has been underrated, as one of the worst drivers of the season, which I don’t feel he was.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
9th July 2024, 13:36
Only in Hamilton could we hound Racefans for giving the race winner in tricky conditions an 8!
Has be been the 6th worst driver of the season as well? Maybe we should say his ratings are simultaneously too high and too low.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
9th July 2024, 14:42
The 8 for Lewis is deserved and properly rated in my opinion – no argument from my side he should get a 7.
I just disagree with the usage of the arrows up/down/sideways in the comments and the fact that neither Hulk nor Albon got an 8 as well.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:25
Yes, definitely they should’ve got 8 as well, at least hulkenberg, didn’t follow albon enough.
Pete
9th July 2024, 13:37
The key thing in this race (beyond not making huge mistakes on track) was pitting at the right time. Some of these decisions will have been made by the teams and some will have been driver calls. For me, that would count a lot towards the scores they’d get.
Max, for example, didn’t have his best race but he pitted at the right time and got onto the right tyre every time and it resulted in him finishing 2nd. If that was a team decision then ok, 7 is probably about right. If he made those calls then it has to be worthy of an 8.
There are lots of others who I’d either give a +/-1 depending on what the radio transcripts say.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:26
Absolutely good point about verstappen, I think I heard his engineer telling him “good call, max, we’re back in the race” or something to that effect when he pitted for inters.
GeeMac (@geemac)
9th July 2024, 13:50
Really, really harsh on Albon and Hulkenberg…
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
9th July 2024, 19:37
@geemac
Their performance was according to the article:
“Very good – A strong performance across the weekend that any driver should be very pleased with”
As it points out, the Haas is clearly now a very good car, and I would say it is easily in the top 5 teams. Given Leclerc’s race was messed up and Russell had a DNF, Hulkenberg’s only rival team that was better than his was arguably Aston Martin, otherwise, he finished where he should have. It was however a very solid performance, but in no way was it “really harsh”
Albon had an incredibly lucky escape on the first lap. He contacted Alonso, berifly losing control and only just avoided taking his team mate out then turned into the following corner and clipping Ricciardo’s front wing with his left rear tyre. I would say his first lap performance was very clumsy and he was lucky not to get more damage than he did. His performance after this given the damage was very solid, and he got a great result in the end, so I think a “very good” grade is fair, possibly even a little generous, given that if he had got a puncture, he team mate likely will have beaten him.
Alb
Robbie1
9th July 2024, 13:53
You could have given Lewis a ten and I’d be fine with it because it was great seeing him finally win again and it was rather emotional hearing him cry over the radio, but you should have forsaken the arguing for it because it really undermines the rating as been argued by other posters.
SteveP
9th July 2024, 20:05
He drove well, but I’ve seen him drive better, so not a 10.
Asd
9th July 2024, 14:27
Lando Norris – 6/10
Sergio Perez – 4/10
Wow, was THAT the difference between those two? Really?
David (@nvherman)
9th July 2024, 14:56
I was more surprised that Piastri got a 7 whilst Norris only got a 6: that just doesn’t make sense
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:32
I think it makes sense in the context that piastri had a realistic chance to win without losing 20 sec because of the team not calling him in the same lap as norris for intermediates, and he also was the one to make the right call on mediums in the end, which would’ve ensured 2nd place for norris if he had done the same and maybe given him some victory chances too.
Edvaldo
9th July 2024, 15:20
Yeah, Perez is too high, should be a 3 or lower.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:33
Yes, the intermediates gamble was a desperate choice by the team in a nothing to lose situation, and they were in that situation because of yet another mistake in quali by perez.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
9th July 2024, 14:32
Hulk was my man of the weekend, regardless of my being delighted with Lewis’s triumph.
Dex
9th July 2024, 15:47
Looking at the average scores, Perez and Sargeant seem to be in a league of their own. You know what could be fun? Seeing Red Bull and Williams exchange second drivers for the rest of the season (they can’t lose much either way…). I’m pretty sure that Perez would manage the situation much better and probably perform decently without all the pressure, while Sargeant would probably have like 10 spins (or is that his half-season average already?); but who knows… Perhaps they would assume each other’s roles perfectly and everything would be the same.
Silly ideas aside, Red Bull is the only team (second RB included) that don’t care about having two competent drivers; it’s ridiculous. Before they were not competitive enough for this to make a difference, then too dominating for this to make a difference; now they are in a situation where this is a crucial factor on so many levels. If Sainz is out of the question for personal reasons, then they should break the bank and bring in someone like Piastri. Everyone is else is trying such moves when in need.
Robbie1
9th July 2024, 16:58
Checo-podiums and a win in midfield cars.
(Beat Hulk by some margin.)
Pierre-podium and a win in a midfield car.
(Beating Ocon.)
Alex-according to the pundits a good driver.
Seems like the competence of their drivers isn’t an issue, problem is their first driver who makes them all look like clowns.
Robbie1
9th July 2024, 17:01
Oh, and Norris declined their offer so they do look for (supposedly) better drivers.
Given how he keeps failing I understand why he didn’t sign for RBR.
Btw, do you think Williams/Aston and Sauber care more about having two competent drivers?
Aaditya (@neutronstar)
9th July 2024, 17:34
Perez didn’t beat Hulk by “some margin”, it was very close between them. 35-24 in qualy in Hulk’s favor and 23-22 in races they both finished (don’t remember in whose favor). I don’t know how many times I’ve whipped out this same stat just to explain this point to people. The only reason their was a bit of difference in the points both scored in 2015 and 2016 was because Perez scored big points finishes when Hulk had bad luck (he had so many more retirements in those two years in comparison to Perez) or made mistakes, and thus scored little or not at all. Sure, that says something good about Perez and potentially something bad about the Hulk but doesn’t justify the “beaten by some margin” remark I’ve heard so often.
Robbie1
9th July 2024, 18:31
Ok, stand corrected, thought the difference was about 40 points and not 12 but Perez still beat Hulkenberg and got 4 podiums while Hulk got zero.
Doesn’t change my statement at all, Checo used to be a very competent driver until he went up against Max.
Just like the rest.
Edvaldo
9th July 2024, 19:02
But it has nothing to do with Max.
That would be the case if he was just slower, like Gasly and Albon, and every other driver of a team with a clear number one, but he’s looking utterly incapable of doing the bare minimum.
It’s the 3rd season in a row he starts strong then comes Europe and he becames this level of incompetent. And it’s getting worse by the year.
I don’t remember him having so many unforced mistakes back in the pink team days.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:37
Agree with edvaldo, this is not just verstappen making perez look bad, it’s the 2nd driver very often becoming incompetent at red bull: albon, gasly, perez, and if you want an example of a decent perez at red bull, you can look at his first season, 2021.
Don’t tell me perez was as bad in 2021 as now! He was very close to bottas in 2021 in performance.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:38
Other thing: perez at his best shouldn’t be very far from ricciardo at his best, and ricciardo at red bull was never destroyed by verstappen, there was quite some margin in 2018, but he wasn’t incompetent, just slower.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
9th July 2024, 19:23
Most ratings are fair enough here, but there are some I don’t agree with.
Giving Perez a 4 seems pretty generous given that he made a very costly error in qualifying, and wven when he did pit in the race for the right tyres, his pace just looked slow. A 3 at the highest and even a 2 wouldn’t be wrong in my view.
I also would question the Sauber drivers ratings. Bottas’s time was set with 4 minutes still on the clock, and the timing of his last attempt was that bad he just ended up pitting while Zhou got another chance. Zhou at this stage 0.5 seconds behind Bottas, and just on this lap which Bottas didn’t have the chance to do, Zhou improved by 1.2 seconds.
I happened to be following Bottas’s onboard at the time, and it just looked like very poor timing by the team.
In the race, Bottas didn’t get a great start, but he overtook zhou on lap 10, and Zhou’s softs certainly should have lasted longer than this and Bottas was pulling away, then Zhou pitted. This admittedly ruined his race, but I don’t see what evidence there was that Bottas wasn’t going to beat him anyway. I would say they should at least have the same score.
MadMax (@madmax)
9th July 2024, 20:22
To be fair, with the tire strat of RBR for Perez I guess every driver would have been lapped. Yes, he didnt stand up against the tire strategy, but eventually this was the teams responsibility.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:42
But with perez there’s also an argument of the type “let’s try something unusual, else he’ll never get back into the points”, so they gambled on rain increasing earlier than predicted, however it was perez’s horrible starting position and speed at recovering that put them in this situation.
I find it much more of a blunder to pit leclerc at that point, who was in the right position his car deserved.
MadMax (@madmax)
10th July 2024, 12:24
True. But if they would have put Perez on the same strat as Max then he would probably have scored some points at least.
anon
10th July 2024, 11:11
Agreed, it’s unfair to rank Bottas below Zhou. “Although he finished well ahead of his team mate, Bottas did not deserve to, all told. He could not beat his younger team mate in qualifying.” – That’s because Bottas (unlike Zhou) was already in the pits when the conditions were at their best in Q1. Dropping out was hardly his fault and he was consistently faster than Zhou. I didn’t see any evidence in the race that Zhou was faster than Bottas. In fact, Zhou seemed to struggle with slicks in light rain.
In addition to Bottas, both Haas drivers were in the pits at the end of Q1, too. Magnussen dropped out, Hülkenberg just made it through. Bad strategy by both teams.
Ludewig
9th July 2024, 21:08
Hulkenberg should have an 8 at least. He had both an excellent qualy and race.
Max should have an 8 in my opinion. He drove a superb race, worthy of an 9 at least. His tire calls were pretty much perfect and he bided his time when his car was than even the Ferrari’s, early on. He overtook perfectly when he could and didn’t do any silly defense moves or panic tire changes. Detract a point for the off during qualy, sure, but no more.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
9th July 2024, 22:25
and he drove off track in qualifying and damaged his car, which did impact his result on Saturday, and is part of the weekend rating. That sort of performance doesn’t quite match a grade 9:
“An outstanding performance that ranks as one of the best, if not the very best, of the entire season”
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:44
Yes, but maybe an 8 could be ok, there’s the quali mistake but I was impressed by verstappen’s performance here, I feel like this was the worst red bull we’ve seen this season, as in it had moments where both mclarens and mercedes were faster, never seen that before in 2024.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
9th July 2024, 22:44
impressed in the race ofc, great damage limitation*
Ludewig
9th July 2024, 23:31
@Ben
I do think that Max’ race performance was one of the best of the season. The car was very weak for most of the race and to drag it up to second was a huge overperformance. Even at the end, the car was strong mostly due to a good strategic choice with the tires, not because the chassis itself was superior in those conditions.
The overperformance was partly due to the team’s strategy calls, but also in no small part due to Max. I already subtracted a point for the error in qualy, but I really think that it wasn’t that egregious. It has a lot to do with bad luck of being the first driver to push too hard for the conditions and there being no opportunity to correct it. And he did very well to keep the car from being beached or hitting the wall.
MadMax (@madmax)
10th July 2024, 12:22
The car was weak because Max destroyed the floor in qualy, on the exact same corner where Perez already went off and beached his car. And in the race the poor performance at the end of the first stint was all caused by bad tire management.
KB Davies
9th July 2024, 23:05
For those saying Hamilton didn’t do much to deserve his “7” driver rating for the grand prix, here are the timesf for his last 12 laps.
LAP 40 – 1 :30.318
LAP 41 – 1:30.118
LAP 42 – 1:29.617
LAP43 – 1:29.793
LAP 44 – 1:29.697
LAP45 – 1:29.438
LAP 46 – 1:29.641
LAP 47 – 1:29.538
LAP 48 – 1:29.579
LAP 49 – 1:29.667
LAP 50 – 1:29.682
LAP 51 – 1:29.743
LAP 52 – 1:30.146
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
10th July 2024, 6:56
“losing streak” methinks. Or “winless”
Mayrton
10th July 2024, 7:00
Max and Hulk maybe slightly underrated. They both bring the material they have to above where it ranks. Stellar performances. Also it is fair to realise Lewis basically just had a good last stint. Besides that he was on par or slightly behind on Russells performance. He also qualified behind him. Had Russell not gotten into technical problems the win would have been his. The McLaren also had the better of him but botched it on strategy.
MadMax (@madmax)
10th July 2024, 12:17
What a weird perception of reality. Max destroyed his floor by his mistake in qualy, didnt manage his tires well in the first stint, and was saved only by his teams perfect strategy. And rgd Lewis you obviously watched with all your hate and bias, or by mistake you watched a different race.
Honda
10th July 2024, 23:47
One of the rare races where Sargeant was driving the same car as his teammate and only 0.2sec behind in qualifying, not sure why they put him on soft in final stint I think he could have got P10. Yuki was pretty impressive, P10 on second worst car on the grid. Obviously the conditions helped him on dry track he would have had no chance.
Tiaki Porangi
11th July 2024, 1:29
@willwood
Can we also rank teams across a weekend please?
Feels like many times a driver (e.g. Piastri) pays a high ranking price for team blunders.
Also, great articles as always, so thanks to all of you guys.
Aquila_GD
11th July 2024, 6:23
I am afraid to say that these ratings are partisan. RaceFans members should rate the drivers. Alonso getting a 6/10 is unreal. He should not be scoring higher than Daniel Riccardo.