The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend is often one of the most difficult and dangerous for drivers to contend with all season long.
The perfect location, therefore, for two rookie drivers to make their second grand prix starts in their young careers.But while the inexperienced drivers in the field made their mistakes in practice, some of the sport’s veterans waited until when it mattered most to make some poor judgements.
These are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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 – 5/10
Qualified: 6th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.21s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-S)
Finished: 5th (+12 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Outqualified by team mate for first time in 33 rounds to start sixth
▲ Gained one place over Russell at the start to sit fifth
▶ First of the leaders to pit for hard tyres
▼ Lost sixth when overtaken by Russell, then caught and passed by Norris
▶ Pitted late for fastest lap attempt on softs but lost chance with VSC
▶ Finished fifth after gaining two places from late crash
▼ Handed formal warning after race for passing under VSC after chequered flag
In Baku, it was as if Verstappen and Perez had swapped helmets and cars for the weekend. It’s not rare for Verstappen to struggle with his car’s handling, but it is rare for him to struggle as much as he did throughout the Baku weekend. The slower of the two Red Bull drivers on Saturday and Sunday, Verstappen looked unusually ordinary in Azerbaijan.
Sergio Perez – 6/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Classified: 17th (-12 places behind team mate)
▼ Received a warning for impeding in third practice
▲ Beat team mate in qualifying to line up fourth but disappointed not to be higher
▲ Passed Sainz at the start to sit third
▶ Pitted early to undercut Piastri but held up by Norris
▶ Sat third for bulk of second stint behind Leclerc
▼ Crashed out of the race after contact with Sainz on penultimate lap
For 99% of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, the ‘King of Baku’ was enjoying his best performance for well over a year. He was quicker than Verstappen on merit on Saturday and Sunday – a rare sentence to read indeed – and was fighting for what would have been an excellent second place finish. But then, his penultimate lap crash with Sainz meant it would all go unrewarded. The stewards correctly observed it a racing incident, even if it felt a little bit like he had more room to avoid the clash. Despite this, he showed more fight than he had for some time.
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Lewis Hamilton – 5/10
Qualified: 7th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.415s)
Grid: 19th (-14 places behind team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 9th (-6 places behind team mate)
▶ Qualified seventh after struggling with tyre temps throughout the session
▶ Forced to start from pit lane with a power unit change
▶ Passed two cars in two laps on mediums before pitting for hard tyres
▲ Overtook Stroll, Ocon, Zhou, Ricciardo, Gasly and Bottas to sit 12th
▲ Passed Hulkenberg legally after yellow flag zone on penultimate lap to gain ninth
Yet another weekend where Hamilton seemed uncomfortable over the weekend – far less happy than his team mate – and never seemed to find the sweet spot. Hamilton managed to fight from the pit lane to the points over the course of the grand prix, but did need two of his rivals to crash out in order to do so. Compared to Norris’ comeback drive and the pace of team mate Russell ahead in the race, it’s hard not to feel slightly underwhelmed by ninth.
George Russell – 7/10
Grid: 5th (+14 places ahead of team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 3rd (+6 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Lost running in second practice after a PU change
▼ Received a reprimand for a yellow flag infringement in qualifying
▼ Dropped behind Verstappen at the start
▲ Pitted early for hard tyres, then caught and overtook Verstappen
▶ Showed strong pace through second half of stint to gradually close on leaders
▶ Picked up final podium position in third after late crash
Not for the first time in 2024, Russell was the biggest beneficiary from a dramatic late-race crash involving two cars ahead of him. This time he only gained a podium out of it rather than a win, but it was still a decent result after a weekend that was not the smoothest for Mercedes.
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Charles Leclerc – 7/10
Grid: Pole (+2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (+16 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Crashed out of the first practice session at turn 15
▼ Received a reprimand for a yellow flag infringement in third practice
▲ Comfortably took pole position by three tenths
▲ Held onto the lead at the start until pitting on lap 16
▼ Lost the lead of the race to Piastri at turn one
▶ Unable to pass Piastri despite over 20 laps within DRS range
▶ Repelled Perez’s late challenge to finish second
Leclerc could have been the best performer of the weekend even if he lost out on claiming victory from his pole position. He had a very strong opening stint but lost a little too much time in the pit cycle, which allowed Piastri to make the pass that Leclerc was very accommodating of. He tried everything to chase down Piastri but could not, but second was still a strong result. After his Friday crash, reprimand and the style in which he lost the lead, however, a ‘seven’ is the best he can get.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 6/10
Qualified: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate, +0.44s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Classified: 18th (-16 places behind team mate)
▶ Warned for impeding Perez in second practice
▶ Qualified third but half a second slower than team mate
▼ Lost a place to Perez at the start to run fourth before pitting last of leaders of mediums
▶ Gradually reeled in leading trio over long second stint
▼ Crashed out on penultimate lap during battle with Perez
▼ Received a warning for impeding in second practice
▼ Received a warning for a red flag infringement in the grand prix
At a circuit he freely admits is not his strongest venue, Sainz was fairly solid in Baku outside of losing out to Perez at the start in the cramped rush to turn two. He managed his tyres very well to catch the leaders and put himself into a podium position. The stewards agreed he was as much to blame for his race ending crash as Perez was and that is a fair assessment. Losing a podium was more than enough punishment and it doesn’t feel right to grade him harshly for it in the circumstances.
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Lando Norris – 7/10
Qualified: 17th (-15 places behind team mate, +0.576s)
Grid: 15th (-13 places behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 4th (-3 places behind team mate)
▶ Eliminated from Q1 after abandoning his final flying lap for a yellow flag
▲ Started on hards and three places on opening lap
▶ Extended opening stint until lap 37, holding up Perez strategically for team mate
▲ Rejoined seventh, then caught and passed Verstappen for sixth
▶ Gained fourth after late crash to finish 11 places higher than he started
Although many mocked McLaren’s announced “bias” to Norris when he was eliminated from Q1, you could make an argument that Norris’ weekend was almost as good as his team mate’s. His only real ‘mistake’ was to abandon his final push lap in qualifying after seeing a yellow flag warning on his dash – hardly an egregious error. In the race, he did a great job to work his way up the order without any Safety Cars to help him and finish ahead of rival Verstappen. Let them laugh – Norris has little to be embarrassed about.
Oscar Piastri – 8/10
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Winner (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Secured front row start but three tenths off pole position
▶ Held second place behind Leclerc in opening stint
▲ Pitted for mediums and then passed Leclerc for lead with aggressive turn one move
▲ Absorbed pressure from Leclerc for over 20 laps before breaking clear
▲ Secured second career victory under Virtual Safety Car
After Hungary, this was a victory Piastri could savour without any caveats or controversies. Although he could not get around Leclerc in the opening stint, he showed great racing instinct to pass him after switching to hard tyres, then never looked likely to give up the lead once ahead. He did benefit from his team mate’s help and did not pass Leclerc at the start, but does his pass for the lead and driving afterwards earn him an ‘eight’? On this occasion, it just about does.
Fernando Alonso – 7/10
Grid: 7th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 6th (+13 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Secured top eight grid position, then promoted to seventh by Hamilton’s pit start
▶ Held position before pitting for hards
▶ Rejoined in 13th, moving back up to eighth behind Norris
▶ Picked up two places from penultimate lap crash to finish sixth
Another weekend where Aston Martin were out on an island of their own between the leading teams and the rest of the field, Alonso largely maximised his car’s potential across the weekend. A rather lonely race, but he is starting to separate himself from his team mate again.
Lance Stroll – 4/10
Qualified: 15th (-7 places behind team mate, +0.978s)
Grid: 13th (6 places behind team mate)
Start: -7 places
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)
Classified: 19th (-13 places behind team mate)
▼ Failed to follow team mate into Q3, going slower in Q2 than Q1
▼ Suffered a puncture from opening lap touch with Tsunoda at turn four
▶ Pitted at the end of the opening lap and ran on hard tyres before fitting second set
▶ Passed Bottas but retired late after problem with brakes
Listening to Stroll’s team radio feed over the Baku weekend was depressing. He never seemed happy with the car’s handling, which could explain the deficit to team mate Alonso, but his car’s balance had nothing to do with him making a badly-judged move on Tsunoda at the start, which damaged his car and effectively ended his race. Not a good weekend.
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Pierre Gasly – 7/10
Qualified: 13th (+7 places ahead of team mate, -1.416s)
Grid: 18th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-S)
Finished: 12th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Knocked out of Q2 in 13th but disqualified for fuel flow infringement
▲ Started 18th on hard tyres, gaining three places on lap one
▲ Showed superior pace to his team mate on same strategy behind
▶ Sat 14th before pitting on final lap for softs
▶ Moved up to 12th after late crash
▼ Handed formal warning after race for passing under VSC after chequered flag
Gasly probably deserved more reward from his Azerbaijan weekend than he received. He did not let his disqualification from qualifying get him down and did a better job with his team’s strategy than his team mate to climb up to 12th at the chequered flag with a long first stint on hards.
Esteban Ocon – 5/10
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-S)
Finished: 15th (-3 places behind team mate)
▶ Suffered technical problems in first and third practice
▼ Eliminated slowest in Q1 after hitting wall on final lap
▶ Forced to start from pit lane changing parts under parc ferme
▶ Started on hard tyres and ran extremely long first stint
▶ Could not match team mate’s pace ahead before pitting on lap 49
▶ Rejoined 17th but gained 15th after late crash
▼ Handed formal warning after race for passing under VSC after chequered flag
A weekend to forget for Ocon but it would be harsh to be too critical of him. Indeed, his only real negative was to puncture his wheel hitting the wall in Q1 – an error but in no way as bad as those made by others. He lacked the pace of his team mate in the race, but how much of that was down to his limited runs in practice is a good question.
Alexander Albon – 8/10
Qualified: 10th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.329s)
Grid: 9th (-1 place behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 7th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Reached Q3 but denied lap on new tyres as team left cooler in air box
▲ Started on hard tyres and showed strong early pace
▶ Pitted for mediums from fifth and rejoined 11th
▲ Let through by team mate, then passed Hulkenberg
▶ Gained two places after late crash to score best finish of the season in seventh
Albon headed into the Baku weekend knowing this would be a great opportunity to score points and he delivered. He easily reached Q3 but never got the chance to set a lap on new tyres after his team’s near-calamitous error, but in the race he delivered the exact kind of performance Williams have gotten used to from him. Maybe the best weekend in the field.
Franco Colapinto – 7/10
Grid: 8th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 8th (-1 place behind team mate)
▼ Crashed in practice at turn four
▲ Reached Q3 for first time to line up ninth on grid
▶ Held position at the start until becoming first to pit for hard tyres
▶ Caught and overtaken by Hulkenberg, then let team mate by
▲ Held off Bearman, then Hamilton before overtaking Hulkenberg late
▲ Was tenth and 10s behind team mate before late crash ahead handed him first points in eighth
After crossing the line in eighth place in his second grand prix, Colapinto received high praise from race engineer Geaten Jego and team principal James Vowles for his work. He deserved it too, keeping his focus after his first practice shunt and never making another mistake over the rest of the weekend to claim a higher points finish than his predecessor managed in a year and a half.
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Yuki Tsunoda – 6/10
Grid: 11th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Retired (Damage – L14)
▲ Out-qualified team mate but frustrated to miss out on Q3
▶ Suffered severe damage hit by Stroll at the start
▶ Slid down the field until being called in to retire on lap 14
For the second round in a row, Tsunoda’s grand prix ended because of damage sustained after being hit by a rival attempting an ill-advised pass on him. But while he was understandably frustrated, he had been the quicker RB driver for most of the weekend and looked fairly comfortable.
Daniel Ricciardo – 5/10
Qualified: 16th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.21s)
Grid: 14th (-3 places behind team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-S)
Finished: 13th
▼ Knocked out of Q1 having “left time on the table”
▶ Started on hard tyres, running behind Hulkenberg early
▶ Ran extremely long stint hoping for Safety Car which never came
▶ Suffered from severe graining which cost several seconds
▶ Pitted in closing laps for mediums, picking up 13th after crash ahead at the finish
RB never looked like they were clear candidates for points over the Baku weekend, but especially not in Ricciardo’s case. His Saturday was unremarkable and his Sunday was defined by severe tyre graining that seemed to affect him more than any other driver in the field. But rolling the die on a strategy that required a Safety Car that never came, it’s not a surprise that he finished barely higher than he started.
Valtteri Bottas – 5/10
Qualified: 18th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.628s)
Grid: 16th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 16th (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Qualified ahead of team mate but benefited from slipstream
▶ Suffered heavy tyre wear on mediums, forcing him to pit for hards early
▶ Ran at the back of the field until team mate pitted ahead of him
▶ Caught and passed by team mate to fall back to last where he would finish
A fairly boring weekend for Bottas. He struggled with graining with his medium tyres in the first stint and ran a long, lonely second stint waiting for something to happen to give him an opportunity. It eventually did when the dramatic crash happened right in front of him, but by then it was far too late.
Zhou Guanyu – 6/10
Grid: 17th (-1 place behind team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 14th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Out-qualified by team mate once again but sacrificed final lap to give team mate tow
▶ Started from back of the grid after fitting new power unit
▶ Started on hard tyres and extended opening stint until lap 35
▲ Rejoined last, then made up seven seconds on team mate to pass him
▲ Caught and overtook Ocon in final laps to finish 14th
One of Zhou’s best weekends for a while, although it’s easy to overlook. He played the team game in qualifying and then made good work of his alternative strategy to finish ahead of his team mate in a respectable 14th place in what is clearly still the slowest car. He can be satisfied with his efforts, if not his result.
Nico Hulkenberg – 5/10
Qualified: 14th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.223s)
Grid: 12th (-2 places behind team mate)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 11th (-1 place behind team mate)
▼ Outqualified by team mate with slower Q2 time than Q1
▶ Let through by team mate early on before pitting for hard tyres
▲ Passed Ricciardo, Gasly and Colapinto to gain tenth place
▼ Hit the wall with two laps remaining, suffering damage
▼ Lost two places to Bearman and Hamilton after the late crash scene
▶ Finished just out of the points behind team mate
▼ Handed formal warning after race for passing under VSC after chequered flag
Hulkenberg’s own team principal described Baku as “one of Nico’s worst tracks”, so being so close to points was not a bad showing. However, he was beaten by his rookie team mate who had never raced the car before, had an underwhelming qualifying and hit the wall in the closing laps. Despite all that, his race pace seemed quite strong, so he earns an average grade.
Oliver Bearman – 6/10
Grid: 10th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 10th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▼ Crashed in final practice at turn one
▶ Almost reached Q3 but admitted a mistake on final push lap
▼ Over-managed his tryes over first stint, asked to let team mate by
▲ Passed Ocon, Zhou, Ricciardo and Gasly to sit in 12th before
▶ Unable to pass Colapinto before overtaken by Hamilton
▲ Showed good situational awareness to pass Hulkenberg legally after crash
▲ Claimed final point in tenth ahead of team mate
Bearman’s second cameo appearance of the season and first outing for his 2025 team may not have been as impressive as his first, but it was still one he could take plenty of positives from. He cheekily pinched the final point from his team mate on the penultimate lap and showed enough raw pace to have Haas feel positive about his arrival next year. However, his practice crash, over-caution in his opening stint and leaving time on the table in qualifying means he cannot score higher.
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Verstappen: “Important” for FIA to clarify legality of McLaren’s ‘mini DRS’ wing
- Hamilton explains suspension set-up change behind “miserable” Baku weekend
- Piastri needs “crazy” results to become title contender despite Baku win
- FIA taking new look at flexing bodywork amid intrigue over McLaren’s rear wing
- Norris knew Verstappen broke VSC rules in Baku because he did the same in Melbourne
MacLeod (@macleod)
17th September 2024, 8:09
I think a 5 was too high for Max for not opting a low downforce setup but ruining that one either this was the first day i saw Max not on track he even let George overtake him in the inside this is not what Max normal do…..
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
17th September 2024, 8:33
@macleod
I think he’s just being extra cautious for a change when Russell passed him as he knows he needs the title. He did seem very careful. I think he just didn’t want to try to hard to avoid any incidents in a car he was just struggeling in.
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:22
And 7 is too high for Norris if Leclerc is only getting a 7. Guy did almost everything perfect except getting passed while on cold tires when Ferrari waited way too long to pit and basically let him get undercut.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
18th September 2024, 0:14
I’m still puzzled where all the time’s gone. Ferrari did pit just one lap after Piastri which is pretty much standard procedure when you have a healthy lead of around 6 seconds and the ever present risk of VSC or SC.
Still he emerged only 1,5 seconds ahead of Piastri at the first timed section. He must have had an awful in lap but it’s looking absolutely normal from his onboard.
The lap time of his outlap was bad, but the lap itself looked fine. He was pulling away from Albon so his gap to Piastri actually increased over the cause of the lap.
The only thing I can imagine is a bad pit exit unseen by the cameras which cost him a couple of seconds or even more.
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 2:51
They literally never showed us his pit stop. It was ridiculous or his lap times before he came in vs OP. Worst coverage ever
Jere (@jerejj)
17th September 2024, 8:10
Most impressed: PIA, ALB, COL, & BEA
Most disappointing: VER & BOT
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:20
The Williams is now faster than the Aston with the Haas likely between the two and the RB, Alpine And Sauber 8th-10th in that order. So, not sure how Albon deserves a higher rating than Alonso. However, Franco does because it’s basically his first weekend comfortably embedded within the team.
Here’s a shocking stat for Perez who I think drove a fantastic race and is getting way too much blame for the incident…the next car behind in the WDC is Alonso…from what I hear, Lawson replaces Daniel beginning in Singapore. Let’s see how he does without a bunch of lucky crashes and mechanical DNFs aiding him.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
18th September 2024, 9:29
This stuck out to me too. Going by the ratings, it seems like Will thinks Aston were in a big gap between the frontrunners and the midfield:
This hasn’t been the case often this year, and certainly wasn’t the case in Baku. I think Williams was clearly the stronger car, but Albon got outqualified by a rookie and Colapinto understandably couldn’t maximise his race pace in his first ever F1 race. Alonso qualified well, was forced to pit early to cover off the Colapinto undercut, then kept his tyres in good enough shape to hold off Albon at the end. I was sure Albon would sail past on fresher, medium tyres in the final third of the race. So yeah, I would rate Alonso higher than Albon because he got a better result in a slightly worse car.
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 10:52
Exactly my interpretation of events.
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 0:01
Can I add one thing: this was the most impressive weekend for drivers across the grid as a whole. This is a track that requires precision and doesn’t forgive holding back yet there were close battles for every place.
Alonso (@alonshow)
17th September 2024, 8:47
It’s great that these articles now include the average score of each driver over the season. Another improvement would be to zoom in the graphic to the scores that are actually possible. No driver has ever had an average score above 8 or below 4 and with this scoring system none ever will (as long as you calculate the average over at least three races), so there’s no need to dedicate over half of the space of the graphic to those ranges. A graphic with minimum values of 4 and maximum values of 8 would be much easier to grasp visually.
Also, it’s clear that rookies get roughly one extra “rookie sympathy” point in their scores. Which is fine with me, I did find Bearman’s P7 in Saudi Arabia as praiseworthy (if not more) than Leclerc’s P3 on the same circuit and with the same car. Still, two races seem too few to include rookies performances in the season’s average graphic. Both rookies have done well in their first two races, but the current graphic suggests that they have both performed at Verstappen’s (usual) level, which is obviously not the case.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
17th September 2024, 14:18
Very good point about it being impossible to be above or below 4, hence space-saving possibility.
Coventry Climax
17th September 2024, 16:35
The only option to score below a 4 or above an 8 on average, is when the average is calculated over just one or two races, so e.g. with an exceptionally magnificent or exceptionally horrible first race of the season.
Agreed though, that it’s hardly ever the case and that without it taking up useless space in the graph, the differences become clearer.
On the other hand, it’s just fiction anyway: From the graph we could now conclude Bearman and Colapinto are nearly as good as Verstappen, and ‘much’ better than most in the field. Or could it be that …
So instead of average, maybe also adding an aggregate graph could paint a more realistic picture? (As far as that goes on points given quite subjectively.)
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
17th September 2024, 9:22
5 – Acceptable – The standard level of performance that should be expected from an F1 driver
Hamilton did not meet what justifies this score in my view, especially if Russell was only a 6.
He was outqualified by Russell by nearly half a second. While he was unfortunate to start in the pitlane, he did have the slight advantage of a new engine. But his pace and performance simply looked poor. In my view, although not with the top 3 teams, Mercedes is clearly 4th at this track, and some margin ahead of the other teams. Yet he was stuck behind Bearman for over 15 laps and was even dropping back from him at one stage. Bearman did not even have DRS so he should have been easy to pass.
Hamilton was in 12th on lap 50 and was aided by Hulkenberg going slow near the end and then the two retirements. Even Stroll messing up as the start and ending Tsunoda’s race should have aided him.
He was much closer to a 4.
4 – Underperformance – Driver failed to achieve the base level expected for a Formula 1 driver
And to be honest, not that far off a 3.
It certainly wasn’t the “level of performance that should be expected from an F1 driver”
Tesla369
17th September 2024, 10:59
A driver can only perform with what’s given to him but clearly you didn’t know – or have chosen to ignore – the fact that Hamilton’s single lap and long run pace on Friday was ultra-competitive. But in qualifying, once again, his tyre temps were down and the final Q3 gap to Russell was further exacerbated by a very slow out-lap due to yellow flag issues.
Mercedes then decided, for whatever reason, to ‘experiment’ with his car, changing suspension parts as well as the PU components, including a “component that wasn’t assembled correctly”. Russell also had a new PU and then found issues with the car but he was fortunate enough to have the team rectify them before qualifying. Hamilton didn’t have that luxury and was stuck with a virtually undriveable race car. His score of 5 at least take these elements into consideration.
Moshambles (@moshambles)
17th September 2024, 11:40
Russell got a 7
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
17th September 2024, 12:27
I think I must have read another drivers score by mistake. Still think 5 is too high for Hamilton.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 11:45
Angry man shakes fist at Formula 1 legend. Why not give him a 2? That will really put him in his place.
BenHur
17th September 2024, 12:22
Way too much still
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 13:11
Dart boards with Hamilton’s face are probably available, if that helps.
BenHur
17th September 2024, 14:03
Unfair for the darts
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
17th September 2024, 12:28
Him being a legend changes nothing about his performance this weekend.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
17th September 2024, 14:23
Not to mention, a legend because of having many years in a dominant car? Hamilton is a 1-time champion before getting the dominant car, and 3 times if you exclude all dominant seasons.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 21:00
@esploratore1 4 when you count 2021. I mean, as you’re doing fantasy championship counts.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
17th September 2024, 14:20
5 is indeed too high for the weekend, it was a horrible performance by him, I think 4 at best, he couldn’t even get into the points if not for the final crash.
MadMax (@madmax)
17th September 2024, 14:42
I guess you argue for a 3 for Max also? Or does that not suit your bias?
Coventry Climax
17th September 2024, 16:52
@madmax
Makes me wonder who suffers from bias really. How does the score for someone’s performance relate to the score for someone else? Sound like a kid’s whine: But he’s doing it too…
Let’s judge each and everyone by their own performances please.
That said, yes, it was a poor choice by Verstappen to change the setup for the worse.
And no, it wasn’t Hamilton’s fault he had to start from the pitlane.
Yet, that defining the given as to what each had to race with on sunday, Verstappen likely did a better job dealing with what they had.
I’m no particular fan of either of them, or any specific driver for that matter, but Hamilton comes across as
being despondent (different meaning of ‘head down’?) on a quite regular basis, and over quite a lot of seasons too. And that’s something we hardly ever see with Verstappen, if at all. He may be unhappy at times – and clearly showing it- but at least he always still fights.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
17th September 2024, 19:06
Your comments look like you are frustraited more than me @david-br
I don’t know what makes you suggest a 2. That would be too low. And I also implied that the 4 that I thought he should get with the performance shown was just “not that far off” a 3. So what should be implied by that is that a 2 is clearly to low and a 3 is also a little too low.
You were basically just exadurating how I think he should be rated just one number lower. What I was arguing against was the definition and description of the driver rankings really not matching what Hamilton archived. I don’t really see how many can argue with that.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 20:49
@thegianthogweed I dislike this points system intensely and much preferred the previous race weekend evaluations that weren’t based on numbering. But realistically Hamilton’s performance wasn’t bad, it was mediocre – much the same as Verstappen’s. If you’d just stated a ‘4’ it wouldn’t have provoked any reaction from me. It was actually the sense reading your post that Hamilton (your evaluation) was getting worse the more you went on that I was picking up on (hence the ‘angry man shaking fist at clouds’ reference).
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:24
One of my favorite Simpsons references
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 11:00
ps – pretty sure Ben is a Hamilton fan. So, I don’t think he’s out to sully Ham.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
17th September 2024, 11:51
If Bearman got an 8 at Saudi I struggle to understand what was different from Colapinto’s race here, who got a 7. Never raced at Baku before, was on pace the whole weekend, finished just seconds off Albon. The only low point was a crash in FP1 which is expected for a driver of his expeyat a tricky track, made even worse by the grip conditions (Leclerc also crashed).
notagrumpyfan
17th September 2024, 12:33
Bearman didn’t deserve an eight in SA IMO.
Even when taking into account the limited preparation.
This is the risk when mixing performance with expectations.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
17th September 2024, 13:44
Exactly… But I get the feeling that Ollie got an 8 in Saudi because there was high expectation about him as a driver. There’s a lot less hype around Colapinto.
If Kimi Antonelli had been in Ollie’s shoes and delivered that result, they’d have put a 9…
Coventry Climax
17th September 2024, 21:24
I don’t think it’s relevant whether Bearman deserved an 8 for SA or not. The issue is, that there’s apparently different measuring standards for different drivers.
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:25
OB deserved a 6.5 in SA.
Leo B
17th September 2024, 12:13
That overtake alone should earn Piastri a nine.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
17th September 2024, 14:26
Leclerc left the door open, it’s demerit for him, not merit for piastri, that overtake.
Leo B
17th September 2024, 17:43
@ Esploratore
Piastri braked too late to make the corner, yet still he made the corner. That’s top top class racing.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 21:06
@esploratore1 It’s like you’re living in a time reversal universe (Tenet?!). You watch races and don’t think ‘wow, he’s fast, that’s a great move, daring stuff’ but ‘huh, all those rivals are so slow, why did he let him pass, anyone competent could do that.’ Must be fun.
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 11:01
If Norris drove the same exact race, there’s no way people are arguing he deserves a 9.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 13:10
‘Just about 8’ for Piastri?
He qualified 2nd, made an audacious overtake for the lead and held first spot under intense pressure for a big chunk of the race. The rest seem reasonable.
Alesici
17th September 2024, 14:49
What does a driver need to do to get a 9…. Piastri’s was one of the best drives I’ve seen… Last great one that springs to mind was Albon in Canada last year. Both showed perpetual sub-millimetric precision under massive pressure.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 16:31
Piastri said it was his most difficult race ever and by the sound of his voice he really meant it, intense pressure. Will Wood has his own parameters for these points, I’m sure, so if 9’s are really difficult so be it. What I don’t get is the ‘just about 8,’ which implies Piastri did something definitely suboptimal in the race or qualifying. Absolutely no idea what.
MichaelN
17th September 2024, 19:32
A 9 score is supposed to be an ‘outstanding performance that ranks as one of the best, if not the very best, of the entire season’.
The fact that we had the top 5 so bunched up in the end showed that it was exceptionally hard to overtake (especially if one is determined to defend; Leclerc take note). Piastri made a good pass, but it wasn’t exactly hotly contested. He had some help, didn’t exactly do anything extraordinary pace-wise, and Leclerc’s attempts to get back ahead weren’t exactly super creative. Piastri had him covered.
A solid effort, a great result, but not that special. An 8 seems fine.
David BR (@david-br)
17th September 2024, 20:57
So we had Piastri, Leclerc and Pérez very evidently around the same kind of pace all race. That implies their team mates – Norris, Sainz, Verstappen – could/should have been similarly paced. As indeed Sainz also showed by the end. Six drivers, then, with a car competitive enough to win the race. But Piastri won it. But that’s not special? I didn’t see anyone else get past Leclerc, or indeed Leclerc managing to regain the place from Piastri despite being behind him lap after lap.
Verstappen some weekends has clearly had the fastest car (leaving aside how equal his car was to Pérez’s at the time) and yet he was regularly given 8s, even 9s. Whatever. Like I’ve said above, I find the points system extremely irritating, about as insightful as ‘my top 10 chocolate biscuits,’ which is why I seldom both commenting on these articles.
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:31
Part of the problem it seems like is that whenever Max destroys Perez, it’s assumed to be mostly him and when they both struggle, it’s just the car. Max is amazing, but it’s hard to know just how amazing he’s been when paired with a driver whose best days = high quality journeyman level driver.
Mayrton
17th September 2024, 13:25
What’s with the Pirelli tires? They seem to be even worse vs regular. It almost feels like FIA/Liberty are deliberately messing with the championship by introducing an unpredictable variable through Pirelli.
Coventry Climax
17th September 2024, 16:59
Surprise surprise.
Almost feels like it?
To be honest, I think not cleaning the track this time played a role here too. But even that might have been a deliberate choice.
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:27
How were the tires different for anyone? They’re all on the same tires. I don’t get these complaints. Perez did fine. Only Max and Lewis had noticeably off races.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a Pirelli fan, but it seems anytime people don’t like the results, it’s all down to Pirelli and never the car let alone the driver.
Nick T.
17th September 2024, 23:42
A possibly better system
NA – Disqualified – Only in the most extreme instance where a driver’s conduct disqualifies them from participation
0 – Appalling – An appalling display that brings a driver’s competency under immediate question
1 – Awful – A very, very poor performance of repeated errors with almost no redeeming qualities
2 – Very bad – Far more negatives than positives across the weekend which a driver should be very disappointed with
3 – Underperformance – Driver failed to achieve the base level expected for a Formula 1 driver
4 – Acceptable – The standard level of performance that should be expected from an F1 driver
5 – Solid – A decent overall performance across the weekend, but not one of the best
6 – Good – A strong performance across the weekend that any driver should be very pleased with
7 – Very Good – A weekend where the driver stood out as one of the best in the field
8 – Nearly Perfect – A dominant performance. Not a foot wrong the entire weekend, but faced little pressure in quali and/or the race.
9 – Perfect & Then Some – A dominant weekend in which the driver faced a tough quali battle + at least one competitor who put in a drive worthy of an 8 and/or in unusual conditions.
10 – Legendary – of the few all-time greatest performances by a driver in the history of Formula 1 with multiple challenges, overtakes and/or mixed conditions overcome with impeccable driving and racecraft.
Nick T.
18th September 2024, 2:53
For reference here is their current system:
AlexS
20th September 2024, 19:50
How Norris gets a 7 here !?