Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Circuit of the Americas, 2022

2022 United States Grand Prix driver ratings

2022 United States Grand Prix

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The second grand prix of the year held in the United States of America was certainly the more memorable of the two, with the thousands of fans in the grandstands treated to a late battle for the win between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

In a race that saw a plethora of penalties and even a protest upheld after the chequered flag, there were some outstanding performances through the field – particularly from the four world champions on the grid.

Here are RaceFans’ driver ratings for the United States Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Hamilton lost the lead late in the race

Lewis Hamilton – 7

Qualified: 5th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.041s quicker than team mate in Q3
Started: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Finished: 2nd (+3 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Disappointed to qualify only fifth but was moved up to third after penalties for Leclerc and Perez
  • Decent start saw him gain second after his team mate spun Sainz
  • Kept within reasonable touch of Verstappen before pitting for hards on lap 12
  • Restarted second and kept Verstappen within two seconds ahead before pitting for hards again on lap 34
  • Gained a place over Verstappen after his pit stop problems before catching up to the back of Vettel
  • Overtook Vettel to move into the lead, then pushed to try and keep gap over Verstappen
  • Eventually caught by Verstappen and lost lead into turn 12 with seven laps remaining
  • Received black-and-white warning flag for breaching track limits three times
  • Finished second, just over five seconds behind the winner

George Russell – 5

Qualified: 6th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.041s slower than team mate in Q3
Started: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
Finished: 5th (-3 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Qualified sixth, less than a tenth behind team mate, but gained two places with Leclerc and Perez’s penalties
  • Got equally good start to team mate but clumsily barged into Sainz at turn one, putting him out and earning a five second penalty
  • Lost ‘two turns’ worth of downforce from collision but continued in fourth, passing Stroll for third on lap five
  • Served his penalty at first stop, losing a place to Perez, then lost fifth to Leclerc under Safety Car
  • Ran fifth after restarts, pitting again for hards on lap 36
  • Continued to circulate in fifth, losing around half a second a lap to team mate out front
  • Pitted for soft tyres on the penultimate lap to attempt fastest lap
  • Finished fifth, successfully capturing the fastest lap on the final tour
A poor pit stop could not stop Verstappen

Max Verstappen – 7

Qualified: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Started: 2nd (7 places ahead of team mate)
-0.197s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: Winner (+3 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Quickest in final practice
  • Qualified in third behind the two Ferraris but ahead of team mate to gain second on the grid after Leclerc’s penalty
  • Beat Sainz off the line to gain the lead before the first corner
  • Led Hamilton until pitting a lap after the Mercedes for mediums, regaining the lead from team mate a lap later
  • Kept Hamilton behind after two Safety Car restarts but could not pull away from the Mercedes
  • Responded to Hamilton’s stop by pitting a lap later but problem with front-left cost him 11 seconds and dropped him behind Leclerc
  • Passed Leclerc and began to chip away at Hamilton’s lead on his softer tyres
  • Caught Hamilton along the back straight and passed for the lead into turn 12
  • Received a black-and-white warning flag for track limits but pulled out a gap of five seconds by the final lap to win

Sergio Perez – 6

Qualified: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.197s slower than team mate in Q3
Started: 9th (-7 places behind team mate)
Finished: 4th (-3 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Handed five place grid penalty for taking fifth engine
  • Qualified fourth behind team mate, which became ninth on the grid after penalty
  • Gained two places on the opening lap, barging Bottas out of his way at turn nine to do so
  • Had loose front wing endplate from the Bottas contact and was fortunate it broke off of its own accord
  • Continued with damaged front wing for remainder of the race
  • Passed Norris, Vettel and Stroll to move up to fourth behind Russell
  • Pitted for hard tyres and moved up to third behind Safety Car
  • Restarted third but lost a place to Leclerc
  • Pitted again for mediums, rejoining behind Leclerc in fourth
  • Caught Leclerc on the final lap but was unable to pass, finishing fourth
  • Subject of a post-race protest by Haas for his front wing damage, but was dismissed

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Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Pole winner Sainz’s race ended at turn one

Carlos Sainz Jnr – 6

Qualified: 1st (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.065s quicker than team mate in Q3
Started: Pole (11 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Crash damage – L1)

  • Quickest in first practice
  • Took pole position on merit by half-a-tenth quicker than his team mate
  • Lost the lead to Verstappen off the line with a mediocre launch
  • Tried to fight back against Verstappen exiting turn one but was hit and spun around by Russell
  • Continued but was forced into retirement at the end of the opening lap due to water leak

Charles Leclerc – 6

Qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.065s slower than team mate in Q3
Started: 12th (-11 places behind team mate)
Finished: 3rd

  • Handed car over to Shwartzman for first practice session
  • Hit by a ten place grid penalty for taking another new power unit
  • In the top two of every timed session to reach Q3
  • Was half-a-tenth up on Sainz before losing a tenth in final corner on last Q3 lap to miss out on ‘pole’
  • Started 12th on the grid, gaining two positions on the opening lap, then passed Albon, Gasly and Norris
  • Overtook Vettel to move sixth before leaders pitted, then passed Stroll before pitting for hards under the first Safety Car
  • Restarted fourth before taking third from Perez and pitting for second set of mediums, gaining a place over Verstappen
  • Resisted Verstappen the best he could but eventually lost a place to the Red Bull
  • Maintained third until the finish, despite pressure from Perez on the final lap

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Lando Norris – 7

Qualified: 8th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
-0.581s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 6th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 6th (+10 places ahead of team mate)

  • Just reached Q3 in tenth place only after Zhou’s final time was deleted for track limits, before qualifying eighth
  • Lined up sixth on the grid, losing a place to Vettel at the start and then passed by Perez
  • Overtaken by Gasly to run ninth before pitting for hards on lap ten
  • Claimed to have picked up damage through the Stroll and Alonso accident scene
  • Ran ninth behind Tsunoda after second restart, pitting for a second set of hards and rejoining in 15th
  • Passed Latifi, Tsunoda, Zhou and Albon in final stint before catching and passing Alonso on penultimate lap
  • Finished sixth as ‘best of the rest’
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Ricciardo endured another dismal weekend

Daniel Ricciardo – 3

Qualified: 17th (-9 places behind team mate)
+0.581s slower than team mate in Q1
Started: 15th (-9 places behind team mate)
Finished: 16th (-10 places behind team mate)

  • Missed first practice as Palou stepped into his car
  • Eliminated 17th in qualifying to line up 15th on the grid
  • Picked up two places on the opening lap before being passed by Tsunoda and Zhou
  • Pitted for hard tyres, moving up to 13th by the second restart
  • Lost places to Albon and Alonso before pitting for second set of hards, falling to the back of the field
  • Only managed to catch and pass Latifi with six laps remaining, eventually crossing the line 16th
Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Alonso did well to recover from the crash

Fernando Alonso – 8

Qualified: 9th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
-0.622s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 14th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 15th (-5 places behind team mate)

  • Raced without updated floor given to his team mate
  • Hit with five place grid penalty for taking sixth engine
  • Comfortably reached Q3 in seventh, finishing the session in ninth place which converted to 14th on the grid
  • Started on hard tyre, gaining two places on the opening lap, then passing Albon for 11th
  • Moved up to seventh before pitting for mediums under Safety Car
  • Restarted ninth and suffered frightening accident when blocked by Stroll, damaging his car and requiring repairs
  • Had new front wing pitted and restarted in 16th, passing Latifi and Ricciardo before being allowed by team mate
  • Suffered from loose right hand mirror after Stroll collision, eventually breaking off along the back straight
  • Overtook Magnussen for sixth position, then fought to keep Norris behind him
  • Passed by Norris on the penultimate lap, eventually finishing seventh
  • Demoted out of the points to 15th when Haas protest against his loose mirror resulted in a 30-second post-race penalty

Esteban Ocon – 5

Qualified: 18th (-9 places behind team mate)
+0.622s slower than team mate in Q1
Started: 20th (-6 places behind team mate)
Finished: 10th (+5 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ran with updated floor throughout the weekend
  • Eliminated in Q1 down in 18th after struggling to get on top of his car
  • Forced to start from the pitlane after team changed engine under parc ferme
  • Overtook Magnussen and Schumacher on hard tyres in early laps before pitting for hards under Safety Car
  • Lost a place to Magnussen on second restart, then let team mate by
  • Pitted for mediums, dropping him to 16th
  • Passed Latifi, Schumacher, Zhou and then Albon on final lap to finish 12th
  • Promoted to final point in tenth after the race due to penalties ahead

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Pierre Gasly – 5

Qualified: 13th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
-0.407s quicker than team mate in Q2
Started: 11th (+8 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 13th (-4 places behind team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Had been inside the top ten in every timed session but was furious when glazed brakes saw him eliminated 13th in Q2
  • Lined up 11th on the grid, moving up to eighth by the end of the first lap
  • Overtook Norris but was re-passed into turn 12, losing a further place to Leclerc, then got back ahead of Norris
  • Pitted for hard tyres on lap 11, moving up to eight for first restart which became seventh after Stroll and Alonso clashed
  • Picked up a five second time penalty for falling more than ten car lengths behind Vettel under second Safety Car
  • Pitted from seventh for second set of hards but team failed to serve penalty correctly
  • Fell to the rear of the field, passing Latifi and Schumacher
  • Overtook Zhou and Albon in the final laps to cross the line 11th
  • Demoted to 13th in final classification after a further ten second penalty for failure to serve initial penalty
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Tsunoda was happy to be back in the points

Yuki Tsunoda – 6

Qualified: 15th (-2 places behind team mate)
+0.407s slower than team mate in Q2
Started: 19th (-8 places behind team mate)
Finished: 9th (+4 places ahead of team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Hit with a five place grid penalty for exceeding gearbox allowance
  • Knocked out of Q2 in 15th behind team mate after struggling with balance
  • Started last on the grid, got a terrible launch but caught up in the chaos, passing Latifi and Schumacher to move 14th by lap two
  • Overtook Ricciardo then pitted for second set of mediums on lap ten, passing Albon before Safety Car
  • Moved up to eighth for second restart but was told not to challenge team mate Gasly, to his frustration
  • Pitted for hards a lap after his team mate, passing Latifi and catching up to Zhou
  • Eventually passed Zhou with six laps remaining, then overtook Albon with three laps to go to take tenth
  • Inherited ninth after Alonso’s penalty was applied
Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Vettel snatched seventh on the last lap

Sebastian Vettel – 8

Qualified: 12th (-5 places behind team mate)
+0.366s slower than team mate in Q2
Started: 10th (-5 places behind team mate)
Finished: 7th

  • Disappointed to not follow team mate into Q3 after losing time in turn three on final Q2 lap
  • Lined up tenth on the grid and gained three places off the line and two more after Sainz was spun to sit fifth
  • Overtaken by Perez, then pitted for second set of mediums at first Safety Car
  • Ran in sixth after second restart and extended his second stint, eventually gaining the lead as leaders pitted
  • Pitted for hards after being passed by Hamilton, but painfully long stop meant he fell down to 13th
  • Overtook Tsunoda, Zhou and Albon to move into ninth, then chased Magnussen
  • Caught and overtook Magnussen after intense last lap fight to claim eighth
  • Promoted to seventh after Alonso’s penalty

Lance Stroll – 4

Qualified: 7th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
-0.366s quicker than team mate in Q2
Started: 5th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Crashed – L22)

  • Reached Q3 unlike team mate to take a strong seventh place which became fifth on the grid
  • Moved up to third on opening lap after Russell collided with Sainz and held position until passed by Russell and Perez
  • Ran fifth ahead of team mate before pitting for second set of mediums on lap 15
  • Restarted seventh after first Safety Car but made dangerous blocking move on Alonso which led to scary accident
  • Forced to retire from damage and handed three place penalty for Mexico for being “predominately to blame”

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Nicholas Latifi, Williams, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
A spin early in the race cost Latifi

Nicholas Latifi – 3

Qualified: 20th (-9 places behind team mate)
Started: 17th (-9 places behind team mate)
+0.312s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 17th (-6 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Missed opening practice handing car over to Sargeant
  • Eliminated slowest in Q1, nine place
  • Lined up 17th on the grid, moving up to 16th after passing Schumacher on the opening lap
  • Spun at the esses, dropping him to the rear of the field where he pitted for another set of mediums
  • Pitted a second time under Safety Car for hard tyres, then gained places as cars ahead pitted
  • Earned a five second time penalty for hitting Schumacher at turn 12 while battling, accepting responsibility
  • Overtaken by Ricciardo in final laps to finish last in 17th

Alexander Albon – 6

Qualified: 11th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
-0.312s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 8th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 12th (+6 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Secured passage to Q2 with final effort in Q1, then a strong lap in Q2 saw him just miss out of Q3 in 11th
  • Started eighth on the grid, falling to ninth on the opening lap after flat-spotting tyres into turn one
  • Dropped down the field in early laps, passed by Leclerc, Bottas and Alonso before pitting for second set of mediums
  • Pitted for hards under first Safety Car
  • Passed Ricciardo after second restart and ended up leading small train of cars in ninth
  • Couldn’t hold off Vettel, Tsunoda, Gasly and Ocon with degrading tyres to eventually cross the line 13th
  • Would have been 11th after penalties but was dinged five seconds for leaving track and retaining position
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Bottas took the blame for his race ending spin

Valtteri Bottas – 4

Qualified: 10th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
-0.649s quicker than team mate in Q2
Started: 7th (+11 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Spun out – L17)

  • Sat out first practice to allow Theo Pourchaire to drive his car
  • Squeezed through to Q3 to qualify tenth, which became seventh on the grid
  • Held position off the line but was shoved aside by Perez at turn nine, eventually dropping to 11th
  • Overtook Albon for tenth before pitting for hard tyres and rejoining 14th
  • Lost control at turn 19 with gust of wind and spun off into retirement, accepted it is “my mistake”

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Zhou Guanyu – 5

Qualified: 14th (-4 places behind team mate)
+0.649s slower than team mate in Q2
Started: 18th (-11 places behind team mate)
Finished: 11th

  • Missed the majority of final practice as team worked on a problem with his car
  • Hit with a five place grid penalty for taking fifth ICE
  • Breezed in Q2 and appeared to have progressed to Q3 but had best time deleted for track limits, eliminating him
  • Started 18th, gaining one place after Sainz’s spin, then overtook Schumacher on lap two
  • Passed Ricciardo then was one of the first to pit for hard tyres
  • Fell to back after pitting under second Safety Car for a second set of hards
  • Ran as high as tenth behind Albon but was passed by Vettel, Tsunoda, Gasly and Ocon over final laps
  • Took the chequered flag in 14th but was promoted to 11th after various penalties

Mick Schumacher – 4

Qualified: 19th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.162s slower than team mate in Q1
Started: 16th (-3 places behind team mate)
Finished: 14th (-6 places behind team mate)

  • Lost track time in third practice due to a problem
  • Eliminated 19th in Q1 after spinning at turn one on final push lap
  • Started on hard tyres, passed by Tsunoda on the opening lap then overtaken by Latifi and Zhou
  • Battled with Ocon for multiple laps before pitting under Safety Car for mediums
  • Picked up debris from Stroll accident that likely cost him performance for the rest of the race
  • Restarted in tenth and pressured Norris ahead before pitting for hards on lap 33
  • Rejoined 16th and overtook Latifi despite being hit by the Williams
  • Passed by Gasly and Ocon to fall to 15th, where he would finish
  • Hit with a five second time penalty after exceeding track limits four times
  • Promoted to 14th in final classification after Alonso was penalised
Kevin Magnussen, Haas, Circuit of the Americas, 2022
Magnussen scored points with a long final stint

Kevin Magnussen – 7

Qualified: 16th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.162s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 13th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 8th (+6 places ahead of team mate)

  • Sat out first practice for Giovinazzi, who crashed his car
  • Could have progressed out of Q1 but lost three tenths over bump at turn one
  • Unlucky to lose four places in first corner crush caused by Sainz’s spin, but was then passed by Zhou at turn 11
  • Fell to last when overtaken by Ocon but used hard tyres to pick up places before pitting under first Safety Car
  • Restarted 15th, cleared of overtaking under yellows after Stroll accident after handing back places
  • Passed Ocon at second restart then did excellent job to make his mediums last for 30 green flag laps
  • Lost places to Alonso and Norris as laps wound down, then lost eighth after fierce last lap battle with Vettel
  • Crossed the line to score points in ninth but gained eighth following Alonso’s post-race penalty

Over to you

Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:

2022 United States Grand Prix

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Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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78 comments on “2022 United States Grand Prix driver ratings”

  1. You really should include at least .5 points in the rating. Right now it’s just a grading system with six grades (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), masquerading as a continuous points sytem. Yes I know I’ve brought this up earlier, but unlike with other things, Racefans seems completely unwilling to listen to helpful criticism.

    1. @wsrgo – I think your right this rating system is way to chaotic with strange scores which isn’t explained. To me it look like the American score system of A B C D E F which for me is strange and incomprehensible too.
      I understand he uses a base number but doesn’t explain the plus and min scores.

    2. Because you can’t change a rating system mid-season unless you completely start over and retroactively rate all previous races under that same system.

      That’s assuming your suggestion has merit and should be listened to. Just because you have “helpful criticism” doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be followed.

      1. Shocking system, great advice. Sometimes you need to just ditch a bad idea, not grind out the entire season. Would it really cause that much havoc to add a decimal place.

        1. Yes it would, if you rounded up before, so a 7.5 would be an 8, etc. then drivers that performed well mostly in the first half of the season would unnaturally get ranked higher than drivers that performed better in the second half after you changed your point system.

          Think of it as if FIA would change the point system mid-season so now 1st place gets your 20 points instead of 25. A win earlier in the season would then be more valuable than a win after.

          1. Yip, forgot a F1 Fanatic Championship was at stake. It would certainly jepodise the entire system – imagine the outcry!!

          2. oh, you’re one of those.

        2. Would it really cause that much havoc to add a decimal place.

          Would it really cause that much upset and discomfort to wait until next season?

          I suggest you focus on if/where you disagree with the ratings, not repeating disagreements with the rating system.

          1. Thanks for telling us what we should do. I shall follow this blindly.

          2. telling us what we should do

            Chill mate, it’s merely a suggestion.
            Feel free to get upset about minor inconveniences.

      2. @sjaakfoo Okay so I’m not asking them to change it, but a viewer opinion poll would be welcome. Not sure why you feel the need to white-knight them, I’m not asking them to follow my recommendations, but rather to acknowledge my criticism and maybe have a discussion on it in the comments. Will normally responds to comments both supportive and critical, but for some reason he and Keith don’t seem to want to engage on this matter.

        Which is fine, they don’t owe me anything, and if they don’t change it in 2023 I’ll be fine and still visit this website regularly.

    3. Really? Why does anyone care? Every fan here is going to have different ratings and almost all will give their favourite driver a higher rating. This is really not important, just one person using his ranking system for a bit of fun.

  2. Leclerc and Perez the same? Really? Leclerc started behind him and beat him fair and square on track with a slower car! He should get a seven.
    Russel 4 tops. Destroyed Sainz’s race and was handily beaten by Hamilton. Ricciardo 3 is generous, what must he do to earn a 2? And last but not least if ever there was a performance this year that credited more than 8 was Alonso’s!

    1. Yeah , it completely non sense having Leclerc and Perez same value. Leclerc started 12th not to his fault and ended up in front while Perez was in same car that dominated the GP.

  3. I admit, I couldn’t watch the race. But looking at the highlights and reports, I do not see any excuses for Ricciardo. If this result does not deserve less than 3, I can hardly imagine what should classify for 1.

  4. How do Alonso and Vettel deserve to score 8, when Verstappen only gets a 7? I’m not saying that Alonso and Vettel don’t deserve 8s either. Just not sure why Verstappen (and for that matter, Hamilton) don’t

    1. I assume it’s because both got black/white flags for track limits.

      1. Is that 1 full point? that was during very hard racing of both. No that should actually a+1 so a 9

      2. Shouldn’t the get extra points for getting the black & white for track limits (without going over after that)? It means they maximised what was there to get.

        1. Indeed, don’t really agree with taking points off for that.

    2. @nvherman I am inclined to believe that it factors in how the driver performed in relation to what one would expect from that car. Of course it is rather subjective (as such a system is inclined to be), and I would also suggest that “if” this is the case, SP should perhaps be one point lower (basic starting and finishing positions may not support this, but the pit stop delay does play towards MV’s rating). But otherwise Vettel and Alonso potentially drove further beyond expectation that LH or MV.

      1. @cairnsfella That is what I suspected. Definitely feel that Perez is rated too highly, with that Red Bull he shouldn’t really be off the podium.

        1. Or it shows that Max is able to lift the Red Bull car to another level, there where Perez shows the “normal” level of the car? Maybe the Red Bull car isn´t that dominant, but it only seems to be because of the driving skills Max is putting into it…

          1. Or it shows that Max is able to lift the Red Bull car to another level

            If the reasoning were either as per your hypothesis, or mine, there should still be more than 1 point between the two drivers ratings.

    3. I also thought Verstappen and Hamilton deserved at least 8. Of course we can never be sure how much the car or driver is the factor of a good result. But if we compare the performance with their teammates it must be clear that Lewis was driving qualy laps with that Mercedes and Max cleared Charles in a dominant way while Perez was not even able to keep him behind.

      1. Lewis made a mistake while trying to catch Max which cost him about 1 second and out of DRS range
        He also moved into Max while under braking when Max was attempting to pass

        1. Dave, you could look at it another way. Perhaps Lewis started to block, realised Max was already committed to that line, and left room to avoid a pointless collision. The top F1 drivers think and react on a level which is a mystery to most of us.

    4. What did Hamilton and Verstappen do that was special? They had a good race, but by the time the next race rolls around nobody will talk about it anymore. On the other hand, this was a great race for Vettel and a storming comeback drive for Alonso. Both of which will be part of any season review or highlights write-up.

      1. Even in the race, Verstappen and Hamilton wear as much on it as Vettel and at least they beat their teammate in qauli.
        I think some fans overrate the amount of overtaking too much which is of course easier when you did a poor quali.
        The way Verstappen overtook a few cars, and the way Hamilton stayed close (or made it difficult to be be closed in to) was at least as impressive as what Vettel did in 55.9 laps.

      2. Well Verstappen started 2nd, took 1st with a brilliant start, then recovered from an 11s pitstop to retake first.

        Hamilton drove a very good race and was in with a genuine chance to win (and would have if Verstappen wasnt in the Redbull; he was faster than Perez).

        That said, Alonso drove exceptionally well. 8 for Ver and Ham, 9 for Alo

      3. I think verstappen drove really well in the face of adversity, and hamilton did well too, and let’s not forget the bad quali for vettel, I’d have given 8 to both of them, I was even thinking they might give vers another 9, so was shocked about the 7.

  5. Lewis and Verstappen a 7 – oh bog off mate.
    Cream of the crop, should be an 8 min alongside Vettel and Alonso.

    1. I find leclerc and sainz a point too low as well. Stroll is very harshly rated too – it was one of his best drives until the crash.

      1. Indeed, I don’t really like these “awesome race, make a mistake and you get 4”, but this isn’t unique to racefans, pretty much everyone does like that, if I had a perfect test at school and made a mistake I still got 9, not 4!

  6. lol… somebody clearly doesnt like verstappen. he deserved an 8. he was clearly better than lewis

    1. They are both very strong drivers. I would argue Max is performing better because he has a car that is the fastest. They were pretty equal last year, maybe Max edged it. It is so sad to see that both drivers have such a toxic fan base.

      1. Some people just cant help themselves. Its notably better on here than on other f1 sites though.

      2. Too many mistakes by Lewis and a dangerous move under breaking when Max passed

        1. Hamilton still massively outperformed russell, he exceeded expectations, I’d have given 8 to both, to verstappen in particular it seemed the minimum he could get this race.

          1. Russel had front wing damage. no excuse as it was his fault.

  7. You missed a bullet point for Verstappen:

    Sarcastic critical assessment comment over radio after botched pitstop, ending in his engineer reminding him he is part of a team.

    What an inspirational role model he is.

    1. @tsgoodchild no different from Hamilton in the heat of the moment, when he feels he has been let down by strategy etc. Or Alonso (see, lap 1 outburst about Hamilton at Spa).

      Remember, the adrenaline is running high when they’re racing, what gets said at that time is not necessarily how they feel once out of the car and cooled down

      1. Oh exactly. Except people seem to jump on that bandwagon at the mere mention from other drivers, especially Lewis. But the holy and mighty Max…not even a whisper. Just seeking fairness on what the official feed likes to put on the airwaves.

    2. Lol i think that was a very decent comment as i heard much much worse.

  8. Leclerc starting behind Pérez, actually overtaking him on track, and finishing on the podium in the third best car on the day resulting in the same rating as Pérez himself seems off. Rating decent drives a 6 is fine, but Pérez isn’t making the Red Bull do what everyone can see is possible. Not sure that warrants a passing grade.

    1. How can you claim the Ferrari is the third best car? The Ferrari is the fastest car on Saterday’s and on Sunday’s at least the second best car close to RB. Leclerc did a better job than Perez that is clear. But Max makes the RB dominant and any teammate will look pale next to him

      1. Ferrari isn’t by no means close to Red Bull by this point. Their issues with the tyres are pretty obvious.

        Perez has his off weekends (the mark of an average driver) throughout his whole career. He is no benchmark.

        1. That depends on how you define close, but Ferrari is closer to RB than MB at this moment. Pole position and Finishing on the podium from p12 is not that bad. So I would say Leclerc 7, Perez 6 with the benefit of the doubt with the front wing performance issues. Max and Lewis 8 (same performance as vettel and alonso)

          1. I love how Max and Lewis wring tbe absolute maximum out of the car every single time, but when Charles does well it’s the car, only the car and nothing but the car.

          2. That’s why its called driver ratings and you shouldn’t take it to serious

      2. Leclerc and Verstappen’s last stint showed the differences quite well. Verstappen and Leclerc were pretty equal in the first few laps, then the Ferrari trailed off as usual while the Red Bull kept going allowing Verstappen to make an easy pass on Hamilton while Leclerc never even got close and instead had to fend off Pérez in the last stages of the race, so far had he fallen back from the leading duo.

        Ferrari is a great qualifying car, but not the one to have on Sunday.

        1. Indeed, this ferrari would only be good to have at monaco, and look at the case if I recall they locked the front row, they only lost cause of bad strategic decisions. All other tracks being ahead at start is not enough, singapore is I think the 2nd hardest track to overtake on and I’m not sure if it’d be enough to keep verstappen behind.

      3. Mercedes was clearly faster than ferrari, why do you think leclerc couldn’t keep up with hamilton, while verstappen flew past him?

        1. Leclerc did not loose time to Hamilton in the last stint. The gap stayed around 5s and the last laps he even closed it to 2,5s (but probably because Hamilton lost his tyres).

    2. Absolutely, leclerc’s rating in relation to perez doesn’t seem fair at all.

  9. Most impressive: VER, HAM, NOR, ALO, VET, & MAG
    Most disappointing: PER, RUS, RIC, & LAT

    1. Latifi didn’t disappoint, since there were no any higher expectations to begin with. Just another average performance by his standards, in all fairness.

    2. Have to agree, 6 stars seem a lot but they all did very well, the strugglers all got destroyed by their team mates.

  10. YTD average based on @WillWood‘s ratings:
    Nyck de Vries: 8.0
    Max Verstappen: 7.3 ↓
    Lando Norris: 6.7
    Charles Leclerc: 6.6
    Fernando Alonso: 6.5
    George Russell: 6.1 ↓
    Lewis Hamilton: 6.1
    Esteban Ocon: 5.7
    Sebastian Vettel: 5.6 ↑
    Carlos Sainz Jnr: 5.6 ↓
    Sergio Perez: 5.6
    Kevin Magnussen: 5.5
    Valtteri Bottas: 5.5 ↓
    Pierre Gasly: 5.5 ↓
    Alexander Albon: 5.4 ↓
    Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
    Lance Stroll: 5.0 ↑
    Zhou Guanyu: 4.9
    Yuki Tsunoda: 4.9
    Mick Schumacher: 4.8
    Daniel Ricciardo: 4.5
    Nicholas Latifi: 3.8
    (‘↑↓’ trend last 3 races vs season, competed less than 3 races)

    1. So after the sunday we have seen, Ham and Alo do not increase their rating, and Max even drops 😂

      1. Both Alonso and Hamilton increased their average rating since Japan.
        The arrow is comparing the final three races versus the full season.

        1. I think his point is more that verstappen had a superb race and his rating can’t have improved on average since they gave him 7. Obviously even with an 8 it’d rise very slowly given how many races we had.

  11. You could argue semantics, but Fernando very obviously didnt “finish” 15th and behind his team mate, he was demoted post-race.

    Also, Danny Ric deserves a 2 for this weekend imo – 1 point for making the full race distance, 1 for not finishing dead last.

    1. I’m really at a loss to understand why he’s doing so badly. He’s clearly a competent driver, even if he’s not quite champion quality. Anyway, I feel like 3 is kind of the lower bound, unless you do something genuinely stupid and dangerous like deliberately driving into someone, or being so far off the pace to just be a moving chicane for other drivers to lap.

      1. He did better at monza this year, before having an issue he was running well in the points and defending well, he seems to be unable to adapt to the car at most tracks, and given how well he drove at monza last year, this doesn’t seem specific to this year.

  12. Hamilton : “disappointed by qualifying only fifth” (behind only of the pairs of ever faster cars)
    Russell : “qualified sixth, less than a tenth off his team mate”

    One disappointed by being behind the obviously faster cars, the other did good because he lost, but by less than a tenth.

    I always try to read this stuff until the end, but sometimes it is difficult. Too much random stuff to pick and make a case.

    1. The article says “disappointed to qualify only 5th”, I think it means hamilton was disappointed, not that he disappointed, and he got a significantly higher rating than russell, even though I think he should’ve got 8.

  13. On a positive note, I like the ratings very much, no confusing numbers and fair.
    We as racefans should appreciate the fact that we have a brilliant F1 website. Once in a while Keith and his partners should be acknowledged for the work they do (free for the unsubscribed).
    Of course the comments are great too, but don’t dish the site.

    1. Well said. These ratings and comments also point out the fact that everybody watches the race with a different perspective. I think it’s alway fun to see the ratings and read the comments.

    2. All I’m asking is for Will to at least acknowledge and hopefully engage with the criticism. Is that too much to ask?

      1. True, I’ve seen him answer in the past on these articles, I agree with what some people said above that you shouldn’t change ratings during a season (especially as it’s almost over), but the way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if there were no change for next season either, when if you made a poll I’m fairly sure majority would like some changes, such as a larger scale.

  14. What a joke … normal British media bias for Hamilton. 7 for him and also 7 for Verstappen, who led him, had a dodgy stop, and chased him down and passed him for the win. Get serious.

    And then there’s Schumacher 4 / Magnussen 7 … proving that Will only watches a few cars in the race (most likely Hamilton) & then just looks at the results for the rest.
    Schumacher not only got ahead of his teammate at the start, he drove away from him. Mick was in 9th place 3.8sec ahead of Kevin & pulling away, when the team decided to shuffle him back to last with another poor piece of strategy and a shocking pitstop. Without their poor effort Mick would have taken 5th or 6th.

    Watch the race Will. All of it. Subscribe o the live timing too … useful tool.

    1. Or maybe Magnussen was the only one with a one stop strategy and able to finish the race on medium with an amazing 38 lap stint while Mick was destroying his tyres.

      1. Mick had floor damage from debris.

    2. I admit I overlooked schumacher’s race, but wouldn’t really call british bias to give hamilton 7, he could’ve got an 8 this race, and these ratings generally only have 6 possible scores: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, they don’t have half points, so if you give hamilton 8 I’m not sure you can give verstappen 9 since 8,5 doesn’t exist.

      I just find a 7 low for both.

    3. Furthermore, you seem to completely overlook the car effect? Why did verstappen close up that fast? His car was still significantly quicker, even perez looked good in that red bull.

    4. Comparing the lap times, they are very similar throughout the whole race, so despite Magnussens poor start you could argue that he did put in a similar performance as Schumacher. So no one was wiping the floor with the other. Also remember that in the first part of the race Mick was benefitting from being within DRS distance to the car ahead while Magnussen was not.
      I don’t believe a 4 is completely fair either, but he did spin in Q1 and he did have a unnecessary tussle with Latifi at the end of the race. I agree Mick’s final position is due to strategy, but it was the same strategy as the rest of field so single out his strategy as poor is somewhat a stretch and Magnussen actually asked to stay out on the mediums because he believed he could make them last to the end.

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