2022 Mexican Grand Prix driver ratings

2022 Mexican Grand Prix

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The Mexican Grand Prix may not have been the most thrilling or eventful race of the season, but it did prove to be an interesting battle of strategies up and down the field.

Those who opted to take harder compound tyres after their first pit stops struggled to make them work, while those who took the aggressive route of using medium or even soft tyres generally found that paid dividends later in the race.

With only two drivers dropping out, the 20 drivers did a generally good job of keeping their cars on the road. But as always some did better than others. Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Hamilton did was well as he could on harder tyres

Lewis Hamilton – 7

Qualified: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.005s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 2nd (+2 places ahead of team mate)

  • First Q3 lap deleted for track limits, then missed out on front row start by five-thousandths of a second from team mate
  • Started on medium tyres and passed team mate for second in turn two on the opening lap
  • Maintained a gap of around two seconds to leader despite harder tyres before pitting after Verstappen on lap 29
  • Fitted hard tyres and rejoined six seconds behind Verstappen
  • Struggled to keep pace with Verstappen ahead on his hard tyres, slowly falling back over the course of the second stint
  • Had Perez get within two seconds but successfully kept the Red Bull out of DRS range until pulling away
  • Crossed the line to take a disappointing second place, over 15 seconds behind the winner

George Russell – 6

Qualified: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.005s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 4th (-2 places behind team mate)

  • Missed first practice to allow Nyck de Vries to drive in his place
  • Had been level with Verstappen on final Q3 lap before mistake in turn 12 cost him chance at pole
  • Lined up second on the grid on mediums and challenged Verstappen into turn one before losing places to Hamilton and Perez
  • Kept around two seconds behind Perez before the Red Bull pitted, then lobbied team to extend first stint
  • Pitted for hards from the lead on lap 34, rejoining five seconds further back from Perez in fourth
  • Slowly began to close gap to Perez over second stint but remained at least four seconds behind
  • Asked team to pit him under Virtual Safety Car but told to stay out
  • Pitted on penultimate lap for softs, remaining in fourth and finishing there
  • Comfortably claimed the fastest lap of the race on the final lap
Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
A flawlessly consistent driver from the champion

Max Verstappen – 8

Qualified: Pole (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.353s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: Winner (+2 places ahead of team mate)

  • Took pole position by three tenths despite not being quickest in a single session prior to Q3
  • Started on soft tyres and kept Russell behind him on the run to turn one to retain the lead
  • Could not drop Hamilton behind him but maintained the gap on softs until his tyres began to degrade
  • Pitted for mediums on lap 25, regaining the lead when Russell pitted for hards on lap 34
  • Maintained a consistent rhythm of 42 green flag laps in the 1’22s to grow his lead while preserving his tyres
  • Crossed the line to win by 15 seconds and set new record for most wins in a season

Sergio Perez – 6

Qualified: 4th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.353s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate)

  • Suffered an electrical problem throughout qualifying which affected DRS activation and wiped benchmark lap times
  • Beaten to fourth on the grid behind Mercedes while team mate took pole nearly half a second ahead
  • Started on softs and aggressively challenged Russell for third, taking the place into turn four
  • Could not get within DRS range of Hamilton ahead in opening sting despite softer tyres
  • Pitted first of the leaders on lap 23 for mediums but lost three seconds with a problem on the left-rear
  • Used new tyres to make up time lost and catch up to Hamilton, but could not breach his DRS range
  • Eventually began to drop away from Hamilton in the final 15 laps, crossing the line third to take another home podium

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Carlos Sainz Jr, Ferrari, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Sainz struggled slightly less than his team mate

Carlos Sainz Jnr – 6

Qualified: 5th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
-0.204s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 5th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

  • Fastest in opening practice session
  • Secured fifth on the grid two places ahead of team mate while securing likely the best position possible
  • Started on soft tyres and held position on the opening lap
  • Fell back steadily from Russell ahead but slowly grew gap over team mate behind
  • Pitted for mediums on lap 29 and passed Bottas who was yet to pit to move back up to fifth
  • Slowly increased gap over team mate but fell off over half a minute from Russell ahead
  • Crossed the line in fifth, ten seconds ahead of team mate by the chequered flag

Charles Leclerc – 5

Qualified: 7th (-2 places behind team mate)
+0.204s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 6th (-1 place behind team mate)

  • Lost control of his car at turn seven midway through second practice and wrecked the rear of his car in the barriers
  • Suffered engine problem in Q3 that cost him 15km/h on the run to the stadium, leaving him seventh on the grid
  • Started on soft tyres, picking up one position on the opening lap from Bottas
  • Ran behind team mate in first stint before pitting first for medium tyres
  • Moved back up to sixth position, gradually falling back from his team mate while comfortably ahead of Alonso behind
  • Finished a lonely sixth, ten seconds adrift of his team mate

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Lando Norris – 6

Qualified: 8th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.206s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 9th (-2 places behind team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every timed session
  • Beat team mate in qualifying by reaching Q3, then beat Alpines to secure eighth on the grid
  • Started on mediums and dropped two places on the opening lap to fall to tenth behind Ocon
  • Kept in touch with Ocon but outside of DRS range for opening stint until pitting on lap 31
  • Switched to hard tyres and rejoined in 15th before making places as cars ahead pitted
  • Moved up to tenth, then asked to allow team mate by on softer tyres
  • Caught and passed Bottas for ninth place where he finished, four seconds behind Ocon
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Ricciardo did well despite causing a clumsy collision

Daniel Ricciardo – 6

Qualified: 11th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.206s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 7th (+2 places ahead of team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every timed session
  • Just missed out on following team mate into Q3 by half-a-tenth to line up 11th on the grid
  • Started on mediums and fell two places on the opening lap to 13th behind Zhou
  • Stayed within a second of Zhou in the early laps, eventually passing him on lap nine
  • Caught up to Tsunoda who promptly pitted, then extended his opening stint before pitting himself on lap 44 for softs
  • Rejoined back in 13th place and caught Tsunoda but earned a ten second penalty with a reckless move at turn four
  • Caught team mate and was allowed through into tenth, then passed Bottas and Ocon with faster soft tyres
  • Pulled out a gap of over ten seconds to Ocon to negate his penalty and retain seventh place finish
Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Yet another problem ruined a decent race for Alonso

Fernando Alonso – 7

Qualified: 9th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.071s quicker than team mate in Q3
Classified: 19th (-11 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in all time sessions they both contested except for Q3 when he out-qualified him by a tenth
  • Started on mediums, picking up two positions on the opening lap
  • Kept Bottas behind in the early laps and ran behind the Ferraris until pitting after a long opening stint on lap 40
  • Fitted hard tyres and continued to run in seventh, pulling ahead of team mate behind
  • Lost a cylinder on his engine which cost him power down the straights and nearly two seconds a lap
  • Dropped two places to Ocon and Ricciardo before pulling off track at turn one on lap 64
  • Classified as a finisher in 19th having completed more than 90% of the race distance

Esteban Ocon – 6

Qualified: 10th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.071s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 8th (+11 places ahead of team mate)

  • Sat out of first practice for Jack Doohan
  • Quicker than team mate in every timed session except for Q3 after being beaten by a tenth
  • Started on mediums and gained one place over Norris on the opening lap
  • Fell back from Botts ahead in first stint, then pitted for hard tyres on lap 33, rejoining behind Gasly in 13th
  • Used fresh tyres to pass Gasly and then successfully overtake Bottas into the first chicane
  • Ran behind team mate in eighth until Alonso developed a problem which allowed him to take seventh
  • Lost seventh to Ricciardo on soft tyres, eventually taking eighth at the finish

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Pierre Gasly – 5

Qualified: 14th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.083s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 11th

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Knocked out of Q2 in 14th, less than a tenth behind team mate
  • Started on mediums and lost two places on the opening lap
  • Ran behind Stroll in 15th place and clumsily shoved him off at turn four, gaining the place and a five second penalty
  • Extended his first stint and pitted for softs on lap 40, emerging in 16th place behind Albon
  • Pressured Albon before following him passed Vettel, then caught and overtook the Williams for 11th with three laps to go
  • Caught Bottas on the final lap but ran out of time to challenge him, finishing just out of the points in 11th
Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Tsunoda was justified to feel angry when taken out

Yuki Tsunoda – 6

Qualified: 13th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.083s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: Retired (Crash damage – L51)

  • Ahead of team mate in every timed session
  • Missed opening practice to allow Liam Lawson to drive in his place
  • Was in the top ten for third practice and Q1, but was eliminated from Q2 in 13th after being frustrated with track position
  • Started 13th on softs and gained two places at the start
  • Ran in 11th and pitted for mediums on lap 29 when he came under pressure from Ricciardo
  • Ran behind Norris after pitting but was caught again by Ricciardo
  • Barged out of 11th place by Ricciardo at turn six, causing damage that forced him into retirement
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel did the best job on a bad weekend for his team

Sebastian Vettel – 6

Qualified: 17th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.101s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 16th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 14th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

  • Struggling with poor balance in qualifying and eliminated from Q1 in 17th, a tenth ahead of team mate
  • Started on softs in 16th, gaining two places on the opening lap
  • Used softer tyres to pull ahead of team mate and pressure Zhou ahead but couldn’t get close enough to pass
  • Pitted for mediums on lap 38 and rejoined ahead of Albon
  • Lost 12th after being passed by Albon, then lost two more place to Gasly and Zhou
  • Ran 15th but promoted one place when Alonso retired
  • Finished 14th, ten seconds ahead of team mate

Lance Stroll – 5

Qualified: 18th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.101s slower than team mate in Q1
Started: 20th (-4 places behind team mate)
Finished: 15th (-1 place behind team mate)

  • Eliminated 18th in Q1 just a tenth of a second behind team mate
  • Dropped to the back of the grid after serving three place penalty from Austin crash with Alonso
  • Started on mediums and made up five places on opening lap to move behind team mate in 15th
  • Lost a place to Gasly after being illegally shoved off track into turn four
  • Came under pressure from Albon before pitting for softs, dropping to the back
  • Overtook Magnussen to move up to 17th before pitting for a second set of softs on lap 40
  • Passed Schumacher for 16th to move behind team mate, finishing ten seconds behind in 15th

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Nicholas Latifi – 4

Qualified: 20th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.308s slower than team mate in Q1
Started: 18th (-1 place behind team mate)
Finished: 18th (-6 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Eliminated slowest in Q1 qualify 20th which became 18th after penalties for drivers ahead
  • Started on softs but lost two places on the long run to turn one, leaving him last
  • Picked up unspecified damage in his first stint which compromised his race pace
  • Overtook Magnussen on lap seven and was one of the first drivers to pit on lap 23 for hard tyres
  • Ran at the back two seconds slower than the rest of the field, then made a second stop for softs on lap 52
  • Continued to run well off the pace and finished last of the cars running in 18th, the only driver two be lapped twice
Alexander Albon, Williams, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Albon made three on-track passes on his way to 12th

Alexander Albon – 7

Qualified: 19th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.308s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 17th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
Finished: 12th (+6 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Sat out FP1 to allow future team mate Sargeant to run in his car
  • Frustrated to be knocked out of Q1 in 19th after mistake in turn seven while on track for 15th place
  • Started 17th on mediums and fell two places at the start after suffering misfire to sit in 19th
  • Overtook Magnussen and Schumacher to move up into 17th, then pressured Stroll ahead
  • Pitted for soft tyres from 14th place on lap 38, rejoining in 17th
  • Caught and passed Vettel but lost a place to Gasly in the closing laps
  • Crossed the line in 12th place two seconds behind Gasly but 11 seconds ahead of Zhou’s Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Bottas clung onto tenth despite a slow strategy

Valtteri Bottas – 7

Qualified: 6th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
-0.714s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 10th (+3 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in every session
  • Comfortably reached Q3 before out-qualifying a Ferrari to take an impressive sixth on the grid
  • Started on mediums and dropped two places to Leclerc and Alonso on the opening lap
  • Kept within DRS range of Alonso over early laps but eventually dropped back slowly to over three seconds
  • Pitted for hards on lap 39 and rejoined ahead of Ocon but was quickly overtaken into the first chicane
  • Fell back from Ocon before being caught and passed by the two McLarens
  • Held off heavy pressure from Gasly on the final lap to take final point in tenth

Zhou Guanyu – 4

Qualified: 12th (-6 places behind team mate)
+0.714s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 13th (-3 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every session
  • Just secured passage to Q2 on final lap but failed to follow team mate into Q3, eliminated in 12th
  • Maintained position at the start on mediums but later lost ninth place to Ricciardo, then withstood pressure from Vettel
  • Aided his team mate by extended his opening stint longer than anyone else to pit for softs on lap 45
  • Rejoined behind Vettel in 16th but caught and passed him with fresh softs
  • Dropped off from Gasly ahead in the final laps, eventually finishing in 13th, more than ten seconds from car ahead
  • Described the race as “one of the toughest” of his rookie season

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Mick Schumacher, Haas, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2022
Haas were in the doldrums in Mexico

Mick Schumacher – 5

Qualified: 16th (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.126s slower than team mate in Q1
Started: 15th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
Finished: 16th (+1 place ahead of team mate)

  • Knocked out of Q1 in 16th place, less than a tenth slower than team mate, after best lap was deleted for track limits
  • Started 15th on soft tyres but lost two places on the first lap
  • Fell off the back of Gasly ahead and was overtaken by Albon on lap nine
  • Pitted for mediums on lap 24 and rejoined ahead of only Latifi
  • Gained a place over Stroll when the Aston Martin pitted, but was chased down and passed on lap 51
  • Lost time to his team mate behind over the final stint but finished almost two seconds ahead in 16th

Kevin Magnussen – 5

Qualified: 15th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.126s quicker than team mate in Q1
Started: 19th (-4 places behind team mate)
Finished: 17th (-1 place behind team mate)

  • Missed first practice to allow Fittipaldi to drive his car
  • Prevented from running on his tyres in second practice due to a turbo problem from first practice
  • Beat team mate to reach Q2 but was eliminated slowest in 15th
  • Hit with a five place grid penalty for taking a sixth power unit
  • Started 19th on mediums and gained one place over Albon on the opening lap
  • Fell to last after being overtaken by Albon and Latifi
  • Pitted for softs on lap 38 and rejoined ahead of Latifi in 19th
  • Caught up to the back of his team mate but ultimately finished under two seconds behind in 17th

Over to you

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2022 Mexican 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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20 comments on “2022 Mexican Grand Prix driver ratings”

  1. Interesting how the Ferrari drivers get mediocre ratings, not sure if it’s easy to tell if that performance was down to the car or the drivers. Sainz does deserve a slightly higher rating, but why is it 6 and 5, and not 7 and 6, like it is for the Alpines?

    1. Yes, don’t disagree a lot with these ratings but I think the biggest oddity is the hardness towards ferrari driver, when the car clearly wasn’t there.

    2. harshness*

    3. drivers*, no edit button = 3 comments in this case when it could’ve been 1.

  2. YTD average based on @WillWood‘s ratings:
    Nyck de Vries: 8.0
    Max Verstappen: 7.4
    Lando Norris: 6.7
    Fernando Alonso: 6.6
    Charles Leclerc: 6.6 ↓
    Lewis Hamilton: 6.1 ↑
    George Russell: 6.1 ↓
    Esteban Ocon: 5.7 ↑
    Sebastian Vettel: 5.7 ↑
    Carlos Sainz Jnr: 5.7
    Sergio Perez: 5.7
    Valtteri Bottas: 5.6
    Alexander Albon: 5.5
    Kevin Magnussen: 5.5
    Pierre Gasly: 5.5 ↓
    Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
    Lance Stroll: 5.0
    Yuki Tsunoda: 4.9 ↑
    Zhou Guanyu: 4.9 ↓
    Mick Schumacher: 4.8
    Daniel Ricciardo: 4.6
    Nicholas Latifi: 3.9
    (‘↑↓’ trend last 3 races vs season, competed less than 3 races)

    1. You’r quick +1. This average list confirms pretty much the performance we have seen from the drivers this season

      1. Yes, the season averages are a great reflection of how everyone has done. On first glance, sainz and Perez appear rather low but that is just recency bias – they both had mediocre seasons overall.

        I was also thinking the ratings for this race are pretty much bang on. Nothing really controversial at all.

    2. 7.4 on average seems a little low for the man who won 14 races so far this season. In high school a 7.4 would be “above average” but not even “good”.

  3. I don’t agree that Russell’s weekend should be rated lower than Hamilton’s.
    Russell qualified ahead, and the turn 3 overtake by Hamilton was a bit opportunistic (if between two teams it would’ve been protested) and was the reason Perez could overtake him for third.

    1. Agreed, he was faster than Lewis in qualy and similar in race pace. The biggest difference was the start incident that shaped his entire race.

      Also, Russell really tried to go for an offbeat strategy later in the race, but the team just didn’t want to try anything different, so I’m not sure how he could have done more.

      1. I thougt he was he bit slower on race pace this weekend. I guess his carefull first corner approach determined his 4th place in the end. If only MB had given him his alternative strategy. I still don’t understand why MB overruled that call. It doesn’t make sense

  4. When I saw that the ratings were up, I clicked knowing that Alonso would receive a minimum of a 7, whatever happened in the race or the whole weekend. But seeing Alonso with a better rating than Russell is baffling, TBH.

    1. Yes, I guess they should probably have the same rating.

    2. Russel had a decent qualification but finished last of the four front runners in the race.
      Alonso beat his teammate in race and qualifications and was best of the rest by a margin before being let down by his engine, a well earned 7 in my opinion.

    3. @ahoracio
      I think it is also down to the (much discussed) current points system. If there is reason to distinguish 2 drivers, even for something minor, the result will be a full point difference. I agree with a better result for Alonso for the reasons already mentioned, although a full point is a lot.
      You could say the same between Hamilton and Russell. Russell won the Q-battle, but he failed to failed to keep Hamilton behind in that first section. By being pushed wide/avoiding contact he lost out to Perez. And the Mercedes pit calls made sure there was no option for him to gain a place back. So how do you rate that. You’d give the nod to Hamilton because points are given on race day. But was the difference a full point?

  5. Most impressed: VER, HAM, & BOT
    Most disappointing: LEC, STR, & LAT

    1. in my opinion, the only negative thing about Stroll’s weekend was his tyre management in his first stint. His qualifying was decent for the car and only was fractionally slower than vettel. His start was great and it was only a result of something that happened last weekend that stopped him jumping vettel at this stage. He had a short first stint and from then on his race seemed OK for the ability of the car.

  6. Dani Ric a 6? That’s harsh…
    Maybe a 7 because of the incident with Yuki. Otherwise a solid 8.
    He was the only one who made something happen during tbe race.

    1. Your only reasoning stated for Ricciardo deserving more seems to be that he was the only one that made something happen.

      While your negative point points out the incident. And he was the only driver to knock a driver out of the race and got a big penalty for it too.

      He was incedibly lucky that it cost him no positions at all.

      A 6 if anything could be seen as a little generous. Few drivers had the ideal strategy that he had, and it was much better than what most did. He was poor in qualifying as usual and while his overtakes were great, one was that bad that it got him a pretty big penalty.

  7. Why are backmarkers ranked worse than top and midfield drivers when they put in a performance to the cars expected abilities and the others performe the same or worse.
    Leclerc gets the same score as the Haas pairing despite binning his car and was rather far of his teammate. Gasly was also running behind his teammate in every instances and drove another driver of the track to receive a penalty.

    5 should be the average and hence more drivers should receive that score (Vettel, Perez eg.), but drivers like Gasly and Leclerc this time around should be at 4 or perhaps even 3.

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