Mid Season driver ratings

[Alextrax52]

Since we’ll be without F1 for most of the month I thought I’d do a mid term report for all 20 drivers. These are just an opinion but I’ve tried to be as objective as possible. Ok let’s go.

Lewis Hamilton: 8/10:
On the face of it he and Mercedes leading their respective championships is nothing new, however this has not been the all conquering juggernaut we’ve seen in recent seasons with both driver and team having their fair share of less favourable moments. Hamilton made mistakes at Imola and Baku and got away with a red flag at the former and the fact his title rival didn’t score in the latter. At Monaco he genuinely wasn’t a factor for even the podium on pure speed. At the Second Austria race he damaged his car over the kerbs which turned a comfortable 2nd into 4th and do we really need to mention Silverstone again?

There’s still been a lot of good stuff from Lewis. His defence against a rampant Verstappen at Bahrain, his chase of the Dutchman at Spain and his charge back to the podium in Hungary all stand out but overall I have seen better seasons from him and that’s even before the turbo hybrid era

Valterri Bottas: 3
Where do we start here? A normal race sees him finish miles behind the big 2 in 3rd, a crazy race sees him make headlines for the wrong reasons. The only half decent display I’ve seen was Monaco until the wheel decided it liked his front axle so much it refused to come off. Only 1 finish higher than 3rd which had he not been disqualified would have been fewer than Vettel in the Aston Martin.

Then we had those absolute calamities in Imola when he was fighting Russell’s Williams for position before they hit each other, Baku where he had no pace, finished 12th and where his driving after safety cars reflected a man who looks fed up with Mercedes. And then yesterday’s antics where he seemingly forgot the car has a brake pedal. Shouldn’t be at Mercedes next year but probably will stay because it keeps Lewis happy.

Max Verstappen: 9
This has to be Max’s best season in F1 so far. Red Bull have finally given him a car to take it to Mercedes and he maximising it. Let’s not forget had his tyre not exploded at Baku he’d have had a run of 5 straight victories and more bad luck denied him at Hungary with Bottas’s battering ram impression. None of the incidents he’s had were his fault and I include Silverstone which was a racing incident. The last 2 races will have hurt him but he can still win this championship.

Sergio Perez: 7
For most of the time Sergio has looked like the number 2 driver Red Bull were after. His strong racecraft and tyre management were valuable strings to the Red Bull bow and he picked up the spoils in Baku. I thought France was even better from him considering he got the better of Bottas in a straight fight for the podium. Had these ratings been done at that point he’d have scored an 8 but then recently we had the aggression of the second Austria race which cost him a good result and some penalties and then there was his Silverstone shambles that followed. Throw in another dire race at Imola and I have to knock a mark off for those.

Daniel Ricciardo: 4
One of the big disappointments of the season. We were expecting Daniel to steamroller Norris and take McLaren to the next level. I don’t know whether it’s Lando stepping his own game up or the braking and cornering setup of the McLaren not suiting his style but whatever it is it’s culminated in what I believe is Daniel’s worst F1 season to date.

The worst part is whenever he looks like turning the corner he follows it up with another rotter (Spain and Monaco showed that best). He can’t even use the short pre-season and adaption period as an excuse anymore because we’re halfway into the season and the man he replaced has had a strong season with Ferrari.

The results tell the tale. Norris has only finished out of the top 5 twice including 3 podiums, Ricciardo has only finished in the top 5 once. If he doesn’t improve McLaren can kiss 3rd in the constructors goodbye.

Lando Norris: 10
Wow!! Noting short of sensational this season. Relentlessly quick and consistent, 3 podiums which were all well earned, nearly took Pole for the 2nd Austria race, often the favourite to be the best non-Mercedes/Red Bull in the race. The list goes on. Even when he’s had some woes he’s made the best of it such as Baku where he was 12th after the first lap and still made it up to 5th. Only at Spain has Lando not quite performed to the level he has shown throughout the season and his DNF in Hungary was not his fault. If he takes 3rd in the championship then he’ll win driver of the year.

Carlos Sainz: 8
I see the Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Just like his dad was in the WRC, Carlos Jr is a metronome of consistency which has meant fruitful rewards when the opportunity presents itself (Monaco and Hungary). The only major mistakes I can recall were his trip down the escape road in Baku and his qualifying crash at Hungary. Showed impressive resolve and fight in both the second Austria race and Silverstone sprint qualifying which I enjoyed a lot.

Charles Leclerc: 8.5
Both Ferrari drivers have had good seasons but I gave a higher mark to Charles because he’s had more high moments, Chiefly the 2 pole positions back to back and coming within 3 laps of victory at Silverstone. Often a safe bet to finish in the top 5 and his only bad races were France where the whole team sucked and the second Austria race where his racecraft was shoddy in trying the outside line to pass over and over again even in places where it’s impossible to do so.

Fernando Alonso: 7
Alonso started the campaign slowly much like the whole Alpine team. Ocon was outpacing him and it looked like it wasn’t going to be worth it. But ever since he snaffled 6th from the drama in Baku it seems to have rejuvenated his season having scored in every race since and we’ve seen the old swagger and sometimes borderline defensive driving return. His performance in Hungary particularly in holding off Hamilton will go down as one of my favourite moments of the year.

Esteban Ocon: 7
Had the better of Alonso to start the campaign and looked like he was relishing the challenge. Things threatened to unravel in recent races as Alonso found his feet and Ocon’s form dipped after his multi-year contract extension. His performances across both Austria races made me wonder if he’d got complacent. Then came that magic in Hungary where he didn’t put a foot wrong and took a shock but popular win. Hopefully that form will continue into the autumn

Sebastian Vettel: 6.5
Controversial it might be but I think Seb’s first season with Aston Martin has felt slightly better than it has been because of those 2 stand out moments in Baku and Hungary (even though the latter was only temporary) Let’s not forget the disastrous start to the campaign he had where teammate Stroll was faster and he was struggling to get out of Q1 and looked completely finished. It got to a point where we were all celebrating a 5th place at Monaco like he’d just won the thing. Between Baku and Hungary he was off the pace in Both Austria races and then threw away a chance at Silverstone by spinning off. He’s been inconsistent for me, some sublime flashbacks to his best days but then other days which remind me of his worst

Lance Stroll: 6.5
On the face of it having only 18 points isn’t brilliant but I also think Lance’s season has been better than the points suggest. He started the season as the faster Aston Martin driver and he’s had double the points finishes of his team-mate. Lance scored in Bahrain, Monaco, France, Austria 1 and Great Britain. All races which followed the script and weren’t chaotic. He wasn’t able to benefit from the Baku chaos like his teammate because of the puncture though it was his fault with the Hungary chaos.

Pierre Gasly: 8.5
An excellent season from Gasly so far as he continues to show his worth on the F1 grid. Other than Silverstone where the team has never really gone well in any guise he’s always been a contender for good points. Standout drives include Monaco where he got to hold off a below-par Hamilton all race, Hungary where he fought back from 12th after the restart to take 5th and of course Baku where he was fast all weekend and ended up with another podium in his cabinet. 7th at Imola wasn’t bad considering he was put on wets when it was intermediate weather either.

Yuki Tsunoda: 6.5
Announced himself with a bang in Bahrain with some strong driving and a points finish. Then had quite a dip in the following races, he made mistakes in Practice and qualifying and it culminated in an absolutely dire outing in Monaco where he finished ahead of only the Haas’s. Something had to change and relocating closer to the AlphaTauri environment has helped his form pick up somewhat with good points finishes in the chaos of Baku and Hungary pointing to a mature approach. Really needs to improve qualifying though as he hasn’t out qualified Gasly and has the biggest average deficit over all 10 teams.

Kimi Raikkonen: 4
While Alonso continues to be competitive as ever at 40, Kimi Raikkonen looks like he’s gone on a season too long. Having been quite evenly matched with Giovanazzi in the previous 2 seasons, This time around Gio has clearly had the upper hand especially in qualifying. Kimi has often gone out in Q1 while Gio has been a Q2 regular and even reached Q3 at Monaco. While he’s scored more points they both came in the craziest races of the season whereas Gio was unlucky not to finish higher than 10th on merit in the principality.

In turn for someone of his vast experience Kimi’s made a few bad errors too. A spin through the gravel at Imola, Snowploughing his teammate at the start in Portugal and then there was that bizarre incident with Sebastian Vettel at the end of the 2nd Austria race where he seemingly neglected to use his mirrors. Time for him to retire I think.

Antonio Giovanazzi: 5.5
Gio’s had his moments particularly with an impressive performance at Monaco where he reached Q3 and scored a point on merit. He’s comfortably had Kimi’s number in Qualifying as well. Otherwise it’s been an average year. Got caught up in some of the more bizarre moments too such as the punctured tyre before it even went on the car in Spain

George Russell: 7.5
Had I done this after Baku he’d have got a 5 because I wasn’t really that impressed with him. His weekends seemed to follow the same template every time: Reach Q2, have the media rave about him being “Mr Saturday” and then fade into obscurity come Sunday. Portugal in particular followed that template to the letter. I wasn’t even impressed with the reason why he got the Mr Saturday tag (given because he’s always outqualified the other Williams) because he had a handicapped Kubica and an ordinary Latifi as teammates.

Then he finished 12th in France in a race where all 20 cars finished and i said “I want to see more of that”. Then the Austria double header happens, in the first race he qualifies 11th and starts 10th and stays in the points until mechanical failure strikes. The second race sees him reach Q3 and come within 3 laps of scoring a point. His home race sees him qualify 7th for the sprint race and finish 9th before a harsh penalty sees him start and finish 12th. And then comes Hungary and he finally gets those points in a crazy race after ironically his worst qualifying result of the season. Reminder that he did all this in a Williams which is the 2nd worst car on the grid.

I used to think he was just a Saturday man, the next Jarno Trulli as it were. Maybe I was wrong.

Nicolas Latifi: 6
Done more or less what I expected of him really. Comfortably clear of the 2 Haas cars but often having a fight on to get any higher. Reached Q2 at Imola and then had his day of days in Hungary. Best part about it was he actually earned it too.

Mick Schumacher: 6.5
It was always going to be tough for Mick to shine this season with all focus at Haas on the new machines next year. Beating Mazepin was expected of him and he’s not had a lot of opportunity to achieve more than that. Reaching Q2 in France (even though he crashed), Finishing ahead of Latifi in Portugal and a good battle with an admittedly damaged Verstappen in Hungary are the 3 highlights

Nikita Mazepin: 4: Started off the season with one of the worst F1 debuts I’ve ever seen. It was like he couldn’t manage 2 corners before a spin happened in Bahrain. There was also the unpleasant defending from his team-mate at Baku which could have had appalling consequences. Aside from those incidents it’s not actually been as bad as I expected and he even beat Mick at Monaco but he has been consistently slower and a 4 may be a tad generous.

[1993DonningtonNo1Mk2]

Pierre Gasly: 8.5
An excellent season from Gasly so far as he continues to show his worth on the F1 grid. Other than Silverstone where the team has never really gone well in any guise he’s always been a contender for good points.

If, by "any guise", you're including the Minardi years then 1989 ring a bell?

[Rob Dylan]

Pierre Gasly: 8.5
An excellent season from Gasly so far as he continues to show his worth on the F1 grid. Other than Silverstone where the team has never really gone well in any guise he’s always been a contender for good points.

If, by "any guise", you're including the Minardi years then 1989 ring a bell?

At the very least you certainly have to go back quite a way if that's the most recent exception

I'll have to let the dust settle from Hungary before I put some driver ratings down, otherwise I think I'm going to be too biased from that race...

[rachel1990]

My Take on the season so far with Driver Ratings

Lewis Hamilton- 8/10- Not as imperious as previous years but still can be mightly impressive. Unlike other people in the same car (please see below) can overtake and is getting the maximum out of the car. However, I think he relies on his team too much. Sometimes he needs to take the team by the scruff of the neck and say- I am the team leader here. You need to listen to me. a case in point. Hungary. Every other driver saw the wood from the trees and pitted. Hammy was told incorrect information by the team but must have realized on the formation lap that they were wrong and he didn't pit. Yes, he wouldn't have led but he wouldn't have been last. That's just my view on it.

Valtteri Bottas- 2/10.- Has he even got a fanbase?. After years of being in the best car and doing nothing with it, these days Bottas is in the second-best car, cannot overtake, cannot drive in wet conditions, is resorting to taking half the field out to help lewis, and isn't hasn't even been in contention for 1 win so far. Yes, he was unlucky in Monaco but he was only going to be second to Max anyway. Clearly, the number 2 driver at Mercedes and has shown no reason why he should keep that seat. So of course Merc will announce his for 2022 (expect a Twitter explosion over that decision)

Max Verstappen- 9/10- Should be leading the championship by a mile. So unlucky at Baku and Hungary and arguably Britain (but I won't go there), he has taken the season by the scruff of the neck and turned it into an exciting season (who would have thought France would have been decent?). Credit where credit is due for being where he is.

Sergio Perez- 7/10- Doing what is needed at Red Bull. The team needs him there to Pick up the pieces when things go wrong for Max. And he is. Sometimes. Was very poor in Imola and Britain but he is keeping in touch with the other 3 and like his teammate has been unlucky elsewhere. Red Bull did make the right choice to drop Albon for him.

Lando Norris- 10/10- Star of the season so far (alongside Max of course) Lando is pushing the car as much as he can and his consistency had led him to 3rd in the standings ahead of the number 2 red bull and Merc. 3 podiums and was the only driver to be in the points in every race until Bottas rammed him from behind in Hungary. thrashing his teammate and is not getting the credit he deserves from quite a few people. (Uk Media for example).

Daniel Riccardo- 5/10- Disappointing. I guess we all thought Danny Ric would go straight into the Mclaren and show why he is one of the top-rated drivers in f1. Except he hasn't. I have to admit I did feel for Him when Lando Lapped him at Monaco but then again he hasn't shown the pace to compete with Lando. He has been Poor.

Sebastian Vettel- 6/10- On his top days he is good but those days are fading (not as quickly as someone below). Yes, he has had two podiums (well before he was DSQ in Hungary) but overall only 4 points finishes (again back down to 3 after the DSQ). Yes, the car hasn't been amazing but his teammate has been more consistent than him. At least Seb seems happier at Aston Martin.

Lance Stroll- 6/10- He hasn't set the world on fire but before Hungary, he was doing okay, and like I said above he is more consistent than Seb. But he still has those moments like Hungary where he rammed into Charles LeClerc. Which was a shame because Lance is usually quite good in changeable conditions. Overall he is doing okay.

Charles Leclerc 7/10- showing his Class even if his Ferrari isn't the best. 2 poles is mightly impressive, however, crashing in Monaco wasn't. Nearly won in Britain (which would have pleased me so much) and should/could have won in Hungary if it wasn't for Stroll.

Carlos Sainz 7/10- Another driver who has adapted well to a new team and a new situation. Like Charles above, Carlos is there to capitalize on others' misfortunes (Mainly Bottas's as it turns out). Overall hasn't been overwhelmed by the prancing horse and is getting the results

Esteban Ocon- 7/10- before Hungary it would be a 4 but he did win in Hungary so I have to give him a higher grade. hasn't really set the world (or track) alight so getting that massive contract from Alpine seemed a little confusing (and after that, his form nosedived anyway) but credit, where credit is due he did win the race and has had some good points finishes earlier in the season

Fernando Alonso 7/10- Oh I wished it was Fernando winning in Hungary. He has shown that Age is sometimes just a number and he has aged like a fine wine and has totally justified why Alpine brought him back. Well barring a couple of moments but everyone barring Max and Lando has had those this season.

Pierre Gasly 7/10- Um... Pierre has done well especially in qualifying and got a podium in Baku and has beaten his teammate so is doing everything expected of him. I just don't know what the long-term future is though. He is back in the discussion for a Red Bull seat (the Noise for his teammate has gone very quiet...) but I just can't see it. Willams seems a good bet maybe even alongside Bottas (especially if Willams are saying that they don't need a pay driver- Though I doubt it)

Yuki Tsunoda 5/10- Maybe expectations were too high. Has had several bad races but from Baku onwards has had mainly lower points finishes. There is no talk for a Red Bull seat for next season and that is completely correct. Let him settle into f1.

Kimi Räikkönen 3/10- it's not a great year for Finland in f1 at the moment. if last year was possibly one season too many for Kimi, then this year certainly is. Which is sad to see. Kimi has been poor through most of the season and his poor move in Portugal taking himself out of the race. If Kimi is driving for fun, I don't know why. That isn't fun anymore.

Antonio Giovinazzi 4/10- slightly better than Kimi but that's not saying much. Again been poor all season and I can't see Ferarri insisting to keep him at Alfa next season. I suspect a new lineup beckons.

George Russell- 7/10- Mr. Saturday is doing everything he can to convince Toto to get him out of Willams. Out of q1 in every race apart from Hungary (which was a blessing in disguise), George would often go down the grid during the race as quicker cars would pass him but he has held his own. Yes he did throw away points in Imloa and he did show his frustrations at Bottas but he was so unlucky not to get points in both races in Austria and France. Ironically his worst Saturday in Hungary turned out to be his best Sunday as he Finally got points for the team (but his teammate beat Him!!) Deserves to replace Bottas but HRH Lewis Hamilton does not want him at the team so he won't get the Merc drive.

Nicholas Latifi- 5/10 until Hungary he hadn't done much wrong (barring Imola) but was nowhere near his teammate. And yet he did beat him in Hungary. Typical. Um not much left to say.

Mick Schumacher- 5/10 Thrashing his teammate but that isn't hard. In the worst car in the field by a mile, Maybe Mick is trying too hard to impress meaning he is making some big mistakes. And yet he still doing okay. Was quite impressive in Hungary when he was actually racing some half-decent cars. Beating your teammate by nearly a minute in several races makes you look good.

Nikita Mazepin 4/10. Expectations were low. and he has been slow. But not as bad as we all expected. He has only retired twice and only once was it his fault, But he has only beaten Schumacher once and is usually well behind him. 20th should be named the Mazipin Spot. But only there because of the money. And its not even Subtle