Ratings | Verstappen still best despite mistake, Perez in more trouble

Verstappen: 9

Max Verstappen made a mistake during the final part of qualifying on Friday. The Red Bull Racing driver braked at the first corner, forcing him to push extremely hard for the rest of the lap. In doing so, Verstappen went over the track limits. It made his race on Sunday more challenging. On Saturday, Verstappen did take pole and was by far the best in the sprint race. Sunday was more difficult, but Verstappen smartly drove around the braking problems to still win.

Norris: 9

Lando Norris drove a very strong weekend for McLaren. Where his teammate stole the show in Qatar, the Brit struck back this weekend. Norris qualified very strongly twice and also drove good races.

Sainz: 6

Carlos Sainz finally managed to add a podium but couldn't reflect on a very happy weekend. In both qualifying sessions, he was slower than Leclerc, as he was in the sprint race. On Sunday, Sainz drove a good race but finished ahead of Leclerc mainly because the team tried a one-stop strategy with Leclerc.

Perez: 5

Sergio Perez's name was chanted on the podium, but the Mexican was not there again. In qualifying, the teammate was again uncompetitive. In the races Perez climbed up, but given Verstappen's pace, you should have expected more than a fourth and fifth place.

Russell: 4

George Russell had a messy weekend in the United States. The Brit was slower than his teammate in every session and had conversations with the stewards due to his mistakes on the track.

Gasly: 8

A strong weekend for Pierre Gasly. He was stronger than his teammate at Alpine in every session this weekend, and due to disqualifications, it earned him quite a few points this weekend.

Stroll: 6

Lance Stroll was again slower than Fernando Alonso in most sessions but had a particularly strong race on Sunday. The Canadian saw his teammate retire with problems, but Stroll did manage to pick up some points after starting from the pits.

Tsunoda: 7

Yuki Tsunoda picked up points again for AlphaTauri and put on a good show of himself on the weekend of Ricciardo's return. Saturday was a weaker day for the Japanese driver, but he was there when the points were distributed.

Albon: 7

Alexander Albon was again the strongest Williams driver all weekend and was rewarded with a couple of points after the disqualifications.

Sargeant: 6

Logan Sargeant was again behind Albon this weekend but drove two strong races. The American could not celebrate afterwards, but his first point in F1 is in the bag.

Hulkenberg: 6

Nico Hulkenberg might have expected a bit more from Haas' updates, as he was still unable to make much headway with them in America.

Bottas: 6

After a strong weekend in Qatar, the Alfa Romeo drivers have been grounded after a lacklustre performance in the United States.

Zhou: 6

Guanyu Zhou was also unable to do much with the Alfa Romeo in Austin.

Magnussen: 6

Kevin Magnussen finished behind his teammate in the race but was also faster for a number of sessions. Points were again not forthcoming for Haas.

Ricciardo: 5

Daniel Ricciardo's return did not go great. On Friday, Ricciardo was slower than his teammate, and the difference was even greater on Sunday. The Australian drove well on Saturday, especially the qualifying part, but it didn't result in points.

Alonso: 7

Fernando Alonso was the fastest Aston Martin this weekend, but the Spaniard finished without points. The Aston Martin car was neither fast nor reliable at the Circuit of the Americas.

Piastri: 4

Oscar Piastri had a bad weekend in the United States. He wasted his qualifying on Friday and made contact in the first laps of both races. In the sprint race, Piastri lost a lot of ground, and the Grand Prix even ended in a retirement.

Ocon: 5

Esteban Ocon was slower than his teammate in every session in America and also finished without points on Sunday due to an unfortunate collision with Piastri.

Hamilton: 8

Lewis Hamilton drove a particularly strong weekend in America and could smell his first victory since 2021. Victory didn't come, and he even had his podium taken off him.

Leclerc: 7

Charles Leclerc, like Hamilton, had a good weekend that ended in the same way. Leclerc was better than Sainz in every session but was not exactly helped by his team in Sunday's race. As a result, Leclerc had already slipped further, only to have to surrender all the points not much later.