Ratings | Irritated Verstappen and bad luck for Leclerc in Las Vegas?

Verstappen: 8

Max Verstappen recorded his 18th win of the season, but Max did not make it easy for himself. After a penalty for the incident in turn one, he had to fight back, somewhat irritated (so Jos said). In duelling with George Russell, you could see that agitation. Of course, it was Russell's fault, but a calm Max might have waited on the straight, knowing how Russell is in duels.

Leclerc: 9

Charles Leclerc took pole in Las Vegas, although he was unhappy with it. Leclerc's start was not good enough to hold off Max, but on the medium tyre, Leclerc was ultimately the better driver. The safety car threw a spanner in the works, as on older hard tyres, Leclerc was no longer a match for Verstappen. He did, however, trump Perez in the battle for P2.

Perez: 6

Sergio Perez failed to get through to Q3, not for the first time this season. His race started miserably too, when he drove into Valtteri Bottas' rear and had to replace his front wing. The safety car and good strategy from Red Bull Racing helped Perez back into the race and even into the lead, but Perez squandered it as he was unable to drive away from Leclerc. That turned to P3 when he was surprised by the Monegasque twice in the same spot.

Ocon: 7

Esteban Ocon's strong overtaking race shows how stupid it is that he went into a prestige battle with Verstappen in qualifying. Verstappen had nothing to lose. Esteban did. In the race, he came back strongly and had no regard for team orders.

Stroll: 7

A strong race from Lance Stroll, thus finishing in the top five for the second time in a row. Yet this was also due to a mistake by his teammate, as in qualifying Stroll had not made it easy for himself by qualifying almost six-tenths slower than Fernando.

Sainz: 6

Carlos Sainz was unfairly penalised for the manhole cover incident on Friday. Qualifying was strong from the Spaniard, but in the race, he was partly responsible for the chaos by tapping Lewis Hamilton and spinning himself. This made his overtaking race more difficult than it already was.

Hamilton: 6

Lewis Hamilton qualified very badly and had a difficult race. The seven-time world champion initially climbed quite well but was unlucky in a duel with Piastri in which he suffered a puncture. That Hamilton still finished ahead of his teammate in the race says it all.

Russell: 6

George Russell was very fast over one lap, but in the race, he sank further and further down. The incident with Verstappen especially hurt him, as he sustained damage and a five-second penalty. As a result, not P5 or P4 as Toto Wolff called, but an eventual P8.

Alonso: 6

A good qualifying session was followed by a disastrous start for Fernando Alonso. Normally his best part, but he briefly miscalculated the lack of grip on the inside corner. In the rest of the race, the Spaniard was unable to return to the front.

Piastri: 6

After a failed qualifying session, Oscar Piastri had a good start. The Australian quickly climbed up. However, things went wrong in the duel with Hamilton. The Briton had the inside corner, yet Piastri, like Russell, steered into Hamilton. It caused damage and a necessary pit stop. After this, the safety car came too early, and Piastri gambled on P4 to stay outside. The pace was there, but Piastri still had to compulsorily go inside. He still cleverly took the fastest lap and tenth spot on medium tyres.

Gasly: 6

Pierre Gasly had a very strong qualifying and seemed the better of the two Alpines until a change to hard tyres was made. Gasly was still hoping for team orders, but given Gasly's pace on the hard tyre, in hindsight, it is a good thing Ocon did not obey that team order. Gasly completely dropped away in the race's closing stages and even fell outside the points.

Albon: 7

A strong weekend for Alexander Albon was not rewarded with points. The Williams looked good in Las Vegas, but mainly over one lap.

Magnussen: 7

Kevin Magnussen was once again the fastest man at Haas. The Dane has not been so often in 2023, but the Haas driver felt good on the streets of Las Vegas. Points did not result.

Ricciardo: 6

Invisible weekend for the man who was just so keen to get to Las Vegas. For what it's worth, though, Daniel Ricciardo was better than his teammate this weekend.

Zhou: 6

Guanyu Zhou had a colourless weekend at the back on behalf of Alfa Romeo.

Sargeant: 7

Logan Sargeant deserves credit after his strong performance in qualifying for the Las Vegas GP. There is a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and performing in his own country is one fine achievement. It all needs much improvement, see also the pace in the race, but it was a good step in the right direction.

Bottas: 7

Valtteri Bottas was the unluckiest man after the start. The Finn had qualified so well and made no mistake in turn one. However, he received a tap from behind from Perez and was blocked from the front by Alonso. After that, Bottas never had another chance to make something of his race.

Tsunoda: 5

A lesser weekend for Yuki Tsunoda, who in Stroll's fashion, flicked his headrest out of the car and of course blamed everything and everyone else again. Emotions remain a big problem for the Japanese driver.

Hulkenberg: 5

Nico Hulkenberg concluded a lesser weekend for Haas with a retirement. Magnussen had been the better driver in every session all weekend.

Norris: 4

The crash was due to a bump, but with three free practice sessions and one qualifying session, most drivers knew that bump was there. With a full tank, Norris went over it a bit too enthusiastically anyway, losing his car.