Verstappen deals sledgehammer blow to competition in F1, Sainz also rock solid

Verstappen: 10

Max Verstappen did nothing wrong this weekend. Pole position, Grand Prix victory and the extra point for the fastest lap. The ease with which Verstappen won was particularly impressive, as was the difference compared to his teammate at Red Bull Racing.

Perez: 7

Qualifying fifth in the RB20 is not good enough for Sergio Perez, but the Mexican made up for a lot with his overtaking at the start of the race. With that, he finished as 'best of the rest', even if it was 22 seconds behind.

Sainz: 9

Carlos Sainz drove a very strong weekend in Bahrain. The Spaniard was slower than teammate Leclerc in qualifying, but in the race Sainz was clearly the better driver. Twice his teammate was favoured with an undercut, but Sainz had no mind for that. After an initial overtaking move, he simply did it again later.

Leclerc: 7

Charles Leclerc slumped during the Bahrain Grand Prix. The Monegasque had problems with the brakes in his SF-24. Possibly that explains why he was blown away by his teammate on Saturday. Still, one 'lock-up' after another was remarkable to see.

Russell: 8

George Russell had a strong weekend. The Briton qualified well ahead of his teammate and drove a strong race. His overtaking move on Leclerc was certainly worth noting. Yet he gave it away at the end, braking under pressure in Turn 10 with Leclerc just behind.

Norris: 7

Lando Norris was dissatisfied after qualifying. Once again he had squandered a good opportunity by making a mistake when it mattered. Norris was still faster than his teammate, though. In the race, Norris drove a solid but also anonymous race.

Hamilton: 6

Lewis Hamilton took a big beating from Russell in qualifying and in the race, too, Hamilton struggled to make any real progress. Starting from ninth on the grid, he managed to gain just two places.

Piastri: 6

A solid start to the new season for Oscar Piastri. His teammate was still a size too big this weekend, though.

Alonso: 7

Fine weekend for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard was the best of the two Aston Martins, but the pace of the green bolides was somewhat disappointing.

Stroll: 6

Lance Stroll did not drive a good qualifying session. By his own admission, he was held up by a Mercedes. The race then seemed quickly over after the being spun around by Hulkenberg in the first corner, but the Canadian recovered handsomely and secured another point for the British team.

Zhou: 7

Guanyu Zhou was just slightly slower than his teammate in qualifying, but deserves compliments for his race pace. The Chinese finished just short of a point.

Magnussen: 6

Kevin Magnussen had a lousy qualifying, but put things right with a good race. As such, Haas' race space seems a lot better this year.

Ricciardo: 6

After Q2, Daniel Ricciardo was dissatisfied with himself. Not least because he saw from his teammate what was possible. In the race, the Australian had some luck with his strategy and was helped ahead of his teammate by a team order.

Tsunoda: 6

Yuki Tsunoda was the better of the two Visa Cash App RB drivers this weekend, but will still have left a negative impression on the team. Again, the Japanese was not able to control his emotions, much to the displeasure of his teammate.

Albon: 7

Alexander Albon struggled with his new Williams this weekend. However, the Thai-British driver did get much more out of it than his teammate on Friday and Saturday.

Hulkenberg: 7

Nico Hulkenberg had a great qualifying session, but at the first corner dreams for a points finish could already be binned.

Ocon: 7

Esteban Ocon was the better of the two Alpines in a weekend where the lack of pace became very apparent.

Gasly: 6

Pierre Gasly had a difficult weekend at the French racing stable. Gasly was slower than Ocon on Friday and Saturday.

Bottas: 6

Valtteri Bottas was faster in qualifying than his teammate, but things did not work out in the race. First the chaos at turn one, then another super-long pit stop.

Sargeant: 6

Logan Sargeant did not start his second F1 season strongly. The American was a lot slower when he needed to be in qualifying. In the race, Sargeant experienced several problems with his car, including the 'brake-by-wire' system causing him to shoot straight through in Turn 4.