Driver Ratings after British GP: Pérez fails to impress, Leclerc excels
F1 News
- GPblog.com
The British Grand Prix was full of excitement. Not only did Max Verstappen have to retire from the race on the opening lap after contact with his title rival, but Lewis Hamilton took the win with just a few lap remaining. These are GPblog's driver ratings.
Hamilton - 8
Hamilton had to start the race from second position and decided to attack Verstappen immediately. The Dutchman parried a number of overtaking moves, when Hamilton lunged down the inside at Copse, a collision occurred and Verstappen was forced to retire. The seven-time world champion was given a ten second penalty, but he managed to surge through the field and take the win after all.
Leclerc - 9.5
It looked like it was going to be a difficult race for Ferrari, but nothing was further from the truth. After the Hamilton-Verstappen collision, the Italian team was in the lead for almost the entire race and Charles Leclerc seemed destined to take the win. But, Hamilton overtook Leclerc a few laps before the end and kept Ferrari from a big win. It was still a very impressive first podium of the season for the Monegasque.
Bottas - 7
Whilst Sergio Pérez didn't help Verstappen in the race, Valtteri Bottas managed to stay close to his teammate. The Finnish driver once again managed to secure a podium finish, and is now closing in on Lando Norris in the world championship.
Norris - 8
Lando Norris could again be satisfied with his race on Sunday afternoon. The McLaren driver couldn't keep up with the faster Bottas, but did manage to finish fourth and gain another 12 points for the world championship. He may well have been on the podium if it wasn't for a long pit-stop.
Ricciardo - 7
Daniel Ricciardo showed at Silverstone that he is getting a better grip on his car. Although he struggled to get used to his new team at the start of the season, he drove a solid race on Sunday afternoon and secured his first top five finish of the season.
Sainz - 7.5
Like Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz also made a switch at the start of the season, and he's began the season well. After a recovery drive in the sprint race, he started in 10th, but with exceptional speed, he rose to a sixth place finish.
Alonso - 7
Alonso showed his experience once again on Sunday afternoon. After an incredible sprint race, the Spaniard finished seventh behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren and managed to stay ahead of Lando Stroll.
Stroll - 7
Stroll was more than two seconds behind Alonso, but having started down in 14th, a P8 finish was a great result. With the four points gained, he increased his lead over Esteban Ocon.
Ocon - 6
The Frenchman was two points behind Stroll before the race, and was unable to catch up with his rival. As a result, he is now four points behind the Canadia. He did, however, get back into the points.
Tsunoda - 6
Yuki Tsunoda has been out of the points more often than not this season, but at Silverstone, the Japanese driver finished tenth. This brings him to a total of ten points.
Gasly - 5
Pierre Gasly just missed the points after a late puncture. The French driver fell more than three seconds short of Tsunoda, meaning he finished the race without points.
Russell - 5.5
George Russell also missed out on points in England. The driver was close to his first point in Austria and hoped to get it in his home country, but after reaching Q£, a grid penalty hampered his chances and a 12th place was all he could deliver.
Giovinazzi - 5
Alfa Romeo could barely do anything in England. Anotinio Giovinazzi's 13th place was no surprise.
Latifi - 5
Nicholas Latifi is one of four drivers who still have no points. While his teammate Russell has narrowly missed out on points on a number of occasions, Latifi was once again far away at Silverstone.
Räikkönen - 5.5
Räikkönen only managed to score one point in Azerbaijan. At Silverstone, he came no further than 15th place, despite running in P9 at one point.
Pérez - 4
Pérez hoped to continue his good form in England, but that did not really work out. The Mexican driver had a crash in the sprint race, and had to start from the pit lane. He made his way up to 10th place, but pitted for soft tyres late on to take the fastest lap point away from Hamilton. He eventually finished in 16th and Red Bull went home without any points.
Mazepin - 5
The Haas team was again unable to surprise at Silverstone. Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher were again unable to move up from the bottom two positions. Mazepin did finish ahead of his teammate this time, however.
Schumacher - 4
Schumacher was also unable to challenge the competition. The young driver crossed the finish line in last and could again not add points to the world championship.
Vettel - 3
Vettel did not have the best race in Britain. After spinning early on when attacking Alonso, the German was forced to retire after his own mistake. As a result, he was left empty-handed after the race.
Verstappen - 5.5
Verstappen started the race from pole position. He was able to parry Hamilton's overtaking maneuvers perfectly during the first few corners, but he was unable to avoid a hard collision with Hamilton in the end. It meant the end of the race for Verstappen. Hamilton is now just eight point behind him.