A sometimes chaotic and controversial race weekend in Australia saw the fewest finishers of a race so far this season after multiple red flags and a melee at the final restart.
It was a challenging weekend for some near the top of the order, while others who have endured a tough start to the season found luck on their side in the Southern Hemisphere.Here are RaceFans’ driver ratings for the Australian Grand Prix.
Stars
Max Verstappen – 7/10
Qualified: Pole (+19 places ahead of team mate
Start: -2 places
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: Winner (+4 places ahead of team mate)
- Earned a €700 fine in first practice for speeding in the pit lane
- Fastest in first and third practice
- Quickest in all three qualifying phases to take pole
- Lost lead and second place at the start to the Mercedes, gaining second when Russell pitted
- Held second at the restart before breezing back into the lead the moment DRS was activated
- Easily pulled a lead over Hamilton while managing his tyres
- Brief off at turn 13 cost him a handful of seconds but did not threaten his lead
- Head the lead on the final restart and then led the field around the final lap to win his second race of the year
Verstappen looked to be in shape to cruise to victory after dominating qualifying, but after he was beaten off the line by Russell, he was nailed by Hamilton into turn two. After the restart, he simply turned up the pace when he wanted to and made one of the easiest passes for the lead in memory and never looked under threat after that. He kept his cool over the messy finish of the race to take a deserved win, but can’t earn a higher mark for losing places at the start and running off track with an unforced error later on.
Sergio Perez – 5/10
Qualified: 20th (-19 places behind team mate
Start: +2 places
Strategy: H-M-H-S-S
Finished: 5th (-4 places behind team mate)
- Behind team mate in every session
- Struggled with braking in third practice, running off track multiple times
- Eliminated first in Q1 after running into the gravel at turn three with “technical issue”
- Started from the pit lane after changing power unit components under parc ferme
- Pitted on first lap, then passed Bottas and Zhou before red flag
- Restarted 13th but dropped to 16th, then passed six cars to move into ninth
- Overtook Norris and Hulkenberg to take seventh place where he would finish, despite running off track at final restart
- Set the fastest lap of the race
Assessing Perez’s weekend comes down to how much his braking problems on Saturday were down to him and how genuine of a problem he had. Despite starting from the pit lane, he used his car’s natural speed well to make his way up the order. Seventh was a reasonable recovery, which earns him credit, but he also never looked on Verstappen’s level like he had at times over the first two rounds.
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Charles Leclerc – 5/10
Qualified: 7th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.099s)
Finished: Retired (Spin – L1)
- Qualified seventh after forgoing a build lap on final run out of fear of rain
- Started two spots behind team mate Sainz
- Retired after spinning into the gravel at turn three at the start following contact with Stroll
A fruitless weekend for Leclerc. He was audibly frustrated after qualifying he was denied the chance of a push lap which could have cost him some vital time that left him seventh on the grid. Things got no better for him as his race lasted just 26 seconds after a racing incident saw him make contact with Stroll under braking for turn three. Punishing him for it would be harsh as it was not egregious, but there was very little else to judge his weekend on.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 5/10
Qualified: 5th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.099s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 12th
- Ahead of team mate in all three qualifying phases
- Miscommunication from team cost him tyre temperature on final Q3 lap, eventually lining up fifth on the grid
- Passed Alonso for fourth at the start, then pitted under Safety Car, falling to 11th before red flag
- Overtook Piastri at the restart then passed Norris, Tsunoda, Hulkenberg and Stroll in quick succession
- Caught and passed Gasly to move back up to fourth
- Hit Alonso at the first corner on the final restart, eventually handed a five second time penalty
- Tried to spread the field behind him as much as possible at the flag but was classified 12th, last of the runners
What could have been a decent recovery to fourth after losing out with the red flag instead turned into a disaster when he hit Alonso at the first corner on the final restart. The nature of the penalty was far harsher than it typically would have been and undid all his work to climb back to that position. Was the quicker Ferrari driver of the weekend but has to lose a point due to a contentious penalty that, while harsh, seemed ultimately fair.
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George Russell – 8/10
Qualified: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.136s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: M-H
Finished: Retired (Power unit – L17)
- Secured front row grid slot ahead of team mate
- Held the inside line at the start to take the lead, heading the pack until pitting under the Safety Car
- Lost track position with the red flag and restarted in seventh, gaining two places at the restart before passing Gasly
- Suddenly lost power as his power unit failed, pulling off into retirement
If Russell felt Jeddah was his best weekend in a Mercedes, Melbourne was shaping to be even better. The closest man to Verstappen, he became one of the few to ever beat the world champion from pole to the first corner. He was unlucky with the red flag but still had time to recover, only he never got the chance to with power unit failure. He was the quicker of the two Mercedes, which means he scores higher than Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton – 7/10
Qualified: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate, +0.136s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 2nd
- Beaten to a front row start by team mate by a tenth but took third ahead of Alonso
- Was aggressive at the start to get ahead of Verstappen at turn three to take second place
- Gained the lead when team mate pitted before red flag and successfully held it at restart
- Offered little resistance to Verstappen as he lost the lead before gradually falling back from Red Bull
- Managed the gap to Alonso behind, only allowing him within DRS range twice in 40 laps
- Could not beat Verstappen to turn one at final restart and held second place for first podium of 2023
Hamilton had reasons to be cheerful in Australia and his performance earned the praise of his long-time rival Alonso, who admitted he tried all he could to catch the Mercedes over the middle of the race. Hamilton realistically could do nothing about Verstappen, but even though he took second, it’s hard not to assume Russell would have taken his place on the podium.
Esteban Ocon – 5/10
Qualified: 11th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.194s)
Start: -4 places (pitted)
Strategy: S-H-S
Finished: 14th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Missed out on Q3 in 11th place after complaining of traffic
- Started on softs and pitted under first lap Safety Car for hards, falling to 15th
- Restarted in 13th, passing Zhou, Piastri and Tsunoda to gain tenth, where he ran for most of the race
- Took the final restart from tenth but was collected by his team mate, leading to the crash that ended hope of points
Ocon’s weekend was one defined by frustration, even if he committed little in the way of errors over the three days of running. He was a little caught out by the first red flag after pitting on the first lap, but while he made progress after the restart he lacked the pace of his team mate further up the road. He wasn’t at fault for the clash with his team mate at the restart, but he had been the second-best Alpine driver up to that point.
Pierre Gasly – 6/10
Qualified: 9th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.194s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: S-H-S
Classified: 13th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Reached Q3 unlike his team mate to qualify ninth on the grid
- Gained one place at the start when Leclerc spun out, then three more thanks to the red flag to sit in fifth
- Overtaken by Russell but gained the place back when he retired, passed by Sainz but stuck with the Ferrari
- Took the final restart from fifth, but locked ran wide at turn one, losing several places and colliding with team mate
- Classified 13th ahead of team mate
A Sunday that had gone so well for so much of the race for Gasly suddenly ended in an instant, undoing all his hard work. He not only outperformed team mate Ocon but Stroll in a faster Aston Martin too. When he was passed by Sainz, Gasly stuck within DRS range of the Ferrari for 25 laps, underlining his pace. All it took was one lock up at the final restart for all of his work to come undone and he must lose a mark accordingly.
Lando Norris – 7/10
Qualified: 13th (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.209s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 6th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Reached Q2 unlike team mate, but eliminated in 13th after struggling for balance in cool conditions
- Ran 11th after the start until moving up to ninth under red flag, but lost his place to Sainz after the restart
- Passed Tsunoda for ninth and then pursued Hulkenberg for most of the race
- Overtaken by Perez, then eventually passed Hulkenberg to move up to eighth
- Took final restart from eighth, eventually picking up sixth after Gasly’s crash and Sainz’s penalty
The most Norris-like performance of the season so far – helped largely because he had no major car troubles or misfortune to contend with. Was the faster of the two McLaren drivers and steadily pulled away from his team mate three places behind him in the long green flag phase. Eventually catching and dispatching Hulkenberg was an achievement and the Alpines crashing at the end was convenient, but Norris could hold his head high after crossing the line.
Oscar Piastri – 6/10
Qualified: 16th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.209s)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: M-H-S-S
Finished: 8th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Reprimanded for failing to take chequered flag in practice before stopping for practice start
- Disappointed to be last driver eliminated in Q, lining up 16th
- Gained three places at the start and ran 13th, moving to tenth under red flag
- Lost a place to Sainz at restart, then ran behind Tsunoda before being passed by Perez and Ocon
- Eventually overtook Tsunoda to run 11th until second red flag
- Benefitted from Alpines crashing at final restart to gain eighth, taking first career points
Fittingly, the man from Melbourne’s first points in Formula 1 would come in his home city. While not able to quite match Norris over the weekend, Piastri did not look like a rookie at Albert Park, putting his car in intelligent places throughout the three grid starts. While he was fortunate to benefit from the misfortune of others and could not match his team mate’s race pace, he can be satisfied to get off the mark in such a manic race.
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Valtteri Bottas – 5/10
Qualified: 19th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.174s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: S-H-S
Finished: 11th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Eliminated slowest of drivers to set a lap in Q1
- Changed suspension setup under Parc Ferme, forcing him to start from pit lane
- Ran 18th in early laps behind team mate, then fell to rear at first restart
- Battled with De Vries, then eventually caught and passed Sargeant for 15th
- Restarted in 14th and moved back to 12th for final lap, which became 11th after Sainz’s penalty
A disappointing ‘home’ grand prix for Bottas who could not match team mate Zhou across Saturday or Sunday. Missed out on the potential benefits of his strategy of pitting on the first lap for hard tyres thanks to the red flag, but in the middle phase of the race he gradually dropped further away from his team mate two places ahead. Credited with 11th at the end, which was higher than he deserved.
Zhou Guanyu – 6/10
Qualified: 17th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.174s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: S-H-S
Finished: 9th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Disappointed to be eliminated in Q1 after reporting the car felt “completely different” to third practice
- Pitted under first lap Safety Car and lined up 15th for restart
- Gained three places at restart and ran in 12th before being passed by Ocon and Perez
- Ran 13th behind Magnussen for most of the race before Magnussen crashed in front of him
- Took final restart in 12th and was moved to tenth for the final lap finish
- Inherited ninth with Sainz’s penalty
Another weekend of Zhou out-performing his far more experienced team mate. Alfa Romeo’s upgrades did not offer them the performance boost they may have hoped for but Zhou gave himself the best chance he could with a clean afternoon in the race, making a decent start and keeping touch with Magnussen ahead of him even if he could not get close enough to pass. Was lucky to inherit points at the end, but that shows the benefits of staying out of trouble.
Lance Stroll – 4/10
Qualified: 6th (-2 places behind team mate, +0.169s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Behind team mate in every session
- Earned a fine for pit lane speeding by 0.1km/h
- Qualified sixth on the grid between the two Ferraris, then had contact with Leclerc at turn three at the start
- Dropped behind Albon before restarting fourth, dropping down to sixth
- Lost sixth to Sainz and then gained it back then Russell retired, running there for the bulk of the race
- Took final restart from sixth and ran off the road at turn three but was saved by red flag, inheriting fourth after
Despite his best result of the year, a distinctly unimpressive weekend for Stroll. Not only was he slower than his team mate at every point, he failed to make the most of his formidable car, losing places in both the first two grid starts and being passed by Sainz. He couldn’t put Gasly under sustained pressure in a faster car and was lucky his final restart error was negated. Never passed a rival the entire race.
Fernando Alonso – 7/10
Qualified: 4th (+2 places ahead of team mate, -0.169s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 3rd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Ahead of team mate in every session
- Fastest in rain-affected second practice
- Beaten by two Mercedes in qualifying but closer to Red Bull than in first two rounds to line up fourth
- Dropped behind Sainz at the start but gained two places when Russell and Sainz pitted before red flag
- Restarted third and pursued Hamilton across the middle phase of the race but not close enough to attack
- Pitched into a spin by Sainz at final restart but was put back to third by regulations to claim final podium spot
Another weekend, another podium for Alonso. Not his best weekend of the season so far, however, as he dropped a place at the start to Sainz and got a little lucky to gain third with the red flag. He admitted that he was likely stronger than Hamilton but could not pressure his old rival into a mistake. Was blameless in the contact with Sainz and was relieved to be given his place for his third straight podium. Thoroughly outperformed his team mate once again.
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Kevin Magnussen – 3/10
Qualified: 14th (-4 places behind team mate, +0.717s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: M-H
Finished: 17th (-10 places behind team mate)
- Behind team mate in every session
- Eliminated in Q2 after admitting to mistake on final push lap
- Ran 12th before first Safety Car, then lost out badly by pitting before the red flag
- Gained four places at restart and ran 14th, passing Tsunoda and Zhou
- Had Zhou in DRS range behind for multiple laps but race ended when he drove into the turn two wall unprovoked
Magnussen’s performance in Melbourne would have given him plenty to review during the long flight back to Europe. He was never on his team mate’s level all weekend and could not match Hulkenberg on the hard tyres through the bulk of the race. Coupled with a mistake in Q2 and his bizarre unforced error that ended his race mean he is one of the lowest scorers of the weekend.
Nico Hulkenberg – 8/10
Qualified: 10th (+4 places ahead of team mate, -0.717s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 7th (+10 places ahead of team mate)
- First race in Melbourne since 2019
- Ahead of team mate in every session
- Easily reached Q3 seven tenths faster than team mate, but could not match Q2 lap and lined up tenth
- Pressured Gasly for eighth before first red flag, then ran as ‘best of the rest’ in seventh ahead of Norris
- Passed by Perez to fall to eighth, the Norris to drop into ninth before second red flag
- Navigated the carnage to sit fourth before final red flag, but was repositioned to seventh for the final lap
In one weekend, Hulkenberg appeared to entirely justify Haas’ choice to bring him back as a race driver to replace Mick Schumacher. He had strong race pace to sit in seventh for the majority of the race until he was overtaken by Perez and caught by Norris. Any hopes of a possible first podium after surviving the final restart were thwarted by the red flag rules but six points for seventh was a well-deserved reward for a strong weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda – 5/10
Qualified: 12th (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.236s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: M-H-S
Finished: 10th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
- Lost track time in FP1 after damaging car in turn one spin
- Eliminated from Q2 and complained weighbridge mishap denied him a second flying lap at the end
- Ran inside top ten at the start and restarted eighth
- Gradually fell down the order, making slight contract with Piastri while fighting for tenth
- Fell to 14th before red flag, survived the chaos at the final restart to finally be credited with a point in tenth
After two 11th place finishes in a row to start the year, tenth was a welcome reward after a tough race. Ran higher on the medium tyres at the start than he probably deserved to be and was swallowed up by the midfield on the hard tyres, reflecting his car’s ultimate pace. He was an astonishing fifth at the final red flag before being returned to tenth, but that was more courtesy of others getting into trouble than any outright skill on his own.
Nyck de Vries – 5/10
Qualified: 15th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.236s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: H-M-S
Classified: 15th (-5 places behind team mate)
- Largely matched team mate during first visit to Albert Park
- Followed team mate through to Q2 but eliminated 15th after failing to optimise tyres for final run
- Faced pressure from Piastri in early laps but fell towards the back after contact with Ocon at first restart
- Complained of understeer due to front wing damage
- Traded places with Bottas in middle phase of the race before pitting for softs on lap 45 and dropping to last
- Knocked out of the race at the final restart by Sargeant into turn one
A challenging first ever race weekend in Melbourne where it felt like there was a target on his back during the race. He was pretty close to his team mate’s pace until it mattered most in qualifying and the race – although damage from a racing incident with Ocon did his car no favours. He was blameless for being knocked out by Sargeant at the final restart, but his retirement made little difference.
Alexander Albon – 4/10
Qualified: 8th (+10 places ahead of team mate, -0.595s)
Start: +2 places
Finished: Retired (Crashed – L7)
- Ahead of team mate in every timed session that both participated in
- Squeezed through to Q3 for the first time this season to qualify eighth on the grid
- Gained two places on opening lap to run between two Aston Martins in sixth
- Spun at turn six to crash out of promising position, later blamed spike in tyre temperature from previous corner
For two days and six laps of the grand prix, Alexander Albon was enjoying easily one of his best weekends in a Williams. Making full use of his car’s excellent straight line speed, he was running sixth on merit – not due to fortunate circumstance. That’s what makes his crash all the more devastating – both for his team and for his rating. Williams excused his error for a spike in tyre temperature running wide at turn five, but it would be wrong not to hold him accountable.
Logan Sargeant – 3/10
Qualified: 18th (-10 places behind team mate, +0.595s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: H-M-H-M-H-S
Classified: 16th
- Missed second practice after electrical problem struck at end of FP1
- Behind team mate in every time session both participated in
- Eliminated from Q1, ten places behind team mate
- Pitted twice to clear two compound requirement, then gained two places under first red flag
- Ran behind Magnussen and ahead of Bottas until pitting for hard tyres after being passed by Bottas, falling last
- Gained a place when De Vries pitted but ran into him at the final restart, ending both their races
A decidedly messy weekend for Sargeant from the very beginning. Denied crucial track time at a new circuit with electrical problems but that doesn’t excuse the gap to Albon on a track that suited Williams well. He learned the hard way that the mediums were not the right tyres to be on but the fact he didn’t get a penalty for crashing out De Vries is baffling. Scores lower than Albon for being so far behind him on Saturday and Sunday.
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Average 2023 F1 driver ratings so far
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2023 Australian Grand Prix
- Australian GP to forbid fans from entering track at end of this year’s race
- I only missed one chance to score points this year – Albon
- Formula 1’s stewards should listen to drivers less, not more
- Mercedes unsure whether gains seen in Melbourne were ‘track-specific’
- Why Ferrari saw a ‘real step forward in pure performance’ in point-less Australian GP
Jere (@jerejj)
4th April 2023, 7:53
Most impressed: VER, RUS, HAM, HUL, & ALB
Most disappointing: LEC, SAI, TSU, DEV, SAR, & BOT
Dex
4th April 2023, 8:14
Albon was fast, that is a plus, but he also crashed a car, which is an even bigger minus. I can’t say I’m impressed, all in all, but at least there is promise. On the other hand, we still have to compare him to a decent driver, after Verstappen he had no real reference.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th April 2023, 8:22
A bit puzzeled by some of these @jerejj
Albon and Tsunoda could almost be swapped. The Alpha tauri is probably one of the worst cars this year and I don’t think Tsunoda could have done a whole lot better. Albon crashed heavily out of the race due to a mistake. I don’t see how he can be one of the most impressive.
I also don’t really get how you can have Sainz as disappointing given where you have albon when he outqualified Leclerc, and had superb pace for most of the race and then made a mistake that just got him a 5 second penalty. It was very costly, but the mistake was nothing like as bad as what albon did. In normal circumstances, that penalty could well have cost Sainz nothing, while albon cost himself points and a race finish as well as a lot of car damage.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th April 2023, 9:32
@Dex @thegianthogweed
Albon in the first mix is down to his impressive qualifying & how he’d been doing up to his error.
On the other hand, Tsunoda was losing positions nearly lap after lap & only gained via the questionable red-flagging towards the end.
Sainz in the disappointing mix is largely down to him being unable to break free from slower cars, nor was his race pace necessarily hugely impressive relative to those ahead.
Erkr
4th April 2023, 11:48
Did you realise Tsunoda had car problems and the Alpha Tauri was one of the worst performing at Albert Park especially on straights. Give him credit
Simon
4th April 2023, 16:57
@jerejj
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MuN_lCNOhw0/maxresdefault.jpg
🙄
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th April 2023, 8:47
There seems to be quite a few negative things that are really tried to be pointed towards Stroll when some are incredibly minor. I’d say he should get a 5 rather than a 4. He looked better than Bottas despite his mistake at the end.
While it is stating a fact, I don’t really see why him making contact with leclerc needs to be mentioned in his section. Stroll got no damage and had nowhere to go. Is another part of the reason for his lower score really this? ; stating that he was speeding by practice by 0.1kmh. Is that really that bad??
I also think that after reading Leclerc’s and Stroll’s section, it does look like the blame is not being put fully on Leclerc for his retirement. Stroll had nowhere to go and was 100% innocent. It may well not be, but the point in his section does make it look like it is just another point towards the negativity of his weekend.
It mentions that he “drops behind Albon” but doesn’t mention that the cause of this was Leclerc causing him to slip up a bit which allowed albon through.
Strictly speaking – “Never passed a rival” isn’t exactly true either if i was to try and find fault in the article in a similar way to it finds fault with Stroll. He did pass Sainz in the very last stage of the race in basically the same way Albon passed him at the start. Sainz was involved in contact which made him slip, allowing Stroll passed. Just like Stroll got contacted by Leclerc, which allowed Albon through. Then both albon and Stroll went off track.
Sorry for the rant – I don’t think Stroll had a very good race, but there are far more negatives pointed towards him than I think there should be, and I think he should be ranked a little higher.
Nick T.
4th April 2023, 22:39
Yes. It’s straight up boring how much Stroll bashing there is. I’m not a fan, but to rank Bottas higher than him or just about anybody requires baked in bias and credit for previous accomplishments. He has been absolutely dreadful this season other than a very fortunate finish in the opening race.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th April 2023, 8:32
I agree with your post other than your last sentence.
Bottas has been very poor indeed this weekend, but he was great in the first race and the previous race can’t really be judged.
In Bahrain – he made the best start of anybody which was all down to him, it wasn’t fortunate. He made advantage of his first pit stop and got as high as 6th (ahead of an aston martin) on merit. That first race was really good. I don’t know how you can say he was fortunate in it.
He was poor in qualifying in Saudi Arabia but his race can’t be judged. I first thought he was poor, but then it was confirmed that he had significant damage as he ran over debris on lap one from one of the Mclarens.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he was 3 seconds slower than the leaders after pitting for fresh softs at the end of the race, I would have thought it was down to poor pace, but it was clear something was wrong by then.
This weekend, he was indeed extremely poor.
I would say his season has been mixed rather than dreadful.
slowmo (@slowmo)
4th April 2023, 8:52
I see yet again fantasy ratings based on what could have happened rather than reality. How did Russell get rated above Hamilton, he drove one lap slightly faster over the weekend and was slower than his teammate before the first stop he took and would likely have been overtaken and the race stayed green. The fact he retired early also means he didn’t earn the credit Hamilton did of driving a faultless race under pressure from Alonso.
I would also say rating Stroll a 4 when he earned 4th is a bit mental. Just for clarity he got that rating while Leclerc got a 5. Leclerc who qualified behind his own teammate AND Stroll and proceeded to put his car in a stupid position at the start where he was vulnerable to being tapped. If you rate Stroll a 4 then Leclerc is at most a 3.
Ben
4th April 2023, 14:51
+1 Russell had a solid weekend, but to place him above Hamilton is ridiculous.
Qualifying was so close between the two it’s little more than the blink of an eye. Yes, Russell was faster, but Hamilton was looking to have stronger race pace and does tend to set-up more for the race than qualifying. Russell only lasted til lap 17, whereas Hamilton had to deal with two additional re-starts and pressure from Alonso for nearly 40 laps. That to me is far more impressive than a 0.1 advantage in qualifying.
Nick T.
4th April 2023, 22:43
Yeah. These ratings are a joke. Is this another Will “Whhhheaton” Wood opinion? Reminds of the Ukraine/Russia “experts” often featured in the mainstream media.
Archibald Bumfluff
4th April 2023, 9:09
this seems a bit unfair to Gasly, he was going really well (and way better than his team-mate) until the final restart.
tielemst
4th April 2023, 11:51
Well, he did do a Bottas on the final restart that took himself and his team mate out of the race. to get more than a 6 would be odd IMO.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
4th April 2023, 13:43
He was driving a great race but you can’t overlook the blunders of his final restart. First outbraked himself and ran wide, which is somewhat forgivable, but then came back across the circuit without checking both mirrors and ended up taking out his teammate and himself. I would say he was on for about an 8 before that, but i would have docked him 3 points for those incidents probably.
Compare him to Sainz, who outperformed Leclerc all weekend, was driving a very good race to recover from the unlucky first red flag, then made a much smaller error on the restart, and Gasly’s rating actually looks generous.
Nick T.
4th April 2023, 22:44
Seems overly fair to me. He deserves a 2/10 for once again showing erratic, brainless driving.
d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
4th April 2023, 10:38
“In one weekend, Hulkenberg appeared to entirely justify Haas’ choice to bring him back as a race driver to replace Mick Schumacher.”
Looking at Magnussens recent performances one could also argue Hülkenberg replaced the wrong driver.
Nick T.
4th April 2023, 22:46
Was saying the same last season. Magnussen has made a career out of having really weak teammates and still not really standing out. Mick was better in the second half and at least had upside. What upside does Kevin have?
Bojangles
4th April 2023, 12:55
Wow, Russell rated higher than the race winner, although he only drove 8 laps and missed most of the spectacle. That is truly remarkable. I suspect some bias here…
James Bond (@jamesbond)
4th April 2023, 14:25
Agree
Ben
4th April 2023, 14:52
+1 it makes no sense.
OldIron
4th April 2023, 15:46
Max was a bit scruffy this weekend (the first Q3 laps, starts, going off track in the race). 7 seems reasonable given the details (he can easily recover places after the start so why risk damage fighting it), and the off was semi-intentional (he preferred to waste a bit of time over the grass vs damaging tyres.
George getting 8 was generous though.
Todfod (@todfod)
4th April 2023, 14:16
Agree with most of the ratings.. I think Russell and hulkenberg were mighty impressive, as was Verstappen, Alonso, Hamilton and Norris.
Personally, I thought Bottas should have been either a 3 or a 4.. and Leclerc should have been slightly lower than Sainz as well.
James Bond (@jamesbond)
4th April 2023, 14:24
IMO Hulkenberg was the only one to deserve an 8
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
8th April 2023, 23:10
Stroll deserves the bashing , piastri in 3 races has out preformed stroll as a driver IMO..imagine getting to race in F1 and no matter how bad your skills ,weekend, season is, you Will never lose your seat in a team..no other driver gets that luxury, 80% of the grid race for survival in F1..FA in his first few races in the AM has embarrassed strolll..he could race for another 100 years and he will never be good as a F1 driver..