Mexico City GP ratings: A 10/10 drive in the midfield as Russell struggles again
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Max Verstappen – 9.5The three-time world champion claimed his 16th victory of the 2023 F1 season with relative ease, finishing nearly 14 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. The only blemish on his weekend was qualifying where he was beaten by the two Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton – 9.5Like in Austin, Hamilton put together another incredible race weekend. His race performance, particularly on the medium tyre following the red flag, was mighty. A masterclass in tyre preservation from the Mercedes driver.
Charles Leclerc – 9.5Another fine weekend from Leclerc, who claimed another pole position. His two race starts were sluggish, and weirdly, his pace, relative to Sainz at least, was better when he had front wing damage early on. Still, another fine weekend from the Monegasque. Carlos Sainz – 7.5A solid weekend overall from Sainz. He was less than a tenth behind his teammate in qualifying, but did seem to struggle more on race day. In typical Sainz-fashion, he hung on well to come home with a big points haul.Lando Norris – 7.5While Norris was awarded ‘driver of the day’ for his recovery through the field, it’s fair to say Mexico was a missed opportunity given the pace of the McLaren. He was knocked out in Q1 – and that was his own fault. He then lost four positions at the second start following the red flag. A lively performance but it should have been better than fifth in Mexico.George Russell – 6.5Russell seems no closer to being able to compete with Hamilton, especially on race day. He was lacking pace and ran out of tyres by the end of it, coming under pressure from Ricciardo in the AlphaTauri.
Daniel Ricciardo – 10There’s no doubt that Ricciardo was the star of the weekend. Fourth in qualifying was backed up by seventh in the race. Had it not been for the red flag, it’s likely he’d have finished a little higher.Oscar Piastri – 7Piastri struggled once again on race day, with tyre management proving to be his achilles’ heel. Given the difference in grid position between Piastri and Norris, to be well beaten by his more experienced teammate wasn’t a good look even if he did pick up damage for the contact with Tsunoda.Alex Albon – 8.5Albon continues to get the most out of the Williams as he picked up two points and cemented seventh in the constructors’ championship for the team.Related Ricciardo hails Mexico City GP ‘the weekend I dreamed of – and we got it’ Perez defends his Lap 1 move: ‘I am proud of myself because I gave it my all’Esteban Ocon – 7Ocon was unfortunate to get knocked out of Q1 with the timing of the yellow flag not on his side. Lady luck did favour him in the race with the timing of the red flag, which allowed him to get a free pit stop. He drove well, picking off Hulkenberg to come away with a point.Pierre Gasly – 7It did look like Gasly was the quicker of the two Alpines in Mexico. However, the timing of the Safety Car / red flag cost him a chance of finishing in the points.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6.5Big points were on the table for Tsunoda in Mexico City but he misjudged his turning point when battling Piastri, spinning out and dropping well down the order. Nico Hulkenberg – 7Hulkenberg ran inside the top 10 for much of the race but his tyres went off late on, falling outside of the points.Zhou Guanyu – 5.5Zhou struggled for pace all weekend, even though he managed to make Q3 at Albon’s expense. He ran much of the race at the back.Valtteri Bottas – 6A lacklustre race from Bottas ended in contact with Stroll and a subsequent time penalty for spinning the Aston Martin.Logan Sargeant – 5.5Another weekend where Sargeant failed to make the most of Williams’ potential.
Lance Stroll – 6.5A respectable race performance from Stroll given he was quicker than Alonso. Points were never really on the table.Fernando Alonso – 6Alonso’s worst race day performance of the year as he was forced to let teammate Stroll through. It didn’t really matter though given points weren’t possible for Aston Martin.Kevin Magnussen – 5.5A step behind his teammate, Magnussen’s race ended with a frightening following suspension failure.Sergio Perez – 4It was a sad end for Perez at his home event. He was completely to blame for the Lap 1 contact with Leclerc, turning in too early.
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