Spain driver ratings: The F1 'pay driver' who continues to go under the radar
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Max Verstappen – 10Another weekend of perfection for the reigning world champion. Pole position, race win and the fastest lap. Unstoppable.Lewis Hamilton – 9A fine weekend from Hamilton – at a circuit he’s enjoyed a lot of success historically. The main blemish on his weekend was his final Q3 lap, with a mistake at Turn 10 costing him second on the grid. Did Mercedes’ Upgrades in Monaco ACTUALLY Work?Video of Did Mercedes' Upgrades in Monaco ACTUALLY Work?George Russell – 8After a poor qualifying, Russell enjoyed a fine race day performance. He quickly made his way up the order before fending off the quicker Red Bull in the closing laps to secure his first podium of F1 2023.
Sergio Perez – 6.5Given Red Bull’s dominance this season, a third race in seven that Perez has failed to finish on the podium. He struggled for pace throughout practice while a scrappy qualifying session left him 11th on the grid. Ultimately, he was beaten by the two Mercedes drivers.Carlos Sainz – 8.5As teammate Leclerc struggled for pace, Sainz got the most out of it to secure second on the grid. Ferrari didn’t have the pace of the Red Bull or Mercedes, so dropping down to fifth was inevitable.Lance Stroll – 8This weekend was arguably Stroll’s best of the year as he out-qualified and out-raced Alonso for the first time in 2023. The Canadian ran as high as third on the opening lap but couldn’t maintain it as Aston Martin surprisingly struggled for race pace.Fernando Alonso – 7Alonso endured his worst weekend of the season with an uncharacteristic mistake in Q1. He sustained floor damage which compromised the rest of his qualifying. With Aston Martin lacking overall race pace, he could only recover to seventh behind his teammate.
Esteban Ocon – 7Another solid weekend from Ocon to bring home crucial points for Alpine to secure fifth overall in the constructors’ championship.Zhou Guanyu – 8.5Zhou was the unsung hero of the Spanish GP weekend. Quicker than Bottas in qualifying, Zhou claimed Alfa Romeo’s third points finish of the year with ninth.Related Mercedes fined €10,000 for Spanish GP parc ferme breach Horner hits back at Rosberg after Perez remarks: “You’re a critical kind of guy”Pierre Gasly – 6.5After starring in qualifying, Gasly’s good work was undone by two impeding offences, resulting in two three-place grid penalties. After a poor Lap 1, he struggled to make his way back up through the field.Charles Leclerc – 3A torrid weekend overall for Leclerc. Knocked out in Q1 – and he failed to finish inside the top 10 in the race. He will be scratching his head.Yuki Tsunoda – 7Tsunoda crossed the line in ninth but dropped outside of the points after picking up – in our opinion – a harsh five-second penalty for forcing Zhou off the track. That aside, it was another impressive weekend from the AlphaTauri driver.
Oscar Piastri – 6.5Piastri was in the battle for the top 10 in Barcelona but a subpar strategy from McLaren – stopping him later – meant he lost crucial track position.Nyck de Vries – 5A couple of spins in qualifying for de Vries. Overall, he was a step behind (again) in pace relative to Tsunoda.Nico Hulkenberg – 6.5Hulkenberg was blistering in qualifying, but lacked overall pace in the race. A story of his F1 return so far.Alex Albon – 6.5Williams didn’t have the pace in Barcelona with their lack of downforce apparent. Albon was still the quicker of the two Williamses. Kevin Magnussen – 6Slower than teammate Hulkenberg in qualifying, he fared better in the race. However, Haas were simply too slow.Lando Norris – 6After starring in qualifying, Norris’ good work was undone on the opening lap. He was caught out by Hamilton, who had to back off into the opening sequence of corners, damaging his front wing in the process.Valtteri Bottas – 4.5Bottas had great pace in practice but struggled with the handling of his Alfa Romeo in the damp conditions. He spent most of the race running at the back.Logan Sargeant – 5An unspectacular weekend from the American rookie.
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