F1 Driver Ratings - British Grand Prix

Following a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, Crash.net F1 Editor Luke Smith delivers his post-race driver ratings. While there are no perfect 10s this time around, there are a number of stand-out displays - and some low scores.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 9

Hamilton pulled out one of the outstanding pole position laps of his Formula 1 career during qualifying on Saturday, only to undo all of his hard work with a poor start that dropped him down to third, inadvertently leading to the clash with Kimi Raikkonen. Hamilton was able to scythe back through the field before lucking in with the Safety Car periods, eventually battling past Valtteri Bottas to grab P2 at the chequered flag.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 8

Another decent weekend from Bottas that ended not quite as he would have wished. His pace on the Medium tyre early in the second stint gave him a sniff of victory before taking a risk and staying out when Vettel pitted. Despite some brave attempts to keep the Ferrari driver back, his tyres were so worn that it was like “driving on ice”, causing him to drop back to P4. Another solid display all the same.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 9

To win at Silverstone, a track Mercedes and particularly Hamilton have made their own over the years, speaks volumes about the kind of form Sebastian Vettel is currently in. Vettel was able to capitalise on Hamilton’s poor start before controlling proceedings at the front until the first Safety Car period. After pitting for fresh tyres, Vettel was able to boldly seize the lead from Bottas with one of the moves of the season - a hard-earned victory that acted as a big statement from Ferrari.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 7

Another weekend of ups and downs for Raikkonen that ended on a high with his third straight podium finish. He came within one-tenth of pole on Saturday before his clumsy lock-up at Turn 3 sent Hamilton around, resulting in a 10-second time penalty. Despite this, Raikkonen had a decent edge on the Red Bulls, and was able to pick off the struggling Bottas in the closing stages to clinch P3.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 6

This was a weekend where Red Bull’s power deficit to the Ferrari and Mercedes-powered teams left it on the back foot, making fifth really the best result Ricciardo could have hoped for. He was left struggling with a DRS issue in qualifying before trailing teammate Max Verstappen throughout the race, only getting the jump when the Dutchman spun off the track in the closing stages.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull - 7

Verstappen arrived at Silverstone on a high following his Austria victory, but came back down to earth with a bump on a tough weekend for Red Bull. Verstappen qualified fifth before spending most of the race running third after the Raikkonen/Hamilton clash, with his defence against Raikkonen at Luffield on the first Safety Car restart showing his immense talent. A race-long brake-by-wire issue eventually forced Verstappen to retire late on, ending his streak of excellent form.

Sergio Perez, Force India - 6

A weird weekend for Sergio Perez that somehow ended in him scoring a point. After qualifying 12th, Perez had one of the strangest Turn 1 spins in recent F1 history, pirouetting across pit exit and almost taking out the Williams drivers who started from the pit lane. He managed to rise through the field from there to grab a point for P10, inherited following Pierre Gasly’s post-race penalty.

Esteban Ocon, Force India - 7

Esteban Ocon continued his recent run of good form with another decent points haul for Force India at Silverstone. After leading the team’s charge to reach Q3, Ocon picked up a couple of places on the opening lap following the Haas drivers’ clash and then held firm in P8, rising a place late on after Max Verstappen’s retirement. He’s scored points in every race he has finished since China.

Lance Stroll, Williams - 5

The Williams drivers are always difficult to rate given the underlying issues with the FW41 car, which were at their gravest at Silverstone as the updates brought only served to make the car worse, forcing the team to switch back to an old specification for the race. After starting from the pit lane, Stroll spent the bulk of the race trailing teammate Sergey Sirotkin, only getting the jump on the final restart. Even with the Safety Car bunching the field, Stroll was the second-to-last car finishing on-track, gaining P12 after Gasly’s penalty. A disappointing weekend.

Sergey Sirotkin, Williams - 5

Much the same story for Sirotkin. Unlike Stroll, he managed to wrestle his car out of the gravel following his off in qualifying to record a lap time, albeit only good enough for 18th before the change in spec forced the team into a pit lane start. Sirotkin ran ahead of Stroll for most of the race before dropping behind late on, fading to 10 seconds behind in the final 11 laps.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault - 9

Nico Hulkenberg was surprisingly upbeat for someone who had been knocked out in Q2 on Saturday, feeling 11th was a good place to be thanks to the tyre options it afforded. His confidence was justified in the race as he made a one-stop strategy work perfectly, rising up to sixth on the opening lap before owning the top midfield position through the race, even with an early stop for Hards. A stellar drive from the Renault man.

Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault - 6

A tough weekend for Carlos Sainz Jr., who missed out on Q3 for the first time this season on Saturday as traffic resigned him to P16 on the grid. The Spaniard charged to an excellent P9 on the opening lap and was on course for points before the clash with Romain Grosjean at Copse that eliminated both drivers.

Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso - 8

Pierre Gasly really did all he could to lead Toro Rosso’s charge at Silverstone, qualifying 14th on Saturday despite estimating a loss of 0.9 seconds per lap in straight line speed alone. An up-and-down race saw him sit on the fringes of the points, eventually breaching the top 10 with three laps to go after barging past Sergio Perez at Club. The stewards didn’t see the move so fondly, though, hitting him with a time penalty that dropped him to P13 in the final classification.

Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso - 6

It’s a close-run thing between Valtteri Bottas and Brendon Hartley for the title of F1’s unluckiest man. Hartley’s plight continued in FP3 as a suspension failure ruled him out of qualifying before an issue ahead of the start meant he could manage just a single lap before being forced to retire. The pace we did see on Friday wasn’t all that impressive, though.

Romain Grosjean, Haas - 6

Austria was hotting up to be the turning point in Romain Grosjean’s season, with his charge to eighth in qualifying continuing his good form. Yet it all unravelled on the opening lap as he made contact with teammate Kevin Magnussen, with both drivers falling outside the top 10 as a result. Grosjean battled to try and recover some points before his race ended in the clash with Sainz. He may have claimed to be blameless in both incidents, but two crashes in one race doesn’t do much for Grosjean.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas - 8

Magnussen was the top midfield driver in qualifying for Haas, but again saw his race hopes take a hit on the opening lap as he dropped three places to P10. Magnussen recovered decently, proving the team’s pace, and only lost out to Alonso for P8 in the closing stages after the McLaren driver made a second stop for fresh tyres.

Fernando Alonso, McLaren - 8

“Poor Saturday, great Sunday” could be the motto of Fernando Alonso’s season. He said qualifying P13 was one of his best displays of the year, such were McLaren’s struggles at Silverstone, but Alonso made a bold two-stop strategy work to recover P8 at the finish. Another well-fought race from him.

Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren - 5

Stoffel Vandoorne’s patchy form arguably hit its lowest ebb yet at Silverstone. He was nine-tenths of a second off Alonso in qualifying and spent the entirety of the race outside of the top 10, eventually being classified 11th thanks to Gasly’s late penalty. Completely anonymous once again. He needs a change of form fast.

Charles Leclerc, Sauber - 8

There’s no slowing down the Charles Leclerc hype train. After impressing through practice, Leclerc charged to his second Q3 of the season on Saturday, qualifying an impressive ninth ahead of Ocon. He dodged the first-lap drama to sit seventh and was on course for points before a loose wheel forced the Sauber driver to retire.

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber - 7

Leclerc may have been a cut above Ericsson yet again at Silverstone, but the Swede certainly didn’t shame himself with his display. He reached Q2 ahead of both Sainz and Vandoorne, and was just two seconds back from Perez after his pit stop. A slip of the finger meant he left DRS open heading into Abbey, sending the Sauber car into the wall at speed and ending any hopes of back-to-back points.