F1 Driver Ratings from the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix
Each driver is scored out of ten with the rating being heavily weighted on their race day performance. Qualifying performance holds less weight when deciding the ratings
Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 1st, finished 1st) - 10
Another perfect weekend for the seven-time champion as he wowed in qualifying, beating F1 title rival Verstappen by over four-tenths. His life was made easier when Verstappen and Bottas were hit with penalties but he still had to nail the start with Gasly and Alonso behind on the softs. Hamilton controlled the race from the front to claim his 102nd career victory, reducing Verstappen’s lead to just eight points with two rounds to go. He’s finding his best form at just the right time.
Max Verstappen (Qualified 2nd, started 7th, finished 2nd) - 8
Verstappen did what he could in qualifying to secure a front-row starting position given Mercedes’ significant performance advantage at the Losail Circuit. He was then hit with a five-place grid penalty for ignoring double-waved yellow flags, leaving him down in seventh. It didn’t matter as he was up to third by Lap 3. Hamilton and Mercedes were in a league of their own with Verstappen running seven to eight seconds behind. He picked up the fastest lap to ensure that if he finishes second in Jeddah, he will still be leading the title race going into the season finale.
Fernando Alonso (Qualified 5th, started 3rd, finished 3rd - 10
The two-time F1 champion was the star of the weekend in Qatar. His best qualifying since his return to the sport with fifth - moving up two places on the grid due to penalties for Verstappen and Bottas. Alonso brilliantly got past Gasly on the opening lap. The Spaniard’s pace was spectacular, running well clear of Norris, Ocon and co. behind. Bottas’ puncture meant Alonso was in the fight for the podium, running 5.5s behind Perez in third. Red Bull stopped Perez again, giving Alpine an open goal to secure its second podium of the season. Alonso delivered, standing on the podium for the first time in over seven years.
Sergio Perez (Qualified 11th, finished 4th) - 7
Perez demonstrated his qualities as an F1 driver on race day with a strong fightback through the field. An early pit-stop ruined his chances of the podium as the time lost in traffic combined with Red Bull switching him to a two-stop strategy gave him a lot of work. Perez got within a couple of seconds of Alonso in third at the end of the race but it should have been another rostrum appearance for the Mexican.
Esteban Ocon (Qualified 9th, finished 5th) - 8
Ocon made the most of the soft tyres at the start, moving up to sixth. From then on, it was a lonely race for the Frenchman until Perez came up behind him. A repeat of Hungary where teammate Alonso had to fend off Hamilton to allow Ocon to take the win at the Hungaroring, the Frenchman had to defend hard from Perez to ensure his teammate secured the podium. While Ocon wasn’t able to keep Perez behind for long, the Red Bull driver still lost a couple of seconds which was crucial at the end of the race.
Lance Stroll (Qualified 12th, finished 6th) - 9
It was Stroll’s best result of the season. A strong start moved him to ninth on the opening lap, then getting past Tsunoda as he went three-wide with the AlphaTauri and Bottas. Good strategy work from Aston Martin allowed Stroll to undercut Sainz before closing in on Ocon for fifth in the closing laps.
Carlos Sainz (Qualified 7th, started 5th, finished 7th) - 8
Sainz didn’t have the pace in the first stint of the race, losing out to Ocon at the start before being overtaken by the recovering Perez. The Spaniard was then undercut by Stroll in the Aston Martin. Moving up two places thanks to Bottas and Norris’ misfortune, Sainz pressured Stroll hard for sixth in the closing laps but with the Aston Martin driver getting DRS off Ocon ahead, there was no chance to overtake.
Charles Leclerc (Qualified 13th, finished 8th) - 7
A surprisingly poor qualifying for Leclerc was explained afterwards as Ferrari revealed his chassis was cracked. Leclerc was back on form on race day, quickly settling in behind his teammate. With Ocon leading Stroll, Sainz and then Leclerc, there was no way to overtake in the DRS train.
Lando Norris (Qualified 6th, started 4th, finished 9th) - 8
Norris was running in fourth when McLaren called him in for a surprise pit stop on Lap 49. Like Bottas and the Williams duo, Norris suffered a front-left puncture. It was a strong race up until that point as he comfortably led the pack behind and on course for his best result since Monza.
Sebastian Vettel (Qualified 10th, finished 10th) - 8
A slow start from Bottas ahead left Vettel with nowhere to go, leaving him swamped as he dropped to as low as 17th early on. Aston Martin had strong race pace - proven by Stroll - allowing the four-time champion to recover to finish 10th.
Pierre Gasly (Qualified 4th, started 2nd, finished 11th) - 7
Gasly was the star of qualifying, securing fourth. Without his mistake which led to his puncture at Turn 15, he was potentially on course to beat Bottas to third. Ironically, Gasly’s stoppage led to penalties for Verstappen and Bottas, handing Gasly a surprise front-row start. The AlphaTauri driver lost out to Alonso on the opening lap before struggling for pace. The team went for a two-stop strategy which ultimately didn’t work out but its lack of pace left him 11th, unable to close in on the Aston Martin ahead.
Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 14th, finished 12th) - 5
Ricciardo slumped back to his earlier season form with a disappointing Q2 exit in Losail. His hunt for points was severely compromised by a fuel-related issue. The Australian said he had to save a considerable amount of fuel throughout the race. Regardless, an off weekend for Ricciardo.
Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 8th, finished 13th) - 6
A lack of race pace for AlphaTauri meant Tsunoda dropped through the field early on, notably, he was overtaken by both Stroll and Bottas on the same lap. The team revealed a visor tear-off became stuck on the rear wing, impacting the performance of the car but given Gasly’s lack of pace, points were never realistic for Tsunoda.
Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 16th, finished 14th) - 7
As in Brazil, Raikkonen had the upper hand over teammate Giovinazzi in qualifying and during the race. It was a quiet race for the 2007 world champion with the highlight overtaking Latifi through the opening sequence of corners.
Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 18th, finished 15th) - 6
Giovinazzi made four places at the start from 18th on the grid but couldn’t make much progress after that in what was a quiet afternoon for Alfa Romeo. A two-stop strategy ensured Giovinazzi beat Schumacher and the two Williams drivers.
Mick Schumacher (Qualified 19th, finished 16th) - 8
One of Schumacher’s strongest weekends of the season as he was just under two-tenths shy of beating one of the Alfas in qualifying. The German got ahead of Latifi at the start before running close to the two Alfa Romeos. Schumacher was only lapped once in an encouraging weekend for Haas at the Losail circuit.
George Russell (Qualified 15th, finished 17th) - 7
A puncture on Lap 51 meant Russell had to crawl back to the pits, eventually dropping behind the Haas of Schumacher. Before that, he had been running ahead of his teammate but no chance of scoring points in Qatar.
Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 20th, finished 18th) - 6
A tricky weekend for Mazepin in Qatar as he was forced to miss both FP2 and FP3. With limited track time, the Russian had no chance of getting close to Haas teammate Schumacher. After being 2.5s down on Schumacher in qualifying, the race was more encouraging for Mazepin as he was able to learn the track.
Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 17th, DNF) - 6
One of four drivers who suffered a puncture, Latifi was another driver whose race was undone as he opted for an aggressive one-stop strategy. Williams didn’t have the pace to compete with the Alfa Romeos, losing track position as Giovinazzi went for a two-stop. Latifi was forced to retire prematurely on track after his puncture.
Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 3rd, started 6th, DNF) - 6
A sluggish start from sixth on the grid - after a three-place grid penalty for a yellow flag offence in qualifying - made it a challenging opening phase for Bottas as he dropped to 11th. Once the DRS trains came to an end, Bottas made good progress through the field. An unfortunate puncture on Lap 33 as he pushed the one-stop strategy put him out of podium contention. Without it, he’d have rejoined behind Perez, but ahead of Alonso, on much fresher tyres.
