RATINGS: Perfection for Leclerc; F1’s surprise package delivers again
Sergio Perez - 9
It was a classy drive from Perez to take his second victory of F1 2023. While he inherited the lead in fortunate circumstances, the victory was nothing short of deserved given he was able to pull away from his teammate.
Max Verstappen - 8.5
Verstappen was unfortunate to lose out to his teammate through the Safety Car phase. However, Perez was within DRS range before he came into the pit lane on Lap 10. Ultimately, the Mexican had the better race pace and tyre degradation - and won the sprint - hence the disparity in rating.
Charles Leclerc - 10
What more could Leclerc have done in Azerbaijan? Two pole positions, second in the sprint and a podium in the grand prix. A stunning weekend from the Ferrari driver in Baku.
Fernando Alonso - 8.5
Alonso’s weekend was compromised by a recurring DRS issue, leaving him only sixth on the grid for Sunday’s race. With tyre degradation not really a factor, he was unable to overtake Leclerc for third. Still, another strong weekend for the veteran Spaniard.
Carlos Sainz - 6
Consistently off the pace, it was a poor weekend for Sainz who levels behind teammate Leclerc throughout the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton - 8
A tidy weekend from Hamilton. Other than the Sprint Shootout on Saturday morning, the seven-time champion was the lead Mercedes driver in terms of pace.
Lance Stroll - 6
It was a scappy weekend from Stroll overall. A step behind Alonso seems to be a common trend, he clouted the barrier at one point but got away with it.
George Russell - 6
Russell only showed his best on Saturday, delivering an outstanding lap for fourth in the Sprint Shootout. Other than, it was an underwhelming weekend despite benefitting from the timely Safety Car to get ahead of Hamilton.
Lando Norris - 9
Norris got the most out of the upgraded McLaren with seventh in qualifying; ninth in the race as he lost out to the recovering Russell.
Yuki Tsunoda - 8.5
The AlphaTauri driver continues to be one of the shining lights this season. Another mature drive to come away with tenth.
Oscar Piastri - 7
Piastri didn’t quite have the pace of his more experienced teammate but he’s within touching distance unlike his predecessor. It’s also to note that the Australian was battling illness throughout the weekend.
Alex Albon - 7
Williams were disappointed not to get at least one car into Q3 as Albon missed out in conventional qualifying but did so in the less-important Sprint Shootout. Williams simply didn’t have the pace to challenge for points on race day.
Kevin Magnussen - 5.5
Magnussen was a step behind teammate Hulkenberg over one lap but had the edge on race pace, reflected in both the sprint and grand prix.
Pierre Gasly - 4
A weekend to forget for Alpine, with Gasly’s race undone by a shut in Q1 putting him at the back of the grid.
Esteban Ocon - 5.5
Ocon had a smoother run in qualifying but couldn’t make it into Q3 - a surprise given straight-line speed and efficiency is usually one of then team’s strengths. There’s not much more he could have done after starting from the pit lane.
Logan Sargeant - 4.5
Flashes of pace once again from Sargeant, but his rating is impacted by his non-participation in the sprint, which was due to his shunt in the earlier shootout.
Nico Hulkenberg - 5.0
The German shone in qualifying but struggled in the sprint leading to Haas to start him from the pit lane so they could make a number of setup changes.
Valtteri Bottas - 4.5
Bottas’ race was undone by contact with Magnussen on the opening lap. The former Mercedes driver suspects his car was damaged by the incident.
Zhou Guanyu - 5
Zhou was out-qualified by Bottas for the first time since the season-opening Bahrain GP. He got ahead of the Finn at the start and was on course to finish ahead of him before retiring late on with a technical issue.
Nyck de Vries - 2
An abysmal weekend for de Vries. Despite showing encouraging pace in practice, it all fell apart later that afternoon with a shunt in qualifying.
