F1 Driver Ratings: Brazil 2019

A crazy Brazilian Grand Prix saw an astonishing podium with Max Verstappen on the top step of the podium for the third time this year.

Lewis Hamilton’s collision with Alexander Albon allowed Pierre Gasly to sneak into second place and hold off Hamilton as they had a drag race to the line in an almighty finish.

Hamilton received a five-second time penalty, demoting him to seventh place and promoting Carlos Sainz onto the podium.

It was the youngest podium in Formula One’s 70-year history and the podium drivers were all born in the 1990s.

Amazingly, it’s the first time in the turbo-hybrid era that the podium consisted non-Mercedes or Ferrari powered cars.

An extraordinary race, with plenty to talk about.

But first, here’s the driver ratings and as always, the order below is the finishing order of the Grand Prix.

2019 Brazilian Grand Prix – Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace

Max Verstappen: 9.5/10

Pierre Gasly: 10/10

Carlos Sainz: 10/10

Kimi Raikkonen: 9/10

Antonio Giovinazzi: 8/10

Daniel Ricciardo: 7.5/10

Lewis Hamilton: 6.5/10

Lando Norris: 7/10

Sergio Perez: 7/10

Daniil Kvyat: 5.5/10

Kevin Magnussen: 6.5/10

George Russell: 8/10

Romain Grosjean: 7.5/10

Alexander Albon: 8/10

Nico Hulkenberg: 5.5/10

Robert Kubica: 5/10

Sebastian Vettel: 3.5/10

Charles Leclerc: 6.5/10

Lance Stroll: 6/10

Valtteri Bottas: 6/10

It is very rare that I give 10/10s but I have given Pierre Gasly and Carlos Sainz the perfect score for their incredible performaces at the weekend.

Lets start of with Gasly. The man who got dropped from Red Bull three months ago, has now scored his maiden Formula One podium. He thoroughly deserves it too, the Frenchman has drove beautifully since re-joining Toro Rosso.

His qualifying lap was excellent and even before the carnage unfolded, Gasly’s pace was stellar. I am sure many were screaming him towards the line and even though the Honda power unit did much of the work, Gasly placed his car in the right areas throughout the final lap.

Gasly’s racecraft was poor in the first half of the season and although one lap around the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace is a small sample, Gasly seems to have made strides in that area.

As for Carlos Sainz, to drive from the back of the grid and onto the podium in a McLaren is outstanding in any circumstances. Most impressively, was the way Sainz held off cars on newer and fresher tyres at the end of the race.

Sainz pushed and conserved the tyres perfectly. His race execution was exemplary. It was Spain’s 100th podium in Formula One and a podium that McLaren have waited over five years for.

Meanwhile, race winner, Max Verstappen drove a superb race to overtake Lewis Hamilton twice and romp away with the victory. The late safety cars made Verstappen’s and Red Bull’s life a lot harder yet they reacted brilliantly.

When Verstappen came out of the pits behind Hamilton after the first pitstop, his outlap to chase down the 1.7 second gap, overtake Charles Leclerc at Juncao and then get a good enough run to ease past Hamilton was amazing.

He knew that was his best chance and he grabbed it with both hands. Later in the race, Verstappen’s second overtake on Hamilton was equally as impressive. To go around the outside of a six-time world champion and keep the car within the boundaries of the racetrack took some excellent racecraft.

Sebastian Vettel receives the lowest rating from me. I love it when teammates battle but there must be some extra caution taken so that you don’t do something silly.

To me, Leclerc left enough racing room and Vettel swiped to his right on the straight. The consequences of the smallest of hits was astonishing. Either way, it was clearly Vettel’s fault and a mistake that may ignite the relationship between Leclerc and Vettel.

I am extremely surprised that Vettel did not receive a penalty for swiping into another car in a straight line yet Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo were awarded penalties for incidents that were less severe and more clumsy rather than something silly.