F1 Driver Ratings: Canada 2019

A dramatic Canadian Grand Prix was on by Lewis Hamilton despite crossing the line behind Sebastian Vettel, after the latter was given a five second time penalty by the stewards for an unsafe re-join when he made a mistake going into the turn 3/4 chicane. Prior to that incident, the two champions gave us a fantastic battle.

Charles Leclerc finished a credible third with Valtteri Bottas far behind in 4th. It was all about Hamilton and Vettel who both showed why they are the champions they are. Both of their qualifying laps were outstanding, both drove fantastic races.

Yes, Vettel was the one who made a mistake but you have to applaud the show that Vettel and Hamilton gave us as they were on the limit and for once in this Pirelli tyre era, we saw them pushing pretty hard on a unforgiving circuit.

As always, the order below is the finishing order of the Grand Prix.

2019 Canadian Grand Prix – Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve

Lewis Hamilton: 8.5/10

Sebastian Vettel: 8/10

Charles Leclerc: 7/10

Valtteri Bottas: 5/10

Max Verstappen: 7.5/10

Daniel Ricciardo: 9/10

Nico Hulkenberg: 8/10

Pierre Gasly: 4/10

Lance Stroll: 8/10

Daniil Kvyat: 7.5/10

Carlos Sainz: 7/10

Sergio Perez: 6.5/10

Antonio Giovinazzi: 6/10

Romain Grosjean: 5.5/10

Kimi Raikkonen: 5.5/10

George Russell: 8/10

Kevin Magnussen: 3.5/10

Robert Kubica: 4/10

Alexander Albon: 5/10

RETIRED

Lando Norris: 6.5/10

Daniel Ricciardo takes his first highest rating (at least from me) this season after an exceptional weekend. His lap to qualify 4th on the grid was incredible and one if the best laps of his career. It took Ricciardo a few races to get used to the Renault team and the car but recently he has been at his best and with Renault starting to deliver in terms of the power unit, they might just break away from the midfield and can set their sites on racing with Red Bull on a weekly basis.

It was also great to see Ricciardo race very hard with Valtteri Bottas, although his late defensive moves were right on the limit (if not slightly over). I was surprised he could defend for so long but he showed his excellent racecraft to hold off Bottas for a handful of laps. Equally, teammate Nico Hulkenberg had a great weekend too – a very positive weekend for Renault as they head to their home race in France next time out.

Kevin Magnussen made a key error at the most important time of the weekend really. He carried a bit too much speed and was slightly off line, meaning he had a slide and caught the Wall of Champions, puncturing his rear right tyre, sending him into the opposite wall. This mistake ruined his weekend as he had to start from the pitlane due to a broken chassis amongst other wreckage that needed to be replaced.

After his team worked to rebuild his car, the 26-year-old made some unnecessary comments on the team radio and the Haas team principle, Gunther Steiner, had to tell Magnussen, “enough is enough.” Magnussen is an inconsistent driver and comments like that will not get him a top drive.