F1 Driver Ratings: Portugal 2020

Lewis Hamilton won the Portuguese Grand Prix to break Michael Schumacher’s all-time win record.

His 92nd victory in Formula 1 gives him a 77 point lead over teammate Valtteri Bottas who finished second.

Max Verstappen was third with Charles Leclerc doing wonders yet again to take fourth place.

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

2020 Portuguese Grand Prix – Portimao

Lewis Hamilton: 9.5/10

Valtteri Bottas: 7/10

Max Verstappen: 7.5/10

Charles Leclerc: 9.5/10

Pierre Gasly: 9/10

Carlos Sainz: 8/10

Sergio Perez: 9/10

Esteban Ocon: 7/10

Daniel Ricciardo: 7/10

Sebastian Vettel: 6.5/10

Kimi Räikkönen: 8.5/10

Alexander Albon: 3/10

Lando Norris: 6.5/10

George Russell: 7.5/10

Antonio Giovinazzi: 6/10

Kevin Magnussen: 5.5/10

Romain Grosjean: 5.5/10

Nicholas Latifi: 4/10

Daniil Kvyat: 3.5/10

Lance Stroll: 4/10

Lewis Hamilton’s race management is simply outstanding and he has built on this in recent years to be in a league of his own when it comes to extracting the most out of the tyres over a course of a stint.

He broke Valtteri Bottas’ heart in qualifying by pinching pole position and did not panic when he could not fire up the tyres at the start of the grand prix. It was classic Hamilton and there is no other driver who has the feel and confidence to manage their tyres like the six-time champion does.

Charles Leclerc is having a sensational season and finds himself in the fight for fourth place in the championship despite Ferrari having plenty of troubles in 2020.

I firmly believe Leclerc is the best qualifier on the grid. The way he hooks up a lap and drives to the limit of the car is special.

Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly had great races. Perez recovered from his tangle from Max Verstappen in style with no safety cars to help.

Gasly’s overtake on the Mexican was very brave after Perez defended very aggressively. He’s proving race after race that he has the talent and the former GP2 champion has made very few mistakes this year too.

Lance Stroll had a difficult weekend and his clash with Lando Norris was his fault in my opinion. A poor qualifying did not help him but his racecraft weaknesses came to life once again.

The usual gaps between Sebastian Vettel and Alexander Albon against their respective teammates is not even news anymore and it does not look like changing anytime soon either.

Portimao provided some fantastic action with brilliant battles in the midfield through several corners. Raikkonen and Sainz, Ocon and Perez and more all put on an exciting show.

Clean, hard fair racing is what draws me into motorsport and the Portuguese GP threw up plenty of that.