F1 Driver Ratings: Russia 2019

Mercedes continued their streak of Russian Grand Prix victories with a Lewis Hamilton victory as Ferrari self-destructed in a race they should have won.

Valtteri Bottas made it a Mercedes 1-2 for the first time since Silverstone as he held off Charles Leclerc during the final phase of the Grand Prix.

An MGU-K failure saw Sebastian Vettel retire from a race; the last time that happened was Germany 2018. Red Bull for the second weekend running did not show any signs of challenging for the podium with Ferrari and Mercedes in a league of their own.

Here’s the Driver Ratings and as always, the order below is the finishing order of the Grand Prix.

2019 Russian Grand Prix – Sochi Autodrom

Lewis Hamilton: 9.5/10

Valtteri Bottas: 6/10

Charles Leclerc: 8.5/10

Max Verstappen: 7.5/10

Alexander Albon: 6.5/10

Carlos Sainz: 9/10

Sergio Perez: 8/10

Lando Norris: 6.5/10

Kevin Magnussen: 8/10

Nico Hulkenberg: 7.5/10

Lance Stroll: 6/10

Daniil Kvyat: 6/10

Kimi Raikkonen: 4.5/10

Pierre Gasly: 6/10

Antonio Giovinazzi: 5/10

RETIRED

Robert Kubica: 4/10

George Russell: 6.5/10

Sebastian Vettel: 8/10

Daniel Ricciardo: 5.5/10

Romain Grosjean: 6/10

Lewis Hamilton takes the highest rating from the weekend. It was one of Hamilton’s best weekend’s of the year as he beat Bottas in qualifying by seven tenths of a second before staying in touch with the Ferrari drivers despite a car that was not as quick.

He is so good at chasing and keeping his tyres alive throughout a stint and put himself in a position to take advantage of the virtual safety car. Yes, he was a tad lucky but he was there to take the opportunity whereas Bottas was not.

Once he got in front, he eased away.

Carlos Sainz was excellent yet again, outperforming Lando Norris throughout the weekend. Sainz has been stellar this season and has probably been one of the best drivers this year.

The virtual safety car made and ruined some drivers’ races which makes things slightly hard to rate but, as usual, I’ve done my best and feel free to disagree!