DRIVER RATINGS: Has a 10/10 free agent blown up the driver market?

Max Verstappen - 10

Verstappen was once again faultless at Monza as he scored his first-ever victory (and podium) at the Italian Grand Prix. Red Bull focused on race preparation, explaining his inability to topple Leclerc for pole position. Like at Spa-Francorchamps, his grid penalty made no difference as he sliced through the field with ease, ultimately taking the lead of the race from Leclerc after Ferrari opted for a two-stop strategy.

Charles Leclerc - 9

Leclerc showed why he’s F1's best qualifier with another stellar lap at Monza. Unfortunately on race day, it looked like Ferrari didn’t have the race pace or tyre management to compete with Red Bull. A two-stop strategy was never going to work out and it didn’t.

George Russell - 7

Russell was fortunate to start on the front row of the grid but with his main rivals (Sainz, Hamilton and Perez) all serving engine penalties, he had an open goal in terms of the podium. The Mercedes driver didn't do too much wrong but most drivers would have finished on the podium in that position.

Carlos Sainz - 8

The Spaniard deserves a lot of credit for his quick recovery through the field, demonstrating his outstanding race craft. Sainz overtook Perez on Lap 33 when he switched onto the softs before beginning his pursuit of Russell ahead. Fourth was a fine recovery and probably the maximum result he could have achieved. 

Lewis Hamilton - 7

Hamilton wasn’t able to fly through the field like Sainz but that’s probably not a surprise given Mercedes’ average straight-line speed performance. Hamilton stayed out long on the mediums before switching onto the softs, pulling off an impressive double overtake on his way to finishing fifth.

Sergio Perez - 6

It was another woeful qualifying display from Perez as he qualified nearly one-second down on teammate Verstappen. The Mexican’s recovery on Sunday was hampered by an early pit stop onto the hards after flat-spotting his front tyres. He managed to recover to sixth but overall, another disappointing weekend.

Lando Norris - 8

A clutch issue cost Norris at the start and even forced him across the Turn 1 chicane in the opening phase of the race. Once Ricciardo and Gasly stopped for hards, Norris was able to show his true pace and potentially overcut the pack behind. Unfortunately, an untimely pit stop cost him track position but on new soft tyres, he quickly rectified McLaren’s mistake.

Pierre Gasly - 8

It’s been a tough season for Gasly and AlphaTauri but they returned to the points with a strong weekend. He qualified inside the top 10 and made the most of the penalty situation to pick up four points - moving AlphaTauri just a point behind Haas in the constructors’ championship.

Nyck de Vries - 10 

There’s no doubt that Williams were very competitive this weekend but de Vries deserves an enormous amount of credit for his F1 debut. He managed to make Q2 before finishing ninth in his first outing. A remarkable display from the Dutchman who is Mercedes’ reserve driver but, on this display, could earn himself an F1 seat for 2023.

Zhou Guanyu - 7

A welcome return to the points for Zhou at Alfa Romeo. While he did benefit from all the engine penalties to move up the grid to ninth, it’s a deserved result given his improved run of form in recent races. 

Esteban Ocon - 6

Alpine never quite had the pace at Monza despite many tipping them for a great weekend because of their strong straight-line speed. Ocon was one of the drivers hit by a big grid penalty (dropping him to 14th) but he wasn’t able to recover on race day.

Mick Schumacher - 6

Like Alpine, Haas weren’t too competitive at Monza. Schumacher was once again quicker than Magnussen, particularly as he only was out-qualified by the Dane because of a lack of practice time. Points were never on the table so it’s hard to be too harsh on the German.

Valtteri Bottas - 6

A third grid penalty in six races meant Bottas’ weekend was going to be tough. However, a poor Lap 1 (clipping the back of a slow-moving Magnussen) meant he had no chance of finishing in the top 10 like his teammate. An unfortunate Lap 1 after a solid qualifying display.

Yuki Tsunoda - 6

Tsunoda started from the back of the grid after taking new engine penalties as well as serving a 10-place grid penalty for picking up his fifth reprimand of the year. The Japanese driver ran in the fringes of the points but dropped down later on.

Nicholas Latifi - 3

Latifi was destroyed by a driver who had very limited experience in the Williams car. The writing is on the wall for Latifi and surely his F1 career will come to an end at the end of the season.

Kevin Magnussen - 4

Another scrappy race from Magnussen, who was hit with a five-second penalty early on for gaining an “unfair advantage”. He was slower than Schumacher again and didn’t feature much during the 53-lap race.

Daniel Ricciardo - 7

It was one of Ricciardo’s stronger weekends. Like in 2021, Ricciardo drove well, particularly in the first half of the race, keeping Gasly, Norris and co. behind. The Australian was going to finish in the points had it not been for a mechanical failure in the closing laps, causing the much-talked about Safety Car.

Lance Stroll - 5

Aston Martin confirmed after the race that Stroll was forced to retire as they wanted to “save engine mileage”. Before that, despite a strong grid position, Aston Martin didn’t really have the pace, being the slowest team in a straight-line.

Fernando Alonso - 8

A suspected water pressure issue cost Alonso an 11th points finish in a row. The quicker of the two Alpines at Monza.

Sebastian Vettel - 6

An ERS issue forced Vettel to retire on Lap 12. He out-qualified his teammate and was running ahead of him before his retirement after an aggressive overtake on Lap 2.