Singapore GP Driver Ratings: Two of F1’s best get 3/10s for shocking races
Sergio Perez - 10
Was the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix the best race of Sergio Perez’s F1 career? Probably not given that he went from the back of the grid to win at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. However, all in all, Perez resisted immense pressure all race before winning by over seven seconds. An outstanding drive.
Charles Leclerc - 9
Charles Leclerc claimed his ninth pole position of the year but once again couldn’t convert it into the victory. A poor start, particularly the second phase of it, cost him the race lead to Perez. From then on, Leclerc shadowed the Mexican but couldn’t get through despite applying a lot of pressure.
Carlos Sainz - 6
A solid result for Carlos Sainz at the Marina Bay Street Circuit but his pace was lacklustre all weekend. He held Lewis Hamilton up for the first half of the race before fending off Lando Norris - in the slower McLaren - after the Safety Car. The podium finish covers up his lack of pace on a Sunday once again.
Lando Norris - 9
Another classy drive from Lando Norris in Singapore. Cool, calm and collected. He made no mistakes and kept Verstappen at bay for over a dozen laps. Norris just needs a car that warrants his level of talent.
Daniel Ricciardo - 6
Outgoing McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed his best race of the year by finishing fifth. Ricciardo was very fortunate by the timing of the Safety Car, allowing him to jump a host of midfield cars. Generally, his overall pace was poor, which is reflected in his rating.
Lance Stroll - 7
Lance Stroll scored his best result of the year with sixth. He did benefit from the timing of the Safety Car and switched to slicks, but it was still a strong Sunday drive for the Canadian.
Max Verstappen - 3
It was the worst weekend of the season for the reigning F1 champion, but it wasn’t entirely his fault to begin with. He was forced to abort his final lap in qualifying due to a lack of fuel, putting him eighth on the grid. He made a poor start after being in the incorrect engine mode before struggling to make his way through the order. A couple of Safety Cars gave him a lifeline but he locked up heavily while driving to overtake Norris on Lap 39, ruining his chances of finishing on the podium.
Sebastian Vettel - 8
The ‘king of Singapore’ deserved more on his final outing at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The five-time Singapore GP winner was running well but lost out to Ricciardo and teammate Stroll through the Safety Car phase. He then couldn’t resist Verstappen on the final lap.
Lewis Hamilton - 3
Another driver to have a shocking race was Hamilton. After spending over half of the race stuck behind Sainz, it all went wrong when he locked up and hit the barriers at Turn 7 on Lap 33. This resulted in front wing damage and completely ruined his race. He was on to finish eighth behind Vettel but made another mistake in the closing laps, allowing Verstappen to get past.
Pierre Gasly - 7
Pierre Gasly enjoyed a solid weekend overall in Singapore. Q3 followed by a solid top 10 finish. It’s clear that AlphaTauri aren’t as competitive as they were in the last two years so it was an important result in their fight with Aston Martin and Haas in the constructors’ standings.
Valtteri Bottas - 6
Valtteri Bottas’ wet weather struggles continued in qualifying as he was knocked out in Q1. On race day, he benefited from the retirements and mayhem to move up the order, ultimately finishing 11th as he struggled for pace on the softs as his tyres degraded.
Kevin Magnussen - 6
Kevin Magnussen starred in qualifying at the Singapore Grand Prix, making only his second-ever Q3 appearance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. However, not for the first time this year, Magnussen picked up damage on the opening lap, ruining his chances of scoring points.
Mick Schumacher - 5
Mick Schumacher struggled to match teammate Magnussen’s impressive qualifying showing. The German made good progress on race day but it was undone after a collision with Russell into Turn 1. Schumacher was blameless but it did ruin his afternoon.
George Russell - 2
A disastrous weekend from Russell in Singapore. It all started in qualifying when he was knocked out in Q2, although a torque issue compromised his chances. Mercedes then decided to give him a new power unit, dropping him to the back of the grid. He then took to the escape road while trying to overtake Bottas, while a clumsy clash with Schumacher resulted in a puncture. An awful day for Russell.
Yuki Tsunoda - 3
Points were on the cards for Yuki Tsunoda in Singapore had it not been for his shunt on Lap 36 on Lap 10. An easy mistake given the conditions but a costly one given AlphaTauri’s tight fight with Haas and Aston Martin.
Esteban Ocon - 6
Esteban Ocon blamed a brake-related issue for his surprise Q1 exit in Singapore. Regardless, his Sunday was cut short by an engine issue after a puff of smoke exited the back of his Alpine on Lap 28.
Fernando Alonso - 8
Fernando Alonso believes he’s lost around 60 points through poor reliability and misfortune this year. He’s not far off as another technical issue cost him a top-six finish at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Nicholas Latifi - 2
Another abysmal weekend for Nicholas Latifi, who was consistently off the pace of teammate Albon. His race ended after colliding with the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu early on. He clearly didn’t use his mirrors and caused an unavoidable incident.
Zhou Guanyu - 6
After out-qualifying teammate Bottas for the sixth time this year, Zhou’s race ended prematurely after contact with Latifi on Lap 8. He was completely faultless in terms of the incident.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
