Chinese GP driver ratings: One F1 driver stars with another brilliant Audi audition

Max Verstappen - 10

Verstappen delivered another masterclass to take his first-ever victory in China. Red Bull did struggle in the wet conditions to get the tyres in the right window, leaving Verstappen fourth on the grid in the sprint race. He was faultless otherwise.

Lando Norris - 9

The main blemish on Norris’ weekend was his naive positioning against Hamilton on the opening lap of the sprint. Other than that, Norris was sensational as he claimed pole in sprint qualifying. His race pace in the main grand prix was superb, holding off the second Red Bull in the latter stages.

Sergio Perez - 7

A typical weekend for Perez. While he did finish on the podium, he was unable to reduce the gap to Norris once he dispatched Leclerc into Turn 6.

Charles Leclerc - 8.5

Leclerc had the edge on teammate Sainz throughout the weekend in China. Given the pace of the Ferrari, fourth was probably the maximum overall.

Carlos Sainz - 7.5

Sainz was a step behind teammate Leclerc in pace, at least in the dry. Still Sainz deserves credit for the pace he showed on his long stint on the hards in the grand prix.

George Russell - 8

Russell continues to lead Mercedes’ charge, coming away with a respectable sixth. While the sprint was more difficult for Russell, he was impressive for the remainder of the weekend.

Fernando Alonso - 8

Alonso made amends for a difficult sprint race with an outstanding lap to secure third on the grid. The race didn’t quite go to plan as Aston Martin strangely opted for the softs under the Safety Car, forcing him to make another stop.

Oscar Piastri - 7

Even without the “significant damage” Piastri picked up, it was still an underwhelming weekend for the second McLaren. He was nowhere near Norris’ level as his troubles with tyre degradation in the races continued.

Lewis Hamilton - 6.5

Hamilton was sensational during the sprint segment of the weekend, securing second behind Verstappen. Putting the “experiments” excuse to one side, Hamilton had the pace to avoid a Q1 elimination

Nico Hulkenberg - 8.5

Hulkenberg delivered another spectacular weekend for Haas. He made it into Q3 before coming away with the final point.

Esteban Ocon - 8.5

Ocon’s performances continue to go under the radar. He’s 5-0 up on Gasly in the qualifying head-to-head currently. While he did have new Alpine upgrades in China, it was still another great performance from the Frenchman.

Alex Albon - 7

Williams simply don’t have the pace to challenge for the top 10 currently. Albon continued his run of out-qualifying and out-racing teammate Sargeant.

Pierre Gasly - 6

A scrappy weekend from Gasly who continues to be a step behind teammate Ocon.

Zhou Guanyu - 6.5

Zhou drove a brilliant sprint race to finish ninth, one place outside of the points. But when it mattered, he struggled, getting knocked out in Q1 before a below par race. The car had the pace to score points in China.

Lance Stroll - 3.5

Another miserable weekend from Stroll. A lack of pace combined with one of the most amateur mistakes you’ll see in F1, clattering into the back of Ricciardo under the Safety Car.

Kevin Magnussen - 5

Magnussen’s weekend fell apart after a decent sprint, getting knocked out in Q1. He did give us the best battle of the year so far though, going side-by-side with Stroll for nearly half a lap.

Logan Sargeant - 5

Another poor weekend from Sargeant, who shows little sign of improving.

Daniel Ricciardo - 7

There’s no doubt that China was Ricciardo’s strongest weekend of the 2024 F1 season. He was consistently quick. The bad news for him is that RB was a step behind Sauber and Haas in raw pace terms, and then his race was ruined by Stroll.

Yuki Tsunoda - 5.5

A rare off weekend for Tsunoda, who wasn’t at Ricciardo’s level in Shanghai.

Valtteri Bottas - 7.5

Bottas’ misfortune continued in China with an engine failure putting him out of the race. Before that, he was running within two seconds of Hulkenberg in the fight for tenth.