Chinese GP driver ratings: George Russell shows he's the driver to lead Mercedes

Here are our driver ratings after the F1 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Oscar Piastri - 9

Oscar Piastri produced a tidy weekend to get his F1 title challenge back on track. He controlled the grand prix from pole position to take his third career victory.

George Russell - 9.5

George Russell continues to impress as Mercedes’ team leader. His lap in qualifying was breathtaking to split the McLarens before converting into a solid podium finish.

Lando Norris - 7

Ultimately, it was a scrappy weekend for Lando Norris. He didn’t get the most out of the McLaren in the sprint part of the weekend, making mistakes on his two qualifying laps. He then ran wide in the sprint. Russell then beat Norris in qualifying. Norris did look more comfortable in the race, but his brake issue curtailed his late-race charge.

Max Verstappen - 9.5

Max Verstappen can’t do much more in the RB21. He continued to maximise it, even though it looked like the fourth-fastest car in China. Verstappen didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend.

Esteban Ocon - 9

A spectacular recovery from Esteban Ocon and Haas after a dismal weekend in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Ocon narrowly missed out on Q3 and then converted into a top five finish after the two Ferraris were disqualified.

Kimi Antonelli - 6.5

While Antonelli came away with sixth place and driver of the day, it was an overall poor weekend for the Italian. He struggled to get the laps together in qualifying and was beaten by a Haas in the grand prix. It is worth acknowledging that Antonelli was nursing floor damage for most of the race.

Alex Albon - 8.5

Alex Albon’s strong start to the year isn’t stopping yet. He picked up another four points for Williams in Shanghai. Overall, he was the quicker of the two Williams drivers.

Oliver Bearman - 8

After making it into SQ2, Oliver Bearman would have been frustrated by his poor qualifying display on Saturday. Starting on the hard tyre, Bearman’s impressive first stint put him into points contention. He was brilliant on the mediums, pulling off some tasty overtakes.

Lance Stroll - 7.5

Lance Stroll’s performances have gone under the radar this year. He’s been a closer match for Fernando Alonso and has picked up points in the two races. While there was some good fortune due to the various disqualifications, Stroll is performing better than last year.

Carlos Sainz - 6.5

Carlos Sainz will be satisfied to leave China with his first F1 world championship point. However, his performance has been incredibly underwhelming relative to Albon.

Isack Hadjar - 7.5

Isack Hadjar was arguably the star of qualifying in Shanghai, putting his Racing Bull seventh on the grid. Unfortunately, the story of his and Yuki Tsunoda’s poor race in China was their unusual decision to opt for a two-stop strategy. It meant that Hadjar lost out on an easy points finish.

Liam Lawson - 3

Another horrible weekend for Liam Lawson. He qualified 20th in both sessions, highlighting how much he’s struggling to drive the RB21. Rumours are already emerging about a potential swap with Tsunoda for Japan.

Jack Doohan - 5.5

Jack Doohan has proven to be a relatively close match to Gasly over one lap to his credit. But it was a scrappy race from the Australian, who got involved in a needless incident with Tsunoda and picked up a 10-second time penalty as a result.

Gabriel Bortoleto - 5.5

A messy race for Gabriel Bortoleto, who spun off on the opening lap in Shanghai. The main positive for him is that he’s kept teammate Nico Hulkenberg on his toes, who is no slouch.

Nico Hulkenberg - 5.5

After a solid qualifying showing, Hulkenberg’s race was ruined after he sustained floor damage on the opening lap after running wide at Turn 1. Like Bortoleto, a tough race overall.

Yuki Tsunoda - 8

Another big missed opportunity for Tsunoda and Racing Bulls. The Japanese driver starred in the sprint, beating Antonelli to come away with a couple of points. He underperformed in qualifying as Hadjar out-performed him. Still, big points were on the table for Tsunoda if it had been for better calls on the pit wall - a familiar story at Racing Bulls.

Fernando Alonso - 5.5

Alonso was out-classed by Stroll in the sprint part of the weekend. He was able to narrowly beat his teammate in qualifying before an early retirement due to a brake issue.

Charles Leclerc - 7.5

Up until the grand prix, Charles Leclerc looked off it by his usual high standards. He struggled relative to Hamilton, who dominated the sprint race. Front wing damage sustained on Lap 1 didn’t curtail his race as he could get ahead of Hamilton and hunt down Russell. His solid race drive to fifth - later losing out to Verstappen - was all in vain, as he was disqualified due to being underweight after the race.

Pierre Gasly - 7.5

Like Leclerc, Gasly was excluded from the race results for being underweight. While he was the stronger of the two Alpine drivers, points were never on the cards in China.

Lewis Hamilton - 8

Lewis Hamilton proved he’s still got what it takes after dominating the sprint element of the weekend. He took a brilliant pole in sprint qualifying and dominated the sprint race. Hamilton out-qualified Leclerc again in  qualifying, so he would have been disappointed by a lack of pace in the race. However, his sixth-place finish would not stand after he was disqualified due to excessive plank wear, capping off a nightmare Sunday for the Scuderia.