F1 Driver Ratings - Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 6

A strange off weekend for Lewis Hamilton at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a track he has made his own through the years with six poles and six victories. Struggled to fourth in qualifying before losing out to Daniel Ricciardo in the race to finish fifth, albeit with a failing power unit. It’s the first time he has finished in Montreal and not been on the podium.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 8

Bottas once again was on-song while his teammate faltered, picking up his fourth runner-up finish of the season in the process. While he lacked the pace to challenge Vettel, he did well to lead Mercedes’ charge, even while managing lean fuel through the closing stages of the race. A very nice job indeed.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 9

Undoubtedly one of Sebastian Vettel’s most convincing performances in Ferrari colours, delivering the kind of crushing display that was a hallmark of his title-winning years with Red Bull. Vettel did enough but not too much, leading every lap and missing out only on a grand slam by one-tenth of a second. We’re being mean and docking him a point for being nowhere in practice, though.

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 5

Kimi Raikkonen has been on a par with Vettel for the most part of this season, yet Canada saw him revert to his 2017 state, going off the boil while his teammate excelled. Poor qualifying left him fifth before slipping to sixth at the start, with the ambitious overcut strategy not yielding any gains for Ferrari in the race. A 27-second gap to his teammate at the flag is rather damning.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 7

There was to be no repeat of Daniel Ricciardo’s magic Monaco win this time around as he was put in the shadows by teammate Max Verstappen. Still, he did well to recover from sixth on the grid to finish the race fourth, capitalising on Hamilton’s struggles and displaying a decent race pace.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull - 8

Max Verstappen looked to have a shot at becoming F1’s youngest ever pole-sitter on Saturday after leading all three practice sessions, but ultimately finished two-tenths back in P3. The Dutchman hassled Bottas well at the start but couldn’t find a way through, nor could he quite catch the Finn in the final few laps as he fuel saved. A much-needed podium to answer his critics after a rocky period.

Sergio Perez, Force India - 6

Sergio Perez was in the hunt to lead F1’s midfield in Montreal, only for a touch with Carlos Sainz Jr. on the restart after the Safety Car to send him tumbling down the field. Force India tried pitting him early, only for the strategy to backfire and leave the Mexican in need of a second stop. He ultimately finished 14th.

Esteban Ocon, Force India - 7

Ocon and Perez were evenly matched throughout the weekend in Montreal, yet it was the Frenchman who brought home the points once again. Renault had a definite edge over Force India in the race, giving him little chance of keeping Nico Hulkenberg or Carlos Sainz Jr. back. Unlike Perez, Ocon did make a bold strategy work after an early switch to Supersofts, collecting two points for P9.

Lance Stroll, Williams - 5

A home race weekend to forget for Lance Stroll. Williams’ woes left the team to drop out in Q1 once again, half a second adrift of the drivers advancing. Stroll made his usual good start, though, only for a mistake coming out of Turn 5 to result in a big crash with Brendon Hartley. Both drivers were thankfully OK, but it ended the weekend on a sour note for the local favourite.

Sergey Sirotkin, Williams - 6

Read as above for Williams’ struggles. Sergey Sirotkin was able to make it to the finish, though, albeit as the last classified driver, two laps down on Vettel. Still waiting for his first F1 points, and you’ve got to wonder just whether it’s going to happen this year.

Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault - 7

A decent display from Carlos Sainz Jr. in Canada to extend his points streak into a fifth race. Lacked the pace of teammate Nico Hulkenberg through the weekend, but was able to get the jump on Ocon in the race en route to P8, which was really the best the Spaniard could have hoped for.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault - 7

Nico Hulkenberg is doing a lot to rival Fernando Alonso as F1’s midfield king this season. After losing out to Esteban Ocon early on, Hulkenberg managed to get the place back before controlling his race well to take P7, finishing two seconds clear of Sainz in the sister Renault. 

Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso - 7

A weekend of ‘what might have been’ for Pierre Gasly and Toro Rosso in Montreal. Gasly was forced to switch back to his old-spec power unit for qualifying due to an issue, leaving him an agonising P16. Toro Rosso opted to take a penalty for a new power unit instead of doing so at Paul Ricard, with Gasly charging through the field with an excellent early stint on the Hypersofts. P11 was hard-earned, but you would not have begrudged him a point.

Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso - 6

When will things start to go right for Brendon Hartley? P11 was realistically the most he could have hoped for in qualifying given Force India and Renault’s pace, so P12 was a great result. He was then dumped out of the race by Lance Stroll after the Williams driver made an error, leaving Hartley with a trip to hospital for some scans, which came back clear. You have to feel for the under-pressure Kiwi. He was the quicker Toro Rosso driver this weekend, and really deserved a shot at some points.

Romain Grosjean, Haas - 7

Groundhog murders aside, Romain Grosjean looked in good shape in Montreal. The same could not be said of his power unit, which failed spectacularly as he left the garage in Q1, leaving him last on the grid. A long stint on the Ultrasofts (maybe too long) before a late blitz on Supersofts gave him hopes of points, but he could not find a way past Gasly, leaving him to settle for P12.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas - 6

Haas didn’t really have the pace for points in Canada, so Magnussen did well to qualify 11th. A poor start dropped him out of contention, though, with the Dane eventually crossing the line a disappointing 13th. The team will hope for better in Paul Ricard.

Fernando Alonso, McLaren - 7

On his 300th grand prix race weekend, Fernando Alonso would have hoped to celebrate with at least some points. But it wasn’t to be. McLaren expected to struggle given the low-speed weaknesses of its car, leaving Alonso 14th in qualifying. He did well to jump Charles Leclerc in the pit stops, only for an exhaust issue to forced him to retire. Would have likely scored points had it not occurred.

Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren - 6

Stoffel Vandoorne also struggled with the McLaren MCL33 in Canada, qualifying just 0.009 seconds behind Alonso in P15. The Belgian suffered a puncture on the opening lap after hitting the wall, forcing him into an early stop. His failure to get past Marcus Ericsson left him hamstrung, eventually finishing the race two laps down.

Charles Leclerc, Sauber - 8

Charles Leclerc is continuing to live up to the considerable hype surrounding him during his rookie F1 season. Leclerc managed to reach Q2 for the fourth race in a row - last achieved by a Sauber driver in 2014 - before then charging into the points, grabbing P10. He did well to keep Alonso back (again, as he did in Spain) through the first stint. Another excellent weekend for the youngster.

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber - 6

Marcus Ericsson could have joined Leclerc in Q2 had it not been for a touch with the wall in qualifying, damaging his car and leaving him 18th on the grid. Ericsson pitted at the end of the first lap and tried an ambitious one-stop strategy, but could only finish 15th.