F1 Driver Ratings – Italian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 9

He may have bled three points to Valtteri Bottas in the title race, but Hamilton once again was Mercedes’ top performer at Monza. Narrowly missed out on pole before giving it a good go to pass Charles Leclerc, only to be compromised by his Medium tyres that ultimately fell off the cliff. Close but no cigar – impressive at a track Ferrari was expected to dominate at.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 8

Bottas went under the radar at Monza due to the close fight between Hamilton and Leclerc at the front. He too was unfortunate to miss out on pole, lifting after Raikkonen’s spin at Parabolica, and stayed close enough to the lead two for Mercedes to put him on an alternate strategy. The tyre advantage at Monza was minimal, though, meaning he couldn’t fight through – but still a strong display to take P2.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 3

Massive marks lost for his return to the circuit at Ascari. Vettel was a step behind Leclerc all weekend. He made a poor start before his spin on Lap 6 – hardly a high-pressure moment – and then dangerously returned to the circuit, narrowly avoiding a big accident. On a weekend his teammate became the Tifosi’s new hero, Vettel has never looked less like a leader at Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 10

A gutsy, on-the-limit display to take his second grand prix victory. Charles Leclerc led Ferrari’s charge throughout the weekend, taking pole through Saturday’s Q3 farce before pulling off some bold defensive moves to keep Hamilton back. Beating a five-time world champion requires something special – and that is precisely what Leclerc delivered on Sunday. A 10/10 display.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 7

Max Verstappen’s weekend was always going to be compromised by his back-of-grid power unit penalty, but damage on the run to Turn 1 ending any real hopes of clawing back towards the head of the field. His pace was good, on a par with that of the leaders, but Verstappen could ultimately only recover to eighth.

Alexander Albon, Red Bull – 6

Albon’s second weekend in a Red Bull was again impressive, albeit with a couple of missed opportunities. Failing to set a time in Q3 was far from ideal, and while his early pass on Sainz at Roggia was ballsy, but the decision to try and hang his car around the outside at the first Lesmo was a big misjudgement, costing him places. The penalty for the Magnussen incident seemed harsh, although it made no difference to his final result, with Albon coming home sixth.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 10

A hugely impressive display from Renault at Monza, led by Daniel Ricciardo in both qualifying and the race. He put his car fifth on the grid before losing a place to Nico Hulkenberg off the start, but jumped ahead before the end of the first stint. The leading three cars were always out of reach, making fourth – aided by Red Bull’s struggles and Vettel’s mistake – a sensational result.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault – 8

Credit needs to go to Hulkenberg as well, even if he didn’t quite have the pace to match Ricciardo. He ran fourth on the first lap after jumping Ricciardo and Vettel before dropping behind his teammate, and was some 13 seconds down on the sister Renault at the finish. P5 still marks his best result this season, doing his chances of staying on the F1 grid for 2020 no harm at all.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 6

A fairly run-of-the-mill race for Kevin Magnussen and Haas: good qualifying, decent first stint (holding P10), followed by slipping back through the order after changing tyres before retiring due to an issue (this time, hydraulics).

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 5

Balance issues marred Grosjean’s race from 13th on the grid after contact on the opening lap, with a spin not aiding matters. Setup tweaks at the first stop did little to improve the situation, leaving Grosjean to trundle home in a lowly 16th.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – 7

Sainz was on course for a decent finish at Monza before a loose wheel at his pit stop forced him to retire from the race. A bold but fair defensive move had kept Albon back, and while McLaren lacked the pace of the Renaults at Monza, sixth was on the cards for Sainz, who performed solidly all weekend long.

Lando Norris, McLaren – 7

Norris recovered well from 16th on the grid after his power unit penalty, but was unfortunate not to finish higher than P10. The Virtual Safety Car negated much of the advantage he had built up over the likes of Perez and Giovinazzi, leaving him in need of a late charge to try and make up the difference. It wasn’t enough, but still a hard-earned point all the same.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point – 8

Following his Friday crash and Saturday issue, Sergio Perez could have been forgiven for wanting to write off Monza. But he fought from 18th on the grid to take a super P7, perfecting his Medium/Soft strategy. The VSC played into his hands, but the Mexican was able to use the Racing Point’s straight line speed to good effect, keeping Verstappen at bay through the final stint.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 6

Stroll had a real shot at a big breakthrough result at Monza prior to the incident with Vettel. His best qualifying result in two years was followed by a strong start to run seventh early on, only to then be sent into a spin by Vettel. Stroll also misjudged his return to the track, sending Gasly off, with the penalty ending any hopes of points.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 5

Raikkonen was accurate when he said the weekend at Monza had been “shit”. Two crashes at Parabolica – one in FP1, one in Q3 – were all on him, but the team’s mistake in changing his starting tyres meant he received a stop/go penalty in the race that ended any hopes of a recovery drive.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 8

The first Italian to race in his home grand prix for eight years, Giovinazzi put in a superb display for Alfa Romeo. Giovinazzi narrowly missed out on a place in Q3 before starting well, running as high as seventh early on. He couldn’t keep the Red Bulls or Perez back, but still held on for his best F1 finish to date in P9.

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso – 7

Kvyat was in the running for a decent haul of points at Monza, running ahead of Perez through the opening stint before benefitting from the VSC, only for an oil leak to force him to park up and retire from the race. A disappointing end to a day that held good promise.

Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso – 6

Gasly fought his way up the field after a power unit penalty meant he started 17th, only to lose heaps of time after taking evasive action with Stroll at Ascari. The Frenchman would have finished in the points otherwise, ultimately crossing the line P11.

George Russell, Williams – 8

George Russell offered a bleak outlook for Williams going into the Monza weekend, yet he was able to finish P14 and even scrapped with Vettel for position at one point. Russell ran a clean, hassle-free race, benefitting from issues for others, and can be happy with the result.

Robert Kubica, Williams – 5

A less-good day for Robert Kubica, who finished over a minute behind Russell as the last classified finisher and was more than half a second adrift in qualifying. The gap between them only appears to be getting bigger.