F1 Driver Ratings – Singapore Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 9

He may have only finished fourth, but Lewis Hamilton was impressive nonetheless in Singapore. He narrowly missed out on pole before losing out to both Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen on the undercut as Mercedes were forced into a strategic corner, leaving him almost powerless to finish on the podium still. If he’d pitted one lap earlier, he could have won.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 7

A step behind Hamilton throughout the weekend, Valtteri Bottas was left largely in his teammate’s shadow. A mix-up in Q3 caused Hamilton to hamper Bottas’ preparation for his final lap, apparently explaining the 0.7s gap between them, and he was told to ease his pace in the race to avoid undercutting Hamilton as Mercedes tried going long. P5 was all he could muster in the end.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 9

Shades of the ‘old Sebastian Vettel’ came through in Singapore as he snared his fifth victory at Marina Bay. He was on course for pole before a scruffy final Q3 lap (hence not a 10), but perfected his strategy and smashed his outlap to gain nearly four seconds on the undercut, paving the way for victory. He came under pressure late on but always kept his head – something he deserves credit for after a tough spell.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 10

Even without winning the race, it is really hard to find fault with Charles Leclerc’s race weekend. He was mighty in qualifying to bag his fifth pole of the year, and controlled the field well early on. The undercut caught everyone – including Ferrari – by surprise, costing Leclerc the lead and ultimately the win to Vettel, but he cannot be blamed for that.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 8

A quiet weekend for Verstappen and Red Bull given their high expectations heading to Singapore, but he still came away having outstripped the performance of the RB15 car yet again to grab a podium finish. Verstappen did well to stick his car on the second row in qualifying before undercutting Hamilton to take P3, soaking up some late pressure from the Mercedes driver. A tidy haul of points.

Alexander Albon, Red Bull – 7

For only his third race in Red Bull colours, Albon did well to keep Verstappen in sight for much of the weekend. He qualified and finished sixth, sitting on Bottas’ diffuser for much of the race as the pace of the pack was managed, leaving few options to move forward. A good score where he was firmly in the lead pack.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 7

Poor Daniel Ricciardo. Singapore held so much promise after he qualified eighth for Renault, only to be excluded when his MGU-K was found to have spiked on power. Ricciardo called the ruling “disgraceful” after the race, but had done his best to fight back through with a number of early overtakes. A run into the points looked on before contact with Antonio Giovinazzi left him with a puncture in a 50-50 move.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault – 6

Hulkenberg didn’t quite have the pace of Ricciardo in qualifying, and suffered an early setback when he punted into Carlos Sainz in the opening stages, causing a puncture that forced him to stop early. The inadvertent undercut worked to gain the places back before pitting for a second time under the Safety Car, allowing him to battle through the ninth on fresh tyres. A decent recovery.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 7

On a weekend where Haas comfortably appeared to be the second-slowest team, Magnussen almost delivered some hard-earned points. He started brilliantly and looked on course for P8 before the Safety Cars bunched the pack and – more damaging – a plastic bag got caught on his front wing, forcing a late stop that meant he eventually finished 17th.

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 5

Grosjean was far behind his teammate throughout the weekend, running well outside of the points even before his clash with George Russell, for which the Frenchman appeared more at fault for causing. He charged well at the end to recover to 11th, but it was a late spurt in an otherwise-underwhelming race.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – 7

Sainz was unfortunate to have his race ruined in the clash with Hulkenberg in the opening stages of the race, having qualified at the head of the midfield and held position early on. The incident ruined his race, putting him a lap down before he rejoined the main pack under the late Safety Cars, allowing a recovery to P12.

Lando Norris, McLaren – 9

Even with a mistake on his Q3 lap that provisionally left him P10 on the grid, Lando Norris was able to come away as the midfield leader once again in Singapore. He benefitted from the Sainz/Hulkenberg clash to take seventh early on, and didn’t let go of the place, maximising the result for McLaren behind the leading three teams.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point – 6

Perez had looked in contention to give Racing Point a third straight race in the top 10, recovering well from his grid penalty for a gearbox change, only for an oil leak to force him to retire the car with 20 laps to go when running 10th.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 5

Stroll may have been among the gaggle of surprise names in the top five thanks to his long first stint, but his race would only go downhill from there. A mistake saw him hit the wall and damage his car, as well as clashing with Pierre Gasly, sustaining a puncture as well. Points were possible at one stage before his errors.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 5

Raikkonen came in early compared to many of the cars around him in the hope of getting the undercut, only to then become a sitting duck later in the race when the Safety Car bunched the field and his tyres faded. His race ended after he tried shutting the door far too late on a divebomb move by Daniil Kvyat, the resulting contact forcing his retirement.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 7

You’d have got long odds on Antonio Giovinazzi leading four laps in Singapore before the race, yet that’s exactly what the Alfa Romeo driver did thanks to his long first stint. The team kept him out too long, causing him to lose time before contact with Ricciardo forced him to pit anyway, but Giovinazzi recovered well to grab a point for P10. Hard-earned.

Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso – 8

Bar Silverstone, Singapore was Pierre Gasly’s strongest performance of the season so far. Starting on Hards was a risk, yet he managed to hold position well and make the strategy work, going on a late charge towards the end as he picked off others with his fresher tyres. P8 was no less than he deserved for his performance.

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso – 5

A tricky weekend for Kvyat, who dropped out in Q1 before risking an early stop in the race, only to be forced into a second stop later on. The Russian reported a problem with his mirrors that made it harder for him to defend his position, with the Raikkonen clash only adding to his struggles.

George Russell - 6 

Another solid weekend for Russell. Recovered well from picking up early car damage and had been running as high as 17th when an ambitious move by Grosjean ended up in the Frenchman tagging the back of Russell's FW42 and sending him into the wall and out of the race, bringing Williams' impressive run without a DNF to an end. 

Robert Kubica - 7

On the weekend he announced he would depart Williams at the end of the season, Robert Kubica turned in one of his best drives of the year. Finding himself ahead of teammate Russell early on, the Pole completed a strong performance to finish 16th on the lead lap, and pulled off an impressive overtake on the Haas of Magnussen.