F1 Driver Ratings – Mexican Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 9

Mercedes didn’t have the outright pace to win in Mexico, but Lewis Hamilton turned in a masterclass at the front to scoop his 10th victory of the year. Half a second off pole in qualifying before a dramatic start involving near-misses with Vettel and Verstappen, Hamilton clawed his way back up to third before Mercedes rolled the dice on strategy. Making the Hards last 47 laps was a mighty task, but one Hamilton perfected.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 7

Bottas was fortunate his mistake in qualifying did not prove more costly as Mercedes fixed up his car for him to start sixth. His Sunday was much more impressive, though, as he mirrored Vettel’s strategy to rise up to third by the flag. Leclerc’s slow pit stop eased some of the pressure Bottas could have faced, but the Finn deserves a pat on the back for scoring an unlikely podium.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 8

The right strategy, just wrongly executed. Sebastian Vettel was in fine form in Mexico, losing a shot at pole after lifting for Bottas’ crash, and kept Leclerc within sight through the first stint. Vettel was pragmatic in his call to not react to Hamilton’s early stop, but Ferrari had failed to spot the low degradation on the Hards, meaning Vettel could not make up the lost track position even with fresher tyres through the final stint.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 7

Leclerc’s was another race undone by a strategy miscue, losing his advantage at the front of the pack after inheriting pole from the penalised Verstappen. A slow second stint on Mediums meant Leclerc could not get within shooting range of the lead one-stopping trio, leaving Leclerc to settle for P4 – a disappointing result not entirely on his shoulders.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 5

Max Verstappen undoubtedly had the pace to win in Mexico, only to shoot himself in the foot over and over. Karma hit after his unapologetic, immature bravado in not slowing for Bottas’ crash in qualifying was followed by a grid drop, before a wheel-to-wheel fight with Hamilton at Turn 1 saw him run across the grass. An attempt to overtake Bottas at a point where overtaking really isn’t possible led to a puncture, and while his 66-lap stint on Hards was impressive, P6 has to go down as a disappointing finish for the Dutchman.

Alexander Albon, Red Bull – 9

Albon’s best race to date for Red Bull. He lacked Verstappen’s pace in qualifying, but kept it clean at the start to run P3 early on, even putting pressure on the Ferrari drivers ahead at one point. He also lost out as a result of a two-stop strategy, but could have been in the mix for a breakthrough podium otherwise.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 8

Ricciardo joked after the race that he did a “120 lap stint” from the start on his Hards. It was actually 50 laps, but enough to save his weekend after dropping out P13 in Q2. Ricciardo rose up the order as the early stoppers came in, and by the time he pitted, he was able to come out in eighth. Late pressure on Sergio Perez failed to pay off, but he was still in excellent form.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault – 7

Hulkenberg made his early one-stop strategy work well after climbing up the order through the first stint, but was left clinging on to P9 as his Hards faded in the closing laps before Kvyat punted him into the wall. He got a point after the Russian was penalised, but deserved a bit more.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 6

Another weekend of woe for Haas, but Magnussen was the quicker of its drivers. Contact with Raikkonen at the start left Magnussen’s car with damage, but he did well to get home on a one-stop strategy after an early stop – even if it was only enough for P15.

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 5

Grosjean dropped to last on the opening lap and failed to make the kind of progress Magnussen did in the first stint. After pitting he ran last for most of the race, eventually coming home only ahead of Robert Kubica of the remaining runners.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – 7

F1’s resident midfield leader looked on-course for another strong result after qualifying seventh and starting well to run as high as P4 early on. But Sainz’s pace nosedived upon his switch to Hard tyres, which simply didn’t get working with the McLaren car, causing him to drop down the order and out of the points.

Lando Norris, McLaren – 6

Whether Norris would have met a similar fate to Sainz is unclear after a fumbled pit stop ruined the 19-year-old’s race while he was running seventh, marking a disappointing end to his first outing in Mexico.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point – 9

Sergio Perez was on scintillating form in front of his home fans, giving them a result to savour. Missing out on Q3 actually worked to his advantage as he gained a free choice of starting tyre in P11, allowing Perez to run a one-stop strategy and vault the early pitters. He soaked up pressure from Ricciardo late on in superb fashion to top the midfield in seventh.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 5

Stroll bounced back well after another Q1 knockout, rising through the field in a long opening stint on the Mediums. But he could not switch the Hards on to make the most of the tyre delta through the closing stages of the race as he struggled with graining, leaving him to finish 12th.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 5

A difficult weekend for Alfa Romeo as its slump continued. Raikkonen got caught up in an incident on the opening lap that left him with floor damage which ultimately forced his retirement from the race, not that points were looking at all likely.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 6

Giovinazzi was Alfa Romeo’s best chance of nicking a point following Raikkonen’s early clash. The Italian climbed through the order well in the opening stint, only for an issue at his pit stop to ruin his race and drop him to the rear of the field.

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso – 6

Kvyat was one of the few midfield drivers to make a two-stop strategy work, having been the first to move off the Soft tyre, and managed his stints well to put himself all over the back of the one-stopping Hulkenberg entering the final few laps. But his attempt at passing at the final corner was clumsy, punting the Renault into the wall and landing himself a fair penalty.

Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso – 7

Gasly’s solid form since returning to Toro Rosso continued in Mexico as he picked up another couple of points for P9. He also ran a two-stop strategy with an early move off Softs, crossing the line just behind Kvyat before gaining a place thanks to the Russian’s penalty.

George Russell, Williams – 6

Russell started well before ending up getting caught behind the clashing cars on the opening lap, causing him to fall behind teammate Robert Kubica, where he remained for much of the race. Russell had qualified close to Grosjean and Magnussen, and felt he had the pace to compete with them had he not been stuck behind his teammate for so long.

Robert Kubica, Williams – 5

After qualifying 1.4 seconds off his teammate on Saturday, Kubica turned in a much better performance in the race, keeping Russell at bay before coming in late on due to a slow puncture that dropped him to last.