F1 Driver Ratings - British Grand Prix  

Here’s how we rated each driver in Formula 1’s British Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton claimed a seventh victory at Silverstone in remarkable circumstances…

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 10

Overcame a difficult start to the weekend to beat Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to pole position by saving his best laps to when it mattered the most in qualifying and looked in complete control of the race before suffering a dramatic last-lasp tyre failure. Despite this, Hamilton managed to three-wheel his W11 across the line to take his seventh win at Silverstone.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 8

Suffered the same fate as Hamilton but unfortunately for Bottas it happened much earlier in the lap and with three tours remaining, meaning he was forced to make an unscheduled stop that dropped him out of the points. The Finn once again came up short against Hamilton in both qualifying and the race, despite threatening his teammate briefly into Turn 1.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 4

A nightmare weekend for Vettel. Was on the back foot following a disastrous Friday and never recovered, slumping to 10th place in qualifying and the race as he proved an anonymous factor in Sunday’s British Grand Prix. Getting mugged by Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri late on compounded the four-time world champion’s misery.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 10

In contrast to Vettel, Leclerc was able to extract the most and more out of his Ferrari en route to a brilliant fourth in qualifying, which he managed to hold for the majority of the race. Was promoted onto the podium following Bottas’ late tyre dramas but the British Grand Prix acted as Leclerc’s latest demonstration of maximising his opportunities in a poor car.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 9

Verstappen was a full second down on the dominant Mercedes in qualifying and had no answer to their supreme pace in the race. Looked set for a distant but comfortable third until it all kicked off with three laps to go. Was left to rue Red Bull’s decision to pit, but quickly overcame his disappointment to take the positives out of what was an unlikely second place finish as he once again outperformed his machinery.

Alex Albon, Red Bull – 6

Another frustrating weekend for Albon, who was again well off the pace of Verstappen as he underperformed in qualifying and could only take 12th. His race looked to be undone after clashing with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas at the end of the opening lap and picking up a penalty, but the late-race chaos enabled Albon to take an unexpected eighth at the flag.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – 8

Sainz was unable to match the electrifying pace of his teammate in Q3 but still earned a decent qualifying result. The Spaniard appeared on course for a strong race having got ahead of Norris early on but suffered a tyre failure on the penultimate lap while running in fourth.  

Lando Norris, McLaren – 8

Norris was the faster of the two McLarens in qualifying with another brilliant Q3 effort but dropped places after a locking up into Brooklands on the first tour, which allowed Sainz and Ricciardo to sneak past. Got back ahead of Ricciardo briefly, but slipped to sixth after the Australian fought back in the closing stages.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 10

Ricciardo got the best out of his package in qualifying with a solid P8, and converted that into the team’s joint best result since it returned to F1 in 2016 with an excellent fourth place. Fought his way past Norris’ McLaren twice and very nearly caught Leclerc in the Ferrari to steal what would have been a surprise first podium in the yellow and black of Renault.

Esteban Ocon, Renault – 8

Took ninth directly behind Ricciardo in qualifying as he improved on his previous one-lap deficit to the Australian. A late charge saw Ocon pass Vettel and Stroll, before he went on to inherit sixth place when Sainz and Bottas hit trouble in the final few laps. An improved performance all-round for the Frenchman.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri – 10

Gasly had the same lap time as Stroll’s Racing Point in Q2 and only failed to progress into Q3 for the third successive race due to the Canadian completing his lap first. Initially lost out during the pit stops but gathered himself to turn in an impressive late charge past Giovinazzi, Vettel and Stroll to claim seventh, as well as holding off Red Bull driver Albon.

Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri – 6

Could have limited the damage for picking up a five-place grid penalty in qualifying but moved up to 14th from the back row thanks to an aggressive approach on the opening lap. Might have been able to content for the lower-end of the points had he not ended his race in the barriers after spinning off at the high-speed Maggots.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 5

Stroll made it into Q3 but his race-pace was one of the biggest disappointments of the weekend after topping second practice on Friday.  It was an underwhelming performance from Stroll in the race given the much-talked-about potential of his Racing Point machinery as the Canadian slipped back to ninth, having lost out to Gasly and Albon late on.

Nico Hulkenberg, Racing Point – 7

An impressive but brief return to F1 action did not quite go the way Hulkenberg would have hoped, yet he still showed why he was unfortunate not to land himself a full-time seat this year. He progressed throughout Friday practice considering the circumstances but couldn’t quite manage a Q3 appearance in qualifying. On Sunday, he never even made it out of the garage after Racing Point detected a power unit problem that meant he was unable to start the race.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 5

Another disappointing weekend for the Iceman. Raikkonen was beaten by teammate Giovinazzi in both qualifying and the race. Dropped behind the two Williams after running wide at Village on Lap 1 and was already running last when he picked up front wing damage that led to a puncture.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 6

A better performance all-round for Giovinazzi in qualifying and the race as he comfortably beat his teammate, but a five-second penalty for speeding under the Safety Car cost him two places as he finished 14th.

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 6

Haas’ gamble to leave him out under the second Safety Car failed to pay off despite Grosjean’s dubious defensive efforts which ultimately resulted in him being shown a black and white flag for driving standards and earned him a warning from the stewards. Loses marks for his eccentric defending as well as a poor qualifying.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 7

It’s difficult to judge how Magnussen’s race would have unfolded given he was taken out by Albon after just one lap, though he did make a brilliant start that saw him making an early bid towards the points-paying positions. His qualifying performance was also strong.

George Russell, Williams – 8

Russell made it into Q3 for the third successive race but his qualifying performance was undone by a costly error by failing to slow sufficiently for yellow flags. Drove very well in the race to beat both Alfa Romeos as he once again led the way for Williams.

Nicholas Latifi, Williams – 6

Latifi set the slowest time in qualifying after spinning on his final flying lap in Q1, which ironically caused the yellow flags Russell failed to respect, leading to his teammate’s grid drop. Turned in a solid race which included a nice overtake on Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo around the outside of Stowe.