F1 Driver Ratings – Belgian Grand Prix

Here’s how we rated each driver in Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton moved closer to matching Michael Schumacher’s records…

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 10

Another flawless display by Hamilton. His half a second gap to Bottas in qualifying was crushing, while he cleverly fended off his teammate’s attacks at the start and aced the Safety Car restart en route to a win he made look easy.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 8

Bottas only scrapped onto the front row next to Hamilton by 0.015s from Verstappen in qualifying and proved no real threat to Hamilton in the race as he struggled throughout. Did enough to secure Mercedes’ third 1-2 of the season.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 5

Lost out to teammate Leclerc in qualifying but overturned his deficit on Sunday as he once again dictated Ferrari’s strategy. Could do little about his lowly run to P13 behind former teammate Raikkonen given Ferrari’s struggles at Spa.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 6

Outqualified Vettel by a comfortable three-tenths but ultimately it was to no avail as he trailed his teammate home in 14th on a miserable weekend to forget for Ferrari. Was only two seconds behind Vettel at the flag despite making a second pit stop.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 10

Despite finding the race “boring”, Verstappen once again got everything and more out of his Red Bull package to secure third and his sixth consecutive podium finish. Was only a few seconds behind Bottas’ Mercedes at the end of the race and was less than a tenth shy of taking a suprising P2 in qualifying.

Alex Albon, Red Bull – 7

An improved display in both qualifying and the race for Albon, though he was still well off the pace of teammate Verstappen. Lost out to Ocon on the first lap as both Renaults split the Red Bull pair and only just pipped the late-charging Norris to P6.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – NA

When is Sainz going to catch a break this year? A strong qualifying effort to take seventh was ultimately in vain when he failed to take the start after McLaren detected a power unit issue which led to an exhaust failure on the Spaniard’s way to the grid.

Lando Norris, McLaren – 8

A race of two halves for Norris, who made a mistake on lap one that cost him several positions. Struggled for pace in the first stint before improving in clean air as he made some late moves to rise into the points and ultimately claim a solid P7 ahead of Gasly’s AlphaTauri and the Racing Point duo.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 10

A stunning weekend all round for Ricciardo, who enjoyed his biggest F1 points haul since leaving Red Bull. Landed a brilliant fourth in qualifying ahead of Albon (and just three tenths off the front row) and converted that into Renault’s joint-best result of the season. Finished just three seconds shy of a podium position and stormed to the fastest lap of the race on the final tour.

Esteban Ocon, Renault – 9

By far Ocon’s strongest weekend since returning to F1. Put his Renault a strong sixth on the grid and went one place better in the race to help secure the team’s biggest points haul since returning to the sport as a works outfit. Misses out on a perfect score for being beaten in qualifying by Ricciardo and for finishing over 20 seconds behind his teammate.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri – 9

Another brilliant weekend for Gasly on his way to yet more points for AlphaTauri. The Frenchman’s decision to start on Hards was hurt by an early Safety Car but he battled back through the field after making his pit stop to charge into the points. Loses a mark for getting outqualified by teammate Daniil Kvyat for the first time this year.

Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri – 8

Kvyat finally got the upper hand over Gasly in qualifying, albeit only by 0.015s, but his good work went out of the window on the opening lap as Gasly instantly surged past. The Russian was unable to make further progress as he finished where he started in a solid 11th.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 6

Racing Point was surprisingly off the pace at a circuit it has gone well at in recent years as Stroll headed the team’s double points haul in ninth place. Weak tyre management in second stint prevented him from potentially finishing higher.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point - 7

A pretty anonymous showing from Perez in the second Racing Point as he rounded out the points-paying positions with P10. There was less than a second between the Racing Points at the flag, with both beaten by Gasly’s AlphaTauri. Faced an uphill task after staying out on Softs under the Safety Car while his main rivals all pitted.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 10

Another strong weekend for Raikkonen, who bags a perfect score for the second race in a row thanks to his efforts in both qualifying and the race. Was a tenth adrift of making it into Q2 as he outpaced his teammate, both Haas cars and Latifi’s Williams. Backed that up with a strong drive to 12th, beating both works Ferraris on merit.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 4

Could not match his teammate Raikkonen in qualifying before his race ended after just 10 laps when he lost control of his Alfa Romeo and crashed out all by himself for the second year in a row at Spa.

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 8

Grosjean did well to outpace one Alfa Romeo and Williams in qualifying while his teammate was slowest, before finishing 15th on Sunday. He was over 10 seconds clear of Magnussen and just two behind Leclerc’s Ferrari as he shadowed the Scuderia pair in the second half of the race.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 5

A mistake on his final run in Q1 left Magnussen anchored to the back of the grid and he failed to make any progress in the race. The Dane finished a distant 17th as the last classified driver.

George Russell, Williams – 7

Russell advanced to Q2 for the fifth time in qualifying and was looking to recover from a relatively sluggish start when he was the unlucky victim of Giovinazzi’s crash. Stuck by a stray wheel, there was nothing he could do to avoid his own race-ending incident amid the debris.

Nicholas Latifi, Williams – 6

Latifi was nearly half a second slower than Russell in qualifying and would have likely finished behind his teammate again in the race had it not been for the Briton’s crash. Closed up to the back of Grosjean late on but was unable to pull off a move as he ended the race in a Haas sandwich.