F1 Driver Ratings – Italian Grand Prix

It goes without saying that shock first-time F1 winner Pierre Gasly is the big winner in our latest driver ratings for the Italian Grand Prix, but who else shone... and who flopped?  

Here’s how we rated each driver in Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza...

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 8

Beat Bottas to pole and was in complete control until his pit stop blunder under the first Safety Car turned his race on its head. Hamilton took responsibility for entering the pits when the pit lane was closed but recovered well from his costly penalty to score some important points.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 4

It was a race to forget for Bottas, who botched the initial start and dropped to sixth. The Finn struggled to progress through the order and could only manage fifth as he failed to capitalise on a rare bad result for Hamilton. Bottas was just 10 seconds ahead of Hamilton in the end.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 5

An abysmal qualifying saw Vettel knocked out in Q1 before another torrid weekend ended in retirement just six laps in when the four-time world champion suffered a brake failure.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 6

Admitted 13th was the best he could do in qualifying and ran as high as fourth after the first Safety Car period before suffering a heavy crash at the Parabolica which ended his race. Loses a mark for his race-ending mistake. 

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 7

A disappointing fifth in qualifying and never really looked likely to threaten for the podium in the race as he ended up being stuck behind Bottas’ Mercedes. Dropped down the order after the red flag restart before ultimately retiring with an engine issue.

Alex Albon, Red Bull – 3

An awful race for Albon, who suffered floor damage in a coming together at the start and fell towards the back of the field. Picked up a time penalty for squeezing Grosjean and struggled to a lowly 15th, ahead of only Giovinazzi.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – 10

A flawless display from Sainz, who converted a brilliant third on the grid in qualifying into his second career podium with P2 behind Gasly. Pilled the pressure on Gasly in the final laps but fell shy of his maiden F1 win by just 0.415s.

Lando Norris, McLaren – 9

A strong race as Norris helped seal a big points haul for McLaren with his fourth place finish. Could have joined his teammate Sainz on the podium had Stroll not benefitted from a free tyre change under the red flag period.  

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 8

Ballsy move on Bottas saw Ricciardo hold fifth in the early stages but the Australian was another who lost out in the pit stops and red flag, as he slipped behind his chief rivals. Fought his way back up to sixth with a convincing drive.

Esteban Ocon, Renault – 7

Recovered from a below-par qualifying to complete a double-points haul for Renault. Returned to the points after the red flag restart but was passed by Hamilton for seventh on the final lap..

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri – 10

Gasly was sublime all weekend. Followed up his latest Q3 appearance with a strong start to rise up to third at the restart. Jumped Stroll immediately and was moved into the lead when Hamilton served his penalty. Gasly was flawless en route to sealing an amazing maiden F1 victory despite coming under intense pressure from Sainz.

Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri – 9

His result will undoubtedly be overshadowed by Gasly’s heroics in the sister AlphaTauri but Kvyat turned in a strong drive to claim just his third points finish of the season in ninth. For the second weekend in a row, the Russian was much closer to his teammate in qualifying too.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 9

Despite his brilliant third place, Stroll missed out on a perfect score after throwing away his chances of winning the race himself with a poor restart after the red flag. The Canadian admitted the victory was “mine to lose” as he rued his mistake.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point – 7

Perez had a rather anonymous race on his way to taking the final point on offer in 10 as he failed to convert his excellent fourth on the grid in qualifying into an equally great result, while his teammate ended up on the podium. Lost places at the start and also suffered damage in a clash with Verstappen.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 8

Made it into Q2 for the second race in a row and convincingly outperformed teammate Giovinazzi once again across the weekend. Ran as high as second at one stage but was always going to drop back through the field given his machinery.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 5

Was running inside the top 10 with Raikkonen but ruined any chance of a good result in a chaotic race when he picked up the same penalty as Hamilton for clumsily stopping when the pit lane was closed.

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 8

Outpaced by Magnussen in qualifying but drove well in the race on his way to 12th place, beating both Alfa Romeos, Russell and the Red Bull of Albon. Passed Russell and Raikkonen in the final laps with a late rise up the order.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 6

Fell to the rear of the field with a poor start as he lost ground from a solid qualifying display and was running well off the pace at the back before he retired with a mechanical issue after 20 laps.

Nicholas Latifi – 9

Latifi somewhat lucked into his position after pitting prior to the red flag but nevertheless turned in a solid drive to 11th as he eventually slipped out of the points against faster cars. A joint-best result for the Canadian.

George Russell – 7

Unlike his teammate, Russell did not benefit from pitting before the red flag but struggled to fight his rivals in his draggy Williams on the straights. Was mugged by Grosjean in the closing stages and finished right on Raikkonen’s tail at the end.