F1 Driver Ratings – Tuscan Grand Prix

Amid the carnage and chaos that greeted F1 upon its first competitive visit to Mugello, there were plenty of impressive drives from the select few who made it to the chequered flag.

Here’s how we rated each driver in F1’s Tuscan Grand Prix…

Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 1st, finished 1st) – 9

Hamilton’s forensic response to being “miles” off Bottas in Friday practice paid dividends on Saturday as he turned his previous deficit into pole position. Fluffed his lines at the original start but made amends by reclaiming the lead brilliantly at the second start, and then fending Bottas off at the third and final restart. Hamilton was rather fortunate to get the first red flag restart which was needed for him to regain the lead. Ultimately in control throughout on his way to scoring a 90th career victory.

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 2nd, finished 2nd) – 7

Bottas was the man to beat heading into qualifying and despite looking like he had the upper hand over Hamilton around Mugello, he was still beaten to pole by a frustrating 0.059s. Caught Hamilton napping at the start but Hamilton repaid the favour at the second start. Was closer to Hamilton’s pace but ultimately had no answer to challenge for the win. Disappointingly didn’t put up much of a hard fight against Hamilton at the first red flag restart.

Alex Albon (Qualified 4th, finished 3rd) – 9

Albon finally claimed a long-awaited podium finish with a strong drive on Sunday, converting a much-needed best qualifying result of the season into a first rostrum. Luck was definitely on Albon’s side, but he rode it and recovered well from a sluggish second standing start and pulled off some brave, bold overtakes on his way to claiming third.

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 8th, finished 4th) – 9

While Renault did not quite match its recent level of performance at Mugello, Ricciardo reminded everyone of his star qualities in the race following his sub-par Q3 effort. Even challenged Bottas’ Mercedes for second in the final stint despite knowing it was a battle he couldn’t win, but he had no answer to Albon’s faster Red Bull and was denied a first podium in Renault colours. Felt the podium would have been on without the unfortunate second red flag incident. Nonetheless, it was a faultless drive on Sunday from the Australian who maximised another strong result for the French squad.

Sergio Perez (Qualified 6th, finished 5th) – 7

Gave a strong response to losing his seat for next season by outqualifying Stroll’s upgraded Racing Point and delivering a solid drive on Sunday to score a handy haul of points for the team on a hectic day. Arguably could have achieved more in both qualifying and the race, and loses a mark for his clumsy tangle with Raikkonen in practice which resulted in a grid drop.

Lando Norris (Qualified 11th, finished 6th) – 6

Given McLaren was lacking pace compared to its nearest competitors, and sixth place finish and the eight points that come with it can be a satisfying outcome for Norris, who was the sole McLaren that finished at Mugello. Norris was off the pace of his teammate in qualifying as he missed out on Q3 for the first time this year and he would have finished lower had it not been for other drivers’ misfortune.

Daniil Kvyat (Qualified 12th, finished 7th) – 8

Once again missed the chance to make it into Q3 owing to a mistake on his final flying lap but made up for it with a strong drive on Sunday. Evaded the drama around him early on to find himself running inside the top 10. From there he turned in a well-managed race to pick up his best result of the season with his fourth trip to the points.

Charles Leclerc (Qualified 5th, finished 8th) – 8

Made most of being on the right side of the yellow flag incident in Q3 to improve on his time and grab an excellent fifth on the grid, but was ultimately hampered by his slow machinery in the race and was a sitting duck to his rivals on the straights. Could do little more in the race as he benefitted from Raikkonen’s penalty to take eighth at the flag.

Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 13th, finished 9th) – 9

Raikkonen outpaced Vettel’s works Ferrari in his latest impressive qualifying display and put in a warrior-like drive on Sunday to claim his first points of the season despite a slow pit stop and a damaged car. Falling victim to the same mistake that his teammate made in Monza by crossing into the pitlane too late cost him eighth and prevents the Finn from getting a perfect score.

Sebastian Vettel (Qualified 14th, finished 10th) – 6

Vettel was once again well off the pace of his teammate in qualifying, ending up half a second down the road and nine places behind Leclerc on the grid. Lacked performance in the race despite collecting a point that he arguably didn’t really deserve after jumping Russell’s sluggish-starting Williams at the final restart.

George Russell (Qualified 18th, finished 11th) – 7

Although Russell maintained his 100 percent qualifying record of beating his F1 teammates, an off on his final Q1 run cost him a shot at progressing into the next segment of qualifying. Drove brilliantly in the race to keep Vettel honest in the faster Ferrari but was left to rue a poor launch at the final start which saw the Briton drop two places on the run to Turn 1.

Romain Grosjean (Qualified 15th, finished 12th) – 7

Progressed into Q2 for only the third time this season and turned in a battling performance in the race after driving with a damaged car throughout which hampered his progress following a lap one collision with Gasly. Without the damage, Grosjean felt more than finishing as the last classified runner was possible.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 7th, DNF) – 6

Despite benefitting from Racing Points aero upgrade, Stroll was still outpaced by both his teammate Perez (who was not running the same package) and Leclerc in qualifying. Ran third early on but was eventually overtaken by Ricciardo’s slower Renault before a hefty crash – which he was not at fault for - ended his race.

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 10th, DNF) – 6

Missed the chance to qualify higher after dropping his Renault into the gravel at Turn 5 which meant he failed to set a time in Q3. Retired from the race with overheating brakes which occurred during the first Safety Car period.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 19th, DNF) – 6

Latifi looked the stronger of the two Williams drivers in qualifying and actually had the egde over Russell until he failed to improve on his final run in Q1 which was hampered by understeer. It was his best qualifying yet in terms of how close he was able to get to Russell. A good start in the race saw Latifi surge up to 12th before being eliminated in the restart crash that he could do little to avoid.

Kevin Magnussen (Qualified 20th, DNF) – 4

For the second time in three races, Magnussen ended up as the slowest driver in qualifying. Impressively made up a handful of positions on the first lap but was another victim of the restart pile-up. Qualifying was the biggest disappointment of Magnussen’s weekend, hence his failure to improve on his low mark.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 17th, DNF) – 5

Failed to get the most out of his car in qualifying as he wound up 17th, while teammate Raikkonen made it into Q2 once again. Made early progress in the race thanks to successfully avoiding the opening lap collision before being caught up in that restart melee.

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 9th, DNF) – 6

Did well to make it into Q3 amid McLaren’s competitive struggles relative to its main rivals, with his time for ninth being set on used tyres. Yellow flags robbed him of the chance to improve on fresh rubber and potentially land a higher grid spot. Was to blame for his lap one spin while attempting an ambitious move on Stroll which put him in a position to get wiped out in the restart.

Max Verstappen (Qualified 3rd, DNF) – 8

A strong qualifying display earns Verstappen his high mark given that he failed to complete a single racing lap in Tuscany. The Dutchman actually ended up getting the closest Red Bull has been to pole all season as he once again maximised the potential of his RB16, outpacing Albon by half a second. Losing power at the start put him into the danger zone through the sweeping first few corners as he was punted into an unfortunate retirement.

Pierre Gasly (Qualified 16th, DNF) – 4

From hero to zero in the space of a week – how your fortune can quickly change in F1. Gasly suffered a shock elimination in Q1 partly due to running out of battery deployment at the wrong moment. A risky approach to the first lap in his bid to make up ground early on resulted in the contact that put him out of the race.

*All four drivers involved in the rolling start crash were apportioned equal blame. The scores were therefore equally rated the same, in addition to their qualifying performances.