F1 Driver Ratings from the 2021 British Grand Prix

Each driver is scored out of ten with the rating being heavily weighted on their race day performance. Qualifying performance holds less weight when deciding the ratings

Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 2nd, finished 1st) - 8

It was a crucial day in the title race for Hamilton on home soil as he cut Max Verstappen’s gap at the top of the championship to just seven points. Had it not been for a mistake into Vale, the seven-time champion would have been over 0.3s clear in qualifying. A poor start meant he lost out to Verstappen in the sprint but it was clear that Hamilton wasn’t going to go down without a fight in the grand prix in front of a capacity crowd. An over-optimistic overtake on Verstappen sent the Red Bull drivers into the barriers but lady luck was on his side as the red flag was deployed, allowing Mercedes to repair his car. Hamilton’s 10s penalty - rightfully awarded - proved to be inconsequential as his pace on the harder compound relative to Charles Leclerc was in a different league. His confidence wasn’t perturbed by the earlier incident with Verstappen as he overtook Leclerc into Copse on Lap 50, leading to his eighth British GP victory. 

Charles Leclerc (Qualified 4th, finished 2nd) - 10

A timely reminder from Leclerc that he is the real deal and should Ferrari give him a car in 2022 to fight for the title, he surely won’t let it down. Leclerc’s pace in the sprint was impressive, finishing just four seconds behind Valtteri Bottas in third. A good start allowed him to get ahead of the Finn into Turn 1, while he managed to get past Hamilton as he recovered from his tangle with Verstappen. Surprisingly, despite several brief losses of power, Leclerc held onto the lead until Lap 50, showing impressive race pace and tyre wear on the medium compound especially. He would have been the deserving winner at Silverstone but it wasn’t meant to be this time around.

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 3rd, finished 3rd) - 7

A solid weekend for Bottas on paper as he picked up his sixth podium of the season. He was sent out first in qualifying to give Hamilton the tow and secure the fastest time, while a soft tyre gamble in the sprint didn’t quite pay off as he couldn’t get off the line well. It was a similar story on Sunday as he lost out to Leclerc on the first standing start and then Norris. Had it not been for his poor starts, Bottas would have been the primary beneficiary of Hamilton’s penalty and could have been in the position to take his first win since Russia last year. Whether he would have is another story but a missed opportunity for Bottas at Silverstone.

Lando Norris (Qualified 5th, finished 4th) - 9

Norris made it nine top-five finishes in 10 races with yet another impressive drive at Silverstone. A slow pit stop on Lap 22 allowed Bottas to get ahead in the battle for third but given Mercedes’ superior pace on the hards, it’s not too likely Norris would have held onto the podium. The result moves him up to third in the drivers’ championship, as Perez drops to fifth overall. 

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 6th, finished 5th) - 8

It was one of Ricciardo’s better weekends at Silverstone as he qualified just 0.002s behind his teammate. He finished a place behind Norris in sprint qualifying and it was a familiar story in the grand prix. A slow stop for Carlos Sainz ensured Ricciardo maintained track position and a composed, defensive drive allowed him to retain fifth to score his best result of the season so far. Still pace to find but a much better showing from the Australian. 

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 10th, finished 6th) - 8

A poor qualifying performance put him on the back foot going into the sprint as a tangle with George Russell put him well down the field. Sainz recovered to 11th in sprint qualifying but was promoted to tenth after Russell was handed a three-place grid penalty. Sainz quickly moved up the order, overtaking fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso into Brooklands. A slow pit stop for Sainz on Lap 29 ensured Ricciardo remained ahead, where he would for the rest of the race. 

Fernando Alonso (Qualified 7th, finished 7th) - 9

We saw the very best of Alonso at Silverstone as he went from 11th to fifth on the opening lap of the sprint race. The pace of the Alpine is slower than the McLarens so it was no surprise he would lose out to Norris and Ricciardo. He came out on top against former title rival Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap, with the German spinning on the exit of Luffield. Alonso kept Lance Stroll at bay as he finished seventh at Silverstone - his fifth consecutive points finish.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 14th, finished 8th) - 8

After struggling for pace and confidence through practice and qualifying, Stroll enjoyed a strong recovery on race day. Stroll got past Russell, Kimi Raikkonen and Pierre Gasly by the end of the opening lap which put him in good stead for the remainder of the race. Stroll gained another two places at the second standing start, getting past Esteban Ocon before moving up another place thanks to Vettel’s spin. He couldn’t find a way past Alonso for seventh in the closing laps. 

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 9th, finished 9th) - 8

Alpine’s significant overhaul of Ocon’s car in terms of chassis and parts looked like it worked as the Frenchman was within touching distance of teammate Alonso throughout the weekend. He finished four seconds behind the Spaniard in the sprint race, while it was a similar story in the grand prix. Gasly’s late puncture promoted him to ninth late on.

Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 16th, finished 10th) - 7

Just one practice session ahead of qualifying was always going to make it difficult for a rookie. Tsunoda blamed a call to the weighbridge for his Q1 exit but he made no progress in Saturday’s sprint race. He fared better on race day, benefitting from Gasly’s late puncture to score a point. 

Pierre Gasly (Qualified 11th, finished 11th) - 8

An unscheduled pit stop on Lap 47 due to a left-rear puncture cost Gasly ninth at Silverstone. The Frenchman suspected that gravel was the cause of his unfortunate puncture. Up until that point, it was a solid drive from Gasly, having been 12th after the first standing start. 

George Russell (Qualified 8th, started 12th, finished 12th) - 9

It was another impressive Mercedes audition for Russell as he progressed into Q3 for a second consecutive race. He finished inside the top ten in the sprint but was handed - an arguably unfair - three-place grid penalty for a tangle with Sainz on the opening lap. A typically poor start from Russell dropped him to 14th after the first standing restart. Williams didn’t quite have the pace to finish inside the top ten but it was still an outstanding weekend from the Brit.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 15th, finished 13th) - 6

Giovinazzi once again had the advantage over teammate Kimi Raikkonen over qualifying but went missing in both races. Giovinazzi moved up to 13th on the opening lap but he was stuck behind Russell for much of the race. He trailed Raikkonen until the Finn’s contact with Perez late on.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 17th, finished 14th) - 6

Latifi endured another anonymous weekend as he was knocked out of Q1, while teammate Russell progressed into Q3. He lost out to Mick Schumacher at the start before getting back ahead shortly after. The Canadian gained two places late on - Raikkonen’s contact with Perez and then the Mexican’s late pit stop for soft tyres to take the fastest lap off Hamilton. 

Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 13th, finished 15th) - 7

We saw the very best and worst of Raikkonen in 2021 at the British Grand Prix. The 2007 world champion struggled yet again for pace over one lap but his two starts - in the sprint and then the main grand prix, were exemplary. Raikkonen’s defence of Perez at times was impressive and the contact with the Red Bull driver was unfortunate. Without it, he probably would have finished 11th which would have been the maximum result possible given the level of Alfa Romeo.

Sergio Perez (Qualified 20th, finished 16th) - 2

Perez will be wanting to forget this weekend as quickly as possible. He trailed teammate Verstappen by 0.6s in qualifying, having his best lap deleted for exceeding track limits. Sprint qualifying undid his weekend after spinning on the exit of Becketts, dropping him to 18th. A pit lane start allowed Red Bull to make the necessary changes to move him up the order but it didn’t happen for Perez. Red Bull deserves some of the blame as starting him on the hard tyre and stopping him after 18 laps made zero sense.

Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 19th, finished 17th) - 6

Mazepin enjoyed one of his strongest race performances as he overtook teammate Schumacher on track as the pair battled for position through Stowe, into the final couple of corners with the Russian coming out on top. It’s hard to judge the Haas duo’s performance in 2021 but Mazepin deserves credit for coming out on top. 

Mick Schumacher (Qualified 18th, finished 18th) - 5

Schumacher once again had the advantage over Mazepin in qualifying but surrendered track position to his teammate midway through the race as he was overtaken into Club corner. Yet another race finish for the German but he was beaten by his teammate on track.

Sebastian Vettel (Qualified 8th, DNF) - 3

Up until Sunday's grand prix, it was a strong weekend from Vettel at Silverstone. After the first standing start, he was sixth behind Ricciardo. As he duelled for track position against Alonso, he spun on the exit of Luffield, reminiscent of his wheel-to-wheel blunders at Ferrari in 2018 and 2019. Vettel couldn’t recover from that point, ultimately retiring due to a cooling issue. It was a missed opportunity for the four-time champion given that Stroll finished eighth and had better pace than Alonso just ahead.

Max Verstappen (Qualified 1st, DNF) - 9

Verstappen made amends from qualifying to secure pole in the sprint race with a storming start from second on the grid. The opening lap duel with Hamilton was breathtaking with the Red Bull driver coming off worse for the first time this season. The stewards were correct to hand Hamilton a penalty for his role in the incident and on balance, he certainly was more to blame. The good news is that despite the crash being recorded at 51G, Verstappen came away unscathed. Given Mercedes’ average race pace on the mediums especially, the win was there for Verstappen.