DRIVER RATINGS: Only one 10/10 at F1 Monaco GP but for who?

Sergio Perez - 9

The Mexican was clearly the quicker of the two Red Bulls throughout this weekend’s Monaco GP. Immediately from the off, Perez looked at home in the RB18 in the principality. His crash in qualifying ultimately went unpunished as teammate Verstappen was unable to topple him. Great strategic choices from Red Bull combined with a strong out-lap on the slicks allowed Perez to take his third victory in F1.

Carlos Sainz - 9 

Sainz deserves immense credit for sticking with his strategy of staying out on the wets and then switching to the slicks. Had it not been for a lapped car (Latifi) on his out-lap, it’s likely he’d have taken his maiden victory. However, Sainz needs to find significant pace if he wants to be a serious threat to Leclerc or Verstappen this season. 

• Angry Leclerc critical of Ferrari mistakes
• Full race results: Monaco Grand Prix
• Sergio Perez wins after Ferrari howler

Max Verstappen - 8

Verstappen extended his in the drivers’ championship but it was his first sub-par weekend in some time. The Dutchman was never comfortable with the tight Monaco streets, trailing teammate Perez throughout practice. Good strategy work from Red Bull (and Ferrari messing up) allowed Verstappen to get ahead of his main rival. 

Charles Leclerc - 10

It’s right to be sympathetic with Leclerc after Monaco. A series of poor strategy decisions from Ferrari meant he lost out on a sensational win on home soil. Looking back to qualifying, we were robbed of one of the best laps in recent years with Leclerc 0.4s up on his previous provisional pole effort. Ferrari were then caught between staying out on the wets before going onto the slicks or stopping for inters. They were too late and that allowed Perez to undercut. Things then got worse for Leclerc when he was called in for slicks but Sainz was already in the pit lane. Very unfortunate but the only criticism of Leclerc could be that Sainz was firm in what strategy he wanted so why couldn’t Leclerc? 

George Russell - 8

Russell kept up his remarkable streak of finishing in the top five this season in Monte Carlo. He continues to extract the maximum from the Mercedes W13 so fifth was the maximum for Russell this weekend. 

Lando Norris - 8

Norris extracted the maximum from the McLaren in qualifying, 0.4s off Leclerc’s impressive pole time. On race day, Norris was embroiled in an intense fight with Russell but lost out when both drivers switched to the slicks. Still, another strong weekend for the young Brit. 

Fernando Alonso - 8

Alonso drove a calculated race in Monaco, even setting the fastest lap at one point when he decided to unleash Alpine’s true pace in the second half of the race. The Spaniard deliberately backed off after the red flag on Lap 27 before pushing hard at the end of the race, gapping the Mercedes behind.

Lewis Hamilton - 7

While the seven-time F1 champion was caught out by the red flag in qualifying, it’s unlikely he’d have been able to out-qualify teammate Russell. With overtaking tricky, Hamilton was stuck behind Alonso on the wets and then found himself behind the second Alpine of Ocon when Mercedes gambled for the intermediates. It was a similar story in the second half of the race as Hamilton couldn’t get past Alonso.

Valtteri Bottas - 7

Alfa Romeo didn’t live up to expectations in Monaco with their low-speed performance in recent rounds meaning many tipped them to perform well. After missing FP1, the Finn was on the back foot and could only qualify 12th. Bottas drove a solid race to secure ninth and ensure Alfa remain ahead of Alpine in the constructors’ championship.

Sebastian Vettel - 8

A Q3 appearance for Aston Martin meant Vettel kept up his impressive qualifying record in the principality. An early pit stop for intermediates cost him a place to Bottas but thanks to Ocon’s penalty, he was back in the points. A solid race but that qualifying lap propels him to an 8/10 for the weekend.

Pierre Gasly - 6

After a disappointing Q1 exit, Gasly braved the intermediates early on - a move that propelled him up the order. Unfortunately for Gasly, he was unable to overtake Magnussen or Bottas - who stayed out on the wets - costing him a shot at the points. Given his practice pace, it’s a case of ‘what if’ for the AlphaTauri driver.

Esteban Ocon - 6

Ocon finished in the points but was handed a five-second time penalty for damaging Hamilton’s front wing in Monaco. The Frenchman was out-qualified by his teammate and didn’t have the pace either to finish any higher than ninth. Ocon finished P9 on track but his penalty dropped him to 12th.

Daniel Ricciardo - 5

Another torrid day for the 2018 Monaco GP winner as his poor qualifying meant for a very difficult day. With teammate Norris finishing up in sixth, Ricciardo severely underperformed yet again for McLaren. 

Lance Stroll - 5

The Canadian was knocked out in Q1 with a lacklustre effort in qualifying. With teammate Vettel progressing to Q3, Stroll clearly underperformed. On race day, Stroll was anonymous as he finished 14th. 

Nicholas Latifi - 4

Latifi’s pace was nowhere over one lap and was fortunate the race was suspended early on after an amateur mistake behind the Safety Car, clipping the barrier at the hairpin. However, he did drive well after that with a solid race and duel with Zhou. 

Guanyu Zhou - 5

Zhou was unfortunate to qualify last after he missed the chequered flag in Q1 following the red flag. The race was an uphill battle for the Chinese rookie as he tried to recover from the back of the grid. With Alfa Romeo not as competitive as predicted, it wasn’t too much of a missed opportunity. 

Yuki Tsunoda - 5

After a strong qualifying performance, Tsunoda struggled for pace throughout the grand prix in Monaco. A couple of trips down the escape road at Turn 1 meant he finished 17th. 

Alex Albon - 5

Albon found himself running ahead of Latifi for the opening 15 laps of the race but a couple of unforced errors allowed his teammate to get ahead. The Thai driver ultimately retired late on after the red flag. 

Mick Schumacher - 4 

It was another difficult race for Schumacher as he ended up in the barrier on Lap 27 at the Swimming Pool section. The German’s car was completely destroyed and the race was suspended as a result.

Kevin Magnussen - 6

Magnussen was forced to retire on Lap 21 due to a power unit issue. Up until that point in the race, the Dane was stuck behind Bottas but found himself in the lower reaches in the top 10 while running on the wets when a number of cars stopped for intermediates.