Australian GP ratings: Norris stars, Steiner vindicated for axing Schumacher

Max Verstappen - 8.5

The reigning world champion stormed to his first-ever victory in Melbourne, however, it wasn’t a vintage performance. Verstappen made sluggish starts on two of three standing starts. He even made an uncharacteristic mistake when he ran wide at the penultimate corner. 

Lewis Hamilton - 8.5

It was an exemplary race-day performance from Hamilton. He got his elbows out on Verstappen at Turn 1 - something we’ve not seen too much recently. Despite his complaints about tyres, in typical Hamilton fashion, he controlled the gap to Alonso to score Mercedes’ first podium of F1 2023.

Fernando Alonso - 9

Alonso continues to extract the most from the Aston Martin as he picked up his third consecutive podium finish. He did benefit from George Russell and Carlos Sainz’s untimely pit stops when the first red flag appeared. From then on, it was a strong performance from the Spaniard.

Lance Stroll - 6.5

It was Stroll’s best result of the season, but it certainly wasn’t his best race of the year. The Canadian was fortunate to finish fourth after he was reinstated in his original position following the final red flag stoppage. 

Sergio Perez - 6

A bit of a disastrous weekend from Perez’s perspective. He crashed in Q1, which was ultimately his own mistake even if he was compromised by an inherent technical issue. His recovery drive was solid albeit expected given Red Bull’s superiority this weekend. 

Lando Norris - 9.5

Norris was back to his very best in Melbourne. Even though he qualified only 13th, Norris was lightning-quick throughout and pulled off decisive moves when he needed to. 

Nico Hulkenberg - 9

The experienced German continues to show why Haas signed him for this year. His qualifying pace has been scintillating since returning to F1, while he finally put together a great race.

Oscar Piastri - 7

Piastri was a couple of tenths shy of Norris in qualifying. In the race, he was compromised after being stuck behind Tsunoda with McLaren lacking straight-line speed. Still, a solid race where he scored his maiden F1 points.

Zhou Guanyu - 6.5

For the second race running, Zhou led Alfa Romeo’s charge in Australia. He kept out of trouble and his efforts were rewarded with two points.

Yuki Tsunoda - 7.5

Like Zhou, Tsunoda was rewarded with a well-earned points finish. It did look like he was on for a third consecutive P11 until Carlos Sainz’s penalty. 

Valtteri Bottas - 4

What is going on with Bottas? He was out-paced by Zhou again in qualifying and then was anonymous in the race. A poor weekend. 

Carlos Sainz - 4.5

Sainz’s fine weekend was undone by contact with Alonso at the third standing start. The penalty was entirely justified.

Pierre Gasly - 4.5

Up until the final standing start, Gasly’s weekend at Albert Park was nearly faultless. He was keeping with Sainz in the Ferrari and on course to finish fifth. His good work was undone when he moved across on Ocon, forcing both Alpines out of the race.

Esteban Ocon - 6

The slower of the two Alpines at Albert Park, Ocon’s race was ended by his teammate with a couple of laps to go.

Nyck de Vries - 4.5

Never at his teammate’s pace, de Vries struggled again in Melbourne.

Logan Sargeant - 3.5

Given it was Sargeant’s first visit to Albert Park, it wasn’t surprising to see him be unable to match the pace he showed in Saudi Arabia. He retired late on after colliding with de Vries.

Kevin Magnussen - 3

A lack of pace and a race-ending mistake - Magnussen was not at the races in Melbourne and was considerably behind the pace of Hulkenberg.

George Russell - 8.5

As Russell put it himself, it was just one of those days. Despite leading the race, Russell lost out at the first red flag because Mercedes stopped him just before it when the Safety Car was deployed. He found him up to fourth before retiring with an engine-related issue.

Alex Albon - 4.5

Albon was flying in sixth place before he crashed out of the race at Turn 7 on Lap 7. It was an impressive weekend up until that point - but ultimately, a big missed opportunity. 

Charles Leclerc - 3

One of Leclerc’s worst weekends as a Ferrari driver as he underperformed in qualifying, before retiring on the opening lap of the race.