F1 News
Our driver ratings for the Canadian Grand Prix!
Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
With the Canadian Grand Prix in the books, we've slept on it and now present to you our driver ratings for each driver! Do you agree or disagree? Are we being too nice or too harsh on any particular driver? Let us know in the comments!
Lewis Hamilton - 9
A pretty much flawless weekend from the reigning champion. Yes, Lewis Hamilton got handed the win by a dubious penalty, but his relentless pressure on Sebastian Vettel forced the mistake from the German in the first place. He beat the faster car, he got the most out of his car, and you can only applaud him for that.
Sebastian Vettel - 9.5
What's left to say about the incident? It was a very bitter end to a near-perfect weekend for Vettel. Pole position, a fantastic start and a great drive. However, the mistake of going onto the grass was of his own doing, regardless of the penalty being the right decision or not. That's why we can't give the four-time champ full marks, but a truly dominant display aside of the small but massive mistake. More of this please, Seb! That win will come.
Charles Leclerc - 8
A weekend without any drama, Charles Leclerc needed that. No controversial strategy, no damaged car, no mistake from him, just a very solid drive to earn him another podium finish. A very good job indeed from the sophomore, who almost snatched P2 from Vettel at the end without knowing about his penalty! A mature drive from the 21-year-old that will please the Ferrari bosses.
Valtteri Bottas - 4
We're afraid the old, less confident Valtteri Bottas is making a return. After a poor showing in qualifying where he made a costly mistake in both runs in Q3, the Finn got passed by Nico Hülkenberg at the start and really struggled to regain P6. He then also spent way too long behind the other Renault of Daniel Ricciardo before overtaking the Aussie on DRS. Where were those gutsy moves we saw at the start of the season? The gap between himself and teammate Hamilton keeps growing...
Max Verstappen - 8
Extremely unlucky in qualifying as his second hot lap in Q2 was red flagged, but another very solid drive from the Dutchman. This Canadian Grand Prix now marks a full F1 calendar year of him beating his teammate, which just show how consistently great he has been since that famous FP3 crash in Monaco 2018. Verstappen finished P5 in Canada, which was all he could have realistically done after starting ninth.
Daniel Ricciardo - 9
What a weekend from the Aussie. Truly spectacular in qualifying, putting his Renault on P4 on merit (the highest qualifying result for Renault in absolute ages). He kept Bottas behind him for a long time as well, displaying hard but fair defending on the track where he got his maiden win back in 2014.
He finished best of the rest in P6 and showed why he's still regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound drivers on the grid.
Nico Hülkenberg - 7
He loves a P7, doesn't he? That's why we saw it fit to give Nico a 7! Qualified in P7, finished in P7, but that doesn't tell the full story. He overtook Bottas at the start and defended very well to keep that place. Renault opted to let Ricciardo finish ahead of him, which he felt upset by, but solid points for Hülkenberg after a bit of a slump. Good confidence booster, let's see whether the German can keep it up!
Pierre Gasly - 4
Another difficult afternoon for Pierre Gasly, who seemed to be growing more confident with the RB15 as the year progressed. After qualifying fifth, behind Ricciardo in the Renault, the Frenchman couldn't find the pace at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Struggled to get close Lance Stroll ahead of him despite the Canadian being on very old hard tyres and couldn't get close to the two Renaults ahead of him. Let's hope the 23-year-old can put in a statement performance in front of his home fans in France next time out!
Lance Stroll - 8
Another weekend of two tales for Lance. Poor in qualifying, not getting out of Q1 for 11 straight times now, but fantastic on Sundays. Getting P9 after starting from P17 is extremely impressive from the 20-year-old. He needs to improve his one-lap pace to get himself into better positions for races, because there is no doubt he always turns up for races. Still, a very good race in front of his home fans, he'll remember this one for a long time!
Daniil Kvyat - 7
Daniil Kvyat has sneakily been one of the best drivers of the season, you know. The Russian has been in excellent form for Toro Rosso in his third stint at the team, and with his late move on Carlos Sainz at turn 1, he bagged yet another point for the Italian team.
He seems to have lost his (overly) aggressive nature he was criticised for in his previous stints in F1, and the Russian has become a consistent points scorer. However, the confidence to send it is still there, but he's become much better at picking his spots rather than just sending one down the inside and seeing what happens. Very impressive season and very solid race from the 25-year-old.
Carlos Sainz - 6
His race was compromised early, and he never really recovered. A piece of debris was blocking his brake ducts and the Spaniard was forced to make an early stop, forcing him to change tyre strategy. His tyres were cooked by the end of the race and he was getting picked off left and right, and the 24-year-old fell out of the points late in the race. Frustrating for Sainz, who has been the man in form in midfield in recent races.
Sergio Pérez - 5
As he said himself, Sergio Pérez and Stroll were on reverse strategies to see which one would be more effective. Stroll's tactic of going long on the first stint proved more fruitful and the team succeeded in scoring points after starting 15th and 17th.
The pace just wasn't there for Pérez, and he'll quickly want to move on from a weekend to forget at his team's home race.
Antonio Giovinazzi - 5
We won't judge Antonio Giovinazzi too hard as he was excellent in qualifying, but the Italian seems to be driving over the limit too often. He brushed up on the walls in Montréal in practice ánd in the race, and also spun out at turn 2 to both cook his tyres and losing a lot of time.
The 25-year-old needs to learn how to pace himself during a Grand Prix if he wants to start scoring points, as he remains the only non-Williams driver with no points. The talent is clearly there, as we saw on Saturday as he beat teammate Kimi Raikkonen, but he's yet to put it together in a full race.
Romain Grosjean - 4
Another very unlucky weekend for poor Romain Grosjean. His teammate Kevin Magnussen caused a red flag during Q2 right as Grosjean was doing his hot lap to go through to Q3, and the race start added insult to injury as the Frenchman got caught in the crossfire with Alex Albon losing his front wing right in front of Grosjean. He lost a lot of places as he went off-track, and never really recovered. Desperately unlucky.
Kimi Raikkonen - 4
Raikkonen seems to be struggling to perform for Alfa Romeo recently. The veteran started the year by scoring points in the opening four races, but hasn't come close since. Out-qualified by Giovinazzi and even overtaken by George Russel at the start.
P15 doesn't look right for a driver of the stature of Kimi. Let's hope Alfa can give him a better package in the next races. Or is it a dip in form from the Ice Man?
George Russell - 6
Not a lot to say for Russell, as per usual. He got the most out of his Williams, as per usual, even finishing ahead of the Haas of Magnussen this time. His second-best finish for finish after P15 in Monaco.
Great driving from the reigning F2 champion yet again. It leaves you wondering what he could be able to do in a more competitive car.
Kevin Magnussen - 1
Boy oh boy, what a nightmare of a weekend for K-Mag. Crashed his Haas in qualifying, started from the pitlane, and had bad race pace during the Grand Prix, even finishing behind a Williams.
However, his attitude on the team radio was appalling, saying it was the worst racing experience he's ever had in a racing car. It's uncalled for, and disrespectful to the mechanics who worked all of Saturday night to repair a car he had crashed in qualifying. He's apologised since, but this probably was the worst weekend in the Dane's F1 career, both in attitude and in performance.
Robert Kubica - 4
Out-qualified by seven-tenths by his teammate. Lapped three times, the first of which after just 13 laps. At the track where he won his only Grand Prix as well. It's not nice to see Robert Kubica struggling like this.
However, the reality of the situation is that his rookie teammate is currently clearly performing better. A very underwhelming race again for the Pole, although the ceiling of his car's performance isn't much higher than his result.
Alexander Albon - 5
Not a lot to say here. Lost his front wing at turn 1 of the race, never recuperated. Eventually retired as there was nothing to gain from the race. Head down, move on to the next race in France, come back stronger.
Lando Norris - /
Lando Norris' race ended within 10 laps because of a suspension failure. Great qualifying performance, disappointing to see the teenager retire from a race again.
His battle with Max Verstappen was fun to watch, and McLaren (and Renault) must be happy to see Norris was beating Verstappen in a straight line. Norris will look to bounce back stronger in France.
