The penultimate round of the 2022 Formula 1 season delivered a thrilling spectacle with plenty of great racing and controversial moments that will be remembered for a long-time to come.
But which drivers impressed the most over the course of the weekend? Edd Straw rates the grid.
After each grand prix, The Race will rate each driver’s weekend with a mark out of 10.
An average mark is 5 out of 10, so that score is indicative of a decent drive given the high standard of drivers in F1.
For a more in-depth explanation, read our outline of the system.
Started: 3rd Finished: 6th
Qualifying
A lock-up at Turn 8 on his one Q3 push lap meant he ended up second-fastest having been quicker than surprise polesitter Magnussen in the first and last sectors.
Sprint
Verstappen was one of only two drivers to start on mediums because Red Bull was wary about the life of the softs.
Having held second initially then passed Magnussen on lap three, he came under increasing pressure from Russell. Held off Russell’s initial attacks before inevitably falling behind then suffered front wing damage when Sainz passed him. He slipped to fourth by the flag behind Hamilton.
Race
Early clash with Hamilton, for which the stewards held him predominantly responsible, dropped him to the back and ahead only of Leclerc.
From there, he recovered well to climb to sixth after the late restart, controversially not allowing Perez back ahead in contravention of a team order.
Verdict: While the penalty was harsh, Verstappen could have been more patient and also didn’t cover himself in glory by ignoring team orders.
Started: 4th Finished: 7th
Qualifying
Perez was compromised by inters-shod Leclerc being in front of him on the one flier he completed in Q3. He then set the fastest first sector time of all before he had to abort thanks to the red flag, leaving him ninth.
Sprint
Held ninth at the start but moved to eighth when Alonso pitted then picked off Ocon, Norris and Magnussen to take fifth. Unsurprisingly, his request for Verstappen to let him past to give him an extra point in the question for second in the drivers’ championship was rejected.
Race
Had a good first stint, getting up to second thanks to the Hamilton/Verstappen clash. But he found life harder on the mediums he had to use for two stints thanks to only having one set of softs available. The safety car also hurt him, meaning he plummeted from third to seventh after the restart – although had Verstappen heeded a team order it would have been sixth.
Verdict: While not as quick as Verstappen, was brisk enough and unlucky not to get a better result.
Started: 2nd Finished: 2nd
Qualifying
Hamilton ran slightly less rear wing than Russell and struggled building tyre temperature for his one shot in Q3 thanks to being towards the back of the queue. That left him down in eighth place.
Sprint
Hamilton made rapid progress in the early laps of the sprint, climbing from eighth on the first lap to fifth in just five laps. He then closed on the top three and was able to pass Verstappen for third and took second on the Sunday grid after Sainz’s penalty.
Race
Survived the clash with Verstappen – one that should have been deemed a racing incident given he took a risk by not leaving more room – but temporarily dropped to eighth. Ran the same strategy as his team-mate with two stops and a soft-medium-soft tyre choice, but extended the first stint by a further five laps. Passed Perez late in the second stint for second then made a relatively early second stop to cover an undercut attack, but was unable to challenge Russell after the restart.
Verdict: Not nailing the lap in Q3 and his role in the Verstappen clash potentially cost victory.
Started: 1st Finished: 1st
Qualifying
Posted what stood as third-fastest time in Q3, but then locked up and slid through the gravel at Turn 4 after trying to grab a little bit too much track on entry. To make matters worse, his attempt to pull off a quick spin turn to recover resulted in him burying the rear wheels in the gravel and resulted in a red flag.
Sprint
Held third place initially then passed Magnussen with ease. But his pace was strong relative to Verstappen and he eventually prevailed in a dramatic fight between the pair, winning by four seconds.
Race
Controlled the race from start to finish without putting a foot wrong. The crucial period under pressure was dropping Hamilton out of DRS range in the two laps after the safety car restart before the overtaking aid was enabled. Looked absolutely at home on his way to the breakthrough victory.
Verdict: Outstanding in the races but his rating is hurt by the Q3 error that could have cost him much more.
Started: 5th Finished: 4th
Qualifying
Spent much of qualifying being frustrated with Ferrari’s tyre antics, culminating in him being the only driver to start Q3 on intermediates. He set a laptime then headed into the pits for softs, but by then he’d missed the best of the conditions even if the red flag and subsequent deluge hadn’t made improving after the resumption impossible.
Sprint
Started just behind his rival for second in the championship, Sergio Perez, but despite having a couple of half-looks on the first lap couldn’t find a way through. Drove a conservative but effective race to go from 10th to fifth, picking off the midfield cars ahead but finishing at the back of the big-team pack.
Race
Somehow survived hitting the wall after his clash with Norris and drove superbly to recover on what became a three-stop strategy. Quick when he could be, patient when he had to be and effective at overtaking, this was a strong comeback drive – albeit one aided by the late-race safety car.
Verdict: Despite multiple setbacks not of his making, salvaged a good result.
Started: 7th Finished: 3rd
Qualifying
Sainz admitted to pushing too hard on his one Q3 lap, with several moments – the biggest into Turn 8 – leaving him down in fifth place.
Sprint
Held fifth place at the start, then picked off Norris and Magnussen to run third. He closed on Verstappen in the final part of the race, pulling off a forceful pass under braking into Turn 1 and clipping Verstappen’s front-wing endplate as he completed the move.
Race
Started seventh thanks to a five-place grid penalty but was soon up to third, partly because of the Hamilton/Verstappen clash. But his path to finishing there was made more difficult by having to stop early on lap 17 thanks to having a tear-off caught in a brake duct. That forced him onto a three-stopper made easier by the safety car, but he still comfortably took third place by repassing Perez after the restart.
Verdict: Did well to overcome penalty and strategy compromise to cap a good weekend
Started: 11th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
Did a good job to make it out of Q1 given he was the first driver to take the chequered flag as conditions improved, but could do no better than 14th in Q2. He admitted that as the grip levels improved, he struggled to go with it so never looked a top-10 threat.
Sprint
Finished 11th in the sprint, with two of those places gained thanks to the misadventures of the Alpine drivers and the other a pass on Stroll. Still felt he had a couple of tenths to find, but was content with his progress.
Race
Got up to 10th on the first lap, but carelessly tipped Magnussen into a spin at Turn 8 and collected the Haas, putting him out on the spot and earning himself a grid penalty for his McLaren farewell in Abu Dhabi.
Verdict: So-so in qualifying and OK in the sprint, but race-ending error was a big one.
Started: 6th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
Despite struggling with what was described as food poisoning, the effects of which lingered all weekend, Norris made it through to Q3 comfortably then put in the fourth-fastest time in the brief window of opportunity that was presented to drivers.
Sprint
Norris rationed his running during the Saturday FP2 session as he was still feeling under the weather, but his sprint race performance showed no signs of him being below par. Inevitably, he fell behind Sainz, Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc but he picked off Magnussen late on to secure seventh.
Race
Briefly held third after the first safety-car restart thanks to the Hamilton/Verstappen collision, but he also had his own clash with Leclerc. This was as the pair battled through Turn 6 with Norris bouncing off the inside kerb and running wide into Leclerc.
He felt he was squeezed but the stewards justifiably have him a five-second penalty. Ultimately, he perhaps should have ceded the position to a significantly faster car to focus on his real battle. He served that penalty at the first pitstop but ultimately didn’t make the finish thanks to an electrical problem while on course for minor points.
Verdict: Not at his best physically but overcame that until the needless Leclerc tangle he normally would have avoided getting caught up in.
Started: 16th Finished: 8th
Qualifying
Flirted with elimination in both Q1 and Q2, but made it through to Q3 and outqualified team-mate Alonso. The difference was largely through the Senna S, with Ocon gaining a quarter of a second on Alonso and holding an advantage of just under a tenth over the lap.
Sprint
While attempting to hold onto sixth under attack from Alonso, who was coming around the outside of Turn 4 on the first lap, sustained sidepod damage after contact with his team-mate. Despite surviving a second incident when Alonso clipped his right-rear wheel, the earlier damage slowed him and he slipped back to 17th.
Race
Ocon initially ran ahead of Alonso in the first stint as the pair worked their way forward from a lowly grid position. But the longer first stint allowed Alonso to get past as their strategies diverged. Finished eighth after passing Vettel and Bottas after the restart to offset the positions lost to Verstappen and – via a team order – Alonso.
Verdict: Not quite as quick as Alonso, but close, although his Turn 4 combativeness with Alonso in the sprint was self-defeating.
Started: 17th Finished: 5th
Qualifying
Breezed through Q1 and Q2, but ended up behind Ocon thanks to being a little conservative through the first sequence on his one opportunity in Q3. Looked the quicker Alpine driver prior to that.
Sprint
Escaped his first scrape with Ocon while attempting to pass him on the outside of Turn 4 for sixth place, but then clipped the back of his team-mate at the end of the lap after misjudging his moment to pull out to pass. That sent him to the pits for a new nose and earned him a five-second penalty for causing a collision at dangerously high speed. That dropped him from 15th on the road to 18th.
Race
Produced good pace and incisiveness to climb the order, with the final safety car allowing him to put for fresh softs. That cost a place to Bottas, but Alonso climbed from ninth to fifth during the 11-lap dash to the flag.
Verdict: Careless sprint blunder and general fractiousness hurt his rating on a weekend when he was, as usual, otherwise brilliantly effective.
Started: 10th Finished: 14th
Qualifying
Gasly looked on course to make it to Q3 but struggled to build front tyre temperature for the crucial first flying lap on his second set of slicks before conditions got worse. The result was 12th place, but within a tenth of the top 10.
Sprint
Held ninth place for much of the race, but struggled with rear tyre deg. That meant he came under pressure from Vettel in the closing stages, with the Aston Martin driver passing him into the Senna S with four laps remaining.
Race
AlphaTauri struggled with tyre degradation, meaning Gasly had to convert to a three-stop strategy. That put him in close company with Vettel in the closing stages, but never quite in a position for a serious points push given the car pace. He was also penalised for pitlane speeding.
Verdict: Performed solidly in a car that wasn’t at its best, but pitlane speed limit violation was careless.
Started: 20th (pits) Finished: 17th
Qualifying
Tsunoda called for a second set of intermediates in Q1, which ultimately proved costly as it left him limited time to make the most of slicks late in the session. He complained of “no grip” and didn’t get close to Q2 pace, ending up 19th.
Sprint
Made early progress to climb from 19th to 15th, but struggled with tyre degradation and dropped behind Alonso late on. He was given that place back when Alonso was penalised.
Race
Started from the pits after making set-up changes under parc ferme conditions but didn’t have the pace to make significant progress. A quirk of the way the computer system manages backmarkers unlapping themselves under the safety car caught him out thanks to pitting when that process was being carried out, dropping him from 15th to 17th behind the two Williams drivers.
Verdict: A weekend that never really got going for Tsunoda.
Started: 9th Finished: 11th
Qualifying
Vettel put in a lap as the rain started to return in Q2 good enough for 13th and within a tenth of a Q3 place. He was content with the lap and performed well throughout qualifying, notably with fourth in Q1.
Sprint
One of the stars of the sprint, Vettel held 13th initially and benefitted from problems for the Alpine drivers, then passed Stroll – escaping his team-mate’s dangerous late move on the back straight – and later Gasly to finish ninth.
Race
Climbed as high as fourth in the first stint after starting on softs, but lost ground thanks to waiting too long before the first stop. The second safety car didn’t work for him either and Stroll, who was on softs compared to Vettel’s mediums, passed him to take 10th place in the final stint.
Verdict: His performance level deserved a points finish as he was more effective than Stroll.
Started: 15th Finished: 10th
Qualifying
Stroll never looked as comfortable as team-mate Vettel in the conditions, although he did have the irritation of a persistent ‘torque rejected’ message taking up part of his dash screen during some of Q1 and then Q2. His second run in Q2 was messy and blighted by traffic, meaning he didn’t improve when he needed to and ended up 15th.
Sprint
Got up to 11th on the second lap, but lacked the edge of pace his team-mate had. That led to him making a late defensive move on the back straight that rightly earned him a 10-second penalty. Finished 12th on the road, which became 16th once penalties had been applied.
Race
Claimed his sixth 10th place of the season despite, like his team-mate, only having one set of the preferred softs. His medium/medium/soft strategy meant he was on the quicker tyre at the end of the race and after the late-race safety car, he surged from 13th to 10th, passing Schumacher, Zhou and Vettel to bag the final point.
Verdict: Dangerous defending on Saturday is a big negative, although he did recover well in the race, and does significant damage to his rating.
Started: 18th Finished: 16th
Qualifying
Latifi was the fastest of the five drivers eliminated in Q1, missing out on Q2 by 0.164s. He felt he had the pace but had the tyre prep on his cooldown lap comprised by having to keep out of the way of traffic and suspected he might have done better by opting for consecutive push laps.
Sprint
Williams identified some damage after FP2 that Latifi suspected had been there since the start of the weekend, but he still struggled for pace in the sprint. Initially ran 17th before behind shuffled to the back and only just finished on the lead lap.
Race
Had a difficult first stint thanks to a lap-one flatspot, then lost four seconds in his first stop to a slow front-right tyre change. On top of that, lost time with a 13-lap second stint on hards and was 17 seconds behind Albon when the safety car was deployed. That allowed him to close up and at least race Albon to the finish.
Verdict: Another weekend of patches of modest promise unfulfilled.
Started: 19th Finished: 15th
Qualifying
Got within half-a-tenth of a place in Q3 having left heading out on a fresh set of slicks relatively late in that session in the hope of hitting the best of the conditions. He put together a good lap and it’s likely only a small moment in Turn 10 cost him a place in Q3.
Sprint
Made a poor start with heaps of wheelspin, which meant he dropped to 15th. He was then passed by Schumacher before retiring when the right-front let go approaching the first corner as a result of hitting debris suspected to have come from Alonso’s front-wing disintegrating.
Race
Started on hards, an error the team corrected by pitting him under the early safety car to convert to what was effectively a two-stopper with three medium stints. Ultimately, the Williams wasn’t quick enough to make big gains and with the late safety car poorly timed and Albon suffering from what the team described as a “loss of power” at the final restart, he was left with nothing more to fight for than staying ahead of his team-mate.
Verdict: Extracted good pace from the Williams but sprint puncture derailed his weekend.
Started: 13th Finished: 12th
Qualifying
Like his team-mate, switched to softs relatively late so only had one serious push lap on the slicks and struggled to get the tyres working in the available time. That left him just under two tenths off a Q2 place, but he was at least ahead of Bottas.
Sprint
Had another difficult start and dropped to 19th but made good progress to climb the order to 13th by the chequered flag
Race
Held 13th on the first lap despite being jumped by Bottas and Stroll thanks to the Ricciardo/Magnussen incident and was still there at the end – albeit gaining one place better thanks to Gasly’s five-second penalty for pitlane speeding. The Alpines inevitably passed him, but that was offset by undercutting his way past Schumacher at the first stops and Norris’s retirement. He held off Schumacher despite a turbo problem that at times made it unresponsive and took the edge off his pace.
Verdict: Performed well relative to Bottas before turbo problem hurt his race.
Started: 14th Finished: 9th
Qualifying
Rued calling for a second set of intermediates because he saw hints of renewed rain in Q1. Struggled to get the slicks working and missed out on a Q2 place by just over half-a-second as a result.
Sprint
Was shuffled to last in the first corner having initially been ahead of his team-mate. From there he made solid progress, climbing to 14th and showing good pace at least to improve his grid position for the race.
Race
Held 11th at the end of the first lap then climbed into the points by overtaking Schumacher and Stroll. Ran a soft/medium/soft strategy that put him sixth with a 10-lap tyre advantage over Alonso ahead when the safety car was deployed. The team believed that cost him the chance to beat both Alpines, as struggles for tyre temperature at the restart, which he took in fifth, meant he was quickly shuffled back to ninth – although two of the cars that passed him were the significantly faster Leclerc and Verstappen.
Verdict: Raced well after qualifying disappointment, although could have coped better with the final restart.
Started: 8th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
Drove with confidence in all three stages of qualifying, whether on intermediates or slicks in low-grip conditions. In particular, his excellence on the brakes shone through, allowing him to nail that first lap in Q3 to secure a likely pole. While circumstances were on his side, he also executed qualifying superbly to put himself in the position to benefit.
Sprint
Made the most of having soft tyres compared to Verstappen’s mediums to get a good launch and hold the lead. But this race was always about limiting the time loss to midfield rivals, which he did superbly. He slipped back to eighth and held Norris at bay for a significant number of laps before falling behind him in the closing stages as he battled tyre deg.
Race
Made a good start but was relegated to ninth when Vettel passed him around the outside approaching the first corner. But his race was over after being clobbered by Ricciardo at Turn 8, an incident in which he was clearly the innocent party.
Verdict: This was Magnussen at his only sporadically-seen best – fast, committed and faultless in particular on Friday. Nothing more he could have done.
Started: 12th Finished: 13th
Qualifying
Like Magnussen, Schumacher only had one shot on slicks at the end of Q1, but proved too tentative both on his ou-tlap and push lap. He suggested this was because he “underestimated the grip” having shown good pace earlier in Q1.
Sprint
Made rapid progress early on, jumping to 16th on the first lap – surviving wheel-rubbing moments with first Latifi at Turn 5 then Albon out of Turn 9 and climbing to 12th at the finish despite battling an engine problem.
Race
Briefly got as high as seventh after the first safety car, although Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc were always going to get back past him. Struggled on the mediums and ran a little long, also getting overtaken by Bottas and Ocon during the stint and being undercut by Alonso and Zhou. He never again seriously threatened the points, finishing right behind Zhou but unable to pass him.
Verdict: Failure to escape Q1 defined a weekend on which he showed good pace at times.
