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Most drivers came up short in one session or another as Formula 1 put on the third edition of its sprint format in Brazil, with fortunes varying significantly across Friday qualifying, the Saturday sprint and the Sunday race.
But one driver stayed consistently at the top of his game – and it shouldn’t be difficult at all to guess who was awarded the sole perfect score in this weekend’s edition of Edd Straw’s F1 driver ratings.
After each grand prix, The Race will rate each driver’s weekend with a mark out of 10.
This year, in an attempt to utilise a wider range of scores, we have recalibrated the scoring to make 5 out of 10 an average mark and therefore indicative of a decent drive given the high standard of drivers in F1.
For a more in-depth explanation, read our outline of the modified system.
Started: 10th Finished: 1st
Qualifying
On imperious form to take pole position by 0.438s. While he was excluded for the rear wing infringement, that wasn’t responsible for his margin. One of the most crushing ‘lost’ pole positions in F1 history.
Sprint
Started from 20th and drove superbly to recover to fifth. While the car was seriously quick he also executed the race intelligently, positioning his car to maximise the run on rivals and turn a back-of-the-grid start into 10th on the grid – even with a five-place penalty – for the grand prix proper.
Race
Leaped to sixth on the first lap then dispatched the Ferraris in double quick time to ensure he was with the leaders. The chase of Verstappen was long, and he couldn’t make the first attack work, but his inexorable rise was completed with a well-worked move on lap 60.
VERDICT: The car had the pace, but Hamilton’s execution was majestic.
Started: 1st Finished: 3rd
Qualifying
Wasn’t at Hamilton’s level in qualifying and lost pace throughout the lap to his team-mate. He looked set to jump Verstappen, having been behind on his first Q3 run – primarily thanks to time lost on the blast to the line – but couldn’t string together a better lap at the second attempt.
Sprint
Capitalised on the grip levels of soft rubber to jump Verstappen at the start. Having initially not been under much pressure, Bottas kept it clean and tidy once Verstappen closed up, and was never seriously under attack on his way to victory.
Race
Passed by Verstappen into Turn 1, then by Perez through the esses, he settled into third early on, which became fourth when he was instructed to let Hamilton past. Ran longest of the top four, which paid off when the VSC was deployed to allow debris to be cleared, allowing him to stop and jump Perez for third.
VERDICT: Can’t blame him for not being at Hamilton’s majestic level, but the first lap of the grand prix cost him.
Started: 4th Finished: 4th
Qualifying
Perez continued his improved run of form in terms of one-lap pace, lapping just over a tenth off Verstappen. He was the only Q3 driver to string together his three theoretical best sectors from the qualifying session, and came so close to picking off the quicker Mercedes of Bottas.
Sprint
Opted for mediums and lost out to Sainz at the start, which condemned him to spending much of the race chasing the Ferrari but unable to pass. Finished fourth as a result.
Race
Passed Bottas through the esses on the opening lap and had him covered through to the first round of pitstops. But thanks to Bottas running longer, he slipped behind when the Mercedes driver pitted while the VSC was deployed. The car didn’t have the pace to hit back, so he settled for fourth and a last-lap bonus point for fastest lap.
VERDICT: Qualified strongly and would have beaten Bottas without the ill-timed VSC.
Started: 2nd Finished: 2nd
Qualifying
Given the pace of Hamilton, there was never a chance of topping the timesheets, but thanks to outpacing Bottas and the lead Mercedes driver’s exclusion, he ended up at the front.
Sprint
Opted for mediums and, as a result, lost out to Bottas at the start. He was then passed by Sainz at Turn 4, taking a risk by trying to hang on and running off the track but without anything other than a slight time loss. Got back past Sainz and closed on Bottas but couldn’t turn his tyre durability advantage into a passing attempt.
Race
Got a good launch to edge past Bottas into Turn 1 but was never more than 5.7s clear of Hamilton, so always knew it would come down to trying to hold him off.
Verstappen did this effectively after the first pitstops, but came under increasing pressure after the second stops and, after surviving Hamilton’s first attack when he forced both off at Turn 4, was powerless to resist the second attack.
VERDICT: Beating one Mercedes driver limited the potential damage, although Turn 4 defence was iffy.
Started: 11th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
Just lost out to Norris, who found a little time off the last corner and on the blast to the line, but had the edge in parts of the middle sector.
Sprint
Went for mediums and got a good start, but lost out to Ocon and Vettel on the opening lap. He fought with Vettel for much of the first lap, running wide off track at Turn 4 while battling with him. That put him 10th, which became 11th when Hamilton came past.
Race
Ran ninth early on before passing Vettel to run eighth. He stopped under the second VSC, meaning a one-stopper was possible, and was ahead of both Alpines when he started to suffer a power loss that soon put him out of the race.
VERDICT: Shaded by his team-mate on pace but would have banked points without the failure.
Started: 5th Finished: 10th
Qualifying
Had the edge on Ricciardo on pace, but despite making a good step in confidence from FP1 into qualifying, wasn’t able to bridge the gap to the Ferraris.
Sprint
Climbed from seventh to sixth ahead of the slow-starting Gasly and moved up to fifth on lap nine when he passed Leclerc using the DRS. Lost out to Hamilton on the last lap, finishing sixth.
Race
Made a good start and tried to squeeze past Sainz on the outside, only for the Ferrari driver to have a slight kick of wheelspin as Norris was attempting to complete the move, resulting in contact and a puncture. From the back – and assisted by the safety car closing the gap – Norris did a good job to recover to 10th.
VERDICT: Quick but unlucky as could have finished in the top six.
Started: 9th Finished: 11th
Qualifying
Reckoned that 11th was as good as it was going to get in qualifying, and while his pace in sectors one and three was decent enough, he lost too much time in the twisty middle sector to have picked off Ocon, who was well ahead.
Sprint
Opted for mediums and jumped the slow-starting Alonso immediately before getting round Norris coming through the esses to run ninth. Sat in the queue for the rest of the race, although inevitably was demoted to 10th by the charging Hamilton.
Race
Held seventh early on before being passed by Gasly then Ricciardo to run ninth. He stopped shortly before the second VSC, allowing Ocon to stop under it and jump him, then lost another place to Alonso on track. Dropped behind Norris when he made his second and final pitstop and tried to use his tyre freshness advantage to come back at the McLaren driver to no avail.
VERDICT: Slightly unfortunate but couldn’t quite lift the Aston Martin into a points position.
Started: 14th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
It was touch and go with Vettel in Q1, but Stroll lost out on the blast to the line thanks to not having as potent a tow. With a similar tow, he’d have made it into Q2.
Sprint
Dropped from 15th to 16th at the start, with Hamilton getting ahead. Spent the vast majority of the race tracking Tsunoda, but once the AlphaTauri driver slipped out of the DRS train Stroll was able to blast past him at the start of the final lap.
Race
Was running 12th when his race was effectively ruined by being clobbered by the lunging Tsunoda at Turn 1. Despite carrying damage, he pressed on until lap 47 when he retired from 14th place once the team realised it was pointless to continue.
VERDICT: A little unlucky in qualifying, solid in the sprint and very unfortunate in the race.
Started: 12th Finished: 9th
Qualifying
After two difficult weekends for Alpine, Alonso got back into Q3 after a well-executed session, although perhaps he could have picked off Ricciardo but for losing a little time to his personal best in the twisty middle sector.
Sprint
Didn’t have any unused softs available so opted for mediums, meaning he was on the defensive on the first lap after a poor start led to him losing three places by Turn 1.
He got back past Tsunoda, but a moment at Turn 4 allowed Giovinazzi to attack – although he managed to hold him off through the middle sector.
Alonso was then passed by both Alfas approaching Turn 1 on lap two, only for Raikkonen to spin after contact with Giovinazzi. He briefly got up to 11th after passing Giovinazzi before slipping to 12th behind Hamilton.
Race
Gained one place at the start thanks to Norris’s misfortune to run 11th, but was passed by Stroll later in the stint before reclaiming the position. With both Alpine drivers on a one-stopper, he overtook Vettel in the second stint, then picked up a place when Ricciardo retired, before being waved past his team-mate.
Despite the best efforts of the Alpine drivers, Gasly soon came back through and on the last lap Alonso ceded eighth place to Ocon.
VERDICT: Was the stronger Alpine driver, despite a blip early in the sprint race.
Started: 8th Finished: 8th
Qualifying
Not far behind Alonso on pace, but generally a little bit slower through the middle sector, which is why he couldn’t beat his team-mate to a Q3 spot. Didn’t have the best of Q2 laps, but 11th was about where he was on performance anyway.
Sprint
Climbed from 10th to eighth at the start by using his soft-tyre bite to jump Alonso, then passing Ricciardo through the esses. He tracked Gasly but couldn’t make a move before inevitably being passed by Hamilton to finish ninth.
Race
Slipped from eighth to 10th at the start, with Hamilton and Vettel going either side of him in the first corner. Committed to a one-stop strategy that put him eighth, but he allowed Alonso past to see if his team-mate could do anything about Gasly. Alonso couldn’t, meaning Ocon handed back eighth place on the last lap.
VERDICT: Very close to Alonso on pace and raced well.
Started: 6th Finished: 5th
Qualifying
Didn’t have the best of final qualifying laps, but after hustling through the middle sector he was on course to shade Sainz before a slight wobble and wide exit from Juncao left him losing time on the blast to the line. That left him 0.134s, and one place, behind Sainz.
Sprint
Jumped Gasly at the start to go from sixth to fifth and had a go at passing Perez around the outside of Turn 4 before understeering wide. He struggled to get the medium Pirellis working in the unexpectedly cool temperatures and couldn’t hold off Norris. To his surprise, Hamilton caught and passed him by lap 17, leaving Leclerc seventh at the finish.
Race
Having passed Sainz on the run to Turn 4 on the opening lap, he had a straightforward race. Stayed ahead of Sainz as the pair ensured they drew clear of the mid-pack, but didn’t have the machinery to stay near the top four.
VERDICT: The first four corners of the race allowed him to turn the tables on Sainz.
Started: 3rd Finished: 6th
Qualifying
Continues to feel ever-more comfortable in the Ferrari, but looked on the verge to losing out to Leclerc until the battle swung in his favour at the last corner – where Leclerc had generally had the advantage in terms of getting on the power but made an error. Sainz also dealt well with an inside-front lock-up at the start of his lap.
Sprint
Used the soft-tyre bite to gain two positions by the first corner and even passed Verstappen for second at Turn 4. While inevitably he slipped back behind Verstappen on lap three – albeit briefly taking the position back – this allowed him a brief spell of clean air to avoid overloading the tyres.
Fell into Perez’s clutches as he dropped back from Verstappen, but managed the tyres excellently and held firm for third.
Race
Sainz’s race was defined by the start, as he picked up some wheelspin during the start phase. Initially, he was frustrated given his previous progress on starts, but he later discovered that he had apparently hit his marks correctly but the slow getaway was caused by a minor clutch issue.
This meant he was on the defensive on lap one, surviving a brush with Norris on the main straight after a kick of wheelspin led to him edging to the right, then being passed by Leclerc approaching Turn 4. Finished sixth, well clear of Gasly and having run effectively the same race as Leclerc after the start.
VERDICT: Had the beating of his team-mate, but race start let him down.
Started: 7th Finished: 7th
Qualifying
Struggled a little in FP1, but got stronger as qualifying progressed and reckoned that his Q3 fastest lap was “probably one of my best laps” even though he still wasn’t happy with the balance. It was certainly a strong performance, which put him as best-of-the-rest behind Mercedes and Red Bull for the second consecutive race.
Sprint
Wheelspin at the start meant he dropped from fourth to sixth by the first corner before being passed by Norris through the esses. That became eighth when Hamilton passed him on lap 16, and eighth was where he finished.
Race
Held eighth on the first lap before undercutting his way past Vettel at the first round of pitstops. Never had the pace to threaten the Ferraris, but was kept busy by having to pass the two one-stopping Alpines, who worked together in a vain attempt to hold him behind. Reckoned that seventh was as good a result as the car deserved.
VERDICT: Sprint race start aside, another well-executed weekend.
Started: 15th Finished: 15th
Qualifying
Having matched Gasly in Q1, a fourth consecutive Q3 appearance looked on for Tsunoda on his first time at Interlagos. Struggled increasingly with the car as qualifying progressed though and fell in Q2 after failing even to match his Q1 time.
Sprint
Made a good start, but was then shuffled back behind Alonso and the Alfa Romeos to run 14th before being passed by Hamilton. Held that position for the majority of the race, but late on slipped out of DRS range of Giovinazzi, which allowed Stroll to pass him on the run to Turn 1 on the final lap.
Race
Tsunoda started on softs and needed to attack, but he was too aggressive when he lunged at Stroll in an attempt to take 12th at Turn 1 early on, forcing a nose change and giving him a 10-second penalty. He served that at his second stop, ensuring he finished behind everyone except Latifi and the two Haas drivers.
VERDICT: A step backwards after recent improved performances.
Started: 20th Finished: 12th
Qualifying
Required three runs to make it through to Q2, but despite finding almost a tenth on his one proper Q2 run that wasn’t good enough to get close to a Q3 spot. A lock-up at Turn 1 contributed to losing a little time through the first sector, and most likely a place to Tsunoda, and while it was a tidy enough lap Raikkonen admitted it fell short of the optimum.
Sprint
Slipped behind Giovinazzi at the start, but followed his team-mate past Tsunoda and then, momentarily, Alonso. But after passing the Alpine driver, he turned in on Giovinazzi, who he knew would have been somewhere on the inside at Turn 1 even if he couldn’t see him, and was tipped into a spin. Dropped to the back and passed the Haas drivers to finish 18th.
Race
Started from the pits after a change to a more trimmed-out rear wing to make overtaking easier, a decision that paid off and helped him climb to 12th by the finish of the race behind Vettel. Finished within touching distance of the points after showing relatively stronger pace than during the rest of the weekend thanks to being happier with the car.
VERDICT: Sprint mishap aside, a pretty good weekend.
Started: 13th Finished: 14th
Qualifying
Had to use three sets of softs in Q1 to make it through, which gave him just one fresh set for Q2. On that run, he had a big inside-front lock-up into the first corner, which he blamed on the brakes being too cold, and aborted the lap. That meant he had to rely on his sighter run with used softs, which was slower than his Q1 time, for his final position.
Sprint
Went on the attack on the opening lap, getting ahead of Raikkonen and surviving a rub of wheels with Tsunoda on the run to Turn 4. He then pulled a double pass on Tsunoda and Alonso in Turn 4, before being repassed by the Alpine driver.
Giovinazzi got back ahead into 11th on the run to Turn 1 on lap three, only for Raikkonen to turn in on him and spin after contact. Carrying minor damage, he slipped to 13th.
Race
Settled into 13th in the first stint, but ended up stuck behind early-stoppers Russell and Stroll when he made his first pitstop. This meant a frustrating afternoon in traffic for Giovinazzi, who also ended up behind his team-mate as a result.
VERDICT: Pace was fine, but rough edges and strategic misfortune held him back.
Started: 19th Finished: 17th
Qualifying
Was fighting back the tears after qualifying, having made a mistake at Turn 8 on his promising final lap, which led to further losses throughout the middle sector and cost him a shot at outqualifying Schumacher – and, he felt, even challenging the Williams drivers.
He blamed pushing too hard for wasting what was probably his best chance of the season so far to deliver a strong qualifying performance.
Sprint
Picked up wheelspin at the start so immediately dropped behind Hamilton, but latched onto the back of Schumacher at Turn 1. Had a go at passing him around the outside at Turn 4, only to be backed up by the locking-up Russell. Briefly gained a place to Raikkonen’s spin before slipping to last again, but showed decent pace in the second half of the pace relative to his team-mate.
Race
Didn’t have a great launch but climbed to 16th early in the lap, then squeezed up the inside of his team-mate at Turn 1 at the start of the second lap. Schumacher was still behind when he lost his front wing, and while Mazepin was inevitably shuffled to the rear of the midfield group, with his one-stop strategy not enough to pick anyone off, he came home ahead of his delayed team-mate.
VERDICT: The strongest weekend of his rookie season so far.
Started: 18th Finished: 18th
Qualifying
Came within five-thousandths of matching Williams driver Latifi in Q1, only for his lap to be deleted for a track limits infringement at Turn 4. But he was confident in the car and admitted to being “gutted” not to have made it to Q2.
Sprint
Made a good start and battled the Williams drivers down to Turn 4, but with no space to attack had to back off into the left-hander, which allowed Mazepin to get alongside. He held onto that position but after the early laps he inevitably fell back from the Williams drivers and came home 19th, six seconds clear of Mazepin.
Race
Had an attacking first lap to climb to 14th before being passed by Mazepin at Turn 1 on lap two. He then had a moment while trying to fight back as Raikkonen passed him, holding the inside line at Turn 1 but suffering a quick snap on the throttle that spat him into the Alfa Romeo and cost him his front wing. Spent the rest of the afternoon at the back.
VERDICT: Didn’t get the best out of himself in qualifying or the main race.
Started: 16th Finished: 16th
Qualifying
Beat Russell in a qualifying session for the first time in 35 attempts, but on what he accurately described as a “scrappy” lap in a Williams that was nonetheless consistently that tiny bit quicker than Russell’s all throughout.
Sprint
Spent most of the sprint race stuck between Stroll and Russell after keeping his team-mate at bay on the first lap. He felt he could have challenged Tsunoda for 15th after the AlphaTauri driver was overtaken by Stroll on the last lap, but ran out of time.
Race
Was running 18th having lost three places on the restart lap – surviving light contact with Raikkonen along the way – but still ahead of Russell, having overtaken him on the second lap after having previously lost the place with a lock-up and off-track excursion at Turn 4 on lap one.
He was brought in for a pitstop under the VSC that cast him to the rear of the field. It was a strategic gamble that didn’t pay off and condemned him to a lonely afternoon, finishing behind Russell who jumped ahead at the first stops having pitted under the safety car proper.
VERDICT: Although the race went awry, his strongest Williams weekend pace-wise.
Started: 17th Finished: 13th
Qualifying
Failed to reach Q2 for only the second time this season, but with both Williams drivers struggling for consistency in the gusty conditions, he had that bit more trouble than Latifi. The result was a deficit of 0.081s to his team-mate.
Sprint
Had a straightforward, if frustrating, race. He gained a place when Raikkonen spun and held off the Alfa Romeo to the end, adding up to finishing where he started in 17th behind Latifi.
Race
Moved ahead of team-mate Latifi when the Canadian locked up and ran wide at Turn 4 on lap one, only to make a similar mistake at Juncao at the end of the lap and be repassed.
Stopped under the safety car, which helped him jump ahead of Giovinazzi and also the penalised Tsunoda to take a decent finish despite the Williams not working well at Interlagos.
VERDICT: Never entirely at one with the car on tricky weekend.
