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The stage of Lewis Hamilton’s 92nd win proved a breeding ground for outstanding driver performances, with four drivers alongside the champion-elect scoring 9 or above in our post-Portuguese Grand Prix driver ratings.
But while our F1 writer Edd Straw even saw fit to award a perfect 10, there was a low score for a returnee, as well as for a driver whose 2021 future looks bleak.
As ever, you can query Edd on his ratings in the comments below, and debate him starting from 4.30pm UK time/GMT.
Started: 1st Finished: 1st
Qualifying
Practice laps: 85
Gap to team-mate: -0.102s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.059s
Looked destined for second even after his first lap on his final Q3 run, but had opted for a push/cooldown/push strategy and managed to nick pole position on his final lap. That had looked unlikely after a slightly ragged first sector, but he hooked up the second sector well and had enough to turn around his battle with Bottas.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 2
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
In modern Formula 1, to win a race by 25.592s against a driver in the same car and on a near-identical strategy is incredibly difficult. Yet here Hamilton did just that and also had to recover from slipping down to third on the first lap as his mediums struggled to get up to temperature. Having run behind Bottas, he passed him with ease using the DRS, then pulled out a size of lead that’s rarely seen these days.
VERDICT: The definition of dominance when it mattered in qualifying and on race day.
Started: 2nd Finished: 2nd
Qualifying
Practice laps: 94
Gap to team-mate: +0.102s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.348s
Bottas set a faster lap than anyone in qualifying by almost two tenths of a second, having set the pace throughout practice, but unfortunately for him this came in Q2 and he wasn’t able to press home his advantage in Q3.
His decision to have just a single push lap on his final run didn’t help, but when it came to the crunch he also perhaps didn’t quite respond to the varying grip levels as well as Hamilton.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 1
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
The first lap went superbly for Bottas as he re-passed Verstappen, then took the lead from Hamilton before slipping behind Carlos Sainz on lap two.
But once the race settled down, he wasn’t as effective at adapting to the wind conditions and tyre performance and lost out to Hamilton before losing 25s to his team-mate.
VERDICT: Performing at a high level, but while he had his chances, he just couldn’t quite match Hamilton’s all-round game.
Started: 15th Finished: 10th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 95
Gap to team-mate: +0.552s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.526s
Vettel admitted that Leclerc was in a “different league” and could handle the loose rear end of the Ferrari far better than he could.
Vettel’s push laps in qualifying were a combination of hesitant entries, lock-ups and a struggle to get the nose in as he wasn’t able to attack the corners in the same way.
He used mediums for both Q2 runs because he felt he could get them working better than the softs.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: NONE
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
Vettel knew he was on for another Sunday “getting stuck” among cars he should have outqualified and slipped to 16th behind Grosjean in the early laps.
He picked off Grosjean, Giovinazzi and Russell in the first stint before taking hards after 27 laps, re-emerging 15th but then gaining four places to drivers making pitstops.
He then had to pass Raikkonen, which he did with the assistance of the DRS to take one of the hardest-fought points of his career.
VERDICT: Not in his team-mate’s class in qualifying, but drove a good race for a hard-fought point.
Started: 4th Finished: 4th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 87
Gap to team-mate: -0.552s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.084s
You would say this was a miraculous lap from Leclerc, but for the fact he has done this sort of thing regularly this year – not least two weeks earlier at the Nurburgring.
There’s no driver better than Leclerc at dragging the best out of a limited car and he was able to attack in a way that Vettel was unable to and drag a great time out of the car while others underachieved. And he used mediums in Q2 for good measure.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 2
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
Starting on the mediums inevitably meant the first couple of laps were challenging as he slid to eighth, but he quickly picked his way past Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Norris and Sainz to get back to fourth by lap 12.
And there he stayed with a 34-lap stint on the mediums before pitting for hards, ensuring he never slipped out of the top four again.
VERDICT: As Vettel said, Leclerc’s in a different league. The class of the midfield in qualifying and the race.
Started: 3rd Finished: 3rd
Qualifying
Practice laps: 87
Gap to team-mate: -0.533s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.203s
It’s easy to underestimate how good Verstappen has been in qualifying this season given he’s usually to be found in third place, but as Albon’s form shows it’s not easy to get a laptime out of the Red Bull.
Perhaps he could have gone slightly quicker but for a wobble in Turn 1, but splitting the Mercedes pair would have been a big ask.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 2
Strategy: 1 stop – soft/medium
Starting on softs didn’t pay off for Verstappen as he struggled for grip in the first couple of laps and, having initially taken second from Bottas, was momentarily sixth behind Raikkonen on the second lap.
But having survived the clash with Perez on the opening lap then got the tyres working, he climbed back to third and there he stayed for the rest of the race. The pace wasn’t in the car to bother Mercedes, especially not with the start-tyre choice.
VERDICT: Did his usual fine job in the second-best car, but was fortunate to escape dicey moments on the first two laps.
Started: 6th Finished: 12th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 96
Gap to team-mate: +0.533s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.293s
With the pressure piled on by team principal Christian Horner, who suggested this and the Imola weekend are Albon’s final opportunities to secure a seat for 2021, Albon needed more.
Instead, he was very close to his average seasonal qualifying deficit to Verstappen and behind two midfielders. He said he was confident in the car, but, like many drivers, struggled with conditions.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 3
Strategy: 2 stops – soft/medium/soft
Couldn’t stem the losses as he struggled for grip in the first two laps and was shuffled down to 12th place, which he briefly escaped by passing Ocon before he lost the position again to the Renault driver.
After his first stop, he ran behind Raikkonen and that’s where he stayed for the rest of the race with a second stop – forced by tyre wear – dropping him behind Vettel, who went on to overtake Raikkonen.
The result was 12th, exactly where he was two laps in.
VERDICT: Needed a big weekend, but couldn’t deliver it and wasn’t on top of the tyres in the race.
Started: 8th Finished: 13th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 86
Gap to team-mate: -0.005s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.253s
Norris was running the same specification of car as he used at the Nurburgring and was outqualified by Sainz by the narrowest of margins.
Both drivers struggled to string the lap together – as was the case for everyone – but the middle sector seemed to be a bigger challenge for him than for Sainz.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 4
Strategy: 2 stops – soft/hard/medium
Ran fourth early on as the McLarens got their softs working quickly, but had slid back to seventh, as he struggled with graining after being passed by Verstappen, Leclerc and Gasly, when he found himself under pressure from Stroll.
His race was effectively over when Stroll tried a move around the outside of Turn 1 that was never going to work.
A premature pitstop for a new front wing relegated him to 19th but he climbed to 13th as others stopped. But he had to stop again, passing Grosjean, Giovinazzi and Russell in his final stint to return to 13th.
VERDICT: Would likely have finished right behind his team-mate but his race was ruined by Stroll’s rash move.
Started: 7th Finished: 6th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 98
Gap to team-mate: -0.005s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.383s
After his Nurburgring struggles, Sainz was back to the same car specification as Norris – basically, the specification used by his team-mate at the Nurburgring with the new nose but with some of the additional upgrades not on the car after Friday.
Sainz had the slenderest of advantages over his team-mate, with both impressive through the first turn in particular.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 5
Strategy: 1 stop – soft/medium
Started seventh and finished sixth, but it was hardly a straightforward run from grid position to finish.
Sainz always excels when grip is at a premium and got the softs working well early to climb to second on the first lap then take the lead from Bottas on lap two.
It was never going to last and he was gradually shuffled back to sixth place, falling behind Gasly. After his stop, he passed Raikkonen and Ricciardo and picked up another place when Ocon stopped before overtaking Perez on the final lap.
VERDICT: Drove a strong race even after his early cameo and was by a tiny margin the stronger McLaren driver.
Started: 10th Finished: 9th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 68
Gap to team-mate: -0.133s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.218s
Reached Q3, but could not participate in it having spun backwards into the wall after losing it at Turn 14, which he suggested was him getting caught out by the variable wind conditions.
The team almost got him back out in Q3 after rear-end repairs, but even so the Renault was struggling to get the tyres working thanks to not quite having the desired downforce.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 2
Strategy: 1 stop – soft/medium
Given Renault struggled with the soft tyres, Ricciardo made an early stop for mediums after 14 laps, having been relegated to ninth by Stroll.
He rejoined ninth, emerging just ahead of Raikkonen and there he stayed for the rest of the race – just missing out on jumping Ocon when his team-mate stopped.
VERDICT: Qualifying off counts against him, but he drove a good race despite being hamstrung by having to start on softs.
Started: 11th Finished: 8th
Practice laps: 83
Gap to team-mate: +0.133s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.128s
Ocon’s improving qualifying form was again on show in Portugal, although he was frustrated again to be the wrong side of the gap to Ricciardo.
He struggled a little with the rear grip offered by the Renault, which compounded the tricky conditions, but despite being the car Ricciardo had just passed when he spun, wasn’t the cause of his team-mate’s off.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 1
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/soft
A free tyre choice meant Ocon could start on mediums, which allowed him to run the longest first stint of anyone before stopping after 53 laps. In that stint, he climbed as high as fifth – albeit only overtaking Albon – before being overtaken by the recovering Perez.
Lost a couple of seconds in his pitstop thanks to trouble getting the front left off, eliminating any chance of re-emerging ahead of Sainz, and had to settle for eighth because of the struggles Renault had getting the softs to work.
VERDICT: Close to Ricciardo’s performance level in qualifying, close enough to beat him in the race thanks to starting on mediums.
Started: 9th Finished: 5th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 79
Gap to team-mate: -0.361s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.741s
Driving what was effectively a new car built around the spare chassis after his FP2 fire, Gasly wasn’t totally happy with the car in the windy conditions but did a good job to make Q3 and keep up his strong qualifying record for the year as he outpaced Kvyat comfortably.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 1
Strategy: 1 stop – soft/medium
Gasly seemed to have less trouble with graining on the softs than some and used his pace to good effect by climbing to fifth (briefly an illusory fourth) in the first stint before switching to mediums, overcutting his way past Sainz in the process.
While he was briefly shuffled down to eighth by Ricciardo passing him, he later picked off the Renault before taking another place when Russell finally stopped. Late on, he breached the ailing Perez’s robust defence to take fifth.
VERDICT: Despite a Friday setback, he qualified well and raced superbly. Another “complete” performance.
Started: 13th Finished: 19th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 94
Gap to team-mate: +0.361s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.275s
Kvyat struggled a little more with the wind sensitivity of the AlphaTauri than Gasly did, but ended up roughly in his usual position with a deficit of almost three tenths to his team-mate in Q2.
As is often the case, he wasn’t quite as comfortable with the car moving around unpredictably as Gasly.
Race
Penalties: +5s (ignoring blue flags)
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 6
Strategy: 2 stops – medium/hard/soft
Struggled badly on the opening laps with a lack of tyre temperature but did start to recover ground, passing Magnussen, Latifi, Grosjean and Giovinazzi in his first stint.
But the switch to hards didn’t help, despite him repassing Grosjean in his middle stint, and after a second stop, he dropped to 19th and last.
VERDICT: Adequate in qualifying at best and despite a partial recovery in the first stint, the inescapable conclusion is Kvyat turned a car that his team-mate finished fifth in into one that was last.
Started: 5th Finished: 7th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 82
Gap to team-mate: -0.497s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.161s
Perez showed his ability to judge the available grip in the changing conditions to put in a strong qualifying performance.
Although he thought the car didn’t have the pace to beat Leclerc, perhaps with a perfect lap – unlikely given the conditions – he might have done but even so it was a strong qualifying performance and he looked more comfortable than Stroll.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: DOWN 15
Strategy: 2 stops – soft/medium/soft
Last and 24 seconds off the back after being forced to stop for a puncture after his first-lap clash with Verstappen, things didn’t look promising.
But a superb 44-lap stint got him up to fifth, a charge that included passes on Latifi, Magnussen, Grosjean, Kvyat, Giovinazzi, Russell and Ocon. So good was his pace that he was also able to jump those who gave him positions by pitting and remain ahead when he made his second stop, only dropping behind Ocon to sixth.
He regained that place when Ocon stopped, but with the car not well set-up to make the softs work, he couldn’t prevent prevent Gasly and Sainz passing him in the last two laps.
VERDICT: Fast all weekend and executed the race well, but while the clash was not his fault as such the Verstappen first-lap pass was high-risk and bit him.
Started: 12th Finished: DNF
Qualifying
Practice laps: 75
Gap to team-mate: +0.497s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.272s
Stroll suggested that having missed the Nurburgring weekend meant he was struggling to get back up to speed – or perhaps it was the after-effects of COVID-19 that left him below par?
Whatever the reason, he wasn’t on form and never looked like escaping Q2 – although he can be given the benefit of the doubt given he might still be suffering a COVID hangover.
Race
Penalties: +5s (causing collision with Norris), +5s (exceeding track limits)
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 1
Strategy: 2 stops – medium/hard/soft
Stroll was on target for a good result after climbing to eighth early on – albeit while flirting with a track limits penalty that was eventually issued – before his impatience got the better of him.
Attempting to squeeze around the outside of Norris through Turn 1 required an expectation that the McLaren could simply disappear or hold a tighter line than physics would allow and the collision and subsequent stop cast Stroll to the back. Eventually, he retired to preserve engine mileage.
VERDICT: The excuse he struggled because of missing Nurburgring didn’t wash, but the race at least started promisingly before his misjudged move.
Started: 16th Finished: 11th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 88
Gap to team-mate: -0.122s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.045s
He was happier with the car on Saturday after overnight changes and it was tight between him and Russell for a Q2 place before a rear-end-wobble in the penultimate corner cost Raikkonen time.
Even so, he looked more comfortable with the car than his team-mate and had a slender advantage.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 9
Strategy: 1 stop – soft/medium
Got his softs working brilliantly for the start and charged to seventh on the first lap before passing Leclerc and even, momentarily, Verstappen on lap two.
While he inevitably fell back, the strategy was spot-on with a relatively early shift to mediums but he couldn’t quite hold on to 10th place and was passed by Vettel with 11 laps to go.
VERDICT: Should have been in the points but drove a fine race even after his early tyre-assisted heroics to the best possible result as holding off Vettel wasn’t possible
Started: 17th Finished: 15th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 89
Gap to team-mate: +0.122s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.011s
Giovinazzi wasn’t quite able to get the same pace out of the Alfa Romeo as his team-mate and seemed a little more uncomfortable with the car in low-grip qualifying conditions.
But he did a solid job to ensure he outqualified the Haas drivers and Latifi, even though Q2 could have been possible with the machinery.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 3
Strategy: 1 stop – soft/hard
Couldn’t replicate Raikkonen’s early charge but did gain ground on the first lap to run 14th behind Russell and was still there at the end of the race, having gained one place to Stroll’s problems but also been passed by the recovering Perez.
Struggled to adapt to the changing wind conditions and had no radio throughout.
VERDICT: Solid but unspectacular and couldn’t match Raikkonen’s adaptability in the race.
Started: 18th Finished: 17th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 82
Gap to team-mate: -0.144s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.083s
Grosjean revealed a season-long rear suspension overheating problem that leads to ride height inconsistencies that afflicts him more than Magnussen and was particularly problematic at the Algarve circuit.
Nonetheless, did a decent job and both of his laps on the final run were at a similar pace with little significant laptime to be found.
Race
Penalties: +5 (exceeding track limits)
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 2
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
Briefly ran 15th early on before being shuffled back to 17th, which was about as good as it was going to get for a Haas.
But while he finished on the road ahead of Magnussen, a five-second track limits penalty that he couldn’t overcome in the closing laps ensured that he was classified as the second-best Haas driver.
VERDICT: Marginally the stronger Haas driver, but undid that with his track limits errors.
Started: 19th Finished: 16th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 70
Gap to team-mate: +0.144s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.053s
Magnussen wasn’t quite as quick as Grosjean and was frustrated that he was unable to put together runs of three push laps in Q1 owing to an unspecified car problem. But he did a tidy enough job, even if he was only 19th.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 2
Strategy: 1 stop – hard/medium
Committed to starting on the hard in the hope of making something happen and fluking a safety car or rain by running long, but it didn’t pay off.
Even so, drove a good race and managed to close the gap to Grosjean in the closing stages to pick up a place thanks to his team-mate’s penalty.
VERDICT: While not quite as quick as Grosjean, he was close enough to gain a place thanks to a penalty.
Started: 20th Finished: 18th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 87
Gap to team-mate: +0.846s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.283s
Had his second lap of his first Q1 deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 1, which would have been good enough to put him a place higher.
The first lap of his second run proved to be his best, but at times he struggled to get the front end into the corner and at others the rear stepped out mid-corner, meaning he was unable to put together the lap he was capable of.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: UP 3
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
Climbed to 17th on the first two laps ahead of Magnussen, Kvyat and Perez but was passed by all three later in the stint.
While he undercut his way back past Magnussen, the Haas driver re-passed him and Latifi ended up 18th, having jumped Kvyat when the AlphaTauri driver made his second stop.
VERDICT: A difficult weekend for Latifi, who wasn’t at his team-mate’s level.
Started: 14th Finished: 14th
Qualifying
Practice laps: 84
Gap to team-mate: -0.846s
Gap to ‘ideal’ lap: +0.014s
This was arguably Russell’s best qualifying performance in a season filled with strong Saturday showings, as he hauled the Williams closer to the outright pace than it has been since Bahrain 2017 on his seventh Q2 appearance of the season.
It’s hard to imagine there was much pace left on the table.
Race
Penalties: –
Positions gained/lost lap 1: ONE
Strategy: 1 stop – medium/hard
Ran 13th in a relatively long first stint, although was passed by the recovering Perez, and emerged from his pitstop 15th before passing Giovinazzi to secure his eventual finishing position.
Given the limitations of the car, there wasn’t much more that could be done and he had some spectacular moments to hang on to while chasing rivals in quicker machinery.
VERDICT: Reckoned this was his strongest all-round weekend in F1, and it’s hard to disagree given what he extracted from the car.
