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Ferrari's 2025 outcast Carlos Sainz delivered a masterclass Formula 1 weekend in Mexico, upstaging the two title rivals (though aided in doing so by one title rival 'man-marking' the other).
You won't be too surprised to see where he ranks - nor should you be surprised by the assessment of home hero Sergio Perez's uniquely brutal outing, on a weekend no Red Bull-affiliated driver particularly covered themselves in glory.
How do the rankings work? The 20 drivers will be ranked in order of performance from best to worst on each grand prix weekend. This will be based on the full range of criteria, ranging from pace and racecraft to consistency and whether they made key mistakes. How close each driver got to delivering on the maximum performance potential of the car will be an essential consideration.
It’s important to note both that this reflects performance across the entire weekend, cognisant of the fact that qualifying is effectively ‘lap 0’ of the race and key to laying the foundations to the race, and that it is not a ranking of the all-round qualities of each driver. It’s simply about how they performed on a given weekend. Therefore, the ranking will fluctuate significantly from weekend to weekend.
And with each of the 10 cars fundamentally having different performance potential and ‘luck’ (ie factors outside of a driver’s control) contributing to the way the weekend plays out, this ranking will also differ significantly from the overall results.
Started: 1st Finished: 1st
Sainz thrives in qualifying in low-grip conditions and produced two "near-perfect" laps good enough for pole position.
Although he lost the lead to Verstappen into the first corner, having to take a trip across the grass, he was always vulnerable given the long run to Turn 1. But his passing move on Verstappen was brilliantly-executed and he controlled the race well once he had the lead.
Verdict: Nailed the weekend.
Started: 7th Finished: 7th
Magnussen couldn't have done any better in either qualifying or the race, with his strong run on Sunday meaning he stayed just out of reach of Oscar Piastri's McLaren in the closing stages.
He described it as a "perfect day", which could be applied to the whole weekend in a car he feels he's finally found his rhythm in.
Verdict: Maximised qualifying and race result.
Started: 3rd Finished: 2nd
There was plenty that was impressive about Norris's weekend, aided by having the new McLaren floor at his disposal.
Perhaps he could have gone fractionally quicker in qualifying and the car may have had the pace to beat Sainz, but time lost early on in the lap ensured there was no chance of that.
He had outwitted Max Verstappen in their battle then came through to pick up second - but by that time Sainz was too far ahead.
Verdict: Effective but not perfect.
Started: 8th Finished: 10th
Gasly didn't have the easiest time through practice, but come qualifying he came alive and made it through to Q3 with relative ease thanks to his strong first Q2 run that ensured he was in the right place when the red flag came.
After surviving a scrape with Albon approaching Turn 1, he executed a strong race.
Verdict: Excelled in qualifying and the race.
Started: 15th Finished: 14th
Bottas produced a weekend that, were he still in a top car, would've stood out a lot more.
The trouble is, he's in a Sauber, in which reaching Q2 represents a minor miracle - although without the red flag that cost him his run in the second stage of qualifying he would have been a place or two higher.
He drove a good race, running longer than anyone before pitting after starting on hards, but never had a chance of threatening the points.
Verdict: Deserved more for his efforts.
Started: 4th Finished: 3rd
Leclerc admitted that qualifying in low-downforce trim is "not one of my strengths" and that explains the three-tenth deficit to Sainz on Saturday.
On a weekend where he felt "on the back foot" he climbed to second early on but didn't believe there was any chance of holding off Norris - though he did make it easy for the McLaren driver by overdoing it on the throttle in the last corner which spat him off the track.
Verdict: Good but not at his best.
Started: 6th Finished: 4th
Having felt confident in the car in FP3, Hamilton was surprised to struggle with a lack of rear-end grip, having bolted on a higher-downforce wing for qualifying.
He passed Russell at the start before losing the place later in the stint, but came back at his team-mate later on to win the intra-team battle and take the fourth place made available by Verstappen dropping back.
Verdict: Decent weekend in a tricky car.
Started: 10th Finished: 9th
Hulkenberg had a good, solid weekend, although he wasn't as comfortable with the car as his team-mate.
In qualifying, he found the Haas inconsistent and needed a dash of luck to ensure he made Q3 when Yuki Tsunoda caused the red flag that was deployed a couple of seconds after Hulkenberg completed his lap and before several others had the chance to do so themselves.
He drove a tidy race, holding eighth in the first stint but being picked off by the recovering Piastri in the second stint.
Verdict: Good but not as good as Magnussen.
Started: 5th Finished: 5th
Crashing heavily in FP2 was a blow to the spares stock that Mercedes could ill-afford, forcing a chassis change. Russell recovered well from that and did a good job in the tricky Mercedes, outqualifying his team-mate and repassing him in the first stint after initially losing fifth place.
However, minor front wing damage sustained when he hit a bump in the second stint while attempting an overtake cost him 20 points of downforce and Hamilton passed him late on.
Verdict: FP2 crash aside, a fine weekend.
Started: 2nd Finished: 6th
Considering Friday was ruined by a power unit problem and floor damage from hitting debris, and the Red Bull wasn't the fastest thing in Mexico, qualifying second was an outstanding performance.
More on Verstappen/Norris battle
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Why Verstappen had to be punished (twice) in Mexican GP
But two misjudgments in battle, one small and the other seemingly the result of red mist at Turn 7, earned him 20 seconds of penalties and condemned him to finishing sixth.
Verdict: Overstepped in battle, to his detriment.
Started: 13th Finished: DNF
Alonso's 400th GP weekend (but 397th start) didn't live up to the occasion.
He had a difficult time in practice but found the car much more to his liking in qualifying despite not making any changes. He felt that could have resulted in a place in Q3, but for the Tsunoda red flag that denied him the chance.
His race was uneventful, Alonso holding 13th before retiring after 15 laps.
Verdict: Had little chance to show his speed.
Started: 9th Finished: DNF
Albon's weekend started terribly when he hit the cruising Ollie Bearman in the Esses, a collision he could have avoided although Ferrari's radio comms played a big part.
But Albon rapidly picked up from there. He executed qualifying well, making it to Q3, before his race lasted seconds as Tsunoda hit him, putting both out of the race through no fault of Albon's.
Verdict: FP1 crash aside, performed well.
Started: 12th Finished: 16th
Lawson was on target to reach Q3 "with just a normal sector two and three", only for his team-mate's crash to bring out a red flag.
Driving without RB's Mexico upgrade, he started the race encouragingly as he ran 10th and was best-placed of those starting on hards.
But he had a frustrating grand prix in the end, often stuck in traffic and getting caught up in a battle with Sergio Perez before suffering front-wing damage and having to stop for a new nose after contact with Franco Colapinto that earned the Williams driver a penalty.
Verdict: A frustrating, tricky weekend.
Started: 14th Finished: 11th
Stroll criticised the lack of development progress going into the weekend, saying "I don't think we've made the car quicker since race one of the season".
What happened in Mexico won't have changed his mind as he struggled with the car and was satisfied to reach Q2, where he was denied a fast lap on his final run by the red flag.
His race went well, as he survived a battle with Perez without damage and almost brought home a point.
Verdict: Tidy race salvaged tricky weekend.
Started: 17th Finished: 8th
Without the new McLaren floor and Austin-spec front wing (these should come in Brazil), Piastri had a promising run through practice before a mistake on the first lap of his only soft-tyre run in Q1 proved ruinous. His second lap wasn't quick enough on tyres that were past their best, which effectively locked in his hard-compound start - but with overtaking tricky his progress was good, if slightly slower than hoped.
That added up to eighth at the flag, but seventh or perhaps even sixth was feasible with a perfect race.
Verdict: Q1 disaster defined his weekend.
Started: 20th (pits) Finished: 13th
Ocon ran the upgrade package he didn't use at Austin, but struggled with understeer after minor set-up changes for qualifying and was well off Gasly's pace, falling in Q1.
He traded 19th on the grid for a pitlane start to allow a change of energy store and control electronics, which meant he was on a hiding to nothing despite driving a decent race.
A frustrating weekend given through practice he looked the quicker Alpine driver.
Verdict: Qualifying proved costly.
Started: 16th Finished: 12th
A change in set-up into qualifying meant Colapinto struggled badly for rear grip, resulting in him lacking pace in the slower corners.
Running long after starting on hards, he drove a largely tidy race - although contact with Lawson earned him a 10-second penalty that didn't impact his finishing position given it happened at Turn 2 immediately following him running off track in Turn 1.
Verdict: A mixed bag.
Started: 19th Finished: 14th
Despite Zhou sitting out FP1 and hitting brake problems in FP2, there were some promising signs in practice. But qualifying didn't go well, which the team blamed on tyre prep and a flap change for the last run that made the car lairy in the Esses - although Zhou was baffled by the lack of grip.
That explained the big gap to Bottas, but although his relative pace was stronger in the race and he drove well there was still a noticeable pace deficit.
Verdict: Another futile weekend.
Started: 11th Finished: DNF
Until he hit the brakes entering the stadium on his final Q2 lap, Tsunoda's weekend looked promising in the upgraded RB.
But that lock-up and crash, which cost him a shot at Q3 and ruined his team-mate's chances, too, transformed his weekend for the worst.
Perhaps that played a part in his high-risk car positioning at the start, which led to him being turned round as Gasly squeezed over on Albon.
Verdict: Quick but too high-risk.
Started: 18th Finished: 17th
Perez admitted in the build-up to the Mexican GP that his season had been "terrible", but his home grand prix weekend contrived to make it even worse.
Running a floor spec now close to Verstappen's after modifications, he lacked confidence on the brakes and struggled badly for pace. Even then, his Q1 exit was a shock.
The inability to park accurately in his grid spot earned him a five-second penalty, but although he had a great start and climbed into points contention, the floor damage from the clash with Lawson doomed him.
Verdict: A nightmare weekend.
