F1 driver ratings from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2021 | F1

Each driver is rated by ten points, with the rating heavily depending on their performance on the day of the race. Qualifying achievement carries less weight in determining the ratings

Sergio Perez (Qualified 6th, finished 1st) – 9th

Perez enjoyed his most complete weekend as a Red Bull driver in Azerbaijan. From FP1 the Mexican was on the right track and finally seemed to be one with the RB16B. Historically, the Baku circuit was one where Perez flourished with his driving style known for taking care of the rear tires better than most. He disappointed again when it was most important in the third quarter. A great opening lap brought him to fourth place and immediately in the battle for the podium. The impressive pace on the soft tires allowed him to overtake Lewis Hamilton and without a slow pit stop it could have been the lead of the race. Perez managed to get away from teammate Max Verstappen within four seconds of his unfortunate puncture, which allowed him to take the lead in the race. He maintained first place after the restart and secured the second win of his F1 career.

Sebastian Vettel (qualified 11th, 2nd place) – 10th

It’s crazy how quickly things are changing in Formula One given Vettel’s struggles last year. As in Monaco, Vettel looked back on his fastest time when he took his first podium for Aston Martin. Even without the misfortune of Verstappen and Hamilton, the four-time world champion would have comfortably finished fourth and would have easily overtaken Pierre Gasly and former Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. The impressive tire management proved to be crucial again as the “Seb of old” looked like it could be back forever.

Pierre Gasly (Qualified 4th, 3rd Place) – 10th

It was another great qualifying performance for Gasly as he put his AlphaTauri in fourth place on the grid. When he overtook Leclerc through the pit stop phase, an engine problem during the race meant he couldn’t keep Vettel in check. The accident ahead meant the Frenchman had another chance on the podium. His strong post-restart defense from Leclerc deserves praise as he held third place.

Charles Leclerc (Qualified 1st Place, 4th Place) – 9th

Leclerc put in another breathtaking qualifying performance and took the ninth pole position of his F1 career. The Ferrari didn’t quite have the racing pace to keep up with Mercedes and Red Bull as it surrendered the lead to Hamilton on lap 3 after having to avoid a branch at turn 15. While it was still a strong performance from Leclerc, the podium was a takeaway.

Lando Norris (Qualified 9th, finished 5th) – 8th

Until the late stop of the red flag, it was an anonymous race for Norris in Baku. Originally sixth in qualifying, he was awarded an unfortunate three-place penalty for incorrectly following the red flag. In the end, it made his race more difficult as he was in ninth place for much of the afternoon ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Norris was ahead of Tsunoda in restarting his streak to end his winning streak in the points at every race in 2021.

On the subject of matching items

Fernando Alonso (Qualified 10th, 6th Place) – 9th

While Alpine was not racing in Baku, we saw more magic from Alonso after the red flag as he improved from 10th to sixth place in the last two laps. In terms of speed alone, the Alpine was only good enough to reach 11th place at best, on par with the Alfa Romeos, but in typical Alonso fashion it was opportunistic and delivered when it mattered.

Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 7th, finished 7th) – 8th

Tsunoda enjoyed his most complete weekend in F1 with his first Q3 appearance of the season. A faultless race ensured that he ran confidently ahead of Norris and Bottas. He lost to Norris and Alonso in the second standing start, but all in all a significant improvement over the weekend.

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 5th, 8th Place) – 6th

After the high in Monaco, it was generally a lackluster weekend for Sainz in Baku. He didn’t quite have Leclerc’s pace on one lap, and a run out of turn 8 on lap 11 cost him a chance for points – had there been no late retirements. The Spaniard did well to recover to eighth place and to get past Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo on the restart. Although a top five placement was possible without his mistake.

On the subject of matching items

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 13th, finished 9th) – 7th

Since Ricciardo still had no confidence in the McLaren, Ricciardo crashed in Q2 with a shunt in Turn 3. The Australian did not have the pace of Norris and was in 11th place behind his teammate and Bottas in front of the red flag. A couple of points are the biggest plus, but there is still a lot to do to get the Australian to France and Austria.

Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 14th, finished 10th) – 8th

Raikkonen took the last point in Baku and was one of only three drivers who started on the medium tire. A long first stint on the media followed by a move to the Hards, where he put pressure on Alonso – who was struggling with his softs after stopping under the safety car caused by Lance Stroll. Raikkonen overtook Bottas in turn 7 after the red flag and scored his first point of the season.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 20th, 11th Place) – 7th

After his crash in qualifying, Giovinazzi recovered well and finished eleventh. In contrast to Räikkönen, he could not make optimal use of the restart and hit Ricciardo at the back of turn 2, causing his car to go into the anti-stall for a short time and lose the position he had won from his team-mate. There was a point on the table for the Italian, but at least it was his teammate who managed to secure it.

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 10th, 12th Place) – 1st

Probably the worst weekend in Bottas’ F1 career. Unlike in Imola, where he had a similarly bad weekend, he didn’t have the pace either in practice or in qualifying. It seemed like a role reversal from Monaco, where Bottas was battling for the podium, with Hamilton at the bottom of the points. In tenth place up to the red flag, Bottas lost four positions at the restart because he was unable to defend against Alonso, Ricciardo and Raikkonen due to insufficient tire temperature.

Mick Schumacher (Qualified 17th, 13th Place) – 8th

Schumacher was again the leading Haas driver in Baku when he ousted Nikita Mazepin by less than a tenth in qualifying. The German comfortably ran away from his teammate until the red flag stop on lap 47. Mazepin was able to prevail on Turn 4 after the restart. The two almost came to blows on the last lap when Mazepin jerked to the right on the run to the start-finish line and Schumacher almost rammed into the wall. The reigning Formula 2 champion made it to the finish line on the run and secured Haas ‘best result of the season and one that positions him ahead of Williams in the constructors’ championship.

Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 18th, 14th Place) – 6th

As in Monaco, Mazepin seemed to be more at home at the Haas, as he was only narrowly beaten in qualifying Schumacher. A short drive on Turn 4 Escape Route was his most notable mistake of the afternoon. The Russian made the most of the red flag break and passed teammate Schumacher. His robust defense to the line was too far, but overall a solid weekend for Mazepin.

Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 2nd Place, 15th Place) – 4th

Hamilton got the maximum out of the W12 in qualifying when he used the slipstream of team-mate Bottas to qualify in second place ahead of main title rivals Verstappen. He took the lead with ease and took advantage of Mercedes’ superior speed advantage on the straight when he passed Leclerc on lap 3. A slow pit stop where Mercedes couldn’t let go of Hamilton due to gaslys in the pit lane meant Verstappen comfortably overtook him. Perez did the same a lap later to leave Hamilton in third place. It looked like luck was back on the reigning champion’s side when Verstappen failed spectacularly with a puncture. A perfect start from the line meant it looked like it was Hamilton’s day, but accidentally pressing the “magic” toggle pushed the brake balance all the way forward causing it to snap into turn 1 and onto the rear Part of the grid. Although it was an impressive feat by lap 50, it must go down as a Hamilton fault, hence its rating.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 16th, Finished 16th) – 6th

Latifi crossed the finish line in 13th, but fell back to 16th due to his 10-second stop-and-go penalty, which was converted into a 30-second time penalty for failing during the safety car phase had entered the pit lane as instructed. More to blame in this case on the engineer than on the driver.

George Russell (Qualified 15th, Classified 17th) – 7th

‘Mr Saturday’ continued its impressive run of getting into Q2 in every race this season. It looked like we could have repeated Imola as Russell ran a few seconds behind Bottas at one point. A gearbox damage on the way to the starting grid for the second start meant that he was unable to intervene in the action on the final laps.

Max Verstappen (qualified 3rd, classified 18th) – 10th

An exemplary performance by Verstappen, which should have led to the fact that he should further extend his lead. The Dutchman played in his own league in Baku and overtook title rival Hamilton by a few seconds in the pit stop phase. Verstappen built a lead of more than four points on his teammate Perez before his tire failed on lap 47 on the start-finish straight. Fortunately for Verstappen, he retained his four-point lead in the championship after Hamilton’s restart mishap.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 19th, DNF) – 7th

Without a puncture on lap 30, Stroll would undoubtedly have scored points. His pace on the hard tire was impressive and would probably have been enough to beat Bottas and possibly Norris. However, his fall in qualifying meant that he could not repeat Vettel’s exploits.

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 12th Place, DNF) – N / A

Ocon never had the pace of team-mate Alonso all weekend. He was only able to finish 12th on the grid, which was disappointing given his last Q3 appearances. He was in 11th place before retiring after just three laps due to a suspected engine problem.