F1 driver ratings from the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix | 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

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 2nd on the grid, 1st place finished) – 10th

The 2021 Turkish Grand Prix was arguably Bottas’ greatest drive as an F1 driver. In conditions in which he normally struggles, Bottas dominated the race from the front as he kept Max Verstappen at arm’s length the entire time. The dominance of the Finn was underscored by his run of the fastest laps at the end of the race, which was over two seconds faster than Verstappen on the final lap.

Max Verstappen (Qualified 3rd place, 2nd starting place, 2nd place finished) – 9th

Given the performance advantage of Mercedes in Istanbul Park, the second place was the maximum for Verstappen. Verstappen came back to Bottas within two seconds in the early stages of the race, but fell back to over six at the pit stops. The Dutchman contented himself with second place and with title rival Lewis Hamilton behind him it was still a positive weekend.

Sergio Perez (Qualified 7th, Start 6th, 3rd Place) – 8th

We saw the best of Perez on Sunday. He made up for another disappointing qualifying appearance and moved up to fourth on the first lap. His stern defense against Hamilton was brilliant and did his teammate a huge favor in the title race. Perez overtook Leclerc on the track and was on the podium for the third time in 16 races.

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Charles Leclerc (Qualified 4th, Start 3rd, 4th Place) – 9th

When Ferrari was looking for his first win since 2019, Leclerc ultimately dropped out of the podium battle. Until he lost to Perez on track when he overheated his second set of intermediates, Leclerc drove spectacularly, two seconds behind Verstappen. All in all, another breathtaking qualifying lap and a racing performance that should have earned him a podium.

Lewis Hamilton (1st qualified, 11th started, 5th finished) – 8th

Hamilton was a man on a mission in the early stages of the race and moved up to fifth place with relative ease. He got stuck behind Perez, whose defense deserves praise. The seven-time champion was reluctant to follow Mercedes’ strategy call to switch to new intermediates when its rivals did. Even though he would still have fallen behind them, Mercedes’ mere pace advantage could have put him on the track. Hamilton stayed out – as he requested – but Mercedes was forced to call him up as a series of slow laps would likely have meant he would have finished fifth, or perhaps worse if his tires continued to degrade.

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Pierre Gasly (Qualified 5th, Start 4th, End 6th) – 9th

Gasly continued to get the most out of the AlphaTauri in Istanbul Park to reduce his gap to Alpine in the constructors’ championship. He was unlucky enough to incur a five-second time penalty for contact with Fernando Alonso on the lap. All in all, given the pace of the car, sixth place was the best result Gasly could have hoped for.

Lando Norris (8th qualified, 7th started, 7th finished) – 7th

After the highs of the last few laps, one would have expected that McLaren would have done better in Turkey. Norris was 0.6 seconds behind Gasly in qualifying, although he was more competitive in race trim and was just three seconds behind Gasly.

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 15th, Start 19th, End 8th) – 9th

It was an overtaking master class for Sainz in Istanbul Park as he overtook one car per lap at times during the first half of the race. Making such progress in the wet with DRS disabled is not to be underestimated. A slow stop cost him any chance of beating Gasly or Norris, but it was still an impressive day’s work for the Spaniard.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 9th, Start 8th, End 9th) – 8th

Another solid weekend from Stroll for Aston Martin. In Q3 and a point final. Overall, a lonely race, with a very slow pit stop that surrenders the track position to Sainz.

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 12th starting 12th, finishing 10th) – 7th

Ocon was the only driver to finish the race without a pit stop. An impressive achievement as his right front tire was completely destroyed after the race. The Frenchman never matched his teammate Alonso’s pace until race day, but he kept his nose clean for a single point.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 18th, Start 16th, End 11th) – 6th

After a disappointing qualifying, Giovinazzi narrowly missed a top 10 position. While Ocon struggled with his tires, the two Alfa Romeos followed him. Apparently Giovinazzi didn’t know it was the last lap as he had to recharge his battery and then gambled away his last chance to get past Ocon for the final point. The Italian also ignored team orders despite being slower than Raikkonen.

Kimi Räikkönen (qualified 19th, start 17th, 12th place) – 7th

Like Giovinazzi, Raikkonen fought for the pace in qualifying, but did better in the race trim. The Finn lost ground behind his team-mate in the first stint, even though he was faster. Raikkonen then got stuck behind Yuki Tsunoda before being unleashed and approaching his teammate’s back again.

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 16th, Start 20, End 13th) – 4th

A bad weekend for Ricciardo, who did not progress from Q1 for the second time in 2021. He couldn’t move much in the field and forced McLaren to switch him to a different set of intermediates before any other driver. Ricciardo lost to the two Alfa Romeos in the last few laps.

Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 10th, Started 9th, Finished 14th) – 6th

Some encouraging signs for Tsunoda as he made it into Q3 for only the third time in 2021. His defense against Hamilton was impressive, but his race was ruined when he spun at Turn 9 while driving within the points.

George Russell (Qualified 13th, Start 13th, End 15th) – 7th

A rare mistake in Russell’s last corner on his final lap in Q2 cost him a place in the top 10. Williams lacked the pace on race day and dropped to 15th.

Fernando Alonso (Qualified 6th, Start 5th, End 16th) – 6th

A spectacular starting position was ruined by the contact with Gasly on the first lap. Alonso tried to hang it around the outside of the AlphaTauri at Turn 1, Gasly’s front wing brushing Alonso and spinning him around. An unfortunate racing incident that completely ruined his race. It got worse for Alonso when he collided with Schumacher and incurred a five-second penalty.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 17th, Start 15th, Finish 17th) – 4th

Latifi was knocked out in Q1 and spun on the first lap, stuck several laps behind the Haas duo. An overall bad weekend for the Canadian.

Sebastian Vettel (qualified 11th, start 10, end 18th) – 4th

Vettel was outdone by his teammate Stroll in Turkey, but there were points on the table if he hadn’t bet on the slicks on lap 36. It didn’t work out as he spun several times before recovering in the pit lane. The decision to pit cost him a good shot in tenth.

Mick Schumacher (qualified 14th, start 14th, finish 19th) – 8th

Schumacher was the star of qualifying with a surprising Q2 appearance. He was around three seconds faster than Haas team-mate Nikita Mazepin and enjoyed his best qualifying of the season. Schumacher’s good work was undone when it was spun by Alonso early on.

Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 20th, Start 18th, End 20th) – 4th

Mazepin kept his car on the track, but simply didn’t have the pace of team-mate Schumacher in Turkey. The Russian was ahead after Schumacher’s incident with Alonso, but he didn’t have the pace to maintain it. Almost caused a massive shunt when Hamilton lapped it, which he later apologized for.