F1 driver ratings from the French 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

Max Verstappen (qualified 1st place, finished 1st place) – 10

It was not a perfect performance by Verstappen at the Paul Ricard Circuit, as an oversteer in the first corner on the first lap gave Lewis Hamilton the lead of the race. The race was ultimately about strategy with an impressive undercut on lap 18 that enabled Verstappen to regain the lead. A second stop on lap 31 proved crucial as Mercedes couldn’t react with Hamilton and was forced to stick to its one-stop. The Dutchman easily overtook Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton on the penultimate lap and took his third win of the season.

Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 2nd Place, 2nd Place) – 10th

After a tough start to the weekend, during which he ran after his team-mate Bottas during Friday training, Hamilton delivered when it was important to secure a front row row. The seven-time champion took control of the race from the front and his fate was in the hands of his team. Mercedes naively allowed Verstappen to be undercut despite clear signs he was strong at Paul Ricard, with Charles Leclerc setting the fastest laps just before the leaders stopped for fresh rubber. Hamilton did his best to challenge Verstappen but couldn’t make a pass given Red Bull’s superior tire advantage. He did his best to deal with his badly worn hard tires and resisted Verstappen until the final lap when he gave up the lead of the race.

Sergio Perez (Qualified 4th, 3rd Place) – 9th

A disappointing opening leg of the race turned out to be a boon for Perez as he was able to extend his first stint on the media and comfortably complete a one-stop strategy. His tire lead of seven laps over Bottas was decisive for his position on the podium, as the Finn struggled with tire wear in the final laps. The Mexican overtook Bottas on lap 49 and finished the race 5.8 seconds ahead of the Mercedes driver. A good strategy, reinforced by Perez’s impressive racing pace on the hard tire.

On the subject of matching items

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 3rd Place, 4th Place) – 8th

It was arguably Bottas’ best performance of a race this season as he put Verstappen and his teammate Hamilton under pressure for most of the time. He was forced to stop earlier than planned after being locked up on lap 12 and down the escape road at turn 4. His pace on the hard tire was impressive, he was in Hamilton’s DRS. Despite his suggestion to switch to a two, Mercedes kept him on a one-stop strategy. He had to stop the fast attacking Red Bulls to help Hamilton win, but he couldn’t as his tires fell off on the final laps.

Lando Norris (8th place, 5th place) – 9th

Norris achieved six top five finishes with another impressive Sunday drive in seven races at Paul Ricard. Like Perez, Norris extended his first medium stint, which gave him a significant performance advantage over his rivals when he moved to the Hards. Norris drove past both Ferraris, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo and secured fifth place. He took the checkered flag over 11 seconds ahead of teammate Ricciardo.

On the subject of matching items

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 10th, 6th Place) – 8th

We saw the Ricciardo ‘from before’ when he passed team-mate Norris at the start before overtaking Leclerc and Alonso on the track. An aggressive undercut allowed him to get past Gasly before overtaking Sainz in the Ferrari. The Australian didn’t have the pace to leave Norris behind, even though his team-mate was on significantly fresher tires. Ricciardo kept Gasly and Alonso in check and secured sixth place.

Pierre Gasly (Qualified 6th, 7th Place) – 8th

It was six Q3 appearances in seven races for Gasly when he qualified in Paul Ricard ahead of both McLarens. The AlphaTauri did better than Ferrari on race day, but McLaren turned out to be too strong as Ricciardo undercut it during the pit stop period. He did his best to keep Norris at bay with an aggressive defense at Turn 11 so the Briton could vent his frustration over team radio. Gasly couldn’t get past Ricciardo and finished the race 0.7 seconds back.

Fernando Alonso (Qualified 9th, finished 8th) – 8th

With another impressive weekend, Alonso continued to dispel any doubts that he doesn’t have what it takes to be in Formula 1 in 2021. The Spaniard had a constant advantage over his team-mate Esteban Ocon over the entire weekend. It was another vintage start as Alonso made up two places on the first lap before falling behind the two McLarens as he struggled with his grainy midsize tires. A strong tough stint put him back in the top eight and defied late pressure from the Aston Martins to secure eighth place.

Sebastian Vettel (qualified 12th, 9th place) – 8th

The four-time champion continued his series of points with Paul Ricard. As in the two previous rounds, Vettel went in the first stint with a late change to medium long. This enabled him to overtake both Ferraris, but he didn’t have the pace to overtake his old title rival Alonso in eighth. Had it not been for Turn 11 during his middle stint – which cost him about three seconds – he might have finished better than P9.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 19th, Finished 10th) – 8th

Stroll was caught in Mick Schumacher’s crash at the end of Q1, which meant that he was kicked out of qualifying prematurely. The Canadian followed the same strategy as Vettel and benefited from a long tough stint before moving to the media. Stroll overtook Sainz in the final laps by the final point, earning Aston Martin his second colon in 2021.

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 5th, 11th Place) – 7th

Sainz got the best out of his Ferrari when he qualified as “Best of the Rest” in fifth. The race didn’t go as well as Ferrari granulated their tires faster than any other team, causing Sainz to crash the order after switching to the hard tires. Given the miserable race by team-mate Charles Leclerc, it is clear that the lack of pace was more due to the car than to Sainz’s own performance.

George Russell (Qualified 14th, 12th Place) – 9th

It was one of Russell’s finest Sundays for Williams when he finished 12th due to his performance. A tough start left him behind teammate Nicholas Latifi early in the race before recovering and ending up just outside the top ten. Russell overtook Yuki Tsunoda in the final laps to give Williams his best result of the season and bring it to ninth place in the constructors’ championship ahead of Haas.

Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 20th, 13th Place) – 6th

Another crash in qualifying for Tsunoda meant that he had to start from the pit lane. In a car fast enough to qualify and finish in the top ten, it was a missed opportunity for the Japanese rookie. A faultless race allowed him to recover to 13th place, although overtaking a Williams would not have been well received in the Red Bull hierarchy.

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 11th, 14th Place) – 6th

After signing a new three-year contract with Alpine, Ocon was hoping for a great performance on home soil. The Frenchman never had the pace of team-mate Alonso and didn’t look like he was going to threaten the top ten on race day. He had the same strategy as the Aston Martin pair but failed to shape the race on a rare day off for Ocon.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 13th, 15th Place) – 7th

It was an anonymous race for Giovinazzi at Paul Ricard. The Italian once again had the advantage over Alfa Romeo team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. The hard to medium strategy did not work for Giovinazzi because Alfa simply lacked the racing pace.

Charles Leclerc (8th place, 16th place) – 5th

After successive pole positions, Leclerc was brought back to oblivion with a weekend. Leclerc was the first rider from the leading group to switch to Hards on lap 14. He was able to prevail on the track ahead of team-mate Sainz, but quickly fell behind in the order. His heavily grained tires forced him to make a second pit stop so that he had to fight for Raikkonen for 16th place.

Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 17th, finished 17th) – 5th

Like Giovinazzi, it was an anonymous race for the 2007 world champion. Raikkonen was lacking pace all weekend and was extensively overtaken by his Alfa Romeo team-mate. The alternate strategy didn’t work for Raikkonen and blue flags meant he couldn’t maximize the mid-size tires as the Aston Martins could with the same strategy.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 16th, 18th Place) – 5th

Latifi missed a spot by just 0.002 seconds in the second quarter. The Canadian ran ahead of teammate Russell but didn’t have the pace to hold position and gave up on the track. Latifi pitted a lap later than team-mate Russell, had a lack of grip and was unable to make any progress in the field.

Mick Schumacher (Qualified 15th, finished 19th) – 6th

Schumacher was lucky enough to get into Q2 for the first time in his career as the red flag he caused meant Stroll and Raikkonen couldn’t improve. The German was overtaken by his teammate Nikita Mazepin in turn 4, which forced Schumacher to take the escape route. Schumacher managed to get past his teammate but didn’t have the pace to threaten the Williams of Latifi.

Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 18th, finished 20th) – 5th

It wasn’t a terrible weekend by Mazepin’s standards as it was mostly flawless. Mazepin pulled past team-mate Schumacher with an aggressive push into Turn 4 in the early stages of the race. The Russian didn’t have the pace to beat his teammate as he finished last in Paul Ricard.

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