2022 British Grand Prix driver ratings

90 comments on “2022 British Grand Prix driver ratings”

1. 

   baasbas
   5th July 2022, 8:36

   Gasly did not trigger the crash, Russell did
   1. 

      Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
      5th July 2022, 12:56

      Gasly definitely triggered the crash, that is not to say that Russell was also definitely who hit zhou and he could had been less aggressive. Racing incident to me but Gasly did realise what was about to happen but too late.
   2. 

      Sviat
      5th July 2022, 13:45

      Gasly put the nose of this car into the place where it shouldn’t be. He had 0 chance to gain a position. Zhou and Russell are expected to move to the left to prepare for the corner.
      What Gasly did was infinitely dumb, reminiscent of the move made Grosjean on Hamilton in Belgium 2012. Some guys don’t think when they drive.
      1. 

         baasbas
         5th July 2022, 15:38

         @Sviat:
         I know you’re joking because you referenced Grosjean and Hamilton there. Maybe you need to look that one up and check who was pinching who… Grosjean was squeezing Hamilton. And Russell squeezed Gasly. Grosjeans move was way worse of course since he was coming from behind and squeezed a car trapped besides the wall. While Russell was merely clumsy.
      2. 

         Ajaxn
         5th July 2022, 19:52

         Dam ankle biters.

         Let’s say for argument sake that Gasly had started ahead ofRussel, its not as though he would have kept that place for very long. So why even try for that place?

         They all know the start is the most hazard part of any race so why make those risky moves. It was totally reckless with no hope of any lasting gain, unless his intentions was to take a bite out of one of the leader cars just for the sake of that momentary kudos.
   3. 

      grat
      5th July 2022, 15:46

      Russell was tipped by contact from Gasly, and spun into Zhou. Gasly was diving into a disappearing wedge, and it didn’t work out.
      1. 

         DaveW (@dmw)
         5th July 2022, 20:28

         He just saw goatifi blast through that gap unscathed and that would take some will power to forgo your own attempt. But Russell, seeing that he just got passed by the Williams like he was chained to a post should have known any sudden moves might bring a car over his rear wing though. Both Gasly and Russell were imprudent.
   4. 

      Illusive (@illusive)
      5th July 2022, 17:06

      Absolutely, George moved way to quickly without checking his mirrors.
2. 

   David
   5th July 2022, 8:46

   5 for vettel? without the sc he would have finished 7th with almost the worst car on grid

   these ratings are getting more and more ridiculous :)
   1. 

      magon4 (@magon4)
      5th July 2022, 9:17

      5 for Vettel, 6 for Magnussen… that’s odd indeed!
   2. 

      Warheart (@warheart)
      5th July 2022, 10:54

      Even with the SC he could’ve arguably held to 7th if they had chosen to go for softs. I agree he did a solid job and deserves a higher score.
   3. 

      Andrew
      5th July 2022, 11:57

      What I find funny is how he elaborates the rating:
      – Very disappointed by Q1 elimination in 18th after struggling to find pace on intermediates.
      This could well be written also as:
      – Beat his teammate by 7 tenths in Q1, but not enough to progress to Q2

      Then we have this:
      – Remained on his mediums to progress up to seventh place
      while for e.g. Hamilton in similar situation he comments this:
      – Maintained strong pace on old mediums to keep gap just under 19 seconds

      Vettel started 18th and was on course to finish 7th had it not been for the SC, even with SC if AM had not wrongly judged that medium was a better choice. Ridiculous rating
      1. 

         bosyber (@bosyber)
         5th July 2022, 12:11

         I also wonder about some of these ratings today; Vettel, what is pointed out; but also not quite clear what Norris and Alonso did so much better than Verstappen, Hamilton, Sainz and Perez (and Perez even had the worse quali, which usually seems to give a point off, but yes, he was in the right place at the right time to fight for the podium), or even Schumacher.

         And for Albon, what is there to judge he did badly, apart from combined team effort not working to get him beyond Q2 and his attempts to avoid all cars, after I might note, a very good getaway, in the start crash scuppered by being in the middle of it but not for lack of trying.
3. 

   Jelle van der Meer (@)
   5th July 2022, 8:48

   Russell:
   “Started on hard tyres, but clipped by Gasly on run to first corner, pitching him into Zhou and triggering horrifying crash which led to red flag”

   Gasly:
   “Unintentionally triggered violent start crash after being squeezed between Zhou and Russell, but able to take restart in ninth”

   Gasly did nothing wrong, Russell kept moving to the left while there was no space. Russell is the cause of the crash, not Gasly, Gasly even tried to avoid it but Russell was too aggressive and too eager to avoid more drivers overtaking him after his poor start.

   Russell qualified bad and started bad – he should not get a 5 as rating.
   1. 

      Sviat
      5th July 2022, 13:48

      Was Gasly side by side with Russell? No. Was he close enough to be even considered side by side? No. What’s there to think?
      Gasly should’ve been banned for a race for the dumb attempt to gain a position when there’s no space or time to try to squeeze between two drivers before an imminent corner.

      People, you’re unbelievable.
      1. 

         Mayrton
         5th July 2022, 23:10

         I agree Gasly makes these kind of errors way too much. RB continues to make a good call in not promoting him. It is like Peter Windsor said: he practices before the race in catching falling juggling balls. That creates a reactive approach rather than the proactive one he needs to do his job. Start juggling, not catching Pierre!
4. 

   Centauri (@situs)
   5th July 2022, 8:48

   Good ratings. +1
5. 

   sumedhvidwans (@sumedhvidwans)
   5th July 2022, 8:54

   I try not comment on this series of articles because I honestly can’t understand how are these ratings arrived (These driver ratings are like the double points / elimination qualifying of racefansdotnet).

   But can’t resist commenting on this one.

   All the top 4 and Verstappen had imperfect weekends. Sainz had no race pace inspite of an undamaged car, Perez, Leclerc and Verstappen damaged their own cars, Hamilton couldn’t capitalize on his last set of new softs.

   Yet it is Leclerc who is given 6 and everyone else 7. Qualifying spin aside, he did not put one foot wrong. His defence on the old hards was absolutely amazing. If he wasn’t there, the last 10 laps of exhilarating racing that we all enjoyed would have been nothing.
   He deserves a 7, if not more.
   1. 

      magon4 (@magon4)
      5th July 2022, 9:18

      for me, Leclerc was driver of the weekend
   2. 

      Danny (@denny)
      5th July 2022, 9:41

      I think this was one of the best races Charles had, with broken wing destroying his teammate, then on old hards who needs ages to warm up, fight equally with top guys on softs, braking later or equally was outstanding, positioning the car for attack or defending was MASTERCLASS!
   3. 

      Warheart (@warheart)
      5th July 2022, 11:11

      Qualifying spin aside, he did not put one foot wrong.

      I have to disagree on that one. He also lost positions in both starts and caused his own front wing damage with what can be argued to be an overly optimistic attempt. 100% agree on his defense and racecraft after the SC restart, but his race was far from perfect.
      1. 

         MG1982 (@mg1982)
         5th July 2022, 11:23

         caused his own front wing damage with what can be argued to be an overly optimistic attempt.

         No, he didn’t. PER caused it. PER should be careful with what’s going on around him.
         1. 

            neiana
            5th July 2022, 20:23

            LOL man, you’re hilarious.

            LeClerc dive bombed the inside of a corner making it 3 wide with zero chance of slowing down to ensure a clean exit. Charles is 100% at fault.
      2. 

         wsrgo (@wsrgo)
         5th July 2022, 14:00

         He also lost positions in both starts

         As Kravitz mentioned, they had a critical ECU issue on the car before the race start that contributed to this.
6. 

   Cronies
   5th July 2022, 9:01

   Will Wood, will you ever listen to your readers constant begging? Make these ratings out of a bigger number or to one decimal place to avoid 7’s all round, every week.

   Time to listen to the fans and give up on this format.
   1. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      9th July 2022, 4:16

      The question is, will we ever get a 9 under this format this season?
7. 

   Luke S (@joeypropane)
   5th July 2022, 9:06

   I feel like Perez is being hard done by here – of all the top runners, his race impressed me the most. Yes he lost out in qualifying to Max and the Ferrari’s, but that’s hardly a surprise when the red cars are clearly the best on Saturday’s and Max is a better qualifier than everyone bar Leclerc and Lewis.

   The fact his initial contact wasn’t even his fault, but still put him dead last, should also only INCREASE the value of his final finishing position. How Norris can be an 8, when he had basically zero threat from behind after Alonso passed him and very little to do but hold position, but Perez the “Racefans 7” is beyond me. I feel like Norris is being flattered by Ricciardo’s especially poor form, kinda like Mick was when he was being compared to Mazepin every weekend…
   1. 

      slowmo (@slowmo)
      5th July 2022, 9:21

      I don’t agree with the 8 for Norris but the counter point to the Ricciardo flattering Norris argument is that it’s actually the reverse in that Norris is making Ricciardo look very poor. To be fair Norris made Sainz look pretty average at times too, I think he is just really that good.
   2. 

      Andy (@andyfromsandy)
      5th July 2022, 11:09

      Although the guy has to drive the car like all drivers he is in a very good car that overall is at least 2 seconds faster than most of the grid. It really was a slam dunk he would make progress. That doesn’t earn him driver of the day, IMO.
8. 

   AlexS
   5th July 2022, 9:09

   Very bad ratings.
   Gasly did nothing wrong and did not caused any crash. It was Russell that caused the crash he moved to where Gasly car was.

   Leclerc did a great race. His only fault was in qualifying. Sainz had a non damaged car and could not even be that fast.
   Lattifi had a great race and deserves more than 6.
   So Leclerc and Lattifi has same points as Ocon!?

   This whole exercise seems to be only to give 8 points to Norris and in praise of conservative drivers that risk nothing.
9. 

   slowmo (@slowmo)
   5th July 2022, 9:18

   I’d argue actually that Perez could have done more to not damage his car resulting in his tumble down the pack which ultimately could have cost him a podium if not for him lucking into a safety car. I’d have given him a 6 at best too.

   Leclerc did indeed damage his own car and spent most of the race unable to overtake hi supposedly much slower teammate which I personally doubt he was that much slower having seen similar conversations from Leclerc this year already. He arguably had the fastest car and finished 4th, a 6 is fair enough.

   Verstappen getting a 7 is arguably too high as ultimately how “unmissable” the debris was is debatable and he did drive over it and damage his own car which ruined his race.

   Hamilton beat 2 faster cars (albeit one wounded) and was in the mix to win on merit before the safety car as he’d driven some outstanding laps on deteriorating tyres to give him a huge tyre offset. All that excellent driving was nullified by the safety car giving Sainz a free stop and putting Perez on his back with a car that is notoriously slower to warm up tyres meaning he was a sitting duck at the safety car restart. 7 seems harsh when judged next to his peers that race.

   Sainz did seem to get a bit lucky in the race but there have been occasions in the past where he’s had some serious bad luck when in with a chance to win. I think a 7 was fair, he didn’t make any major mistakes and ultimately he made the right calls to defend his own race against the urges of his team.

   I do not understand how you can rate Alonso and Norris above Hamilton this weekend.
   1. 

      Ruben
      5th July 2022, 11:59

      Verstappen getting a 7 is arguably too high as ultimately how “unmissable” the debris was is debatable

      I haven’t seen any footage/quotes/stories that made me doubt Verstappen’s observations about the debris being unmissable, but I’d love to hear it.
      1. 

         bosyber (@bosyber)
         5th July 2022, 12:14

         I’d agree with Ruben, and I guess you too @slowmo that Verstappen maybe deserving less is indeed quite arguable since I too don’t really see much evidence he could have avoided it; apart from that, interesting points.
   2. 

      Cobray (@)
      5th July 2022, 15:04

      @slowmo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4FKXq_Ljx8

      0:07 exit of turn 6 you can hear a thumb.
      1. 

         Robbie (@robbie)
         5th July 2022, 15:41

         @slowmo As is being pointed out, pure armchair speculation on your part wrt Max and the debris he hit that was on the racing line. He said he had no way of avoiding it and so tried to hit it dead on in hopes of minimizing the damage it might cause, but that obviously didn’t matter and it got lodged under the car for the rest of the race.

         In terms of pure performance, Max was set for pole but was scuppered when Leclerc caused a flag that ended up favouring Sainz. In terms of pure performance, debris aside, Max had huge potential to win Silverstone. I think at least a 7 is warranted which obviously by the ratings explanations has also to do with things like heading one’s teammate in quali and the race etc etc.
         1. 

            slowmo (@slowmo)
            5th July 2022, 15:55

            @robbie I happen to think finishing 7th in the fastest car on the grid doesn’t warrant a 7. I certainly don’t see how you can rate him equivalent to the race winner and pole sitter or Hamilton given the result. Yes it is speculation but without a front facing camera to prove either way the rear facing camera doesn’t provide conclusive proof either. It’s my opinion, you’re more than welcome to take Verstappen at his word.
            1. 

               Mayrton
               5th July 2022, 23:20

               https://www.instagram.com/p/CfmoWt1PbDa/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

               I guess this isn’t ideal to get/have underneath your car. These guys put in a lot of designing effort to get the car at top notch level. As Mercedes shows (or showed at the beginning of the season) every single detail matters for performance. I feel Max delivered a top notch performance considering this.
            2. 

               Dana Bercu
               6th July 2022, 12:19

               I think managing to finish 7 with that kind of damage actually warrants high score. Others would not have finished that high with damaged car like that. He managed to minimize the damage and only lose 6 pt to Leclerc. I thought he had a great drive all considered.
         2. 

            Robbie (@robbie)
            5th July 2022, 16:19

            @slowmo Of course you are entitled to your opinion but when it is based on skewed armchair drivel expect to be called out for it. You give away your bias when you suggest Max still had the fastest car after hitting debris and it lodging underneath his car. He obviously didn’t. Of course I will take Max’s word over yours and of course there is no evidence to suggest other than what Max has said. This is just you trying to shade Max baselessly.
            1. 

               slowmo (@slowmo)
               5th July 2022, 17:33

               @robbie You’re the one on a crusade. I don’t think finishing 7th in the fastest car warrants the rating he was given and I stipulated my reasons why. And it has nothing to do with my bias for or against Verstappen. Also he clearly did have the fastest car as he has had most of the year, that’s just a fact.
            2. 

               Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
               5th July 2022, 17:51

               he lost a whole lot of downforce due to the damage. His car was no longer anywhere close to being the fastest.

               He would have got pole if it wasn’t for the yellow flags, he passed sainz instantly in the race, then passed him again after the 2nd restart, then had bad luck. His weekend was very good and a 7 is certainly accurate. He deserved to win.
            3. 

               Robbie (@robbie)
               5th July 2022, 18:04

               @slowmo Talk about crusades. He clearly no longer had a fast car let alone the fastest, after unavoidably hitting debris. We all saw what effect that had on Max’s car. You trying to make it sound like Max had the fastest car and still only finished 7th has nothing to do with facts as you have failed to acknowledge the facts other than to try to baselessly blame Max. You have only stipulated nonsense in the way of reasons. You trying to make it sound like Max finished 7th in a healthy and fastest car is just plain disingenuous and you’re not convincing anyone. And you’re claiming nothing to do with bias for or against Max but yet are likely the only one within and without F1 that is trying to blame Max for hitting debris.
            4. 

               slowmo (@slowmo)
               5th July 2022, 18:14

               I still disagree with the rating, go crusade elsewhere.
10. 

    cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
    5th July 2022, 9:25

    I don’t think anyone watching that race would agree the standout performers head and shoulders above the rest were Norris and Alonso (the latter consistently rated high on here).

    These whole ratings are fraught with inconsistencies and oversights.
    1. 

       jff
       5th July 2022, 9:51

       I’d rate the performance of Hamilton and Verstappen (even taking the IMO overly aggressive defending at the end) above those of Norris and Alonso.
       I would even rate Mick’s level with Norris and Alonso (good race, and impressive how he kept it clean when Verstappen drove him off track).

       And Sainz’ 7 seems a bit flattering as he was clearly slower than (broken wing) Leclerc when on similar tyres, and even Hamilton in a Mercedes was able to set faster lap times.
    2. 

       Centauri (@situs)
       5th July 2022, 17:36

       I watching that race and I agree with the standout performers head and shoulders above the rest were Norris and Alonso.
       1. 

          Henry
          6th July 2022, 0:13

          Alonso and Norris drove smart races.
          They look at the big picture.
          All of those in front of them were careless at times and could have had DNF’s.
11. 

    jff
    5th July 2022, 9:29

    YTD average based on @WillWood‘s ratings:
    Max Verstappen: 7.3
    Charles Leclerc: 7.0
    Lando Norris: 6.6
    Fernando Alonso: 6.5 ↑
    George Russell: 6.4
    Sergio Perez: 6.2
    Lewis Hamilton: 6.0 ↑
    Valtteri Bottas: 5.9 ↓
    Pierre Gasly: 5.7
    Kevin Magnussen: 5.5
    Alexander Albon: 5.4
    Sebastian Vettel: 5.4
    Esteban Ocon: 5.4
    Carlos Sainz Jnr: 5.3 ↑
    Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
    Zhou Guanyu: 5.0 ↑
    Yuki Tsunoda: 4.9 ↓
    Daniel Ricciardo: 4.5
    Lance Stroll: 4.4
    Mick Schumacher: 4.2 ↑
    Nicholas Latifi: 3.9 ↑
12. 

    Andre
    5th July 2022, 9:53

    Sorry, but I think Leclerc deserves 8-9, and Hamilton as well. I’d probably rate them as follows

    9.0 – Lec
    8.5 – Ham
    8.0 – Ver
    7.5 – Per
    7.0 – Sai

    Leclerc was muscling his damaged car to P1, he fought like a lion and deserved the victory on pure driving. Hamilton was close behind, maximising his Mercedes package, and was on course to having a shot at victory without SC. He did a great job looking after the tyres while keeping up with the front-runners. Verstappen and Perez had the fastest race cars in their hands. Verstappen was easily going to win that race under normal circumstances. Perez would have finished in the podium. He lucked out with the SC. Sainz lucked out with the victory. On sheer performance he would have been out of the podium under normal circumstances.
    1. 

       jff
       5th July 2022, 10:36

       “Leclerc deserves 8-9” only if you disregard his spin in quali (when it counted), poor (re)start, and his role in his clash with Perez.
       1. 

          bosyber (@bosyber)
          5th July 2022, 12:17

          Yeah, I agree with jff that oversells Leclerc, and I think Sainz keeping it together and, with some luck, abreast of tactics in a way that neither Leclerc nor Ferrari seemingly were, does deserve some merit (even it it ultimately might serve to harm his standing in the team as he still doesn’t seem their best candidate to challenge Verstappen for the WDC, it still should serve as a wakeup for the team).
       2. 

          Andre
          5th July 2022, 17:29

          Leclerc is such a good driver, that he can “afford” to spin in qualifying and get front wing damage, and still outperform his rivals in the race and get himself in the position to win. That’s why 9 out 10.
    2. 

       BlueChris (@bluechris)
       5th July 2022, 11:04

       Totally agree with both your assessments.
13. 

    Frans
    5th July 2022, 11:03

    Russell obviously the one caused the crash. Ask anyone neutral, they will tell you the same. Gasly can’t really do anything at that point. There was a big gap there before Russell decided to not see Gasly and swiped to the left. Some might suggest Gasly to jam the brake… well, look what happened with Albon.

    Looking at where others are rated, I give Russell a 3. Looked slower all weekend vs Hamilton, poor race craft during the start. Although showing a good gesture, but undone it by wanting to be included in the restart knowing that the regulation is black and white regarding to that.

    I don’t hate Russell, but I’m just sad to see that some people blaming Gasly for that.
    1. 

       Bradders (@bradders)
       5th July 2022, 14:16

       ‘Decided not to see Gasly”

       Unlike Gasly, who I’m sure didn’t see Russell?
    2. 

       slowmo (@slowmo)
       5th July 2022, 15:58

       I think you could argue that all 3 took some blame for the incident with arguably the most being levelled at Gasly for putting his front end in a disappearing gap. I don’t think the accident covered any of them in glory.
    3. 

       Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
       6th July 2022, 17:45

       I just watched that incident about 15 times on loop, and started with “I don’t see why everyone is blaming Gasly”, and ended with “Gasly needs his gap assessment meter recalibrated”.
14. 

    baasbas
    5th July 2022, 11:09

    I can agree Ricciardo should have a low mark for this weekend. It wasn’t good (again) but having the DRS problem when it mattered hurt him. I fail to see why Russell should have 2 full points more than him though.
15. 

    AlexTR (@petrucci)
    5th July 2022, 11:18

    HAM LEC MSC underrated.
    VER NOR PER overrated.
    Rating drivers Zhou or Russell doesn’t make sense.
16. 

    Todfod (@todfod)
    5th July 2022, 11:22

    Sainz got 7 and Leclerc got 6. What a joke.
    1. 

       slowmo (@slowmo)
       5th July 2022, 15:59

       Pole and the win versus broke his own car and finished 4th. Doesn’t seem that far off.