Paul Ricard may be better suited to a test track than it is a bona fide race circuit, but it still offered a hot and difficult challenge to drivers over the French Grand Prix weekend.
While some team mates were evenly matched, others enjoyed wildly varying fortunes in what could be Formula 1’s final race at the unusual circuit.
Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the French Grand Prix:
Lewis Hamilton – 8
Qualified: 4th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
-0.366s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Missed first practice as Nyck de Vries took over his car
- Secured fourth on the grid in qualifying behind Red Bulls and Leclerc
- Jumped Perez off the starting line to sit third in the early laps on mediums
- Pitted under Safety Car for hards, rejoining second behind Verstappen
- Ran off track at turn two after snap of oversteer on lap 32
- Kept Perez behind out of DRS range but slowly fell back from Verstappen ahead
- Ran alone in the latter stages, eventually finishing second, ten seconds behind Verstappen
- Revealed after the race that his drinks system had failed early in the race
George Russell – 6
Qualified: 6th (-2 places behind team mate)+0.366s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate)
- Out-qualified by Norris after mistake on final Q3 lap left him sixth on grid
- Passed Norris on opening lap but lost a position to Alonso
- Overtook Alonso on lap three to move into fifth behind Perez
- Pitted under Safety Car behind Hamilton but retained position for restart
- Dropped to fifth after being passed by Sainz on lap 30, then gained place back when Ferrari pitted
- Attempted late lunge on Perez at chicane for third and was adamant Red Bull driver should yield position
- Perfectly timed Virtual Safety Car restart to burst past Perez into third at turn 13 after green flag
- Held off Perez to claim final podium spot by less than a second
Max Verstappen – 7
Qualified: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.159s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: Winner (+3 places ahead of team mate)
- Inside the top three in each timed session
- Ahead of team mate in every timed session
- Qualified second on the grid, a tenth-and-a-half ahead of team mate
- Held second place at the start
- Challenged Leclerc for the lead in the early laps but could not complete a pass
- Pitted for hard tyres on lap 16, inheriting the lead when Leclerc crashed
- Stayed out under Safety Car and led field away at restart
- Controlled pace and managed tyres to take a comfortable win ten seconds ahead of Hamilton
Sergio Perez – 4
Qualified: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.159s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 4th (-3 places behind team mate)
- Behind team mate in every timed session
- Had to settle for third on the grid behind Leclerc and team mate Verstappen
- Lost third to Hamilton off the line after spinning wheels in second phase of launch
- Dropped out of DRS range of Hamilton after complaining of poor rear traction
- Ran in fourth until pitting under Safety Car for hard tyres, rejoining behind Hamilton in third
- Kept in touch of Hamilton in second stint but could not put him under pressure
- Caught by Sainz and pressured for multiple laps before losing third to the Ferrari after battle
- Regained third when Sainz pitted but clashed with Russell at the chicane, keeping his place through the run off
- Almost breached the Virtual Safety Car delta after race failed to resume, before losing third to Russell when track went green
- Finished fourth, less than a second behind Russell at the chequered flag
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Carlos Sainz Jnr – 8
Qualified: 9th (-8 places behind team mate)
-0.135s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 5th
- In the top three in every timed session
- Fourth power unit confined him to start from back of the grid
- Reached Q3 with time good enough for second on grid, then gave team mate slipstream assist on both flying laps
- Started 19th on the grid after penalty on hards and did not gain a place on track on opening lap
- Overtook seven cars in opening stint to run tenth before Safety Car
- Delayed release from pit box led to five second unsafe release penalty after being released in front of Albon
- Restarted in eighth and passed Ricciardo, Norris and Alonso before catching and passing Russell
- Caught Perez in third and eventually overtook him after half-lap long battle
- Called into pit for second set of mediums, rejoining in eight place
- Overtook Ricciardo, Norris and Alonso to finish in fifth place
Charles Leclerc – 4
Qualified: Pole (+8 places ahead of team mate)
+0.135s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: Retired (Crashed – L18)
- Inside top three in every timed session
- Benefited from team mate’s slipstream to secure pole position by three tenths
- Held the lead from Verstappen on the opening lap
- Absorbed pressure from Verstappen and fended off an attack for the lead at Beausset
- Spun off and crashed out of lead at Beausset on lap 18, admitted to driver error
Lando Norris – 6
Qualified: 5th (+6 places ahead of team mate)-0.145s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 7th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Ahead of team mate in every timed session
- Used previous-spec bodywork in first practice to allow for direct testing against team mate
- Split the two Mercedes in qualifying to secure fifth on the grid
- Lost two places to Russell and Alonso in opening sector
- Ran in seventh until pitting under Safety Car and restarting sixth
- Overtaken by Sainz at restart to drop to seventh
- Stayed in seventh for rest of the race except when Sainz pitted and repassed him
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Daniel Ricciardo – 5
Qualified: 11th (-6 places behind team mate)
+0.145s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 9th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Behind team mate in every timed session
- Ran upgraded bodywork in first practice to carry out A/B test with team mate
- Missed cut for Q3 by just under a tenth of a second, lined up ninth after rivals’ penalties
- Got ahead of Tsunoda at the start to run in eighth behind Norris in early laps
- Lost a place to Ocon before pitting under Safety Car for hard tyres
- Restarted behind team mate in seventh but immediately passed by Sainz
- Ran eighth until caught and passed by Ocon, dropping to ninth
- Fended off late pressure from Stroll to take two points at the finish
Fernando Alonso – 7
Qualified: 7th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
-0.417s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 6th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Comfortably qualified for Q3 to secure seventh on the grid
- Passed Russell and Norris to take fifth on opening lap
- Lost fifth to Russell on lap three, then held sixth before pitting under Safety Car
- Restarted fifth but lost a place to Sainz after race resumed
- Ran sixth, gained fifth when Sainz pitted but soon repassed by the Ferrari
- Finished alone in sixth to claim ‘best of the rest’
Esteban Ocon – 4
Qualified: 12th (-5 places behind team mate)
+0.417s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 8th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Reached Q2 but eliminated in 12th to line up tenth on the grid
- Held position off the line but pitched Tsunoda into a spin at the chicane, earning a five second penalty
- Ran ninth before passing Ricciardo for eighth on lap seven
- Pitted for hards when Safety Car deployed, restarting in ninth
- Ran behind Ricciardo, eventually catching and passing him to take eighth, where he finished
Pierre Gasly – 4
Qualified: 16th (-8 places behind team mate)
+0.045s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 12th
- Had benefit of upgrades from first practice as team ran A/B test
- Earned team a €1,000 fine for speeding in pit lane
- Ran in top ten in Friday practice but mystified by failure to gain pace on Saturday
- Knocked out in Q1 by 0.016s and lined up 14th on grid
- Gained two positions off the line with decent getaway but then lost four places over opening lap
- Ran ahead of Bottas through opening stint before pitting under Safety Car and restarting 12th
- Tried to pass Albon into chicane but ran off track and lost three places
- Passed Magnussen for 13th into chicane, then Albon for 12th where he would finish
Yuki Tsunoda – 6
Qualified: 8th (+8 places ahead of team mate)
-0.045s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Damage – L18)
- Ran older-spec parts in first practice to allow for direct comparison with team mate
- Reached Q2 before just scraping into Q3 in tenth to eventually take eighth on the grid
- Dropped one place to Ricciardo off the starting line, then fell to the back after being hit by Ocon
- Gained a handful of places when rivals ahead pitted before boxing for hard tyres on lap 11
- Ran at the back of the field well off the pace before being brought in to retire on lap 18
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Sebastian Vettel – 5
Qualified: 14th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.154s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 11th (-1 place behind team mate)
- Missed half of the final hour of practice with floor damage
- Eliminated in 14th in Q2, but felt he extracted “maximum” from the car
- Jumped Bottas off the line but passed by team mate Stroll at end of opening lap
- Ran behind team mate Stroll in 11th in early laps
- Stayed out for first lap under Safety Car before pitting, losing one place for restart
- Ran 13th in DRS train behind Gasly before gaining 12th when Gasly missed chicane
- Overtook Albon into turn one to take 11th place
- Caught team mate Stroll on final lap but could not find a way through, crossing the line 11th
Lance Stroll – 6
Qualified: 17th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.154s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 10th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
- Blamed final sector traffic in qualifying for failure to reach Q2 in 17th place
- Gained four places on track during impressive opening lap, including passing team mate Vettel
- Ran tenth for most of his first stint before pitting under Safety Car for hard tyres, restarting tenth
- Continued in tenth through the entire second stint until caught by team mate Vettel on final lap
- Held onto final point after appearing to block Vettel at apex of the final corner
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Nicholas Latifi – 4
Qualified: 20th (-5 places behind team mate)
+0.371s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Damage – L41)
- First race weekend with upgraded Williams
- Behind team mate in every timed session
- Slowest in both Friday practice sessions
- Eliminated slowest in Q1, blaming wind for upsetting balance in final sector on quickest lap
- Gained one position on opening lap from Tsunoda’s spin
- Pressured Bottas with softer tyres in opening stint, eventually passing for 15th on lap 14
- Pitted for hards under Safety Car but lost a place to Magnussen after restart
- Ran in 16th before spinning after clash with Magnussen at turn two, pitting with damage
- Rejoined race but returned to the garage to retire two laps later
Alexander Albon – 6
Qualified: 15th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
-0.371s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 13th
- Ahead of team mate in every timed session
- Squeezed into Q2 but eliminated slowest in the second qualifying session to line up 13th
- Jumped Bottas but lost out to Gasly at the start, then overtaken by Magnussen on second lap
- Pitted for hards under Safety Car, running 11th after restart
- Headed DRS train under pressure from Gasly until Gasly missed chicane
- Eventually passed by Vettel for 11th into turn one
- Overtaken by Gasly in final laps, eventually crossing the line 13th
- Told to stop car immediately after taking chequered flag
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Valtteri Bottas – 5
Qualified: 13th (+5 places ahead of team mate)
-0.640s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 14th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
- Sat out first practice as Robert Kubica took over car
- Ahead of team mate in every timed session
- Easily progressed to Q2 but knocked out in 13th place
- Started 11th on grid on hard tyres, losing five places off the line
- Overtaken by Latifi before pitting under Safety Car for second set of hards
- Restarted 14th and ran there until gaining one place when Gasly missed the chicane
- Pitted for mediums on lap 36, falling to 17th ahead of team mate
- Caught and passed Schumacher for 14th on penultimate lap
Zhou Guanyu – 3
Qualified: 18th (-5 places behind team mate)
+0.640s slower than team mate in Q1
Classified: 16th (-2 places behind team mate)
- Behind team mate in every timed session they both participated in
- Eliminated from Q1 in 18th after mistake on final flying lap exiting turn six
- Lost four places on opening lap to fall to back of the field, gaining 19th from Tsunoda’s spin
- Stuck behind Latifi in 19th until pitting for hard tyres on lap nine, committing to a two stop
- Stayed out under Safety Car, gaining two positions
- Hit Schumacher into a spin at Beausset, earning five second time penalty and had to pit for repairs
- Ran at the very back until power unit problem saw him drop out five laps from the end
Mick Schumacher – 4
Qualified: 19th (-9 places behind team mate)
+0.945s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 15th
- Fortunate not to crash in second practice after high speed spin at Signes
- Eliminated in Q1 in 19th after best time deleted for cutting white lines at turn three
- Started from 17th, passing both Alfa Romeos, then Gasly before losing a place to team mate
- Committed to a two stop strategy by pitting for hards on lap nine, rejoining behind Magnussen
- Pitted again under Safety Car to get to the end of the race, restarting at the rear
- Tried to overtake Zhou for 17th at Beausset but was hit into a spin
- Struggled to make up time lost after spin, running in 14th
- Passed by Bottas on newer tyres on penultimate lap, finishing last on the road in 15th
Kevin Magnussen – 7
Qualified: 10th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
-0.945s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Damage – L38)
- Condemned to back row start after team took fourth power unit on Saturday
- Comfortably reached Q3 but opted not to run in final session due to penalty
- Beat Sainz off the line to turn one, then passed six more cars on opening lap to run 13th
- Nailed Albon at Beausset for 12th place on lap two
- Committed to two stop by pitting on lap eight for hard tyres, rejoining at the back
- Lost multiple positions when rivals ahead pitted under Safety Car
- Overtook Latifi and later Gasly, both through Beausset, before Gasly repassed him
- Clashed with Latifi in racing incident at turn two battling over 14th place, suffering damage
- Immediately brought in by Haas to retire on his 38th lap
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2022 French Grand Prix
- Ferrari’s season of missed chances led to “difficult” criticism for Binotto
- McLaren looking into why their starts are “more inconsistent” this year
- Mercedes expect Hungarian GP will ‘expose our qualifying weakness’
- Hamilton and Russell ‘out-performing a car that’s not good enough’ – Wolff
- “We need to decide now”: Inside Sainz and Ferrari’s French GP strategy dilemma
Jesper (@jesperfey13)
26th July 2022, 8:34
Wow these ratings are harsh. Verstappen and Hamilton both surely deserve an 8.
jff
26th July 2022, 9:00
I still think there are too many 7’s for drivers who had a flawless weekend. There is enough room in the 8’s and 9’s to differentiate between them.
score frequency so far this season:
SadF1fan
26th July 2022, 9:20
Lol, not giving Max a 9 or a 10 for the Imola weekend where he scored the super Grand Slam plus the avg you posted is quite indicative of stereotypical bellcurve grading.
At which point one can argue the grading is arbitrary rather than based on merit.
Frank
26th July 2022, 17:00
Out of curiosity. Why would you come to that conclusion?
It is quite a natural to have lots of average performances (hence the name) and very few exceptionally (hence the name) bad or good performances.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
28th July 2022, 6:31
I do not entirely disagree, though I say that with caveats as it would not be difficult to use the existing scale in a way that ensured more even distribution across the points available. That said, the average is the statistical centre, not necessarily the most frequently occurring.
Hans Herrmann (@twentyseven)
26th July 2022, 8:40
Nice ratings I tend to agree, although they always seem harsh Alonso on 76 and Lando on 6 for great performances but I get the criteria.
Often how you rate the drivers depends on the context of the season and current form so this context of matching them up against the great drives of all time is great.
Verstappen’s maturity in the last two races are what will win him this and many more championships. I don’t think he has matured since last year, just that he’s now showing us another facet to his driving skillset. Last year he needed to terrorize Hamilton with super aggression this year consistency and picking your battles (e.g. his damage limitation in Austria) are what is making the most gains.
Rich08
26th July 2022, 8:55
From a neutrals perspective, Ferrari have made it too easy for Verstappen. This is unfortunate as we have 2 evenly matched cars and drivers this year. Verstappen is on course to win at a canter.
Cronies
26th July 2022, 11:02
I agree with your assessment of Max, last year he also got himself into a position where he could afford to take Lewis on and be super aggressive.
Regards the rating – it is such a small range to try to rate a good drive – 6,7 or 8. If you had it to one decimal place you could have a 6.1 through to 7.9 – thirty different options allowing some finness….
jff
26th July 2022, 8:51
YTD average based on @WillWood‘s ratings:
Max Verstappen: 7.3
Charles Leclerc: 6.8 ↓
Fernando Alonso: 6.6 ↑
Lando Norris: 6.5
George Russell: 6.3 ↓
Lewis Hamilton: 6.1 ↑
Sergio Perez: 6.0
Valtteri Bottas: 5.8 ↓
Kevin Magnussen: 5.7 ↑
Carlos Sainz Jnr: 5.7 ↑
Esteban Ocon: 5.5
Alexander Albon: 5.4
Pierre Gasly: 5.4 ↓
Sebastian Vettel: 5.3
Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
Yuki Tsunoda: 4.9 ↓
Zhou Guanyu: 4.8
Lance Stroll: 4.6
Daniel Ricciardo: 4.6
Mick Schumacher: 4.4 ↑
Nicholas Latifi: 4.0 ↑
(arrow denotes trend of most recent three races compared to season)
Jesper (@jesperfey13)
26th July 2022, 16:45
Very cool thanks
jff
26th July 2022, 19:49
These are the adjusted YTD rankings based on the revised ratings by Keith and Will:
Jere (@jerejj)
26th July 2022, 9:13
Most impressed: HAM, SAI, & ALO
Most disappointing: PER, GAS, ZHO, & LEC
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th July 2022, 18:03
Agree with all of them actually.
Situs (@situs)
26th July 2022, 9:25
Not that I’m complaining but I’m just wondering what should Alonso do at Alpine in France for the 8 rating?
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
26th July 2022, 9:41
Some of the best drivers ever to drive in F1 can only consistently manage a 7 week in week out. Maybe they’re not that good after all?
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
26th July 2022, 14:02
Some of the best drivers to drive F1? Really..maybe the best cars ever to been driven..max is a special driver ..today’s drivers don’t have high chance of risking their life in every race unlike yesteryear..the old racers had massive balls..so fangio ,Stewart ,Brabham, Lauda ect are the best drivers imo.. multi WCs and survived!
F1 frog (@f1frog)
26th July 2022, 10:00
Carlos Sainz was outstanding this weekend, it was one of his best weekends in Formula 1. He was possibly denied pole position by the engine penalties after that great lap in Q2, but played a part in getting his teammate there. Then he fought through from the back to fifth just after the safety car. Then had to do a monster stint on medium tyres, and made his way past Russell and Perez with the move on Perez a particularly impressive pass as it took around five corners. Then he was denied a chance to pull out five seconds and take third by the pitstop.
You could say that Ferrari were let down by key mistakes in four areas this weekend. Firstly, the engines, as Sainz was required to take a fourth power unit after the failure in Austria. Then drivers, as Leclerc crashed out of the lead, then the pit crew for Sainz’s unsafe release, and then the strategists for Sainz’s final pitstop, although that one is less clear cut as we don’t have the telemetry that Ferrari had and it may be that Sainz would have had a puncture had he stayed out (although Gasly was able to overtake Albon at the end on medium tyres), and also Sainz did get the fastest lap point due to that late pitstop.
André
26th July 2022, 14:32
I’m not sure Sainz was that spectacular. He had a completely new PU, and likely had more power available than Leclerc. Sure he drove very well, but he also had a car underneath him.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2022, 10:13
Don’t really get how Sainz gets a 8 while Hamilton got a 7. The only thing Hamilton did wrong all weekend was ran slightly wide on one corner costing him 2s and no lasting damage. He qualified well ahead of his teammate, gave up his car for one practice session, comfortable beat Perez in a much faster car and was practically flawless. What does he need to do to get an 8?
Sainz meanwhile gained no places on the start then made his way by everyone in the race he was expected to overtake in a car that was over a second a lap faster than everyone he finished ahead of.
Taking those 2 accounts into the equation I fail to see what warrants giving Sainz a 8 and Hamilton 7.
I do understand those querying Verstappen’s rating but I thought a 7 was fair enough given he didn’t quite get the maximum in qualifying (not that it would have helped thanks to the slipstream Leclerc got). There is also the small matter that he didn’t really have to do anything other than drive conservatively for 2/3 of the race once Leclerc crashed.
Rest of the ratings look fair enough, I was maybe going to query Tsunoda’s but looking at the accident that took him out there really wasn’t much more he could have done space wise and until then he’d had a good weekend.
MattDS (@mattds)
26th July 2022, 12:50
@slowmo but he didn’t put a foot wrong, capitalized on Leclerc’s mistake in possibly a faster car, and was close enough to be menacing him and might have even contributed to Leclerc’s mistake by being so close that they could go for the undercut.
Hamilton obviously had a great weekend, but also had at least one unforced error that made him go off-track during the race.
Not that that means I think 8 is wrong for Hamilton, but I can’t exactly understand why then Verstappen is rated lower than that.
MacLeod (@macleod)
26th July 2022, 14:02
@slowmo and @mattds – Lewis got a 8 even with the little error, Charles had a 4 probaly should be a 3 as that mistake wasn’t huge for the race but also for the championship.
Sainz a 8 is not strange as he had a good weekend. So i agree with that.
Max a 7 could be a also a 8 as the undercut was already enough to pass Charles (27.3 seconds)
Still it is hard to rate the numbers with this system
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2022, 16:20
Worth noting I made this post before Keith updated some ratings including giving Hamilton a 8 when he was previously a 7.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
26th July 2022, 10:34
Apologies from me – due to a miscommunication the original version of this article which I put up earlier was not Will’s final draft, so the version which now appears has a few differences to that which as you can see includes some of the drivers’ scores. Some arguments may need recalibrating accordingly! We’ll tighten up how we do this for next time so it doesn’t happen again.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th July 2022, 10:37
Indeed, was surprised to read these comments that hamilton should’ve got 8 while he did!
MG1982 (@mg1982)
26th July 2022, 10:40
So, now we rate Q2 times too?!? I mean, the fact that SAI had a better time than LEC in Q2 doesn’t prove anything. That’s the “problem” with these champ material drivers, they can make a difference in the last moment. It happened already with LEC. Anyway, 8 for SAI seems a little too much in my opinion.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th July 2022, 18:08
Nah, imo it’s fair, I agree generally with discarding unimportant sessions, but in this case that q2 time was the 2nd best time any driver got in all quali, it has relevance.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
26th July 2022, 12:35
This is just very confusing. Sainz and Hamilton get 8’s, while Max gets a 7. I don’t see any scenario where those Max doesn’t also get an 8 given those grades. Qualifying P2 against a faster car and winning the race in full control is not an 8. But coming in second in a similar fashion is worth that 8? Sainz, I can see an argument where he gets an 8, mainly because he overtook a Red Bull on track (even if it was a much slower Red Bull than the one in front, it’s still their direct competitor), but even then. I wouldn’t argue that he was a grade above Verstappen, which Will apparently finds he was.
I don’t know, I can’t really find the rhyme or reason in given those two an 8, while Verstappen gets a 7 for winning and controlling a race he ultimately wasn’t the top contender for.
André
26th July 2022, 14:42
Because, obviously, the score is not just about the end result. Max had a car capable of winning the race. The Ferrari that Leclerc was driving was not that much faster, because Max was able to keep up, and would have possibly undercut him or overtaken later him with better tyre degradation. Hamilton, on the other hand driving the 3rd fastest car on track, finished P2, ahead of both Ferraris, one Redbull, and obviously ahead of George. So relatively speaking, Hamilton overdelivered, whereas Max delivered what was expected from the car he’s driving. It’s very simple. It’s about driver performance, not about the end result of car+driver performance.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
26th July 2022, 13:00
What did Hamilton do to deserve an 8, the highest score possible?
Drivers had faultless weekends this season winning pretty all and only got an 8.
Lewis made mistakes and didn’t make a single overtake, he just had a decent start to overtake bad starting Perez and then drove to the finish line. How is that deserving of an 8? He benefitted from Leclerc error, Sainz starting at back and making extra pitstop and Perez driving slow.
Guess Hamilton scores should be deducted 1 point to remove the extra point this Lewis biased website always seems to give him.
In no way dis Hamilton do a better job than Max, the both maximized qualifying and they both maximized the race, Max did it without errors, unlike Lewis, but guess that is ignored.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2022, 13:08
@jelle-van-der-meer Because he drove exceptionally well to maintain the pace in that Mercedes relative to Verstappen (and Leclerc while he was still racing). F1 isn’t just about overtakes, though Hamilton’s grid start was excellent, passing Perez and almost having a chance on Max.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
26th July 2022, 13:45
Exceptionally well – come on – this was not even in Lewis top 25 drives.
Lewis drove just normally nothing special, stop believing Mercedes saying they are a second per lap slower.
Mercedes is the 3rd fastest car and much closer to Ferrari/Red Bull than Alpine/Mclaren are to Mercedes.
So counting Ferrari out and Perez being bad anything else than 2nd and 3rd would have been a bad performance.
So far this season Lewis is yet to finish ahead of were he should finish. Any time Lewis qualifies or finishes behind Russell is a bad performance of Lewis.
Fahlen
26th July 2022, 14:26
Or maybe you should remove the orange glasses?
Hamilton had a better start then Verstappen and managed to stay calm when under pressure by Pérez in a quicker car. Verstappen was not under pressure at any point during the race. He was either the one applying pressure which is always easier or comfortably ahead on a sunday drive.
Verstappen did not do the better job, he simply did not have the opportunity to do so.
Hamilton literally finished ahead of where he should have. He should not have finished ahead of Pérez but he did.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
26th July 2022, 16:45
How long have you been watching F1, it is always more difficult to apply pressure than than to withstand it. In 2022 cars applying pressure became easier but track position always wins.
Being ahead is always an advantage, with 2022 cars that has gotten less but with the heat and hot track in the weekend following closely meant eating your tyres. It is why Red Bull strategically called in Max earlier and successfully made the undercut work.
Even Alonso was funny later in the race saying let them get close so they ruin their tyres.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2022, 16:24
The Mercedes is at least half a second slower than the Ferrari or Red Bull and more so in Qualifying trim. There is no way Hamilton should have been able to beat Perez, yet he did. Meanwhile Verstappen is driving round in the fastest car, he should be winning every race just to earn his 7.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
26th July 2022, 16:42
Yeah it was all Hamilton that beat Perez, NOT, that was far more due to Perez not delivering than Hamilton driving brilliantly. Certainly proven by the fact that Russell also was pressuring Perez and overtook him.
Keep believing the Mercedes is so slow and Hamilton is magically adding 0.3 seconds of speed – so far this season he is still behind his relative rookie team mate, made too many mistakes and is complaining too much.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2022, 17:31
Well they can’t all drive the best car like Verstappen can they.
André
26th July 2022, 14:46
By your logic, what has Max done to even deserve 7, when he’s driving the strongest car so far this season? He’s just doing what the car demands him to do. Nothing spectacular. It’s Adrian Newey who deserves 8+. You dutchies are very biased, because until recently you were all complaining about Hamilton being so successful just because “he had a dominant car”, which isn’t even true for the most part of the hybrid era.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
26th July 2022, 16:38
Yeah Mercedes won 8 constructor championships without a dominant car.
It is this website and most of British fans that credit Hamilton for the success during Hybrid period while for the majority was made possible by the car he drove, at same time you say now it is the Red Bull that gives Max wins while the Red Bull has no or far less of an advantage compared to advantage Mercedes had.
You kidding me, the only reason Hamilton got 7 WDC, over a 100 wins is that for most of Hybrid period the Mercedes was minimal 0.5 second faster often a second per lap.
Mercedes never ever had to push for wins in the early years, they won 16 races of the season on multiple occassions with many 1-2 victories a clear sign of huge dominance.
Not Red Bull but Ferrari has been the fastest car this season, certainly in qualifying and half the times in the race.
Max has been near faultless this season, same as he was most of last season. The few minor mistakes he either corrected himself or had minimal impact. The majority of his point loss was due to external factors or Mercedes (2021) or Ferrari (2022) having the faster car and even then most times he finished 2nd.
Max has made less error than Lewis and Leclerc since 2021, he almost always gets the maximum out of the car often more than actual available and is very consistent scoring points.
Fahlen
26th July 2022, 17:34
I don’t have to watch F1 for ages to know its easier to chase someone than it is to be chased. That is some simple psychology my man. If you make a mistake while hunted, you are dead. If you make it as the hunter, you can try later. Pretty simple stuff.
Could you explain to me how exactly is Hamilton supposed to finish higher than he is expected to without some external circumstances like Pérez being slow, a convenient safety car or the guys ahead having issues? He is not omnipotent you know…
And you do not get more than is available from a car for Christ sake. A musician cannot play a tone his instrument is incapable to play. Same applies to F1 cars, nobody gets above what is available, if you try that, you end up like LeClerc last weekend or Hamilton and Russell in Austria.
You are so ridiculously biased and yet first to point this out from others.
Have you been deaf lately? Max complains too, so do most of them. As for Hamilton’s mistakes this season he has had a couple of bad qualifying sessions but you can say the same about Max. It is also Verstappen who managed to suffer a decent lock up during the first three races, his complete lack of wheel to wheel prowess in Bahrain was quite an embarrassing sight not to mention his off track excursion in Spain. I would say Hamilton is not doing any worse this year he is simply driving a car that can get stuck in the midfield unlike Verstappen, not to mention that unlike Max, he has his future replacement as his team mate.
Emma
27th July 2022, 7:43
followed by
Very funny.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2022, 13:05
4 is generous for Leclerc. You just can’t bin the car for no justifiable reason while in the lead and needing the 25 points for a win – not throwing them all away and giving the full lot to your championship rival, already in the lead. He transformed a potentially 29 point deficit, very reachable, into 63 points, championship virtually over. A 2 maybe?
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2022, 16:26
@david-br I think the rating was skewed by his qualifying performance but I agree in a sense that these ratings should be skewed more towards the race and his race was awful when put in the context you did.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2022, 16:50
@slowmo I’m not really a fan of the points ranking to be honest. I prefer the ‘stars’ and ‘strugglers’ categories (or some category that captures just plain ‘bad’). I’ve been wondering why Leclerc made such a mistake. Andrew Benson’s article for the BBC got me thinking when he says that Leclerc ‘may be the fastest driver in F1’ (though easy to say and often said about lots) yet he’s prone to these sudden mistakes. I just wonder if he lacks the same feel for car-and-track adherence as Max and Lewis, say, and pushes just a bit too much. If so, perhaps visible in Leclerc’s relatively mediocre performance in wet conditions too. Or maybe he just gets the cost-benefit calculations a bit wrong.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th July 2022, 19:04
It can’t have gone from 29 potential to 63, that’s 34 points lost, it’s well known that when fastest lap isn’t in the middle and you’re first and crash out and your opponent wins it’s a 32 points swing, even if you think leclerc would’ve got fastest lap we’re talking 33 swing.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2022, 20:12
@esploratore1 TBH I thought Verstappen had the fastest lap, read that wrong somewhere.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th July 2022, 19:04
Nonetheless, your point is good, 4 is prob too generous, this was vettel-like in hockenheim.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2022, 13:15
Perez 4 is also a touch generous too, I’d go for a 3. He has a championship winning car but achieves nothing with it. I really can’t see how Red Bull can justify not getting a 1-2 in the race. Terrible.
Jelle van der Meer (@)
26th July 2022, 13:50
Agree Perez was bad bur disagree with Red Bull 1-2.
This is not earlt Hybrid era where the Mercedes were over a second per lap faster. Red Bull and Ferrari are almost evenly matched whereby Ferrari is slightly ahead in qualifying.
Come race day Mercedes is maybe 0.3-0.5 maximum behind the fastest Red Bull or Ferrari.
Perez is no Lewis/Max, he is a Bottas. So on good days he can just anout challahge for win, on a normal day finish 3rd/4th if no DNF and on a bad day lose to Mercedes or even Alpine.
MacLeod (@macleod)
26th July 2022, 14:05
A bit too harsh as the Ferrari car is also able to beat the Red Bull. you could be disappointed in his lack of overtaking Lewis.
slowmo (@slowmo)
26th July 2022, 16:27
I thought there was no way after Abu Dhabi last year that Perez will ever overtake Hamilton again unless it’s done on the straight :-D.
David BR (@david-br)
26th July 2022, 16:52
@slowmo So it’s not just me who thinks Hamilton will be enjoying this payback on Perez! I’m certain he’s taking extra special care to keep Perez behind as much as he can.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
26th July 2022, 19:07
Ahah, that would be interesting if he’s doing on purpose to keep him behind as much as he can. However perez was indeed mediocre this race, it was already bad to not overtake hamilton, but then he lost him and ended up being under pressure from a recovering from the back sainz and russell and if it weren’t for ferrari’s bad strategy, probably would’ve lost out to both.
ttongsul (@ccpbioweapon)
26th July 2022, 20:36
I am starting to see an anti Yuki Tsnoda bias here.
Yuki Tsunoda – 6 the same as albon is a joke! Yuki quali 8th 8 positions ahead of GAS who got ko in q1 which was massively impressive for the struggling team which is probably the slowest, was torpedoed by Ocon on the first lap which was no fault of his own which caused damage and eventual retirement
Zhou – 3 IS TOO HIGH and should be a 1-2 because his race was a complete farce, quali 18 way behind BOT, back of the grid at the start and only overtaken Tsunoda due to Yuki having sidepod damage no thanks to Ocons first lap torpedo, scruffy amateurish tangling with Mick who was clearly faster on pace as was not worth battling with in the first place..
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
27th July 2022, 5:18
A bit harsh on Ocon and Latifi, for mine.
Ocon did clunk with Tsunoda but at least was in the battle, unlike “my front wheel was level with his back wheel so he should have just got out of my way” Russell’s shoving it up the inside at the apex.
And Latifi did a much better job with his first run on the upgraded Williams than Albon did (when Latifi was faster in the old car). Latifi had a very good race considering.