2018 Season - Rate the Drivers

[M4A1Carbine]

Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton - 9/10
Valtteri Bottas - 8/10

Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 8/10
Kimi Raikkonen - X/10

Red Bull:
Daniel Ricciardo - 6/10
Max Verstappen - 8/10

Force India:
Sergio Perez - 7/10
Esteban Ocon - X/10

Williams:
Lance Stroll - 7/10
Sergey Sirotkin - 5/10

Renault:
Carlos Sainz - 8/10
Nico Hulkenberg - X/10

Toro Rosso:
Pierre Gasly - X/10
Brendon Hartley - 6/10

Haas:
Romain Grosjean - 3/10
Kevin Magnussen - 9/10

McLaren:
Fernando Alonso - 8/10
Stoffel Vandoorne - X/10

Sauber:
Marcus Ericsson - 6/10
Charles Leclerc - 9/10

[Matt]

Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton - 9/10 (Basically a perfect race but there was not much pressure.)
Valtteri Bottas - 8/10 (Same thing except qualified and finished behind teammate.)

Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 8/10 (This would be lower if it seemed like the tire problems were his fault.)
Kimi Raikkonen - X/10

Red Bull:
Daniel Ricciardo - 7/10
Max Verstappen - 8/10 (Possible 9, but he still had unnecessary contact.)

Force India:
Sergio Perez - 7/10
Esteban Ocon - X/10

Williams:
Lance Stroll - 7/10
Sergey Sirotkin - 3/10

Renault:
Carlos Sainz - 8/10
Nico Hulkenberg - X/10

Toro Rosso:
Pierre Gasly - X/10
Brendon Hartley - 6/10 (Maybe a 7, but he wrote off the car in practice.)

Haas:
Romain Grosjean - X/10 (Decision to stay in the gas was questionable, but there were cars coming at him where he was too. Spin was a result of the air off his teammate and reaction to his slide. A generous X.)
Kevin Magnussen - 8/10

McLaren:
Fernando Alonso - 7/10
Stoffel Vandoorne - 4/10 (Mechanical problem, but he was also far behind Alonso and made a mistake at the start to get a drive through.)

Sauber:
Marcus Ericsson - 7/10
Charles Leclerc - 9/10

A pretty high scoring week here, but it was such an uneventful race and I think the drivers who finished the race all essentially did what the car had. Except Sirotkin.

[Penfold]

Barcelona:

Merc:
Hammy - 9 - Same as everyone else: Perfect race but didn't really have to work for it.
Val - 8 - Again: Very competent but just off Hammy's pace.

Ferrari:
Seb - 7 - Clearly team struggled on new 'improved' Pirellis, but still don't understand pitting Seb before Bottas, or why they used mediums for third stint.
Kimi - X - Retired before halfway point with mechanical issue so earns an 'X'.

Red Bull
The Pie Man - 6 - Slower than Max and spun it during VSC.
Max - 8 - Had a stupid little nibble at the Williams but was generally impressive this race.

Force India:
Perez - 7 - Decent race in a motor still lacking basic speed.
Ocon - 6 - Fast in quali but not as strong during his 38 laps of running as Sergio.

Williams
Stroller - 7 - Decent race in a motor seriously lacking basic speed.
Sirotkin - 4 - Another stellar race.  Would've scored lower but severe pain courtesy of his seat can't have helped his cause.

Renault:
Sainz - 8 - Good.
Hulk - X - You know when you've been Grosjeaned!

Toro Rosso:
Greasy Peril - X - Add another one to Grosjean's tally.
J.R. - 6 - Destroyed car in P3.  Okay race.

Haas:
Big Jean - 2 - Good job avoiding KMag, terrible job from then on.  You can never have too much tyre smoke when a car is spinning on track....
Son of Magnus - 9 - Fast.  And a vast improvement from 2017.

McLaren:
Aslan - 8 - Struggled to get past 'It is I' (well, it's Barcelona and the Sauber is nippy in a straight line) but nailed him as VSC ended.
Van Door - 4 - One giant step behind Alonso.  Handy this, I never need to think of anything new to say for Toffee Van Door.  See, I told you.

Sauber:
Chrill's mate Marcus - 7 - Great duelling with Sainz.
'It is I' - 9 - Really liking this guy.  Not least because 'Leclerc' lends itself to an obscure (unless you're British and over 30) nickname.

All done.

[Chrill]

Thanks, laddies. That gives us a few new results in the top 10:

Code Select Expand


Pos.  Driver                 Rating  Change in Position
1.    Fernando Alonso        8.500   (0)
2.    Sebastian Vettel       8.231   (0)
3.    Kimi Raikkonen         7.800   (+1)
4.    Daniel Ricciardo       7.643   (-1)
5.    Charles Leclerc        7.611   (+2)
6.    Sergio Perez           7.556   (-1)
7.    Nico Hulkenberg        7.429   (-1)
8.    Valtteri Bottas        7.278   (+1)
9.    Kevin Magnussen        7.222   (+2)
10.   Carlos Sainz, Jr.      7.111   (0)
...
20.   Max Verstappen         3.882   (0)

Max Verstappen is edging closer to leaving P20. His rating is 3.882, and Romain Grosjean sits close to the Dutchman with a 4.235.

Entering the top 10 (compared to Baku) is Kevin Magnussen. He replaces Marcus Ericsson, who drops down to P11 from P8.

Other movements include Lewis Hamilton moving up to P12 thanks to a strong Spanish weekend, and Vandoorne dropping from P12 to P14 with a rather weak performance.

As always:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dnPSeVbYFM6KP0SW2SPGzJch7KAiLuaUvD4hpSWSHek/edit?usp=sharing

[Chrill]

Le Monaco Grand Prix.

Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton - 6/10 (Had nothing on the front two, and at times had to fight hard to keep Kimi and Bottas behind. That was not a good performance)
Valtteri Bottas - 6/10 (Like above, really. Had nothing on Kimi nor his team mate. Pale)

Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 7/10 (Honestly, with Ricciardo 2-3 seconds off the pace he should have made a pass over 60 laps. P2 is really first loser here. He did reduce Hamilton's championship lead though, and Canada should suit the Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen - 8/10 (Tried to bring it to Lewis but never found a way past him despite having a somewhat decent speed advantage. Had no trouble keeping Bottas at bay)

Red Bull:
Daniel Ricciardo - 10/10 (What was that, 60 laps in the lead with a basically broken car? Huh. Impressive performance. Never locked up, never went wide, never made a single error. Gave Vettel no chance to pass. It doesn't get cleaner than this around Monaco)
Max Verstappen - 9/10 (Actual overtakes around Monaco. Only felt dangerous once, dancing with Sainz. That overtake looked shady AF, he failed to navigate the chicane. Still, overtaks. P20 to P9 is always great at Monaco)

Force India:
Sergio Perez - 4/10 (Considering his starting position P9, finishing outside the points is really poor. Bad strategy, perhaps? Nonetheless, not an unacceptable result when...)
Esteban Ocon - 10/10 (...when Ocon finished easily best of the rest. Started P6, finished P6. Very close to the front 5 too, considering Ricciardo's poor pace. This was, like Ricciardo, as clean as it gets around Monaco)

Williams:
Lance Stroll - 2/10 (WHAT? So insanely poor. Hit the wall TWICE in one race and suffered two punctures. Embarrassing display. Not nearly good enough)
Sergey Sirotkin - 7/10 (Despite his team fitting tyres too late and suffering a ten second stop/go, he easily outpaced Stroll. Made his strategy work at the start and passed 1-2 drivers before being penalised for something out of his control. P16 out of 17 finishers, yes, but still a pretty good drive)

Renault:
Carlos Sainz Jr - 7/10 (Tyres fell off a gigantic cliff but still managed to hang on to points. Let Verstappen by, and ended up 45 seconds behind him in 15 or so laps. Poor strategy, could not keep tyres alive, but still salvaged that final point)
Nico Hulkenberg - 8/10 (Ran the longest first stint of all, could then end the race on hypers and therefore kept Verstappen at bay. Ended 3 places in front of where he started, and that's good for Monaco standards.

Toro Rosso:
Pierre Gasly - 9/10 (Can you believe it? A weekly pick of mine WORKED! Ran a long stint, kept his cool, hounded Ocon for "best of the rest" honours. Starting P10, finishing P7. Like Hulkenberg, that is good for Monaco)
Brendon Hartley - 6/10 (Was running just outside the points when Leclerc crashed into him. Not as strong as his team mate but pretty solid nonetheless)

Haas:
Romain Grosjean - 3/10 (I honestly do not recall seeing him in this race. The Haas cars were sooo slow this weekend. With Stroll suffering multiple punctures and Sirotkin penalised, Grosjean is effectively the last car to finish)
Kevin Magnussen - 5/10 (Better than Grosjean, even keeping a McLaren at bay, but not much better at all. Never looked like challenging anyone ahead of him)

McLaren:
Fernando Alonso - 7/10 (Was running in points, P9 or somesuch, when the car's gearbox surrendered. This wasn't the stunning Alonso we're used to seeing, he could not keep up with the Toro Rosso, Renault, or Force India cars in front of him. Still, as always the better of the two McLaren drivers)
Stoffel Vandoorne - 5/10 (He beat Grosjean, Stroll, and Sirotkin. This is not good enough, Stoffmeister. Got to step it up. Emerged with smoking hot hyper softs but could not get past the very slow Ricciardo at the end)

Sauber:
Marcus Ericsson - 8/10 (P16 to P11? Good stuff. P16 to P12 had it not been for the crash between Leclerc and Hartley, which is still good stuff. Made an actual pass, around Monaco, to get past Stroll. The only other actual pass I saw this weekend was Verstappen on lots of people)
Charles Leclerc - 6/10 (I may have to revise this depending on what Sauber state as cause for that incident, but it looked to me like he simply drove too close to Hartley for too long. Rookie mistake that made his brakes too hot and they gave up. He was not conservative enough today, and that led to his retirement)

Driver of the day? Obviously Ricciardo, but shoutouts to Gasly and Ocon.

[Penfold]

Monaco:

Merc:
Hammy - 6
Val - 6

Ferrari:
Seb - 7
Kimi - 6

Red Bull
The Pie Man - 9
Max - 5 - Hefty points deduction for ruining weekend in P3.

Force India:
Perez - 4
Ocon - 8

Williams
Stroller - 1 - I'm feeling generous today.
Sirotkin - 8

Renault:
Sainz - 7
Hulk - 8

Toro Rosso:
Greasy Peril - 8
J.R. - 5

Haas:
Big Jean - 4
Son of Magnus - 5

McLaren:
Aslan - 7
Van Door - 5

Sauber:
Chrill's mate Marcus - 6
'It is I' - 6


More words may follow.  Or they may not.

[Chrill]

Ricciardo a 9? His brakes were basically on fire and he managed to not crash for 60 laps. This was very "Schumacher stuck in fifth gear but still brings it home"-esque, this race

[Chrill]

Oh well, something magic has happened courtesy of our two ratings. Verstappen is P19, not at the very bottom of the standings. Who took his place? Obviously Rome-man Grow-Sean.

Code Select Expand

Pos.  Driver                 Rating  Change in Position
1.    Fernando Alonso        8.350   (0)
2.    Sebastian Vettel       7.900   (0)
3.    Daniel Ricciardo       7.875   (+1)
4.    Kimi Raikkonen         7.706   (-1)
5.    Nico Hulkenberg        7.500   (+2)
6.    Charles Leclerc        7.450   (-1)
7.    Sergio Perez           7.200   (-1)
8.    Valtteri Bottas        7.150   (0)
9.    Carlos Sainz, Jr.      7.100   (+1)
10.   Marcus Ericsson        7.059   (+1)
...
20.   Romain Grosjean        4.158   (-1)

Ericsson returns to the top 10, Magnussen shunted from P9 to P11. Hulk moves up two spots to go P5. Other +/-2 movers are Ocon (P16 to P14) and Stroll (P15 to P17). Verstappen is up to nineteenth with an average score of 4.211. His highest rating comes from M4A1Carbein (5.750) and his lowest from Penfold and Matt (3.667).

[Penfold]

Ricciardo a 9? His brakes were basically on fire and he managed to not crash for 60 laps. This was very "Schumacher stuck in fifth gear but still brings it home"-esque, this race

Dealt with rear brakes overheating by shunting brake bias frontwards and with some coasting into the corners, something that any F1 driver should be able to manage.  The fact he was able to keep Vettel behind in such a scenario is impressive, but mostly down to the vagaries the track - 'just' need to nail Portier each lap for a good run through the tunnel.  Perhaps someone not in the title fight would've gone for a dive but didn't seem likely that Seb would try.  Also, no real competition in qualifying so tough to gauge quality of his lap - needed Max as a comparator.

[Chrill]

Fair enough. The fact alone he didn't retire puts him at a 9 for me, and then managing to keep the lead gives at least one extra point

[Penfold]

I'm probably in a minority of one in not awarding a perfect ten to The Pie Man.  So... no-one else scoring Monaco?

[Chrill]

Ohai tharr Canada.

Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton - 5/10 (Really unimpressive performance, lost out to Ricciardo in the pits and never challenged up front. Sure, it seems this was caused by an old overheating engine but Bottas had the same engine age, did he not?
Valtteri Bottas - 8/10 (Never had the pace to challenge for victory, but P2 was way ahead of his team mate. 8/10 is a fair score)

Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 9/10 (I can't award a 10, because he never had to fight. Clean getaway, great safety car restart, then coasted him. Easy win)
Kimi Raikkonen - 5/10 (He was as impressive as the reigning world champion here. Which means not very impressive. Lacklustre race put him firmly in P6 and never had the pace to attack Lewis or the Red Bulls)

Red Bull:
Daniel Ricciardo - 7/10 (Clearly the slower Red Bull, but definitely not by much at all)
Max Verstappen - 8/10 (Clearly the faster Red Bull, but definitely not by much at all. Clean race, and a podium!)

Force India:
Sergio Perez - 6/10 (Was he in the race? He was? Oh yeah, he had that turn 1 incident, then went for a weird strategy which left him way down the field)
Esteban Ocon - 8/10 (Fair bit better, this. He never could fight the Renaults, but P9 and two points is better than that P14 finish of his mate)

Williams:
Lance Stroll - 3/10 (I blame Stroll. He forced Hartley off the track and then didn't see that the Kiwi had remained on his inside? Puncture? Well slow down then. Stupid)
Sergey Sirotkin - 2/10 (The slowest, by far, driver this weekend. Had no chance to match even the slowest cars in front of him. Really poor)

Renault:
Carlos Sainz Jr - 7/10 (Fought with his team mate but drew the shorter straw. Solid points finish)
Nico Hulkenberg - 8/10 (As above, but in front of his team mate. Best of the rest)

Toro Rosso:
Pierre Gasly - 8/10 (From way down on the grid to nearly a points finish. Solid midfield drive from the Ghastly Gasly)
Brendon Hartley - X/10 (Aww man. He needed luck, he got Stroll)

Haas:
Romain Grosjean - 8/10 (Just like Gasly, started from the back and oh so nearly made his alternative strategy work)
Kevin Magnussen - 4/10 (Started further up the grid but lost out to Grosjean in the end. Not a solid weekend, Kevin)

McLaren:
Fernando Alonso - 7/10 (Battled for points when his car, once again, gave up. Had the upper hand on Vandoorne throughout the weekend, but only just, before leaving the Belgian in the dust come race day)
Stoffel Vandoorne - 3/10 (You only beat Sirotkin. Not good enough. Sorry Stoffel)

Sauber:
Marcus Ericsson - 4/10 (You only beat Sirotkin. And Vandoorne. Not good enough. Sorry Marcus)
Charles Leclerc - 9/10 (Keeps showing Sauber which of their two drivers is the better one. The difference in speed right now is not just driver skill, Charles is so confident. Drives in a mature and controlled fashion. Impressive)

Driver of the day? Vettel, honorable mentions to Leclerc.

[Penfold]

Your scores look pretty much bang on this time - good job 

Mine to come later....

[Penfold]

This definitely qualifies as later.

Canada:

Merc:
Hammy - 5 - Messy qualifying and a dull race performance.
Val - 8 - Needs to find that extra tenth or two in qualifying to be in a position for race wins.

Ferrari:
Seb - 9 - Found that extra tenth or two in qualifying to be in a position for the race win.
Kimi - 5 - That's the Kimi we've come to know these past few years.  Wow, just thinking back to how fast he was in the olden days.

Red Bull
The Pie Man - 7 - Good but never had the pace of this next chap...
Max - 8 - ... yeah, Mr Crashalots was fast and clean.  Good to see.

Force India:
Perez - 5 - Worst I've seen from Serge for an age.
Ocon - 7 - Solid enough but nothing eye-catching.

Williams
Stroller - 2 - Mr Twitchy Hands lost control of the car and almost flipped J.R. onto his head.
Sirotkin - 3 - Slow.  I mean, really slow.  But hey, at least he returned an entire car to his team.

Renault:
Sainz - 7 - Okay.  A touch behind Hulk all weekend but for me not enough to split them by a full point.
Hulk - 7 - Bit better than okay.  See above comment.

Toro Rosso:
Greasy Peril - 8 - Good recovery drive.  Car had decent pace with new engine running well.
J.R. - X - Poor bastard.  Solid qualifying but no chance to convert into a solid drive.

Haas:
Big Jean - 8 - Nifty progress from plumb last.  Will be happy to have bested KMag.
Son of Magnus - 4 - Fairly awful.

McLaren:
Aslan - 7 - Good but is now Matt's no. 2 so DNFs are inevitable.
Van Door - 3 - One giant step behind Alonso.  Handy this, I never need to think of anything new to say for Toffee Van Door.

Sauber:
Chrill's mate Marcus - 4 - Oh dear.
'It is I' - 9 - Superb point.  Will he be ready for Ferrari next year?

[Chrill]

Cheers!

No Matt or M4A1?