2019 Season - Rate the Drivers

[Penfold]

Nice one.  The 'Team Comparison' page numbers are updating before my eyes.  Anyway, cheers for the spreadsheets and for pulling out some of the interesting stats on how we three have scored various drivers.

I've got to say I did not expect to be the one giving Hulk his best rating, that came as a mildly unpleasant revelation.

[Chrill]

The Team Comparisons page is now completed.

I am delighted to say, we do indeed rate teams differently. The biggest difference is with Haas. 5.057 for me, 5.186 for Penfold, 6.631 for Matt. That's a discrepancy of 1.574.

The smallest difference is for Toro Rosso, just 0.140 separates us (7.458 for Matt, 7.318 for me). Matt and I each rate 5 teams higher than anyone else, Penfold 0.

The teams table, in all its glory, can be viewed here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-Rxe6H3eT-KVxM4PhgIm6tqr3KmT7clMTWRI7jdBsec/edit?usp=sharing

[Matt]

I rate the Haas drivers higher because I don't think the drivers can do anything. We know neither of them are this bad.

I haven't done all the races, so the 1 I gave Max this week probably hurt. I think he has been the best or second best driver this year.

[Penfold]

A chunk of the Haas discrepancy is due to that block of five races from Monaco to Britain that you didn't rate.  KMag had some terrible outings at that time which I rewarded with the following scores: 6/2/5/2/0; whilst Chrill gave him: 6/1/6/1/1.  Grosjean was mostly middling during that period, but for Silverstone he did get a zero from me and just one point from Chrill.

[Chrill]

Indeed, those were some low scores.

I did rate K-Mag 8 (in Australia), and Penfold did so for K-Mag in both Australia and Spain. None of the Haases have scored a 9 or 10 this year.


Also, I decided to rate Max at 3. 3 rather than 1 or 2 due to the fact I do not fully blame him for the crash. He divebombed a fair bit, yes, but Kimi was naïve to go for the apex from that far out.

[Chrill]

This is something like the fourth time I try to start writing ratings for Monza.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport:
Lewis Hamilton - 7/10 (Had the pace to win, for sure, but destroyed his tyres by running too aggressively for too long)
Valtteri Bottas - 8/10 (Ran a better strategy but lacked the accuracy when coming close to Leclerc. Should have won when he ended up behind the Ferrari)

Scuderia Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 1/10 (Spun all by himself, which he has done a lot the last one and a half seasons. Then rammed Stroll. If he cannot see, he must radio with his team and let them give him the all-clear to go!)
Charles Leclerc - 10/10 (Won from pole, got his elbows out, would definitely have been punished if he had behaved like this last year, but I am happy they let him race on. Kept nailing Parabolica with millimetre-like precision for over 40 laps)

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing:
Alexander Albon - 6/10 (Starting P8 due to the Q3 debacle, and really should have taken P4 from the Renaults)
Max Verstappen - 6/10 (Started way down, but quite frankly P8 was the minimum we could expect from Max. Would get 7/10 if not for totally miscalculating just how slow the backpack would be into Turn 1)

Renault F1 Team:
Daniel Ricciardo - 9/10 (In the end just 10 seconds down on Hamilton. Easy P4 for him. WELL DONE, Danny Ric. This track clearly suited the Renault, but still)
Nico Hülkenberg - 8/10 (Another 15 seconds down the road, and only just held Albon at bay. Not as convincing as Ricciardo, despite finishing P5 in a Renault)

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team:
Romain Grosjean - 2/10 (I honestly do not know why Haas are this bad! Ro-Gro got punted in Turn 1, then spun like Vettel but managed not to hit someone when rejoining. Ended up behind a Williams)
Kevin Magnussen - 5/10 (Ran OK before DNFing, clearly involved in less trouble than his French fry friend)

McLaren F1 Team:
Lando Norris - 7/10 (On a track where the McHonda is not strong enough, scoring points after starting far back is OK. Nothing more, but OK)
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 6/10 (Was on par with Norris before the pit stop failed, resulting in a DNF)

SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team:
Sergio Perez - 9/10 (He came from as far back as Verstappen, and kept the Dutchie behind. Sure, he did so thanks to pitting under VSC conditions, but it still counts. A result is a result)
Lance Stroll - 3/10 (Got punted by Vettel, then decided to repay the favour. To someone else. Did end up finishing ahead of Vettel, so there's that)

Alfa Romeo Racing:
Kimi Räikkönen - 3/10 (Weekend to forget, wasn't it? Started on the wrong tyres, crashed in Q3, and wasn't on par with Giovinazzi in race pace)
Antonio Giovinazzi - 7/10 (Decent weekend, but not much more. Has the fast Ferrari engine, started P10 but with a free selection of tyres, yet lost out to Perez who started 18th? Yeah, it was decent but not much more)

Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda:
Pierre Gasly - 8/10 (Really a victim of Vettel and Stroll, but he was not far from scoring a point. He was chasing Norris hard towards the end for that P10 finish. Great race, and the only reason he failed to score was not something he could control)
Daniil Kvyat - X/10 (Retired almost at the same time as Sainz, going out of the pits with smoke. I honestly don't remember where he was running, so this X can be changed into a number if you guys enlighten me)

ROKiT Williams Racing:
George Russell - 8/10 (Regardless of why, he finished ahead of both Kimi and Romain. Impressive)
Robert Kubica - 4/10 (One lap down on the others, and as usual not up to Russell's standard)

[Penfold]

On lap 26, just before the pit stops for his surrounding group began, Kvyat was running in eighth place behind Albon and in front of Perez.  I don't know what the time gaps were like but seems he was doing a decent job up until his engine went bang.

[Chrill]

So that is roughly a 7, I suppose.

[Penfold]

Sounds fair.  I'll probably also give Carlos 7/10 as he was running strongly until the wheels came off....

[Penfold]

Monza.

Merc:
Hammy - 8 - Had the pace to win, just not the straight-line speed.  Killed tyres in battle with 'It is I' but for many laps looked capable of getting the pass done.
Val - 7 - Didn't look capable of getting past the Ferrari despite having the fresher tyres courtesy of stopping later (by 8 laps) and of not having just spent 15 laps defending like a demon.

Ferrari:
Seb - 0 - Could the race have been any worse? 
'It is I' - 9 - I'd love to have given him 10/10, but I just have to dock a point for squeezing Hammy off the road.  Should've been properly penalised by the stewards for that bit of naughtiness, or certainly for cutting the chicane when he was already on a warning.  But hey, he was driving a Ferrari in Italy....

Red Bull:
Blur - 5 - Sure, the Renaults were strong round here, but you're in a Red Bull so get past one of them at least.
Max - 6 - Made decent progress from the back.

Renault:
Ricky Hairdo - 9 - Strong car, strong drive.
Hulk - 7 - Further off teamy than he should be.

Haas:
Big Jean - 3 - Didn't see much (any?) of the Haas guys on Channel 4's coverage, but he was running 30+ seconds behind KMag when the Dane retired.
Son of Magnus - 5 - I don't know, seemed like a middling effort.

McLaren:
Chuck Norris - 7 - Nicked a point, solid effort.
Rally Guy's Son - 7 - On for some decent points before his disastrous pit-stop.

Racing Point:
Perez - 9 - Healthy progress through the field and then a great job of holding back Max for the last 15 or so laps.
The Stroller - 2 - Victim of Vettel's rashness, then had a good go at taking out Gasly.

Alfauber:
Kimi - 2 - Absolutely all over the place.  A quite terrible weekend of driving.
Adam Ant - 7 - Running in the points and managed not to throw the car off the road.

Toro Rosso:
Greasy Peril - 8 - Somewhat hindered by Stroll trying to smash him out of the race.
The Torpedo - 7 - Going well until engine (turbo?) failed.



Williams: (Feel they've fractionally closed the gap to the other teams)
Jack - 8 - Well ahead of Kubica, by something like 70 seconds in the end.
One-Armed Bandit - 4 - I read somewhere that he ended up about 70 seconds behind his teammate.

[Chrill]

Lovely, thanks.

We see a lot of movement in the tight midfield, there.

Climbing:
Valterri Bottas (P10 -> P8)
Daniel Ricciardo (P12 -> P10)

Falling:
Kimi Räikkönen (P9 -> P11)
Sebastian Vettel (P11 -> P13)

Some others climb or fall one spot, but these are the ones who moved two places.

In the team standings, Renault overhaul Racing Point for P7.

[Penfold]

Vettel's chances of a top ten finish receding with every race.  Whereas Kvyat's going great guns, I certainly didn't expect him to be so far up our rankings.

[Chrill]

Well, Singapore will likely strengthen Vettel's chances of finishing in our top 10 this year.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport:
Lewis Hamilton - 6/10 (He surely had the pace, but he did not deliver on it and his chances got destroyed by a poor strategy)
Valtteri Bottas - 6/10 (Not able to show what he got. Better strategy but forced to slow down to let Lewis slot ahead of him and Albon)

Scuderia Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 9/10 (Started P3, ran P3, found a gap, pitted, made it work. Nice)
Charles Leclerc - 9/10 (Started P1, drove slowly, lost a gap, pitted, ended up behind Vettel. Great driving, not a great strategy. He was clearly faster than Vettel but this circuit did not lend itself to overtaking)

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing:
Alexander Albon - 7/10 (Followed Bottas home in what looked like a slightly slower car. Not up to Verstappen's speed yet, but definitely OK for a Singapore debut)
Max Verstappen - 8/10 (Beat Lewis thanks to the Mercedes strategy more than anything else. Never had to defend from Lewis, never able to attack Charles)

Renault F1 Team:
Daniel Ricciardo - 7/10 (A messy race altogether, but he ran strongly after being DSQ'd in quali)
Nico Hülkenberg - 8/10 (Considering that early contact, finishing in ninth is not bad at all)

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team:
Romain Grosjean - 6/10 (Not sure how he finished this close to the points. He was far off the pace early on, but in the end fought back. Good strategy, perhaps? That incident with Russell did not help)
Kevin Magnussen - 4/10 (Nowhere near Romain Grosjean, although running ahead before. In the end, he had to pit to remove a plastic bag from his front wing and at least score the fastest lap. Good for him, although Kubica did overtake him with DRS assistance)

McLaren F1 Team:
Lando Norris - 8/10 (Sure, the SC and low pace made it possible, but he finished within 15 seconds of the race winner and P7 was the maximum for the midfield cars here)
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 8/10 (With his car so badly damaged, finishing P12 was the best possible outcome. Difficult to rate)

SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team:
Sergio Perez - 7/10 (Ran in the points, then stopped running. Ouchie.)
Lance Stroll - 6/10 (Ran near the points, then punctured his car a little bit. Never quite saw how it happened.)

Alfa Romeo Racing:
Kimi Räikkönen - 6/10 (Was not matching Giovinazzi anyway, and then Kvyat played his trademark torpedo card to eliminate Kimi from the race)
Antonio Giovinazzi - 6/10 (Decent showing, although I am deducting 2 points for playing with the lives of the marshals during the SC period)

Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda:
Pierre Gasly - 8/10 (He is beginning to show why Kvyat will remain at Toro Rosso for 2020. As soon as he was demoted, he got back into it and has been delivering for Toro Rosso. Good stuff, Gasman)
Daniil Kvyat - 5/10 (Messy race, divebombed Kimi, and ended up just in front of Kubica)

ROKiT Williams Racing:
George Russell - 6/10 (A mess at the start, then crashed with Grosjean to ensure the first non-finish for Williams this year)
Robert Kubica - 7/10 (Hah, he actually overtook an actual car in an actual race situation. That alone should be worth 10/10. Thanks to the SC, he finished within striking distance of the midfield)

[Penfold]

Singapore:

Merc:
Hammy - 7 - Team didn't go for the undercut and instead got done by Ferrari strategy for the first time since...?
Val - 7 - Buggered by Ferrari's early(ish) stops and then by being a member of Hamilton's supporting cast.

Ferrari:
Seb - 8 - Good on his engineer to take advantage of Leclerc's sluggish pace, and on Seb to put in the quick laps when needed.
'It is I' - 8 - Quicker than Vettel all weekend but ended up behind thanks to sluggish pace and his team's efforts.

Red Bull:
Blur - 7 - Strong Singypour debut.
Max - 8 - Pitted early enough to beat the Mercs. 

Renault:
Ricky Hairdo - 6 - Rather ragged race.
Hulk - 5 - Points off for smashing into Sainz.

Haas:
Big Jean - 6 - Share of blame (in my view) for the Russell clash, but otherwise ran okay.
Son of Magnus - 7 - Stronger than Romain but undone by a plastic bag on the front wing forcing a late pit-stop.  Bloody plastic bags....

McLaren:
Chuck Norris - 8 - Faultless drive keeps the points coming.
Rally Guy's Son - 8 - Faultless drive could've yielded useful points but unfortunately Hulk had destroyed his race on lap one.

Racing Point:
Perez - 6 - I don't know.  Okay until the car stopped.
The Stroller - 5 - Clipped the wall and punctured both a tyre and his chances of scoring.

Alfauber:
Kimi - 6 - Not been great these past two races but was running in the top ten (albeit on quite old tyres) before Kvyat took matters into his own hands.
Adam Ant - 7 - Bagged a point having briefly led the race.  First time anyone not in a Merc, Ferrari or Red Bull has been at the front since Bottas for Williams back in 2015. 

Toro Rosso:
Greasy Peril - 8 - This is more like the Gasly of 2018.
The Torpedo - 4 - This is more like the Kvyat of 2017.



Williams: (Feel they've fractionally closed the gap to the other teams)
Jack - 5 - Could've left more room for Romain and then go on to finish the race.
One-Armed Bandit - 6 - Slower than Georgie but on the plus side he didn't leave Williams with a bill for repairs.

[Chrill]

Welp, forgot to rate Japan. Oh well.

MEXICO!

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport:
Lewis Hamilton - 9/10 (He did not have the pace in quali, but he sure found it in the race. Impressive stint on hards and Vettel never really had a chance to attack him)
Valtteri Bottas - 8/10 (Got caught out by Verstappen at the start, but fought back. Would have finished P2 had it not been for the absurd straight line speed advantage that Ferrari currently enjoy)

Scuderia Ferrari:
Sebastian Vettel - 9/10 (Clean race, just lacked the final pace. I feel like P2 was close to as good as it could get)
Charles Leclerc - 7/10 (Hurt by a poor strategy, but brought himself back into contention during that final mess of lapped cars before outbraking himself)

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing:
Alexander Albon - 7/10 (Had a great first stint but got caught, like Leclerc, by a bad strategy call. Clean race)
Max Verstappen - 6/10 (Scrappy first few laps, then ran a mammoth stint to reclaim sixth. One great stint does not balance out the poor beginning of that race)

Renault F1 Team:
Daniel Ricciardo - 9/10 (Basically helped Hamilton win by proving the hards could last at a high pace. Failed to claim the best of rest honours by divebombing. Typical Ricciardo)
Nico Hülkenberg - 7/10 (Could not match Ricciardo in this race)

Rich Energy Haas F1 Team:
Romain Grosjean - 4/10 (Well these cars are just disappointing. Sandwiched by the Williams cars, and should have finished behind both had Kubica not been forced to pit near the end)
Kevin Magnussen - 6/10 (Ahead of Williams at least, so that's a positive)

McLaren F1 Team:
Lando Norris - 7/10 (Drove well until the McLaren pit system sent a green light before the front left was attached properly. The mechanic was still working on the tyre, so he cannot be to blame)
Carlos Sainz Jr. - 7/10 (That first stint was magnificent but the McLaren lacked tyre management and he ended up dropping back when he was forced to pit for a second time)

SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team:
Sergio Perez - 9/10 (Came from behind, fought his way through to a magnificent P7 in front of his home crowd. Oh boy he likes racing here)
Lance Stroll - 5/10 (Did not have the pace Perez had, not even close)

Alfa Romeo Racing:
Kimi Räikkönen - X/10 (I don't remember why he retired, but I seem to recall him being off from the start. I'll cross him out until Penfold explains what was up)
Antonio Giovinazzi - 6/10 (Had some pace, but again the Alfa just isn't fast enough here. They, together with Haas, are drifting closer to Williams instead of keeping up with the midfield)

Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda:
Pierre Gasly - 7/10 (A lot was happening around him, but he kept his cool. Deducting one point for battling extremely hard with Sainz whilst Vettel was behind and looking for a pass.)
Daniil Kvyat - 6/10 (Clean race for 99.5% of it. Then he decided that Hulkenberg wasn't real and did not exist, and drove his car into the Hulk. Silly dive)

ROKiT Williams Racing:
George Russell - 6/10 (Struggled to keep up with his Polish friend, but beat Grosjean)
Robert Kubica - 8/10 (Actually passed Russell, on-track, after fooling the young Brit big time. Nice move. Ended up pitting with 5 laps to go and dropped behind, but had the beating of both Russell and Grosjean in Mexico)

Driver of the day? It's split between Hamilton and Perez.