F1 Bahrain GP Driver Ratings: An unsung hero but who had a comically bad race?

Max Verstappen - 10 

The reigning world champion was the class act of the field as he started 2023 in the same manner he finished 2022 with an unstoppable performance. Verstappen didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend as he easily converted pole into his first win in Bahrain. 

Sergio Perez - 9

Perez recovered well from a bad start to fight back past Leclerc’s Ferrari but by that stage he was well adrift of Verstappen and was never in contention for the win. Nevertheless, the Mexican helped seal a perfect result for Red Bull with a strong drive. 

Fernando Alonso - 10 

A beast of a drive from Alonso, who fought back from a challenging first lap to charge past both Mercedes and a Ferrari on his way to claiming a best-of-the-rest behind the dominant Red Bulls. Full marks for the 41-year-old Spaniard. 

Carlos Sainz - 8

It proved a tough evening for Sainz who ultimately finished where he started as the sole-surviving Ferrari. A solid drive but Sainz will be disappointed to have missed out to Alonso late on, but did enough to keep Hamilton Mercedes’ at bay. 

Lewis Hamilton - 8 

Fifth place was probably the best Mercedes could have hoped for going into the race, and that was exactly where Hamilton finished, even if there was a slice of fortune involved. Much of Hamilton’s good work was done on a brilliant opening lap but he was ultimately powerless to keep the faster Alonso behind, despite a valiant effort. 

Lance Stroll - 10 

A heroic performance all weekend from the injured Stroll, who reached Q3 and beat a Mercedes in an impressive run to P6 despite nursing a broken wrist and toe. A competitive showing considering the Canadian missed testing and only had surgery two weeks ago! 

George Russell - 7

A sluggish getaway ultimately cost Russell. Despite being the quicker of the two Mercedes drivers at times, falling behind Hamilton meant he missed out on the preferential strategy and was undercut by Stroll’s Aston Martin. 

Valtteri Bottas - 9

Bottas made instant progress to gain four places on an excellent opening lap. The Finn never looked back and was rewarded for a great race with eighth place and four points for Alfa Romeo. 

Pierre Gasly - 9

A drive of the day contender from Gasly, who went under the radar as he recovered from a disappointing qualifying and back of the grid start to rise into the points on his Alpine debut. 

Alex Albon - 10 

Albon claimed the final point on offer with a phenomenal drive. Having capitalised on a strong strategy, Albon brilliantly held off Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri and give Williams a positive start to 2023. 

Yuki Tsunoda - 7

Will have been frustrated to miss out on points to the slowest car of testing but it was nevertheless a solid race for Tsunoda, who comfortably had the upper hand over his new teammate all weekend. 

Logan Sargeant - 9 

Sargeant was unfortunate not to join Williams teammate Albon in Q2 but did a fantastic job on his F1 debut to finish as the highest-placed rookie. 

Kevin Magnussen - 7

Magnussen made solid progress from 17th by running an alternative strategy from the start in what was a challenging race for Haas. Could have been in contention for the points with a better qualifying. 

Nyck de Vries - 6

A decent-enough second F1 debut for de Vries, though there were no points up for grabs this time around as he took 14th, having been hampered by strategy. 

Nico Hulkenberg - 6

Hulkenberg’s full-time return started with promise as he reached Q3 but all that good work was undone in a first-lap tangle that left him with front wing damage and saw him fall down the order. 

Zhou Guanyu - 6

Zhou’s hopes of points were ruined by a poor start that saw him drop four spots on the opening lap. Was unable to recover but was at least able to ensure rivals Alpine didn’t pick up a bonus point by snatching the fastest lap late on. 

Lando Norris - 8 

There was no reward for Norris despite a big effort in a luckless race. Hamstrung by a pneumatic issue with his engine that required multiple trips to the pits, Norris persevered in what turned out to be a data-gathering excessive for McLaren and brought his car home in 17th, two laps down. 

Esteban Ocon - 3

It was a shocking Sunday for Ocon who equalled an unwanted record as he picked up a hat-trick of almost comical driving penalties. Retirement brought Ocon’s miserable evening to an end. 

Charles Leclerc - N/A

Was never a threat to Verstappen but was in a good battle for second place with the second Red Bull of Perez until the engine in his Ferrari gave up. 

Oscar Piastri - N/A 

Unfair to judge this rookie given his race was cut short early on due to an “underlying electrical problem”.