F1 Driver Ratings from the 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Each driver is scored out of ten with the rating being heavily weighted on their race day performance. Qualifying performance holds less weight when deciding the ratings

Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 5th, started 10th, finished 1st) - 10

Arguably Hamilton’s greatest ever weekend in F1. The seven-time champion was fastest in qualifying by over four-tenths. It was a dramatic 24 hours after qualifying as Hamilton was excluded from qualifying, leaving him at the back of the grid for the sprint. 20th to fifth in the sprint was spectacular to hand him 10th on the grid for the grand prix. Hamilton’s remarkable weekend continued as he was running third in a matter of laps behind the Red Bulls. Mercedes’ superior straight-line speed proved crucial as he powered past Perez before another intense duel with title rival Verstappen for the win. A defining victory for Hamilton which keeps his hopes of an eighth world title truly alive.

Max Verstappen (Qualified 2nd, finished 2nd) - 9

Verstappen did his utmost to take a second career victory at Interlagos with a robust defence of the lead. You can argue he was fortunate to escape a penalty as he pushed Hamilton wide at Turn 4. Mercedes was the quicker car on the day and Verstappen couldn’t do anything to resist Hamilton, who simply was in a different league this weekend. 

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 1st, finished 3rd) - 8

Bottas got his elbows out on the opening lap as he tried to keep the lead from Verstappen but he was pushed wide at the Senna S, ultimately compromising his run down to Turn 4 which caused him to lose another position to Perez. He let Hamilton through into Turn 1, before making the most of a timely Virtual Safety Car to jump Perez in the battle for third. Bottas ran out of laps to catch Verstappen as he was urged on by team boss Toto Wolff - just under three seconds was the gap at the chequered flag.

Sergio Perez (Qualified 4th, finished 4th) - 8

Perez hit back from a disappointing sprint race performance where he was stuck behind Sainz to get ahead of the Spaniard and Bottas on the opening lap. The Mexican did what he could to resist Hamilton, re-overtaking the Mercedes driver into Turn 4 before losing the position a lap later. He was unfortunate to lose out to Bottas due to the VSC phase but couldn’t get within three seconds of the Finn for the remainder of the race.

Charles Leclerc (Qualified 7th, started 6th, finished 5th) - 8

Leclerc struggled with the handling of his Ferrari on Friday and Saturday, trailing teammate Sainz. A good start got him ahead of Sainz and from then on, it was a comfortable afternoon for the Monegasque. 

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 3rd, finished 6th) - 8

The Spaniard was the star of sprint qualifying as he ran as high as second after the opening lap. Fending off Perez in the sprint, Sainz secured an additional championship point. Contact with Norris at the start cost him places to Perez and Leclerc, before settling into a comfortable sixth at the chequered flag.

Pierre Gasly (Qualified 8th, started 7th, finished 7th) - 8

Gasly starred in conventional qualifying with fifth but a sluggish start meant his eventual grid position was only seventh - it would have been P8 without Hamilton’s penalty. AlphaTauri didn’t have the race pace to compete with Ferrari and its two-stop strategy meant Gasly had to dispatch the two Alpines on track. 

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 9th, started 8th, finished 8th) - 8

Ocon was the quicker of the two Alpines in Brazil, making a brilliant start in the sprint to secure eighth on the grid. The Frenchman did drop behind his teammate during the middle part of the grand prix but that was due to Ocon and Alonso working together in a bid to keep Gasly behind. It wasn’t enough as the AlphaTauri driver got past, meaning Alonso handed the position back to his teammate in the closing laps.

Fernando Alonso (Qualified 12th, finished 9th) - 7

Like teammate Ocon, Alonso made the most of the one-stop strategy to propel himself into the points. The two-time champion played the team game to try and keep Gasly behind, but the two-stopping AlphaTauri got past. Alonso relinquished eighth back to his teammate.

Lando Norris (Qualified 6th, started 5th, finished 10th) - 6

After an impressive sprint qualifying performance, Norris’ race at Interlagos was undone by a small misjudgement at the start. The Brit made a lightning start and looked like he was to clear both Ferraris into Turn 1, but he veered slightly left, brushing Sainz’s car and giving him a puncture in the process. Norris recovered well to finish 10th but a missed opportunity as McLaren lost even more ground in the race for third.

Sebastian Vettel (Qualified 10th, started 9th, finished 11th) - 7

The four-time world champion was running as high as sixth in the early laps after a storming start from ninth on the grid. Weirdly, Aston Martin run Vettel on only used tyres for his two stints with him losing out the one-stopping Alpines and the faster McLaren of Norris.

Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 18th, started PL, finished 12th) - 7

It was a solid race day performance from the 2007 world champion as he recovered to 12th having started from the pit lane. Raikkonen only managed 18th in the sprint after he was spun around by teammate Giovinazzi, while he was forced to start from the pit lane after the team was forced to change his rear wing. 

George Russell (Qualified 17th, finished 13th) - 7

Russell fared better on race day despite making a slow start from 17th on the grid. Despite not having the pace of the Alfa Romeos, he managed to fend off Giovinazzi in the closing laps to finish a respectable 13th in Sao Paulo. Williams will be hoping for more next time out in Qatar.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 13th, finished 14th) - 6

Giovinazzi spent most of his race stuck behind Russell’s Williams. While he had the edge on teammate Raikkonen in the sprint, to be beaten by his more experienced teammate on race day - after he started from the pit lane - is probably why Alfa Romeo is most likely not going to retain the Italian for 2021. Another anonymous race day showing. 

Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 15th, finished 15th) - 4

Even though Tsunoda has never raced at Interlagos before, it was a disappointing weekend as an over-optimistic move on Lance Stroll into Turn 1 ruined both drivers’ races and incurred a 10-second time penalty.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 16th, finished 16th) - 6

It was a rare win for Latifi in qualifying as he outpaced his teammate. Latifi struggled for pace on race day, enduring a lonely race to 16th as he only beat the Haas duo. 

Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 20th, started 19th, finished 17th) - 6

Mazepin was emotional after qualifying as he looked to be on course for his best qualifying of the season. He wasn’t able to beat Mick Schumacher in the sprint, but on race day, a bold lunge into Turn 1 gained him the position. The Russian maintained a decent pace to beat his teammate comfortably after he picked up damage from an earlier incident. 

Mick Schumacher (Qualified 19th, started 18th, finished 18th) - 5

Schumacher was overtaken by Haas teammate Mazepin into Turn 1 before an incident with Raikkonen cost him his front wing and any chance of beating his teammate. 

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 11th, DNF) - 5

A lacklustre weekend from the Australian as a poor sprint performance left him 11th on the grid. Ricciardo didn’t make much progress on race day before retiring due to a loss of power.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 14th, DNF) - 5 

A disappointing Q1 exit didn’t get aid Stroll’s chances in Sao Paulo. Stuck in the midfield, Stroll’s chances on race day were ended by Tsunoda, who clattered into the side of his Aston Martin, heavily damaging his car. He was forced to retire due to significant damage.