Chinese GP Driver Ratings
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Term
driver ratings
Driver ratings are like grades for race car drivers. They get scores based on how well they drive during a race, including things like passing other cars and avoiding crashes.
Concept
Chinese Grand Prix sprint weekend
In some Formula 1 races, they have a short race called a sprint before the main race. The sprint helps decide where drivers start in the big race, so it makes things more interesting and tricky to judge how well drivers did.
Term
sprint qualifying
Sprint qualifying is a quick race that decides where drivers start in the main race. Instead of just setting fast lap times, drivers race to earn their starting spots.
Term
dive bomb
Dive bombing is when a driver tries to pass another car by braking very late and quickly moving ahead. It's a bold move that can be dangerous if not done carefully.
Brand
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is a company that makes fancy and fast cars, and they also race in Formula 1, which is a top-level car racing competition.
Concept
team radio
Team radio is when the driver talks to their team during a race using a radio. They share information and get advice to help them race better.
Term
Mario Kart mushrooms
Mario Kart mushrooms are from a video game where they make your character go faster. Drivers jokingly ask for 'mushrooms' when they want their car to go faster.
Concept
race strategy
Race strategy is the plan a team makes about when to change tires and how to drive to win or get the best result.
Term
safety car
The safety car is a special car that comes out during a race if there's a crash or danger. It makes all the cars slow down and follow it, so everyone stays safe.
Term
hard tires
Hard tires are a type of tire that lasts a long time but doesn't stick to the track as well. Drivers choose them to go longer without changing tires, but they can be slower.
Term
Mercedes engine
The Mercedes engine is the motor made by Mercedes that powers some Formula 1 race cars. It's known for being very strong and fast.
Brand
Audi
Audi is a car company from Germany that makes fast and fancy cars. In racing, their team is quick but sometimes their cars break down.
Brand
Alpine
Alpine is a French racing team in Formula 1. They make fast cars and often compete with other teams in the middle of the field.
Brand
Cadillac
Cadillac is a car company from America that makes fancy cars. They also race in big car races but sometimes their cars have problems.
Concept
sprint race
A sprint race is a short race before the main race that helps decide where drivers start in the big race. It also gives some points but is mostly about getting a good spot.
Brand
Red Bull
Red Bull is a famous Formula 1 racing team that often wins races and championships. They're one of the best teams in the sport.
Term
hard tyres
Hard tyres are special racing tires that last a long time but don’t stick to the road as well as softer tires. Drivers use them when they want their tires to last more laps.
Term
DNF
DNF means a driver couldn't finish the race because something went wrong, like a crash or car problem.
Term
medium tyres
Medium tyres are a type of racing tire that lasts longer than soft ones but gives less grip.
Term
blue flags
Blue flags are signs shown to slower drivers in a race telling them to move aside so faster cars can go by.
Term
Parc Fermé
Parc Fermé is a special place where race cars are kept safe after qualifying or a race. Teams can't change much on the cars there, so everyone has to race with the same setup they qualified with.
Term
podium
A podium finish means a driver finished the race in first, second, or third place. They get to stand on a special stage and get a trophy for doing really well.
Term
race craft
Race craft means how good a driver is at racing other cars, like passing them and staying ahead. It's about being smart and quick during the race.
Term
wheel-to-wheel battling
Wheel-to-wheel battling means two cars racing very close next to each other, trying to pass or defend their position.
Term
apex
The apex is the middle part of a turn on the track where drivers try to get their car closest to go fastest.
Term
midfield runner
Midfield runner means the car usually finishes around the middle of the group, not at the front or the back.
Car
Nissan Pulsar
The Nissan Pulsar is a small car made by Nissan. It is designed to be easy to drive and good on gas. Sometimes, people use it for racing or competitions because it can be quick and reliable.
Term
tire temperature
The tires on race cars need to be warm to stick well to the track and help the car go faster. If they're too cold, the car can slip.
Term
Q3
Q3 is the last part of qualifying in Formula 1 where the fastest drivers try to get the best starting spots for the race.
Concept
Formula One
Formula One is a very fast and famous type of car racing where the best drivers and teams compete all over the world.
LIVE
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy.
Driver ratings.
Oh, yes.
Sound the alarm.
Matt and Tommy are in the neighborhood with their grades ready to rock your world.
That's right.
We're here, of course, to talk about the entirety of the Chinese Grand Prix sprint weekend, which
always makes our grades a little bit more difficult to decide on, but I'm looking forward to
this discussion, Tommy.
I'm looking forward to hearing what your grades are, and I'm also looking to see what the
fans have gone for as well.
Always, always on a sprint weekend as well.
New regulations.
It doesn't get tougher than this, but I like it because there's disagreements and opinion
and chatter, and that's what makes driver ratings fun.
Oh, yeah.
So let's start with Sergio Perez.
Sprint qualifying 22nd and finished the sprint in 19th.
For the main quality, 22nd and finished the race in 15th.
On paper, you're thinking, that's a solid one, but he finished last.
I'm going for a 5 out of 10 for Sergio Perez.
It was a weekend plagued with issues, and the only reason I've not gone for a 6 is like,
well done, you finished 15th.
Is that he dive bombed the life out of Valtteri Bottas and almost ended both of their races.
Thankfully, that didn't happen, and overall Cadillac, they're doing something.
They're driving around.
They're existing.
They're doing more than Aston Martin, and yeah.
So it's straight down the middle 5 out of 10 because Perez got away with it because
realistically, was he going to finish anywhere else?
Oh, well, Bottas finished P13.
That might well be the end of the championship battle between the two of them, and it could
have been Perez, Tommy.
It could have been your boy.
It could have been.
I've gone for a 5 out of 10 as well for Perez.
Yeah, you kind of took the words out of my mouth really.
They were very comparable Bottas and Perez this whole weekend really.
They were driving together for much of the two races, but the problem for Perez and why
he's not getting a whopping 6 out of 10 from me is because he did collide with Bottas,
and it was Perez's fault at the start, but yeah, a decent finishing position 15th, but
obviously that was last on the road, but he did have an issue at the end.
And I really would have loved to have heard Sergio Perez's team radio throughout the weekend
because he kept asking for mushrooms, which as a sentence sounds insane, but of course
we're talking about the Mario Kart mushrooms, and there's so many team radios we have been
missing out on because they just don't want to play it, and it's ridiculous.
And then they just, you know, they come onto social media anyway, but I guess maybe the
broader audience don't see it, and they think, oh, these regulations are phenomenal because
they're not showing us the team radio.
Anyway, that's another topic for another day.
The fans gave Sergio Perez a 5 out of 10.
Valtteri Bottas, sprint quality 21st, did not finish the sprint in quality 20th,
and finished the race in 13th.
I've gone for a 6 out of 10 for Valtteri Bottas.
Yeah, P13 is a drive that may well make him ahead in the championship on Sergio Perez.
However, they were very evenly matched throughout the race.
Both races actually, Perez was slightly ahead in the sprint, and in the main race, Perez was right
on Bottas' tail for almost the whole Grand Prix until he had a problem and dropped way back.
So one more point for Bottas because he didn't eat his teammate, and it wasn't his fault.
So I've gone for a 6 for Bottas.
Okay, I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Valtteri Bottas.
I downgraded, well, I would have given them potentially similar points,
but Perez went for the yeet and Bottas beat Ocon.
So realistically, Perez would have beaten Ocon as well, but he yeeted his teammate.
Okay, two grades is quite crazy for them being together on track with an issue,
but it's your grade.
All right, Sergio Perez, stand boy.
Well, you're a Bottas fanboy.
Okay, they're here, right?
And I go, oh, well done, Bottas, you beat a car, congratulations.
Perez, you yeeted your teammate.
That's how they move.
That's how they move in my direction.
If you want to come for me, for my Bottas fandom, then so be it.
Yes, I'm not denying this, and it goes back to my point of it's so hard to compare
throughout the entire weekend at this point in the season because they have so many issues.
But look, I think I should reward Bottas for the fact that his car,
the Cadillac, beat another car.
So that is it.
Okay, I'm saying, well done to Bottas.
He kept his nose clean.
Yes, he wasn't much faster than Perez, but there are plenty of other things to factor in
there. And P13, if that is genuinely the best result he's going to get all year,
yes, it's factoring in DNS's, DNF's, then I think it has to have a 7 attributed to that.
So, honestly, Tommy, you can go jog on.
And that's as simple as that.
The fans can also jog on.
They gave him a 6 out of 10.
Now, I'm kidding, please keep listening.
I don't tons.
Shut up.
It really doesn't matter.
It's two Cadillac drivers.
Don't get heated, Tommy.
It's Bottas and Perez at the back.
Franco Colopinto.
Sprint quality was 16th, finished the sprint in 14th,
qualified for the main race in 12th, and finished the race in 10th.
I have gone for 7 out of 10.
Now, 7 out of 10 is a pretty good grade.
That being said, I think Gasly had the measure of him quite dramatically, I would say,
over the course of the weekend.
Gasly looked phenomenal, but we'll get onto him shortly.
For Colopinto, he got severely yeeted by Ocon.
Didn't have the best strategy either, of course, with the safety car causing
the hard tire runners to essentially be screwed, because they had to decide to stay out,
because pitting on lap 10 just didn't really make much sense.
So that would have been the likes of Colopinto, Holkenberg, Lindblad, Ocon himself as well.
And that's the reason why they crashed, because they run very similar strategies.
But for Colopinto, yeah, it was a good weekend, of course,
scoring a point after the crash was a good recovery drive.
But that being said, yeah, there's clearly a bit more pace in that Alpine than Franco's
managing to get out at the moment.
Yes, I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Colopinto as well.
The reason for a 7, he's still lacking a lot in qualifying, I think, compared to his teammate.
But he had an absolutely amazing start in the main race to basically be up and
six behind Gasly immediately, even though he started on hard tires.
Unbelievable start.
But of course, as soon as that safety car came out, kind of shafted him
with the strategy that those around him got a free pit stop,
even though it was very cool to see him in second for a bit,
which was quite a crazy graphic to see Lewis Hamilton chasing Colopinto for second
was not on my bingo card during that Grand Prix.
But Colopinto thinks still silenced a lot of people with that result,
and almost could have been one better is chasing down Sainz at the end for ninth.
Obviously, very unlucky with the Ocon incident wasn't as hard at all.
I guess with the Ocon incident, they both went pirouetting, didn't they?
At the fans, Franco was given a 7.
Pierre Gasly, sprint qualified in seventh, sprint raced to 11th,
finished the main quali in seventh and finished the race in sixth.
I've gone for an 8 out of 10 for Pierre Gasly, another strong result for Gasly.
The only reason I'm giving it an 8 is, and this is where the opinion comes in,
the Alpine is not the car it was last year.
I would argue that maybe even this weekend, it was the,
could even argue the best package after Mercedes Ferrari and McLaren,
something Ollie Berman tended to agree with as well in his words.
And I do think Alpine were very, very strong.
So you think maybe he could have got some points during the sprint race as well.
And still, it's a very good result, solid points on the board.
And I think Gasly is going to continue this form and have a very good season.
So I've gone for an 8.
I think it's a very fair assessment.
I've gone for an 8 out of 10 as well for Pierre Gasly.
I agree that the Alpine, I mean, you say last year,
I mean, even last week in Australia, they were struggling.
And we're thinking, what on earth is going on?
Are they not able to harness the power of that Mercedes engine?
You fast forward to China and they were, yeah, maybe the fourth fastest car.
So yeah, some lacking in the sprint and then should have maybe beaten Berman.
But I think Berman did a phenomenal job as we'll get onto.
But 8 out of 10 is not a bad grade by any stretch of the imagination.
And of course, with Gasly's experience, you would expect him to be right up there
with a competitive car.
So an 8 out of 10, I think is pretty fair.
The fans gave Pierre an 8 out of 10 as well.
Gabrielle Bortoletto, sprint qualified in 14th, sprinted to 13th.
I don't know why I'm doing that.
Qualified in 16th and then did not start.
So for these, Tommy, because we've seen some competitive action,
we're going to grade these drivers.
But then also at the same time,
none of these drivers that never started the race can get a 10.
Or anyway, close to that, surely.
Unless Bortoletto won the sprint, then I would give him a 10.
OK, fair enough.
I've given him a 5.
So that doesn't really matter.
Yeah, I think it's more...
We're grading these just in case there is something phenomenal that happens maybe in
the sprint and then they can't start the race for a reason outside of their doing.
So sadly, that didn't happen for Bortoletto.
Audi again, just very fragile.
That is something as much as they're quick, as much as you could even say
they could be fighting the hasses and the alpines, which on pure pace may well be the case.
But they're just plagued with so many issues, similar to Cadillac, I would say,
in terms of the amount of problems they seem to be having.
And they've had both times now, both Grand Prix we've had.
They've had a car that didn't start the race, which is pretty mental.
So I've gone for a 5 because they're pretty quiet and unassuming weekend for Bortoletto.
I've also gone for a 5 for Bortoletto.
He was brilliant last week, however.
Not as strong this week for sure.
He was off Hülkenberg's pace in qualifying and obviously had the spin dent as well in qualifying.
And yes, he of course didn't start the race, but we saw him do the sprint
and also qualify and he didn't beat his teammate.
So a 5.
The fans gave Gabrielle a 5 as well.
Nico Hülkenberg, sprint qualified 11th, did not finish the sprint,
qualified for the main race in 11th and finished the main race in 11th as well.
I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Nico Hülkenberg.
I think it's a good, I think he's maximized what Audi had there.
Obviously had the mechanical failure.
It looks very much reading like Oli Berman last year, lots of P11s.
Sadly, don't get you anything.
But it's certainly not a bad weekend for Hülkenberg.
So I've got to give him his props for outqualifying his teammate in both sessions
and a decent result, particularly in the qualifiers for Audi.
Okay, interesting.
I'm going to give Hülkenberg a 6 out of 10.
I think that, yeah, the qualifiers were reasonable and beating Bortoletto,
having a quiet weekend for sure.
But then if you look at the race and finishing 11th,
despite the seven drivers that didn't finish,
it kind of saves his blushes a little bit, I would say.
Wasn't close to scoring points against Colopinto in signs ahead,
around nine seconds behind.
And of course, Colopinto had those problems as well.
So I think realistically, it was quite a quiet weekend for Hülkenberg.
Despite the 11th everywhere, no points to show for it.
And yeah, I think it was okay, but nothing to write home about for Hülkenberg.
So I've gone for a 6.
The fans gave Niko a 6 as well.
Esteban Ocon, sprint qualified P12, finished a sprint in 10th,
qualified for the main race in 13th and finished 14th.
Migrate for Esteban Ocon is a 4 out of 10.
I think that despite my love for him, it was a poor weekend.
And so many points on the table.
Bearman showed that, finished P5.
And that is one of the biggest ways of measuring for us as plebs,
what the pace and potential of the cars are,
is looking at the teammates.
And Bearman had a phenomenal weekend,
whereas Ocon also had a brilliant start and you're thinking,
right, he's in position again to do something great.
I will say yet factoring in the safety car screwed his strategy.
So he had to go for the aggressive medium tyre.
And who knows where that exactly would have played out once,
not the aggressive medium tyre, but he had to stay out on the hards
and then go on the mediums later on,
having missed basically a pit stop against everybody else.
But that being said, yes, he might well have been able to mount a comeback,
but he undid all of that by a pretty clumsy move on Colopinto,
where it's not as if they just made contact.
He'd lost the car before he even hit Colopinto.
So a really quite devastating start to Ocon's season,
because round here last year, if you remember,
he was brilliant and Ocon, what a phenomenal P5 last year, I think.
And with this one, there was potential to slot in ahead of signs
at the very minimum after being screwed over by the strategy,
but instead finished 14th and behind Bottas.
I have gone for a 4 out of 10 for Espan Ocon as well.
Yeah, scoring no points when your teammate is finishing fifth.
I think, yeah, he was unlucky in the strategy,
but then of course had the collision undid what might have been a comeback.
But even looking at the sprint, that has is a strong car now,
and he should be scoring points in the sprint as well,
which his teammate did, and yeah, just a really poor weekend for Ocon again.
It's looking quite worrying at the moment for me.
He needs to get back to Estee Bestie of Old.
Certainly does. The fans gave Ocon a 5 out of 10.
Olly Bearman, sprint qualified P9, finished the sprint in 8th,
qualified for the main race in 10th, finished 5th.
It's a 10 out of 10 for Olly Bearman, definitely.
Yeah, you wanted to go for 10 last time for Bearman.
It has to be a 10 this time, definitely.
He was really good in both races.
Obviously, the sprint, he got points.
And then in the main race, I think what's most impressive is
he got caught up in that hadja spin, could have easily just ruined his whole race,
or ended up back in the pack,
and he still managed to come all the way through to fifth place.
It's having an amazing season.
I saw actually someone who's already started doing the Formula B,
or 1.5, or whatever you want to call it, based on the midfield runners
compared to those top four teams.
Red Bull, are they even in that now?
I don't think they are.
But anyway, even still.
Accepted Red Bull and Midfield now, my guy.
They are.
It's top three teams.
I did say it in livery ratings, they were going to be Midfield.
And yeah, Olly Bearman has finished first,
second, first in those first three races.
Imagine tuning into the episode right here, right then.
Skip the intro.
I just went to you saying Olly's finished first, second, first.
Everyone does that.
Skip straight to Olly Bearman's result.
They will in the future, for sure.
So yeah, amazing start to the year for Bearman, incredible stuff.
I have of course gone for a 10 out of 10 for Olly Bearman.
Again, just massively impressing.
He's building on last year incredibly well.
And to complete agreement about the Hajar incident,
yeah, he missed that by what felt like maybe an inch or two.
And to then be able to bounce back to still finish fifth
after that skirmish where he lost a handful of places.
I think he was out of the points when he came back on the track.
So to bounce back from that, still finished best of the rest is just,
it is a perfect drive.
He scored a point of course in the sprint as well.
So overall, a phenomenal start to the season for Olly Bearman.
No notes, all positives.
The fans agree.
They've gone for a 10 out of 10 for Olly Bearman.
Lance Troll, sprint qualified P20, finished a sprint in 18th,
qualified 21st and did not finish.
Wow, that's quite, that's a lot of, that's very high numbers, isn't it?
Lance Troll, I am going for a 5 out of 10.
Because it's an Aston Martin that's disintegrating every lap he turns.
Aston Martin will maybe work.
Well, I mean Lance Troll, because look,
Fernando Alonso is different when I give him his 10.
But for Lance Troll, he's not exactly showing anything when he is in the car.
And it disintegrates before he can do any of that.
Lance Troll is usually one of those drivers that spawns at the end of the race in the points.
But the Aston Martin can't get into the end of the race
because it's not working.
So, 5, moving on.
I'm going to go for a 4 for Lance Troll.
Because the only thing you can grade him on really is qualifying.
And is a long way off Alonso, who we know is a bit of a qualifying specialist.
And yeah, I know there's, the Aston Martin can't be,
there's not much to gain from the Aston Martin.
But Alonso in those first two races has shown that.
And in qualifying, yeah, seems like
Lance Troll, yeah, can't deliver compared to his teammate in that car.
And there seems to be no issues that he had in qualifying.
So, I'm going to go for a 4, just so it's not 5 every week.
Because what you can grade him on is his qualifying.
And it was poor compared to his teammate.
But he's probably got, I mean, this is probably the first time I've ever defended him.
A hundred issues going on in that car.
But that being said, of course, there's no doubt Fernando Alonso is doing a better job.
So, I agree.
The fans gave Lance Troll a 5 out of 10.
Fernando Alonso, sprint qualified 19th, finished his sprint in 17th.
Actually, finished something, I know.
Qualified P 19 and then did not finish.
I've gone for a 6 out of 10 for Fernando Alonso.
He, again, asked him, Martin, what can they do?
But even in those crazy situations, top drivers can do something.
And Alonso did what he did again this time on the hard tyres
and still managed to weave his way through everyone at the start.
And I love that no one hypes Fernando Alonso more than his hype man.
And he said a quote along the lines of,
well, the start is where all the driver skill is compared to the battery championship.
And my word, what a guy.
Sorry, you said no one hypes him up more than his hype man.
Do you mean himself?
Himself.
Just to be clear.
Okay, right.
I thought, I was like, his hype man who?
His hype man is himself.
And yeah, Alonso, yeah, he, in very little what he could do
and also just like what a, what a warrior for going that long
to the point where he could barely even hold the steering wheel anymore.
Got to, got to respect his, his age and the determination despite everything.
Because my God, you wouldn't blame him for just calling it quits on lap one
based on how that after Martin is.
But they have to do laps in order to find out how to not make it an S box.
So I've also gone for a six out of 10 for now.
Alonso, I'm not going to give him a seven this time,
despite him putting himself up to P nine at the beginning,
which is absolutely ridiculous.
But he fell like a stone after that, unsurprisingly.
And it's just amazing to see him get into the points at the start of both races so far.
It's such a waste of talent.
Every time we talk about them, it's just, it's just dull and depressing and boring to talk about
Aston Martin and how far, far away they are.
But Alonso shows his, his talent in the first lap or two and then just has to fade into
DNFing, which is quite sad.
The fans gave Alonso a five out of 10, not interested with the
points at the start of the race.
Arvid Lindblad, sprint qualified 15th, did not finish the sprint in the main
quali, qualified 15th.
And then for the main race, 12th.
I've gone for a five out of 10 for Arvid Lindblad.
I think it was a very down the line five out of 10 kind of performance for a rookie.
Okay.
I think had it been a more experienced driver, perhaps I would have been grading slightly
harsher, but for Lindblad, you know, he was affected in practice.
He was only able to do one flying lap of, I think about six laps in practice before his car
broke down, did pretty well in qualifying to get somewhere near Lawson after that.
But overall, you know, just he got screwed a bit by the safety car as well in fairness to him,
but he wasn't anywhere near the points.
And I'm going to give him a five out of 10 because it wasn't really anything inspiring
like Australia was.
You have gone for a five for Lindblad as well.
A very anonymous race compared to, you know, his unbelievable heroics in his first race.
He was unfortunate, like you say, with the FP1 issue, also the safety car didn't help him
either, but nothing to show when I think the racing bulls is a good car this year, seemingly.
So disappointed after, you know, an unbelievable first race.
The fans gave Arvid Lindblad a five out of 10 as well.
Liam Lawson, sprint qualified 13th, finished the sprint in seventh,
qualified for the main race in 14th, finished seventh.
I've gone for a nine out of 10, William Lawson.
I think a fantastic result in the sprint in particular.
And then a great result in the race.
Yes, it was a race of attrition, but still seventh place.
So I think his sprint was the strongest performance of his two races.
Because, yeah, it did an amazing job to stay out, make that strategy work.
But he was up there and he was unlucky in qualifying.
He was caught in that Bortoletto issue, but he still managed to get through the pack.
And even though racing bulls do seem quite quick, two seventh places.
When I was predicting racing bulls in our entire championship table,
my biggest criticism was racing bulls don't ever maximise the points.
And boy, did he maximise the points this weekend.
Very strong showing from Lawson.
Yeah, Lawson did phenomenally well.
I've gone for a nine out of 10 as well.
Two seventh places after tricky qualifying through one reason or another.
But to bounce back from that, to have a very solid race in the main one as well.
Yeah, P7 capitalising on, of course, some DNSs, DNFs and so on and so forth.
But you still have to go score points and not make mistakes and make contact in the first few laps
and so on and so forth.
And Lawson, yeah, I'm not convinced the racing bulls is close to the Hasses and Alpenes at the
moment. Australia would suggest that perhaps it will flip flop for them and some races,
they will be better than others.
Maybe slightly concerning for them that they were not particularly close to the Alpen and Hasses.
Around here, of course.
But still, it's a nine out of 10 performance for Lawson.
Really, really impressive from him because he needed to bounce back a little bit after Australia
and Limblad taking all of the spotlight. And Liam did just that in China.
The fans gave him an eight out of 10.
Carlos Sainz, sprint qualified 17th, finished the sprint in 12th,
qualified for the main race in 17th and finished the race in 9th.
I'm going to give Carlos Sainz an eight out of 10 in the horrendous Williams car.
He's managed to score a couple of points, kept Franco Colopinto at bay,
which I think is something that needs to be appreciated as well.
Of course, Colopinto was coming through after that issue with Ocon,
but he was on the medium tyres and Sainz is in the 10th fastest car, huh?
Third worst, yeah.
Oh, sorry. I thought you were correcting me on something I'd said.
Well, yeah, it's ninth fastest.
All right, sorry.
Unless cut like that.
Yeah, no, true. Oh, sorry.
For some reason, I didn't do maths correctly, which is rare for me.
Yes, yes. But they're one of the slowest cars on the grid, for sure.
And for them to score any points at this stage of the season is a miracle.
And I think Carlos should get a pretty good grade for that.
I am also, of course, factoring in that it's not a nine or 10,
because I think with some slightly more normal circumstances here,
he would have obviously finished outside the points.
But still a very solid drive from Carlos and an eight out of 10 from me.
I've gone for a nine out of 10 for Carlos Sainz.
It was almost a 10, but I have gone for a nine.
Carlos's race was absolutely amazing.
He had had an amazing start.
And I think two points in a car that I think is truly woeful at the moment
should be hugely applauded, you know, to finish ahead of an Alpine
and Audi are racing balls, which I think are much better cars
than what he's got underneath him.
I think is a really, really strong result.
And actually one thing that was missed,
because we didn't see any of Carlos like the old days,
a bit like his driver rate, his driver intro in the F1 thing,
where he's really far away.
Maybe he's just not being shown this year.
He actually used some tactical overtaking mode on Colin at the end,
where he was on purpose.
Yeah, it was.
It was literally like his DRS kind of style,
where he was using the blue flags and people passing him
to get the overtake mode and things to pull away.
So very tactical from Carlos.
And I think you said it like it's a miracle to get a P nine
in a Williams at the moment.
So really strong result for Carlos.
The fans disagree immensely.
They've gone for a seven out of 10 for Carlos Sainz.
Alex Albon, sprint qualified in 18th,
finished the sprint in 16th,
qualified for the main race in 18th,
and started in the pits.
And what, didn't start at all actually.
So there you go.
Did not start.
I've gone for a five out of 10 for Alex Albon.
There it is.
Wee, it's a five out of 10 DNS, unless you're Fernando Alonso.
Yeah, I did.
Yeah, yeah.
He is tough for Albon.
Obviously he had his frustrations.
We heard him scream terrible on the radio.
And yeah, he was struggling this weekend.
The Williams did not seem great,
particularly in qualifying.
They were really struggling.
And obviously both of them ended up both out in Q1, an SQ1.
But in the sprint as well, Albon didn't manage to make
as much progress as his teammate did,
you know, four places below Sainz.
So I can't give him any higher than a five.
But another DNS from, you know, a driver is crazy.
And Albon's one was really weird
because we were just watching the grid.
And then all of a sudden they just showed him on the pit wall.
And it was like, oh, okay, I guess he's not racing there.
Shouldn't he be in the car, Alex?
Yeah, weird.
Okay, I've gone for a five out of 10 as well for Alex Albon.
I'm not going to go down the route of comparing the two
because he was once again plagued with issues,
like some of the other drivers we've spoken about,
had a hydraulic problem, I think, on the Sunday.
And then also, like, they were just constantly changing the car
for Alex Albon under Park Fermé and so on and so forth.
So it was an absolute disaster for Williams
on the Alex Albon side of the garage.
Yeah, the fact that they've got it right,
at least on one side, is clearly also a miracle.
But I'm not going to give him any lower than a five
because he's just literally trying to survive out there
in a car that keeps breaking.
The fans gave Alex a five as well.
Lewis Hamilton, sprint qualified fourth,
finished the sprint in third,
qualified for the main race in third, finished third.
I've gone for a nine out of 10 for Lewis Hamilton,
a very, very strong weekend from him getting his first Ferrari podium,
a long-awaited first Ferrari podium, and look, put my hands up.
He looked slightly better than Charles Leclerc this weekend.
You know, does that make me violently unwell?
A little bit, because of course I'm a Charles Leclerc.
No, you've got the mask on.
But at the same time, as I said, I've said many, many times,
I want to see Hamilton fighting Leclerc,
and that's exactly what we saw throughout the entirety of this weekend,
and it was brilliant to watch.
The two going wheel-to-wheel, the phenomenal race craft,
yeah, the sprint got a little bit close.
That was a little Charles Leclerc team radio that went down,
like a lead balloon with some Lewis Hamilton fans.
But overall, I think Hamilton had a really, really strong weekend
and showed quite clearly that he still got it.
Indeed, Lewis Hamilton, I've given him a nine out of 10.
I think only a nine, because he was beaten by Leclerc in the sprint race.
Otherwise, you know, considering a 10, I think he was absolutely brilliant.
Amazing wheel-to-wheel battling, very much Hamilton of old,
great in qualifying as well, which is something that really let him down last year.
Very, must be a very long time, since it feels like
to out-qualify Leclerc both of the races.
Chill out.
Charles Leclerc doesn't like China, we move on.
Okay, but you're not mad about it.
No, not at all, he struggles around the track, what can I say?
And yeah, Hamilton was absolutely brilliant this weekend.
He certainly was.
I want to tell you a quick story that was quite funny,
that's to do with our predictions, actually.
And Elle, my lovely girlfriend, she listens to every podcast.
And I was literally mid-bathing Bruno after a muddy walk,
and she comes in and goes,
the absolute audacity for Tommy to give the point for Lewis Hamilton good surprise
when he qualified third and finished third in the second fastest car.
I was like, that's why I love you.
That's why you're the goat.
And yeah, just wanted to throw that out there, just a little sprinkle.
It was a surprise that he beat Leclerc,
because he hadn't, as you've said, many times yourself.
There you go.
Just wanted to bring that up, because it made me smile a lot
to see someone backing my call.
I like the competitiveness of Gallagher versus Bellingham's.
Yeah, she's calling you the boring Bellingham's and everything else as well.
The fans gave...
I'll be having words next time I see it.
The fans gave Lewis Hamilton a 9 out of 10 as well.
Charlotte Clair, sprint qualified to P6,
finished the sprint in second,
qualified for the main race in fourth and finished fourth.
I've gone for an 8 out of 10 for Charlotte Clair.
Not his best weekend, particularly qualifying,
which I read some comments about his qualifying,
and it's a real shame,
and this is one of our biggest criticisms about qualifying this year is,
they don't push as much,
and Leclerc's kind of come out and said,
that was such a strong point of my game qualifying,
and unfortunately, my driving style and being able to be brave into corners and things
doesn't work in these new cars.
But obviously, he had the mistake as well
that cost him a place to let Hamilton through.
And yeah, it's certainly not a bad weekend from Charlotte Clair,
from his high standards,
but it's one less than his teammate who performed better this weekend.
Yeah, I'm in complete agreement.
I've gone for an 8 out of 10 for Charlotte Clair as well,
not much separating him and Lewis Hamilton,
but Hamilton is just unreal around this track as we know.
And yeah, I firmly believe that this is just a little bit of an outlier for Charlotte Clair.
He's just, he's been very honest,
which I like to see in his interviews,
being like, I'm just really not that great around here.
And I'm like, okay, cool, that's fine,
we can move on straight to the other 23 tracks,
or of course, we only have 22 races this year.
The other tracks that you're phenomenal at, but...
I mean, a P2 and a P4 are your worst track.
It's not bad, not bad at all, is it?
When realistically, the only thing that was available was a P2 and a P3.
So only one position lost really when you look at the car performance.
But yeah, I also want to talk very quickly about
those comments that Charlotte Clair made about qualifying.
It's quite sad, really,
and it further echoes and solidifies our stance on the fact that,
yes, we might celebrate the racing,
but the qualifying and just the fundamentals of the car
that we're seeing this year are wrong.
And it's, of course, I'm biased because I want to see Charlotte Clair do well.
And if one of his strengths have been weakened,
then ban the rules immediately and get us back to Saturdays
where we're fully ragging the car.
Because that's what we want to see.
We want to see the drivers make up the time,
not on the straights because they've harvested their energy,
but because they're pushing into the apexes and risking it all.
So yeah, it's slightly sad comments to hear that,
but very sad, if you're me.
OK, the fans gave Charlotte Clair an 8 out of 10 as well.
Isaac Hadjar, sprint qualified P10, finished the sprint in 15th,
qualified for the main race in 9th and finished 8th.
I have given Hadjar a 6 out of 10.
Could have been higher for a car that we've seen pictures surfacing
on social media that is 20 kilograms heavier than some competitors.
Not verified, just literally someone on a balcony
sent a picture of the way the scale is absolutely mental
that that's even been surfaced.
But that being said, Red Bull are,
like round here at least, maybe the sixth fastest car by the looks of things.
And yes, the spin was a big error,
and it cost him potential of much more points.
There are some positives to draw from this,
and that's why I've gone for a 6 out of 10.
His pace to max in qualifying looks tiny,
which is brilliant for him and for the future of his career.
And yeah, there's clearly a lot of limitations with that Red Bull,
and it can cause mistakes.
We've seen mistakes from Max Verstappen in that car this year.
Sadly for Hadjar, it was a big one,
which cost him a chance of many more points.
I've gone for a 5 out of 10 for Isaac Hadjar.
Yeah, very good comparison to Max in qualifying,
but the mistake cost him a really strong result, I think.
And it was a big error as well to lose it like that on the power spin round.
And he was playing catch-up from then on,
and was obviously made a position as well from when his teammate retired.
But it's much more positive signs for Hadjar,
and that just second seat in general.
And if he can continue that form and have a clean race,
I genuinely think we might see some races where he beats Max this year,
particularly if Max isn't starting a race.
Exactly, for P12 or something.
The fans gave Hadjar a 6 out of 10.
Max Verstappen, sprint qualified 8th, finished the sprint in 9th,
qualified for the main race in 9th, and did not finish.
I've gone for a 6 out of 10 for Max Verstappen.
Obviously, he's going to finish 6th on the road before his car retired from the mechanical failure.
But even though that car, yes, it's a midfield runner,
and 6th would have been a decent result with the package he had.
You've got to tank his rating from the fact that he's having these poor starts,
he's not getting away, he's giving himself so much work to do,
and he's basically starting every race seemingly from the back.
To get no sprint points, that was on him for his poor start.
And again, in the main race, had another poor start.
And yes, he made it up and he did get screwed.
When it rains, it pours for Max this year, my word.
When he came into the pits and then it was a VSC, literally the lap after,
you just think like nothing is going his way.
But I've got to downgrade him for the starts, because for it to happen twice, really poor.
I've also gone for a 6 out of 10 for Verstappen.
The start is a little bit of a mystery, because anyone that asked him about it
was basically him replying with, do you think I'm stupid?
I'm not an idiot, I know how to start the car.
This is a four-time world champion, this is Max Verstappen,
highly regarded as the best driver on the grid, not being able to get away both times.
I'm surprised there's not an element of sort of forgiveness from your side there, Tommy,
and the fact that it may well just be a car issue, because for me...
I'm trying not to be biased, because obviously with Antonelli did the same saying,
you know, downgrading him for his bad start, so...
Interesting, wow, Tommy level-headed with his two favorite drivers.
But yeah, wow, my goat deserves that 7.
But Verstappen, yeah, I think it's a 6 out of 10, I think that's pretty fair.
He was, as you say, going to potentially finish behind Bearman if his car didn't
decide to call it a day, and overall a weekend to forget and a start of the season to forget for
Max, but what he is doing is farming a lot of F1 fantasy points by constantly losing loads of
positions at the start of the race, and then doing loads of overtakes, so yeah.
Did you hear as well, he was basically like lifting and coasting for a lot of the race, and then...
Really? Like all the other cars?
No, no, no, no, no, no, I'm going to continue, and then his team came on the radio, I think it was
GP being like, you're losing a lot of time to Bearman, and he's like, well, yeah, because you
told me to lift and coast, he's like, you don't need to do that, and you've been doing it for
30 laps or something, and he wasn't meant to, so yeah, it's really not going well at Red Bull right now.
Dear me, not usually a communication issue between GP and Max, so...
Phenomenal weekend from him. Yes. Oh, the sprint. Oh no, hold on, is it? Yes, maybe.
How do you weigh the sprint? I'm having doubts because he absolutely yeeted Hadja.
Oh God, do I downgrade him? It's a nine out of ten for Kimmy Antonelli, I'm really sorry,
I'm so sorry. I've done it. I'm sorry, I know that there's going to be people out there that
fuming thinking, well, he did enough to regain it on the Sunday, and that was what my initial
grade was, but I'm going to go for a nine out of ten because it wasn't perfect. Had it just been a
relatively slowish sprint, whatever, maybe you'd be able to forgive him, but the fact is it was an
aggressive mistake from Antonelli. Hadja even came out afterwards and said, I don't know why he's
so excited with the rocket ship. So yeah, I think with that in mind, I think a nine out of ten,
despite the phenomenal Sunday, dealing with the pressure of Russell, then did that massive lock
up, decided to just put the tyres slightly in jeopardy with a few laps to go. It was still a
phenomenal weekend, of course, getting his first ever race win. A lot of positives for Antonelli,
but it's not a ten. How dare you? I have gone for a nine out of ten for Kimmy Antonelli,
I didn't even consider a ten. Unfortunately for him, the sprint was too messy for it to be a ten
out of ten weekend. His race, of course, was a ten out of ten. It was brilliant. He resisted the
pressure, did an amazing job to beat Russell in a race, which I think looking, reflecting, and maybe
about more about Russell, I think maybe didn't even give him enough credit for the race win,
because the way I remembered it, Russell was kind of like on the back foot and we're talking about
qualifying and stuff. But Russell did get through to second quite quickly and actually lost to the
two Ferraris battling them. Kimmy did an amazing job, but in the sprint, unfortunately for him,
it was just too to put a slight downer on it. The sprint wasn't good enough. He finished behind
in McLaren. I think he was very fortunate to finish ahead of Piastri even because I think
had McLaren not decided to switch them, he might have, Piastri might have got away with it because
Kimmy Antonelli ran wide and made a mistake on the safety car restart as they were sprinting away.
So, sadly for him, yeah, colliding with Hadjar changes his grade. And to be the youngest,
sorry, one of the youngest winners ever, and youngest Pulsar to just stow us this whole weekend
to get a nine out of ten in. I'm sure he will be absolutely devastated to know that we've given
him a nine and not a ten. Had it just been the Sunday, as we say, it would have been the easiest
ten out of ten. That is actually, apparently, the tears during the interview with David Coulthard
because he knew the sprint wasn't good enough to get a ten out of ten.
Who he follows on Instagram, a little flex from you there. I mean, I flexed it on your behalf.
But yes, yeah, that is mad, isn't it? But it's not, it can't be a ten for his sprint,
sadly, and of course he is thriving. A very, very... A rocket ship. A rocket ship. There's no two
ways of us. They are very clear. Yeah, he shouldn't be finishing any lower than second. And yeah,
I agree. But that being said, let's end on a positive note. Phenomenal weekend from Antonelli,
and he's well and truly in the championship hunt if he can keep this form up. The fans,
my God, they are going to be lighting their torches because they gave Kimmy Antonelli
a ten out of ten. George Russell, sprint qualified first, finish the sprint in first,
qualify for the main race in second, and finish second. I've gone for a nine out of ten for
George Russell. I think the downgrade obviously sprint easy, qualifying in the main race wasn't
his fault. But in the race, he did get up second. Yes, he ended up between Colopinto. He had his
teammate ahead and Colopinto knock on between them, but then kind of got caught out with them
battling and let the Ferraris through. And then he spent too long getting through it. He didn't
look like he was going to be able to catch Antonelli like we thought. So yeah, I've gone for a nine
for Russell because it's still a very good weekend, but then he's also driving an incredible car.
So yeah, I've gone for a nine. I've also gone for a nine out of ten for George Russell. I think that,
as you say, perfect sprint. The qualifying lap that he did may be not spoken about enough
with the fact that he had no battery, no tire temp, had to go out there with one lap after
the issues that he'd had stopping out on track at the start of Q3. It was a brilliant job to put
himself on the front row of the grid, of course, succumbing to the Ferraris and the starts that
they are able to produce. And had he not taken so long to get through on the Ferraris, he may
would have had a chance on Antonelli. Being in that sort of two, three, four second window behind
a driver that's never won a race before, so much more pressure than if it's that seven or eight
second gap that which Antonelli had once George Russell got through. So he wasn't able to put the
pressure on despite Antonelli making that small mistake at the end. But I also think that it's
a much more consistent weekend from Russell, which deserves him also a nine out of ten,
the same as his teammate. The fans gave George a nine as well. Oscar Piastri,
sprint qualified fifth, finished the sprint in sixth, qualified for the main race in fifth,
did not start.
I mean, how are we on to the Constructors' champions, the final two drivers and we're talking
about Piastri who's not started a race yet and a double DNS for McLaren in China. It's going to be
a five out of ten for Oscar Piastri because they didn't really do anything all too special.
I think McLaren made the mistake and being a bit too cautious on giving Antonelli that place back
in the sprint. Was it sprint? Yeah, it was a sprint. Must have been he wasn't racing.
That is so true. Yes, Piastri has indeed done some racing laps, but just in the sprint,
of course, gosh. But yeah, I think for Oscar, it's just such a sad start to the season.
Going to have to give him a five. If anything good is to be drawn from this, it seems like Oscar
and Lander are very close this year when his hesitations at the beginning seemed like there's
a lot of changes to get used to and wasn't the most positive coming out of the Oscar camper
initially when we've done testing and stuff. But it seems like the two of them are very,
very finely matched once again. I've gone for a six out of ten for Oscar Piastri.
I didn't want to go straight down the middle because I think he outqualified a Ferrari in the
sprint qualifying. He would have beaten Antonelli without that unfortunate moment where he let him
back through and then outqualified Lando again. So I've gone for a six. It's obviously
where you draw the line with it. I understand why some would go straight down the middle.
And it is a very difficult one because we want to see him actually race in a Grand Prix,
but I have gone for a six. The fans gave Oscar Piastri a five out of ten. Lando Norris
sprint qualified third, finished the sprint in fourth, qualified for many races in the sixth
and did not start. I'm actually going to go for a seven for Lando Norris. I know he didn't start
the race, but I think his sprint was absolutely fantastic, to be honest. To qualify third when
that top four between Mercedes and Ferrari seemed to be just locked out completely.
For him to qualify third is very impressive. Also finishing that sprint in fourth and fighting
the likes of Antonelli as well. Obviously finished ahead of him Mercedes, which is no mean feat,
even if Antonelli did have a troublesome race. So I do need to give some credit to it. I thought
Lando showed a very, very strong performance in the sprint. So I've gone for a seven.
Okay, I'm going to do the same nod of approval, but give Lando a six compared to Oscar's five.
Yeah, I echo all of your thoughts. I think the sprint was really, really exciting for Lando
and his fans to be putting it in front of the Ferrari and to be able to actually fight
towards the front is obviously devastating for me, watching along thinking, oh no,
the Ferrari is going to have to actually go from further back on the grid than the second row.
But I think for Lando, it's obviously a massive shame. He's the world champion and
to not start the Chinese Grand Prix just devastating. So McLaren need to buck their ideas up and maybe
ask for a couple more pages in the instruction manual of the Mercedes power unit.
Well, then did you see the Park Fermi thing where there was a clip where Oscar, they're obviously
like, if you don't laugh, you'll cry. But they're in the media pen, literally during the start of
the race and Oscar went up to Lando, went fancy seeing you here and Lando just went, shut up,
jokingly, of course. It was really funny. But you just got a lot, you just got to,
I guess if you don't laugh, you'll cry because what a horrendous start for McLaren to have a
double DNS is insane. And I think rightly, I know the team of Struggord and some people will say,
oh, it's on the team, but McLaren are the world champions. They know how to start a Grand Prix
and that's another criticism. Yeah, they do. So yeah, it's another criticism of the rules that
how these amazing Formula One teams and all this technology and stuff and they can't even start
the race and it's a shame because in Formula One, I want to see a bit more unreliability maybe
sometimes because it adds a bit more jeopardy in the race. But we don't want to see four cars not
starting before we even start the race. It's really, really gutting. Yeah, completely agree.
And also another sort of small conversation point on this is that we talk about how the
season can progress and how McLaren may well figure out how to use the Mercedes power unit
to the level of which Mercedes are, can they mount a comeback? If they're not starting races,
like it's all well and good them finishing fifth and sixth, scoring 10 and eight points respectively,
trying to minimise the amount of loss that they're having right now to Mercedes at the start of the
season. But this, this is 25 points swings. It's 43 when you think of the construct. We have 80
points behind already. So even if they now start saved by some miracle, they're really good in
Suzuka and they're fighting Mercedes already, which I don't think they will be. It's an 80-point
deficit already. It's massive. So yeah. Absolutely enormous. Sorry, McLaren fans,
you've maybe got a difficult season ahead. The fans gave Lando a six out of 10. So who was our
P1? Well, I believe if I'm not mistaken, there's only one man. You've done your calculations
again. Holy bearman gets my P1 because maybe surprisingly to some, the only 10 out of 10
this week, I think he was brilliant throughout the entire weekend. And I am excited to see
just how much better he's going to get with more experience on his shoulders.
Indeed. Holy bearman is my only 10 out of 10 as well. Amazing start to season, amazing weekend.
And yeah, he's fit in the championship, which is quite a muddle. I know it's only two races,
but two in a sprint. But yeah. Yeah. What are the, let's have a look at the actual
standings because that'll be good to see. So bearman has scored all of Haas's points,
and he alone is one point behind McLaren. That's impressive. Holy bearman is one
point behind McLaren. That is a narrative we did not expect to be saying two races in
to the 2026 F1 season. Yeah, crazy. So bearman, yeah, ahead of Lando Norris, ahead of Max Verstappen,
obviously ahead of Piastri as well. Yeah, Piastri down in 12th in the standings right now,
just behind Hajar. I mean, they've all obviously got very small amount of points, but
four points separating Russell and Antonelli at the top, Charles Leclerc nipping at their heels-ish,
kind of maybe, 17 points behind George Russell and 14 behind Antonelli, Hamilton one point
behind Leclerc. It is finally poised. It's funny how we said at the start of the season,
oh, the top eight are going to be locked in. It's going to be said I'd scored points,
15 people scored points already. Jeez. It's good. Red Bull were like,
thanks, and so were McLaren. So that's opened up some opportunities for other teams to score points.
Okay, that is it. Thank you everybody for tuning in to this episode of Driver Ratings.
I hope you have enjoyed. I hope you have loved the numbers that we've thrown at you for this
episode of Driver Ratings means the world to many people around the world,
and we appreciate you tuning in as always. Tommy, what are your final thoughts?
Final thoughts are bring on Suzuki. I can't wait for it already because very different
circuit, and yeah, very curious to see how these new rules can deliver at a track like
Suzuki because if there's any overtaking at all, they've done all right.
I can't wait to see them take 130R at 90 miles an hour. It's going to be phenomenal.
Yeah, yeah. We'll ignore qualifying.
They might be all right. We'll see. All right, see you soon. Lots of love. Bye.
Bye.
About this episode
Matt and Tommy dive into detailed driver ratings from the Chinese Grand Prix sprint weekend, discussing performances amid new regulations and challenging conditions. Highlights include Olly Bearman's standout 10/10 weekend, strong drives from Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson, and struggles for drivers like Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. The hosts debate incidents, strategy impacts, and team reliability issues, especially for Audi, Aston Martin, and McLaren. They also reflect on Lewis Hamilton's impressive Ferrari podium and Max Verstappen's frustrating start. The episode captures the evolving championship battle and sets the stage for upcoming races with enthusiasm.
Original notes
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