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Mexico City GP Driver Ratings
Mexico City GP Driver Ratings
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About this episode
Matt and Tommy dive deep into driver performances at the Mexico City Grand Prix, offering detailed ratings and analysis for each competitor. Highlights include Lando Norris's flawless win and championship lead, Ollie Bearman's impressive rookie drive, and Max Verstappen's aggressive but effective racing. They discuss strategic moves, qualifying struggles, and key incidents like Carlos Sainz's early collision. The hosts also reflect on team dynamics, race strategies, and fan reactions, providing a comprehensive and passionate breakdown of the weekend's action.
Topics:
driver ratings
mexico city grand prix
race analysis
lando norris
ollie bearman
max verstappen
race strategy
qualifying performance
race incidents
team dynamics
Cars:
Dodge Charger
We're here to close out a surprisingly brilliant Mexico City GP with some not at all controversial driver ratings. Who's driving around in legitimately a P2 car? And who's come out on top?
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Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy.
It's F1 Driver Ratings, your favourite series back once again.
Where we will be grading every single driver's performances at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Not a lot of controversial incidents, Tommy, that could sway a grade one way or another, eh?
Yes, and a few that I've spotted watching the race back as we do, of course.
Watching every single driver's race from start to finish.
The POV, 20 drivers, the full race.
Genuinely though, sometimes to get the incidents, the amount of times,
I've had to watch the start replay and be like looking at people at the back and like going frame by frame.
That's how much effort we put in, so be nice and like the video.
Oh yeah, Tommy is feeling sassy today, but if you do enjoy this Driver Ratings series,
please give it a thumbs up and let us know.
That would be wonderful to see some positive comments.
Right, let's dive into it and start where we always begin with Gabrielle Bortoletto.
Started the race in 16th, finished 10th.
So for Gabrielle Bortoletto, I'm going to give him an 8 out of 10.
I think it was a very solid weekend.
His move on Isaac Hadjar.
Tasty AF is what I'll say for that.
Of course, had a poor qualifying, but made some good progress.
It has to be said he was on the decent strategy, where he was on the softs at the end.
His exact strategy for those wondering, he pitted on lap 37 from the mediums
and then went all the way to the end on a fresh set of softs.
But Bortoletto scored a point, made a huge amount of progress.
The Hadjar move was probably the tastiest move of the whole Grand Prix.
You had the sort of more experienced drivers.
They were wheel banging, they were cutting the grass.
Not Bortoletto, 8 out of 10.
I have gone for an 8 out of 10.
Was it a higher or lower?
Lower. It's close. It's between a 7 and 8.
Did I sell it to you? Was it going to be a 7?
You did. I was very much choosing between the two.
Now I look at it.
At the end of the day, the races is where the big points are won.
I know he's only got one, but he's come through the field.
He's done a good job. I think he's done some lovely overtakes.
I've gone for an 8 out of 10.
I think he's done a solid job.
Obviously, he got beaten by his teammate in qualifying,
which is a surprise really.
He's gone through this stage where maybe his form in qualifying
in particular has dropped off a bit compared to Hülkenberg.
We saw the Bortoletto of what we saw in the middle of the season
where he was really hyped up again
and did a great job with some lovely overtakes.
The fans gave Gabriel a 7 out of 10.
Nico Hülkenberg started the race in 13th, did not finish.
I have gone for a 6 out of 10 for Nico Hülkenberg.
He's a very difficult driver to grade
because he had basically a power unit issue on the Formation lap
and it's hard because he did a decent qualifying,
tumbled down the order of course at the start due to his issue.
Retired the car, took him to lap 26 to retire,
but I'm not going to go straight down the middle
just because I thought he put his car higher up
than it should have been in qualifying,
which I have to give him a little bit of credit for,
hard to judge if it's any more than that
because of course we didn't really get to see
what he could do with a working car.
Okey-dokey, I am going to go for...
This is very hard because he DNF'd on lap 26
and didn't really even make it through to Q3.
I'm going to go for a 5 out of 10 for Nico Hülkenberg.
Look, the power unit issue was not ideal
and of course that's what was the cause of the retirement.
It's not like he took some headlines with qualifying.
Of course he did beat Gabriel Bortoletto
but I think it's maybe more on Bortoletto
slipping up slightly there and not making
a higher placement on the grid.
So I'm going to go for a 5,
but yeah, I can see where you're coming from, Tommy,
with that one.
The fans gave him a 5 as well.
Alex Albon started the race in 17th, finished 12th.
Alex Albon is going to receive a 5 out of 10.
Poor qualifying once again from Alex,
which put him on the back foot
and from there it's just damaged limitation
or trying desperately to score a point
from a difficult position.
Started on the hards which was not the right strategy call
but still wasn't too close to scoring points in the end.
So for me, again, quite an anonymous weekend for Alex Albon.
Yes, he made some good progress, finished 12th
but it feels like there's more to be gained,
especially when you see Carlos up there in,
well, he literally was in Q3, wasn't he, Carlos?
So there was a lot more pace than that, Williams,
but Alex didn't show it this weekend, 5 out of 10
and sorry, Alex, because I know that sometimes you see it
really sorry, 5 out of 10.
I've gone for a 5 out of 10 as well for Alex Albon,
a very meh weekend I think summarises it
as why I've gone straight down the middle with a 5.
Carlos in qualifying showed that the pace was there
for Williams to deliver
but yeah, he was just a bit unspectacular really.
I know he got a bit sassy on the radio again
and saying that it's the worst strategy he's ever had,
made it through to 12th
but nothing to shout about, so I've gone for a 5.
The fans gave Alex a 5 out of 10 as well.
Carlos Sines started the race in 12th
but actually got up to 7th, had a 5 place grid penalty
and did not finish but was classified P17
because he completed over 90% of the race.
I have gone for a 4 out of 10 for Carlos Sines
and this is the driver that I mentioned in the intro
that I scrutinised and watched the intro
because there were no on-boards from him
so I basically had to freeze frame
lap 1 from the helicopter cam
and really watch his car.
Carlos, it's very much of what could have been.
He had a brilliant qualifying to be up there in P7 of course
not going to downgrade him for the penalty
that he got in the previous race
because that's last week's mistake
but I actually think his turn 1 move
was a big error on his part.
I watched it back, he collides with Lawson
he actually makes the corner absolutely fine
and the Haas in front of him
has lost control a little bit
I believe of course it would have been Arkon
and he basically has a bit of a moment that the Haas
and rather than Carlos slowing down
and still continuing the corner
he just immediately bales and does the classic
Mexico I'm going to just go for the grass
and in doing so just whack straight into Lawson
and doesn't see and that of course damages
his tyre and the sensor
which basically gave him so much trouble
for the rest of the race with the fact that he couldn't
which causes pit lane issues
and speeding and things like that
so it was all done, undone with I think
in my opinion a big error of judgement at the start.
That's interesting because Carlos has had some positives
and some negatives from this weekend
and after also watching that turn 1 back
one more time to really focus in on Carlos
I'm also going to give a 4 out of 10
because I firmly believe that is Carlos' fault
the contact that he had with Lawson
which ruined Lawson's race
with the front wing damage that he had
and yeah he jolts to the left
he absolutely jolts to the left
he wants to bail, he probably doesn't see Lawson
very much just a case of not really checking
not expecting probably and fair enough
not expecting another driver to be left also bailing
across the grass
but it's his responsibility to not do that
yes it's a racing incident and this, that and the other
but it's affected both of their races
and of course the sensor problems
and the speeding in the pit lane
and everything else came from that
and also of course spinning out of the race
so can you really give him any higher than a 4
when you take that all into account
it's a little bit too generous but
I'm going to go for a 4 out of 10 as well
the fans gave Carlos a 5
Isaac Hadjar
started the race in 8th, finished 13th
for Hadjar I'm going to give him
a 6 out of 10
phenomenal qualifying
really good job for Isaac
I just really, I genuinely believe that
the racing balls has fallen off a cliff
now in terms of race pace
towards the end of this season
perhaps again the sort of tools down
not bothering with kind of pushing the car forward
at this stage of the season
didn't have any fresh softs
to start the race on
because he qualified 8th
and he said himself
it was enough to make the difference
he was making progress
but they're always
a bit slower in the race
than qualifying
so I have to give a
nod of approval with the 6 out of 10
for what he managed in qualifying
but a very mediocre race it has to be said
yep I've gone for a 6 out of 10 as well
for Hadjar
his qualifying was brilliant
one of the stars of qualifying for sure
because I do think
the racing balls isn't the car
that we've maybe seen
for much of the season
but he made a mistake on lap 1
where he ran wide
out the
not the stadium section
the one in the middle
turns 4-5
and yeah
ran wide there
lost a place to Sonoda, Piastri, Ocon
and that basically
kind of doomed any chance of points
but I do have to give him a 6 because of
a great qualifying
much head of his teammate
he will talk about next but yeah 6 out of 10 for Hadjar
the fans gave Hadjar
a 5 out of 10
Liam Lawson started the race in 15th
did not finish
I've gone for a 5 for Liam Lawson
as I mentioned earlier
his race was kind of ruined with
Carlos Sainz
who I'm putting more blame on here
at the start Lawson was just doing
you know
he'd already made the call to Bale
and obviously wouldn't have expected Sainz
to make a very last minute
Jolt which damaged his front wing
of course that led to the
quite crazy scenes
going on because he was on his own
at the back
but unfortunately
too much damage to continue
so straight down the middle for a 5
a 5 out of 10 is what I
will give Lawson as well
9 laps can you really do much more than that
it wasn't his fault that the contact
as you say Tommy he was just bailing as well
and Carlos just didn't check his left hand mirror
and then
out of the race very quickly
so a 5 out of 10 for me
as well
Oliver Bearman
started the race in 9th
finished 4th
difficult grade this one
didn't get a podium after running in P3 for so long
I love the way we always make this check
for people who did really well
10 out of 10
for Ollie Bearman
what a phenomenal race
from the rookie
didn't look like a rookie
if I'm being completely honest with you on Sunday
he mixed it with the big boys
and he looked like he belonged there
the fact that he was almost going side by side
with Verstappen after that double right hander
into the next left where notoriously
last year of course Norris and Verstappen had that little
incident, Ollie was not scared
he braked late and he stayed ahead
he really
could not have done much more
the strategy I think was the correct way
Verhas
and he utilised every single
corner of the entire race
genuinely I don't think he put a foot wrong
so it has to be a 10 out of 10 for Ollie
yeah gone for a 10 out of 10 for Ollie Bearman
of course
if we had a P1
driver ratings bingo sheet
one of the things on there would be
oh well
maybe we used our 11 for Nico Holkenberg
too early and we said it
about many drivers that got midfield podium
since
and this is one of them
an equally brilliant performance
sorry but really good drives
because Ollie Bearman
it is superb
it's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant drive
the fact that he fought
from
a lower position
still obviously qualified well in ninth
but it was all that moment of madness
that he
took amazing advantage of
with Verstappen
and the Hamilton incident
because of course he passed
Russell and Verstappen in that moment
and then of course
benefited from Hamilton's penalty
so yeah really good
it would have been amazing to see him on the podium
it's always a shame when
someone that's not been on the podium for
or even a team that's not been on the podium for
before finish in P4
but still amazing points for Haas
and Ollie Bearman
rockets up the standings
in the championship now
because he was
I don't think
his championship position reflected on the season
he's had so far
but now
he's of course
ahead, yeah he is ahead of Espanolcon
so very good indeed
that's absolutely huge
so 13th for Oliver Bearman with 32 points
and Ocon is 16th with 30
I mean if I remember the season
that Ocon was up in the top 10
wasn't he for quite a while because he scored some big early points
Bearman wasn't really getting off the board
so yeah it's a very impressive
job to be now ahead
I mean I know that Formula One
ever since Drivers Survive loved these
these fights for
random positions so
I can't wait for the
fight for 9th graphic
that appears because
Nika Holkenberg all the way down
to you've got to say Yuki Senoda in 17th
any of those people
could finish either 9th or 17th
13 points separating
all of those Drivers
which is pretty wild
so anyway back to Oli, well done
10 out of 10, the fans unsurprisingly
gave him a 10 as well
Espanolcon started the race in 11th
finished 9th
I have gone for an 8 out of 10
for Espanolcon
a
solid drive
that obviously of course is overshadowed
by what Oli Bearman did
but still a good performance
Espanolcon to grab
some more points, he's had a difficult time
of late but of course
so it's a good grade
putting a car that
I don't think Haas were like
unbelievable this weekend or anything like that
I think they've both
done a very solid job obviously Oli Bearman
doing an exceptional job
but Oli still deserves
a good amount of credit
Espanolcon for an 8
I was deciding whether a 7 or 8
was applicable for Ocon
but I think he was on the worst strategy
so I'm going to give him an 8 out of 10
Ocon
scoring a couple of points
being forced onto the mediums
and he didn't actually end up stopping
again, one of the only drivers
well I guess you had that whole
flurry of cars ahead of him
that stopped to put on another set of softs
but Ocon carried on
after stopping on lap 27
I believe that is, yes it is
so yeah Ocon did a pretty good job
considering those mediums were terrible
and still miles off
his teammate when you look at the actual times
but he was of course there was traffic
and things like that but Ocon still did a good job
would like for Esty
to step it up a little bit now
because Oli Bearman is certainly
taking their headlines now
in that team and has been for
a few races now it has to be said
so it was a better qualifying though for Ocon
starting in 11th
let's see a little bit more of that I think
because I don't think we would have expected
if we look back
to the start of the season where Ocon was getting
some incredible positions
now going into round
20, going into round 20 next time
you wouldn't be
thinking that Oli Bearman would have more points
than Estaban Ocon but here we are
the fans gave Ocon
an 8 out of 10 as well
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Franco Collapinto
started the race in 20th
finished 16th
it's a 5 out of 10
it's the
it's the formula 2
Grand Prix in Alpine
you know they finished
merely 10ths away from each other
the two Alpines but they were an absolute
mile
away from anyone else
now you have to put that down to the car
but I didn't see them the entire race
they were not shown
they didn't do anything
Franco was of course 20th
in qualifying
I saw him getting lapped a couple of times
sorry, big up to Alpine
slowest qualifier
finished 16th, no disrespect to Collapinto
he's doing well in comparison to his fight with Gasly
but I'm not going to give Gasly a 10 out of 10
just because he beat him by half a second or something
it's a 5 out of 10 for Franco
yeah, gone for a 5 out of 10 for Franco
Collapinto as well
certainly not his best race but continues to match Gasly
which I think
is still an impressive feat
I think he definitely deserves to be in that car
next year
the way he's matched Gasly in these last races
and you know
he was out qualifying Gasly
but maybe making a few silly errors here and there
but now he just seems a lot more consistent
if he can just kind of go these last four races
without any kind of headline crashes
and just be there on the back of Gasly
or occasionally beating him
I don't think you can ask much more of him
really from
the kind of pressure that he's had on him
jumping in the middle of the season
I guess earlier than the middle of the season
but still kind of going
mid-season so yeah
I've gone for a 5
it's almost a good thing for Franco
the fact that Alpine is terrible
not competitive in the slightest
but it's giving Franco mileage
I can't see it as a bad thing
in some ways I think Alpine as you say
should give him the opportunity next year
and hopefully he just feels a little bit more
like he belongs
in Formula 1
I think it would be incredibly harsh for them
to get rid of him
you're matching Gasly, Gasly is an experienced
and he's a race-winning driver
Exactly
The fans gave Franco a 5 as well
Pierre Gasly started the race in 18th
finished 15th
the other F2 car is getting
a 5 out of 10
completely on their own
what can you say
about them
the cars look
very bright, that's about as much as
you can say about the Alpines at the moment
they show up on TV when they're getting
lapped but Gasly
can't give him more
than Colopinto because you kind of expect him
to be Colopinto anyway
but he's not completely
not Colopinto so it's a 5
It's a 5 from me as well
for Pierre
it's sad to see him so far at the back of the
the field, a literal race winner
in Formula 1
we know how talented he is
and how he's put cars that don't belong
in Q3
and in the first few rows
so I can only imagine Gasly's motivation
is quite low at the moment
with the car he's being given
and for his sake
he's hoping that Alpine next year
actually create a car that isn't a dustbin
the fans
gave Gasly a 5
Lance Stroll
started the race in 19th, finished 14th
I'm going for a 4 out of 10
for Lance Stroll
he was the
slow, he finished last of
Formula 1 cars
had a spin at the start
it got beat by a Formula 2 car actually
in Quali
he did, yes, which is even worse
but then in terms of the race
he beat Gasly comprehensively
but still finished last of the Formula 1 cars
is what we're calling it
a very rubbish weekend
it has to be said for Lance Stroll
unsurprisingly
and it's just one of those weekends
once again, for Lance, 4 out of 10
I have gone for a 4 out of 10
for Lance Stroll
spun at the start
just completely on his own while fighting
Gasly in his F2 car
and then, yeah
useless and qualifying as
seemingly always
the streak that he's had against
Alonso, you know what I think
about Alonso but like
I think that's about knock on showed that
Fernando Alonso is beatable, particularly at the age Fernando Alonso is now
it shouldn't be a case that he's getting completely
whitewashed this much
by him, it's absolutely insane
and yeah
it's just so poor for me
he's probably just
can't be bothered until
daddy gives a major in Newy
Tommy not holding back
the fans gave Lance a 4 out of 10
Fernando Alonso started the race in 14th
did not finish
I have gone
for a 5 out of 10 of Fernando Alonso
I almost said
7 just to bait people
and pretend that I was going to give him a 7
I know I was tempted
but it is a 5 it's just straight
down the middle an average weekend
he got damaged at the start obviously ended up
retiring
but nothing to write home about
quali wasn't particularly great
obviously he beat stroll but that's
not an achievement anymore
and yeah
was it ever? I don't know
maybe well he got pole position Matt once
remember that wasn't when they were teammates
no I know
and yeah just completely
forgettable race of Fernando Alonso
even if he hadn't
of DNF'd I think he'd just been
a bit meh
I've gone for a 5 out as well
5 out 10 as well for Fernando Alonso
ashamed to see him so far down
Aston just not good at all around this circuit
in comparison to some of the others hungry
thinking wow maybe Aston might
have figured something out
turns out not particularly
so he wasn't happy either
was Fernando after the race very vocal
with certain teams
and drivers just cutting corners
and things like that I cannot wait to see him
if he is going to be racing
next year which we obviously
expect him to just literally
straight line turn one in the new car
and take the lead
for Aston Martin the fans
gave Fernando a 5 as well
Kimi Antonelli started the race and 6th
finished 6th I have gone
for a 7 out of 10
for Kimi Antonelli
a good weekend
it has to be said
nothing particularly
special of course
when you factor in that Olly Berman
is finishing P4
but that being said of course
took advantage of the whole
carnage that was going on with Russell
Verstappen Hamilton
to get ahead of his teammate and then
his teammate of course gave that position back once
he couldn't make any progress
really good in comparison to Russell
but not the greatest weekend in general
for Mercedes it has to be said
but yeah Kimi doing a good job in comparison to
George
I am going to go for an 8 out of 10
for Kimi Antonelli
I think it was a good performance
from Kimi obviously
beating George
in the race
you know they swapped of course
I thought that was a very
very interesting dynamic that we saw
I think there's a lot more to it
than we maybe even saw in the broadcast as well
because it sounds like
Mercedes kind of annoyed both their drivers
and that whole swap situation
and it was very interesting
that Kimi got straight on the radio
and asked to swap back pretty much as soon as George couldn't
overtake
Olly
yes there's a bit of rookie
tax on here
and maybe because his form kind of
dropped off in the middle
so I think beating George Russell
and kind of
matching him on pace and then beating him in the race due to
getting ahead
is no mean feat because George is having a
fantastic year and obviously a top driver
so I'll go for an 8
The fans gave Kimi Antonelli a 7 out of 10
George Russell
started the race in 4th
finished 7th
I've gone for a 7 out of 10
for George Russell
not a huge amount to shout about
but I don't think it's like
a really bad performance which is why I've gone for
a 7 out of 10 of course
we saw
a side to George that we've not seen
in terms of
we've seen radio anger
but not at his kind of
at his own team
which was very interesting
to say the least
I understand why he
feels aggrieved
at the kind of start
even though I stand by the fact that
it's just those guys
knowing the rules and what you can get away with
do I think it's fair
not really, they are the rules
but I understand why you'd kind of be annoyed
because it does pose the question
like why would you even try to just stay on the track
now and just bail over the runoff
and give the position back
so I've gone for a 7
for George
I've also gone for a 7 out of 10 for George Russell
certain parts of the weekend
were better than his teammate Kimmy
but of course Kimmy ended up beating him
better qualifying
up in P4 and I think he was quite unlucky
in the whole kerfuffle with Hamilton and Verstappen pushed
wide
which caused him to lose a couple of
spots
he was quicker in the race I think as well than
Antonelli but couldn't get past
because it wasn't a massive gap
so he could actually make the move
which is what Mercedes wanted him to do
which was pretty wild listening
leader but clearly not when they're telling him to
dive down the inside of Kimmy rather than
team orders eventually the team orders happen
but he isn't able to make
any inroads on Ollie Bearman
which is something I did not expect to be saying
in this driver ratings but I don't think you can
really separate the two when you factor
in all of that
the fans gave George a 6
Yuki Sonoda
started the race in 10th
finished 11th
I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Yuki Sonoda
I feel as though
his weekend was a lot better than
what is on paper
and what we have seen
in terms of the finish
first and foremost we have to say
he had a 12 second pit stop
which completely screwed him
and I was keeping an eye on his gaps to Verstappen
when
about 12-13 seconds apart when he was in clean
air both of them on medium tyres
and his pace was good
his pace was really good in comparison to Max
was managing a bit of a flat spot
on that medium tyre
but overall
I think he went quietly about his business
and was on for a pretty decent result
and then Red Bull I can't remember how to change tyres
so that screwed him
massively to not even score one point
after the race pace being
pretty solid so yeah
I've gone for a 7 out of 10 because
I think he deserves it
I love that
because he deserves it because that is my grade
Yuki Snowda
I've gone for a 6 out of 10
I think it's a better
I think he did better than the result suggests
for sure
the bad pit stop probably would have allowed him
to get maybe a P9
P10 get some points
which wouldn't have looked so bad
P7's maybe a bit much for me
personally but I do think
that
P7 or 7 out of 10
P7 is what actually
P7 is what he said he would have
would have got without the
you know the mistake
and stuff which the pit stop mistake
which I don't agree with personally either
but still I think he's
showing better signs
which is insane to say
when he's so far off his teammate but we just
know that that's the second Red Bull
we certainly do
second Red Bull is
really fun to grade
the fans gave Yuki a 5
out of 10 goodness gracious
give that guy a break guys
Max Verstappens
started the race in fifth
finished third
this one's another difficult one
for me personally
I'm going to go for
a 9 out of 10
I was
I
I find it tough between 8 and 9 personally
but the reason I've gone
for a 9 is because
you know he was so close
to finishing second
I don't think the Red Bull
should have really been finishing
second you know it's very Max Verstappen
that he still manages
to deliver a good performance
when it feels like he's on the back foot
the reason I was deliberating
and 8 is because I do think he pushed
his luck at moments
watching it back
I know I said this on the
podcast about things like he gave
the position back
watching it back I don't think he gave the position back
I think it just happened that Hamilton overtook him
on the start
because the way he was battling Hamilton
did not look like someone that was actually
giving him the position back
so that was I think more
good fortune that he gave that position back
to Hamilton whether he would have later
in the race of course we don't know
and
I think he was kind of
maybe pushing his luck
with the dive bomb on Hamilton
and banging wheels and things like that
could have easily cost him because of course
if he'd got a penalty
he's tumbling down the order
and the championship is very much over
but it's a 9 because he
fought back
made the strategy work fought all the way back
to probably P2 if we hadn't
had that VSC
so very close indeed
so gone for a 9 for Max
I found it also quite difficult
to grade Max
both of us being of course huge Max Verstappen
fans really hard to separate
the bias I've gone for an 8 out of 10
for Max and there's a couple of reasons
why qualifying P5
not the best of qualifying
days I would say for Max
with the move on Hamilton
yes there was no penalty
given but it was a scruffy move
it was an out of shape move
banging wheels with Hamilton pushing him off the track
I can understand
the frustration
from Hamilton fans from potentially
neutrals as well how Max can
get away with that and there
be no penalty especially when he then cuts the corner
straight after that
we've seen penalties
given for
for less I'd say
when you look at the rules Max is again
utilising it to the absolute
T
he breaks late Hamilton breaks
pretty late for turn 1 anyway he senses a Max Verstappen
little move coming
Max then bleeds off the brakes
lets off the brakes slightly to then be able to get to the apex
first he wins the corner
by the stewards book he wins the corner it is
his corner now and the next corner
coming up he is the defending
car and Hamilton is the attacking so then
the fact that he's then cut the grass
doesn't matter because you can do that
kind of he knows how to drive
he adapts his driving style
and I understand why it annoys people because
if you didn't know
the rule book and it is hard
to understand because you look at it as
a Formula 1 fan and a racing fan
and you watch it and go
that's not really fair is it but yeah
like you say like the way he controls
the car he knows exactly
what he's doing to make sure that
certain bits of the regulations
kind of fit what
the stewards want so it makes it almost
like they can't give him a penalty
which is weird
yeah the racing rules benefit
drivers like Max Verstappen who are
incredibly aggressive and will just
dive to the apex first he made it work
for him I don't like these racing rules
when I look at that sequence of corners
I think Hamilton is well within his rights
to have racing room to not be
hit off of the track and then
in my head and this doesn't matter
because this isn't in the racing rules
they're still racing I don't think Max has won
the position because he's dived to the
apex first hit Hamilton
and then cut the corner
happens on the inside line for the next corner
so like I know this isn't the racing rules
but then yeah like Hamilton understandably
is like well I'm gonna make the corner
it's so bizarre isn't it
yeah so that was a move that could have
easily been a penalty if Max had hit him a little bit harder
or you know they've been a little bit damaged whatever
so I didn't particularly think
it was a clean move as much as he
he got away with
no penalty and of course going off at
turn one as well Max again utilising
the rules to him to his benefit
and breaking as late as
he possibly could although it was on the curve
and so immediately locked up and then
a great car control to not end up
in the wall but once again you know
I honestly cannot tell sometimes
of Max if that was like
like met
luck or judgement of him not going into that wall
because it's complete judgement you see that he's
literally
180 degrees across at one
point with his steering wheel to try and
counter the slide like that I think
a lot of drivers are ending up in the wall at that point
but Max yeah I'm not going to glaze him
but it was a great
car control to not go in the wall
but I'm talking about the things I'm downgrading him for
because I've given him an 8 out of 10 still a great weekend
an 8 out of 10 is not a bad grade
but there are things that I've downgraded him for
hence why I've given him that number
the fans gave him a 9
Lewis Hamilton started racing
3rd finished 8th
oh dear this grade
oh this is a tricky one
this grade is tough I've gone for a 7 out of 10
for Lewis Hamilton
and it's a great way
of sort of carrying on from what we've been speaking about with Max
I do feel for Hamilton
in some ways
I can't give him any higher than a 7 because he definitely
had his part to play
by getting his penalty
what he did was a penalty I know some people are going
what about Max what about Char
yes they are separate incidents
they've served the penalty
for what happened with going straight over the grass
hit the move
although I guess again if you then think
but then we would sort of judging that by our own opinion
not the racing rules
the racing rules is that Max Verstappen had those corners
before that
and Max had the position Hamilton locks up at turn 4
carries on gets the position illegally
so I can see why he gets the penalty
it felt incredibly harsh of course
and a lot of people rooting for him to get a podium
but
the emotion aside it was a penalty
great qualifying though
and I genuinely
was convinced he was going to get a podium
after even the first couple of corners I was like
well he's second on the road at the moment
and then three cars just entered the scene
from a completely different continent
because they were going over the grass
so yeah it's a 7 out of 10
what could have been it's eighth
it's a disaster to be honest with you
purely because of the podium potential
but I hope my
grade still reflects the fact that
there was so much more that could have
happened and some of it
I don't blame Hamilton 4
in terms of the Max
Lewis wheel to wheel stuff
I am really struggling with this one
I
it's how you judge it based on like
what are the rules
we've got to judge it by the rules
it doesn't matter if we don't like the racing rules
we've got to judge it on what the sport is right now
yeah true
I will go for a 7 out of 10 for Lewis Hamilton
I was wondering about
an eight because I do think he's been
shafted by lap one
I do think he's been really really shafted there
I think Leclerc should have given him the position
back as well
and yeah that
obviously puts him into the clutches of Max
and then they have that
that moment
he obviously
yeah he goes
over the track
because it doesn't give any time
or the place back and I do think
it's a deserved penalty
I do wonder
how much of Lewis Hamilton
and it's maybe
you could argue it's too late now but
you can tell Lewis Hamilton is like
an old school
fair driver
and unfortunately
these new racing rules do not benefit
someone like Lewis Hamilton who is like
I'm gonna stay on the track
actually I'm gonna
do this and do that
but in this situation
he obviously
stayed on the track
and kind of got penalised for it
and then he's made
made a mistake and it is
disappointing because it really did feel like
that was the podium up for grabs
and what might have been
but hey he's going to Brazil now
which we all know he does well at
so maybe that's the time
to get the podium
Fingers crossed for him, the fans
gave Hamilton a 7 out of 10
Charlotte Clair
started the race in second, finished second
I have
gone for a 9 out of 10
for Charlotte Clair
despite his despicable
driving at turn 1
not giving Hamilton the place back
no I'm joking
but yeah he should have given that place back
we said it in the race review
he is very fortunate
not to get a penalty there
but I do think they either didn't see it
or it's because it's his teammate
and Hamilton is of course not going to get on the radio
and complain about it
and Ferrari
aren't going to obviously complain about it either
but I've still got to give him a huge amount of credit
qualifying second
and finishing second in a Ferrari
that's not
the top
two cars I don't think
this season they did look
obviously quicker here and more suited
but I think he did a great job
which is why I've gone for a 9
but it's not a perfect 10
I've also gone for a 9 out of 10
for Charlotte Clair, I just wanted to add one more thing
on the Hamilton point as well
is that
with the whole Kefuffly had with the Stappen
and the Term 4 and him locking up and going over the grass
and things like that
that is absolutely a role that Ferrari
had to play in that as well
of communicating to Hamilton
who's just been very heated moment with the Stappen
there's been wheel to wheel
banging and things like that
Hamilton can't see exactly where his car is
who's won the corner etc etc
Ferrari need to analyse that
and go we think you're going to get a penalty
but I don't really understand why Ferrari haven't
and then it's in Hamilton's hands
if he says no this is BS he ignores it
and then you can kind of say
but yeah like the team will hold the offboards
and give us that information
anyway that's another point I just wanted to get off my chest
to Charlotte Clair
how on earth has he managed to cut the corner
and keep Hamilton behind him
I do not know
that's down to the FIA
to have found that and noted it
and probably penalised him
but he got away with it
that's the only sort of like
bit of a downgrade for Charlotte
I wasn't a massive fan
of the way he bailed out of that corner
to go over the grass
when I know he said he hated every metre
of that first corner
and felt like there was going to be a collision
when you actually look at the replay
there was more than enough space for Charlotte to tuck in
and continue through those first few corners
he didn't lose the car
he decided to bail
it was two different things in my opinion
so that's the only thing that I'm really
downgrading Charlotte for
apart from that finishing second is a phenomenal job
qualifying second as well
brilliant to see
Ferrari nowhere near McLaren
but were we expecting that in the race?
absolutely not
9 out of 10 from me to Charlotte Clair
the fans gave him a 9 as well
Oscar Piastri
started the race in 7th
finished 5th
I've gone for a 6 out of 10
for Oscar Piastri
still a very
awkward weekend
for Oscar
quite telling I think as well in the post-race interviews
about how he's saying
that he has to drive a different way
to what he has done all season
I don't really understand
why that's the case
I'm not suggesting anything
no sinister
but it's a very bizarre situation
for Oscar to be in
where he's wondering
where the feeling of the car has gone
I can't give him any higher than a 6
he finished 5th, he finished behind Berman
yes the VSC screwed him a little bit
to maybe get ahead
but that being said he was miles off Lando
he did show moments of pace
in the race and it was quite promising
but couldn't make enough progress
to finish
second it was easily on the cards
I think for Oscar had he shown great pace
and he qualified a little bit better
his teammate won by 30 seconds
so Oscar has to slot in MP2
even if he is finding this
McLaren quite difficult
so 5th isn't an absolute
disaster still one point off the championship
it is a P5
so that's why I've gone for a 6
which I think reflects that
I've gone for a 6 as well
for Oscar Piastri
I still think it's a disastrous weekend
for him
I think 5th place in the end
is maybe
a slight positive
in a really
poor weekend because it looked like it could have been
even worse
you mentioned about him
surely he's got to slot into P2
I'd argue the same in qualifying
because Lando stuck it on pole
by a massive margin as well
the McLaren in Lando's
hands looked so dominant
it feels like
an EZP2 and of course the championship
lead that he's had
he could have kind of afford
to do that
here and there
but he's obviously lost a huge chunk of points
in the last few races
and ended up
now losing the championship lead
I am
so we had a controversial
opinion when I'm looking through
the controversial opinions for
best reactions
I'm going to throw this one into the mix
because one of them
was Oscar Piastri's got his mojo
back
and I was chatting to my mum after the race
and
she said the exact same words
like I think Oscar Piastri's got his mojo back
and I'm sorry to throw my own mum
under the bus there
but I could not disagree
anymore
I do not know how anyone can come
to the conclusion
of the mojo back when he's finished
42 seconds behind his teammate in a race
like don't get me wrong
what are they basing that on
the fact that he's lost the championship lead
the overtakes like he was making
his moves at the end of the stuff
but I'm like he's making
overtakes and things on much
slower cars
and you know he finished buying a Haas
in Ollie Bearman
I don't personally buy
that narrative at all
whether he can turn this form around in
Brazil he absolutely has to otherwise
if he has another weekend
I don't know how he's going to recover from it
because
Austin was
a nightmare anyway
this
the fact that Lando was so comfortable and so dominant
yes Oscars made some
overtakes to fight back
but I didn't think that
drive was anything to shout about at all
No
I completely agree
I thought it was going to be
he's going to have his mojo back for the next race
because the pressure is kind of off and he's now
the hunter with that one point deficit
but either or I disagree
I think Oscar has a huge amount of work to do
to try and fight for this championship
all together
the fans gave Oscar a 6 out of 10
Lando Norris
started the race and first finished first
it's
a 10 out of 10 for Lando Norris
it is
so easily a 10
so
clearly a 10
it was an absolutely phenomenal drive
from Lando
I don't think there's been a better drive in his entire
career
to take the championship lead
he's had moments where he's dominated
races
last year still made the mistake
here and there and stuff and people were
I think giving him maybe unfair
grief but people saying like oh he's never had this
like completely amazingly perfect
weekend well
there you go because it was absolutely
phenomenal
qualifying so dominant
and I do think
as well he deserves a big huge
amount of credit for the way he
did turn 1 as well you know
covered the inside it's not an easy place
to stay in the lead
when you're getting slipstreamed by loads of other
cars he played it perfectly
and then of course
you know I think even if he'd lost the lead
he'd have had the pace to win the race
but he didn't lose the lead
and he just made it look so
so easy
and it's a massive massive
confidence boost now going into
the championship lead
after delivering
a weekend like that he was absolutely
superb
best weekend of his career Lando Norris
it's a 10 out of 10 of course
as well missed fp1
because the rookie went in
and so you would think
maybe he's missed an hour
compared to Oscar
didn't matter whatsoever
you know qualifying
yes Charlotte Clair pipped him in the first
round of runs in Q3
but the second one he was
light years ahead
so phenomenal Saturday Sunday
I completely echo your thoughts and that was going to be
one of my major points is not only just the pace
that he showed but
that was probably the best start of his
career as well he absolutely
flew off the line he was miles ahead
in that first 100-200 meters
of course everyone slipped streamed it was four wide
going into turn one but Lando did exactly
the right thing held the inside line
noticed that there was nobody going to try something
daring down the inside then slowly
moves more towards the middle to try and help
his racing line into turn one
Hamilton gets very close to just nipping
his right rear tyre for a puncture but thankfully
he didn't and then just drove off
and that was the level
of confidence that Lando had this weekend
and how can you
bet against him for the championship with a drive like
that with only a few races to go
Brazil a dry Brazil
I think Lando McLaren
can walk that in a very similar
fashion to what we've seen this weekend
or this weekend just gone for the
Mexico City Grand Prix if it's wet
games on but
it has to be a 10
phenomenal drive from Lando and
you have to say and I hate to say
it's so cliche that was a champions drive
it was that is
a world championship worthy drive from
Lando the fans gave him a 10
as well so who is
our P1
very difficult actually because
as much as Ollie Berman did a
phenomenal job
I think I have to give it to Lando Norris
because
of everything I've just said it was
an utterly perfect weekend
from start to finish
and I think it would be doing him a disservice
if I didn't give him P1 so that's mine
yeah I completely agree
I thought it might be an unpopular opinion
to go for Lando when literally
Ollie Berman in a house has finished
P4 but
Lando's performance was so good
and I know he's in a very quick
car and the best car
so it was Oscar
finished fifth exactly
it was
brilliant it's the best
driver of his career he looked like
a champion out there and we'll wait to see
how he does now now he's got the championship
lead how we'll deal
with that pressure being in the
lead of the championship again
but what a way
to deliver the championship
lead with a drive like that
and there we go that is driver
ratings done and dusted
quite a difficult one I'm sure Brazil will be easy
and a sprint
yeah it's so true
Tommy what are your final thoughts
final thoughts
I don't want to wait
have to wait two weeks for Brazil because it's
just such a banger
and we will be leaving
very soon for the delusion tour
we will get your last tickets
while you can exactly we're flying in a
matter of days P1 live delusion tour
going to North America would love to see you there
tickets are available you just type
in P1 live delusion tour it will come up
go and see us please
sold out San Francisco and New York now
New York yeah some tickets available
for the other venues we'd love to see you there
and that is it see you very soon
thank you as always for being so lovely
to us about driver ratings
who knew numbers
could be so passionate
and we'll see you soon
bye
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