Sao Paulo GP F1 driver ratings: Two 10/10s and one underrated midfield driver impresses yet again
Crash.net F1 journalist Connor McDonagh runs through his driver ratings for the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen - 10
Another near-perfect weekend from Verstappen, who claimed his 17th victory of F1 2023. The only blemish on his weekend was missing out on sprint pole after a scrappy lap.
Lando Norris - 9.5
Norris continues to extract the most from the McLaren with two P2s at Interlagos. He was critical of his own performance yet again but in the grand scheme of things, he’s performing magnificently in the second-best car.
Fernando Alonso - 10
While Alonso was out-qualified by teammate Stroll for just the third time this year, it’s hard not to give the veteran Spaniard a perfect score for his Sunday drive. For the entire final stint, Alonso resisted immense pressure from Perez behind, even re-overtaking him on the final lap. A masterclass in racecraft from the two-time world champion.
Sergio Perez - 7
A better weekend for Perez but given Red Bull’s pace advantage over the rest of the field (aside from Norris’ McLaren), he did underperform at Interlagos. Granted, he was unfortunate with the timing of the yellow flags in conventional qualifying but there was ample opportunity to get third.
Lance Stroll - 8
One of Stroll’s better weekends in 2023. He was ahead of Alonso in qualifying and drove a solid race to beat the Ferrari of Sainz and Hamilton’s Mercedes. Much more like it.
Carlos Sainz - 7.5
The weaker of the two Ferraris at Interlagos, Sainz benefitted from teammate Leclerc’s technical issue on the formation lap. Sainz drove well to finish sixth but there’s no doubt Leclerc would have been much closer to the Perez-Alonso fight had he been in the race.
Pierre Gasly - 9
You can make a strong argument that Gasly’s 2023 campaign is the most underrated. He continues to score big for Alpine, and Brazil was no different.
Lewis Hamilton - 8
It was Mercedes’ worst race weekend in over 13 years - according to Toto Wolff - as they were genuinely out-paced by Alpine in the race. Poor tyre degradation combined with a lack of rear-end stability meant Hamilton couldn’t finish higher than eighth.
Yuki Tsunoda - 8
On the surface, Brazil was a fantastic weekend for Tsunoda and AlphaTauri. Points in both races meant they closed the gap to Williams. However, Tsunoda will be kicking himself for that brief off at Turn 10 - potentially costing him seventh ahead of Gasly and Hamilton.
Esteban Ocon - 7
Forced onto a three-stopper, Ocon finished 14 seconds behind his teammate at the chequered flag.
Logan Sargeant - 6
With Albon out of the race early on, it was hard to get a gauge of Sargeant’s pace on Sunday.
Nico Hulkenberg - 6.5
Another tough weekend for Haas, whose race pace continues to be the worst on the grid. He slightly had the edge on Magnussen.
Daniel Ricciardo - 6.5
A weekend of missed opportunities for Ricciardo. His pace was similar to Tsunoda but some naivety when battling Piastri in the sprint cost him a point or two. He was then unfortunate to sustain damage on the opening lap of the grand prix.
Oscar Piastri - 6
Nowhere near Norris’ level throughout the weekend at Interlagos. Like Ricciardo, his race was ruined after he picked up damage on Lap 1, which ultimately put him a lap down.
George Russell - 7
Russell was impressive in the sprint to come away fourth as his teammate struggled. On Sunday, while he did appear to have a pace advantage, Hamilton’s advantage in tyre preservation was apparent as the grand prix progressed. His race ended with a DNF.
Valtteri Bottas - 7.5
A fine weekend from Bottas, who was one of the many retirements. The Finn was a few tenths ahead of Zhou in qualifying, and challenged for the top 10 on Sunday before a technical issue forced him out of the race.
Zhou Guanyu - 6
Not at Bottas’ level at Interlagos. Like his teammate, he was forced to retire prematurely.
Kevin Magnussen - 5.5
Magnussen was the arguably cause of the Lap 1 collision involving Albon, which put him out of the race. In raw pace terms, he seemed to be a smidgen off Hulkenberg - an improvement, particularly over one-lap relative to the rest of the season.
Charles Leclerc - 8.5
Leclerc was enjoying a mega weekend in Brazil. Lighting quick in the various qualifying sessions, and put together a fine drive in the sprint. However, his race was done on Lap 1 after an electronic problem locked his wheels and caused him to spin out into the barriers.
Alex Albon - 7
It wasn’t one of Williams’ best weekends in 2023. Quicker than Sargeant, Albon extracted the most from the car underneath him.
