2022 Monaco Grand Prix F1 driver ratings

2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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The Monaco Grand Prix is often considered one of the greatest challenges drivers will face throughout the season.

With its tight, twisty layout through the streets of Monte Carlo and barriers lining the narrow course, drivers are tested even in the best of conditions around Monaco. But with Sunday’s race affected by rain, some drivers struggled more than others in the testing track conditions.

Here are the RaceFans’ driver ratings for the Monaco Grand Prix:

Lewis Hamilton – 5

Qualified: 8th (-2 places behind team mate)
+0.448s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 8th (-3 places behind team mate)

  • Described stiff ride over bumps on Friday as a “rollercoaster ride”
  • Qualified eighth after starting Q3 lap on wrong engine mode, then denied second lap with red flag
  • Ran eighth in early laps behind Alonso until pitting for intermediates on lap 15
  • Tried to pass Ocon for multiple laps, complaining of over-aggressive defending as the pair touched twice
  • Gained back eighth when Ocon pitted for slicks, staying ahead when he switched to hard tyres a lap later
  • Stuck behind a deliberately slow Alonso after the restart, incapable of finding a way past
  • Spent the final laps fending off Ocon in DRS range behind him, finishing
George Russell, Mercedes, Monaco, 2022
Russell continued his perfect record of top five finishes in 2022

George Russell – 7

Qualified: 6th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
-0.448s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 5th (+3 places ahead of team mate)

  • Said car ride problems made his weekend his “hardest” Monaco experience
  • Beaten to fifth on the grid by Norris but felt that was as high as Mercedes deserved
  • Ran sixth behind Norris in early laps until Norris pitted for intermediates
  • Remained on wets until pitting for slicks on lap 21
  • Used his warmer slick tyres to pass Norris for fifth exiting Sainte Devote
  • Remained fifth for the rest of the race, unable to keep pace with the leaders ahead

Max Verstappen – 6

Qualified: 4th (-1 place behind team mate)
0.037s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate)

  • Slowest driver of the top two teams in all three practice sessions
  • Struggled to find decent balance in qualifying, had been on course to improve his Q3 time before red flag
  • Ran fourth in early phase of race, pitting for intermediates after team mate and rejoining fourth
  • Pitted for slick tyres immediately after team mate, rejoining in third place
  • Switched to medium tyres after red flag, remaining in third between Ferraris until chequered flag
  • Protested by Ferrari for allegedly crossing pit exit line but protest was dismissed by stewards
Sergio Perez, Red Bull, Monaco, 2022
Perez outperformed his world champion team mate all weekend

Sergio Perez – 7

Qualified: 3rd (-1 place ahead of team mate)
+0.037s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: Winner (+2 places ahead of team mate)

  • Incurred fine for exceeding pit lane speed limit in practice
  • Incurred fine for impeding Russell in third practice
  • Consistently ahead of team mate in practice and qualifying
  • Qualified third after his crash at Portier ended Q3
  • Ran third in early phase of race but was first of the front four to switch to intermediates
  • Successfully undercut Leclerc to move second
  • Took advantage of Sainz being held up by Latifi to pit for slicks after the Ferrari and rejoin in the lead
  • Remained out front after the restart after switching to mediums under Safety Car
  • Suffered from graining on his front tyres in later laps
  • Absorbed pressure in the final laps to take the race win
  • Protested by Ferrari for allegedly crossing pit exit line but protest was dismissed by stewards

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Carlos Sainz Jnr – 6

Qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.225s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 2nd (+2 places ahead of team mate)

  • Reprimanded for impeding Stroll in practice
  • Behind team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Left “a couple of tenths on the table” in Q3 passing Hamilton but red flag denied him a second lap
  • Lined up second on grid alongside team mate, running second in the early laps
  • Remained out on wets before switching directly onto slicks, which he did on lap 21
  • Claimed being caught behind Latifi on out-lap cost him opportunity to undercut Perez for lead
  • Ran second the rest of the race, unable to pass Perez despite best efforts in closing laps
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Monaco, 2022
Leclerc barely but a foot wrong all weekend, but was left off the podium

Charles Leclerc – 8

Qualified: Pole (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.225s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 4th (-2 places behind team mate)

  • Fastest of all in every practice and qualifying session, bar only third practice
  • Ahead of team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Claimed fourth consecutive pole after red flag but was on course for even faster time
  • Led early phase of race from pole until pitting for intermediates on lap 18, losing position to Perez
  • Called into pit for slicks on lap 21, but order was cancelled by team too late, dropping him to fourth
  • Remained in fourth behind Verstappen after the restart, unable to find a way past, and would finish there

Lando Norris – 8

Qualified: 5th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
-0.698s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: 6th (+7 places ahead of team mate)

  • Claimed to be at “90 percent” fitness after tonsillitis bout
  • Ahead of team mate in all three practice sessions
  • Secured ‘best of the rest’ grid position of fifth in qualifying, believing he had 0.15s on table
  • Ran in fifth before pitting for intermediates on lap 17
  • Switched to hard slicks on lap 22, but was passed by Russell on way out of the pit lane
  • Ran sixth after restart, gradually falling back from Russell ahead
  • Took advantage of massive gap to Alonso behind to pit for mediums
  • Set fastest lap of the race on way to sixth

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A crash in practice led to another frustrating weekend for Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo – 3

Qualified: 14th (-9 places behind team mate)
+0.698s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: 13th (-7 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in all three practice sessions
  • Heavy crash at Swimming Pool in second practice ended his Friday early
  • Eliminated in Q2 to start from 14th on the grid
  • Gained two places when Vettel and Tsunoda pitted for intermediates
  • Passed by Gasly to fall to 13th
  • Switched directly onto slick tyres on lap 19
  • Caught up in the Alonso train after the restart but unable to make any progress
  • Finished 13th at the chequered flag
Fernando Alonso, Alpine, Monaco, 2022
Alonso manipulated the field masterfully to try and help his team mate

Fernando Alonso – 7

Qualified: 7th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.800s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 7th (+5 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in all three practice sessions
  • Crashed at Mirabeau during final flying lap attempt in Q3 but lined up seventh for race
  • Ran seventh on wets, retaining seventh after switching directly to slicks on lap 21
  • Deliberately backed well off the pace after restart to try and create buffer for team mate’s penalty
  • Finished comfortably ahead of Hamilton in seventh by the chequered flag

Esteban Ocon – 5

Qualified: 10th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.800s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 12th (-5 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in all three practice sessions
  • Reached Q3 but could not improve on final effort due to track blockage and took tenth
  • Ran tenth, gaining ninth with Vettel pitted for intermediates, then eighth when Hamilton did the same
  • Made contact with Hamilton while defending into Sainte Devote, earning a five second time penalty
  • Appeared to squeeze Hamilton into the barrier under braking for Sainte Devote, but not investigated
  • Fell behind Hamilton after pitting for slicks, remaining in ninth for the rest of the race
  • Demoted out of the points in 12th after penalty was applied post race

Pierre Gasly – 7

Qualified: 17th (-6 places behind team mate)
+0.550s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 11th (+6 places ahead of team mate)

  • Ahead of team mate in all three practice sessions
  • “Extremely frustrated” to be knocked out of Q1 after crossing the line one second after chequered flag
  • Started 17th but made call to gamble on intermediates at end of opening lap
  • Earned three places when rivals ahead pitted, then passed Zhou and Ricciardo on track to gain 12th place
  • Pitted for hard slicks on lap 22 to sit 12th when race was red flagged
  • Spent second half of the race behind Vettel, finishing 12th but promoted to 11th with Ocon’s penalty

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Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Monaco, 2022
Tsunoda made many trips to the run off – and the stewards

Yuki Tsunoda – 3

Qualified: 11th (+6 places ahead of team mate)
-0.550s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 17th (-6 places behind team mate)

  • Reprimanded for impeding Magnussen at chicane in practice
  • Fined a total of €2,000 for breaking pit lane speed limit twice
  • Reached Q2 but apologised to team for causing Q1 red flag by clipping Nouvelle barrier, costing team mate
  • Ran 11th in early laps before pitting for intermediates on lap six
  • Pitted for hard slicks on lap 21, rejoining 15th
  • Switched to mediums under red flagged but struggled with graining
  • Ran off track at Sainte Devote on lap 57, dropping to last before pitting for softs
  • Finished last on the road in 17th place by chequered flag

Sebastian Vettel – 7

Qualified: 9th (+9 places ahead of team mate)
-0.365s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 10th (+4 places ahead of team mate)

  • Broke the pit lane speed limit three separate times in practice and qualifying
  • Ahead of team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Inside of top ten in all three qualifying phases to line up ninth on the grid
  • Held ninth at the start before pitting for intermediates on lap six, dropping to 16th
  • Overtook Zhou for 14th into Anthony Noghes
  • Pitted for slicks on lap 23 and rejoined 11th
  • Kept Gasly behind for the second half of the race to finish 11th, promoted to tenth by Ocon’s penalty

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Lance Stroll – 4

Qualified: 18th (-9 places behind team mate)
+0.365s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 14th (-4 places behind team mate)

  • Behind team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Audibly angry to be eliminated in Q1 after mistake at Swimming Pool
  • Hit the barriers at Casino Square under Safety Car, forcing him to pit for repairs
  • Ran 19th in early laps after switching to intermediates
  • Passed Tsunoda in an aggressive, almost out-of-control move into Rascasse on lap 20
  • Last car to switch to slicks on lap 24, rejoining 14th
  • Stuck behind Ricciardo after restart, eventually finishing behind him in 14th
Nicholas Latifi, Williams, Monaco, 2022
Latifi managed to crash under Safety Car

Nicholas Latifi – 3

Qualified: 19th (-3 places behind team mate)
+0.792s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 15th

  • Qualified on back row of the grid but compromised by red flag
  • Crashed at hairpin on opening lap under Safety Car, requiring new front wing and switching to intermediates
  • Ran off at Sainte Devote on lap 10, putting him further behind the pack in last
  • Pitted for slicks on lap 19, then moved ahead of team mate after his puncture
  • Ran at back only ahead of Albon, but made opportunistic pass on Zhou to move 15th, where he would finish

Alexander Albon – 3

Qualified: 16th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
-0.792s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: Retired (Unspecified, L48)

  • Ahead of team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Frustrated to be first car eliminated from Q1 in 16th
  • Moved up to 13th in early laps when rivals pitted but fell back to 16th by running off at Sainte Devote
  • Five second time penalty for missing chicane when defending from Schumacher on lap 16 and gaining advantage
  • Switched straight to slicks but refused to allow Leclerc on intermediates by despite blue flags
  • Ran off at Sainte Devote a second time on lap 21, distracted by a radio message, flat-spotting tyres
  • Took advantage of Zhou error at Rascasse to take 16th but clipped barrier, causing right-rear puncture
  • Dropped to last after pitting, where he would remain until retiring on lap 48

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Valtteri Bottas – 6

Qualified: 12th (+8 places ahead of team mate)
-2.065s quicker than team mate in Q1
Finished: 9th (+7 places ahead of team mate)

  • Fined €1,000 for breaking pit lane speed limit in practice by almost 22km/h
  • Missed yet another hour of practice after MGU-K failure in first practice
  • Ahead of team mate in every practice and qualifying session where both set times
  • Disappointed to be eliminated in Q1 to line up 12th on the grid
  • Gained two places when Vettel and Tsunoda pitted for intermediates in early laps
  • Stayed out on wets until switching to slicks on lap 20
  • Ran in tenth before red flag, remained there after race resumed until chequered flag
  • Inherited ninth due to Ocon’s time penalty

Zhou Guanyu – 4

Qualified: 20th (-8 places behind team mate)
-2.065s slower than team mate in Q1
Finished: 16th (-7 places behind team mate)

  • Warned by stewards after impeding Verstappen in practice
  • Behind team mate in every practice and qualifying session where both set times
  • Caught out by red flag in Q1 and was last in the queue when session resumed, missing chance to improve time
  • Lined up 20th on the grid but gained two places when Latifi and Stroll hit wall under Safety Car
  • Gained places when drivers ahead pitted for intermediates, but passed by Gasly and Vettel
  • Switched straight from wets to slicks on lap 19, running 16th behind Tsunoda
  • Almost collided with Tsunoda at the chicane and avoided spinning, but lost place to Latifi
  • Could not pass the Williams and would eventually finish 16th
Mick Schumacher, Haas, Monaco, 2022
Schumacher had a second major crash in two Monaco weekends

Mick Schumacher – 2

Qualified: 15th (-2 places behind team mate)
+0.160s slower than team mate in Q2
Finished: Retired (Crash, L24)

  • Lost running in first practice with MGU-K
  • Behind team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Eliminated slowest in Q2, admitting he did not “nail” middle sector
  • Pitted for intermediates at the end of the second racing lap, but got stuck behind wet-shod Albon
  • Switched to slicks on lap 17, dropping to last place
  • Used dry tyres to jump ahead of Albon to run 17th
  • Crashed heavily at Swimming Pool after admitting taking the wrong line and losing grip on the damp surface

Kevin Magnussen – 5

Qualified: 13th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
-0.160s quicker than team mate in Q2
Finished: Retired (ERS water leak, L19)

  • Ahead of team mate in every practice and qualifying session
  • Progressed into Q1 but eliminated in 13th
  • Held 13th place after start, gained two places from Vettel and Tsunoda pitting for intermediates
  • Remained on wet tyres in pursuit of Bottas in 11th
  • Kept Gasly on intermediates behind until water leak in ERS caused him to retire

Over to you

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2022 Monaco Grand Prix

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Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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41 comments on “2022 Monaco Grand Prix F1 driver ratings”

  1. So detailed for PER’s all negative things (eg fines) but doesn’t mention he was the only one to beat Leclerc during the weekend (FP3) with an excellent time lap. Leclerc having the best car during the weekend, not sure he deserves a better mark than PER

  2. Given that Leclerc gave away a win and was outplayed by his teammate, an 8 is extremely generous…

    1. I agree. Lec was on almost the same strategy as Ver but didn’t manage to keep the gap of almost 10s to him on the inters. I know part of it was because of Albon and the slow double-stack pitstop but VER also had a slow double-stack pitstop behind Perez. I guess part of the failure is the strategy but could he have pushed more on the inters to stay ahead of VER?

    2. He was the best driver out there all weekend by a country mile. I think a 8 is pretty fair.

      1. @todfod if he’d been the best driver, he’d have won the race, or at the very least, beaten his team mate. He had the chance to make the same strategy call as Sainz, but he didn’t.

        As it is, Verstappen had an “off” weekend, and yet still finished in front of Leclerc, thereby extending his championship lead.
        I’d rate Leclerc no higher than a 6 with a result like that.

        1. @nvherman

          if he’d been the best driver, he’d have won the race

          Can’t argue with that one dimensional logic.

          From now onwards… Race winner = best driver of the weekend

          1. @todfod points are awarded on Sundays: I can’t see how you could argue that a driver that started on pole, but finished 4th deserves a higher rating than the actual race winner.
            Not just finishing one place lower, but three is not worthy of an 8, when Perez who started 3rd but won only got a 7

          2. Because his team bungled the strategy?

          3. @nvherman

            Understood. Most points on raceday = best driver.

            Delete logic variables of driver pace, team errors and circumstances outside the drivers’s control.

            Man.. I really wish everything in life had such simple reasoning.

  3. Most impressed: PER, LEC, & NOR.
    Most disappointing: RIC & ZHO.

  4. Very happy with those ratings. But “Alonso manipulated the field masterfully to try and help his team mate” sounds like mythology. How was bunching the field supposed to help Ocon in creating a gap behind him ? Alonso was simply very careful about making the distance on the medium tyres, as he explained himself, unless I missed some other interview.

    1. @palindnilap
      I agree. Alpine told Alonso to drive as slowly as he could while keeping Hamilton behind him and Alonso managed to do just that (even though that probably wasn’t very hard in Monaco this year) so it’s hard to criticize Alonso for executing the team’s plan. But it’s a mystery what Alpine was trying to achieve with that clown act. If they were trying to give Ocon the best possible result, then they failed spectacularly as Ocon dropped out of points completely.

      1. I think it could have worked. If Alonso backed off and saved his tyres, and Ocon did the same, knowing that was the plan, but other drivers still pushed to overtake. Then Alonso could have taken off in the final laps, assumed Hamilton would have stayed with him being in the superior Mercedes, and Ocon also stays on the back of Hamilton having saved his tyres, while Bottas, Vettel and Gasly drop away having used their tyres too much at the start of the stint. In reality, when Alonso began to push, Hamilton did not stay with him, therefore Ocon was compromised behind Hamilton and lost three places.

        1. @f1frog
          It could’ve worked if other teams would’ve been dumb. Meaning Hamilton for some reason wouldn’t try to overtake slow Alonso while Bottas and Vettel would use their tyres trying to overtake Ocon. In reality Hamilton was always going to try to overtake Alonso while Bottas and Vettel were aware of Ocon’s penalty and had no interest in trying to overtake him.

          I think Alpine were just trying to get Alonso the best possible result and ignore Ocon (which was probably the best strategy in that situation). Well, actually the best strategy would’ve been to give both their drivers hard tyres for the end of the race, but I assume they didn’t have any hard tyres left (I’m not sure about that though).

          1. Indeed @f1frog, that’s very much my feeling too (and with the hard tyres, given how much it was impossible to overtake unless being on fresh inters/slicks against old wets on a drying track, even old hards probably would have kept them okay).

            Oh, I think I have by accident clicked on ‘report comment’ while wanting to reply.

          2. I think they would have assumed that the drivers behind would have pushed to try to overtake at first but given up when they realised they were never going to get through. That gives the Alpine drivers a slight tyre advantage at the end. They probably assumed that that wouldn’t be enough to be faster than Hamilton, so when Alonso finally pushed Hamilton would stay with him, but would be enough to be faster than Bottas, as Alpine had been faster than him all weekend, so when Alonso and Ocon pushed Bottas would fall back by five seconds. Also, the mediums were faster initially than the hards, so if all the drivers were taking little life out of the tyres, the mediums could have been faster on the final stint, and Hamilton was also on mediums while Bottas was on hards. Obviously it didn’t work, but I actually think it could have done and was quite a clever strategy to try and help Ocon. Had they all been on old hards, he probably wouldn’t have pulled five seconds ahead anyway, and had they been on mediums but pushed to stay with Norris, Ocon would have pulled five seconds ahead initially but then been recaught by Bottas and Vettel at the end. This might have given them the best possible chance of points (although staying on the hard tyres was also an option with probably a similar likelihood of success).

    2. Alonso bunching up the field resulted in Ocon’s 5 second time penalty having maximum impact and him falling outside of the points.

      So much for helping his teammate!

      1. @sonnycrockett Ocon caused Ocon’s 5 second penalty. The incident took place around lap 18 well before Alonso’s tyre saving tactics.

      2. @sonnycrockett Sorry, read your comment incorrectly

      3. I (and others above) disagree.
        The smart way was to slow down the field to save tyres, and then speed up when there is still enough time for Ocon to create a 5sec gap and good tyres. That’s exactly what Alonso did.
        Unfortunately, when Alonso sped up Hamilton did not follow him and Ocon could not shake off Bottas/Vettel/Gasly.
        Maybe Ocon should have slowed down with 10-15m to go and try to open a gap on his own without running into Hamilton.

        1. @jff
          So the plan was that Hamilton would first fail to overtake slowly driving Alonso for 20 laps or so and then (once Alonso sped up) Hamilton would still have the tyres and motivation to follow Alonso with no chance to overtake. What could go wrong…

          Maybe Ocon should have slowed down with 10-15m to go and try to open a gap on his own without running into Hamilton.

          That’s actually a good idea – and it would’ve worked without Alonso, which just underlines how pointless Alonso’s slow driving was for Ocon.

          I’m not blaming Alonso for the poor strategy though. He did only what Alpine asked him to do. And it may have been a good strategy for Alonso himself, but it only harmed Ocon’s race.

          1. Alonso’s slow driving was for Ocon

            Alonso had to drive slowly to get his tyres to the end.

            Hamilton would still have the tyres and motivation to follow Alonso

            Of all drivers, yes I would expect Hamilton to be able and driven to do that; he’s shown that often enough in the past (but not enough this year IMO).

    3. There is NOTHING that Alonso will ever do that is not “masterfully”. Even if in Monaco the blocked 11 other cars to a sad procession. It’s beyond belief but i any possible universe such thing could be considered “masterful”.

  5. I think the plan was to hold station of as long as necessary in order to make a final sprint in the closing laps. Sadly Hamilton either couldn’t or chose not to push himself leading to Ocon falling out of the points.
    I do think the risk of wearing the tyres was something that concerned the team and could have led to Alonso losing places or losing control of the car into the barriers .

  6. Personally, I think Leclerc is perhaps overrated here while Sainz is underrated; yes Ferrari fluffed it for both by bringing them in at least a lap late when going to the slick tyres and Sainz was a bit behind at all times in pace, but he got ahead by skipping the (short) inters stint which cost Leclerc, and which he himself decided against (while Leclerc just waited to do what his team told him on tyres).

    Hamilton and Russell also imo shouldn’t be two points apart as their qualifying gap at least in part was due to Perez’ crash and the timing of their runs, while Hamilton, unlike the early GP’s this year, had also been ahead of Russell (mainly depending on who did their run the most recently), while the difference in being able to pass was largely Russell, again, having the luck of the draw with strategy. In that sense, their fortunes aren’t all that dissimilar to VER/PER this weekend, except that VER was the slower one all the way through it and HAM was not.

    1. @bosyber In hindsight he should have gone for slicks right away as Sainz did, but you can’t blame the driver for not making a strategy call, he simply doesn’t have all the data the team has. Ferrari should have never fitted him with intermediates to begin with, there was nothing to gain. Going to slicks was the right call, Sainz would have won if not for that Williams. He just needed an extra second or two.

      However Red Bull did the same with Vestappen so I guess it’s not such a fiasco that everyone is screaming about.

    2. What you stated about Hamilton vs Russell in quali was not accurate.
      In the first run (in Q3) Russel was 0.4 faster than Hamilton.
      In the 2nd run, Hamilton was 0.026 faster than his previous laptime after 2 sectors, and Russell was slower. So Hamilton would have to gain 4 tenths in the last sector.
      Both Vettel and Ocon were faster in sector 1 and 2. So if Perez hadn’t crashed, they would most likely jump Hamilton too.
      Hamilton was saved bij Checos crash, or it would have cost him another 2 extra places.

  7. Latifi 3 ? Really?? The guy…
    …in his third season…
    …who managed to crash into the barrier…
    …behind the safety car…
    …in the slowest corner of the whole calendar ??
    You must be joking.

    1. 8 Russell Outpaced Hamilton in qualifying and while struggled a bit on old wet tyres, excelled on first lap on slicks to hold position over Norris to take best of the rest
      7 Norris Great pace in qualifying and early race in 5th , but a combination of poor strategy and inlaps and outlaps vs Russell left him 6th. Did claim fastest lap
      7 Leclerc Fastest in qualifying and on wets but strategy disasters (including stacking, leaving him behind lapped cars) and so-so pace on inters left him 4th where he stayed.
      7 Perez Messy but quick practice and race unusually faster than Verstappen. Strategy gamble paid off and quick laps by Perez in inters gave him a chance at victory from 3rd. Flat spot and graining on mediums meant he was one of the slowest on track towards the end of the race but gave no opportunities to Sainz to claim victory.
      7 Alonso Good qualifying until he crashed unecessarily. I the race made 7th his own, running close to Russell in the wet and controlling the pace to look after his medium tyres in the dry
      7 Gasly A bit unlucky in qualifying but simply should have set a faster time earlier. Great overtaking early on but slow pitstop on lap 22 probably cost him 9th
      7 Vettel Great qualifying but mistake lead to Ocon getting past and poor strategy choice didn’t help him. However rapid laps (only Verstappen lapped faster) after being released by Ricciardo lead to him getting jump on Gasly and good pace at the end allowed him to get back ahead of Ocon after the penalty.
      7 Bottas Didn’t have great pace in qualifying but was much faster than teammate. Made no mistakes in the race but was fairly slow in the first stint holding up Magnussen. Like Russell did very well on slicks straight away to keep Gasly and Vettel behind and nicked 9th at the end
      7 Sainz Like Perez a bit messy but slower than Leclerc as usual. Did what he needed to do to finish 2nd, and made the wise to stay out – or would the wiser call have been to have been to ask to pit when Perez did… Nearly collided with Perez on 3 occasions in the race once on the main straight and twice at the hairpin
      7 Verstappen Slowest of the top 4 in qualifying (partially due to teammates crash ahead of him) but tracked his teammate closely in the wet. Great pace on inters brought him ahead of Leclerc but stacking behind Perez cost him any chance to get ahead of Sainz.
      6 Hamilton Outqualified by Russell in qualifying and finished were he started after finding Alpine’s to be immovable objects.
      6 Magnussen Shadowed Bottas early on and therefore could have had a chance of 9th or 10th as he looked set to be in a strategy battle with Bottas until he had to retire
      5 Ocon A bit off Alonso’s pace in qualifying. Over zealous defence against Hamilton protected Alonso but resulting penalty cost him 9th with Hamilton in no hurry to allow him to pull out a gap
      5 Latifi Made a few errors and was generally slow but managed the race better than a few others
      5 Stroll Bounced back from lap one error and nearly caught teammate early on but lost a lot of time in and around his pitstop on lap 24
      5 Ricciardo Much slower than Norris and never really in the hunt for points
      4 Zhou Battled throughout but was always off Bottas’s pace and even lost out to Latifi
      4 Tsunoda Bounced back from glancing wall in qualifying to qualify 11th but strategy calls and a few of his own errors left him last
      3 Albon Decent qualifying for a Williams in 16th but race was full of errors
      3 Schumacher Poor qualifying, slower than teammate, gambled on strategy but crashed heavily when others were more precise and avoided such calamity

      1. Strategy Quality / (Luck Factor – Higher is luckier)
        8 (5) Russell Ideal strategy after Norris stopped for inters. Stop could have been faster but enough to gain 5th with Russells speed on slicks. No luck involved
        8 (7) Perez Great gamble to pit Perez for inters. Lucky that Norris pitted for inters but even if he didn’t Perez was guaranteed at least 4th and a pass while difficult could have been possible. Only strategy flaw was putting him on mediums at the end
        7 (4) Gasly Great strategy to go straight onto inters, and in some ways unlucky that more didn’t follow his example as may have seemed likely. Brought in for dry tyres after Bottas and before Vettel but lost out to both due to very slow stop
        7 (5) Latifi Strategy was great given the circumstances and Latifi was on the right tyre at all times just didn’t have the pace
        7 (6) Bottas Solid strategy to go straight to dry tyres to keep 9th. They were a bit lucky that Gasly’s slow stop didn’t punish the slightly early stop
        6 (4) Hamilton A gamble like Perez’s that relied on Ocon pitting as well to allow him to put pressure on Alonso. It didn’t work as Alpine had no reason to pit Ocon.
        6 (4) Ricciardo Made sense to try something by pitting early for slicks but coming out just behind Tsunoda ruined it
        6 (5) Alonso Solid strategy to go straight to dry tyres to keep 7th but should not have pitted on the same lap as Russell as it left no chance of undercut/overcut
        6 (5) Stroll Strategy was good (apart from double stop early on) but not executed by driver
        5 (4) Albon Brave strategy from Williams to pit for slicks early but Albon struggled a bit with it
        5 (5) Verstappen Strategy mirrored Leclerc’s bad strategy but Red Bull saved it by keeping him out a lap longer and doing a better job double stacking (although leaving him out a lap later may have worked just as well unless there was traffic)
        5 (5) Ocon Middle of the road strategy just lacked pace in car to do anything to get ahead of Hamilton
        5 (6) Norris No benefit to be gained by pitting for inters but slightly redeemed by pitstop to claim fastest lap. Slightly lucky that Alonso’s slow pace allowed this
        4 (4) Schumacher Very brave to pit so early for slicks but the pitstop was so slow
        4 (4) Sainz Going straight to dries was not a bad strategy as such but they pitted him on the wrong lap. Slicks were faster than wets a lap or 2 before so pitting then could have kept him ahead of Perez after Perez’s stop. Pitting later would have held up Perez opening up the undercut for Leclerc
        4 (5) Tsunoda Bounced back from glancing wall in qualifying to qualify 11th but strategy calls and a few of his own errors left him last
        4 (6) Vettel Mistake to bring him in for inters dropping behind a lot of cars. Only redeemed by Ocon’s penalty and Gasly’s slow stop
        3 (5) Zhou Alfa missed an open goal by not putting him on inters straight away as Toro Rosso did with Gasly
        2 (4) Leclerc Should never have pitted Leclerc for inters 2 laps after Perez and certainly not double stacked him behind Sainz. Lost time in both pitstops. Slightly unlucky to be held up by a Williams but they couuld have planned this
        N/A Magnussen Not sure exactly what he would have done but he had options to undercut/overcut Bottas

    2. I was wondering the same thing! It should be an 1 or even a zero!

    3. Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      31st May 2022, 14:01

      Albon did worse than latifi this race. He got multiple warnings for track limits and got a penalty following a black and white flag. Then he blocked both Sainz and Leclerc for most of the lap when he was getting blue flags. He was also running behind latifi as he contacted the barrier and wrecked his rear right tyre. Latifi may have gone wide and lightly contacted the barrier, but there is no question that albon was even worse.

  8. Danny RIC.
    Poor guy. I hope he will find his mojo again.

    1. Electroball76
      1st June 2022, 7:52

      Dr Marko stole my mojo, baby!

  9. YTD average based on @WillWood‘s ratings:
    Max Verstappen: 7.3
    Charles Leclerc: 7.1
    Lando Norris: 6.7
    Valtteri Bottas: 6.6
    George Russell: 6.6
    Sergio Perez: 6.3
    Fernando Alonso: 6.0
    Pierre Gasly: 5.6
    Lewis Hamilton: 5.6
    Alexander Albon: 5.4
    Esteban Ocon: 5.4
    Kevin Magnussen: 5.3
    Sebastian Vettel: 5.2
    Yuki Tsunoda: 5.2
    Nico Hulkenberg: 5.0
    Carlos Sainz Jnr: 4.9
    Zhou Guanyu: 4.6
    Lance Stroll: 4.4
    Daniel Ricciardo: 4.4
    Mick Schumacher: 3.6
    Nicholas Latifi: 3.6

    1. can you please explain why this cannot be presented as follows:

      [][][][][][][]| (7.3) Max Verstappen
      [][][][][][][] (7.1 ↑) Charles Leclerc
      [][][][][][][ (6.7) Lando Norris
      [][][][][][][ (6.6 ↓) Valtteri Bottas
      [][][][][][][ (6.6) George Russell
      [][][][][][]| (6.3) Sergio Perez
      [][][][][][] (6.0) Fernando Alonso
      [][][][][][ (5.6) Pierre Gasly
      [][][][][][ (5.6) Lewis Hamilton
      [][][][][]| (5.4 ↓) Alexander Albon
      [][][][][]| (5.4) Esteban Ocon
      [][][][][]| (5.3 ↓) Kevin Magnussen
      [][][][][] (5.2) Sebastian Vettel
      [][][][][] (5.2 ↓) Yuki Tsunoda
      [][][][][] (5.0) Nico Hulkenberg
      [][][][][| (4.9) Carlos Sainz Jnr
      [][][][][ (4.6) Zhou Guanyu
      [][][][]| (4.4) Lance Stroll
      [][][][]| (4.4 ↓) Daniel Ricciardo
      [][][][ (3.6) Mick Schumacher
      [][][][ (3.6) Nicholas Latifi

      1. That’s an interesting representation!

  10. Looks like my post was too long. My ratings no explanation:

    8 Russell
    7 Norris
    7 Leclerc
    7 Perez
    7 Alonso
    7 Gasly
    7 Bottas
    7 Vettel
    7 Sainz
    7 Verstappen
    6 Hamilton
    6 Magnussen
    5 Ocon
    5 Latifi
    5 Stroll
    5 Ricciardo
    4 Zhou
    4 Tsunoda
    3 Albon
    3 Schumacher

    Few main points:

    Verstappen probably deserved to outqualify Perez. Perez’s mistake (and Alosno’s) cost everyone who would have set faster times without a red flag.
    The top 4 basically drove pretty much perfectly in the race it was strategy that separated them.

    1. Russell’s 8 is for his phenomenal first lap on slicks – see lap 23 on the lap charts.

      1. And lap 22 which is harder to see

  11. Holy smokes – that HAAS is a good candidate for the scrapyard…

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