Another race weekend, another race winner and another controversial incident – or two – to spur debate among fans all the way through the week until the next round.
The Mexican Grand Prix was certainly an eventful one, with drama and incident across the three days despite track conditions that should have been relatively favourable for drivers.
But while there were some standout showings in the field, very few drivers could boast of having completely clean weekends. Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.
A guide to RaceFans’ driver ratings system
RaceFans’ driver ratings system assesses driver performance across all three days of a grand prix weekend. Naturally, performances during competitive sessions – qualifying, sprint races and grands prix – will carry the most weight to their rating.
However, practice performance can affect a driver’s weekend rating in the event of a major mistake, such as a crash, consistent errors throughout practice sessions or if a driver shows a notably impressive speed throughout all free practice sessions relative to their team mate.
The system attempts to take into account the relative performance of each driver’s car and the expected results from that, meaning that a driver who wins a race in a car clearly superior to the rest of the field may not necessarily score as highly as a driver who claims a low points finish in a midfield car.
Ratings also attempt to take into account mitigating factors outside of a driver’s control. If a driver is forced to miss considerable track time due to car problems, is the victim of being blocked in qualifying, finishes far lower than expected because of a heavily botched pit stop or suffers any other misfortune they cannot be reasonably expected to control, their rating should not be penalised.
RaceFans rates each driver’s weekend performance on a scale of 0 to 10, where ‘5’ is considered to be a typically average weekend performance from a typically average Formula 1 driver.
Here is a rough guide to each possible score:
N/A – Not applicable – No rating is given as the driver did not sufficiently participate in the competitive sessions
0 – Disqualified – Only in the most extreme instance where a driver’s conduct disqualifies them from participation
1 – Appalling – An appalling display that brings a driver’s competency under immediate question
2 – Awful – A very, very poor performance of repeated errors with almost no redeeming qualities
3 – Very bad – Far more negatives than positives across the weekend which a driver should be very disappointed with
4 – Underperformance – Driver failed to achieve the base level expected for a Formula 1 driver
5 – Acceptable – The standard level of performance that should be expected from an F1 driver
6 – Good – A decent overall performance across the weekend, but not one of the best
7 – Very good – A strong performance across the weekend that any driver should be very pleased with
8 – Brilliant – A truly great weekend where the driver stood out as one of the very best of the field
9 – Exceptional – An outstanding performance that ranks as one of the best, if not the very best, of the entire season
10 – Legendary – One of the few all-time greatest performances by a driver in the history of Formula 1
Max Verstappen – 4/10
Qualified: 2nd (+16 places ahead of team mate, -0.808s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 6th (+11 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Effectively missed second practice with a power unit problem
▲ Beat rival Norris to secure front row start in second
▲ Took the lead at the start by beating Sainz off the line
▼ Lost the lead to Sainz when passed into turn one
▼ Hit with 10s penalty for forcing Norris off at turn four
▼ Hit with second 10s penalty for forcing Norris off at turn seven
▶ Pitted for hards and passed several cars to return to sixth
▶ Finished sixth, ten seconds behind Mercedes
Verstappen should have finished fourth in Mexico, ahead of the two Mercedes. He did not, however, and the only person he has to blame for that is himself. While the world champion may not care too much about losing fourth in the grand scheme of the championship battle, he has to be judged accordingly and his extreme aggression ultimately meant he scored fewer points than he could have done.
Sergio Perez – 3/10
Qualified: 18th (-16 places behind team mate, +0.808s)
Start: +5 places
Strategy: Three-stop (H-M-M-S)
Finished: 17th (-11 places behind team mate)
▼ Eliminated from Q1 in 18th, two tenths away from safety
▼ Started on hards but earned a 5s penalty for false start
▶ Moved up to 13th under SC, then passed both Aston Martins
▼ Lost 60 points of downforce after clash with Lawson, leading to early stop
▶ Fell to last, unable to make much ground on cars ahead
▶ Made second stop for mediums, then passed Zhou
▶ Made third stop for softs in closing laps but unable to take fastest lap
▶ Finished last car running in 17th
Poor qualifying, an amateurish mistake at the start, an ill-judged move on what is supposedly a slower car that left him with damage, all while watched on by his adoring home fans. Perez’s performances have become sad to see. The only reason he doesn’t score even lower is because he at least did not crash out of any session and his slow second half of the race could at least be excused by his damage – even if he should have probably played it smarter than he did.
Lewis Hamilton – 6/10
Qualified: 6th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.295s)
Start: +1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 4th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▶ Missed first practice to allow Antonelli to drive car
▶ Qualified one place but three tenths behind team mate
▶ Got ahead of team mate at the start but lost it after restart
▶ Pitted for hard tyres and emerged behind team mate
▲ Passed team mate after intense, multi-lap battle
▶ Finished ahead of team mate in fourth, 10s behind Leclerc
Hamilton had a solid enough weekend in Mexico, hardly the most outstanding driver, but he could come away reasonably pleased with where he finished. He was effectively in an exclusive, race-long duel with his team mate and while he eventually prevailed, it took him many laps to eventually overtake Russell despite his front wing damage. But pass him he did and once he was ahead, he showed that he had more pace.
George Russell – 6/10
Qualified: 5th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.295s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 5th (-1 place behind team mate)
▶ Ran with older specification parts across the weekend
▼ Crashed heavily in second practice
▲ Secured fifth on the grid but comfortably ahead of team mate
▶ Dropped behind team mate at the start to run sixth early
▲ Passed Hamilton on lap 15 to take fifth back before pitting for hard tyres
▶ Suffered front wing damage over bump after pit stop
▶ Held off Hamilton for several laps before eventually being passed
▶ Finished four seconds behind team mate in fifth
Aside from his hefty shunt on Friday, Russell could be pleased with his performance over the following two days of the weekend as he qualified and finished in line with the pace potential of the Mercedes. Although he lost out to Hamilton in the race, he could at least point to the front wing damage he sustained as an excuse and he fought his team mate hard but fair for several laps.
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Charles Leclerc – 6/10
Qualified: 4th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.319s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: Two-stop (M-H-S)
Finished: 3rd (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Handed car to Bearman for first practice
▶ Could not match team mate in qualifying, lining up fourth on the grid
▶ Held fourth at the start behind Norris
▶ Gained second after Norris and Verstappen clashed ahead
▶ Pitted for hard tyres and started to slowly close on team mate
▼ Lost second place with error out of final corner
▶ Finished third after pitting to take fastest lap in closing laps
A decent enough showing from Leclerc who just simply lacked that little extra that his team mate was able to find over the weekend. He showed decent pace once in second place, although he did little to put himself in that position to begin with. Any slim hopes of somehow holding off Norris to secure the one-two were lost when he almost crashed out of the race sliding off track, which was not his finest moment of the season.
Carlos Sainz Jnr – 8/10
Qualified: Pole (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.319s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: Winner (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Set two laps good enough for pole in Q3
▶ Could not hold lead at start, running off at first corner
▲ Retook lead from Verstappen in late first corner lunge
▶ Pulled away from team mate behind until pitting for hard tyres
▲ Controlled pace to manage tyres and win by just under 5s
When Sainz is really on it, he can be a joy to watch. Not that many were watching him on Sunday, with all the focus on the battle behind. He was clearly the best on track on Saturday and even though he lost the lead at the start, he at least had the excuse that it was the longest run to turn one on the calendar. But then his move to reclaim the lead was a real example of how to pull off a skilfully judged late braking overtake. Once out front, he was in full control and delivered an excellent victory.
Lando Norris – 6/10
Qualified: 3rd (+14 places ahead of team mate, -1.092s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 2nd (+6 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Had team’s only major floor upgrade for weekend
▶ Sat out first practice with O’Ward running in his car
▶ Qualified third on the grid just behind rival Verstappen
▶ Ran third after the start, then pushed off twice by Verstappen
▶ Continued behind Verstappen until pitting for hard tyres, rejoining in third
▶ Caught up to Leclerc until Ferrari driver’s mistake handed him second
▶ Finished second, just under 5s behind Sainz
Norris would have come away from Mexico happy with his result, but this was not his best weekend performance of the second half of the season. Although he was happy with third on the grid, it’s hard not to feel like he should be beating Verstappen with his car over a single lap. Although he did not gain any positions in the race by passing other cars, that’s hard to hold against him in the case of Verstappen with the ‘creative’ defensive tactics the championship leader was deploying. He would have likely passed Leclerc eventually late on, but did not have to. We’ll never know if he could have won the race had he not been shoved aside by Verstappen and fallen behind Leclerc.
Oscar Piastri – 5/10
Qualified: 17th (-14 places behind team mate, +1.092s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 8th (-6 places behind team mate)
▶ Ran without floor upgrade provided to team mate
▼ Failed to progress out of Q1 for first time this season, knocked out 17th
▶ Ran 17th in early laps before passing both Saubers
▶ Overtook Colapinto, Stroll and Lawson before pitting for hard tyres
▶ Rejoined 13th, then passed Ocon, Bottas and Gasly to sit ninth
▲ Passed Hulkenberg for eighth then reeled in Magnussen
▶ Unable to catch Magnussen before finishing eighth
Like in Austin a week prior or Zandvoort after the summer break, Piastri was not around to factor into Norris’s fight against Verstappen, as McLaren would have wanted him to. Although his Q1 elimination was all down to a single missed braking point, that is all it takes in modern Formula 1. He managed to climb back into the points, at least, earning back some credit, but it’s hard not to assume that Norris would have finished higher had he started in Piastri’s car on Sunday.
Fernando Alonso – 6/10
Qualified: 13th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.126s)
Start: +1 place
Finished: Retired (Brakes – L15)
▶ Missed media day for illness, then sat out of FP1
▶ Eliminated from Q2 after red flag preventing him from improving
▶ Lost a place to team mate at the start, then passed by Perez early
▶ Called in to retire by team on lap 15 due to brake problems
Alonso would have almost certainly reached Q3 had it not been for the red flag at the end of Q2 and we will never know how close he could have come to points had he not been forced out of the race early on. But Alonso appeared to be having a solid weekend, even if he had dropped behind his team mate at the start of the race. Would he have stayed there? Given recent form, it’s hard to doubt him.
Lance Stroll – 6/10
Qualified: 14th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.126s)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 11th
▶ Knocked out in Q2 after red flag ended his final push lap
▶ Moved ahead of team mate at start, then passed by Perez and Piastri
▶ Pitted for hard tyres, falling to 17th
▶ Passed a damaged Perez, then kept Lawson at bay
▶ Finished just outside the points in 11th, six seconds behind Gasly
A respectable showing from Stroll, who may not have scored points but had shown comparative pace to his team mate over Saturday and Sunday. Compared to some recent rounds where Stroll has been significantly behind Alonso, he was left to fight his team’s corner when Alonso retired and put in a respectable performance, finishing within six seconds of the points.
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Pierre Gasly – 7/10
Qualified: 8th (+11 places ahead of team mate, -0.468s)
Start: -1 place
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 10th (+3 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Just reached Q3 to line up eighth on the grid
▶ Involved in dramatic start accident, losing one place
▶ Ran ninth before pitting for hard tyres
▶ Passed Zhou, Ocon and Bottas but overtaken by Piastri
▶ Overcut by Hulkenberg, then ran behind him over the final stint
▲ Claimed final point in tenth
A pretty decent showing from Gasly as he took the final point in tenth. Although he could be argued to have inadvertently triggered the crash at the start, it would be harsh to penalise him for it. He had a strong qualifying and given the cars that finished ahead of him, it would have been tough for Alpine to have asked for much more from him on Sunday.
Esteban Ocon – 5/10
Qualified: 19th (-11 places behind team mate, +0.468s)
Grid: 20th (-12 places behind team mate)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 13th (-3 places behind team mate)
▼ Could not follow team mate into Q2, eliminated in 19th
▶ Started from the pit lane after changing power unit parts
▶ Fitted hard tyres and ran in 18th and last until Perez pitted
▲ Passed Zhou on track, then pitted for mediums
▲ Caught and passed Bottas on final lap to claim 13th
After a disappointing Saturday, Ocon managed to make up for his underwhelming qualifying with a race performance that was much more solid. When in free air, his race pace was comparable with his team mate, who he started to catch ahead after switching to mediums. By catching and passing Bottas, he at least saved face by not finishing behind a Sauber.
Alexander Albon – 5/10
Qualified: 9th (+7 places ahead of team mate, -0.369s)
Start: + places
Finished: Retired (Damage – L1)
▼ Crashed in first practice after spinning into Bearman, missing second practice as a result
▲ Comfortably progressed into Q3 to take ninth on the grid
▶ Retired on opening lap after clashing with Tsunoda into first corner
A hard performance to judge as Albon went from a poor Friday – crashing out in practice – to a solid Saturday – qualifying ninth – to being caught up in a squeeze into the first corner which ended his race after 1.5km. Although he deserves to lose credit for his crash on Friday, it’s hard to argue he didn’t make up for it in qualifying. The crash on Sunday was just one of those things and so it only feels fair to give him an average grade.
Franco Colapinto – 5/10
Qualified: 16th (-7 places behind team mate, +0.369s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 12th (+7 places ahead of team mate)
▼ Knocked out of Q1 in 16th
▶ Started on hard tyres and ran in 14th in early laps
▶ Extended opening stint all the way to lap 47 before pitting for mediums
▼ Rejoined behind Lawson but earned 10s penalty for collision
▶ Finished 12th but remained there even after penalty
Not Colapinto’s best weekend of his short F1 career thus far. With his team mate reaching Q3, 16th was an underperformance to say the least. He showed decent enough race pace on a hard-medium strategy, which helped earn him credit back. Although the stewards penalised him for the Lawson clash, it was a contentious call given how far alongside he was at the apex of turn one. The penalty did not affect his position and it does not affect his score.
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Yuki Tsunoda – 5/10
Qualified: 11th (+1 place ahead of team mate, -0.033s)
Start: + places
Finished: Retired (Crashed – L1)
▶ Received ‘small’ floor upgrade for weekend
▼ Crashed out of Q2 on his final push lap, ending his session in 11th
▶ Eliminated before the first corner in high-speed clash with Albon
A tough weekend to gauge for Tsunoda after he lasted less than ten seconds before he was out of the race. Although he could not reasonably be blamed for being caught up in the accident, he could be blamed for crashing out of Q2, which may have helped secure him 11th, ironically. Scoring him lower than a ‘five’ just for crashing in Q2 feels overly harsh when he never got the opportunity to make up for it on Sunday.
Liam Lawson – 6/10
Qualified: 12th (-1 place behind team mate, +0.033s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: Two-stop (H-M-S)
Finished: 16th (+4 places ahead of team mate)
▶ Ran without floor upgrade provided to team mate
▶ Knocked out 12th in Q2 but compromised by red flag
▶ Started on hard tyres and ran tenth early on before being caught by Perez
▶ Clashed with Perez at turn four but held position
▶ Pitted for mediums on lap 39 and rejoined 17th
▶ Caught up to Stroll but then suffered front wing damage in clash with Colapinto
▶ Pitted for new front wing and softs but fell to last
▶ Gained 16th place when Perez pitted ahead where he would finish
Lawson had an eventful weekend in Mexico. It started off with missing out on a potential Q3 appearance due to a red flag caused by his team mate, before he then clashed with Perez and Colapinto over the rest of the race. The stewards chose not to penalise him for the Perez incident, which was fair, but the Colapinto clash was more contentious. Lawson is gaining a reputation for aggression, but he needs to be smart as well as scrappy.
Valtteri Bottas – 6/10
Qualified: 15th (+5 places ahead of team mate, -0.679s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 14th (+1 place ahead of team mate)
▲ Reached Q2 but knocked out slowest thanks to red flag
▶ Started on hards and held position but passed by Piastri early on
▶ Ran ahead of Ocon, running longest opening stint of race
▶ Pitted for mediums and rejoined still ahead of Ocon
▶ Unable to keep Ocon behind on final lap, falling to 14th at finish
Bottas could be reasonably satisfied with 14th, which speaks volumes about the level of expectations at Sauber. He could have finished one place higher if he had been able to hold off Ocon at the finish, but it’s hard to be too critical of him for it. A shame that the red flag in Q2 denied him a better starting position.
Zhou Guanyu – 5/10
Qualified: 20th (-5 places behind team mate, +0.679s)
Grid: 19th (-4 places behind team mate)
Start: +3 places
Strategy: One-stop (H-M)
Finished: 15th (-1 place behind team mate)
▶ Did not participate in first practice to allow Shwartzman to drive
▼ Knocked out slowest in Q1 after complaining of engine cutting
▶ Started on hards and gained three places with contact ahead to sit 16th at start
▶ Passed by Piastri, then lost another place to Ocon
▶ Pitted for mediums and fell to last, dealing with high brake temperatures
▶ Moved ahead of Lawson and Perez when they pitted late to finish 15th
Another weekend of Zhou failing to stand out, but it was also not his worst performance by any means. Once again he was just slow in qualifying compared to his team mate, but his race performance was compromised by continuously high brake temperatures. For that, it’s hard to be overly critical of him, especially when the Sauber is still at the bottom of the field.
Nico Hulkenberg – 6/10
Qualified: 10th (-3 places behind team mate, +0.479s)
Start: +2 places
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 9th (-2 places behind team mate)
▶ Reached Q3 but took tenth on the grid, slower than team mate
▶ Gained two places at the start passing Gasly and Albon
▶ Ran behind team mate before pitting before hard tyres a lap before him
▲ Passed Zhou, Ocon, Bottas and Colapinto to move back to eighth
▲ Overtaken by Piastri but finished in the points in ninth
Another points finish for Hulkenberg as he continues to help his team rack up points at this crucial stage of the season. However, he was slower than his team mate across the weekend and did not make the most of his Q3 opportunity. In the race, however, he was solid. Although once more, not as quick as his team mate.
Kevin Magnussen – 7/10
Qualified: 7th (+3 places ahead of team mate, -0.479s)
Start: Held position
Strategy: One-stop (M-H)
Finished: 7th (+2 places ahead of team mate)
▲ Reached Q3, then out-qualified team mate by half a second in seventh
▶ Held seventh and ran ahead of team mate and behind Hamilton
▶ Pitted for hard tyres and emerged ahead of team mate
▲ Passed Ocon, Bottas and Colapinto to move back to seventh
▲ Kept pace with Verstappen and remained out of reach of Piastri to finish seventh
On one hand, could Magnussen realistically have done any better this weekend than he achieved in Mexico? ‘Best of the rest’ in qualifying, ‘best of the rest’ in the grand prix. He never lost a position in the race and executed his team’s strategy well, passing cars when he had to. He even kept a decent pace relative to Verstappen ahead of him and was the faster of the two Haas drivers all weekend. He appeared to maximise his car’s performance across the weekend, but his position was likely flattered by the likes of Perez and Piastri starting so far down.
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2024 Mexican Grand Prix
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