Ratings | Leclerc dominates in Australia, difficult weekend for Verstappen

The Australian Grand Prix proved to be quite a challenge for the Formula 1 drivers after several incidents with the new generation of cars. Which men rose above themselves and who fell through the ice? These are GPblog's ratings for the drivers after the Australian GP.

Leclerc: 10

Charles Leclerc was supreme in Melbourne this weekend. His car is a monster, but the Monegasque himself is also showing that he is cut from the right racing cloth. On Saturday he was there when he needed to be and on Sunday he left no doubt that this was his weekend with a 'Grand Slam'.

Perez: 7.5

Sergio Perez has a taste for racing at Red Bull Racing. Qualifying was fine again and in the race the Mexican scored much needed points. He lost some ground at the start and in terms of pace he is still a bit short of Verstappen, but he seems to be improving immensely.

Russell: 7.5

George Russell got his first podium as a driver for Mercedes. He needed some luck with the pit stop under the safety car, but the Briton drove strong across the whole weekend and was continuously not far from his teammate.

Hamilton: 7.5

Lewis Hamilton didn't do much wrong this weekend but does fall outside the podium. The seven-time world champion had a great start that even allowed him to pass Sergio Perez. The Brit continued to push throughout the race but ultimately fell short of his teammate.

Norris: 8

Lando Norris was in good form again this weekend. The Briton drove in the country of his teammate, but nothing could stop Norris from keeping a firm grip on the lead within the team. In qualifying, he even finished ahead of the drivers from Mercedes and in the race he managed to maximize with P5.

Ricciardo: 7.5

Daniel Ricciardo was close, but probably hoped for more for his own fans. Norris is still the better one within the team and the Australian will have to work hard to turn that image around. Now, especially in qualifying, he lost too much ground on his teammate, putting the two drivers from Mercedes between him and his teammate.

Ocon: 6.5

Esteban Ocon did not have the speed that Alonso showed on Saturday, but the Frenchman was lucky in that respect that Alonso could not finish his lap. Now Ocon was the celebrated man, who with a fine strategy on Sunday also brought in the points again for Alpine.

Bottas: 7

For the first time in ages, Valtteri Bottas didn't make it to Q3, but finishing in the points with Alfa Romeo again is as handsome as it gets. Racing has never been the Finn's greatest strength, but for now he is holding his own nicely in the midfield.

Gasly: 6.5

An invisible weekend for Pierre Gasly who managed to bring in the points again for AlphaTauri, but failed to leave a strong impression.

Albon: 9.5

Alexander Albon had to start from the back of the grid despite a great 16th place in qualifying. Again he was faster than his teammate, but his team had made a mistake with the amount of fuel. Starting from the back, but with a remarkable strategy, Albon scores the first point of this season for Williams. The Thai deserves it, as he has already become the leader of this team in three races.

Zhou: 6

Guanyu Zhou didn't come close to Bottas this weekend but still came close to a second point finish. However, the bold strategy of Williams and Albon was just too much for the Chinese and his team.

Stroll: 5

Another difficult weekend for Lance Stroll, who was blamed for the incident in qualifying with Nicholas Latifi. Stroll should have looked in his mirrors. In the race, with a good strategy from Aston Martin, he still came close to points, but with several actions, he did not endear himself to competitors.

Schumacher: 6

Mick Schumacher finished ahead of his teammate in qualifying and the race, but it didn't bring points for the Haas team this weekend. After two tough weekends, the German could use this result in Australia.

Magnussen: 6

A lesser weekend for Kevin Magnussen, but he was never far from his teammate. He also showed at the fast chicane how you can keep driving without crashing, unlike Sainz.

Tsunoda: 6

A colourless weekend for Yuki Tsunoda who was far from his teammate Gasly. Things will have to improve considerably if the Japanese is to keep his place in F1.

Latifi: 3.5

Nicholas Latifi may not have been assigned blame, but why take so much risk on the warm-up lap of qualifying? For the third weekend in a row, the Canadian had massive damage. He does not endear himself to his mechanics and the difference with his new teammate is also becoming increasingly painful.

Alonso: 5.5

Fernando Alonso drove a great qualifying, until the moment his car broke down. The Spaniard had been fast all weekend, but fate was not on his side again. In the race, the safety cars did not help him either, so the choice to start on hard tyres also turned out wrong.

Verstappen: 7.5

It was a difficult weekend for Max Verstappen. As he said himself he is still not one with the RB18 and on Saturday he struggled to string together that one lap. On Sunday, the Dutchman did little wrong, but again it was his car that gave up the ghost.

Vettel: 2

Sebastian Vettel seemed uninterested on his return and also not completely top fit. That he then parked his car in the wall in the third free practice session and in the race will not get him a warm welcome at the factory. Things have to improve for Vettel, but is he still motivated with the car at his disposal?

Sainz: 3

Carlos Sainz could have driven to second place whistling given Leclerc's speed but was far too eager and frustrated. That frustration came after bad luck in qualifying with the red flag and a problem with the team, but in the end it was the Spaniard himself who blew his windows by staying full throttle on the grass to avoid losing too much time after a mistake. As a result, he ended up in the gravel and the stamp of "second driver" is already almost on his forehead.