Ratings | Verstappen strong in Baku, Stroll the 'loser' of the weekend

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was, as usual, another war of attrition. Drivers and teams were pushed to the limit and any mistake was fatal. GPblog, as always, gives grades to the drivers based on their performance throughout this race weekend in Baku.

Verstappen: 9

Max Verstappen struggled to match his teammate on Saturday, but managed to make up a lot in the race. The Dutchman kept his tyres in one piece for longer and was able to pass Perez quite easily as a result. We will never know how Verstappen would have fared against Charles Leclerc on a different strategy.

Perez: 9

Sergio Perez delivered another great performance by beating Verstappen in qualifying. On Sunday he also started very strong with an overtaking move on Leclerc, but it was not enough for victory. Verstappen was simply too fast at the Baku City Circuit.

Russell: 8

George Russell is living up to his image as a consistant driver, because in Azerbaijan the Brit again finished in the top five. Due to the Ferrari's retirements, this became a P3, which allowed Russell to go to the podium for the second time this year.

Hamilton: 8

Lewis Hamilton was beaten in qualifying and in the race by his younger teammate and complained bitterly about his bouncing car. When he got out of his car it turned out that his back was really bothering him, but the question is how is it possible that Russell seems to be less bothered by this than the seven-time world champion.

Gasly: 7.5

A strong weekend for Pierre Gasly, who was also spotted at a table with Helmut Marko this weekend. Perhaps a nice new contract has given the Frenchman the necessary confidence to perform so well in Baku?

Vettel: 7.5

Sebastian Vettel was a guarantee for action this weekend. The German hit the wall several times, drove straight off the track and made a stunning 180 spin in the narrow streets of Baku. Despite this somewhat messy looking performance, you can also see that the four-time world champion is picking up good points for Aston Martin, where Lance Stroll is not even close.

Alonso: 7.5

Fernando Alonso is proving to everything and everyone that he is definitely still to be reckoned with. The Spaniard was once again the boss of his teammate this weekend and kept the McLaren drivers behind with ease.

Ricciardo: 7.5

Daniel Ricciardo had another better weekend where he was not faster than his teammate in qualifying, but showed some pace on Sunday. He finished ahead of Norris and that will do his confidence good.

Norris: 6

Lando Norris was not happy that he was not allowed to overtake his teammate in the closing stages of the race. The Briton had been faster on Saturday, but the strategy did not work in his favor.

Ocon: 7

Esteban Ocon started the season strong and took many points when his teammate had bad luck, but now Alonso is on a good run, Ocon is increasingly in the shadow of the great champion.

Bottas: 6.5

A lesser weekend for Valtteri Bottas who just misses out on points. The disappointing performance on Saturday stands out. The Finn was continuously faster than his Chinese teammate this year, but not in Baku.

Albon: 6.5

Alexander Albon did what he had to do in the Williams, qualifying and finishing ahead of his teammate. There's not much more credit to be had with the FW44.

Tsunoda: 5

Yuki Tsunoda was driving a strong weekend until half of his DRS stopped. This forced the Japanese to make an extra pit stop and he fell outside the points.

Schumacher: 6

Mick Schumacher drove a weak weekend in Azerbaijan. He actually didn't cause a crash this weekend, but there was no sign of any speed either.

Latifi: 4

Nicholas Latifi drove his car to the finish, but well behind his teammate.

Stroll: 2

Lance Stroll showed once again in Baku why he is labeled by many as a 'pay-driver'. Crashing once in a qualifying session is possible, but after one touch with the wall Stroll rammed his entire car to pieces a few turns later. His mechanics can't have been happy about that and the development of the car isn't going well either. On top of that, Vettel is driving much faster with the AMR22, which makes you question what Stroll is doing.

Magnussen: 4

Kevin Magnussen drove a neat weekend for Haas, but was forced to stop on the side of the road with a problem with his car. Possibly, like Charles Leclerc, he had a problem with his Ferrari engine.

Zhou: 6.5

Guanyu Zhou finally drove a good weekend for Alfa Romeo, but a problem with the car caused him to have to park it in the garage. Zhou complained that his team shouldn't make these kinds of mistakes, but that was a bit of an exaggeration for a rookie who hasn't performed much himself this year.

Leclerc: 2

Charles Leclerc suffered the brunt of his team's failure for the third time in a row. Three times he took pole, but due to technical problems in Baku and Spain and a dramatic strategy in Monaco, Leclerc lost a lot of points. At the start where he was outsmarted by Perez.

Sainz: 2

Carlos Sainz could not be the buffer for Leclerc he needed in Baku, allowing Perez and Verstappen to attack the Monegasque at the start of the race. Sainz also did not have the pace in the race to keep up with the front men, although we will never really know. He dropped out before lap ten with a technical problem.