Ratings | Verstappen benefits from Leclerc blunder, Perez disappoints

The French Grand Prix caused a lot of excitement on track last weekend. In the end it was Max Verstappen who took the win, but there were more drivers who managed to do well. GPblog gives the drivers grades for their performances throughout the weekend.

Leclerc: 4.5

Charles Leclerc did a great job on Saturday securing pole position, but a day later things went horribly wrong. In the early stages of the race he managed to keep Verstappen behind him, only to end up in the tyre barrier as a result of his own actions. It was a very embarrassing mistake in the battle for the world title.

Sainz: 9

Carlos Sainz was given the difficult task of trying to score points from the back of the grid due to the replacement of several engine parts. While he helped team-mate Leclerc to the top spot in qualifying, he managed to secure fifth place in the race despite a five-second penalty. This was apparently the maximum he could achieve.

Verstappen: 10

Verstappen was disappointed not to have pole position on Saturday. A day later he hassled race leader Charles Leclerc hard and fair for the win, finding himself stuck behind the rear wing of the scarlet car. An aggressive strategy and a championship-defining blunder from Leclerc ensured that Verstappen cruised to victory with no competition.

Perez: 5.5

Sergio Perez was not comfortable in France. The Mexican performed poorly in free practice, but managed to finish third in qualifying. In the race, he seemed to hold this position for a long time. However, at an unguarded moment he was unable to keep George Russell behind him.

Hamilton: 10

Lewis Hamilton brought his good form to France. The Briton started from fourth and benefited from Leclerc's retirement. Although the gap to Verstappen was more than ten seconds, Hamilton got everything out of his car and handedly beat his teammate Russell.

Russell: 8.5

Mercedes could not only be satisfied with Hamilton, as also Russell left a good impression. The youngster fought his way into the points from sixth position and managed to get past Perez in the closing stages of the race. In doing so, he gave his team two podiums in one race for the first time this season.

Ricciardo: 6

Daniel Ricciardo achieved the same result after his ninth place in Austria two weeks later, once again finishing in the points. His gap to team-mate Lando Norris was more than eight seconds, which has often been larger in the past. Ricciardo can therefore look back on an good weekend.

Norris: 7.5

Lando Norris started the race from fifth place, but was unable to maintain this position. His seventh place finish, almost five seconds ahead of Esteban Ocon in the closing stages of the race, ensured he once again secured points for McLaren.

Alonso: 9

Finishing 'best of the rest', Fernando Alonso showed again in France what a driver can achieve with experience and talent. Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, as the top teams, only managed to outperform the Spaniard. His sixth place was therefore very convincing.

Ocon: 7

Alpine did not only score points with Alonso's performance, however, as Ocon also finished in the top ten. The Frenchman was more than three seconds ahead of Ricciardo in his home race, picking up four points for his team.

Schumacher: 4.5

For Mick Schumacher, it was another race from which he managed to get little. He started 17th on Sunday and only managed to keep Guanyu Zhou behind him. It earned Haas no points in France.

Magnussen: 6.5

Kevin Magnussen also missed out on points. The Dane received a grid penalty, but then managed to overtake several drivers in the wake of Sainz. In the end, however, he had to retire from the race and his efforts were for nothing.

Vettel: 6

Sebastian Vettel was again not the happiest in France. The German could almost smell a top ten result, but was defeated by team mate Lance Stroll. He could not make up the second gap, so he had to settle for eleventh place.

Stroll: 7.5

Stroll did manage to score points for Aston Martin. He started the race from fifteenth place and managed to fight his way up to tenth place, partly by taking advantage of a few dropouts. The difference with Ricciardo was eventually too big to qualify for ninth place.

Tsunoda: 7.5

After reaching Q3 in Qualifying and looking to finally have a strong weekend against his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda was unlucky to be hit by Ocon on the opening lap, causing damage to his car. As a result, he had to decide to send his car in and abandon the race within just 20 laps.

Gasly: 5

Pierre Gasly was fairly invisible in France. Since the Azerbaijan weekend, he was unable to finish in the top ten and failed to do so in his home race. His 12th place was not enough for AphaTauri to earn a point.

Zhou: 5

Zhou had a tough time in France. After a collision with Schumacher, he was given a penalty and could not prevent him from finishing in last place. This means there is still plenty of work for Alfa Romeo and him to do.

Bottas: 6

Valtteri Bottas did not fare much better. The Finnish driver was eight seconds behind Alexander Albon at the end of the race, which left him no better than 14th.

Albon: 7

It seemed for a long time that Albon would have a chance at at least a point. The driver was in eleventh place, but could not maintain this position. Despite his thirteenth place finish, he was satisfied with the GP.

Latifi: 4.5

Nicholas Latifi and Magnussen hit each other hard during the race. Initially, the Canadian was able to continue, but on lap 43 he decided to bring his car in. As a result, he remains at zero in the world championship.