Grading teams | Rain in Japan washes away deep unsatisfactory results

The rainy GP weekend in Japan was a challenge for all F1 teams. In these conditions, there are always moments when F1 teams can surprise. That is why we see some outliers in the report figures for Japan and few really bad ones.

Red Bull Racing - 10

Red Bull has such a strong car and such a strong driver in it that Max Verstappen took the win with a lead of half a minute even though the race practically lasted only 40 minutes. Sergio Perez eventually, by keeping the pressure on Charles Leclerc, ensured a one-two for Red Bull during Verstappen's championship race. In the pit lane too, Red Bull showed class with a very quick double pit stop, losing minimal time for both drivers. It seems only a cold touch for the team to also take the constructors' title in the United States.

Ferrari - 8

Ferrari did not seem to have a bad car at Suzuka. Although the rain and the character of the track helped Leclerc somewhat, the F1-75 was resistant to Perez's pressure for much of the race. Neither at the pit wall nor in the pit lane did anything go wrong for Ferrari this time. Carlos Sainz, unfortunately, could not finish as he lost control of his car on the soaking-wet track.

Mercedes AMG F1 - 6

Mercedes was not the top favourite beforehand in rainy Japan, but still, the team disappointed. Lewis Hamilton could not get his W13 past Esteban Ocon's Alpine. George Russell drove painfully to P8, as his team apparently has yet to resolve the braking problems he had in Singapore. With the strategic skill present within the team, the team could have made more out of the conditions

Alpine F1 - 9

Alpine was fast in the rain from Friday. The car seemed to do particularly well on the Suzuka Circuit and the team was able to convert that into good points on Sunday. With P4 for Ocon (highest recorded finish for the team this year) and a P7 for Fernando Alonso, Alpine dealt a hard blow to McLaren.

McLaren - 5

McLaren battling for P4 in the championship picked up just one point in Japan. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished in the same place they had started, P10 and P11. Norris failed to overtake Nicholas Latifi, so Williams outsmarted the team strategically.

Aston Martin F1 - 8.5

Aston Martin had a rock-solid Sunday. Stroll drove from P19 to P12, but it was mainly Sebastian Vettel who shone. The four-time world champion spun just after the first start of the race and seemed hopelessly behind. He eventually finished P6, as he and his team decided to go straight to the pit lane for the Intermediates on the rolling restart of the race.

Williams - 7

Williams' weekend was similar to Aston Martin's. Williams too chose to bring Nicholas Latifi straight in on the restart. That this gamble was a working strategy was evident from the Canadian's final result. Latifi picked up his first two points of the season. Williams does get a point-and-a-half deduction for Alexander Albon's retirement.

Haas F1 - 6

Haas also took a gamble in the race with Mick Schumacher. The team only did the opposite of what Aston Martin and Williams tried. Waiting as long as possible with the pit stop and hoping for another safety car just did not prove to be a good tactic. The result was again poor, but the team's effort was encouraging.

AlphaTauri - 6

Apart from the particularly dangerous moment with the tractor on the track and Pierre Gasly driving past, it was an unremarkable weekend for AlphaTauri. Gasly received a heavy penalty that put him behind his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who was driving his home race in Japan. The scoreless weekend makes the fight for P6 against the slowest teams difficult

Alfa Romeo - 5.5

The same goes for Alfa Romeo as for AlphaTauri. It was an unremarkable weekend that ended in a P15 for Bottas and a P16 for Zhou. Alfa Romeo is currently sixth among constructors and has lost considerable ground to Aston Martin. With seven points difference, Alfa Romeo needs to do something to get back to the form they had at the start of this season.