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Ratings | Near perfect Russell, Verstappen drops back in Brazil

Ratings | Near perfect Russell, Verstappen drops back in Brazil

14-11-2022 10:23
2

GPblog.com

The Brazilian Grand Prix ended in a triumph for Mercedes, who won a race for the first time this season and immediately made it a double victory. As always, the race at Interlagos had winners and losers. GPblog hands out grades to the drivers, based on their performances over the entire weekend.

George Russell: 9.5

Russell had a near-perfect weekend at Interlagos. He gets a half-point deduction for his mistake in qualifying, which he got away with well given his third place at the time. After this, however, the young Brit did everything right. In the sprint race, he outsmarted Verstappen and secured pole position for Sunday's race. He did not relinquish that first place again, barring the pit stops. He kept his cool at the restart after the safety car and gave Hamilton no chance to overtake him.

Lewis Hamilton: 8

Hamilton also had a strong weekend, albeit with a few more hurdles. Partly due to Russell's mistake, he had to come from further down in the sprint race, but he managed to get to the front quickly. In the race, he had a collision with Verstappen, but this could also have been avoided by Hamilton himself by leaving a little more space. In doing so, he possibly reduced his chance of victory.

Max Verstappen: 5

It didn't happen for Verstappen at Interlagos. Red Bull Racing had a disappointing weekend and did not have the pace that rivals Mercedes had this time. There would certainly have been more in it for Verstappen, were it not for his collision with Hamilton on the restart. Both did not allow each other an inch of space and Verstappen was penalised for something many considered a racing incident. In his race back to the front, Verstappen did prove to have good pace, but he will never know how far he could have gone. It was an overall messy weekend for the Dutchman.

Sergio Perez: 6

Perez struggled to keep up with his rivals' pace, especially on mediums. Whereas he was still on for a podium finish in the last stint, he saw that chance go up in smoke when he saw the Ferraris appear in his mirrors. More than seventh place was out of the question, highlighting Red Bull's lack of pace.

Carlos Sainz: 8

Sainz led Ferrari's attack in Brazil. A tear-off in his brakes forced him into the pits prematurely, but it had no major impact on the rest of his race. Ferrari chose the right strategy this time and brought Sainz in for softs during the safety car, allowing him to overtake Perez and secure the final podium spot.

Charles Leclerc: 8

A remarkable strategic decision by Ferrari in qualifying proved particularly detrimental to Leclerc, who had to come from far away in the sprint race. He managed to recover there, but in the race he was tapped around by Norris. Leclerc fell far back, but managed to recover handsomely to fourth place.

Daniel Ricciardo: 3

A strong race in Mexico was followed by yet another miserable weekend for Ricciardo. His race ended on the opening lap after he hit Magnussen's Haas, which saw his dream shattered after his handsome pole position for the sprint race.

Lando Norris - 6

Norris again excelled in the damp conditions on Saturday, finishing fourth in the sprint. On Sunday, he made a good start, but went wrong when he tapped Leclerc around on the restart after the first safety car. A rare mistake for Norris, for which he was rightly penalised.

Fernando Alonso: 9

An old-fashioned strong Alonso emerged in Brazil. After an unusual mistake in the sprint race, where he hit teammate Ocon, the 41-year-old Spaniard showed an insane weekend. After a late safety car, Alonso fought his way to the front to secure fifth place, taking important points for Alpine.

Esteban Ocon: 7

Like teammate Alonso, Ocon came back from a disappointing sprint race. On Sunday, he finished eighth, also making his contribution to Alpine's consolidated position in the constructors' championship.

Sebastian Vettel: 7.5

In the penultimate Formula 1 race of his career, Vettel put in a fine result on behalf of Aston Martin. After a strong sprint on Saturday, he drove a first stint in the main race, but after the safety car the mediums proved less favourable to him. Vettel finished just outside the points in 11th place.

Lance Stroll: 6.5

During the sprint, Stroll pushed his teammate off the track, for which he received a hefty penalty. He picked up the last point in Brazil, but despite finishing ahead of Vettel, he was the slower of the two Aston Martins all weekend.

Valtteri Bottas: 8

Bottas had another strong weekend and once again appears to be well in place at Alfa Romeo. The wet conditions remain a weak point, but Alfa Romeo once again picked up important points in the battle for sixth place in the championship.

Zhou Guanyu: 7

Zhou's weekend also had little to complain about. He finished outside the points, but beat teammate Bottas in the tricky conditions during qualifying and also managed to stay ahead of him in the sprint.

Mick Schumacher: 6

After a disappointing qualifying session, Schumacher climbed to 12th place in the sprint. He drove into the points early on, but could not maintain his top ten position due to the faster pace of Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin.

Kevin Magnussen: 9

Magnussen shocked the entire F1 paddock on Friday when he secured his first-ever pole position, and with it Haas'. He turned it into a points finish in the sprint race, in which he drove conservatively. However, his race on Sunday came to a premature end after he was tapped off the track by Ricciardo.

Pierre Gasly: 6

Gasly started with a fine starting position, but during the race AlphaTauri's disappointing pace again became painfully obvious and he finished far outside the points in 14th place.

Yuki Tsunoda: 5

Tsunoda had to state from the pit lane and AlphaTauri, therefore, decided to put him on the hard tyre, but he struggled to make any progress and did not progress beyond last place.

Alexander Albon: 6.5

Albon was again the fastest of the two Williams drivers. He had a mechanical problem in the sprint race, which landed him at the back of the grid. In the race, he could do little due to Williams' disappointing pace.

Nicholas Latifi: 5

Latifi drove a colourless weekend. Whereas he normally makes himself heard in wet conditions, that was not the case in Brazil. In the race, he left only Tsunoda behind.