Ratings | Verstappen and Alonso put teammates to shame in Monaco

The Monaco Grand Prix delivered another great event in 2023, mainly due to the rainfall in the closing stages of the race. A number of drivers managed to stand out in these conditions, and a few others completely sank. These are GPblog's grades handed out based on the entire race weekend.

Verstappen: 10

Max Verstappen had to pull out all the stops to secure the pole on Saturday and did so under the utmost pressure. He managed to outsmart Alonso and also had a good start on Sunday. Aston Martin had hopes of Verstappen breaking his mediums, but despite many complaints from Max, he kept those Pirelli tyres alive until the change to intermediates. The Dutchman had some occasional contact with the wall, but that was possible with the lead of almost 30 seconds over the number two. Verstappen was simply superior in Monaco.

Alonso: 10

Many people would have wished Fernando Alonso a win, even the eventual winner Verstappen. Alonso did everything to make things difficult for Verstappen on Saturday and Sunday, but it was not enough for victory. It was, however, for a handsome second place, leaving Alonso just 12 points clear of Perez in the standings.

Ocon: 10

Esteban Ocon drove the weekend of his life in Monaco. On Saturday, the Frenchman surprised friend and foe with a fourth place, which was even promoted to a third starting spot due to Leclerc's penalty. Throughout the race, Ocon had pressure from behind, but he was not at fault.

Hamilton: 9

All weekend, Lewis Hamilton was once again better than his younger teammate, and that will do the seven-time world champion good. However, his weekend was not completely flawless, as a crash in the third free practice meant everyone could see what the W14 looks like from underneath. Toto Wolff was not too happy about that.

Russell: 6

A fifth place is a fine result for George Russell after a difficult weekend in Monaco. He could not beat his teammate and also received a penalty for returning to the track unsafely. It did not cost him a place as Leclerc did not come within five seconds.

Leclerc: 6

Charles Leclerc had a weaker weekend at his home event in Monaco. The Monegasque's qualifying was quite strong, but interfering with Norris earned him a grid penalty, and he was unable to recover from that penalty in the race.

Gasly: 6

When your teammate drives to the podium, a seventh place is obviously a bit disappointing for Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman mixed with the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers, but he was not as good as Ocon this weekend.

Sainz: 6

Carlos Sainz fell short of his teammate on Saturday. It had been a shaky weekend for the Spaniard. Very fast, but already some crashes behind his name. On Sunday, Sainz continued that streak. Despite some strange manoeuvres, especially the divebomb where he broke his front wing on Ocon, the Spaniard still drove in a handsome fourth place. However, Ferrari threw that away with a horrible pit-stop strategy. Sainz's frustration is understandable, but he was not faultless himself either.

Norris: 8

Still two more points for Lando Norris, who continued to drive around in anonymity in Monaco. Norris managed to keep his teammate behind him again, but the pace to keep up with the men in front of him was not there.

Piastri: 7

Oscar Piastri continues to sit very close to his much more experienced teammate. For the first time in an F1 car in Monaco, Piastri did very well, especially in qualifying. It is deserved that this eventually earned him a point.

Bottas: 8

Valtteri Bottas did not score any points but performed to the maximum with Alfa Romeo's car. The Finn was better than his teammate on Saturday and Sunday.

De Vries: 6

For the first time in an F1 car in Monaco, it was a solid performance for Nyck de Vries. The Dutchman was again slower than his teammate and only finished ahead of him in the race due to his braking problems. Indeed, De Vries himself had no pace in the race, as he lost far too much ground during the race. Still, after all the criticism and pressure he had been put under, it was a weekend without any major mistakes.

Zhou: 6

Guanyu Zhou had a quiet few days, in which he was slower than his Finnish colleague for the whole race weekend.

Albon: 7

Alexander Albon was again better than his teammate in Monaco but went through his tyres very quickly in the race. The FW45 was simply not competitive enough.

Tsunoda: 8

Due to braking problems, Yuki Tsunoda's race was disappointing, but the Japanese driver once again made his mark. The AlphaTauri driver reached Q3, seemed on his way to points in the race and rightly rebuked his engineer.

Perez: 2

Sergio Perez disappointed considerably in Monaco. Called the king of the street, he may well hand in that title after the Monaco weekend. First, he went horribly wrong during qualifying and then made one mistake after another in the race as well. He collided with several competitors and lost several parts of his car. His title aspirations can be put on the shelf.

Hulkenberg: 5

Nico Hulkenberg stood out with a huge divebomb on the first lap of the race, only to continue his weekend colourlessly. Haas did not have the pace, and Nico could not make much of it.

Sargeant: 4

Once again, Logan Sargeant was slower than his teammate, and in the race, it looked childish at times with how the American was passed. He may be a rookie, but his performance really needs to improve.

Magnussen: 6

A mediocre weekend for Kevin Magnussen ended in the pit lane. The Dane was faster than Hulkenberg, but points did not result.

Stroll: 1

While his teammate stole the show, the Canadian was nowhere to be seen. On Saturday, he lost five-tenths and did not even get into Q3, only to cause multiple collisions on the first lap of the race. The rest of the race did not improve. Indeed, with each lap, Stroll suffered more casualties. Stroll will have to quickly forget about it heading into Barcelona.