Ratings | Nobody can match Verstappen, Piastri's breakthrough

The Belgian Grand Prix was dominated by Max Verstappen. Nobody comes close to the Dutchman at the moment and that is also reflected in GPblog's ratings. As usual, those ratings are given based on the entire race weekend.

Verstappen: 10

No one can match Max Verstappen at the moment. The Dutchman took pole for the sprint race and the Grand Prix, although he had to give up pole on Sunday due to a grid penalty. That did not bother Verstappen, he still thundered to victory with a stunning lead of 22 seconds.

Perez: 5

Sergio Perez finished the Belgian Grand Prix second, but if you look at the whole weekend, it is simply insufficient. Twice he qualified nine-tenths off his teammate. For the GP that still resulted in a second starting spot, for the sprint a ninth place. This put him in contention, and Perez lost precious points. Hamilton got the penalty for the incident, but Perez was already struggling with his RB19 before that moment. Then, when you are made to look like that by your teammate on Sunday, you do not deserve a satisfactory performance.

Leclerc: 8

Charles Leclerc drove a strong qualifying and race at Spa-Francorchamps, earning a high mark. A top score it is not, as, on Saturday, the Monegasque came up a bit short in the Sprint Shootout and, therefore the sprint race.

Hamilton: 7

Lewis Hamilton was very fast on behalf of Mercedes this weekend. On Friday, the seven-time world champion qualified handsomely in fourth place, and there was more in the Sprint Shootout as well. He was only held back by his teammate. Hamilton wanted to rectify that in the sprint race but made a mistake in duel with Perez and received a time penalty for it. It cost him points, although the Briton still finished ahead of his teammate. On Sunday, that was the case again.

Alonso: 7

Fernando Alonso did not have his best weekend of the 2023 Formula 1 season. Although the Spaniard was faster than his teammate in almost every session, he still showed a lot of frustration on Saturday. This also manifested itself in a crash in the sprint race. On Sunday, all was well again, with a handsome fifth place in dry conditions.

Russell: 5

A poor weekend for George Russell who was clearly behind in the duel with Hamilton, and also ended his chances with a strange action in the Sprint Shootout.

Norris: 6

Lando Norris was behind his McLaren teammate this weekend. Piastri stole the show. With Piastri dropping out of the race, Norris was the only one to score points, which means he still has something to show for his weekend.

Ocon: 6

Esteban Ocon took the points on Sunday due to good race pace, but Gasly was the best at Alpine for the rest of the weekend. Thus, the two Frenchmen alternate weekly as the team's best driver.

Stroll: 6

Lance Stroll still picks up a point on worn tyres, but it was by no means a good weekend. Alonso was faster in most sessions, and when Alonso failed to finish in the sprint race, Stroll was also unable to capitalise by taking points.

Tsunoda: 7

Yuki Tsunoda proved himself at AlphaTauri, where the last few weeks were mostly about his teammate. A strong qualifying and race earned the Japanese driver a point, although his Saturday was considerably less impressive when Ricciardo was better again.

Gasly: 8

Pierre Gasly was faster than his teammate all weekend but simply could not get past Tsunoda on the mediums. He left his teammate ahead on the soft tyre to help the team gain points. Gasly himself had scored good points earlier in the weekend by finishing third in the sprint race.

Bottas: 7

Valtteri Bottas did not score any points but was faster than his teammate every session this weekend and showed good pace, especially in the race on Sunday.

Zhou: 6

Guanyu Zhou was the second driver at Alfa Romeo all weekend but ultimately finished not far behind the Finn in the race.

Albon: 7

Alexander Albon showed good things again this weekend in the Williams, but points didn't come. Especially in the changeable conditions, the British team's car simply did not progress.

Magnussen: 6

Kevin Magnussen faced the press with sadness on Sunday. The pace is not there at Haas, and the driver's state of mind is deteriorating by the week.

Ricciardo: 6

Daniel Ricciardo gave everything in qualifying but went just over the limit in doing so. This made his Sunday Grand Prix very difficult. Saturday was a better day for the good-humoured Australian but fell just short of a point.

Sargeant: 5

Logan Sargeant just cannot get it together to drive a flawless weekend. The American was again slower than his teammate and ruined a great chance of SQ3 by spinning on his first timed lap. The potential is there, Sargeant now needs to string it together for a whole weekend.

Hulkenberg: 5

Nico Hulkenberg had a difficult weekend for Haas. Sometimes through his own fault, sometimes through the team.

Sainz: 6

Carlos Sainz was behind his teammate this weekend. On Saturday, the Spaniard still got points, but after an inferior qualifying session, Sainz threw away his race early on by hoping Piastri would hold back. Indeed, Sainz indicated he did see him. So when you do decide to slam the door, you put yourself on the spot. With his experience, a remarkable choice.

Piastri: 8

Oscar Piastri had a great race weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, where he really showed himself as a future world champion. On Friday and Saturday, he was well ahead of his teammate, and it earned him a podium in the sprint race. On Sunday, his race was soon over. A slightly too ambitious move to put your car there on the inside when you are not really next to it. It cost Piastri his chance for points.