Ratings | Verstappen and Hamilton still the best drivers in F1

The Mexican Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton behind him. The difference on the track was huge between the two, but the 2021 title rivals showed in Mexico that they are still the two best drivers in F1.

Verstappen: 10

Max Verstappen was again by far the best in Mexico. Qualifying passed him by as the Ferrari was just a bit faster over one lap. In the race, Verstappen immediately made up for that at the start. At the restart, Verstappen was put under pressure for a while, but with a perfect start he had nothing to fear from anyone there either.

Hamilton: 10

Lewis Hamilton showed in Mexico that he still has what it takes. Much better than his younger teammate in Mexico and especially impressive during his stint on the medium tyre. Where Russell didn't perform, Hamilton remained calm and Leclerc never came close. Hamilton's overtaking move on Leclerc was also a glimpse of the old Hamilton in his time at McLaren.

Leclerc: 9

Charles Leclerc took pole position, but for the umpteenth time in his career, Leclerc failed to convert it into a win. The start was not good, but there was nothing Leclerc could do about the crash with Perez. Afterwards, Leclerc drove a strong race with a damaged front wing until the red flag. Completely at Hamilton/Verstappen level, Leclerc is not (yet) on the podium, with the gap he left in duel with Hamilton.

Sainz: 7

Carlos Sainz drove a solid weekend after being ill on Thursday. The Spaniard was slightly behind Leclerc, but was at least very close.

Norris: 8

Lando Norris threw away a good result with his own mistakes in qualifying. The catch-up race was spectacular though, with a great overtaking move on Russell in particular. Norris shows he has the racecraft and speed over one lap, now he needs to cut the mistakes out.

Russell: 5

A mediocre weekend for George Russell who hasn't been close to his teammate since the updates. Russell's pace was distressing, especially on the medium tyre.

Ricciardo: 9

Daniel Ricciardo made his mark at Red Bull Racing this weekend with a great qualifying session and a solid race. The race pace wasn't perfect as from the back of the grid, teammate Tsunoda still came awfully close.

Piastri: 6

Oscar Piastri kept his cool in qualifying and played the ideal team role on Sunday. Still, he will want fewer such moments next season where he is really outclassed by his teammate on Sunday.

Albon: 9

Alexander Albon was again one of the stars in the background, scoring points for Williams for the third race weekend in a row.

Ocon: 7

A big mouth, but Esteban Ocon finally lived up to it. The Frenchman drove a decent race, although he was again slower than his teammate on Saturday.

Gasly: 7

Pierre Gasly will be frustrated at how the race went. On Saturday, he was again faster than his teammate, but on Sunday, not for the first time this year, the roles were reversed.

Tsunoda: 4

Yuki Tsunoda played the ideal role as a 'tow' for Ricciardo on Saturday and also drove a rock-solid race on Sunday, until he lost his temper. AlphaTauri had two cars in the points and will blame the Japanese driver immensely for not controlling his emotions in that situation.

Hulkenberg: 7

Nico Hulkenberg held a train behind him for a long time that was reminiscent of the years of Jarno Trulli. In the end, the German had to give in, but all in all still another strong weekend for The Hulk.

Zhou: 6

Guanyu Zhou ended up in Q3, but in the race both Alfa Romeo's dropped away.

Bottas: 6

Valtteri Bottas started the race from P9, but in the race the Finn quickly dropped back. Again, you also saw him stuck behind other drivers a lot.

Sargeant: 5

Logan Sargeant drove another quiet weekend in the background after already failing to set a time in qualifying on Saturday.

Stroll: 5

Bottas was blamed by the stewards, but Lance Stroll's eventual failure could also be blamed on the Canadian himself. The Aston Martin barely moved forward.

Alonso: 6

Problems on the floor? It seemed that Fernando Alonso wasn't getting on well with the car. The marriage started so nicely, but where is this going?

Magnussen: 6

Kevin Magnussen drove a mediocre weekend, but of course couldn't do anything about the crash. His left rear suspension broke, sending him into the wall.

Perez: 3

In a weekend where it had to happen, Sergio Perez disappointed everyone. In qualifying, he had remained somewhat close to Max Verstappen by two tenths and on Sunday he had a horrendous start. However, what came over him to just steer in with Leclerc and Verstappen alongside him, no one will ever know.