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Ratings | Verstappen's perfection, Hamilton maximises

Ratings | Verstappen's perfection, Hamilton maximises

28-06-2021 13:56 Last update: 14:48
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GPblog.com

The Styrian Grand Prix didn't offer much in the way of spectacle this weekend, but with his dominant fourth win of the season, Max Verstappen officially seems the man to beat this season. Mercedes will have to work hard to provide real resistance to Red Bull for the rest of the season. GPblog hands out the ratings to the drivers after the race.

Max Verstappen: 10

There was no stopping Verstappen all weekend. The Dutchman booked one of his most dominant wins of his Formula 1 career. It all started with the free practices and in the qualifying on Saturday he took his sixth pole position. During the race he never had a problem and increased his lead over Lewis Hamilton in the championship to 18 points. Perfect weekend.

Lewis Hamilton: 8.5

Hamilton did in Austria what Verstappen did in previous seasons. Maximising what he can get out of the car and getting as many points as possible. The reigning world champion drove an excellent weekend, but Red Bull were simply the fastest car in Austria. He eventually finished second and a pit stop on the penultimate lap gave the Briton an extra point for the fastest lap.

Sergio Perez: 6

The Mexican wasn't comfortable in the Red Bull all weekend. In qualifying he finished fifth, but due to Bottas' grid penalty he was fourth on the grid. He managed to finish the race in that position and at least scored some good points for the team. The fact is that he was been beaten by team mate Verstappen all weekend.

Lando Norris: 8

Another strong weekend for the young Briton. In qualifying he beat Perez despite driving a slower car and in the early stages of the race he managed to fight for his podium. However, the McLaren came up short of Red Bull and Mercedes and so Norris can be satisfied with his fifth place. He is still fourth in the championship.

Valtteri Bottas: 7

The Finn finally had another strong weekend. He qualified ahead of his teammate Hamilton, but a silly spin in the pitlane condemned him to fifth place on the grid. In the race he managed to fight his way past Norris and Perez to take his fourth podium of the season. It is to be hoped that the Mercedes driver can continue his upward trend in the coming races.

Charles Leclerc: 6.5

Leclerc was voted Driver of the Day, but threw Pierre Gasly's and almost his own race into the bin on the opening lap when he smashed his front wing on the AlphaTauri driver's rear tyre. His advance through the field made up for a lot, at least for the fans, and the Monegasque eventually finished seventh.

Carlos Sainz: 7

A weekend of ups and downs for Sainz. The Spaniard had a disappointing qualifying session, in which he failed to reach Q3 and had to settle for twelfth place. In the race, however, the Ferrari driver was able to work his way up to sixth place.

Pierre Gasly: 6

It was not easy for the Frenchman this weekend. Having already had to miss out on free practice due to Honda engine problems, his race only lasted a few corners until Leclerc smashed the AlphaTauri's rear tyre with his front wing. With a sixth place in qualifying, good points could have been scored.

Daniel Ricciardo: 4

Ricciardo seemed to have found his feet at McLaren, but in Austria the Australian was nowhere to be seen. In both qualifying and the race he was completely outclassed by teammate Lando Norris, and in both qualifying and the race he came a very disappointing 13th place.

Sebastian Vettel: 6

After three races in a row in the points, Vettel was unable to get away with it in Austria. After a 14th place in qualifying, the German was unable to score any points. He finished 12th, while his teammate Lance Stroll scored good points with an eighth place finish.

Fernando Alonso: 7.5

Alonso was very satisfied with his car in Austria. And he had every reason to be. Once again the Spaniard managed to get through to Q3, while teammate Ocon could only manage 17th. With a ninth place finish, the two-time world champion managed to rack up some points as well.

Lance Stroll: 8

A good weekend for the young Canadian. He got through to Q3 and scored good points. In the race Stroll managed to get ahead of both Alonso and Tsunoda for eighth place. Stroll was also the boss of teammate Vettel throughout the weekend.

Esteban Ocon: 4

A downright disappointing weekend for Esteban Ocon. A couple of weeks ago the Frenchman received a multi-year contract from his team Alpine, but in Austria he didn't show that he was worth it. Ocon didn't even make it through Q1 and is also invisible in the race. With a 14th place finish he was'nt even close to scoring points.

Yuki Tsunoda: 7

Tsunoda made no major mistakes, which the young Japanese can be happy with. In qualifying he came eighth, but got in the way of Bottas on a flying lap, which earned him a harsh three place grid penalty. In the race, the AlphaTauri driver managed to secure the final point by coming 10th.

Kimi Raikkonen: 7

In qualifying, Giovinazzi was once again the boss of the Finn, but in the race Raikkonen shows his good side again. With an 11th place finish he just missed out on the final point from Tsunoda.

Antonio Giovinazzi: 5.5

To get to Q2 with the Alfa Romeo is almost an achievement in itself, but in the race Giovinazzi was again out of the question. After qualifying in 15th position that is also where he finished. A nothing race for the Italian.

George Russell: 9

It's still amazing to see what Russell gets out of his Williams, especially compared to teammate Nicholas Latifi. The Briton qualified in P11, but after 25 laps he was in eighth after a grid penalty from Tsunoda and the loss of Gasly and Leclerc. This could have been the chance for points for the team until reliability threw a spanner in the works.

Mick Schumacher: 7

Haas have long since abandoned this season and are focusing on 2022 and so it's impressive that Schumacher is still showing good things from time to time. Teammate Mazepin is almost always behind him and he regularly manages to catch Latifi in the Williams. A sixteenth place does the German no justice. Let's hope for better times in 2022.

Nikita Mazepin: 5

He's obviously driving the worst car on the grid, but Schumacher still manages to show a lot more in the Haas than Mazepin. The Russian was last in qualifying again and even finished a lap behind his teammate.

Nicholas Latifi: 3

The Canadian billionaire's son is currently in his second season in Formula 1, so he can't really be called a rookie anymore. Latifi is being outworked by Russell and he failed to keep up with the slower Haas.