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Report card | Verstappen faultless, Perez and Raikkonen disappoint

Report card | Verstappen faultless, Perez and Raikkonen disappoint

05-07-2021 11:08 Last update: 11:42
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GPblog.com

Whilst Max Verstappen's victory at the Red Bull Ring was the crowning glory of his strong weekend, the Grand Prix didn't go as smoothly for everyone as it did for the Dutchman. Who was able to prove themselves at the second consecutive Grand Prix in Austria, and who will go home with a failing grade?

Verstappen: 10

With a lead of no less than 17 seconds over Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen crossed the finish line of the Austrian Grand Prix after a flawless weekend, from pole position to fastest lap. A faultless score on his report card is the only correct response to the Red Bull driver's impressive grand slam.

Norris: 9

Lando Norris also enjoyed a strong weekend, which saw a turnaround in the opening stages of the race. The British driver defended his position against Sergio Perez but forced the driver off the track, for which he was awarded a five second time penalty early in the race. Norris was critical of the penalty after the race, as well as the points added to his licence, but he recovered an finished on the third step of the podium, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Bottas: 8,5

This time around, Mercedes had to rely fully on Valtteri Bottas' strengths to keep the gap on Red Bull in the championship from getting too far. The Finn did what was expected of him, recording a second place finish and 18 points to his name. Although he was lucky with the damage to Hamilton's car and Norris' time penalty, the driver, whose future with Mercedes has been uncertain for some time, had a strong weekend.

Russell: 8,5

After Russell's spectacular Q3 in his Williams on Saturday, the Briton was very close to picking up his first points for the team in the championship. He lost out, however, at the last minute to Fernando Alonso, who, given Russell's strong weekend, even felt a little guilty about it.

Sainz: 8

After failing to reach Q3, Carlos Sainz was reliant on catching up in Austria. Starting from P10, the Spaniard impressively swung his way up to fifth place, once again showing the race pace that Ferrari possess.

Leclerc: 7,5

The other Ferrari driver also had to catch up to finish within the points. Leclerc started from 12th place and managed to fight his way up the field, before bumping into Sergio Perez on several occasions. He finished in eighth.

Alonso: 7

The experienced Fernando Alonso seems to have finally found his feet at Alpine. After a battle with George Russell in the closing stages of the race he managed to take the last point for finishing 10th.

Ricciardo: 7

During the Austrian Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo showed his good side. The Australian qualified in 13th but managed to turn this poor result into a P7 finish on Sunday.

Gasly: 6,5

Pierre Gasly was helpless to the fact that both the McLaren's and the Ferrari's were faster than the AlphaTauri. He was unable to defend his impressive P6 qualifying, and had to settle for ninth place.

Hamilton: 6,5

After a poor qualifying session and a start from fourth, damage to Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes meant he couldn't do what was expected of him: finish P2 ahead of Norris and Bottas. He ended up in fourth place, but a new round, and new opportunities await him at Silverstone.

Vettel: 6

Whilst Sebastian Vettel looked set to shake things up for a brief moment during qualifying, the German experienced a mostly uneventful race on Sunday. This was changed by Raikkonen's slide that ultimately cost Vettel his race.

Latifi: 6

Nicolas Latifi did what was expected of him in the Williams, making it to the back of the midfield. The driver recorded a P15 finish, after starting 18th.

Giovinazzi : 5.5

Antonio Giovinazzi didn't have an impressive race in Austria. He managed to climb from fifteenth to P14, and was fairly invisible.

Schumacher: 5.5

After starting from P19, Mick Schumacher in the Haas managed to stay ahead of his teammate, and finished He finished 18 th due to Ocon's DNF.

Mazepin: 5

Nothing new under the sun for the Haas driver. After starting at the very back of the grid, he failed to beat his teammate again.

Stroll: 5

Lance Stroll was largely invisible during the Austrian Grand Prix. Despite starting in the points he had to settle for 13th place.

Perez: 5

For Sergio Perez, the second consecutive race weekend at Austria is one to forget quickly. After running wide under pressure from Norris, he fell down to 10th and was stuck in a midfield battle. He was unable to chase the top four, and Perez twice made the same mistake as Norris, and got ten seconds added to his final time, which saw him lose a place to Sainz.

Ocon: 5

Esteban Ocon saw his dramatic weekend come to an even more dramatic end on the first lap of the race. After crashing out again in the first session of qualifying he found himself in a sandwich between a Haas and an Alfa Romeo, a position he could have saved himself if he had been able to set a better qualifying time.

Tsunoda: 4,5

The Austrian Grand Prix made it clear once again that AlphaTauri acquisition Yuki Tsunoda still has a long way to go before he can rise to the top of Formula 1. The driver was penalised twice for track limits on the pit entry.

Raikkonen: 4,5

Kimi Raikkonen's mostly strong race turned around in the closing stages when he drove himself, as well as fellow and former teammate Sebastian Vettel, off the track. The Finn's mistake caused him to drop back to 15th place; Vettel had to settle for a DNF.