2023 Austrian GP F1 driver ratings: Max Verstappen and one other get perfect score
Crash.net F1 journalist Connor McDonagh delivers his driver ratings for the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen - 10
Nothing can stop the reigning F1 world champion right now. Even though Red Bull didn’t pit him under the Virtual Safety Car, Verstappen’s fifth victory in Austria was never in doubt. He’s now 89 points clear of his teammate in the championship standings.
Charles Leclerc - 8.5
Leclerc got the most out of the Ferrari on Friday (in qualifying) and Sunday (on race day). The only slight blemish on his weekend was a poor sprint day.
Sergio Perez - 6
There was another embarrassing qualifying display from Perez as he failed to make Q2 for the fourth consecutive race. He saw all three of his Q2 laps invalidated. From that moment onwards, Perez recovered well with second in the sprint, before finishing third in the grand prix. Still, given Red Bull’s dominance, he should be finishing second most of the time.
Carlos Sainz - 8
A strong weekend from Sainz, particularly during the damp conditions on Saturday. He looked like he had better pace than Leclerc but couldn’t overtake him in the first stint. His defensive driving against Perez in the latter stages of the grand prix was world class.
Lando Norris - 10
It’s fair to say that Norris is a bit of an Austria-specialist. Making the most of the upgraded McLaren, Norris was consistently in the top five all weekend. Our star of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso - 7.5
Like in Barcelona, it seemed that Aston Martin didn’t quite have the pace to challenge for the podium. Alonso was out-qualified by teammate Stroll for the second time this year. He drove a solid race, without a penalty, on the Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton - 7
Hamilton was once again the lead Mercedes driver in Austria but it wasn’t a plain-sailing weekend for the seven-time world champion. He didn’t progress from SQ1 in the sprint shootout, while in the main grand prix, he went backwards amid a braking issue. He did seem to lose his cool when he was penalised early on.
George Russell - 6.5
Another weekend where Russell was a step behind teammate Hamilton. An unspectacular race saw him finish eighth after starting 11th.
Pierre Gasly - 7
Gasly struggled in the damp conditions on Saturday - a bit like Leclerc. However, in the dry running he had the edge over teammate Ocon to come away with two points from Austria.
Lance Stroll - 6
After out-qualifying teammate Alonso, Stroll was set for a great race. But, he threw it away on the opening lap with a poorly positioned move into Turn 1, losing him a couple of places. From then on, Stroll, like he’s done a lot of the time in F1 2023, was battling slower cars in the midfield before coming away with a point or two. In his defense, he lost out when the VSC period ended early.
Alex Albon - 7
Albon continues to impress in the Williams but it’s fair to say that they no longer have the slowest car, particularly at venues which require a good top-speed. Regardless, he was unfortunate to miss out on points.
Esteban Ocon - 6
Ocon wasn’t at Gasly’s level in the dry conditions at the Red Bull Ring. He did enjoy a better Saturday.
Logan Sargeant - 5.5
The American rookie enjoyed his best race of the year. He was assured and drove a solid race. The main blemish was a late five-second time penalty for track limits.
Zhou Guanyu - 6
Zhou was narrowly out-qualified by Bottas in the main qualifying before getting one over the Finn in the shootout. He got ahead of Bottas at the start before settling into the tight midfield. Points were never on the cards for Alfa Romeo in Austria.
Nyck de Vries - 5.5
A fairly tidy race from de Vries other than an incident with Magnussen, which resulted in a five-second penalty.
Valtteri Bottas - 6
Bottas’ decent qualifying performance was undone by a poor start, dropping to the back. He was caught out by an aggressive Tsunoda.
Oscar Piastri - 5
Given what Norris did in the other McLaren, even taking into account the upgrades, it was a below-par weekend from the Australian.
Yuki Tsunoda - 3
Austria was Tsunoda’s worst weekend of the year. He was too aggressive at the start and picked up damage in the process. He was the only driver to pick up more than one penalty for track limits.
Kevin Magnussen - 5
Magnussen was never at Hulkenberg’s level. After being forced to start from the pit lane, he was forced to stop early on before being pushed off the track by de Vries. He tumbled down the order late on.
Nico Hulkenberg - 9
A superb weekend from Hulkenberg on the whole. He made Q3 in the two qualifying sessions, and finished a superb sixth in the sprint.
