Monaco GP F1 driver ratings: Time for Aston Martin to consider Lance Stroll’s future?
Crash.net F1 journalist Connor McDonagh runs through the field’s driver ratings after the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen - 10
The reigning world champion showed why he’s F1’s benchmark driver. His final sector in qualifying was scintillating to pip Alonso to pole position. While he had the odd run with the barrier, he can’t be faulted for his dominant weekend in the principality.
Fernando Alonso - 9
It was yet another consistent display from Alonso during the Monaco weekend. No doubt he’d have been disappointed to miss out on pole, regardless of Aston Martin’s limitations in the final part of the lap. He will be left to rue the decision to switch to slicks, rather than the intermediates to put more pressure on Verstappen.
Esteban Ocon - 10
The star of the weekend. Ocon was perfect. Like Verstappen, his final Q3 lap was phenomenal to secure third on the grid after Leclerc’s penalty. The Frenchman resisted immense pressure from Sainz as the rain fell to stay ahead before keeping Hamilton at bay at the end of the race.
Lewis Hamilton - 8
Hamilton was the quicker of the two Mercedes drivers this weekend. He looked like he lost out to his teammate through the pit stop phase. Ultimately, he kept it on the track and drove a controlled race to finish fourth with the fastest lap.
George Russell - 6
Russell threw away a shot at the podium by going up the escape road at Mirabeau. By staying out, he timed the switch to intermediates to perfection. Without his error, there’s a very good chance he’d have finished on the podium.
Charles Leclerc - 7
Leclerc’s chances of a first-ever home podium were ruined when he impeded Norris in qualifying. It’s hard to be too harsh on him given that Ferrari failed to communicate to him about Norris. He kept it clean on race day to finish sixth.
Pierre Gasly - 7
Gasly was never quite at his teammate’s level in Monaco. Regardless, it was a tidy drive in an important weekend for Alpine.
Carlos Sainz - 6
The Spaniard would have been very disappointed with his Monaco Grand Prix. Given that he was fourth on the grid, eighth was very poor. Sainz was understandably frustrated with the strategy that Ferrari handed him when they had countless opportunities to try and undercut Ocon. He looked aggressive in the slippery conditions but couldn’t pass Ocon before taking to the escape road before the switch to intermediates.
Lando Norris - 8
There was more on the table for Norris and McLaren in Monaco. Had it not been for his Q2 shunt, he might have qualified higher than 10th - this was later compounded when he was blocked by Leclerc. He stopped two laps before the rain came, meaning he couldn’t challenge the top eight. However, he showed his class on the intermediates, running the fastest pace of anyone in the closing laps.
Oscar Piastri - 7
A solid weekend from Piastri. While he wasn’t at Norris’ level, he wasn’t too far off in all conditions. A deserved top 10 finish for the rookie.
Valtteri Bottas - 7
Bottas got the most out of the Alfa Romeo - 0.5s ahead of Zhou in qualifying. He gambled on the intermediates early which allowed him to move up to 11th. He couldn’t have done much more in the Alfa this weekend.
Nyck De Vries - 6
Never at Tsunoda’s level in Monaco, de Vries enjoyed a decent weekend relative to his previous races in F1 2023.
Zhou Guanyu - 6
Zhou couldn’t match Bottas’ pace throughout the Monaco weekend. He stopped early for hards to try and move up the order, but it was all in vain.
Alex Albon - 6.5
Albon performed well in qualifying, but it seemed that Williams had the poorest tyre wear on the grid, with both of their drivers dropping down the order as the first stint progressed.
Yuki Tsunoda - 7
Tsunoda was strong in qualifying, making a rare Q3 appearance. He looked on course to finish in the points up until the rain before he struggled with a brake-related issue.
Sergio Perez - 2
There are zero positives for Perez to take away from Monaco. He crashed in qualifying, hit the back of Magnussen and nearly crashed into the wall on the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane. Terrible.
Nico Hulkenberg - 4
It was a tough weekend for both Haas drivers, with the American team simply lacking pace. Hulkenberg picked up a penalty for an over-optimistic move on the opening lap.
Logan Sargeant - 4
Another tough weekend for Sargeant. Granted, Williams didn’t have the race pace but it was another tricky race for the American.
Kevin Magnussen - 4
It was an adventurous race for the second Haas of Magnussen. Haas gambled with the Dane, keeping him out on the slicks which didn’t work out. He later pulled into the pit lane with six laps to go.
Lance Stroll - 2
It’s between Stroll and Perez as this weekend’s worst performer. The Canadian was knocked out in Q2 after he sustained some damage, however, there surely was enough pace in the Aston Martin to qualify better. A scrappy race led into his ultimate DNF.
