The first weekend that saw the new Sprint Race produced a shocking result.
Championship leader and Sprint Race winner Max Verstappen crashed out on the opening lap after contact with Lewis Hamilton.
The home hero was given a penalty, but still went on to win the race, in front of a heroic Charles Leclerc.
Lewis Hamilton – 5
His performance on track after the race restarted was great. He beat Valtteri Bottas by 11 seconds despite receiving a 10 seconds penalty.
So, how does he get five? His crash with Max Verstappen saw him full of responsibilities. It appeared more like, out of frustration for not being able to take the lead, Hamilton looked for a kamikaze move.
Had the red flag not been deployed, Hamilton would have retired, said the team. Winning after crashing out your main rival is not the best way to do it.
Embed from Getty ImagesCharles Leclerc – 10
The moral winner of this race. The Monegasque was on fire, qualifying fourth on Friday and performing a great Sprint Race.
He moved past Bottas at the start and took the lead once the race leaders crashed. Leclerc held on with superb pace until few laps to go, but gave up to the superiority of the Mercedes.
Finishing second is a brilliant result, that gives Ferrari hope for the coming races.
Embed from Getty ImagesValtteri Bottas – 2
If Mercedes had some doubts as to whether they should retain Bottas, they may well have cleared after Silverstone.
The big question is: if he doesn’t win on Sunday, with both Red Bulls out of the points and with his teammate receiving a penalty, how much more can he do?
After 10 races he is still trailing a McLaren in the championship and, finishing 10 seconds adrift of a penalised Hamilton, is a rather big humiliation.
Lando Norris – 8
Another great performance from the young Brit.
He wasn’t able to keep up with Leclerc, but ran a virtual second throughout all of the first stint.
Only a mistake from his pit crew put him behind Bottas and, once passed by Hamilton, he settled for fourth.
Embed from Getty ImagesDaniel Ricciardo – 7.5
Good signs of improvement for Daniel Ricciardo.
The Australian was still not as fast as Norris in the race, but held on to fifth, which is his best result for the team.
He was just two thousandths off the Brit in qualifying and followed his teammate through in both the Sprint Race and the race.
Carlos Sainz – 7
A nice come-back from Carlos Sainz, in a good-performing Ferrari, allowed his team to outscore McLaren.
It all went downhill in the Sprint Race, as he was hit by George Russell.
However, he continuously made up places and just a pit stop error denied him a chance to fight for fourth.
Embed from Getty ImagesFernando Alonso – 8
The class of the Spaniard emerged in the Sprint Race, with an astonishing start from P11 to P5.
The Alpine driver held on to start seventh and confirmed his place in the race.
The only negative note was perhaps an excessively aggressive waving on the straight, to try and cut the slipstream, but the race directors decided for a no penalty.
Lance Stroll – 7
A solid race for the Canadian, who only qualified 15th, but went on to score four points thanks to a scintillating start.
He settled in P8 and followed Fernando Alonso to the flag, finishing as the leading Aston Martin.
Esteban Ocon – 7
He wasn’t as spectacular as Alonso, but Esteban Ocon finally turned around his poor form and scored points.
He was only four seconds off his teammate in the race and helped Alpine keep within eight points to Aston Martin in the standings.
Yuki Tsunoda – 7
A late charge for Yuki Tsunoda helped him to finally outscore Pierre Gasly.
The weekend started in a difficult way, as he was only 16th after the Sprint Race.
However, he didn’t give up, had a long first stint and came back with newer tyres to finish in the points.
Embed from Getty ImagesPierre Gasly – 5
This was the very first weekend of the season in which Gasly failed to stand out.
He didn’t have a brilliant qualifying, albeit starting ahead of his teammate, and in the race he didn’t make up ground.
He stayed in the bottom part of the top 10, before losing out to Ocon and Tsunoda in the final laps.
George Russell – 7
Against all odds, George Russell managed to improve the qualifying result of the previous race.
He put his car in an incredible eighth place, but contact with Sainz in the Sprint Race meant he had to start 12th after a penalty.
He wasn’t far off the top 10, but had to give up to faster cars.
Embed from Getty ImagesAntonio Giovinazzi – 5
Antonio Giovinazzi put his car in Q2, but struggled in the Sprint Race and started in 15th.
It was very difficult from then on, as he was stuck outside of the points and had to settle for an anonymous race.
Nicholas Latifi – 5
Latifi’s rating is always conditioned by the great performance of his teammate.
He struggled in qualifying and, even though he finished the race in 14th, not far off Russell, his qualifying gap was huge.
Kimi Raikkonen – 6
It looks like the Finn has, by now, lost the one-lap pace.
However, a decent start in the Sprint Race gained him a grid slot in P13 and the Finn appeared competitive.
He was in P10 until a dozen laps to go, before contact with Sergio Perez put him at the back.
Embed from Getty ImagesSergio Perez – 4
The one error in the Sprint Race, with a spin, ruined his weekend. However, it hadn’t been a flawless experience.
He was outqualified even by Leclerc and lost a second row start.
He was then overtaken by Lando Norris and was in a poor sixth place once he spun.
The race was difficult, as he finished 16th after stopping late to take the fastest lap off Hamilton.
Nikita Mazepin – 6
The race was arguably the first time in which Nikita Mazepin looked like a driver with some potential.
He was beaten fair and square in qualifying and the Sprint Race, but moved past his teammate in the second part of Sunday’s race.
Outpacing Mick Schumacher might finally give the Russian driver the spark he needs.
Embed from Getty ImagesMick Schumacher – 5.5
He was overtaken by Mazepin after he spent the whole of the first stint in front.
It looked like history could repeat itself, as he qualified ahead, but for once, he was the one to finish behind.
Sebastian Vettel – 5
A promising race soon vanished with a spin.
The German had done everything well, he started in eighth and looked likely to fight Alonso for P7.
However, his error compromised the race, before he retired once in 17th.
Max Verstappen – N/A
This race is a huge blow for Verstappen.
The Dutchman was superb on Saturday, as he took pole position off Lewis Hamilton after winning the Sprint Race with an aggressive start.
He also led the opening part of the race on Sunday, before Lewis Hamilton took him out.
Considering the dynamics of the incident, he didn’t deserve at all to leave Silverstone with a -25 deficit.
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