Max Verstappen beats Lewis Hamilton to the flag, as the two once again go wheel-to-wheel. With only five races left, the Dutchman increases his lead at the top to 12 points, with Sergio Perez completing the podium.
Max Verstappen – 10
Verstappen and Red Bull were called upon a tough task, in what was believed to be a track suitable to Mercedes.
The championship leader showed strength in qualifying, to pull off a great pole position, but then lost the place at the start, with Hamilton swooping by.
Verstappen chased hard and moved past by anticipating the pit stop. It was a race of control from then on, which gives him a tiny cushion over Hamilton for the remaining races.
Lewis Hamilton – 8
He shares the ratings with his mechanics, whose dubious strategy possibly cost him a win.
It was a fine drive, beating Perez’s second Red Bull in qualifying and moving past Verstappen at the start. Hamilton looked under pressure but was ordered to drive conservatively and manage only to lose the place at the stop.
He had a mountain to climb and made back six seconds to return at the back of Verstappen, but diverting the strategy rather than covering his rival was possibly a costly mistake.
Sergio Perez – 8
Perez definitely presents himself as a positive note for Red Bull, with his second consecutive competitive weekend.
The Mexican proved a threat to the championship leaders in qualifying and was following them at the beginning of the race.
He lamented the lack of hydration, with a faulty drinking system that kept him without water for the whole race. In fact, he dropped at distance, but could claim a much needed podium.
Charles Leclerc – 9
An amazing weekend for the Monegasque, who placed his car in fourth after lap one and kept his place safe by increasing the gap to the following Daniel Ricciardo.
Charles Leclerc even appeared to be a threat to Perez for the podium, but had to settle for a very important fourth which reduces Ferrari’s gap to McLaren to three and a half points.
Daniel Ricciardo – 8
The Australian proved assertive at the start, to gain a place on Carlos Sainz he would never drop again.
It was a decisive move, given the Ferrari was faster than the McLaren and he could massively limit the damage in the standings by finishing in fifth.
It was finally a good overall performance, fending off the Ferrari and racing a decent way ahead of Lando Norris.
Valtteri Bottas – 5
A bitter sixth place, partly derived from his engine penalty which forced him to start ninth.
He lost a place at the start and spent the entire first stint behind the Alpha Tauris, losing a lot of time in the fragment.
Only towards half distance could he come-back and pass Norris, but it took Valtteri Bottas a lot more to overtake Carlos Sainz, which he only could with a few laps left.
Carlos Sainz – 6
The start of qualifying looked promising, but then Sainz opted to start the race with soft tyres and had a poor first lap.
He recovered the place on Norris, but was stuck behind Ricciardo, and serving a slow stop didn’t help his cause.
Making contact when attacking the Australian meant he also lost the place on Bottas, finishing a long way behind Leclerc.
Lando Norris – 5.5
Norris has received a lot of positive comments throughout the season, but this was an unusual display, which saw him finish a desolate eighth.
Considering his standards, this is quite disappointing, as he qualified behind Ricciardo and was boxed in at the start when trying to make a move.
He chased Sainz all the way, finishing less than a second adrift, but just four points claimed see him drop to fifth in the standings.
Yuki Tsunoda – 7.5
Oh, finally. Yuki Tsunoda had one of his best performances in Formula 1, qualifying in Q3 and moving past Pierre Gasly at the start.
He was ahead of the Frenchman when he retired and it was the first time this season the two actually raced close to each other.
He finished ninth, which is about the best his car could achieve at the COTA.
Sebastian Vettel – 7
A well recovered point after having to start from the back of the grid.
Sebastian Vettel was on a different strategy, with the Aston Martin opting to pit later than their rivals and chase at the end.
The German could just do that, capitalising on Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso’s misfortunes to get in the top 10.
Antonio Giovinazzi – 6
For the second race running he misses the points by one place.
He is 11th, even if this time it was much harder, as he had to give up the place to Raikkonen during his second stint.
He lost time fighting with Alonso and only towards the end of the race he found back some competitiveness.
Lance Stroll – 5
He was hit at the start by Nicholas Latifi and that put him at the back of the pack, ruining his chances.
He was on the same strategy as Vettel, so he could have fought for points, but was instead forced to make up ground and was only 12th.
Kimi Raikkonen – 5
After only managing the 18th fastest time on Saturday, it was a surprise to find Raikkonen in 12th after the first lap (he started higher up due to penalties around).
It was even more surprising to see that he was fast enough to compete with those around and was a valid candidate for points.
He was running in 10th and looked likely to pull it off until he spun off the track with a few laps to go and ended the race in 13th.
George Russell – 5.5
A more difficult weekend for Williams and George Russell, with the Briton not competing in Q2 as set to start from last.
He recovered a few places with the mayhem around, but didn’t have the pace to fight for the points and spent the rest of the race fighting at the back.
Nicholas Latifi – 5
The Canadian had a big chance, with a good grid position due to the penalties around.
However, he had contact on the first corner, tangling with Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin which had just cut across.
He lost time and later had to pit to repair damage, so he could only finish ahead of the two Haas cars.
Mick Schumacher – 6
When conditions are entirely dry it’s hard for the Haas to have any competitors, because the car is just too slow.
Mick Schumacher beat Nikita Mazepin when it mattered and finished a long way in front. This is as much as it can be judged for the German rookie.
Nikita Mazepin – 4
For Mazepin it was another difficult weekend, finishing qualifying and race in last.
There’s hardly any positive note for his race, considering he was almost lapped by his own teammate.
Fernando Alonso – 6
Alonso was coming back to fight for the points in the later parts, as he also was condemned to start at the back of the grid.
The Alpine wasn’t too fast and the Spaniard lost some time in a scrap with Antonio Giovinazzi, before retiring due to a rear-wing failure.
Esteban Ocon – 4
A disappointing weekend for the French driver, who had to pit on lap one for damages and never really was in contention for points.
Things got worse as he had to retire with a mechanical fault.
Pierre Gasly – 6
Gasly is one of the fastest drivers this season, but luck isn’t helping, as he is denied a points finish by a mechanical issue.
He didn’t appear sharp enough to challenge the Ferraris and the McLarens like in the past races, but entered Q3 for the 14th time in 17 races and looked well set to end in the points.
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