2022 F1 Miami GP: Driver Ratings

The Miami GP's first edition saw Max Verstappen do what he does best and score another commanding win. The race did have some great moments and, to be fair, some great drives up and down the field.

With the Miami GP in the rearview mirror now, let's rate the performance of the drivers from the past weekend.

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2022 F1 Miami GP: Driver ratings

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (Started: 6th, Finished: 6th)

Rating: 7

Lewis Hamilton had been doing the perfect job at the Miami GP until the safety car struck. It gave the impetus to George Russell, who took the opportunity with both hands and got the jump on his illustrious teammate.

That's 4 defeats in 4 races for Hamilton against his teammate. Arguably one of the more barren runs of his career.

George Russell (Started: 12th, Finished: 5th)

Rating: 8

George Russell stumbled during qualifying and hence lost out in Q2. After a rather muted start at the Miami GP, however, the Mercedes driver slowly started making progress and had a strong race pace. He did get lucky with the safety car timing but the overtake on a seven-time world champion in the same car must have felt good.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen (Started: 3rd, Finished: 1st)

Rating: 9.5

It was a dominating performance for Max Verstappen at the Miami GP. His most important move in the race, however, did not come against Charles Leclerc. It came against Carlos Sainz's Ferrari at the start, which allowed him to not have any other car between him and Leclerc.

The gap is now less than 20 points in the championship and the Dutchman is looking stronger than ever. Having said that, we deducted half a point for that error in qualifying.

Sergio Perez (Started: 3rd, Finished: 2nd)

Rating: 8

Sergio Perez did what Sergio Perez does these days. He qualified inside the top 4 and challenged for a podium. If it wasn't for the power unit issues, he might have been able to do even better and score a podium. Nevertheless, it was another weekend where the Mexican did the job to perfection.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (Started: 1st, Finished: 2nd)

Rating: 8.5

It was another pole position for Charles Leclerc at the Miami GP. The Ferrari driver had good pace throughout the race but at no point was it close to what Max Verstappen was able to do. Could he have been a bit bolder when Verstappen attacked? Probably, yes. That was one thing that went against him.

Carlos Sainz (Started: 2nd, Finished: 3rd)

Rating: 8

One step at a time for Carlos Sainz after a rather shambolic run of form for the Ferrari driver. Third place in the Miami GP is a reflection of where Sainz is in the pecking order right now. He's fast enough to keep Sergio Perez behind him, but not quality enough to mount a sustained challenge against Charles Leclerc or Max Verstappen.

McLaren

Lando Norris (Started: 8th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 5.5

One off-weekend for the ever consistent Lando Norris. He was once again the benchmark at McLaren and appeared destined for points before his McLaren and the rejoining AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly decided to tangle.

It's not as if Norris was blameless in the incident (hence the low score) but that capped off a rather disappointing weekend for McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 14th, Finished: 13th)

Rating: 4.5

It was another disappointing outing for Daniel Ricciardo. He could not reach Q3 because of a not-so-optimal tire preparation. What was obvious, however, was the fact that it was Lando Norris again who was the benchmark for McLaren at the Miami GP.

Ricciardo is paid a very high sum of money to race for McLaren. If the Miami GP is anything to go by, that amount, as well as his seat, could be in trouble soon enough.

Alpine

Fernando Alonso (Started: 11th, Finished: 11th)

Rating: 6

It was an uncharacteristically erratic weekend for Fernando Alonso. His qualifying lap was hampered by Carlos Sainz and the race was hampered by the incident with Pierre Gasly followed by post-race time penalties. It was a rather frustrating race for the Spaniard, who will be hoping for a reversal of fortunes as soon as possible.

Esteban Ocon (Started: 18th, Finished: 8th)

Rating: 8

Esteban Ocon was battered and injured by the 51G impact of his crash. He started the race in 18th and finished ahead of his teammate. Another measured, consistent drive from the Frenchman who is starting to shade his experienced teammate at Alpine.

Alpha Tauri

Pierre Gasly (Started: 7th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 4

Pierre Gasly was the faster of the two AlphaTauri drivers. Even though he was able to keep his tires alive in a much better way compared to his teammate, he was always just holding on to his position in the Miami GP. The clash with Fernando Alonso was not his fault. The clash with Lando Norris? He needs to take a look at that again because that could have had far worse consequences than what really happened.

Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 9th, Finished: 12th)

Rating: 4

Yuki Tsunoda dropped positions left, right, and center in the Miami GP due to a lack of grip on the medium tires. His race did get decided by that mediocre first stint that dropped him down the order.

In the end, the AlphaTauri driver finished 12th thanks to a bucketload of retirements. The Japanese driver has shown improvements since last season but he still blows hot and cold sometimes.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 17th)

Rating: 7.5

It would have been touted as one of the better races of the Miami GP if Sebastian Vettel's race had not been destroyed by Mick Schumacher's rather impetuous move. Starting from the pitlane, Vettel spent most of his race stuck behind Lance Stroll but when the latter messed up at the safety car restart, Vettel went ahead and was in a points scoring position. Although he did miss out against Stroll in qualifying, he more than made up for it in the race.

Lance Stroll (Started: pitlane, Finished: 10th)

Rating: 6.5

Lance Stroll had the perfect qualifying for the Miami GP but then Aston Martin once again messed up which forced its two drivers to start from the pit lane. Stroll was doing a good job in the race until the safety car restart where he made a mistake that should have ideally cost him the points-scoring position. In the end, he scored a point because of Alonso's penalty and the Schumacher-Vettel collision but once again showed that there are still areas where he falls short every time.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas (Started: 5th, Finished: 7th)

Rating: 6.5

Valtteri Bottas should be disappointed with the Miami GP, primarily because this was a race where P5 should have been his.

The Finn had the pace to keep the Mercedes off his tail for most of the race. After the safety car period, however, he overshot the braking point at the last corner, costing him two crucial positions.

Contrary to pre-season expectations, Bottas is in a competitive car and needs to maximize these points, especially with a rookie as his teammate.

Guanyu Zhou (Started: 17th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 4.5

The Chinese driver didn't have a Miami GP to remember. The biggest worry for Guanyu Zhou at this point is the gulf in performances between him and his teammate. Due to this, the team is bleeding points. How long will Alfa Romeo bear with the performance levels of the Chinese driver? This is a story that will unravel soon.

Haas F1

Kevin Magnussen (Started: 16th, Finished: 16th)

Rating: 4

A race to forget for "KMag". He was eliminated in Q1 and was out-qualified by his teammate. When he overtook Mick Schumacher in the race, the German came back at him later in the race only to never look back again.

Kevin Magnussen has enjoyed a healthy margin performance over Schumacher this season. The Miami GP was the other way around between the teammates.

Mick Schumacher (Started: 15th, Finished: 15th)

Rating: 5

Mick Schumacher had a stronger race this time around. His first points finish was on the cards before ambition took over and he clattered into the side of Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin. The Miami GP should be a positive for Schumacher because for a change, he showed better pace than Magnussen. Moreover in F1, you can make a fast driver crash less but you can't make a slow driver fast.

Williams

Alex Albon (Started: 18th, Finished: 9th)

Rating: 8

Alex Albon has slowly but steadily taken over the mantle from George Russell and he has done a great job with it. The Williams machinery is probably the slowest car on the grid but Albon has been finding ways to sneak into points with it. This is the perfect redemption story anyone could have asked for from the driver.

Nicholas Latifi (Started 19th, Finished: 14th)

Rating: 3

Another anonymous race for Nicholas Latifi and another race where his teammate gets all the praise. There have been rumors of Oscar Piastri being a potential candidate for Latifi's seat. The Canadian hasn't shown the verve to prevent that from happening.