2022 F1 Spanish GP: Driver Ratings

The 2022 F1 Spanish GP was a mixed bag of a race. There were some brilliant executions over the weekend from a few drivers, while for others not everything went their way. While Charles Leclerc picked up his 4th pole position of the season, Max Verstappen picked up his 4th win of the season. Having said that, let's evaluate how each driver performed over the weekend.

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2022 F1 Spanish GP: Driver ratings

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (Started: 6th, Finished: 5th)

Rating: 8

Lewis Hamilton was out-qualified by his teammate at the Spanish GP. When he started the race in P6, he chose to gamble on a set of Medium tires. As it turned out, the gamble worked against Hamilton, exposing him to attacks from multiple drivers behind him. After clashing with Kevin Magnussen and ending up at the back of the pack, he started to claw his way back into the race. He finished the race 5th and arguably could have done much more if not for the collision.

George Russell (Started: 4th, Finished: 3rd)

Rating: 9.5

George Russell pretty much did nothing wrong in the entire Spanish GP weekend. He punched above his weight as he secured a second-row start. He then held off the rather aggressive advances of the Red Bull drivers.

Sure, maybe the pace of the Mercedes is not on the same level as the Red Bulls but overall, Russell extracted the maximum from his machinery at the Spanish GP.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen (Started: 2nd, Finished: 1st)

Rating: 10

Max Verstappen had a strange Spanish GP weekend. He had the potential to counter the pole lap set by Charles Leclerc. The car gremlins, however, did not allow that. He had the potential to challenge and even beat Leclerc in a straight fight. A strange error caused by the wind, however, left him stuck behind George Russell, and without DRS, he was pretty much handicapped.

Even with the handicap, Verstappen left the Spanish GP with a race win. Overall, another strong performance by the Dutchman as he takes over the lead in the drivers' championship.

Sergio Perez (Started: 5th, Finished: 2nd)

Rating: 9

Sergio Perez might just have had the sudden realization (if he didn't know it already) that he is never going to challenge for the title at Red Bull. Perez is doing the best possible job on the grid as the team's second driver. He, however, will always be compared to the best driver on the grid and that's where the Mexican is falling short again. Another impressive race for the "team-player" Perez this season.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (Started: 1st, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 10

Charles Leclerc didn't do anything wrong the entire weekend. He redeemed himself after botching his first lap in Q3 by securing pole position. He then led from the start and was in a comfortable position to win the title until the car gave up.

Leclerc is a worthy challenger for Max Verstappen and if not for the DNF in this race, he could have left the Spanish GP by extending his lead in the championship.

Carlos Sainz (Started: 3rd, Finished: 4th)

Rating: 7

Carlos Sainz was off the pace of his teammate throughout the weekend. He was the other driver that got caught up in the gust of wind on the track. Although he recovered and put together a good race, it was rather surprising to see how easy it was for Lewis Hamilton to catch up and pass him.

An underwhelming Spanish GP for Sainz who looks destined for a role as the Ferrari No.2 soon.

McLaren

Lando Norris (Started: 11th, Finished: 8th)

Rating: 8

Another race where you have to tip your hat to Lando Norris. He was gravely ill before the race, and post-race it was revealed that he was suffering from tonsilitis. Despite that, he was the shining light for McLaren as he scored points for the team once again in testing conditions.

Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 9th, Finished: 12th)

Rating: 5

We might be looking at the demise of Daniel Ricciardo right now. The Australian was regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid before he ran into Lando Norris at McLaren. Ever since, Ricciardo's performances have fallen off the cliff. The Spanish GP was no different as the driver plummeted from his starting position to 12th in the race while his gravely-ill teammate put him in the shade.

Alpine

Fernando Alonso (Started: 20th, Finished: 9th)

Rating: 8

It was another impressive race day for the Spaniard, who was fortunate to score a few points today. Fernando Alonso's race was rich in racecraft and speed, but poor qualifying goes against him. Overall, Alonso will be happy with his Spanish GP.

Esteban Ocon (Started: 12th, Finished: 7th)

Rating: 9

Esteban Ocon is 26 points ahead of Fernando Alonso this season. What he has always lacked in his career, however, is style points. This is why he does not get the kind of recognition the other drivers get on the grid.

Regardless, this was a strong weekend for Ocon as he extracted whatever was possible from that Alpine.

Alpha Tauri

Pierre Gasly (Started: 14th, Finished: 13th)

Rating: 5

It was a rare off-weekend for Pierre Gasly, who never looked confident in the car throughout the weekend. He was out-qualified and out-raced by his teammate this weekend, which is surely something he will be looking to address at Monaco.

Yuki Tsunoda (Started:13th, Finished: 10th)

Rating: 8

A fine weekend for Yuki Tsunoda as the Spanish GP yielded a points finish for the Japanese driver. The AlphaTauri is not the beast it was last season and extracting performances from it has been a challenge for the drivers.

Tsunoda, however, was able to manage it just fine. He beat his teammate both in qualifying and in the race, and the 10th position was just the icing on the cake he needed.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel (Started: 16th, Finished: 11th)

Rating: 8

There is a very high probability that Sebastian Vettel will not continue racing beyond this season. Should that happen, however, it would not be because of a lack of talent or motivation. The German extracted whatever was possible from the new Aston Martin and almost scored a point with it, leaving Lance Stroll in the shadows while at it.

Lance Stroll (Started: 18th, Finished: 15th)

Rating: 5

Lance Stroll does get unfairly piled on at times by the fans for his allegiance with the Aston Martin team owner. If you are out-qualified by your teammate by half a second and then are not even in the same ballpark as him at the end of the race, it is, however, a cause for criticism. A rather poor showing at the Spanish GP for Stroll.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas (Started: 7th, Finished: 6th)

Rating: 8

Valtteri Bottas is starting to morph his career further into how Kimi Raikkonen approached it. He is the new cool dude in F1 and he lets his driving do the talking. Another strong race for the Finn as he enjoys life in Alfa Romeo away from the hassles of Mercedes.

Guanyu Zhou (Started: 15th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 5

Alfa Romeo has a problem, and that is the second driver on the team. Zhou has been unable to get close to the speed of Valtteri Bottas and the Spanish GP was no exception. Sure, the car seems to be breaking down more often than not, but that can't be an excuse for being as slow as he is right now.

Haas F1

Kevin Magnussen (Started: 8th, Finished: 17th)

Rating: 5

A strong qualifying was nullified by a rather opportunistic move by Kevin Magnussen at the start of the race. The move left him with far too much to do, something that he wasn't able to accomplish, and hence finished the race in 17th.

Mick Schumacher (Started: 10th, Finished: 14th)

Rating: 7.5

Mick Schumacher is starting to get there. He's getting more and more competitive on the track and it showed this weekend. Sure, he was a bit of a sitting duck with the car suffering far too much degradation but at least there are signs of him starting to get things right at the very least.

Williams

Alex Albon (Started: 19th, Finished: 18th)

Rating: 5

A rather listless Spanish GP for Alex Albon as every other team brought upgrades and progressed while Williams was stranded at the bottom once again. The race was a rather poor display as the former Red Bull driver could not get a grip on the Williams and even lost to his teammate.

Nicholas Latifi (Started 20th, Finished: 16th)

Rating: 5.5

While Nicholas Latifi would want to see the positives of beating his teammate, the fact remains that it is at this Spanish GP that the clock starts ticking for him. The Canadian was outpaced by debutant Nyck DeVries during FP1 and that could be enough evidence for Williams to look beyond Latifi.

He was again around 3 tenths slower than Alex Albon in qualifying. While Latifi was a significant distance ahead in the race, it remains to be seen if his teammate was battling something.