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The 2023 F1 Canadian GP is in the rearview mirror as the paddock moves on to the next destination. Once again, it was Max Verstappen putting together another win, his sixth of the season, while his primary challenger Sergio Perez had another howler.
Throughout the 2023 F1 Canadian GP, there were quite a few impressive drives and a few forgettable ones as well. So how did every driver fare this past weekend?
Let's take a look at the ratings for the 2023 F1 Canadian GP
Criteria for rating: When we rate the drivers, there are a few things that we take into consideration. These are:
- Performance in both qualifying and race
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car
- How many mistakes were made over the weekend
- Relative performance against their teammate
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2023 F1 Canadian GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 10
This was a weekend where Max Verstappen could possibly have made a mistake or two and still not many would bat an eye.
The problem with Verstappen's dominance that we have seen this season is that it's not just the car anymore. You look at the results of his teammate and you see how easy it is to make mistakes.
It was a flawless weekend for Verstappen and he continues to make a mockery of his apparent title fight with Sergio Perez.
Sergio Perez (Started: 12th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 5
The 2023 F1 Canadian GP was the fourth race in a row now where Perez has been outclassed. The Mexican has struck trouble ever since his win in Baku and has just not looked good enough to compete for a title.
In terms of performance, this was arguably the worst race of the season for Perez.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (Started: 10th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 8
Charles Leclerc could have fought for the podium if not for another strategic debacle from Ferrari. This, however, does not take away from the fact that Leclerc did not set a competitive time on his first intermediate tire run in Q2.
It still ended up as a decent 2023 F1 Canadian GP for him as the team fortunately didn't make any other strategic mistake in the race. Was this also a missed podium? It's hard to be conclusive on that front.
Carlos Sainz (Started: 11th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7
Carlos Sainz should be furious at himself for the impeding penalty. It was entirely down to him and stuff like this should not happen to a top driver.
In terms of performance, he has surprisingly closed the gap on Leclerc now. The 2023 F1 Canadian GP result was seemingly compromised by the penalty, else a stronger result was on offer.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Started: 3rd, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 9
Lewis Hamilton is starting to put some distance between himself and George Russell at Mercedes and he's doing it by being consistent. Hamilton could have been maybe a bit more aggressive while defending against Fernando Alonso, but other than that, it was a very strong weekend for the Mercedes driver.
George Russell (Started: 4th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 5
Russell seems to be doing an awful lot in terms of making silly mistakes and having off races this season. The 2023 F1 Canadian GP was another race where he was in podium contention but a slight misjudgment cost him big time.
The Mercedes driver was supposed to be Lewis Hamilton's successor, but he's not really getting the job done on that front.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly (Started: 15th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 6
A victim of Carlos Sainz's impeding incident, Pierre Gasly's 2023 F1 Canadian GP race weekend ended the moment he was knocked out in Q1. He could not make much progress in the race and it ended up being a weekend to forget for the French driver.
Esteban Ocon (Started: 6th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 8
One has to speculate that the dangling rear wing was not an ideal situation for Esteban Ocon to be in in at the end of the race. That was also probably one of the reasons why the Alpine driver made zero impression on Alex Albon in the DRS zones.
Having said that, it was another strong weekend for Ocon who has kept the points counter ticking every weekend for Alpine.
McLaren
Lando Norris (Started: 7th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 8
The penalty for Lando Norris just did not make sense as this is something that has been done far too many times and not been penalized. Otherwise, the 2023 F1 Canadian GP was another demonstration of the impressive talent Norris is.
He made the most of qualifying and then in the race, some of the overtakes into the hairpin were quite impressive. The move on Oscar Piastri especially was a sign of Norris showing his steely side as an F1 driver.
The finishing position might not show it, but it was a very impressive weekend from the McLaren driver.
Oscar Piastri (Started: 8th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 7.5
Oscar Piastri is slowly but steadily starting to put things together in a manner his predecessor was unable to. He might not have been too happy with Norris diving down the inside at the hairpin but for now, all of these moments are lessons that Piastri is picking up.
McLaren has unearthed another strong talent in the Australian and we could see a race or two soon where he might just show what he's all about.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas (Started: 14th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 8
It was heartening to see the old Valtteri Bottas back at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP. He completely dumped Guanyu Zhou in qualifying and the race and was far more comfortable this weekend. Bottas will be looking to build on this in the coming races.
Guanyu Zhou (Started: 20th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 4
True to the pattern of his entire career, Zhou followed up a brilliant race in Barcelona with a stinker in Canada. This pattern has stuck with him since his junior racing career and it's hard to see it changing any soon.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso (Started: 2nd, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 9
Fernando Alonso was back to his rampaging best at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP.
Securing a P2 was certainly not good enough for the Spaniard and he even claimed "I want to win the race," while chasing Max Verstappen in his second stint. One of these days, if Verstappen does have a bad weekend, Alonso will be best-placed to pick up win No. 33.
Lance Stroll (Started: 16th Finished: 9th)
Rating: 3
The 'Boss's son' had another disappointing outing at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP. Lance Stroll is an impressive talent but lacks consistency. Unfortunately for him, he's been part of the sport for far too long and things have not changed.
It will be interesting to see what plans Aston Martin has in store to overcome what seems a deadweight within the team.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen (Started: 13th, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 5
Not the best of weekends for Kevin Magnussen as, not for the first time this season, he got thrashed by his teammate in qualifying. One simply has to wonder: if Haas' qualifying prowess matched its race pace, what would be the points gap between its two drivers?
Nico Hulkenberg (Started: 5th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 9
Securing the front row in a Haas is no joke whatsoever and Nico Hulkenberg needs to be applauded for the kind of pace he's extracting from this car.
The race performance was on expected lines and the car fell through the classification like a stone through water. However, this was another weekend where Hulkenberg left an impression and made other teams take notice of his performance.
AlphaTauri
Nyck de Vries (Started: 17th Finished: 18th)
Rating: 3
Nyck de Vries' move over Kevin Magnussen was almost nonsensical from and ruined what was already an average outing for the former. De Vries is not making a strong case for Red Bull backing him for the long haul if this is the level of his performances.
Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 19th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 6.5
Yuki Tsunoda did the best he could with the car at his disposal as AlphaTauri seemingly didn't have the pace to make much of an impact at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP. He continues to outperform De Vries, but the lack of competitiveness of the car is a concern for sure.
Williams
Alex Albon (Started: 9th Finished: 7th)
Rating: 10
Alex Albon brought a smile to the face of every team member at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP thanks to an impressive weekend. The choice to go for slicks in Q2 was inspired and so was the single-stop race execution. Overall, it was an excellent weekend and a good haul of points for Albon.
Logan Sargeant (Started: 18th Finished: DNF)
Rating: 4
Logan Sargeant was somewhat anonymous at the 2023 F1 Canadian GP. Unlike Oscar who has shown flashes of brilliance and, most importantly, growth, Sargeant hasn't and it could be a concern for Williams.
