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The 2024 F1 Belgian GP saw an epic battle for the win in the last few laps as George Russell fended off Lewis Hamilton to win the race. It was unfortunate that the driver was disqualified because that was a fantastic drive from the 26-year-old.
Having said that, Russell was not the only driver who had a brilliant run in the Belgian GP. Spa is what many would call 'a driver's track'. A track where quite a few up and down the grid made the difference. So how did each driver fare during the F1 Belgian GP? Let's take a look.
Criteria
- Performance in both qualifying and races is judged
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car
- Mistakes made over the weekend
- Relative performance against their teammate
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2024 F1 Belgian GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Rating: 8
Max was severely limited by the fact that he was stuck in traffic for the most part. The Red Bull driver just couldn't make his way through the field as he would have hoped and in the end, goes into the summer break with a P4. Having said that, the pole position on Saturday was stunning from the driver.
Sergio Perez
Rating: 6
This might be it for Sergio Perez at Red Bull. Dropping from P2 to P8 is bad. Even if we account for the fact that the driver was brought in a tad early on his second stint, it was still a poor overall performance from Checo. Certainly not the result he would have hoped for and not something that helps him secure his seat.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Rating: 9
Other than the late-stage loss to George, Lewis was almost perfect this weekend. He'll take the win for sure, and the driver does deserve a lot of credit for the way he's performed in the last few races.
George Russell
Rating: 9.5
That was heartbreak for George Russell. He executed what could only be termed a masterstroke in the F1 Belgian GP and deserves a lot of credit for it. It's safe to say that this drive of his will go down as one of his best ever until now.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Rating: 9
How Charles Leclerc dragged the uncompetitive car to P3 is a question very few will have the answer to. The driver was hamstrung not only by the car but also by the strategy (pitting Sainz when he was holding up Lewis made no sense) as the team continues to show just no level of improvement.
The drive was a reminder of what Charles can do in an F1 car, and he will go home confident of what he's achieved in the last two races.
Carlos Sainz
Rating: 7
Not the best of weekends for Carlos Sainz, as he was consistently a step behind his teammate. Finishing P7 was a further sign of the driver just not being good enough with the strategy or the performance.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Rating: 6.5
Lando Norris ruined his race with a poor start. Unfortunately, we've made this statement far too many times lately, but it still holds true. The driver has to work on his starts because they're hurting him massively this season.
Oscar Piastri
Rating: 8.5
There was maybe an outside chance of Oscar Piastri winning the F1 Belgian GP, but he was maybe too far behind. The Australian is starting to put everything together now and is becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Rating: 9
Away from the spotlight, we saw the return of the Fernando Alonso of old. It's been a few races since we've seen the Spaniard completely focused and raring to go at Aston Martin. This was the first race where he did so, and was also the only other driver than George Russell to execute a one-stopper (and in his case, not get disqualified).
Lance Stroll
Rating: 6.5
Lance was just back to his old self, where he was slower than his teammate and unable to extract the best from the car.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Rating: 6
This might be a result that neither Alpine nor Gasly would have liked as much. The French driver was just not on the level of his teammate, and it showed. Being as far behind Ocon is certainly not something the team would like to see as it tries to show that it has held on to a better driver.
Esteban Ocon
Rating: 9
Ocon could have arguably finished P8 and ahead of Alonso if he hadn't undercut multiple times in the race. The Alpine driver and Alonso were the two drivers who just stood out in the midfield at the F1 Belgian GP.
Williams
Alex Albon
Rating: 7.5
It was an overall strong race for Alex Albon. The William driver was just a step behind in performance to get a point, but that will come when the car takes a step.
Logan Sargeant
Rating: 5
The F1 Belgian GP was a return to the old ways for Logan Sargeant. The American was too far behind Alex, and that's just what James Vowles pointed out during the weekend when it came to Logan's growth trajectory.
V-Ca-RB
Daniel Ricciardo
Rating: 7.5
Possibly a weekend that assures a Red Bull drive for Daniel Ricciardo. The F1 Belgian GP was a race where the driver got a point for his efforts. It was also a weekend where Sergio Perez tanked. The summer break might bring a piece of good news for the team.
Yuki Tsunoda
Rating: 6
Not much Yuki could do with the 60-place penalty at the F1 Belgian GP. The driver has been decent in the first half of the season and will be hoping he can continue this in the future.
Stake F1 Sauber
Valtteri Bottas
Rating: 6.5
A decent weekend from Bottas, where he was the benchmark at Sauber again. He would be happy looking at the 1.9-second pitstop by the team. That's progress for sure, and maybe something that helps him stay with the team.
Guanyu Zhou
Rating: 5
Another weekend where Zhou was nowhere. It's unfortunate that the driver might not have a seat next season. He hasn't helped his case either, though.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen
Rating: 6
Kevin Magnussen had a slightly better weekend than his teammate, but it was clear that the performance just wasn't there to score points.
Nico Hulkenberg
Rating: 5.5
A rare off weekend for Nico. The driver just couldn't put everything together this time around at the F1 Belgian GP.
