2022 F1 Monaco GP: Driver Ratings

The Monaco GP weekend has ended with Sergio Perez sealing a well-deserved win. Throughout the weekend, the streets of Monaco have seen some very impressive performances, and some not so impressive. In this piece, let's rate the drivers over how they performed this weekend.

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2022 F1 Monaco GP: Driver ratings

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (Started: 8th, Finished: 8th)

Rating: 6

There comes a time after which you have to stop blaming luck for everything bad that happens. Lewis Hamilton has not had the best of luck this season. There is no doubt about that, but you cannot just blame everything on bad luck every weekend.

Mercedes had the third-fastest car in Monaco GP and once again Hamilton was found lacking as his teammate finished ahead of him once again.

George Russell (Started: 6th, Finished: 5th)

Rating: 8

Another top-5 result for George Russell at the Monaco GP! Russell is beating Lewis Hamilton using the only trick in the book: consistency. While Hamilton messes up and is leaving points on the table every weekend, Russell is maximizing the results. Another mini-triumph for the young Briton this one as it remains to be seen when the seven-time champion starts fighting back.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen (Started: 4th, Finished: 3rd)

Rating: 8

This was not your typical Max Verstappen weekend. This was not a weekend where Verstappen drove the wheels off the car and left his teammate in the shade. This was the weekend where the Dutchman was the slower teammate.

Unlike the old Verstappen who would have binned the car by pushing too hard, this one, however, did not! He persevered and scored the maximum possible points from the Monaco GP weekend.

Sergio Perez (Started: 3rd, Finished: 1st)

Rating: 10

There aren't many feel-good moments we end up watching in F1 but Sergio Perez coming back to win at Monaco after dropping one at Barcelona surely feels good. The Mexican had a strong pace throughout the weekend and during those crucial laps around the pitstops, he made it work perfectly for him.

A well-deserved and well-earned win this one for Checo.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (Started: 1st, Finished: 4th)

Rating: 9

It was heartbreak for Charles Leclerc once again at the Monaco GP. He did everything right. Put the car on the pole. Built a commanding lead. And then, when it was time to leave into the hands of the team, he lost out. Leclerc was pretty much perfect this weekend. Sadly, his team was not.

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

Rating: 9.5

The credit for finishing in the runner-up position goes to Carlos Sainz as, if he had stuck with the strategy Ferrari was giving him, he would have found himself behind Charles Leclerc in the race.

Sainz never had the speed of Leclerc this weekend, but he had the guile when it was needed the most. A well-earned podium for the Spaniard.

McLaren

Lando Norris (Started: 5th, Finished: 6th)

Rating: 8

That's all she wrote for Lando Norris in Monaco! A P6 finish for the McLaren driver after qualifying in P5 was the best he could have hoped for. Especially because Mercedes did appear to have the legs on McLaren in the long runs.

If it wasn't for strategy, Norris might have been able to keep Russell behind, but in the end, another strong weekend for him as he continues to recover from tonsilitis.

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

Rating: 3

When your boss calls you out in the media and you have been a legitimate star in the sport, you just have to bounce back. You cannot take it lying down and that was why it was anticipated that we would see some spark from Daniel Ricciardo in this race, but as it turns out, it was the same old story.

The Australian just doesn't mesh with the McLaren philosophy and it is time for him to make a move.

Alpine

Fernando Alonso (Started: 7th, Finished: 7th)

Rating: 7.5

It was vintage Fernando Alonso at the Monaco GP. Since FP1, he has had a clear edge over his teammate and that continued until the end of the race. Having said that, there was more to it as Alonso, unlike many other races from him this season, did not make a mistake during the race and brought home some valuable points (although he does lose a point for that crash at Mirabeau).

Esteban Ocon (Started: 10th, Finished: 12th)

Rating: 5

The Monaco GP was an off-weekend for Esteban Ocon. He was never on the pace of Fernando Alonso throughout the weekend, which got exposed even more in the race. Although his last run in qualifying looked promising as he had 4 tenths over his teammate, overall, this was not one of the best weekends for the French driver.

Alpha Tauri

Pierre Gasly (Started: 17th, Finished: 11th)

Rating: 6

Pierre Gasly brought a lot of action to the Monaco GP with his early move to inters and his overtakes on drivers suffering from worn wet tires. The bottom line, however, remains the same. With no points to show on a weekend where AlphaTauri appears to have a very competitive car, it is disappointing.

Yuki Tsunoda (Started:11th, Finished: 17th)

Rating: 4

Yuki Tsunoda has not yet mastered the art of consistency in F1 and it shows. The Japanese driver had a decent outing in Barcelona but this weekend, if you compare the potential shown in Free Practice and then the final result, it's just not what you expect.

An overall listless Monaco GP by the Japanese driver this one.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel (Started: 9th, Finished: 10th)

Rating: 8

It's hard to put to words how highly Sebastian Vettel's performance in the Monaco GP needs to be rated. That Aston Martin is the 9th fastest car on the grid at the moment. Just take a look at what Lance Stroll manages with this car. Vettel, on the other hand, qualified in P9 and was able to sneak a point with it, that's the kind of performance he used to pull out in his Toro Rosso days.

Lance Stroll (Started: 18th, Finished: 14th)

Rating: 5

The problem for Lance Stroll is that his teammate is in his groove right now. The second problem is that this teammate is a 4-time world champion. Until Sebastian Vettel doesn't lose touch with his car, Stroll's disappointing performance in the Monaco GP will become a template that will be followed often.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas (Started: 12th, Finished: 9th)

Rating: 7

Valtteri Bottas has had a very good start to the season but more than that, his hallmark has been his consistency and a sensible head in the game. The Monaco GP was another race where the Finn showed maturity and consistency beyond his years.

Guanyu Zhou (Started: 20th, Finished: 16th)

Rating: 3

It takes a special talent, or the lack of it, to get out-qualified by Nicholas Latifi in a Williams. Guanyu Zhou was able to show just that on Saturday. That, however, is not the biggest thing. It is the gap the Chinese driver has against Valtteri Bottas most of the time. Not only is it big, but it's also appalling at the moment. Another poor outing for the Chinese driver.

Haas F1

Kevin Magnussen (Started: 13th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 5

A rather listless performance by Kevin Magnussen this one. The Haas was not one of the best cars out there in the midfield. The qualifying was okayish and even in the race, while he was surely chasing down Valtteri Bottas, there wasn't anything impressive happening there. The DNF with a car failure was just something that put the Danish driver out of his misery at the Monaco GP.

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

Rating: 4

Mick is starting to run out of chances while Haas is starting to run out of parts. This was the second crash that is going to cost a similar expense to what the team had to incur after the Saudi Arabian GP one. The German is starting to show speed against Kevin Magnussen at the moment but he will be desperate to stop costing the team this much money.

Williams

Alex Albon (Started: 16th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 5

Alex Albon is slowly but steadily starting to figure out how bad things can get at Williams. There's only so much you can drag out of an underdeveloped car and Albon seems to be pushing hard.

As for the results in that car, they need a miracle to get them.

Nicholas Latifi (Started 19th, Finished: 15th)

Rating: 4

There's not much to say about a driver who started his Monaco GP by spinning behind the safety car. Nicholas Latifi is no match for his teammate at the moment and we're yet to see the Canadian show what value he brings to the money (other than the sponsorship dollars).