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The 2024 F1 Chinese GP saw Max Verstappen win his 4th race of the season as the Red Bull driver embarked on another race-winning streak. The first sprint weekend of the season did feature quite a few drivers putting together impressive performances.
While Max Verstappen did win both the sprint and the main race on Sunday, the F1 Chinese GP race weekend was not limited to him when it comes to putting together impressive performances.
In this feature, we rate the drivers on how they performed over the F1 Chinese GP race weekend. To rate these drivers we follow the criteria below.
Criteria:
- 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
2024 F1 Chinese GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Sprint (Started: 4th, Finished: 1st)
GP (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 9
The Dutch driver was caught off-guard in the wet qualifying on Friday and hence could only slot himself in P4 for the sprint. From that point onwards, it was dominance personified. These days it's a fight for P2 in F1 as Max continues to reign over the sport.
Sergio Perez
Sprint (Started: 6th, Finished: 3rd)
GP (Started: 2nd, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 7.5
Sergio had a strong weekend overall as he was a few tenths behind Max for the most part. He extends his advantage to Charles Leclerc in P3 as he hardly poses any challenge to Max in front.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Sprint (Started: 2nd, Finished: 2nd)
GP (Started: 18th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 6.5
A weekend of two halves for Lewis Hamilton. A stunning F1 Chinese GP sprint shootout and the subsequent race followed by disaster in qualifying.
One might question why Lewis Hamilton's experimental setups always make him go slower than his teammate. A rough Saturday and Sunday for the Mercedes driver.
George Russell
Sprint (Started: 11th, Finished: 8th)
GP (Started: 8th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7
George had the opposite of the weekend that Lewis had at the F1 Chinese GP. His sprint shootout and the subsequent race were compromised but he bounced back to score important points on Sunday.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Sprint (Started: 7th, Finished: 4th)
GP (Started: 6th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 8
One has to wonder if there was any more left in that Ferrari that Charles could have extracted. An overall strong weekend but a podium-less Chinese GP would rankle.
Carlos Sainz
Sprint (Started: 5th, Finished: 5th)
GP (Started: 7th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7
A decent sprint and a decent race for Carlos as the Spaniard was just a small step behind Charles overall.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Sprint (Started: 1st, Finished: 6th)
GP (Started: 4th, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 9
Arguably one of the stars of the F1 Chinese GP. Except for the start of the sprint that he made a complete mess of, Lando Norris was quite brilliant and finds himself with two podium finishes now.
Oscar Piastri
Sprint (Started: 8th, Finished: 7th)
GP (Started: 5th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 6
There are worrying signs if you are an Oscar Piastri fan. The Australian has not made the much-expected jump in race pace and continues to struggle to keep up with Lando. The Chinese GP was no different but the pressure will ramp up now for the youngster.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Sprint (Started: 3rd, Finished: DNF)
GP (Started: 3rd, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 9.5
Fernando Alonso is such a gem and was one of the few racers who made the F1 Chinese GP fun. Apart from maybe going too far in his defense against Sainz during the sprint, it was as perfect a weekend as a driver can have in that Aston Martin.
Lance Stroll
Sprint (Started: 15th, Finished: 14th)
GP (Started: 11th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 4.5
Questions continue to be raised about Lance Stroll but it remains to be seen if something would happen. The driver was once again off the pace and had a fruitless weekend.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Sprint (Started: 16th, Finished: 15th)
GP (Started: 15th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 7
Gasly was once again a step behind his teammate. The F1 Chinese GP saw upgrades making their way to Ocon's car, it will be interesting to see if this causes a rift in the future.
Esteban Ocon
Sprint (Started: 17th, Finished: 13th)
GP (Started: 13th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 8.5
Ocon almost dragged his Alpine to its first point. The F1 Chinese GP was more of the same within the French team. It was Esteban once again holding the upper hand over his teammate, just like he's done in the last five races.
Williams
Alex Albon
Sprint (Started: 18th, Finished: 17th)
GP (Started: 14th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 7.5
A vintage Alex Albon weekend where he tried his best to drag his Williams into points but just failed at the last hurdle. Albon continues to do his job but will be hoping that his team can make a step forward in the coming races.
Logan Sargeant
Sprint (Started: 20th, Finished: 18th)
GP (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 6
Logan did not have the best F1 Chinese GP and one has to wonder if his overall stint with Williams might be coming to an end. His performances have not been that good and he's yet to beat Alex in qualifying, one has to wonder how long until he gets replaced.
V-Ca-RB
Daniel Ricciardo
Sprint (Started: 14th, Finished: 11th)
GP (Started: 12th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 7
A step up for Daniel after the not-so-impressive start to the season. He has Yuki under his thumb all weekend and will now be looking to build on this in Miami.
Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint (Started: 19th, Finished: 16th)
GP (Started: 19th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 5
A Chinese GP to forget for Yuki Tsunoda. He was nowhere near the pace of his teammate and then his race was cut short by Kevin Magnussen.
Stake F1 Sauber
Valtteri Bottas
Sprint (Started: 9th, Finished: 12th)
GP (Started: 10th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 7.5
Valtteri Bottas deserves a lot of credit for his qualifying sessions on both days. He was just unfortunate to not convert them into points.
Guanyu Zhou
Sprint (Started: 10th, Finished: 9th)
GP (Started: 16th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 5
While it was an emotional time for Zhou, the race weekend was not as impressive in terms of performance as the Driver hopes to secure his seat in the future.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen
Sprint (Started: 12th, Finished: 10th)
GP (Started: 17th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 5
Just a step behind Hulkenberg throughout the F1 Chinese GP. It will be interesting to see what happens next as Kevin Magnussen tries to get his groove back at Haas.
Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint (Started: 13th, Finished: 19th)
GP (Started: 9th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 8
Nico Hulkenberg scores points once again. An average sprint where the setup was incorrect was followed by a strong F1 Chinese GP qualifying and the race. The German got points for the third time in 5 races.
