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The bags are packed after the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP as the circus gets ready to move to Miami. Sergio Perez will leave Baku as the happiest man in the paddock. The Mexican won both the races of the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP and has cut the lead in the championship.
Having said that, how did everyone fare over the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP? Well, let's find out.
2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Sprint (Started: 3rd, Finished: 3rd)
GP (Started: 2nd, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 8
Not the best of weekends for Max Verstappen as he was just too distracted with things that he should not have been bothered with. This is the first time in their partnership that there is no asterisk over Perez beating him.
This should be an eye-opener for the world champion as his championship lead has shrunk to six points following the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP.
Sergio Perez
Sprint (Started: 2nd, Finished: 1st)
GP (Started: 3rd, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 9.5
Sergio Perez could very easily be given a perfect score as he won both races in the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP. Not only that, he was easily faster than Max Verstappen during the race and there's no two ways about it. A perfect comeback from Perez after a dodgy weekend in Australia.
Having said that, he wasn't the best driver over the weekend as those qualifying laps did mean something was left on the table.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Sprint (Started: 1st, Finished: 2nd)
GP (Started: 1st, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 10
Easily the standout driver during the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP race weekend. The Ferrari driver did everything perfectly when it came to extracting every ounce of performance from the car. Beating the Red Bulls in qualifying or finishing around 24 seconds ahead of his teammate are just the surface-level accomplishments of a beautiful weekend by Charles Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz
Sprint (Started: 5th, Finished: 5th)
GP (Started: 4th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 5
Carlos Sainz got a hammering from his teammate this weekend as his performances were not even in the same ballpark. It's back to the drawing board time for Sainz as there might be a few areas where there is a dire need for improvement.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Sprint (Started: 6th, Finished: 7th)
GP (Started: 5th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7.5
Lewis Hamilton's 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP race weekend was a tale of two extremes. On one side, he did a solid job in the race on Sunday, especially his overtake on his teammate was splendid. On the other side, the sprint was not the best showing from him and George Russell did show him up on Saturday.
George Russell
Sprint (Started: 4th, Finished: 4th)
GP (Started: 11th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 7
Russell had an eventful 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP as his Saturday saw him tangle with Max Verstappen and finish P4. While his peak was impressive, what happened in the race on Sunday and in Friday's qualifying was not as much. To add to this, Russell losing two spots during the safety car restart was not a good look either.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Sprint (Started: 18th, Finished: 13th)
GP (Started: 17th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 4
It was a weekend from hell for Alpine anyway at the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP. The two drivers encountered varied issues throughout the weekend and were severely handicapped. Having said that, it cannot be ignored that Pierre Gasly's crash was his fault, unlike his teammate, who was forced to start from the pitlane, Gasly's starting position was his doing. Overall, it was a weekend where the team could have scored points but will have to go back with a lot of broken parts instead.
Esteban Ocon
Sprint (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 18th)
GP (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 7
Esteban Ocon did what he could in the circumstances in front of him. The French driver had placed the car in Q2 in both qualifyings, but a late decision to change the setup ruined everything for him.
A strong race on Sunday was paralyzed by the strategy put in place, while Saturday featured a gamble on soft that did not work. Overall a weekend to forget for the driver and the team.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Sprint (Started: 10th, Finished: 17th)
GP (Started: 7th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 9
Lando Norris is back to being his impressive self at McLaren and was once again able to extract whatever was on offer from the car. Another points finish for Norris means the team has taken a step forward this weekend, although it might still not be where it needs to be.
Oscar Piastri
Sprint (Started: 11th, Finished: 10th)
GP (Started: 10th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 6
A decent steady weekend for Oscar Piastri at the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP where he trailed his experienced teammate. The Australian is a good driver but the gap by which he trails Norris might be starting to worry McLaren.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas
Sprint (Started: 16th, Finished: 16th)
GP (Started: 13th, Finished: 18th)
Rating: 3
Something's gone horribly wrong at Alfa Romeo as the performance of the team has fallen off the cliff significantly. It also appears that Valtteri Bottas is suffering from a similar downfall as well. The Finnish driver has found it hard to keep himself as the benchmark within the team and his struggles to even get the better of Zhou has left quite a few fans confused.
Guanyu Zhou
Sprint (Started: 15th, Finished: 12th)
GP (Started: 15th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 5
A somewhat average weekend for Guanyu Zhou as the Chinese driver too found it hard to extract anything meaningful out of the car. It's hard to understand what's wrong with Alfa Romeo at the moment as the car and the drivers are seemingly nowhere on the timesheets.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Sprint (Started: 8th, Finished: 6th)
GP (Started: 6th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 8.5
A typical Fernando Alonso weekend this one as the Spaniard was once the benchmark within the team. If there was one area where Alonso probably left a bit on the table, it was the late-race attack on Charles in the main race as a third podium finish was possible for Alonso.
Lance Stroll
Sprint (Started: 9th, Finished: 8th)
GP (Started: 9th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 7
Another decent race from Lance Stroll in a team where his teammate has started to take over. The Canadian kept his nose clean and brought points home even though it does make you question what an Ocon or a Gasly would be able to achieve in that car.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen
Sprint (Started: 13th, Finished: 11th)
GP (Started: 16th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 5
Crashing in qualifying is never ideal with Kevin Magnussen unable to recover from engine trouble early in the weekend. All in all, it was a somewhat anonymous weekend for the Haas driver as he could not do anything meaningful with the machinery at hand.
Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint (Started: 12th, Finished: 15th)
GP (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 7
Nico Hulkenberg was another driver hampered by the safety car early in the race. The German showed impressive pace and would have been left wondering what could have been if the strategy was a bit better this weekend.
AlphaTauri
Nyck de Vries
Sprint (Started: 19th, Finished: 14th)
GP (Started: 18th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 3
Not much to say for Nyck de Vries other than the fact that the Dutch driver is dangerously close to following the trajectory that Scott Speed and Brandon Hartley had in the same team. It was a poor weekend from the Dutch driver in every possible way.
Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint (Started: 17th, Finished: DNF)
GP (Started: 8th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 7.5
The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP weekend could have been much better for Yuki Tsunoda if he had nailed his first lap in the sprint shootout. That was one area where the Japanese driver struggled. Other than that, Yuki was brilliant in the race on Sunday and in qualifying on Friday. The 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP is another proof of the maturity gained by the young driver in the last three years.
Williams
Alex Albon
Sprint (Started: 7th, Finished: 9th)
GP (Started: 12th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 7.5
Alex Albon might be a bit disappointed at how the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP weekend panned out. In all likelihood, points did appear to be a possibility for Williams and there would be a sense of disappointment for sure. Overall, Albon continues to be the benchmark at Williams as Logan Sargeant still takes his time to mature.
Logan Sargeant
Sprint (Started: DNS, Finished: NA)
GP (Started: 14th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 5
A weekend to forget for Logan as questions might be starting to creep up at Williams. The American came to F1 with a reputation of being a somewhat unreliable driver. Logan hasn't shed that reputation yet and it could be something that Williams takes a long hard look at after the crash and DNS at the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint.
