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The 2023 F1 Brazilian GP saw Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris to clinch his 17th win of the season. The race was eventful behind the top two drivers, who were clear from everyone else in the field.
There were quite a few impressive performances up and down the field, with several drivers being able to put together decent runs. Let's take a look at how each of them performed in the 2023 F1 Brazilian GP with our driver ratings for the race weekend.
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
2023 F1 Brazilian GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Sprint (Started: 2nd, Finished: 1st)
GP (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 9
An almost flawless weekend with the exception of losing out on pole position for the sprint.
The Dutch driver now has 17 wins this season and is already on a five-race win streak. 2024 cannot come early for a lot of Verstappen's rivals.
Sergio Perez
Sprint (Started: 3rd, Finished: 3rd)
GP (Started: 9th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 6.5
On the face of it, Sergio Perez put together a great display at the 2023 F1 Brazilian GP. He got a podium in the sprint and a P4 result in the main race. At the same time, he was around 35 seconds behind his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen at the end of the race.
That's just not acceptable and it almost gives rise to the suggestion that the car had an extra level of competitiveness that helped Perez.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Sprint (Started: 7th, Finished: 5th)
GP (Started: 2nd, Finished: DNS )
Rating: 7.5
It was almost painful to see Charles Leclerc shout into the team radio as he retired from another race.
The driver had a strong 2023 F1 Brazilian GP overall in terms of performance, except for the part where the car just failed on him.
Carlos Sainz
Sprint (Started: 9th, Finished: 8th)
GP (Started: 7th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7
Carlos Sainz was an able deputy to Charles Leclerc this weekend. The two drivers were more or less neck and neck throughout the race weekend, with Leclerc having the edge over Sainz.
The Spaniard maximized the result on Sunday and got home decent points for Ferrari.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Sprint (Started: 5th, Finished: 7th)
GP (Started: 5th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 7
It was just horrible all around for Lewis Hamilton during the 2023 F1 Brazilian GP. The Brit dropped like a stone in the sprint and the race was not much different either.
A weekend to forget overall.
George Russell
Sprint (Started: 4th, Finished: 4th)
GP (Started: 8th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6.5
George Russell had a better sprint compared to the race. The Mercedes driver was able to finish P4 in the sprint while his teammate struggled.
The race was just all over the place as he had to manage the car a bit too much. A weekend to forget for him as well.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Sprint (Started: 13th, Finished: 13th)
GP (Started: 15th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 8
Pierre Gasly's impressive run continues at Alpine. Another good finish for the French driver as once again he had the edge over his teammate.
Esteban Ocon
Sprint (Started: 16th, Finished: 14th)
GP (Started: 14th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 6
Not a great weekend for the French driver. As has become a bit of a pattern recently, Esteban Ocon struggled to keep up with teammate Pierre Gasly as the pace was just not there.
He will be hoping for a better run next time around.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Sprint (Started: 1st, Finished: 2nd)
GP (Started: 6th, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 9
An almost perfect weekend for Lando Norris. The only blip is the qualifying on Friday.
The two runner-up finishes in Qualifying and the race will be something that Norris would be very happy with after the 2023 F1 Brazilian GP.
Oscar Piastri
Sprint (Started: 10th, Finished: 10th)
GP (Started: 10th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 6
There might be an element of struggling to come to terms with the new track but Oscar Piastri has found it hard to keep up with Lando Norris in the last few races.
The 2023 F1 Brazilian GP was another disappointing weekend for the Australian.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas
Sprint (Started: 14th, Finished: 19th)
GP (Started: 18th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
Valtteri Bottas did whatever he could with the car that he had. An overall underwhelming weekend for the team and the driver.
Guanyu Zhou
Sprint (Started: 18th, Finished: 17th)
GP (Started: 18th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 5.5
Pretty much the same as his teammate as even Guanyu Zhou could not get much out of the weekend. An F1 Brazilian GP to forget for the Chinese driver.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Sprint (Started: 15th, Finished: 11th)
GP (Started: 4th, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 9.5
His sprint race was affected due to the collision with Esteban Ocon but his race performance on Sunday was just exceptional. A well-earned podium for the Spaniard in Brazil.
Lance Stroll
Sprint (Started: 17th, Finished: 12th)
GP (Started: 3rd, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7.5
Overall a strong weekend for Lance Stroll as well. A P5 finish is a much better result than what many would have expected from the Canadian but with the Aston Martin coming alive, it's hard to doubt how well the driver performed in the F1 Brazilian GP.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen
Sprint (Started: 11th, Finished: 16th)
GP (Started: 12th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
Kevin Magnussen's race on Sunday ended early but even before that the prospects were poor.
On the positive side, Magnussen was quite competitive with Nico Hulkenberg over a lap which has not often been the case this season.
Nico Hulkenberg
Sprint (Started: 12th, Finished: 18th)
GP (Started: 12th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 6
It was a typical Nico Hulkenberg weekend where he dragged his Haas to a strong qualifying position before dropping like a stone in the race.
The F1 Brazilian GP has often been his happy hunting ground but not this time.
AlphaTauri
Daniel Ricciardo
Sprint (Started: 8th, Finished: 9th)
GP (Started: 17th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 7
An opportunity missed for the Australian because his pace in clean air was spectacular. Daniel Ricciardo is getting to grips with the car and getting some of that rust off him.
There's maybe something more that he can unlock in the last two races to impress the Red Bull management.
Yuki Tsunoda
Sprint (Started: 6th, Finished: 6th)
GP (Started: 16th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 8
It could have been better for Yuki Tsunoda on Sunday if not for him putting a wheel on the grass.
Overall though impressive weekend for the Japanese driver as he performed admirably in the AlphaTauri.
Williams
Alex Albon
Sprint (Started: 19th, Finished: 15th)
GP (Started: 13th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 7
Despite crashing out early on Sunday, Alex Albon had a decent F1 Brazilian GP weekend overall. Looking at where Logan Sargeant finished, Albon would have maybe sneaked a point or two in the race.
Logan Sargeant
Sprint (Started: 20th, Finished: 20th)
GP (Started: 20th, Finished: 11th )
Rating: 6.5
A decent weekend for Logan Sargeant as he seems to be finding his groove at Williams. He is not crashing anymore and was a bit disappointed not to do better than a P11 in that Williams.
