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The 2023 F1 Singapore GP is done and dusted as we look ahead to the race in Japan. Red Bull's winning streak is over and so is Max Verstappen's. Well, one day it was surely going to happen, wasn't it?
This feature is not about what happened in Singapore, it's entirely about the drivers and how each of them fared this weekend.
So let's take a look at how the 20 drivers did during the 2023 F1 Singapore GP.
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 Singapore GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen (Started: 11th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7.5
Max Verstappen took some time to accept the fact that the car was not going to be as strong as it generally has been this season. The qualifying was not the best for the Dutchman as getting bumped out by an AlphaTauri driver is not a good thing.
The race, however, was very impressive. Verstappen turned things around in the second stint as the driver made up close to 10 places after the VSC period.
A decent weekend with good damage limitation but not his best weekend overall.
Sergio Perez (Started: 13th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 6
Sergio Perez also made decent progress in the race and made his through the field to finish P8. Throughout the weekend though, he was still playing catch-up to Max Verstappen.
Bumping off Yuki and Albon out of his way was surely not a glorious moment for him. A decent weekend for Perez but could have been better.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (Started: 3rd, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 6
It's not normal to see Charles Leclerc get completely outclassed over a weekend but that's exactly what happened to the Ferrari driver.
This was a poor showing overall from Leclerc and something he has to look back and be disappointed about.
Carlos Sainz (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 10
Arguably the driver of the weekend by all accounts. Carlos Sainz is showing another level added to his game in the last three races.
The win in the 2023 F1 Singapore GP is a sign of a mature driver and one that Ferrari should sign an extension with.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Started: 5th, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 7.5
This rating might come across as a bit harsh but in all fairness, Lewis Hamilton was outqualified by a margin of close to half a second by George Russell.
Even in the race while he was right behind his teammate, he was destined to finish fourth in a race where McLaren, a slower car would be on the podium.
In the end, yes a podium looks nice but this was not the best Hamilton weekend that we've seen in some time.
George Russell (Started: 2nd, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 7
This is a hard one as well because, how do we rate Russell's 2023 F1 Singapore GP weekend? On the basis of what happened on that last lap or the excellence that preceded it?
Well, we have to take cognizance of both because if not for that crash he would have got a nine out of 10.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly (Started: 12th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 7
Gasly did a solid recovery job and snared a P6 finish but it does not take away the fact that he was the slower Alpine driver this weekend.
If it wasn't for the misfortune suffered by Esteban Ocon, he would have been considerably behind his teammate.
Esteban Ocon (Started: 8th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 8
Ocon could not have been more unlucky on his bday after he pulled off two stunning overtakes on Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez.
The French driver was on course for a top six finish before the power unit gave out and this one is surely going to hurt.
McLaren
Lando Norris (Started: 4th, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 9
An underrated drive from Lando Norris as he continued to perform in a car that probably lacked a tenth or two against both Mercedes and Ferrari.
An excellent drive that might go unnoticed.
Oscar Piastri (Started: 17th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 7
A poor qualifying that was surely hampered by Stroll's crash but a decent recovery from Oscar to secure a P7.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas (Started: 16th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
Alfa Romeo was back to being anonymous. Not much Bottas could do with that car as it just gave up on him in the race.
Guanyu Zhou (Started: 18th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 5.5
A somewhat similar story from Zhou where he celebrated his contract extension with a bit of an anonymous weekend at the 2023 F1 Singapore GP.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso (Started: 7th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 4
A rare bad weekend for Fernando Alonso who did damage his car early in the race. That overtake from Ocon would have annoyed the Spaniard for sure but he was ultimately not in a position to do much in the race.
The qualifying lap was a disappointment as well and Alonso just didn't nail his final Q3 lap. On to the next one for the Spaniard as this proves to be a weekend to forget for Alonso.
Lance Stroll (Started: 20th, Finished: DNS)
Rating: 2
Not much to say here. Lance Stroll just continues to be a liability for a front-running team.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen (Started: 6th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 7.5
A much better weekend for Magnussen with a strong qualifying and getting a point in the end.
He was a bit lucky with the two-stopper after making a mistake early in the race.
Nico Hulkenberg (Started: 9th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 6
Hulkenberg looked set to score a point or two for Haas but the strategy gamble of not pitting under VSC worked against him at the 2023 F1 Singapore GP.
AlphaTauri
Liam Lawson(Started: 10th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 8
Excellent performance overall at the 2023 F1 Singapore GP.
The New Zealander is making the most of two things right now, his opportunities and Tsunoda's continued misfortune.
Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 15th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 5
A weekend that never really started for Yuki as his qualifying was thwarted by Max Verstappen and the 2023 F1 Singapore GP ended with contact by Sergio Perez.
Williams
Alex Albon (Started: 14th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 7.5
Albon would have scored points once again in the 2023 F1 Singapore GP if not for contact with Sergio Perez (this seems to be a theme in this race isn't it?).
By and large, he did pretty much what the car could give him this weekend.
Logan Sargeant (Started: 18th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 4
Another poor outing at the 2023 F1 Singapore GP by Logan Sargeant. You cannot continue to get highlighted in a race when you mess up because that's just not great optics.
He would have hoped for a better 2023 F1 Singapore GP but it is what it is sometimes in F1.
