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The 2024 F1 Japanese GP saw quite a few impressive performances all around. The race saw Max Verstappen return to the top of the podium after a blip in Melbourne.
It also saw Yuki Tsunoda score a point for RB as well. The weekend saw quite a few drivers have an impressive run while others struggled. How did each and every driver perform during the F1 Japanese GP? Let's find out in the driver ratings.
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 Japanese GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen (Started: 1st, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 10
A perfect return to the top for Max Verstappen. The driver nailed the qualifying, had the perfect start, and then there was no looking back. Start of another dominant win streak? One cannot write it off.
Sergio Perez (Started: 2nd, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 8.5
A great weekend for Checo and one that would solidify his chances of keeping his Red Bull seat. The Mexican was just a 10th off in qualifying and did enough to fend off any challenge from behind in the race.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Started: 7th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 6.5
The F1 Japanese GP was not the best one for Lewis. He outqualified George on Saturday, but it was clear from very early in the race that he was the slower of the two Mercedes. The search for performance continues into the next race weekend for Lewis.
George Russell (Started: 9th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 7.5
Outqualified for the first time this year, George Russell was brilliant in the race. He got the jump on Lewis, and then later he got ahead of Piastri as well.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (Started: 8th, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 8
Charles Leclerc's struggles over a lap continued at the F1 Japanese GP as well. The Ferrari driver could only qualify in P8. He drove a brilliant race, however, and a P4 was well deserved, even though a bigger result was surely on the cards for the driver.
Carlos Sainz (Started: 4th, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 8.5
Another strong weekend from Carlos Sainz as he picked up another podium. The Ferrari driver had better qualifying as compared to his teammate and progressed in the race as well to get the podium.
McLaren
Lando Norris (Started: 3rd, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 8.5
Norris grasped the best that was possible from his McLaren. A podium was just out of his reach and so was anything higher than P5. The young driver extracted whatever he could from the car in the F1 Japanese GP.
Oscar Piastri (Started: 6th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 6
This might seem harsh but it does appear that Oscar Piastri's progress seems to have stalled this year. Compared to Lando Norris, the issues that were there last season are still present. He's made quite a few mistakes this year as well.
The progress that many expected Piastri to make is not there yet, as the Australian lost a position to George Russell as well in the dying stages of the F1 Japanese GP.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso (Started: 5th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 10
A perfect weekend for a 43-year-old veteran who was literally toying with Oscar Piastri and George Russell during the last few laps of the F1 Japanese GP. Aston Martin would be foolish to not keep the Spaniard who put together a perfect weekend this season.
Lance Stroll (Started: 16th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 3
Another disastrous weekend for Lance Stroll who continues to disappoint while his much older teammate continues to impress.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly (Started: 17th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 4
It is understandable that a poor car can lead to a dropping of shoulders but Pierre Gasly would not be happy with being 4-0 in qualifying and getting outshone by Esteban Ocon in the races. The F1 Japanese GP was unfortunately no different.
Esteban Ocon (Started: 15th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 8
Ocon has been the flag bearer of Alpine quite obviously this season as he dragged the car into Q2 once again. But the car was just a mobile chicane in the F1 Japanese GP as both drivers just fell down the order irrespective of what tires the car had. Ocon continues to drag whatever the Alpine can give him but unfortunately, it isn't much.
Williams
Alex Albon (Started: 14th, Finished: 20th)
Rating: 5
A decent qualifying followed by an early exit due to the monumental crash meant Albon couldn't make much of an impression this weekend.
Logan Sargeant (Started: 19th, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 3
When the odds are stacked as heavily against you as they are at the moment for Logan, the least he can do is keep the car on track. Being impressive while driving a Williams in its current iteration is hard and one wonders if the American's fate is already been decided.
V-Ca-RB
Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 11th, Finished: 19th)
Rating: 5
A better qualifying for Daniel Ricciardo followed by an early exit from the F1 Japanese GP meant that the Australian couldn't show much this weekend.
Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 10th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 9
Another impressive outing for Yuki Tsunoda at the F1 Japanese GP. The young driver impressed everyone and scored a much-needed point for his team.
Stake F1 Sauber
Valtteri Bottas (Started: 13th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 7
In a more optimised setting Bottas would have scored a point at the F1 Japanese GP. Overall though, the Finnish driver did a brilliant job.
Guanyu Zhou (Started: 20th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 3
Another disappointing outing for Zhou Guanyu as the F1 Japanese GP did not go as planned for the Chinese driver.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen (Started: 18th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 5
A decent outing at the F1 Japanese GP for Kevin Magnussen. He still continues to be consistently slower than his teammate, which would be a concern for Haas.
Nico Hulkenberg (Started: 12th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 7.5
Strong qualifying and a strong race for Nico Hulkenberg. One could argue that if it wasn't for the bad start on the Red Flag restart he would have scored a point as well. Having said that, he continues to be the benchmark for Haas.
