Max Verstappen 2019 F1 driver ratings: Every grand prix reviewed

Max Verstappen 2019 ratings Part 3

Singapore GP (Qual: 4th – Race: 3rd) 7/10

Max was the beneficiary of Mercedes’ strategy woes, and moved up onto the podium. He managed to hold off a charge from Hamilton in the final laps, but nothing challenging arose to allow him to show off any skills.

Russian GP (Qual: 4th – Race: 4th) 7/10

Quiet race for Verstappen who struggled to make any headway on any of the cars in front, then couldn’t secure a safe gap to his team mate behind to allow him to pit and go for fastest lap. Red Bull are increasingly falling behind the pace of Mercedes and Ferrari.

Japanese GP (Qual: 5th - Race: DNF) 5/10

Dr Helmut Marko said the Dutchman fell short of maximising qualifying, but he looked to have made up for that with a brilliant launch to third place. Unfortunately contact with Charles Leclerc spun him out and caused damage to prompt a lap-15 retirement.

Mexican GP (Qual: 4th - Race: 6th) 5/10

Max was awarded Driver of the Day for his comeback through the field, but it's a very different take here. The Dutchman only had himself to blame for losing pole position after a superb qualifying performance and was perhaps again his own worst enemy as he tried a huge gamble up the inside of Valtteri Bottas at the hairpin in the stadium. There's a reason people don't try to pass there, and a lap with a punctured tyre saw any hopes Verstappen had of a big result go out the window. In a year that has seen Verstappen's maturity rightly praised, this was a regression.

United States GP (Qual: 3rd - Race: 3rd) 7/10

Verstappen got off the line smartly, easing past Vettel and putting pressure on Bottas, although contact caused front wing damage, while Verstappen later reported that he was missing a chunk of floor from early on. Max did not quite have the pace to truly push Bottas for the win, but he perhaps ought to have been second, something that an extra lap, or a lack of yellow flags on the last lap might have enabled.

Brazilian GP (Qual: 1st - Race: 1st) 10/10

There was perhaps just one driver whose race was completely unaffected by the pandemonium developing on-track. Quite simply, Verstappen was too good for it to affect him. Even when it seemed he would once again fall victim to Interlagos' hex – Kubica released into his path at a pit-stop – he undid the damage in the space of a lap to blast past Hamilton and assume a net lead of the race. There was another overtake on the world champion after the first safety car restart and it was all in the Dutchman's hands from there. Even when he's dominating from the front, Max finds a way to show his skills and that's what makes him the box-office performer on the grid.

Abu Dhabi GP (Qual: 3rd - Race: 2nd) 8/10

Verstappen complained of engine issues throughout the race but still did enough to secure P3 in the drivers' championship, his highest position to-date. It was made possible by an overtake on Leclerc, who was assisted by DRS off the back-marking Williams of Russell, giving the young pair's rivalry a final flourish after a promising 2019 so far.

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