Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Driver Ratings

Azerbaijan GP

Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Driver Ratings

Who was your top performer?

Matthew Scott

Monday 29 April 2019 13:00

Mercedes' record-breaking start to the 2019 season was cemented as Valtteri Bottas led Lewis Hamilton home in an unprecedented fourth-consecutive one-two finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Bottas won from pole in Baku as rivals Ferrari endured another race weekend to forget.

Charles Leclerc's qualifying crash and Sebastian Vettel's failure to make an impression see the Silver Arrows pull further clear in the standings.

Matt Scott has run the rule over all 20 drivers in action. Let us know if you agree, or not, with the scores on Facebook and Twitter!

Daniel Ricciardo (Qual: 12th – Race: DNF) 6/10

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Having struggled through the weekend, Ricciardo looked to have worked his way back into contention for a points finish. To see that extinguished by a lock-up while fighting Daniil Kvyat and then reversing into the Toro Rosso, having failed to check his mirrors, serves as an unfortunate summary of his Renault career to date.

Daniil Kvyat (Qual: 6th – Race: DNF) 6/10

Qualified brilliantly, but overworked his tyres while trying to keep hold of his position in the early stages of the race and had dropped out of the bigger top-10 spots before he was the unfortunate victim of Ricciardo's haste to get out of the run-off zone.

Pierre Gasly (Qual: 15th – Race: DNF) 6/10

Putting his THREE enforced pit-lane starts to one side, this was perhaps Gasly's most impressive performance to date as he made his way back to the kind of position Red Bull would expect of him, only to see a points haul taken away by driveshaft failure.

Romain Grosjean (Qual: 17th – Race: DNF) 4/10

Haas expected this to be their most difficult weekend of the season and so it proved as Grosjean ran with only the Williams cars behind him until he was pulled into the pits with a suspected brake issue.

Robert Kubica (Qual: N/A – Race: 16th) 3/10

Blaming his qualifying crash on being surprised that his Williams car handled normally was a strange approach for the Pole, who continues to struggle badly on his F1 return.

George Russell (Qual: 19th – Race: 15th) 6/10

Did admirably to keep his composure after having his Friday wiped out by a loose drain cover, while he was lucky not to suffer serious injury.

Nico Hulkenberg (Qual: 17th – Race: 14th) 4/10

Similarly to Ricciardo, he suffered all weekend as Renault appeared to suffer especially in braking zones. About as anonymous a race as the German has had for some time.

Kevin Magnussen (Qual: 14th – Race: 13th) 5/10

Tangled with Lewis Hamilton in Friday practice but faded from the headlines after that as Haas continue to suffer with tyre preparation and wear.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qual: 8th – Race: 12th) 5/10

Excellent performance in qualifying to get ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, but saw his efforts mostly wiped out by a 10-place grid penalty for changing electronics for the third time in four races. Recovered better than in China, but still without a point.

Alexander Albon (Qual: 13th – Race: 11th) 5/10

Survived a brush with the wall at the start of the race, which might have given us a more typical Baku race had it been more ruinous for the Thai driver, who was otherwise solid if unspectacular.

Kimi Raikkonen (Qual: 9th – Race: 10th) 6/10

The third pit-lane starter on Sunday alongside Gasly and Kubica. Nevertheless the Iceman made his way through the pack and was the man to capitalise when Ricciardo and Kvyat lost out, continuing his run of point-scoring at Alfa Romeo.

Lance Stroll (Qual: 16th – Race: 9th) 6/10

Fine recovery drive to score points, but is marked down for an eighth-straight Q1 elimination, stretching back to last year. Team-mate Sergio Perez's efforts, and his own, show that more might have been on offer here for Stroll.

Lando Norris (Qual: 7th – Race: 8th) 7/10

Outqualified Carlos Sainz again, although he finished behind his team-mate. Regardless, Norris continues to impress in his rookie season, with McLaren enjoying positive vibes so far in 2019.

Carlos Sainz (Qual: 11th – Race: 7th) 7/10

A first points score for McLaren will have been a great relief for Sainz, whose luck was out in the first four races as he failed to finish each time.

Sergio Perez (Qual: 5th – Race: 6th) 8/10

Clearly, Baku is a place Perez enjoys, as he followed up two previous podium finishes with a clear 'best-of-the-rest' performance. Out-launched Max Verstappen at the start, but was unable to keep the Red Bull behind for long and sensibly allowed Charles Leclerc by when he was on his charge to keep focus on holding off the speedy McLarens behind hm.

Charles Leclerc (Qual: 10th – Race: 5th) 5/10

Looked the dead cert for pole position until he smashed into the wall at Turn 8 in Q2. Started eighth thanks to penalties and ran in P1 for a good chunk of the race as he stretched out an opening stint on the mediums. Ferrari's cautious strategy meant he dropped back, but it was perhaps all he deserved for a Saturday error that he readily owned up to.

Max Verstappen (Qual: 4th – Race: 4th) 6/10

Three fourth-places in a row for the Dutchman, who might have had a sniff for third but for the VSC brought on by teammate Gasly's retirement. Although it will be replicated by rivals, it will be interesting to see if upgrades in Spain will bring Verstappen closer to those battling for pole position and victory.

Sebastian Vettel (Qual: 3rd – Race: 3rd) 6/10

Leclerc displayed the pace the SF90 had around Baku all weekend, but Vettel just couldn't match it. Might have been on pole, but Ferrari were tricked in Q3 and he set his final flyer without a crucial tow, which allowed the Silver Arrows to lock out the front row. A dismal opening stint saw Vettel drop off Mercedes at pace, ending any hopes of a Ferrari fightback.

Lewis Hamilton (Qual: 2nd – Race: 2nd) 7/10

Pretty comprehensively outperformed by Bottas all weekend, but kept himself close enough in the Finn's wake to ensure that the Silver Arrows would secure an F1 record and Ferrari could not mount a challenge on their places. Picked up the pace late in the race, but just ran out of laps in order to catch Bottas.

Valtteri Bottas (Qual: 1st – Race: 1st) 9/10

Back at the top of the championship after making amends for China by winning after pipping Hamilton in qualifying for the second race in succession, thanks largely to gamely holding off his team-mate at the start, despite being out-launched. Although Leclerc spent plenty of time up ahead, Bottas was always the man in control of the race as Baku's typical madness subsided for a tense tactical race. Kept his composure as Hamilton led a late charge, and even got in DRS range, with a bit of luck arriving in getting a tow from Russell's Williams perhaps paying back for last year's puncture.