Driver Ratings - Imola Grand Prix

A super performance from Max Verstappen in mixed conditions has added an extra bit of spice to the championship, but how did I rate the drivers after a difficult weekend in Italy?

Max Verstappen - 9/10 A brilliant drive on Sunday meant Max finally broke his Italian duck - he didn't put a foot wrong after jumping Lewis Hamilton at the start (apart from a minor scare after the red flag), and kept his cool to win, which could be a key moment in the championship fight this season.

Lewis Hamilton - 7/10 A very tricky weekend to rate, an amazing Q3 lap to beat the much faster Red Bull cars to grab his 99th pole position was a clear highlight, but his Sunday didn't exactly go to plan.

An error when lapping the back of the field nearly took him completely out, but some classy and superb overtakes meant he could make the most of a bad situation...as well as add more questions as to why Bottas can't do the same as him.

Lando Norris - 9/10 Norris was good enough to qualify P3, but track limits had other ideas. Come Sunday, he put it behind him and showed exactly why he is considered such a talent by keeping both Ferrari cars at bay in the closing laps before picking up the second podium of his career.

Charles Leclerc - 8/10 A superb weekend from both Ferrari drivers was topped off with the second row start Leclerc managed to grab on Saturday. Despite an error free race, he will feel disappointed to miss out on P3, but the gain between 2020 and 2021 is clear, and Ferrari could seriously challenge for wins this season.

Carlos Sainz 7/10 A poor Saturday was followed by a confusing race that had a trip to the gravel trap mixed in for good measure. Sainz is clearly still finding his feet, but this result will only help him build more confidence. Watch this space, Carlos Sainz could win a race this season.

Daniel Ricciardo 7/10 P6 to P6 would seem like a decent result for most, but it was an unusually quiet race for Daniel Ricciardo. Slower than Lando Norris over both days meant he had to swap positions so the young driver could speed away. Once he’s up to speed, Ricciardo and McLaren will be a force to be reckoned with.

Pierre Gasly 7/10 What are the strategists smoking at Alpha Tauri? I ask because I’m convinced they don’t understand water. Starting on full sets was not the way to go, this lost him a lot of places and meant he had to do damage limitation to ensure the weekend wasn’t a total waste.

Lance Stroll - 7/10

A strong qualifying was followed by a strong race which is all there is to say. He managed his brakes being on fire before the race started (by speeding up to extinguish the flames) and had no issues when his gearbox had synchronisation problems. A solid weekend.

Esteban Ocon - 7/10

A great Saturday shows Ocon has one lap pace, but that didn’t turn into race pace, especially in the changing conditions. It must be added that he is a strong wet weather driver, and with Alonso struggling too, it looks like a car issue rather than driver limitations.

Fernando Alonso - 6/10 After a decent opening race in Bahrain, the Spaniard failed to reach his former high standard in Italy. Being beaten by a teammate in qualifying for the first time since 2017 was followed by struggles in the midfield pack, however, a very lucky penalty (applied to Kimi Raikkonen post race), helped him pick up his first point of the season.

Sergio Perez 4/10 Hero to zero. That sums it up for Sergio Perez. Starting on the front row for the first time in his career was wasted after poor pace in wet conditions which left him in the gravel trap at the second chicane. He's showing great pace, but needs to show that he can challenge for the podium.

Yuki Tsunoda - 3/10 A really tough weekend for rookie Yuki Tsunoda. A huge mistake in qualifying at the final chicane put him out of the running, things were made worse when he dropped the car after a great overtake on Hamilton on the second safety car restart.

Kimi Raikkonen - 7/10 Kimi Raikkonen used all of his knowledge and experience to match his midfield rivals on the intermediate tyres. But when he got on to dry tyres, he managed to challenge both Alpine cars to finish P9, only to see his efforts go to waste due to a penalty.

Antonio Giovinazzi - 5/10 Second best to Raikkonen all weekend and unlucky when the rear brakes ended any chances he had of scoring points in the middle of the race.

Sebastian Vettel - 4/10 A strange weekend for Sebastian Vettel, he needs to get to grips with his Aston Martin and fast. It must be noted that circumstances around him have not helped so far this season.

Mick Schumacher - 4/10 Mick Schumacher showed steady pace but made a silly mistake slamming his car into the wall behind the safety car. A huge positive for him is that he's one second quicker than teammate Nikita Mazepin which is all he can do this season.

Nikita Mazepin - 3/10 A positive for Mazepin is that he made fewer mistakes, but it was still a poor showing for the Haas driver.

Maybe he should have spent less time sexually assaulting women in the off-season and more time in the sim.

Valtteri Bottas - 3/10 A Mercedes should not be starting P8 and fighting Williams for the lower points positions. A big claim, but Bottas won't be in that seat next season and his championship fight is already over.

George Russell - 4/10 A big misjudgement cost Russell his first Williams points...sound familiar?

Look, Bottas should never be competing with a Williams, but Russell made a major mistake and took them both out.

Nicholas Latifi - 4/10 A real shame for Latifi, a brilliant Saturday was ruined by a silly mistake when re-joining the circuit. You could make a claim that the Haas driver squeezed him unnecessarily, but you could also argue that Latifi should never have put himself in that position anyway.