Antonelli impressive and one of Colapinto's best weekends - driver ratings

Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix while Alpine's Franco Colapinto finished seventh
- Published
Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit to extend his title advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell to 81 points.
Wolrd champion Lando Norris was leading the race from pole position but he lost out during the virtual safety car period and finished third, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen completing the podium in second place.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton was one of four retirements, after a brake failure ended his grand prix early on. The seven-time world champion has now lost ground on title leader Antonelli, but stays third in the standings.
Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Madrid.
Kimi Antonelli - 9/10
Quick throughout the weekend and missed pole by just 0.011 seconds, before being in exactly the right place to benefit from the virtual safety car. A couple of trips off the circuit early on stops it being faultless, but another impressive victory from Mercedes' championship leader.
Max Verstappen - 9/10
Another excellent weekend from Red Bull's Verstappen. Qualified third, briefly fought for the lead on lap one and then did brilliantly to keep a faster Lando Norris behind him in the closing stages to secure second.
Lando Norris - 9.5/10
Probably deserved to win this one. Produced a sensational lap for pole, built a comfortable lead and looked in control until the virtual safety car fell at exactly the wrong moment before a slow pit stop compounded his misfortune.
Charles Leclerc - 7.5/10
Solid recovery after being narrowly beaten by team-mate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. Ferrari rolled the dice by leaving him out and he led for a long time, but fourth was probably about the maximum once the hoped for safety car failed to arrive.
George Russell - 6.5/10
Started the weekend strongly but sixth in qualifying was disappointing compared with team-mate Antonelli on the front row. A tidy race brought fifth, but once again title-leading Antonelli had the upper hand.
Liam Lawson - 8/10
Another very strong showing for Red Bull, in Isack Hadjar's continued absence. Reached Q3 and then led the midfield home in sixth, making good use of an opportunity that is becoming increasingly familiar, rather than simply being a one-off substitute appearance.
Franco Colapinto - 9/10
One of his best Formula 1 weekends. Put the Alpine into Q3 when team-mate Pierre Gasly could only manage 14th, and then produced a superbly controlled drive to seventh in the race, holding off Oscar Piastri in a much quicker McLaren late on.
Oscar Piastri - 5.5/10
A difficult weekend. Seven places behind team-mate Norris in qualifying was already disappointing before first-lap contact with Russell damaged his car, and eighth represented a poor return from a McLaren capable of winning the race.
Arvid Lindblad - 7.5/10
A very good recovery after crashing heavily on Friday and missing much of final practice while the car was repaired. Still made Q3 and converted that into ninth place and another points finish.
Nico Hulkenberg - 7/10
Just missed Q3 but made sure Audi came away with something on Sunday. Beat team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto in qualifying and the race and grabbed the final point with another typically solid weekend.
Antonelli wins as Norris loses out under virtual safety car
- Published6 hours ago
How VSC cost Norris race win - and should F1 change the rules?
- Published2 hours ago
Esteban Ocon - 6.5/10
Haas had enough pace to threaten the lower end of the points but Ocon couldn't quite get there. Eleventh still represented a solid result and he comprehensively led the team's challenge after team-mate Oliver Bearman's difficult weekend.
Pierre Gasly - 5/10
A strange weekend after looking capable of reaching Q3 during practice. Qualified five places behind team-mate Colapinto and then finished five places behind him as well, which made this a rare weekend where the balance at Alpine swung heavily towards the other side of the garage.
Gabriel Bortoleto - 6/10
Was right in the points battle for much of the race but ultimately slipped backwards to 13th. Not a disastrous weekend, although Audi team-mate Hulkenberg had the edge when it mattered.
Yuki Tsunoda - 5.5/10
Lost running with a power steering problem on Friday and never really recovered the momentum. Fifteenth in qualifying and 14th in the race was a long way from team-mate Lindblad's performance in the other Racing Bulls.
Alex Albon - 5/10
A difficult weekend for Williams at a circuit that didn't suit the car. Contact with the barrier cost him all of final practice, and he could only manage 15th on Sunday, although he did at least finish well clear of his team-mate Carlos Sainz.
Oliver Bearman - 3/10
The big crash in final practice effectively ruined his weekend. Haas couldn't repair the car for qualifying and a pit lane start left him with very little chance of recovering on a circuit where overtaking proved difficult.
Fernando Alonso - 5.5/10
A miserable home weekend but much of Sunday was outside his control. Sainz squeezed him into the wall early on and Aston Martin's power unit problems left him struggling badly thereafter.
Valtteri Bottas - 5/10
His qualifying attempt was hurt when Sainz impeded him but Cadillac remained a long distance from the competitive midfield anyway. Made it to the finish but three laps down summed up the teams lack of pace.
Carlos Sainz - 3/10
A home weekend to forget. Knocked out in Q1, penalised for impeding Bottas, made contact with Tsunoda and was then penalised again for squeezing Alonso into the wall before eventually retiring.
Sergio Perez - 5/10
At least had the upper hand over team-mate Bottas in qualifying but there wasn't much opportunity to build on it. His afternoon eventually ended with a suspected water-system problem.
Lance Stroll - 4.5/10
Barely had a chance to get his weekend going properly. Power unit problems prevented him setting a qualifying time before brake trouble brought his race to an end and triggered the virtual safety car that ultimately decided the winner.
Lewis Hamilton - 7.5/10
The final result hid a lot of good work. Recovered brilliantly from his crash in final practice to qualify fourth, and looked genuinely competitive at the start before a brake failure ended what could have been a podium challenge after only seven laps.
Related topics
- Published19 August

- Published4 days ago

- Published2 days ago
