2022 F1 Austrian GP: Driver Ratings

Charles Leclerc was splendid at the F1 Austrian GP.

The 2022 F1 Austrian GP was a race that featured some strong drives across the board. Charles Leclerc was brilliant in the way he snatched the lead and then maintained it to the end. Max Verstappen did not panic when he found out that his car was just not a match for the cars around him and kept his nose clean to bring the car home. Fernando Alonso was spectacular in the end as well, especially in how he hunted down Valtteri Bottas and passed him for P10.

So how did every driver fare at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP? Let's find out!

2022 F1 Austrian GP: Rating the drivers!

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (Started: 8th, Finished: 3rd)

Rating: 7

💬 "When you think we had two cars in pieces on Friday afternoon, that’s a strong result. But we are missing the two or three tenths to be able to race at the front."

Toto, Lewis, George and Shov debrief the #AustrianGP 👇

Sure, the podium is a nice reward, but this wasn't one of Lewis Hamilton's best races. The crash in Q3 compromised his grid slot for the F1 Austrian GP sprint. The sprint itself was not too impressive as he effectively gained just one spot.

The F1 Austrian GP was a game of patience as the cars in front of Lewis Hamilton did not have the speed of the Mercedes. With Russell's penalty to add to the DNF suffered by Perez and Sainz, the podium was there for the taking and the Mercedes driver took it.

George Russell (Started: 4th, Finished: 4th)

Rating: 6

It was the second off-weekend in a row for Russell as he could not keep his nose clean at the start of the F1 Austrian GP. The penalty and front wing damage ruined Russell's race. However, considering the crash in Q3, this wasn't one of the best weekends of the season for the Mercedes driver.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen (Started: 1st, Finished: 2nd)

Rating: 9

🗣 "Congratulations to Ferrari, although they were unlucky with Carlos, they had the faster car for the majority of the race."

Wrapping up our #AustrianGP weekend 🏁🇦🇹

The fact that Max Verstappen didn't get carried away with the F1 Austrian GP (being his home race) by getting his elbows out a bit too much, speaks to his maturity. This time around, Verstappen understood that the Ferrari was just too fast for his Red Bull and he needed to cut his losses. P2 instead of P3 is nice, but the highlight was the pole position on Friday and the win in the sprint on Saturday.

Sergio Perez (Started: 5th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 7

Perhaps Perez could have been more careful into Turn 3. Overall, it was a weekend in the shadow of Max Verstappen for the Mexican. While Red Bull is happy with what Perez is achieving with the car, it remains to be seen what the Mexican thinks of the ever-increasing deficit to the championship lead.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (Started: 2th, Finished: 1st)

Rating: 9.5

That winning feeling 🏆

#F1 #CharlesLeclerc #AustrianGP https://t.co/6iZ1z9Vtzg

A well-deserved win for Leclerc at the F1 Austrian GP. He was fast, he was aggressive, and most importantly, he had the measure of Verstappen. Leclerc has been a dominant force in Ferrari, clearly the fastest driver within the team. The win was another demonstration of that.

The win has to be the start of a winning streak though. Ferrari can't let Red Bull regain momentum in the championship after two consecutive losses.

Carlos Sainz (Started: 3rd, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 8

It should have been P2 for Sainz at the F1 Austrian GP, but sadly it was not to be. Sainz has more or less peaked with Ferrari now. He's well-versed with how the car behaves on the track. He's closed the gap to his teammate. However, relying on your teammate's misfortune isn't a recipe for long-term success.

Sainz tried his hand in the sprint and Leclerc shrugged him off. It will be interesting to see what's next for the Spaniard.

McLaren

Lando Norris (Started: 11th, Finished: 7th)

Rating: 8

It was a rather anonymous race from Norris as we didn't see much of him. Not his fault though as McLaren were just not up to the mark. Regardless, Norris dragged out a P7 for the team as he continues to outgrow the confined spaces of McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 12th, Finished: 9th)

Rating: 7

An itsy-bitsy confidence booster for the Australian as he scored points for the team. The F1 Austrian GP weekend once again showed his teammate's superiority over him as the threat of Oscar Piastri replacing Ricciardo looms large at McLaren.

Alpine

Fernando Alonso (Started: 19th, Finished: 10th)

Rating: 8

Fernando Alonso wagging his finger at Yuki Tsunoda at 200mph will go down in the history books.

#F1 #FernandoAlonso #AustrianGP #YukiTsunoda https://t.co/XLAbOLRcIa

Everything that could go wrong went wrong for Fernando Alonso this weekend. From the broken floor in Q3 to the electrical issue in the sprint to the vibrations late in the race - little seemed to work. In the end, the Spaniard scraped through with a point on a weekend where he had breathtaking speed but no luck.

Esteban Ocon (Started: 6th, Finished: 5th)

Rating: 8.5

Making the most of whatever he had at his disposal, this was another strong performance from the Frenchman. Ocon might not have the speed of Alonso at the moment, but he's certainly maximizing whatever he's got. Usually, that is exactly what attracts a driver to the big leagues.

Alpha Tauri

Pierre Gasly (Started: 15th, Finished: 15th)

Rating: 5

It was a poor weekend for Pierre Gasly as he got entangled with far too many drivers and ended up compromising his own race. During the sprint, it was an error on the first turn that effectively ended his charge. In the F1 Austrian GP, it was the punt that threw Vettel into the gravel and handed Gasly a penalty. The French driver will be looking to forget this weekend as soon as possible.

Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 17th, Finished: 16th)

Rating: 5.5

It wasn't a good weekend for AlphaTauri overall. Even Tsunoda was more or less invisible from the TV screens, except when he got a finger wagged at him by Fernando Alonso during the race. A weekend to forget for the Japanese driver as well.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel (Started: 19th, Finished: 17th)

Rating: 7

If Vettel's weekend had gone smoothly, he would have scored points at the F1 Austrian GP. Albon and Gasly had other ideas though. Being punted off the track by former Red Bull drivers was the story of Sebastian Vettel's F1 Austrian GP weekend.

Lance Stroll (Started: 13th, Finished: 13th)

Rating: 6

Stroll kept his nose clean in the race and in the sprint to finish an underwhelming 13th. In terms of performance, the Canadian lacks the final few tenths of his teammate and maybe Stroll Sr. might need to chat with his son since the driver's performances are just not on par.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas (Started: 20th, Finished: 11th)

Rating: 7

Post race catch up with @ValtteriBottas 👀

#AustrianGP https://t.co/Gi1vkg4P9I

A veteran drive from Valtteri Bottas. Starting from the back of the grid, Bottas made significant progress and would have scored a point if not for the marauding Alpine of Fernando Alonso. Bottas is surely a valuable addition to the team as Alfa Romeo tries to sort out its reliability issues.

Guanyu Zhou (Started: 14th, Finished: 14th)

Rating: 6

A decent weekend for Zhou at Alfa Romeo. During free practice, he was more or less just a tenth or two behind Bottas. In terms of development, Zhou seems to be showing good progress now.

Haas F1

Kevin Magnussen (Started: 7th, Finished: 8th)

Rating: 7

Another good drive by Magnussen as he once again scored points for the team in both the race and the sprint. He's keeping pace with his teammate's progress, who continues to hound him in every race.

Mick Schumacher (Started: 9th, Finished: 6th)

Rating: 8.5

Best ever result in F1 for Mick Schumacher! 🙌🏻

P6 🚀

📸 @HaasF1Team

#F1 #MickSchumacher #AustrianGP https://t.co/gk14o4A4wq

This was the weekend where Mick Schumacher grew his big boy muscles. His speed was great and the wheel-to-wheel action with Lewis Hamilton ran high on the nostalgia quotient. Nonetheless, the highlight of the weekend was Mick Schumacher talking to the media after the sprint and demanding his team do a better job. Interesting possibilities ahead for the young German in F1.

Williams

Alex Albon (Started: 16th, Finished: 12th)

Rating: 7

While poor in the sprint with his multiple attempts at running people off the track, the race was more like his usual self as Albon drove a measured race. Can't help but feel he could gain a lot by having a competitive teammate alongside him.

Nicholas Latifi (Started 18th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 4

Latifi was back to old habits. Nowhere close to Alex Albon on pace and a rather anonymous race however long it lasted. Williams should be eyeing a replacement for the Canadian as it feels like they are competing with only one driver.