2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Driver Ratings
With the chequered flag falling on the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, the season comes to an end. The last race of the season was surprisingly intriguing, with Lewis Hamilton and his progress through the field being one of the key facets of the race.
The race also featured quite a few drivers doing their last weekend with their respective teams, and not to forget that the constructors championship was at stake as well.
Lando Norris started the race on pole position and delivered the win for his team and hence the title. With that being said, how did every driver fare at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP? Let's take a look.
Criteria
- Performance in both qualifying and races is judged.
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car.
- Mistakes made over the weekend.
- Relative performance against teammate.
2024 F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen
Rating: 6.5
The move at the start did not pan out well, nor did Max Verstappen's comments about the FIA stewards. The Dutch had a decent car for the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, and had he kept his cool, a podium was definitely on the table. Unfortunately, the first lap incident ruined everything.
Sergio Perez
Rating: 4
In what looks like his last weekend, Sergio Perez was a tad unlucky to get entangled with Valtteri Bottas. The race ended prematurely for Checo, and this might be it for his stint with the team.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Rating: 8.5
A sort of fairytale ending for Lewis Hamilton as he overtook George Russell on the last lap of their partnership. The driver used the inverse strategy to brilliant effect as it helped him get the jump. The overall season has been a bit disappointing by Hamilton's standards, but he did end up finishing things on a high at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
George Russell
Rating: 8
There's probably a part of George Russell that would not have been happy losing out to Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the F1 Abu Dhabi GP. The British driver has been brilliant in general this season, but one could argue that he was probably a step behind Lewis at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc
Rating: 8.5
The poor qualifying session hurt Charles even though he was able to make up for it to an extent in the race. It was a weekend of two halves for Leclerc and certainly leaves some margin for improvement in 2025.
Carlos Sainz
Rating: 9.5
Carlos Sainz knew that the F1 Abu Dhabi GP was his last race in a frontrunner like Ferrari, and he certainly drove in that manner. That was a brilliant all-round performance from the Spaniard, and there was just nothing more he could have achieved in that car.
McLaren
Lando Norris
Rating: 10
Lando Norris is the team leader at McLaren, and he drove like one at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP. He was perfect in qualifying, he was perfect at the start and maintained his rhythm throughout the race. It was Norris all along who helped McLaren secure the title.
Oscar Piastri
Rating: 6
Oscar Piastri had a somewhat disappointing run in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP. He should be furious with what happened between him and Max Verstappen at the start, but at the same time, there were errors from his side as well. The Australian should have done a better job making his way through the field, but in the end he caps off a strong season overall.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
Rating: 9
A vintage Fernando Alonso race once again from the Spaniard, as away from the spotlight, he dragged the car that he termed 'the worst ever' to a points finish. Aston Martin needs to improve fast, but at no point can anyone question the job that Fernando Alonso is doing in that car.
Lance Stroll
Rating: 4.5
Another typical weekend for Lance Stroll once again, as the Canadian was nowhere in a position to match the performance of his teammate, and eventually finished outside of points.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly
Rating: 9
Pierre Gasly did the best he could in that Alpine, and that helped him secure P6 for the team. His late-season pace and the team's resurgence have been two of the stories of the second half of the season.
Jack Doohan
Rating: 5
Not much was expected of Jack Doohan, and he couldn't achieve much anyway on his debut. The true picture would become clear next season, as it is safe to say that Alpine already has options it might want to evaluate.
Williams
Alex Albon
Rating: 7.5
A decent weekend for Alex Albon as he almost scored points for Williams. The car didn't have the pace to score points at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, and he did the best possible with the tools at his disposal.
Franco Colapinto
Rating: 6
A bit of a bleak end to his first season for the young Argentinian. Franco Colapinto was just a step behind his teammate at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, and it all came to a premature end after the collision with Oscar Piastri.
V-Ca-RB
Liam Lawson
Rating: 7
A decent weekend for Liam. The driver was more or less on par with Yuki and was possibly in contention for points if not for the bad pit stop. With his future set in Red Bull, it would be interesting to see how he tackles that challenge.
Yuki Tsunoda
Rating: 7
A promising qualifying followed by a bad start before a decent recovery' aptly describes Yuki Tsunoda's F1 Abu Dhabi GP race weekend. The Japanese driver's fate in terms of whether he drives for RB or Red Bull Racing will soon become clear, but it's safe to say that he's done all that he could.
Stake F1 Sauber
Valtteri Bottas
Rating: 5
Not the way Bottas would have wanted to cap off his stint at Sauber. The Finnish driver had a strong qualifying session, which was followed by two collisions in the race that compromised everything.
While Valtteri looks to come back, it would be interesting to see if he gets another shot in F1.
Guanyu Zhou
Rating: 6
A decent overall weekend caps off Zhou's run with Sauber. Whether the F1 Abu Dhabi GP is his last race in the sport or not is a question we'll get an answer to soon once General Motors announces the driver lineup.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen
Rating: 7.5
Kevin Magnussen was very unlucky in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP. A slow pit stop followed by a collision with Bottas severely limited the Dane. In other circumstances, he would have been able to achieve much better results.
Nico Hülkenberg
Rating: 8.5
Nico Hülkenberg has a lot of reasons to be proud of his stint at Haas. The German did everything more or less right at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, including the stunning qualifying lap. The penalty was unfortunate, but he more or less finished where the car was capable of.