P1 with Matt and Tommy - Azerbaijan GP Driver Ratings

Episode Date: September 23, 2025

Join us for perhaps the harshest set of grades of the season so far... At least a few midfielders gave us some tens! The Delusion Tour is just around the corner! We're heading to North America in a few weeks and there are still a few tickets available - click here to grab yours: tix.to/p1liveYou can listen to an extended version of every race review episode over on our Patreon! You'll also access to every P1 episode ad-free, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommyFollow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the B1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. It's driver ratings time. Numbers attributed to drivers. And then we all discuss it. Tommy, how are you feeling? As a byzian, it was a tale of two halves, wasn't it? Qualifying versus the race in terms of the action and where you're going to grade, how you're going to downgrade.

It was easy to make a mistake. but there were drivers out there that didn't make one. Indeed. Another contentious one. It all depends on how you grade kind of qualifying, of course. Like, you know, it's very important. And the fact that, you know, some people crashed out, it was difficult to overtake race as well.

So, yeah, we'll dive into it. But it's a good one, I think. Lots of disagreements, I'm sure, on the way. Oh, I hope so. I hope we fight at least five times between now and the end of the podcast. Let's begin with our first drive. Gabriel Bortoletto started the race in 13th, finished 11th. I was tossing and turning between a 6 and a 7,

but I'm gone for a 6 for Gabriel Bortoletto. I think he did a pretty good job. For a Salba that I'm really finding it quite difficult with some of these teams because their pace changes quite drastically. Salba, we're kind of thinking, oh, they're a podium team these days after Silverstone. And they've had some really good point scoring finishes, but I feel like they were on the back foot this weekend a little bit,

but Bortoletto did a pretty good job, just missed out on the points, but he was actually quite a way off Hajar in P10. He wasn't close. I think it was 20 odd seconds. So, yeah, a solid weekend from Gabrielle, but nothing to really get excited about. I've gone for a 7 out of 10. I actually think this was a good drive from Bortoletto.

I think the fact that the Salbo, like you say, it is very difficult to understand where their pace is, but it does feel like they've kind of dropped down, although you wonder how much of that is Holcomberg, who we'll get onto later. But, yeah, Borselletto did it at a great job, and sadly didn't get points, but I think he had a very impressive race to put the salber where probably it shouldn't have been,

actually. Okay, dokey, fair enough. The fans gave Gabriel a six out of ten. Nico Holcomberg started the race in 17th, finished 16th. I have gone for a four out of ten for Nika Holcomberg.

He was deliberating. I was deliberating a three but I'll go for a three. I'm going for a three actually, yeah, I am going for a three. Yeah, I'm going to go for a three out of ten. Poor qualifying crash knocked his front wing off

and then in the race he also kind of crashed, didn't he, into Esteban Okon. Yeah, he just really has just disappeared since that incredible podium. He's like he's just basically gone, right? I've got it now.

And what started off as an unbelievable season, I think Niko Holcombberg's really in struggle town at the moment and doesn't seem to be having particularly good drives. He's getting comprehensively beaten now by Bortolete. And yeah, a very disappointing race for Holcomburg. I agree with you. I've gone for three out of ten. 10 as well for Nico.

It was very much on the cusp of a four, but you make a very good point about qualifying as well and making that mistake. The race one was clumsy, in my opinion, as much as he said after the race that it was just lap one racing. He was kind of out of shape, which was where Piastri crashed, of course. And he was running wide.

That's why. Yes, Nico actually caused Oscar to go in the wall. But that's another story. But for Nico, yeah, he ran really, really wide and then was very much pinched on the apex. and I think the, was it, Bortoletto actually, was another one that went across. There was one that went across the chican to basically avoid doing what Nico did. But Nico decided to commit to the corner and then hit Ocon.

And yeah, it's just, as you say, where has Nico Holcomburg gone? We would like to have him back because it was great to celebrate such amazing moments. And, you know, he scored a lot of points this year as well. I know he's had a bit of a time off, but he scored a lot of points for Zappa. But hey, he still needs to put in performances and we both think it's a three. The fans think it's a four out of ten. Alex Albon started the race in 19th, finished 13th.

Yeah, this is the driver ratings of bad grades, as you may well be about to witness everybody, but I've gone for a three out of ten for Alex Albon. Crashed in qualifying, crashed into Colapinto, still finished 13th, so there was some reasonable driving there. Alex, I know that you listen to these driver ratings. I'm sorry, it might well have been a nine out of ten in your head.

But sadly, you know, that mistake in qualifying was insanely costly. Your teammate has just scored a podium in a very treacherous, tricky weekend. And yeah, no points for Albon. I can't give him any higher than a three. Yeah, I've gone for a three as well for Alex Albon. Sorry, Alex, if you're listening. But look, he crashed in quality. It was a big mistake.

And particularly costly because Williams did have pace. think Carlos will get onto later has of course over delivered in that Williams but even without that Williams were looking strong so definitely points maybe even big points on the board was possible so for then to also have a collision in in the race that got him a penalty yeah a very very kind of well it was a bad weekend for Alex and very like you know he's had such a good season but this this was not not his best race for sure. I also love as well that I think from here to the end of the season we apologise to Alex every single time we give him a bad grade just because he told us if he missed. Even though he definitely

doesn't. No, no, no, but he may have seen a clip or something, but if you missed it when we had him on the podcast, he said that he has seen driver ratings and that was fun. The fans gave him a four. Carlos Sines started the race in second, finished third. I have gone for a 10 out of 10 for Carlos Sites. And it would be that other one where we go, have we wasted the 11 again? But Carlos, brilliant drive. The fact that he had pace,

you know, his qualifying lap was amazing. And, yeah, the fact that he got that, he managed to stay in the position that he did only getting passed by Russell. You kind of thought that he would potentially tumble down the order with the fact that he had two Merck's, McLaren's Ferrari's behind him. But no, he managed to have great pace to get a podium.

I delivered a fantastic job and I'm really glad for him because my word has he been unlucky this year and finally, I say got some good fortune. It was also, it was just great driving. So well done Carlos. Yeah, he made his own fortune. It was, I think, you know, he himself has said that this season has been a very difficult one for him after the race. He said, I always said that as long as the luck is there when we're fighting for a podium,

we don't do mistakes, when we're fighting for big things, I was going to be okay. And today is the perfect example. Yeah, it was perfect. To put it up in second, of course, you can say that there were slippery conditions out there, but he still put a lap in that was really strong. And that saved him, that front row going into Sunday. And then to be so comfortable sitting in second place, he stretched the gap to Lawson behind. who was creating a little bit of a train for him.

Because if Carlos had been at the front of that train, I don't think he would have got a podium, just purely because there was Antonelli and Russell who were very much on the back of Lawson, but he showed some great pace, and it was a brilliant job, and Williams just showcasing a nice, clean weekend like that, they can get phenomenal results.

The fans, unsurprisingly, gave him a 10 as well. Isaac Hadjar, started the race, an 8th, finished 10th. I am going to go for a seven out of ten for Isaac Hadjar. It wasn't actually far off Lawson in the end. When you look at the gaps, he was very much joining or just close to joining the train that was formed behind Lawson. Finished about five or so seconds behind Lawson, but a massive five places behind as well, just showing how close they all were. But Hadjar surprisingly actually saw that it was a mistake that he made on the safety car restart as opposed to anything else and he lost two places from there.

So his race could have gone a little bit better had it not been for that. But it's still a point, reasonably good qualifying. So yeah, seven out of ten. Yeah, I've gone for a seven out of ten as well for Hadjar. He had a pretty decent race, of course, past Lando at the start. And yeah, surprisingly close to his teammate, kind of maybe unlucky reading when you look at kind of position versus where, at how far he was behind his teammate. But yeah, another solid drive for Hadjar. Certainly was indeed. The fans gave Hadjar a 7 out of 10.

Liam Lawson started the race and third, finished fifth. I have gone for a 10 out of 10 for Liam Lawson. I think it was absolutely brilliant drive qualifying. I will actually say I think he was the star of qualifying. The fact that he managed to put a lap in even quicker in those tricky conditions. He was also quite early on the track, which was of course, you know, a contentious topic, which we'll talk about later. And the fact that Lawson, despite everything, thought he was going to fall back. you know, yes, it was hard to overtake

and that kind of helped him. But to finish P5, I'm not going to get kind of maybe blinded by the fact that had you got a podium, it's still, and kind of give him worse than a 10. It's an absolutely brilliant performance. I think he was one of the drivers of the weekend. Yeah, I was tossing and turning again.

I need to stop using that phrase. Between 9 and a 10 for Lawson. I think the fact that Lawson's lap was brilliant in qualifying as well, whereas, like, no offense to Carlos, but he, like, obviously got some quite good fortune. You know, still worthy of a 10, of course, for Carlos. But that's why, for me, Lawson, like, he put himself there in qualifying with a brilliant lap. It wasn't like it was rained off and he just stayed in third.

He actually went quicker in that kind of late dash and put in an amazing lap. Yeah, it depends how you weight it, I guess. Yeah. But I guess qualifying has very much put him in there. I'm sort of delaying my grade right now. Oh, gosh, Liam, is it a 10? I don't know.

His pace wasn't like much better than Hagear, and I've given him a 7. Oh, gosh. Fine, it's a 10. It's a 10 for Lawson. There you go. I very much deliberated there. I can very much see a nice.

out of 10 as well. But let's go for a 10 because he's put himself in that position. I don't think he could realistically hold off the Mercedes. Had he been on the slightly better strategy, which I think was starting on hard, then it could have maybe given him a better opportunity. But yeah, a fifth place, starting third on the grid. It has to be a 10. The fans gave him a 9.

Olly Behrman started the race in 15th, finished 12th. Another driver that crashed the weekend. I'm going to give him a six out of 10. The crash he had, or the crabbing crash, as I'm going to call it, that he had, wasn't the absolute end of the world for him, just purely because it made it through to Q2 anyway. Started 15th and then was showing some pretty good pace. Finished 12th in the end.

The Hass is not a point scoring car, at least around here, even with Ocon's miracle strategy that he wasn't able to. able to pull it off either. So yeah, I've gone for a six. I've gone for a five for Ollie Bearman. I think it's another missed opportunity for him. He looked like he had amazing pace in the practice sessions and who knows where he'd have been. Just because you good surprise didn't come in. You take it out of him. No, I just think there was definitely more to be had there in a race where some unusual midfielders have done good performances. I think a point was there the fact that he kind of finished 12th as well,

shows that the pace was there. But had he not had the crash in qualifying, he may well have scored some points. So yeah, I think a missed opportunity for Berman. All right, I'm downgrading him to a five because I just realised that he finished 13th on the road and Albon's penalty was what promoted him to 12th. So yeah, I'm downgrading back to a five.

Sorry, Oli, I still very much want you to do well. The fans gave him a six. Esteban Ocon started the race from 20th after being disqualified from qualifying and finished 14th. I have gone for a 5 out of 10 for Estaban Ockon as well. Yeah, performed worsted a teammate in qualifying. And then, yeah, he, in the race he tried that kind of miracle strategy, of course, got yeated by Holcomberg at the start, which didn't help things for him. and unfortunately the kind of, I think it was a Franco Colopinto train, I believe,

was what really really cost him. And he wanted to do the kind of crazy strategy, which at the start looked like it was going to be great, but he got stuck in a DRS train, which is quite common this year in Formula One and, yeah, didn't work out for him. So I've gone for a five. I have also gone for a five out of ten for Ocon.

I genuinely thought he was going to score points with the strategy that he went for. I liked the look of it. There was a lot of talk that the hard tires would go until three races time. So Ocon, I was believing there was going to be some sort of lovely train from him from eighth all the way down to potentially 20th. That did not happen. And he lost quite a bit of time at the end on those rather worn hard tires. So yeah, so five from me.

The fans gave him a six. Franco Colapinto started the race in 16th, finished 19th. I have gone for a three out of ten. I don't know why I'm singing it. Gone for a three out of ten for Franco. Of course, absolutely obliterated the car in qualifying. Yes, he was fighting Ghazly at the end and two and a half seconds or so behind him at the end. But he absolutely destroyed his car, which I have to take into account.

And yeah, and then the two dustbins are just fighting at the back. Alpine are the new, you know, blue dustbins. and they were both the only drivers to be one lap down. Not much they can do from there, but I don't think we ever saw them. So, yeah, it's going to be a three from me. I'm going to go for a five for Franco Colopinto. Yes, he smashed into the wall, which is a downgrade. So it would have been a six.

So it would have been a six, yeah. Jesus. He outqualified Pierre Gasly, which is no mean feat, of course. and then he was running actually quite high up I think he was like 13th at the start keeping a lot of cars behind him running quite well and then gained at the start

and then of course Albon took him out which meant that he finished easily at the back and it was very much of what might have been because he damaged his car after that so I actually think it was much much better than people are giving him credit for personally that's so true bestie I literally said it for Albon that he got yeated by Albon

and then I forgot that that happened and then said three. Yeah, he was running, he was running quite well. I'm sure it was about 13th or something. I just remember him going very slowly on the medium tires. Because he was, yeah, yeah, well, he was, he was keeping everyone behind him in a big train, but he was high up and then what, then it was pretty much immediately after he pitted, Albert crashed into him, so we'd never got to see what he could have done. All right, a forgiving yeat.

I'll go for a four then for Franco. That's fair enough. We'll go for a four out of ten for Franco. My apologies to all Colopinto fans out there. The fans gave him a three. They don't care about that. They definitely don't. Pierre Gasley started the race

in 18th, finished 18th. I've gone for a four out of 10 for Pierre Gazley. I think he's been on a disappointing run. Maybe I know the Alpine's bad, but I expect to drive him. like Pierre Gazley to be out qualifying him, you know, with the fact that Colopinto's had, you know, less time in the car and come in mid-season, Gasly an experienced driver, one of, you know, the most experienced on the grid, and to, you know, make a mistake in qualifying

meant he was all the way down in 18th. I know they are dustbins at the back, but yeah, I expect more from from from from from from from disappointing wow sounds like you're breaking I am amazing voice you want to you're going to start crying a little bit big big big Gatsley fan out there I've gone for a four as well for for Gassley he did not disintegrate his car but he did still make a mistake in qualifying which was I don't know how costly how how how high are Alpine actually going to get but yeah I completely agree that you know we've seen quite a lot of I guess potential from Colopinto in the last few races of being quite close to Gassley.

I think that part of that is, I want to say Pierre might even feel rather unmotivated right now by what this season is and what the car that Alpine are giving him into next year, of course, they have brand new engines and perhaps a renewed motivation. But for now, yeah,

it's very underwhelming performances at the moment for Pierre Gassley. That's why I've gone for a four. The fans have also gone for a four out of ten. Lartstrol, Martin of the race and 14th, finish 17th. Rather quiet race from Lance Stroll, just toodling along. Gone for a four out of 10.

Aston Martin, to be fair, rather dreadful round here. They do not like tracks that their car have to go fast down a straight. They're not particularly efficient from what's been said. And yeah, he was just absolutely nowhere near the points. Outqualified by Alonzo, which was devastating for my prediction. Championship and then yeah to finish 17th miles off the back of 16th in fact even yeah a pretty

poor one I've gone for a four out of 10 for Lance stroll disappointing quality again but you know no surprise really to get to get out qualified by Alonzo but I don't think Asson Martin were there at all this weekend so it's not like an absolutely abysmal before performance, just nothing to shout about really. Just a bog standard sort of 15 seconds behind Alonso as we expect to see from Lance Strull, really. So there you go. Fans gave Lance a four out of 10. Fernando Alonzo, started the race in 11th, finished 15th.

I've gone for a 5 out of 10 for Fernando Alonzo. I think even with the jumpstart, the fact that he's finished. qualified 11th and finished that far ahead of stroll. I think I have to have to give him a higher grade, even despite the mistake, which is unfortunate, and he held his hands up, which is very,

well, you don't normally hear that from Fernando Alonzo T on a radio going, yeah, that's my mistake, not, I've got the wrong passport, why they're giving me a penalty, or something like that.

It was red-handed by that one night. There's no debating it. You know, there isn't. Yeah, it's a five for Fernando. I've also gone for a five out of ten for Fernando. I feel a little bit sorry for him, in fact, actually for the jump start. You know, why would Oscar Piazari be jumping it in front of him? And it's a human reaction to react to something that is immediately in front of you.

Of course, it is still a mistake, but I don't weigh it down as much for Fernando. And, yeah, still beating Lance by a comprehensive margin. 15th. But yeah, that's why it's a point above Lance. The fans gave him a five as well. Kimmy Antonelli started the race in fourth, finished fourth. I have gone for a nine out of ten for Kimmy Antonelli. A pretty good weekend.

I say pretty good. It's nine out of ten. It was a very good weekend from Kelly, Kimmy. Out qualifying George, who of course was battling all kinds of illnesses this weekend. but this is such a needed performance from Kimmy and I am waiting this slightly when I look back at the last five or six races as to this is a very impressive performance

and I think it does deserve a nine out of ten which is where sometimes our grades may vary from what you give drivers week in week out because it depends what you factor in but for me I think it is a nine out of ten performance from Kimmy and I think he can be pretty happy with that. Had he beaten signs, who knows. Who knows what the number would have been?

Oh, this one is a tricky one. I'm also deliberating between an eight and a nine. Bam boy Tommy. Come on. Yeah. He did have the... Did he have the worst strategy? Or on the same I'm trying to remember. Let me have a look.

Did he have the worst strategy? He had a different strategy to Russ. Starts on the mediums. Russell started on the hards. Yeah, the hards definitely worked. That strategy did seem like the way to go, didn't it? Yeah, I'll go for a nine for Kimmy Antonelli.

I think it was a turning point, hopefully, for him. Qualified well, of course, in tricky conditions. I think that's a big kind of boost for him to out-qualify Russell. I know Russell wasn't feeling well. But, yeah, to be not... He wasn't that far off, actually, Russell in the end. and I think he did have the worse strategy. So, yeah, I'll go for a nine

in front and early. Okay, the fans gave Kimmy an 8 out of 10. George Russell started the race in 5th, finished 2nd. I will go for a 9 out of 10 for George Russell. This is a very also contentious one.

And I will say that Kimmys is a low 9, George's is a high 9. And this may be, also a victim of something, a victim of his own success, something we sometimes see with like Max Stappen when, you know, he finished his second and you go, I can't give him a 10, even though he's probably, you know, done everything he could because it kind of feels like, you know, he's a great driver and you reserve those kind of grades for a win. Don't get me wrong. I think he had a fantastic

race. He made the strategy work, but did get out qualified by Antonelli as well, which is a small kind of blip, had the better strategy. Antonelli did actually put one on George Russell, didn't he very at the start? He did, yeah. I am actually more convinced it's a nine now for Russell, but still a fantastic drive. I was also deliberating between a nine and a ten, surprisingly. We have the same brain most of the time. But yeah, I think a nine is absolutely the right call for George.

As much as I'm factoring in, he was going to work very unwell. and that's why I really wanted to give him a 10. But it wasn't quite the 10 performance outqualified by Kimmy. He even said after the race, I don't think we did anything spectacular. It's just a lot of people made a lot of mistakes this weekend between qualifying and the race. So that is George's words. But I'd love to give him a 10 just because, as I said, very impressive to have done what he did, considering how he sounded over the radio on Friday.

It was mental what he was going through. but a brilliant weekend once again for George we need to in the predictions we need to start throwing him in a bit more because he loves to spawn on the podium more times than we ever predict so well on George at the fans gave him a nine as well Yuki Sonoda started the race in sixth

finished sixth my god this is a difficult one isn't it? Yeah yeah this is a difficult one we're getting into some tricky ones now because Yuki Sanoda best qualifying of the year finished in a red bull and finished the highest he has in a red bull

I'm going to give him an eight out of ten I know he finished half a minute behind Max Verstappen but once again I am factoring in that this man has not had any kind of handle of this car and to be honest with you again it might not really have been that he's become much quicker in the red bull it goes back to George's comments of there were just a lot of mistakes out there I think Yuki did a great job to keep Lando at bay.

It turns out afterwards, he was sort of playing the team game to stop Lando coming through, which I thought was very interesting indeed. A little bit of rear gunner support the first time we've seen that from Yuki for Max. But yeah, I think he deserves an eight. It's a little bit of a breakthrough performance in some ways to score some good points. Yes, he was beaten by Liam Lawson. But he was there. He didn't crash into the wall.

many drivers did this weekend, so that's why I'm giving him an eight. This one's tricky. This one is very tricky. You love Yuki. I do love Yuki. I was going to give him a seven. Have I convinced you? I'm going to give him an eight for a couple of reasons.

Yeah, it's his best result. You look at the kind of distance between him and Max. I think he didn't have the same new wing as Maxus happened, I believe, front wing, which of course factors into it somewhat. I would have won the race then. Yeah, exactly. Ten, ten, ten for you key. And I do think as well, he explained this afterwards.

I do think he could have got Lawson, but he played it very, very, very safe. And it was very interesting to hear that he didn't go for the move because he was kind of thinking about Norris making up places, which shows that in his head he thinks Max can win the title, which is quite interesting. Yeah, so he played it a bit, a bit safe there. So that maybe makes it look worse than it was, but yeah, he was strong in the race.

In his head he thinks Max can win the title or in his head he's going, what do Red Bull want as a second driver in the team in the future, a driver that will play the Max game, that will help Max. and also like the last thing he needs, if he's got any hope left of getting that seat, the last thing he wants to do is crush into Liam Lawson going for a move. So yeah, yeah, I get it. Yeah, eight, we'll go eight. We'll go eight.

And the fans have also gone for an eight out of ten. Max Verstappen started the race and first finish first. It's a 10 out of 10 for Max Verstappen. An easy one. You know, I've seen a lot. And I do kind of agree somewhat that the Red Bull was a lot better this weekend. You know, I can't sit here and say like it's still a terrible car because it's definitely not. at this circuit.

It suits Red Bull. But even with that argument, Max gets a chance to basically have a car that can challenge for the victory and he takes it. And, you know, what a qualifying lap to put nearly half a second on the field in those tricky conditions. Was an amazing thing. And then him actually having the audacity to start from pole position on hard tires, thing backing himself that I can hold off. I know people would joke and say, oh, it's only a Williams

and a racing boss behind him, but he's still starting on hard tires, their quick, quick starters, even things like the restart. I saw people joking that, like, why are you gassing up this restart? Like, Carlos was never going to get him. It's like, Williams is very quick and straight line. Like, you never know. And yeah, he drove a brilliant race, made it look very easy. And we wait to see what happens in Singapore. We certainly do. I've given a 10 out of 10 for Max as well, unsurprisingly, a phenomenal weekend. I think he just showcased what was possible out there if you didn't make mistakes and you were pretty much perfect throughout. We saw both McLaren's make mistakes and Max just completely dominated. This is what Max does. This is what we were so

used to seeing from Max, but it's not easy to do performances like this. And I think that he's now had, what, six grand slams, which I read was either tying or ahead of Hamilton now, which is pretty crazy. And he's the first driver in history to get five in consecutive seasons, like five consecutive seasons he's got a grand slam in, which is quite insane as well. That's, that's a madness, especially in this season, for sure. You wouldn't expect that with the slight performance differences. But yeah, the Red Bull was good in Max's hands this weekend. We can't say it was an absolute donkey.

The Red Bull found a good spot with it, especially with Max. And yeah, it's a solid 10 out of 10. The fans gave him a 10 as well. Lewis Hamilton started the race in 12th, finished 8th. I've gone for a 6 out of 10 for Lewis Hamilton. I think it was, I mean, considering the qualifying woes, which I am putting down to Ferrari as well as Lewis. because of the fact that he was on old soft tires.

And then again, some kind of sort of team communication issue going on there that it just doesn't feel like Lewis has the confidence to just go, no, F you, I'm doing this, or I'm coming in or whatever. We've saw so many times at Mercedes, but that just comes with time, doesn't it? And building a team around you that you have confidence in being able to execute a strategy. So I feel a little bit sorry for Hamilton because he looked good all weekend. in the run-up to qualify. He looked very much on the pace of Shal, if not a little bit quicker.

And then in the race, a decent comeback beat Shal in the end. I know that Shal let him through, but he was on fresh mediums. And also he didn't destroy his car. So, so yeah, I've gone for a six for Hamilton. It is only eighth place. But I think a six reflects that it was better than perhaps some people might think. Yeah, I've gone for a six as well. I think the fact that he managed to kind of make up places, finish head of his

his teammate. I know there was some confusion there, of course, at the end, but he he did a good job all things considered. And yeah, I also kind of blame Ferrari to a point in that kind of qualifying problem because he himself was kind of asking for new tires. Of course, there's the argument that it worked for them at the start and they really fell off and struggled. But yeah, it's a weekend to forget, though, I think, for Ferrari overall at a circuit that I think, in theory, should have suited them. Absolutely. The fans gave Lewis a five. Charlotte Claire started the race in 10th, finished 9th.

I have gone for a 5 out of 10 for Charlotte Claire. You sound very confident with that, bro. I'm not. I think maybe a 4 is too harsh. I've gone for a five and again that may be a victim of his own success because I think

even though the Ferrari wasn't there and maybe couldn't have been challenging for poll you know we know how good Charles is at Baku of course he crashed in qualifying should have done a lot better there and you never know what he might have done in qualifying

and of course if he's up at the front he could have got a really good result so yeah A disappointing one to start 10th, finish 9th, a circuit he is really good at. Very disappointing, I think, for Charlerc, certainly not one of his best races. Yep, very disappointing indeed. I have gone for a five as well. Yeah, I agree. Anything lower is a little bit unfair, I would say. Devastating that he made that, or had that mistake in qualifying. I don't think pole position was at all on the cards, but as we saw with signs and

Lawson, just a solid lap would have got you right towards the front of the field. And then after that, I think the Ferrari, not very good in these cold conditions, which, you know, quite it was in Baku, very windy as well. And it's just, the car just really wasn't there, to be honest with you. And he wasn't able to make much, much progress. And it was just painful, painful to watch, really. So yeah, five from me, the fans gave him a five as well. Oscar Piastri Started the race in ninth Did not finish

My grade for Oscar Piastri is a zero out of ten There is not a singular point I'm afraid I can give Oscar for this weekend Because everything went wrong Crashed in qualifying Ended up starting 9th Jumped the start and then crashed on lap 1

I can't what can I give him a good grade for what can I give any grade for it is one of if not the worst weekend I can I can remember from a championship leader contender whatever you want to call him devastating for Oscar of course

I am very intrigued as to how he bounces back from this because he is human right as much as we call him the ice man and things like that He made some massive mistakes this weekend. So I don't think I'm ever going to give him this grade again. I would like to think and I would say reasonably confidently that he will learn from this and it won't happen again. But it has to be a zero, I'm afraid.

It does. It definitely has to be a zero. I've gone for a zero as well for Oscar Piastri. You know, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's arguably the worst performance from any driver. all season and that's why it's so shocking because Oscar Piastri... Yeah, how does it get worse? Crashing in practice maybe?

Maybe, but... Crushing Q1? Yeah, every single thing. Because yeah, everything went wrong that possibly could crash in qualifying. Maybe he gets a one if he'd have not jumped the start. I don't know, even that, like, we'd still having the discussion of how could it get any worse? And it did because he jumped the start as well and got a penalty, which thankfully for him. start fell to last.

Yeah, yeah, so he didn't even jump the start and make loads of places up and go, well, I've done it. I'm leaving. I'm a second penalty. Yeah, exactly. So, yeah, it's so shocking because, you know, not done any averages yet and we'll do this at the end of the season, but I'd be willing to bet that before this race at this point in time, Oscar Piastri would still be number one driver this season.

Based on driver ratings, we've always kind of, yeah, it was dominating at the halfway point. We've talked about how the first. fact that he's barely got anything lower than, I think even like an eight or something, because he's just been so good. And yeah, it just can't get any worse than this. It is simply like the worst weekend possible and the worst weekend we've seen from a driver this year has to be. The fans gave Oscar a 1 out of 10. Can they give a 0 on the fan sheet?

Yeah, they can. Yeah, so I'm surprised. All right. Do you want to load it up quickly and just see how many gave 0 versus 1? want to see how many and where that one out of 10 came from because not that it will really matter in the grand scheme of things. I like the fact that Oscar Piastri has opened up the championship for the driver ratings averages as well as the main championship because everyone is of course tuning in for the driver ratings

average championship. That is what people all witness. Oh, it's actually gone over back to zero. It was one. Now it's now it's zero. Oh, the fans have given Oscar a zero. Yeah, it's a good job we checked. So it's a zero from the fans for Oscar Piastri.

Lando Norris started the race in seventh, finish seventh. The most contentious one till the end. I'm going for a five out of ten for Lando Norris. Some people will be screaming, five's really harsh. some people will be screaming. Five is far too generous. And some will be saying, that's just right. That's just right.

That's just right. That's like a children's nursery rhyme, isn't it? And I'm sure they won't be. Yeah. I will explain my reasonings for this. So as we get into qualifying, yes, he's not maximized the opportunity there. He definitely should have made it more positions.

I know he went out first, and I will give some kind of leeway that that's McClaren's mistake, but I see why they also did it because of the amount of red flags we'd seen, things like that. You're taking a risk. They could have easily looked really silly if there'd been another red flag. But he himself didn't deliver on that lap. He also made mistakes. And as we mentioned, why I gave Lawson a 10, he was also quite early in that queue and delivered a brilliant lap. So it was possible. Then we get into the race. He, jumped,

sorry, didn't jump the start, that was past three, he got jumped by Hadjar at the start, which I think, I can't believe that that happened because he's on the clean side of the grid. You think you have to make up places,

you're lower down the grid, losing places. His restart was really, really poor, and I think quite rightly has been heavily criticized because he was completely sleeping and that lost him another place. I will understand that,

had he got a slow pit stop, had he not had the slow pit stop, he may well have finished fifth, I think it'd been very close, probably would have got ahead, but equally, you put yourself in that position for all those other mistakes, that those fine margins can matter, so it's about how much you weigh up to it. So I'm not going to give him like a three out of ten and think it's like absolutely the worst drive ever, because it's certainly not, but it is an absolutely big missed opportunity. So a five is still a bad grade, because he should definitely be doing better in a McLaren. All right, Tommy's popped off.

It's now my turn. I've given Lando Norris a 10. I've given him a 5 as well, actually. That's so funny that you know, you said contentious. I was like, oh, is Tommy going to go for? Is it going to be really different? No, I literally gave him a 5 as well. Yeah, unforgivable on the restart.

The safety car, he was miles back from the rest of the field that had gone. Obviously, Max's leading the train. and Charlotte Claw, Chalaclaw, Cholac got through into term one. And you're thinking, Lando needs to be going forward at this point. His championship rival is out of the race. Yeah, of course, Phil,

sorry for him about the pit stop 4.1. McLaren, of course, are able to do sub-two-second pit-stops. And once again, they let him down. No, yeah, they've let him down on a few occasions now. And, yeah, he could have finished fifth,

but he's put himself in that situation where small mistakes by the team cost him more by not taking advantage of the start, taking advantage of the safety car restart. The quali lap, yes, he was out there first in slug. I mean, the conditions were pretty comparable for most drivers. It's not like he was there with a sweeper at the front of the car making it really, really drive for others. He did, like it was impossible. He didn't have brand new softs.

I know some people highlighted in the quali review. But that being said, he's in the. McLaren, you have Liam Lawson up there, as you say, that put a lap in in that same set of laps, or one lap, sorry, that everybody had. And he made a mistake. Lando hit the wall. He hit the wall. It's not like he just trundled around sliding. He literally hit the wall. So there was a mistake in there. Had he started fourth or fifth, he could well have easily been on the podium. But it's a five out of ten. It's not an absolute disaster. It's not an Oscar Piastri performance. I love some people

seeing one social clip from us where we talk about Lando's mistakes and go What about Oscar Priestri? Like, guys, that's a different clip. The previous clip that was posted literally half an hour before, go watch it. Absolutely madness. But it's a five out of ten from Lando.

He's gained points on Oscar, but I can't believe it was only six points that he gained. And it was a missed opportunity. You cannot deny that. No, you can't. I don't know how he could possibly say that it wasn't.

But of course, yeah, like the grade reflects. on the fact that he still bagged some points while his teammate has crashed out. And I love that we have said all of this to kind of give our reasons as to why we give him a five, which seems quite low. The fans gave him a four. So there you go. You can't say we're too arse because the fans have voted one.

Do you want to hear the percentages? Yeah, go on here. Let's have the percentages. So 2% gave him a 0. 3% gave him a 1. 7% gave him a 2. 19% gave him a 0. 15% gave him a 3, 25% gave him a 4, 23% gave him a 5.

Oh, close. 15% gave him a 6, and 4% gave him a 7, and then very minimal banter votes, as we always get, 410s and things. Okay, well, that's interesting to hear. So it's definitely the most contentious one, where you kind of look at it, and there's this kind of three quite similar grades, great's there. I mean, for me, you know, he's had a poor weekend and I stand by everything.

I said in the race review, but it's not like three out of ten bad. I can't give him worse than people like Alex Albin that have crashed in qualifying and then crashed again in the race. Exactly. So there you go. Who is our P1? That is the final question. It's got to be Max Vastappen for me Max is it Carlos Now Max was just I know you'll probably give it to Carlos

I'm going to say Max Verstappen Max Verstapp's my P1 or unless I don't know the facial expression suggests maybe not But I've gone for Max A simply perfect weekend from him When everybody else Not everybody else

But a lot of drivers made a mistake One session or another Max did not So that's why he's my P1 I find it really difficult to pick between Carlos, Max and Liam Lawson

but I'm going to go for my heart says Carlos, my head says Max Verstappen. I'm going to go. You can't give it to Lawson, you were deliberating a nine for him at one point, so. No, it wasn't.

A little bit. A little bit. A little bit. But yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll go Max. Yeah, I think it was just for him to deliver a drive

so strong that it somehow got people talking about, and even McLaren themselves, talking about a threat of him, you know, being so far behind still and making them a little bit nervous, shows that, yeah, just shows it's very maxis to happen, isn't it? Absolutely is. Well, there you go. Thank you everybody for tuning in to this driver ratings episode. Tommy, what are your final thoughts? Final thoughts are whether I will say this after at the end

but I do like these ones where there's more contentious in it because it makes a lot more interesting and being able to give different grades for different things and how you weigh up different options so I'd much rather have these kind of races where you're picking between maybe even like two or three grades than it just being like five six and we're just agreeing for everything

We don't want to just agree and just go on our merry way. So yeah, thank you everybody. We'll see you soon. We will be back in a couple of weeks for the next driver ratings episode. Seeing a poor coming up and Max just having another 10 out of 10, maybe we shall see. Lots of love, take care. Adios. Bye. Goodbye.

B1 is a Stack production and part of the Acast creator network.