P1 with Matt and Tommy - Belgian GP Driver Ratings

Episode Date: July 29, 2025

Think a boring race means boring Driver Ratings? Think again! We're here with a rundown of several inconsistent weekends for various drivers, with the sprint weekend throwing up contrasting fortunes...You can listen to an extended version of every Race Review this season 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 P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. Driver ratings. We are here to dive into everybody's race, every single one of them. And rate not just the Sunday, but the Saturday as well. And of course the Friday, because we had a sprint weekend. Lots to try and take into account, Tommy. So could make some interesting grades. Indeed, sprint ones are always chaotic in how you position it

but yeah, looking forward to diving into this one. A lot of, well, not a huge amount of action on track but still a lot to dissect from each person's race, I think. Let's get into the first driver, Gabrielle Bortoletto, who started the sprint in 10th, finished 9th, started the main race in 10th, finished 9th. It's going to be a 9 out of 10 for Gabriel Bortoletto this weekend. I think it was a thoroughly impressive, consistent performance throughout the weekend,

not just the sprint where, of course, narrowly missed out on points. But then to make Q3, Holkenberg very much the man of the moment from Silverstone, but it was Gabby that was really good. And to score a couple of points in a race that overtaking was difficult, we had treacherous conditions, he's a rookie, I feel like he deserves the plaudits of a nine out of ten. I have also gone for a nine out of ten for Gabriel Bortoletto. I think had Salba not got 43 points in the Constructors Championship, this would probably be a 10 out of 10.

Had I not got a podium last time out? Exactly. The bar has moved for Salba for sure, but that does not take away from what Borteletto had. I think this is his strongest weekend as a driver. You know, he had that great race in Austria, but here he has got into Q, three twice when his teammate hasn't and finished both races in a in a lovely P9. Really, really impressive from him. He was the one that, of course, compared to his teammate, managed to get the tyres to the

end as well and even asked Nicole Ocunberg to move out the way. Get out the way, Nick. Get out the way. And, yeah, a brilliant job from him. The fans agree. They've gone for a nine out of ten as well. Nika Holkenberg started the sprint in 17th, finished the sprint in 18th, started the main race in 14th, finished 12th. I have gone for a 5 out of 10 for Nika Holkenberg.

Deliberating a little 5 or 6 there? Was it between that on that or was it 4 or 5? Maybe even 4 or 5. But no, I don't think it's that bad because he was on for points, wasn't he? And they made that call. I mentioned it in the main podcast. I think it was very much the wrong call. he was disappointing in qualifying and in conditions where he normally excels couldn't really

do much and yeah a disappointing one for Holkenberg based on what happened last time but he can't have a podium every week no sadly not even a point coming from the Belgian Grand Prix but you know that's just flop territory for me now I'm on some serious role with my prediction of a big flop I have also gone for a five out of ten for Nika Holkenberg. I was deliberating, you know, how much can I put it on him for pitting? But it was kind of his decision. He said that just couldn't make the end, which I don't know if it's worth, surely it's worth the risk. I know he feels like the tyres are going off. But yeah, so it just kind of solidified him not scoring any points. He was flying through at the start of that last stint, but can't overtake. And you kind of very much signed not scoring points with

the Gazley train that was that was in P10. So a very anonymous, poor qualifying weekend from Holcomberg and that kind of just solidified no points. So it's a five out of ten for me. The fans gave him a five as well. Alex Albon started the sprint in 16th, finished 16th, started the main race and fifth finished sixth. So this is one of those drivers that has a tale of two halves, quite literally, from the sprint where it was disaster

to the main race. But the main race has to have the full weighting and it was such an impressive main race that I'm giving him a nine out of ten, straight up. It's a phenomenal qualifying, still beat Hamilton in the race, despite Hamilton charging through the field

with his great strategy. And I can't downgrade him any more than that. Of course, if the sprint had been a bit more chill and maybe it'd even scored a point, then perhaps it was even a 10. But sadly, I have to knock it off slightly for the sprint. But Albon did phenomenally well. He had a lot of pressure from Hamilton as well. It's not as if Hamilton was kind of chilling five seconds behind.

He was having to deal with that pressure for a lot of it. And I think he maximised what he could on the Sunday. So it's a nine. Yeah, I've gone for a nine as well. I think Albin's result in the main race. That's the one way you want to score. your best result and he absolutely did and he got everything out of that car. If that had just been the Grand Prix, he's getting a 10 out of 10 here.

But of course, the sprint was a disappointing one. But if you're going to have a disappointing race, it might as well be the sprint. So an amazing job again from Alex Albon after Williams have had a bit of a tough run. Certainly, the fans gave Alex Albon an 8 out of 10. Carlos Sines started to sprint in 6. finished sixth, started the main race from the pit lane, finished 18th. I have gone for a seven out of ten for Carlos Sites. I think he had a great sprint,

and I'm not going to be too harsh on the race result in terms of the fact that he finished 18th, because unfortunately for a lot of runners, the people were just stuck in a train, weren't they, and they just tried something different just to hope, because otherwise it's that or gets something, you know, or just be stuck in an Olly Bearman train for the entire race. So that really, he gambled, obviously, he had the pit lane start. But I've got to reward him for that fantastic sprint.

And unfortunately, unlike his teammate, this one came in the one that scores less points, but it's still some good points on the board for Williams. I completely agree with your take on this one. I've gone for a seven out of ten as well. You have to give a nod for the sixth place in the sprint. That's three points. So it's kind of like finishing eight and a half in the main race. Yeah, which is a good result.

So, yeah, it's a great result for the sprint. You know, fantastic qualifying. He sort of slapped himself on the wrist, I think, for changing some setups or changing the setup ahead of the main part of the weekend, which cost him a lot of time. And yeah, he was pretty screwed from the get-go. But yeah, the sprint definitely deserves something higher than sort of like a five. So seven from me, the fans gave him a six. Isaac Hadjar started the sprint in ninth, finished eighth, started the main race in eighth, finished

20th. So this one is quite hard to grade because you'd think 20th, that's a two out of ten map. I've gone for a six out of ten for Hadjar, and this is my reason why. He made Q3 in both qualifying sessions. called us a point in the sprint. And his car was basically broken the entire race from what I've heard and what he has said afterwards is that he felt powerless. The car felt good in the sense of probably grip levels, but he was just getting overtaken left, right and center and felt like having a result like Lawson was very possible. Obviously, I can't rate him the same as Lawson, but I'm

going to give him a slight benefit of the doubt by the fact that every session where his car wasn't apparently broken, he was well within the top ten. Yeah, I'm going to go for a seven for had because I think he was having, you know, had a brilliant sprint, qualified well again for the main race. And then, yeah, he got a little bit, he was one of those unfortunate drivers. And a few of these have happened where they pitted a lap later than their teammate, which made it obviously difficult for them. And I hadn't really thought about this until I heard that he had that issue. But of course, we had that replay of Lewis Hamilton flying past him like Hajjar. And that explains a lot now because Hadjar literally looked like an F2 car.

in that replay. Yeah, it was so true, actually, because we thought maybe it was like grip differences, but surely not. Yeah, well, like, surely Hamilton's not that much quicker on the dries. But, yeah, that shows what a problem he was having. So I think he could have had a good result.

And every session his car worked, you know, P9, finishing P8, and then qualifying P8 again, he's done a great job. So I'm not going to be too harsh on him. OK-dokey, the fans gave him a five. They are not happy with his performance saw his cast performance.

Liam Lawson started the sprint in 11th, finished 10th, started the main race in 9th, finished 8th. I have gone for an 8 out of 10 for Liam Lawson. A sprint where didn't manage to score points like his teammate, but then in the main race, he did. It was, he's having much better form now. I think he's over this, it seems like he's over this slump, and he's delivering some good performances now.

And this is maybe what we thought that when he was, demoted, whether you call it demoted, to racing bulls. You kind of thought he'd slot in in a car that he's much more comfortable with and he'd share what he could do. And I think he's doing that again now. So a good drive from Liam Lawson. Yep, an eight out of ten for me as well for Lawson. It's so good to see for him that he's been able to pick himself up after what was incredibly challenging mentally.

The things, you know, breaking down at Red Bull and a few things to come out of the camp when he was there for those few races. And he did wonder, how does he come back from this? But, well, as much as Red Bull are savage, there are some remarkable bounceback stories, aren't there, from losing that second seat drive, not just Lawson on the grid that has managed to do that. But yeah, I think it was a very strong race from him. He was very quick. I don't think he had, he wasn't, it's not like he got, he went for the hero strategy like Hamilton. He did pit later than that and still managed to get a good result.

So yeah, Lawson, eight out of ten from me. The fans gave him an eight as well. Ollie Bearman started the sprint in seventh, finished seven, started the main race in 12th, finished 11th. I'm going to go for a seven out of ten for Ollie Bearman. It was a good weekend. The sprint was great. Of course, his teammate did a little bit better, so you have to take that into account as well,

that there was speed in the has. And I was really fancy my chances for Olly Beerman in the main race with just how he was looking forward to the wet race and everything else that was going on. And then the FIA didn't start the race until it was basically pretty much dry. So all of those runners that have risked it with the wet setup were kind of shafted by,

you know, whether it's intentional, or not, whatever, you know, they were shafted by the fact that the race started later than perhaps some of us believe it should have. But that being said, I think Bairman is starting to show some signs of form and colour and potential. And I'm liking what I'm seeing from my good surprise of the season. So keep it up, but I still need that breakthrough performance, please. I've gone for a seven as well. Very much a good performance, but not great. And I think could have been great again. But he just missed out in the Grand Prix qualifying where he looked very, very quick.

And had he got a position on the grid like he did in the sprint, it was so difficult to overtake. We could have seen a double points finish. But of course, he was stuck in the Ghazley train. He has finished 11th in four consecutive races now, which is so unlucky, you know, one place outside the points. And speaking of unlucky quickly, I will. add that he did mention also that he had some issues with his power unit and the engine how much it cost him. We don't know. Perhaps just the fact that Gassley was quite fast in a straight line made him think that the engine was bad. It probably feels hopeless when you've got DRS and you're not

not going anywhere. But he also said he was managing. So yeah, that's also disappointing for him. But where he would have finished without it, we're unsure. The fans gave him a seven. as well. Estaban Ocon started the sprint in fifth, finished fifth, started the main race in 11th, finished 15th. Agon for an 8 out of 10 for Esspan Ocon. The gamble in the race didn't work. He went for the low drag, pitted later. He was staying out. He was in that probably one of the only majorly exciting moments of the race where him, Charlotte Clare, Maxf's happened and George Russell were like side by side going through Blanchim.

on. But it didn't work out. And again, he was another one that just tried something. But I can't not give him an eight because he finished fifth in a house and qualified fifth in a house. And I know it's the sprint where less points, so it's not going to be, you know, a nine like an Alex Albon. But to qualify fifth in a house and finish fifth in a house deserves a huge amount of credit, a fantastic result, even if it is the race way you score less points. interesting. I have gone for a seven out of ten for Ocon mainly because, yeah, of course, the sprint, he did better than than Berman. The main race he did quite a bit worse. Of course, yeah, the strategy was wrong, but that's a driver call as we've seen with the likes of

Hamilton and co, making huge amounts of places by risking it and sort of dealing with those conditions. So yeah, it was the wrong call from Ocon and the team to carry on. on as, you know, and also, yes, but as you said, Spar for like half a lap, like just forgot that it was boring. It was like, oh, we're going to have five wide, go into the last sector. We absolutely love to see it. So thank you Ocon for that, but I can't upgrade you any more than a seven, and that's what I'm going to lock in.

The fans gave him a seven as well. Franco Colapinto started the race from the pit lane, finished 19th, and started the main race 15th, finished 19th. Not good reading. if you're a Colopinto fan. I've gone for a three out of ten for Colopinto. It's, it just feels like it's a rinse and repeat at the moment.

I was having a look at kind of where he was running prior to that additional pit stop, but he still was languishing towards the back. And just not quite where Colopinto needs to be, the fact that he had two competitive sessions, maybe one, he could get in the mix, you know, changeable conditions, the great leveler, this, that and the other,

but we're not really seeing it. And he's not the only rookie to have struggled. Of course, we have Antonelli to talk about a little bit later. But I'm going to go for a three. The three is kind of a nod to him being a rookie, otherwise it probably would be a two. I've gone for a four for Franco Colipinte. I think he struggled for race pace,

but I don't think his result tell the whole story personally. And look, I'm still giving him a four out of ten. It's a bad result. But what I want to say is he, I think he's being unfairly branded as this like ridicule, absolutely awful driver like he's worse than Mazapin when I don't think that is true at all and people giving him like one out of ten every single week in driver ratings. Because for me, he's two tenths of Gasly in qualifying. And then he stays out.

He was, I think, like a second and a half behind him before the pit stops. so he's not done horrendous and then obviously, you know, he's still done bad enough that he's dropped down the order when he's stayed out longer. But I do think he's getting unfairly sort of criticised and I understand people's frustrations because he's not lived up to the expectation which warrants Jack Dewan's firing. So I understand people's frustration there. But equally, I don't think he's doing like so unbelievably terrible that he should be like spoken about like the next, you know, Mazapin or something, which a lot of people seem to think.

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's a fair point about Colapinto being close in, in some moments of either the race or qualifying, but he was 19, three seconds off the back of signs. Gassley was, of course, holding on for Dear Life anyway, and I think he's a good 15, 20 seconds down the road. So it's not like it's, he's right on the back of this Gassley train. That's probably why I'm grading him slightly harsher. But that being said, yeah, I agree. He's not a Mazapin. He's not this ridiculous pay driver

that doesn't deserve to be in Formula One, but he also isn't matching up to where he should and probably could be. We've seen moments of brilliance from him when he stepped in at Williams. So more of that, please, but maybe the Alpine is just a dog and he can't cope with it. The fans gave him a two. Pierre Gasly started the sprint in eighth, did not finish, or didn't start actually. and then started the main race in 13th, finished 10th. I've gone for an 8 out of 10 for Pierre Gazley.

I think he's done a great job to get a point in the main race, left a bit on the table in qualifying, I think. But I think he's desperately unlucky that he didn't start the sprint as well, because we could have very easily seen a double points score from Gasly in terms of scoring points in both races. But Alassi was very unlucky there. So Gatsley continuing to do great things in a car that I do truly think is terrible and is being reflected by being last in the constructors now quite comfortably. I think that's a very fair thing.

I was going to go with a seven, but I think I'm trying to just reconfigure my brain that Alpine is probably the ninth or tenth fastest car. At least they were this weekend. And as you say, the constructors matches up with the fact that they have been the slowest team across the season. Yes, eight out of ten for me for Gassley, it's a great drive. The fact that he's scored a point, I think that even his social media comments highlight that he said he's going to sleep well tonight or something like that. He knows that he hard grafted that one to score a point. And I think, yeah, anything lower than an eight is a bit unfair for the drive that he put down

in a car that is, yeah, is pretty shocking. So yeah, eight for me, the fans. gave him a seven. Lance Stroll started the sprint in 15th, finished 13th, started the main race and 16th, finished 14th. I've gone for a five out of ten for Lance Stroll. I think it was okay. That's what I'm going to say for Lance Stroll. Aston Martin, and the reason why I've gone for a five, he's not scored, not been anywhere near the points,

but Aston Martin were horrendous in qualifying, absolutely awful. And whatever upgrades they brought did not work. so they were one of the slowest teams on the grid but that being said, changeable conditions Lance Stroll, that's usually where he starts spawning in places British Grand Prix being a good example of that but that did not happen so I've gone for a five I've gone for a four out of ten for Lance Stroll

nothing really to shout about the Aston was poor this weekend but yeah I put the same as you really that these are the conditions particularly at the start of the race where Lance Stroll normally does something special in. Very surprised that he wasn't the first person to gamble like he has done a long way in the past

and then spawned into like seventh place. Like, you know, you saw how much Hamilton was rewarded by doing something like that. So, yeah, a weekend to forget for Esther Martin, for sure. I guess the reason why I went for a five is the fact that a lot of the time we have two, three DNFs, everybody finished. So like a 14th place, he's beaten

and quite a few drivers, whereas usually you'd inherit some, and that's why I think I'd clarify that one. The fans have gone for a fall. Fernando Alonzo started the sprint in 14th, finished 14th, started the main race from the pit lane and finished 17th. Copy and paste everything I said about Lance Stroll.

It's a four out of 10. Aston Martin, yeah, they're nowhere, but like Stroll, Alonzo is known for being great in these conditions. and while I think Aston Martin were poor this weekend, they're still in a very close midfield. And I do think the talents of Stroll and Alonzo in these conditions maybe could have done something, but they didn't. So I've gone for a four for both of them.

Interesting. I can't give Alonzo the same grade as Stroll. So I've gone for a four out of 10 for Fernando, who was beaten by his teammate in both the sprint and. also the main race. So I got to give Lance Stroll some commendation for that as much as it's a five and a four, so I don't think they'll be exactly

celebrating that. But yeah, very off-color Fernando Alonzo this weekend. Really didn't see anything from him at any point. And I really hope for his sake, the Hungara Ring, completely different track, where he, of course, defended like a lion. He can come back and start scoring points again.

Because, yeah, the Aston sort of trajectory is so up and down at the moment. It's ridiculous. So yeah, four out ten for me. The fans gave Fernando a four as well. Kimmy Antonelli started the sprint in 19th, finished 17th, started the main race from the pit lane, finished 16th. I've gone for a two out of ten for Kimmy Antonelli. Yes, he is a rookie. Yes, I've said this before. But the thing is, it was a dreadful weekend from Antonelli. And we also have to remember he's in a Mercedes which is what's the fourth fastest car this weekend

Russell finishing in in fifth just one to forget again feels like we're saying this quite a lot at the moment maybe the setup just did not suit his driving style in these really difficult conditions of course they went for quite low wing there were mistakes there

of course he hurt the floor when he made that mistake in qualifying and then from there it just went downhill and really no positives to to talk about for Antonelli. So I've gone for a two. Yep, I've gone for a two. I've turned for Antonelli as well.

Awful weekend. Even though he is a rookie, you kind of, once you make that mistake in the first sprint, you kind of, you think, you know, you've got another opportunity

and instead, you know, got knocked out again. So really poor weekend, and we know how difficult it is to overtake. So, of course, he could go absolutely nowhere. and yeah, one to forget for sure. The fans gave Kimmy a three.

George Russell started the sprint in 13th, finished 12th, started the main race in sixth, finish fifth. I've gone for a seven for George Russell. He was driving the fourth fastest car probably, and he is finished kind of in that position behind a charlerler. The sprint was disappointed. pointing. He believes he had had damage and, you know, couldn't really do much from there. But we've seen George in the past over-deliver what that Mercedes can do. And I don't think he did

that this weekend. It's certainly not a bad drive, but it's got to be a seven for me. I agree. I've gone for a seven as well. It's one of those performances that Mercedes have every so often where they're just nowhere near the McLaren's, the Ferraris and the Red Bull. And And it's just, it's one of those, it's so difficult to grade because Russell may well have just driven the absolute socks off of a very difficult Mercedes, but we have to judge him on where he's finished as well. And I think he even said that it flattered, that the P5 was probably flattering of the real pace of the car and said that you got the maximum possible.

So it's bizarre, isn't it, to see how Mercedes similar to Astor Martin, as you're just saying, that teams just really quick one weekend and then pour another. and you think, okay, cooler conditions, that's what Mercedes want. Nope, they don't want slippery, though. We want cold, but not too cold, but also not slippery. They've been on a stinking run, haven't they? Because we're talking about Antonelli's pace, and obviously George, the experienced driver, has done what he could.

But of course, Austria, they were a minute off the lead, weren't they? And we went, oh, well, it's too hot for them. And then you go to Silverstone where, yeah, tricky conditions, and they just threw it away with a ridiculous strategy trying to be heroic and both of them just were nowhere. So yeah, really, really tough run for Mercedes. Certainly the fans gave George a seven as well. Yuki Sonoda started the sprint in 12th, finished 11th, started the main race in 7th, finished 13th.

Oh, what could have been? What could have been? I am going to give Yuki Sonoda a 6 out of 10. Purely because of the quali. And the absolutely, speaking of, stinking run and form, Stinking runner form, Yuki has had since joining Red Bull. That was a moment where we thought, yes, here we go. He's done it.

We're back. He's got the new floor like Max. He's got equal cars. Let's go. But sadly, the strategy didn't work for him. He stayed out a lap later. And apparently there was a miscommunication with the team. And they called it way too late.

And that really affected his race and very much a what could have been. because Sonoda was looking like he had a handle of that car this weekend. So I can't give him any more than the six because we don't know exactly where he would have ended up. Had he not had the miscommunication. Yeah, I've gone for a six for Sonoda as well. More promising signs in qualifying and desperately unlucky that he just missed that pit stop, took an extra lap. and then that really, you know, set him tumbling down the order, and then he was in the Choochoo Ghazley train for the entire race.

So he very much is going to be looking at that going. That was where I could have got, you know, because I know Max is doing, you're never going to be able to compare to what Max is doing in that car, but a P7 based on how that second seat has gone would have been

absolutely sensational really, it has to be said that would have been an 11 out of 10 I'd have taken away Holcombbergs yeah but alas

the call was wrong but positive signs I think for Yuki yeah slight positivity we like to see it the fans gave Yuki a six as well

Max for Stappen started sprinting second finish first started the main race and fourth finished fourth I've gone for a nine out of

10 for Max Verstappen. It was a perfect sprint where we just saw the very best of Max Lestappen fighting two McLaren's that were comfortably the quickest car and he managed to beat both of them. Shouldn't have managed to split them in qualifying, never mind win the sprint race. But that being said, he left something on the table, I think, in qualifying and the race he should have beat in Charles Leclair

in that main race. P3 was definitely a possibility for him in qualifying and then in the race so difficult to pass but had a few opportunities just couldn't make it so it kind of balances out for a nine for me yeah I was deciding between an eight and a nine I will go for a nine for max because the sprint was absolutely sensational and I have upgraded some drivers previously due to their great sprints the has drivers being one of them so yeah I I'll go for a nine. So it's a low nine, but we don't do those here.

Because, yeah, I think he did leave something to be gained, both in qualifying and the race. I'm surprised that he didn't get through on Leclair. Perhaps it's that wonderful respect they have for each other. And Max just don't want to go anywhere near Sharles. They just dance on the track. They don't go anywhere near each other. And Max didn't get through, which I think everybody watching thought it was a matter of time.

Even without DRS, it just looked like Charle was struggling massively in comparison to Max in those slippery. conditions at the start. So yeah, fourth is, you know, for Max, the standard is pretty underwhelming, but that Red Bull was nowhere near the McLarence this weekend. And to beat them at all at any stage, I think definitely deserves its plaudits. So a nine out of ten from me, the fans gave him a nine as well. We move to Lewis Hamilton. Started the sprint in 18th, finished 15th, started the main race from the pit lane, finished seventh. Did Hamilton want to make this any more difficult to grade. I am going to lock in a six out of ten for Lewis Hamilton.

Now some people might be like, wow, what are you talking about? He's gone from the pit lane to seventh. Yes, it was completely and utterly his fault. It was completely his responsibility to get to make it through Q1. Obviously, he had that error in the sprint, which was the spin, but also had track limits in the main qualifying, which again is driver error. It's marginal. but it's driver error. So it's on him. Don't get me wrong. There was some amazing strategy calls from Hamilton.

I think some of that being sort of caused by the fact he was so far back and just wanted to, well, being so far back. And also, the Ferrari just doesn't work really in wet conditions in comparison to the dry. I think we look back to Miami and Hamilton did a rogue, aggressive strategy call then. And then he gained loads of time as well. that. So Hamilton loves a big strategy decision and that was great, but he finished seventh. He still finished behind Albon, had a really poor sprint and a really poor, both qualifying sessions, as I say. So I can't give him any higher than the six. I thought I was going to drop a hot take there, but apparently not because I've gone for a six as well. I completely, I completely agree

with you. You know, I think Hamilton drove a brilliant Grand Prix to actually give us some entertainment. and he showed his kind of veteran and just what a great driver he is by making that call and being able to do those overtakes early on. But Formula One is a results game and his teammate has finished fourth in the sprint and then got on the podium. Hamilton's finished 15th in the sprint and finished 7th in the Grand Prix. And, you know, yes, he's made some great overtakes and gone to the game. through the field but you know, he's still finished behind someone like Alex Alburn in a Williams.

Yeah, and the drive he's done. The drive he's done in the race has upgraded him from probably what would have been a three, two or six. Exactly, because he's, and this is the thing that people always, I know a lot of people get frustrated of and when I see Formula One release their power rankings and they go, oh my God, this guy went from 18th to second. How have you not given him this? It's like, yeah, but why was he 18th? Because he made a mistake. And equally, he made a mistake in both sessions. So he's put himself on the back foot. And if anything, his great drive just showed the potential of that Ferrari.

And that's what he's also, Charler-Claire has shown. So, you know, Hamilton should have been finishing that race, at the very least, you know, behind Shal or where Shal is. And if anything, he's a better wet-weather driver than Charles. So he should have been, could have even been ahead of him. But it was all because of his, you know, mistakes in qualifying and that's why it's such a low grade.

Exactly. It's a very fair one, I believe. We now move, or to be fair as well, actually before we move on, Hamilton was only two, three seconds behind Charles after the whole big strategy call that Hamilton made. Of course, being stuck in a bit of traffic doesn't help him, but he was right there as well. And had he got through on Albon and those drivers, perhaps he would have had a better race. But still, yeah, I'm locking in six. still the fans have gone for a seven Charlotte Claire

started the sprinting fourth, finish fourth, started the main race and third, finish third I have gone for a nine out of ten for Charlotte Claire it's a high nine it's a high nine

you did a little ten there bro but I do and maybe it's a victim of his own success but you know these drivers can elevate themselves even further but that's not to take anything away from from shal i think this is much more like him to to deliver

the best possible result this is what he's known for uh i think he's had a bit of a tricky patch recently and and maybe that's overdriving the car and his frustrations with uh with how he's not being able to fight for wins and things but i think this race you know sprint is solid finished fourth was never going to beat Lando, of course, got ahead of him in the sprint, but was never going to hold a McLaren behind him. But he could hold Max behind him in the main race, and a podium is a fantastic result. So yeah, gone for a nine for Shal.

I've also gone for a nine, as much as I'd love to give him a 10, and it's very close to one. I just, yeah, you have to reserve the tens for really awesome performances. Charles was very quite awesome. I don't know how you would slightly downgrade it to a 9.9. which maybe is just where I'm sat. But yeah, it's a nine out of ten. It was a really, really solid weekend from Shal.

It's a shame to hear him say that these are really good laps that he's putting down because I know that really good laps in the past would have been Charlotte-Claire on pole position. So for him to be starting fourth and third in qualifying with great laps that he's really happy with, just that's why my delusion levels are lower these days is because it's just very hard to beat the McLaren's and to beat Max on his day.

sometimes. But he did really well to hold off for Stappen. Could have easily just let Max go and thought about the Delta times as we discussed in the main race podcast. But no, he knew that his car was going to be much more suited to the dry conditions and he showed that. And I wouldn't say comfortably held on because Max was right there, but he still did for P3 and very happy about that. The fans gave him a nine two. A nine as well, not nine two. Nine point two. Moving to the McLaren's.

Pastery started the sprint in first, finished second, started the main race in second, finished first. It's going to be a 10 out of 10 for Oscar Pastery. Absolutely. Categorically. Some people felt like I wasn't giving Oscar his day in the main race podcast. I don't really recall that. I think that he drove a phenomenal job.

And I will say this right here right now, that he made those medium tires work excellently well. Of course, there is a level of frustration I think we have as fans to see those mediums go as long and we wanted to see a battle. We didn't because Oscar was able to keep those tires in a great window, showed in those last couple of laps as well that he had a little bit more in the locker and showed that with, I think, a personal best lap with two laps to go. And yeah, Oscar, looking at lap one as well, because I know I got cooked in the main race

podcast for lap one. I'll talk a little bit more about that with the Lando grade. But for Oscar, he wasn't able to. he didn't get caught napping. Lando tried to go really early before we even got started, right? We spoke about the safety car restart.

Oscar was on him the moment Lando decided to go, which was a questionable moment, as we know, and to then have the minerals, I'm going to use it, the minerals, to stay as close as he did

through Orooosun up Radion, allowed him to make the move stick. And that was the race-winning move. I think it would have ended completely differently had Oscar not nailed it as much as he did. So yeah, it's a ten. out of ten and uh oscar the swing the pendulum swings once more yeah gone for a ten for oscar piastri as

well we can talk about landa's mistakes when we get onto him but oscar piastri deserves a huge amount of credit for uh his race because realistically he had in these wet conditions this is something we've we've mentioned uh of great drivers in the past realistically you kind of need to make a move at the first opportunity because as soon as you're stuck in that spray and everyone's kind of settled into their rhythm, it is incredibly hard to overtake. Look at Max Verstappen and Charler-Clair. So Oscar Piastri pretty much had one chance to get past Lando Norris to win the race. And he was already on the back foot because it was a rolling start. And yet he still managed to make the move. And I think he deserves a huge amount of credit for that. Then to, you know,

keep the tyres going like he did. Was impressive, but for me, the most impressive part of his race was that start and how important it was to get past Lando Norris because that's how he won the race because then, of course, that gives him the better strategy. He can stop first, gets him on the road on the dries first. And then he's got a nice healthy lead to defend. and yeah, Piastri, I think Martin Brundel said this on the podcast that when it gets to crunch time and the pressure really starts to ramp up in those final few races,

Oscar's kind of very chill, extremely chill and calm head is going to pay huge dividends because nothing seems to phase him. I really want to have heart rate monitors for the drivers to see just how, what the difference is between Oscar and other drivers, just like, He'd just have like a 50 BPM resting heart rate whilst he's going through A Rouge. But yeah, awesome stuff. The fans gave him a 10 as well. Lando Norris started the sprint in third, finished third, started the main race in first, finish second.

I have gone for an eight out of 10 for Lando Norris. The sprint race, you know, it was a bad qualifying, has to be said, way off Piastri's lap, which meant the step and got in between them had he not maybe you know norris is uh in p2 maybe he has an opportunity to do what i'll get him in the main race and then in the main race i don't think i personally don't think it's too harsh to say that when you are on pole position and you have the um the dream scenario essentially of it being a rolling start you don't even have to do a standing start. I think it's almost inexcusable to lose the lead. I don't think it should, I think he should have held that lead because he's got the advantage of being able to control the situation. He played

it completely wrong going into into the final chican before the safety car restart. And then of course made a mistake anyway, which allowed Oscar to basically be pinned right on the back of him going up the corner. So even with that, that's before you even, you know, take into account that when he made his stop, it looked like he had quite a good strategy. And to his credit, had good pace on those hard tires. But little errors here and there all added up. And had he not made those, who knows, he might have been close to Oscar at the end. But too many, too many errors for Lando in this race. Okay. So before I get into my grade, I will just highlight the fact that the misinterpretation of the Zach Brown interview.

There was one that I'd watched, which was with Nico Rosberg, which was much less clear as to whether Lando had an issue, where he'd had the issue. Nika Rosberg was saying, so yeah, up the hill, up through O'Rooge, yeah, is that way? And then Zach Brown was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I've just taken that as fact. I think other people have seen the Ariana Bravo interview where Zat Brown goes, yeah, there was an issue with both the cars. And fair enough, if you thought I'd seen that one and I'd gone and said what I said

the main race podcast, I would also be slightly aggrieved. To your credit, that interview came up on my Instagram feed afterwards, and I watched it and went, oh, I get why you said that now. Do you know what I mean? Because Nika Rosberg goes, oh, well, that will have cost Lando the win, wasn't it? And Zach Brown was kind of like, yeah, yeah, yeah, he's nodding and going, yeah, so it's like, is it or isn't it? So he then, there was then a follow-up about, oh, what about Oscar?

I think Naomi Schiff said, and what about Oscar, you know, and he was then, oh, we have to do some homework, you know, there was some issue on Oscar's cars as well, but it just felt like they were two separate interviews issues. So that I just wanted to clarify before we get into my grade. My grade, now that, you know, I've taken out the fact that there was no battery issue, it was literally just a Lando mistake, is a seven out of ten. There were too many mistakes this weekend from Lando, which we did highlight in the main race podcast.

But the inexcusable part of losing the lead on lap one is, is one thing that I am downgrading him quite a bit for. You look back at the replay. He does lose the back end ever so slightly. and then the run through O'Rouge and Radion, I think Oscar has taken a little bit more confidence through there, despite being in what is, I know it's the slipstream, but it's also the dirty air.

Like, you have to have some serious confidence in yourself to be able to follow that close on lap one. That's not spoken about enough that, that he was literally, I've never seen a car just follow in the wet conditions as well when the spray was that much for him to just be pinned on the back of him. Yeah, exactly. That was a lot of credit for, for Oscar for sure. But yeah, for Lando to lose the lead, as you say, from a rolling start as well,

the whole must, I don't think the mistake was necessarily the slight back end twitch he had at a turn one. It was the restart. It was the restart as a whole, as I said in the main race podcast, again, of just taking the different, taking a different line. Don't start so early because then you're in racing speed and you're putting more pressure on yourself to, to take the last chicane as you would, rather than just trundle everybody up there and then bolt, which is what Max does almost every single time. I can't remember the last time Max Verstappen, who is, I think, the example of how to do a safety car restart. I don't remember the last time he's bolted early, unless it's obviously hard corner, hard corner, and then he uses the dirty air. I don't think of it.

I can't think of anything where there's a decent amount of slipstream to be had where Max goes that early. I remember, it's funny you mentioned that because I can literally picture it in my head now. I'm pretty sure it was Imala restart, and we said it on the watch along of Max is going to get around that final corner and then just go. And that's exactly what he did. You don't allow people to follow you through the final corners because, you know, when you're controlling the pace in wet conditions, you should never have allowed a car to be basically a tenth behind you.

You should have a nice, healthy gap when you're controlling the pace. So yeah, there's a big mistake. Yes, that was a big mistake, hence one of my downgrades. Another one is the fact of the sprint qualifying as well to be that far off Oscar to allow Max, it was a massive gap, wasn't he? It was six, seven tenths behind Oscar in sprint quality. That is an enormous gap to your teammate. Of course, he took pole position, but then sadly lost that,

as we've just mentioned. And then the mistakes, of course, trying to catch up to Oscar was a cumulative, probably the amount he needed to be on the back of Oscar with a lap or two to go. Not that he would have been able to overtake anyway. So there's my reasoning for a seven out of ten for Lando. The fans gave him an eight. So who is our P1?

Well, it has to be Oscar Piastri. It has to be. It's a 10 out of 10. It's the only 10 out of 10 I've given across the entire field. So Oscar Piacri, congratulations. Many reasons to applaud him for this weekend. And I just can't wait to see how this goes into Hungary, where I think he might have some unfinished business,

even though he won last time out. He still has some unfinished business of maybe how to win hungry. Imagine the radio message that like, imagine he drops the win and then drops like a cold radio message after or something. But yeah, it's got to be piastri. He's the only driver I've given a 10-2. Fantastic drive, huge kind of moment in the,

could be a significant moment in the championship because of course, had he not made that move, we could have seen Lando getting three on the bounce and then pretty much being almost level on points, but instead Oscar extends his lead and puts him in a great position to go into that summer break leading the championship going into those final rounds when it's very much squeaky bum time. So very exciting indeed. Squeaky bum time indeed. We are well, well into the season now, past the halfway point. Of course, one more race until we head into the summer break. Thank you everybody for watching

and listening. Please do post your very calm comments below and we look forward to seeing you next weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Of course we'll be live on Twitch and YouTube as always as well as all of our content and we look forward to see you then. Bye. What's your final thoughts Tommy? I forgot. My final thoughts are bring on predictions because it's going to be a fun one. And my final thought is a seven out of ten doesn't mean he's the Mazapin. Bye! not Mazpun either. P1 is a stack production and part of the Acast's

created network.