P1 with Matt and Tommy - Brazil GP Driver Ratings

Episode Date: November 11, 2025

What's that, one of the most contentious driver ratings of the season? Yep, that'll be Brazil...We're currently in North America on the Delusion Tour! Some shows have sold out but there are still a few tickets available for our remaining shows this week - 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 P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. Driver Ratings is back in your eyes and ears once again. And Brazilian Grand Prix, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, whatever you want to call it. Probably the most difficult one to grade with it being a sprint weekend as well. Tommy, I have a feeling we're in for a. good one, a very controversial one probably and I think that everybody is going to have a great time. I think it's that they're much more fun when we have a sprint weekend and it's more chaotic and there's going to be some disagreements because we all pick the same thing. It would be so

boring. It would be very boring. Life would be incredibly dull if we all agreed and we all have our own opinions and that is so wonderful to know and remind everyone, isn't it? Right, let's get straight into it and begin with Gabriel Bortoletto. Started the sprint in 14th, did not finish, started the main race in 18th, did not finish. I am really sorry for what I'm about to put down on the board for Gabriel Bortoleto, but it is a 1 out of 10. Gabby, I am sorry. I'm sure you do not watch or listen to this podcast, although to be fair, we thought the same about Alex Albon and then he dropped about the fact that he has heard driver race. Maybe, maybe in like the driver briefings. stands up and says here's Matt and Tommy's ratings. But look, Gabby, he crashed out of both

competitive races. In the sprint, it was a massive impact. I want to echo once again, what I've said before, and what Tommy said before that we're so happy that he walked away from that unscathed, but it was driver error. You know, he's gone for a move on a slippery track with DRS still open, which of course makes the rear light. And that's the reason why he lost the car. So that is down to Gabriel. And then you go. to the main race and as much as again we of course we want to see him do well a lot of people wanted to see him do well at his home race but that doesn't mean that we're going to give him any higher of a grade because of what we wished he could have achieved in Brazil and again

DNFed because he was very very optimistic to try and go around the outside of Lance Stroll yes Lance moves slightly over to the left but realistically Gabby shouldn't be going for that move anyway. So very much a sad weekend that I'm sure he'll want to forget and a rookie weekend as well, probably his biggest rookie mistake prone weekend we've seen from him. Definitely. I've gone for a one out of ten as well and we'll also echo your apology because it's so disappointing and it's so sad to give him such a poor grade because it's his home race he wanted to deliver but it hasn't gone well for him at all. The crash was his fault in the the sprint, the crash was his fault in the main race as well. So it has to be a one out of ten.

The fans, they felt a little bit of sorry for Bortoletto, gave him a three out of ten, which I think is very lenient. Nico Holcomberg started the sprint in 10th, finished 15th, started the main race in 10th, finished ninth. I have gone for an eight out of 10 for Nico Holcomberg. He's got a couple of points in the Salber, which it feels like the Salber, they went through amazing run in the middle of the season where they looked like a really good car and it doesn't feel like it maybe more recently but Holkenberg has done a really good job this weekend particularly in qualifying to get you know into Q3 both both times so yeah an impressive weekend for Holcomberg and a couple of points to you know carry on into the season I've

also gone for an 8 out of 10 for Nico back to back Q3 appearances of course with SQ3 and Q3, which is an awesome job from him. He has struggled in qualifying this year. And then to score a couple of points, he was very much in the mix, did a brilliant soft stint in the race. He pitted for softs on lap 36 and did a one-stop strategy. So he made something work which not a lot of people thought was possible. And I think he's fully deserving of an eight out of ten. The fans gave him a seven out of ten. Alex Albon. Started the sprint in 12th, finished 17th, started the main race in 12th, finished 11th. I've gone for a five out of 10 for Alex Albon, a reasonably anonymous weekend.

It has to be said, the sprint was obviously poor, dropped down the order after Bortoletto's crash. He did pick up some of Bortoletto's wing as well, which of course was pretty unlucky on his part. But then again, in the race as well, narrowly misses out, of course. 11th doesn't look great on paper, just missing out. so how close that midfield pack was. But Williams have been pretty good. And it has to be said that I expected in a race like that and a sprint weekend like that for Alex Album to score points,

but he did not. So it's a five. I've gone for a seven out of 10 for Alex Harbin. I think five is incredibly harsh personally. He was running in the top 10 in the sprint, missed out, obviously until that collision with, Bortoletto, which wasn't his fault. And then missed out on points by the tiniest margin when it was a very closely contested midfield. So I feel like he deserves some credit for that because I don't

think Williams were particularly great this weekend. Okay, interesting. No points for top 10 in the sprint, but there you go. I know, but five is incredibly harsh. It's Williams. This isn't a salber. Like, the Williams is a pretty good car in my opinion, but clearly not in Tommy's. the fans gave Alex Albon a 5 out of 10 Carlos Sines started from the pit lane for the sprint and finished 14th started the main race from 15th finished 13th I've gone for a 5 out of 10 for Carlos Sainz I do think this was just a pretty average performance

from Sainz obviously got contact at the start of the the main race of Lewis Hamilton so it wasn't going to go well from there but yeah, one to forget for Carlos Science after he's had a much better runner form recently. I've gone for a five out of ten as well for Carlos. Can't really separate Albon and him too much. Of course, Carlos started from the pit lane in the sprint, so it was pretty much done and dusted for him. And then in the main race, couldn't really do much about Hamilton.

And then, of course, picked up damage, which put him on the back foot, had a slow pit stop as well. So it was just an absolute disaster for the pair of them, really, at Williams. and, you know, it's not really performances we expect from a team that has been on the resurgence this year. The fans gave Carlos a five as well. Isaac Hadjar started the sprint in ninth, finished the sprint in 10th, started the main race in fifth and finished eighth. I've gone for a seven out of ten for Isaac Hadjar. I think it was kind of a missed opportunity in some ways. Of course, he started the main race from fifth. He said he was sleeping

in that first stint and clearly wasn't very happy with his performance in that and then was very much just caught up in the massive Liam Lawson train. It was pretty chaotic for sure in that. The sprint was reasonably good, of course, you know, finishing 10th, but there was a bit of chaos around him. The V-carb maybe not as good as, it's weird. It's such a strange weekend for V-carb where you kind of thought, oh, maybe they're not that quick. Oh, actually, they've qualified really well for the main race. It was just a bizarre one. But yeah, I think seven out of ten, accurately represents a good weekend for Hadjar, scoring some points, but I also feel like there was more in the table, and he also believed that after starting fifth for the main one.

I've gone for an eight out of ten for Hadjar. I think he did, I think he did have more on the table, but I also think it's a very solid weekend from him. Two great qualifying sessions, particularly in the main race. And obviously, he didn't finish ahead of Liam Lawson. He was doing an absolutely crazy strategy, which we'll talk about next. But I think it's a pretty solid and decent race from weekend all round from Hadjar. Yep, solid weekend for Isaac, a seven out of ten from the fans as well for him. Liam Lawson started the sprint in 17th, finished 16th, started the main race in seventh, finish seventh. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Liam Lawson. Obviously, the sprint was poor, you know, poor qualifying, had that collision

with Bearman, which I will, you know, continue to say, I think was harsh for him to get the penalty. Not that it made any difference anyway, he wasn't going to score a point. But in the main race, my word, him doing that strategy was absolutely insane to go 52 laps and keep the entire field, basically, all the way down to stroll in 16th behind him in one enormous DRS train, probably one of the biggest DRS trains we've ever seen. And yeah, I think loss can be very happy with his driving some good points for V-Cub. Okay, yeah, I was deliberating whether it would be a seven or an eight, but you've convinced me with the fact that he's pulled a ridiculous strategy

out the hat to score some good points. So I'll give Liam Lawson an eight out of ten. The reason why I was maybe thinking a seven as the sprint was, of course, not particularly great and a little bit scruffy from both himself and Olly Beerman's part. But the main race, yeah, he's pulled off a miracle strategy there. And to hold them back is pretty mad. He wasn't able to do that in the sprint. I remember he lost quite a few positions.

Of course, had a bit of damage, I think, as well after the contact. But in the main race, yeah, everyone wrote off like, oh, can Max hold off Lando and things like that? And Lawson was holding off about eight different cars and had the most ridiculous train behind him. So, well done, Lawson, a very good drive from you. And the fans gave him an eight as well. Olly Berman started the sprint in 15th, finished 12th, started the main race in 8th, finished 6th. Hmm, this one is different. for court, but I am going to go for a nine out of ten for Olly Behrman this weekend.

If it was just the Sunday race, I would say for sure that is a 10 out of 10 drive, but I kind have to dock him a tiny bit just due to what happened in the sprint, squeezing Liam Lawson onto the grass, of course, picking up a penalty point, and it's not exactly a flawless weekend. However, his Sunday drive was brilliant and not to take anything away from him for that. and yeah, the absolute beast that Olly Behrman is becoming. I'm very excited to see. It narrowly misses out on a 10, it's a 9 from me. Yeah, I've gone for a 9 as well.

I think it's definitely a 9 out of 10. The sprint was obviously disappointing. He picked up another penalty point as well, which is obviously a difficult one for him. And then the main qualifying, I think he had a little bit more in him, which is crazy to think we're at Ocon qualified and to think he's put a Hassan 8.

but I do think there was generally even more pace in that car and what he's managed to do this weekend. But I don't want to end on a bad note because my word, his race was absolutely brilliant. He was so far clear of all the other midfielders and boy, is he just driving so well at the moment and understandably getting and well-deserved praise as well. Well done, Olly Behrman.

The fans gave him a nine out of ten as well. Esteban Ocon started the sprint in 18th, finished 11th. started the main race from the pit lane and finished 12th. I've gone for a six out of ten for Esabanochon. He had a very unlucky puncture just before the safety car came in, which you never know may have gotten points because of course he finished 12th. He of course wasn't on Olly Bearman's pace, particularly really struggling and qualifying again. But he had a good race and was quite unfortunate, so that's why I've gone for a six.

I've also gone for a six out of ten for Esteban Okon. Completely echo what you were saying that he got unlucky with the puncture. Of course, Max was able to take advantage of the fact that the VSC was out there to get a cheaper pit stop. But for Ocon, yeah, it didn't work out for him. He lost 10 or so seconds, he said, after the race. And, I mean, you just saw how close it was at the end with all those midfielders. So it definitely cost him points.

Still not close to Olly Beerman. and Ollie Behrman was a very comfortable P6, but Ockon should have, in theory, scored some points without that bad luck. So it's a six out of ten from me. The fans gave him a five. Franco Colopinto started the sprint in 16th, did not finish, started the main race in 16th, finished 15th. I'm going to lock in a four out of 10 for Franco Colapinto.

Of course, made that mistake in the sprint. You have to factor in that other drivers also made a mistake on exactly the same lap, and Colopinto is a rookie, but then also in the main race and just main weekend, absolutely nowhere near Gasly. And that's the reason why I'm giving him a four as opposed to anything higher or an anonymous five, as we like to give, because Gasly was by no means anonymous and showing that, for whatever reason, Gazil was like, okay, I can now drive this dustbin. Whereas Franco Colopinto was kind of almost doing exactly what we've seen for most of this season

with the Alpine. So I've gone for a four. I've gone for a four as well for Franco Colopinto. we saw you know what gazley could do in the alpine and i do think he's overachieved in that but you didn't have much pace colapinto and of course had um you know crashed out i'm not making excuses for him but you do wonder in a similar vein to um portoletto you know i know it's not exactly as home grand prix has a lot of fans there from the neighboring argentina and i wonder if you know maybe a bit too eager to impress overdriving the car perhaps um

So yeah, it's a poor weekend for Colopinto after he got his contract for next year and I think well deserved but this weekend was not good for him. No, it certainly was not. The fans gave Franco a 5 out of 10. Pierre Gassley started the sprint in 13th, finished 8th, started the main race in 9th, finished 10th.

I've gone for a 9 out of 10 for Pierre Gassley. It's not like a 10 out of 10 absolute world. because I think the Alpine didn't look this weekend, even in Colapinto's hands, who I know did poorly, but it didn't look like a Mexico or something where they were like an F2 car and they were absolutely miles behind. But that being said, Gassley has delivered points, which is so hard to come by, particularly for Alpine, in both the sprint and the race. So he deserves a huge amount of credit for it. So that's why I've gone for a nine. I've also gone for a nine out of 10 for Pierre Gazley. I couldn't give him a 10 as much as I think there was definitely

a 10 performance in him this weekend, just maybe missing out on the Sunday race. Of course, he was fighting Hajjar quite a lot. Hadjar kept getting him back. So there was an opportunity for some more points. Had he finished maybe another eighth place in the main race, he probably would have got a 10 out of 10 for me because that Alpin has been utterly dire this year. But it's great to see Pierre right up there. A nine out of ten. Let us remind you is still a very, very, very good grade. It's not a five out. It's a nine out of ten. So well done to Pierre Gasly. I hope to see more performances like that because it's been far too long since we've seen him fighting for the points. The fans gave him an eight out of ten. Lance Stroll started the

sprint in seventh, finished ninth, started the main race in 14th, finished 16th. I have gone for a whopping five out of 10 for Lance Stroll just missed out on points but Alonzo was sheffing in the sprint it has to be said so Aston for whatever reason

were really good out the blocks but in the minute everybody opened up Park Fermay and we could change the car Aston Martin said we're not going to improve it I'm really sorry and everybody else got a lot quicker for the Sunday section of the Brazilian Grand Prix

and then of course just a very mediocre race of course got hit by by yuki which which sent him backwards that means fighting yuki snoda anyway which kind of shows you exactly where he was sort of fighting for um so it there was nothing really to of note for lance even up until that point i've gone for a five out of ten for lance role as well he's finished the sprint okay obviously didn't get a point you'd think you know the be able to get a point in the sprint based on where he started of course and he lost out to Gazley on literally the final,

like right near the end, I think it was a couple of laps to go. And he sort of mentioned that it was because his soft tires were gone, but of course, Gazley was on the soft tire anyway. So, yeah, he, in the main race, of course, Aston looked a lot, lot poorer. They could not continue that pace at all going into the main race. And, but I can't, I can't downgrade stroll. I don't think it's like a disastrous weekend because,

you know, he's been punted by Yuki Sanoda and finished on the back of that absolutely enormous train. So six seconds away from a point, but in 16th is quite a bizarre situation. It was six seconds away from seventh, wasn't he? Sorry, seven, sorry. Yeah, I was going to say. A point was closer than that. The fans gave Lance Strohl a five out of ten. Fernando Alonzo, started the sprint in fifth, finished sixth, started the main race in 11th, finished 14th. I have gone for a seven out of ten for Fernando Alonzee. I think his race, of course, was certainly not great.

He didn't do all that. Asa Martin looked like they struggled a lot more, but the reason it's a seven is because he's had a brilliant sprint race, one of the stars of the sprint, actually. And while the sprint doesn't, of course, you know, depends how much you put into the sprint, if you take it as a whole weekend he scored three points

for Aston Martin which you know there's a difficult car and they've not really scored a huge amount of points this season so that's why I've gone for a seven for Alonto I've also gone for a seven out of ten or it was close to a six but I've gone for a seven

his Sunday was pretty dreadful started on the hard tyres wasn't able to make that work yeah it's it's weird isn't it how we sometimes weight driver ratings in terms of the sprint and I think it's when the midfield cars, the ones that maybe you don't expect to score many points,

are able to pull out something in the sprint race. We don't tend to usually put too much focus on the sprint unless something amazing happens. It's the way you see it, right? And it's the beauty of how we go about these grades is that some people will understand them, some people won't. But I think that qualifying fifth for the sprint

and finishing sixth is a phenomenal drive from Fernando. And sadly for him, of course, nowhere near. on the Sunday but you have to give a nod to that and it feels as though six is too harsh for the fact that he scored three points so I get it Tommy you're not just you can't give him one higher than than stroll who no who didn't get points in the sprint and finish behind him yeah unless you're the fans of course there you go the fans the fans gave Fernando Alonzo as six out of ten Kimmy Antonelli started the sprint in second finish second started the main

race in second finish second I have gone for A 10 out of 10. A very easy 10 out of 10 for Kimmy Antonelli this weekend. Didn't get polling anything, didn't win anything. But my goodness gracious me, the consistency of Kimmy Antonelli this weekend was truly astonishing. We've seen glimmers of the Antonelli that Toto Wolf sees in the future this season. And this was absolutely the best weekend from Kimmy Antonelli. Yes, we've had sprint polls in Miami and things like this. But in terms of just every single session turning up. That is what Antonelli did. He outperformed George Russell, which is not something we've seen all too often this year. And it's the easiest 10 I can

possibly give. Agreed. I've gone for a 10 out of 10 for Kimmy Antonelli as well. Absolutely brilliant weekend from him, his best weekend in F1 comfortably. The fact that he managed to deliver it in a sprint on a circuit he's not driven at before. And, you know, Lando was unstoppable this weekend and won everything and if you take him out the equation the best of the rest in every single session was Kimmy Antonelli, you know, front row of the grid, finishing second in both the sprint and the main race. And I think the most impressive thing is that, you know, he has just looked so comfortably quicker than George Russell all weekend. And I think that's why he deserves a huge amount of credit because, you know, it's not something he's been able to do. There's obviously

talk about, you know, the rookies and obviously he's got an incredibly difficult teammate in George Russell and a very highly rated teammate, but I'm so impressed by Antonelli. Long may continue and Long may he continue to smash it in countries with the food colouring in there that he loves, that makes him amazing. I love that we keep mentioning that and then some people have absolutely no idea what we're talking about. They will know. It's everywhere.

I've seen it everywhere now. The fact that it's continued. The fans, unsurprisingly, have gone for a 10 out of 10 for Kimmy Antonelli as well. George Russell started the sprint in fourth, finished third, started the main race in 6th, finished fourth. I have gone for, I am literally about to change it on the fly, to an 8 out of 10. I think it's between a 7 and an 8, but I do think I'm maybe more inclined to give him a 7 because it's George Russell and he's been beaten by Antonelli.

but when I look at his actual results of a third and fourth, it's certainly not bad at all. You know, George, if that's a bad weekend for George, he's doing very, very well this year, isn't he? So yeah, a decent result, but I expected more from him, but it's a good result to be third and fourth and still. Plenty of points, but sadly for him,

he's no longer in the title race. He is no longer in the title race. Was he ever in the title race? Mathematically now out of it. I've gone for an 8 out of 10 I would have questioned you Tommy had you given him a 7 because yes he was a little bit

mystified as to why he was For 7.6 No no no no no no Put your decimal places in the bin Yes he was outperformed by Kimi Antonelli But sometimes you just have to give props to a driver And I think Antonelli just locked in this weekend And you just have to give him a 10 out of 10

That doesn't necessarily mean George deserves a 6 Because he got beaten by his rookie teammate George finishing third and fourth still being somewhere nearby it's not like he finished 30 seconds behind his teammate in any of the sessions so yeah it's an 8 out of 10 for George he'll be scratching his head a little bit

but look we're coming up to Vegas next where Mercedes will have I think be very strong once again and he'll look to bounce back there the fans gave George a 7 out of 10 Yuki Sunoda started the sprint from the pit Lane, finished 13th, started the main race in 17th, finished 17th.

It's always fun, isn't it? Greatly, Yuki Sonoda. I'm going to go for a three out of 10 for Yuki Sonoda. It feels harsh and horrible every time I say it, but he was 17th. Plum last had a, had a fight with Lance Strohan lost and punted him round. The only reason it's not lower than the three, because it is another disaster weekend while his teammate is romping through the field from the pit lane to finish on the podium is the fact that there were no major changes that were made on Yuki Sonoda's car as opposed to Max's going into Sunday. They've clearly learned something. They've clearly figured something out at Red Bull to help Max's car. But Yuki was sort of stuck with the disaster set up from the beginning of the weekend. And yeah, I do feel very sorry for him

because he had the same setup as what happened when they were both knocked out in Q1 for the main race. So it's still not great. It's still a three out of ten, but I bet he's just kind of wanting the season to be over at this point. I can't imagine Yuki's having much fun. Probably not wanting the season to be over because it means it's probably going to be out of Formula One. But I know what you mean in terms of just it's gone so bad for him. I've gone for a two out of ten for Yuki Sonoda. It's a tough one.

It's disappointing. I really, really wanted him to succeed. I was so excited that it was going to be in the Red Bull. I wanted him to be in that seat from the start of the year. But now I'm really wishing you'd have just stayed in the V-Cab. And we could have seen the talent that he has, you know, which is a lot better than what we're seeing here. But his pace was absolutely horrendous.

I know the car was incredibly tricky this weekend, but, you know, qualified dead last in the main race, of course. And then the thing, the reason it's a two for me is, it's another clumsy crash where you'd almost, I know it's only going to be a three or a four when he's got no pace, but the fact that he's made another kind of error just kind of makes it more sort of embarrassingly bad to have these clumsy errors.

And I'm not downgrading him for obviously like the fact that he had to keep serving his penalty because that was on Red Bull that were too eager to work on his car, I believe. That was the case. The fans gave Yuki a three out of ten. Max Verstappen started the sprint in sixth, finished fourth, started the main race from

the pit lane, finished third. I've gone for a ten out of ten for Max Verstappen, but it was actually surprisingly quite difficult to pick between a nine and a ten because his sprint was okay, you know, compared to what we've seen from Max Verstappen. And, of course, his qualifying was horrendous. You think that, you know, the Red Bull has struggled and it's hard to compare to his teammate because his teammate is always nowhere. So the fact that the pace that he had, I think it's one of those, the reason why it's difficult was because the other sessions weren't good. But then he's put one of the greatest drives in ever, which means, in my personal opinion, I can't give him any.

less than a 10, even though I'd understand why people would, because he has just put in this unbelievable drive that I think only Max Astappen can do. You know, it's only the second time in history that someone's gone from the podium, sorry, the pit lane to the podium, and I will die on the hill forever that he should have stayed out and would have got an even better result, at the very least, P2. You know, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold Lando off, but you have to go for it in that situation. I know everyone has seemed to a lot of comments I've seen on our posts and I was chatting about it saying it's absolutely ridiculous it was never on. You know, Liam Lawson and saying like he's going to get a puncture, his tie is going to explode. Liam Lawson did 52 laps on

the mediums and managed to hold a train of the entire field behind him. So yeah, I will die on that hill forever that he should have stayed out for the rest of the race and at the very least bagged a PT. Oh, that's very interesting. Oh, this, I have honestly been thinking about what grade I'm going to give Max for absolutely ages, because it's a sprint weekend where three of the four sessions he has not performed to the level of which. Yeah, and, of course, it's the car as well. But, you know, sixth in the sprint quality, fourth in the sprint race, gets knocked out of Q1. Yes, of course, the car was a dog, but also he gets knocked out of Q1.

Do we give him, like, leniency because he, because the red boy is rubbish? I don't know. I have to give him a nine out of ten. I absolutely do. And this may well, you know, set the comments on fire. Nine out of ten, by the way, may I remind you once again, it's not a four out of ten, it's a nine, it's a close to perfection. But can I give him a perfect grade when, yes, he did also gain, I would say, from the

VSC, not gain, but obviously got an advantage from the VSC when he had that penalty, puncture. and was able to go on to the medium tyres. And I firmly believe that the strategy he was then on, which yet he lost some time, of course, with that puncture and having to pit again, that strategy was perfect to have two brand new mediums to go on the full attack. Red Bull would turn that car upside down

into the fastest car, I would say, the fastest package, at least, with Max behind the wheel, not taking anything away from him. But I can't give him a 10 because of everything else that happened in the weekend was by no means Max Verstappen level. Yeah, the Q1 exit as well.

Like, how can I give him a 10? I get it. I totally get it from your side as well, Tommy. And if I was to ignore the sprint and not give as much waiting or even ignore everything, but the race, the race is an 11 out of 10. It's such, it's the most difficult grade I've ever had to give. But I am going to give a 9 and I'm really sorry, Max, I'm sure you're listening. But I'm sure he will get over it. And just remember everyone, the grades aren't that deep.

The fans gave him a 10. And also as well, let's quickly touch upon the fact of the strategy. I will also die on the hill that he should have stayed out. I get it. I get why people say, like, let's just, I'm going to sit back for a second, Tommy, because we're sitting forward and we're very tense. Let's sit back and just discuss this because, yeah, there's been a lot of comments, hasn't there, on our social media.

And on social media in general about Max's strategy. And I absolutely understand where people are coming from when it comes to, they went on the attack, they went on the soft tires, and that was the best strategy to perhaps go on the attack. However, the reason why I think both myself and Tommy are on very similar opinions on the Max strategy call is that it is a win or bin scenario, in my opinion. It is, you're going for the driver's championship. What does a third or a second, yes, it goes down as one of the best drives ever. Red Bull don't care about that. Max does not care about records like who can go from the pit lane to the highest position. He wants to win the driver's

world championship. And there was enough evidence in my opinion to suggest that there was at least a slim chance of getting his elbows out and making it difficult for Lando. There was I think 17 or so laps to go and he pits from the lead with a seven second buffer. I've seen people also say he's been pushing the mediums harder than Lando. It's not just the fact that he had a seven lap. It was only seven laps difference between the tires. McLaren are better on the tires. Yada, yada yada, yada. I don't care. I, that was the only way he won the race was if he stayed out and made it difficult for Lando.

Oh, Lando was doing 13.2s at the end of the race. In clean air. Look at the Lawson situation and everyone stuck behind him. They were much faster. There were people stuck, stuck behind. And yes, Lando may have breezed past him. But another factor is if Lando is catching him, what, like half a second a lap, then it got to like six tenths.

even if Lando was a second a lot quicker than Max when he got behind him we know that that is difficult to pass this season with even a second advantage and Lando with the position he was in in the championship and the history is had with racing Max for Stappen he does not go for anything other than a move that is a hundred percent on so and people then also say oh yeah but earlier on in the race he flew by he was on fresh soft tires exactly so that's completely irrelevant And yeah, it all comes down to the fact that it was a 14-point swing from him winning the race or finishing second. Obviously, it was even worse because he finished third. And I don't understand how him just hanging on to tyres that weren't falling off is better than when this year it's so hard to pass, even, you know, into Lagos. But most of the passes were like big tire advantage. And Max, who obviously had DRS and was flying past people. with a new engine. So I will, I just think they had to risk it because it's literally, if he wins the race

and, you know, it was a long shot, but they have to try and win the race because then equally, you know, it goes down to, I think it would be 29 points with three to go. But then it flips the other way. And even though it's only, it's only, you know, between first and third, it's massive at this stage of the season because it's now putting basically all that. of it because it's 49 behind now isn't he so look we get your your thoughts and and we'll never know because it never happened yeah exactly but i do think it was incredibly close that that i really do think it would have worked better i think it would have been p2 all right let's sit forward sit forward

again that was uh that was nice i enjoyed that chat the fans gave max rastappan a 10 out of 10 please don't hurt me for giving him a 9 but that is i would and on that look you know You've made some grades that I've strongly disagreed with that I think people would be expecting me to be like, oh my God, how can you, I actually, you know, I get it. Like it's close between 10 and 9 based on, you know, what else has happened throughout the rest of the sprint weekend. So I get it. He gets it. Let's see if everybody else gets it. Let's move to Lewis Hamilton, who started the sprint in 11th, finished 7th and started the main race in 13th, did not finish.

Oh dear. I'm going to go for a four out of ten for Lewis Hamilton. It was a poor weekend from Lewis, didn't make it into Q3 in either qualifying session, and the biggest mistake here was just driving into the back of Colapinto. There was a complete misjudgment from Lewis, and it completely ruined his race. It was as if he's crashed into a wall, in my opinion, because his whole car is kapits. He's lost so much. downforce and then has to retire the car through a fault that was his. I don't think Colapinto had any real part to play there. It's just Lewis to be pulling out of his slipstream earlier to go for the move. So yeah, not a good weekend from Lewis and a couple of points in the sprint, of course, and had a great sprint start. But you look at that as a whole, you're in a Ferrari where your teammate is fighting for a podium and then gets wiped out. a four out of ten i think is fair i've gone for a three out of ten for lewis hamilton um i think it was an awful awful weekend from from him he performed very poorly in both you know qualifying sessions

a track like brazil that you think he would do so well yes he got some points uh in the sprint race but you know he had to fight back from a poor qualifying um to only grab a couple of points And then I cannot believe the error that he made, you know, am I watching Lewis Hamilton, you know, one of the greatest of all time racing? It is so hard to watch because we know how talented he is. And it's just, you know, an error that you'd expect from one of the newbies to make. So it's such a, it's such a shame because I do think there's been races this year where he's not been a million miles off Shal. and it's not been as bad as everyone says,

but you can understand why the pressure is being, you know, ramped up and questions are being asked when drives happen like this. The fans gave Lewis Hamilton a four out of 10. Charlotte Claire started the sprint in eighth, finished fifth, started the main race in third, did not finish. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Charlotte Claire. Points in the sprint a fifth place.

And then in the main race, of course, you know, I think he qualified absolutely brilliantly, you know, way ahead of his teammate. And then in the main race, wasn't his fault at all. You've said this many times in the race review and best reactions as well, that, you know, it is the most Charlotte Claire thing ever that he is the one that's come out worse than that incident. I've seen hilarious, not if you're a Charlotte Claire fan, hilarious, but, you know, people sharing a screenshot where Kimi Antonelli and Oscar Piastri are like pretty much banging wheels, Charles is nowhere near them. And it's like, guess who's the one that gets

put out the race in this situation? He has no luck at all. He was basically at that moment about to sweep around the outside and go into P2. So I think, yeah, it's another very unlucky weekend, but I think he had great pace and was looking very impressive in the race before that. Okay, I thought I was being a fanboy thinking of an eight So I'd given a seven initially But now the fact you've given an eight Means that I'm flying through that door And giving an eight as well

Charlotte Claire He was on for a podium Could have even been a P2 After that move Had he not been removed very aggressively From the Brazilian Grand Prix As we've said many times Not his fault

He did absolutely everything on his part Of going as wide as possible At term one to allow for any shenanigans And he still gets wiped out So I think he's fully deserving of that. Ferrari were not that quick this weekend and he was still able to do a qualifying performance for the main race that was not far away from being on the front row again and he had provisional pole for a bit and it was brilliant to watch. But sadly, was not able to convert into a podium because he had no front left higher. The fans gave him a seven out of ten. Oscar Piastri started the sprint in third, did not finish, started the main race and fourth, finished fifth. I have gone for a five out of ten for Oscar Piastri, you know, a devastating mistake in the sprint, which cost him a huge amount of points to his championship rival. And then in the main race as well, he has his part to

play. He gets a penalty. However you sit on this, you know, Kimmy, of course, I think we're all in agreement, had his role as well in that where he squeezes Oscar. However, Oscar, I still believe, is slightly more at fault for what went down. And he caused that carnage, he got a 10 second penalty and wasn't able to recover any higher than fifth place. So how can I give him any higher than a 5 out of 10 when his teammate has clean sweeped the entire weekend? So it's another poor weekend from Oscar.

It's sad to see. I want to see him fighting at the front. He's been leading the championship for so long, and we've been so used to giving him 8s, 9s, 10s the entire year but it is just falling off and his championship hopes are going with it he's almost a race win behind

and I don't see any way out of it currently yeah I've gone for a five out of ten for Oscar Piastri could you know even be worse the fact that he's spun off on the sprint on his own is you know

go to that saying but the last thing he needed when it looked like he'd qualified pretty well because obviously that's been something that he's struggled with recently and then in the main race of course clumsy again i do think it was was harsh because i saw it as a racing incident um but you do you know you're putting that yourself in that situation could have very easily you know got damage or and been out of the race

again and then it really would be you know championship over his teammate has picked up 33 points and done an absolute clean sweep uh and then oscar's just coming home with a fifth place is absolutely just not not good enough is it really at all and I think one of the most disappointing things was the fact that when he did you know get through because of course he was in second place at one point and within DRS on that kind of restart you kind of thought okay Oscar let's let's see what you can do now this is your moment and he just drop drop further and further back and it's so disappointing because I want to to believe that we'll see the old Oscar again based on what we saw at the start of the season

who he is driving so well he was looking like a world champion in waiting and I think even just as we saw like what he managed to do when he was second behind Lando just unfortunately doesn't give me any confidence that he's going to be able to take this fight to Lando and that is a real real shame because we want to see it a huge shame we want to see it go down to the wire and I I firmly believe Landau's going to win with at least a race to go now. So that is the way we're going with the championship at the moment. The fans gave Oscar Piastri a six out of ten. Lando Norris started the sprint in first, finished first, started the main race in first, finished first.

I've gone for a 10 out of 10. What? Oh, unbelievable, faultless. I was nearly going to pretend I was giving him a nine. because obviously, you know, Max would have won without the pitting. Now joking. Lando was unbelievable this weekend. You know, the only error he made all weekend was the kind of first run in Q3.

But, you know, when the pressure was on, he delivered a brilliant qualifying lap. His starts were fantastic. His safety car restarts were fantastic. Something that we've criticised a lot on driver ratings before. and he's just easily like, you know, just on the best form of his life on his way to the World Championship now. It's unbelievable what he's doing and just such a good time in his career to do it. I have unsurprisingly gone for a 10 out of 10 as well for Lando.

What a couple of weekends he has had, Mexico and now this. This is a champion in waiting for sure. He is outperforming his teammate by not even a small month. margin, quite frankly, a country mile at the moment when it counts. This could easily be a moment where both Lando and Oscar start to get a little bit shaky with the fact that they are fighting for their first world championship. And Lando, who has previously been questioned how does he deal with pressure? At the most, utmost amount of pressure there could possibly be at the end of a season, he is delivering to a level with which we may have never seen. So in terms of Lando's, not never,

In terms of Lando's performances, I think this is the best he's ever driven. And yeah, phenomenal work from Lando, fully deserving of a 10 out of 10. And if he keeps driving at this, he will be world champion, absolutely. The fans gave him a 10 as well. So finally, who is our P1? Well, my P1 can't be Max Verstappen because I gave him a 9, which is going to go down really well. I am going to give it to Lando Norris, because Lando Norris is fully deserving of that clean sweep and such a huge weekend from him to essentially all but claim the championship

with a 23 point swing compared to his his teammate Oscar yeah it has to be Lando being my P1 yeah has to be Lando as well you know it's over the whole weekend max drove one of the best races we've ever seen in the main race Kimi Antonelli drove the best race of his career as well But Lando, you know, yes, he's got a great car underneath him, but he's just delivered absolutely perfectly under, you know, different amounts of pressure throughout the race, throughout the weekend, him leading the championship, how's it going to go? And he was just looked absolutely unstoppable. So it's got to be Lando Norris, who of course gets both of our P1s and may well be P1 in the championship come the end of the year. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in to this very chaotic driver ratings. Please leave us your love, your support, your positivity, and why you love this driver ratings episode.

Leave us a like as well on YouTube. I'm putting a big old thumb right on the screen right there. That's what it looks like, okay? One of those if you enjoy this. And that one is if you don't like the content, not if you don't like a particular grade because you think it's one above or below. So there you go. Tommy, what's your final thoughts? final thoughts are roll on Vegas because I think this one is going to be yeah the championship may all well be wrapped up but I think Vegas could surprise with different results and things so I'm really looking forward to that one yeah predictions is going to be a busy one I think yes I think so

look forward to the Las Vegas watchalongs because it'll be 4 a.m local time where we are so I'm going to have some coffee in me I think for that one so look forward to seeing you all there thank you as always for watching and listening, and we'll see you very soon. Lots of love. Bye. Bye. And we are going to Denver in the Denver show in two hours and 24 minutes from now. And we've also got other tickets available for where are we going? We are going to Dallas. And we're going to Toronto.

Chicago. New York. But New York sold out. Bye. Bye. P1 is a Stack production and part of the A-Cast Created Network.