P1 with Matt and Tommy - British GP Driver Ratings: F1-to-10

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

We're back with motor racing's most divisive segment: our driver ratings! There were some amazing (and awful) performances at Silverstone this weekend, so let's rank 'em. P1 Live is heading to North America this Fall and tickets are now on sale! Click here to get your tickets, which are already close to selling out!Sign up to our Patreon here! You'll get access to bonus episodes, our classic race series, every P1 episode ad-free and access to our Discord server where you can chat with other F1 fans!Follow 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. We have been digesting what happened at Silverstone this year and we're back for another batch of your favourite series in the world where we all agree and we're all lovely and we all accept we have our own opinions and ways of grading from zero to ten. Tommy, you got your numbers? Are you ready to change the world? I sure have.

I think this it's a very difficult race to do in terms of like the way because it's changeable anyway and also we had the beautiful enjoyment of the trackside commentators that definitely knew what was going on during the race but I have watched it back

done as much as I can research wise and ready to dive in some ratings and I think there's some controversial ones here too so good times we love to hear controversy and I'm sure everyone will be typing ferociously when those controversial grades come in. Right, let's start with Kevin Magnuson, qualified 17th, started 17th, finished 12th. It is going to be a six out of 10 for Kevin Magnuson.

It wasn't the worst weekend in the world for him. It certainly wasn't biggest flop territory. But he also got chefed by his teammate. But I think that's more around Nika Holkenberg and the... the sensational performance that he put in as opposed to KMAG, just putting in a pretty, just down the line, kind of nothing really to write home about. And it's amazing how some people's or some drivers' races got rather heavily screwed over

just by one lap going too soon or too late, and it could just change the complexion of their entire race. And KMAG was one of those that believed that he pitted one lap too early. because he was fighting Albon before that. But no points, but I'm going to give him a six. I've also gone for a six for Kevin Magnuson. 12th, you'd be like, yeah, pretty good result from Hass, but it all went undone in qualifying.

He was quite unlucky because he wasn't actually miles off in Q1. He was actually, I think he was only a couple of places behind Holcomberg in Q1, but of course the savage nature of Q1 now and how close it is, you miss that cut off, especially in a changeable condition qualifying session. It can all go wrong. And that's exactly what happened for KMAG, so he was kind of having to come through the field,

missed out on points. I think points was definitely there if it had started higher up. And the fans, you lot gave a six as well. Nico Hockenberg, qualified sixth, started, sixth, finished, sixth. It's of course, another 10 out of 10 for Nico Gotenberg. What form this man is in? Back-to-back P-6s is nothing short of incredible in a house. And this is when there are some good, you know, good cars in the race,

people aren't retiring. it's absolutely superb. So executed his race perfectly, qualified well, and yeah, the fact that he managed to stay there despite everything as well, kept off the Aston Martins, which I think were actually quicker this weekend. So well done, Nico, superb.

Absolutely. I've also gone for a 10 out of 10 for Nico Holcomberg, just really outperforming that car beautifully, even so much so that social media is starting to call for him to go to the Red Bull seat. There's plenty of talk about, why don't they buy him out of that Shaobert Audi contract and get him in the car? I don't think that's going to happen as much as I would love to see Nico get his first podium. But this is the kind of performances that Nico Holcombberg used to do, way back when, in a midfield car that didn't really belong,

potentially as high as it was, scoring really solid points most weekends. And that's what we're seeing from Nico right now, again. And yet people, he still gets slandered for not having a podium. When in reality, are we expecting him to get a podium in a has? No, we're not. So a brilliant performance once again. And as you say, keeping both Aston Martins at bay,

they were quite close towards the end, really stroll was. And just drove a very solid race, despite having a poor start as well. Like, he fell back and then was able to push forward again through the changeable race that was in front of him. So, well done, Nico. And the fans also gave him a 10 out of 10. Joe Guan Yu, qualified 14th, started 14th, finished 18th. Oh, dear. That's going to be that, but I'm actually no.

Oh, he had one of the worst strategies that's ever been seen. I'm going to give him a 3 out of 10, Joe Guan Yu. my God, he pitted, was it four times, I think it was. I will say that I am downgrading him because he didn't make the soft work at the start. He fell away like an absolute, just literally like he had no tires on the car, because I remember just seeing him falling further and further behind. And then they obviously pitted, but him not being able to keep those tires in a reasonable window until the rain came meant that he then had to stop again. And he was interesting, because he stopped.

Then he went onto the mediums for about seven laps and pitted at the same time as LeCler and Perez to go onto the inters. So did a Hail Mary as well, despite having fresh mediums pretty much to maybe go longer like everyone else did. And then pitted again because he cooked his inters. It just was an absolute disaster for Joe.

So I am taking a little bit of, like, it was horrendous strategy, so I'm not going to give any lower, but a three, I think, sums it up. Yeah, I've gone for a four out of ten for Joe Guan Yu. I qualified his teammate for the first time this year, which is impressive, but it's all in that first stint.

And while it's a very odd choice to go on the soft tires, when there was always talk that there was going to be rain around lap 17, 18, you've got to make those tyres last. You know, you look at, I know that Gamble didn't work till lap 19, but you look at Ocon who made those tires last to lap 19, of course, it didn't work because it didn't rain enough, but he still got them there to that point where there could have been a switch,

whereas Jo was absolutely nowhere near doing that. So, yeah, not a great performance again from Jay. No, he finished, I think, around one minute, 45 seconds behind his teammate, which is wild. So, yeah, a race to forget for Joe. The fans gave him a five. I thought that that was a beautiful performance from Joe. Valtry Bottas

Qualified 16th, started 16th finished 15th I have gone for a 5 out of 10 for Valtry Bottas the classic yeah despite being in the neon

green, garish incredibly bright livery they are so anonymous and were again for the millionth time this season and hardly saw him, normal race, just did better on his tyres at least than his teammate, which is why he gets a higher grade despite, you know, his problems in the problems that he had in qualifying. But yes, not really much to say.

No, not a lot to feedback either from me, a five out of ten as well for Valtry Bottas, just completely, and I don't think I saw him once. genuinely don't think I saw him once the entire race. And he just said that they lacked pace under pretty much every condition, which says everything you need to know about that wheelie bin. So five out of ten for me, and the fans gave him a five as well. Yuki Sonoda, qualified 13th, started 13th, finished 10th. It's going to be an eight out of ten for Yuki Sonoda.

Very, just quietly, just scores a point. Yeah, I'm just going to have just pop myself up there. he was very much in the mix, fighting with the Williams, and he got a bit caught up, I think, at the start with all of that. But again, very, I mean, it shows how great of a race it was

when we didn't really see much of these drivers because we were focused on the front and the cameras were focused mainly on the front and the incredible battle that was going on there. But yeah, I think Yuki did a good job to finish P10. He beat Logie Saj, who was actually in a very quick Williams at the time, and then, of course, beat LeCla.

and Perez as well. So that's fantastic. But yeah, eight out of ten. I've also gone for an eight out of ten for Yuki Sonoda. It's another solid, well, better than solid weekend from him, where he, I don't think that maybe that car was a real challenger for points. It was more, you know, the bottom end of that kind of,

it's very much back in the midfield, the RB now. but Yuki did a great job to get a point in it so he can be very pleased with himself in what it was a tricky race as well because sometimes with Yuki Sanoda when you have quite a chaotic race sometimes it can go absolutely crazy for him but this time delivered a fantastic job

yeah and the fans also gave him an 8 out of 10 Daniel Ricardo qualified 15th started 15th finished 13th I have gone for a four out of ten for Daniel Riccardo. Yeah, not on his teammates level this weekend, which I'm sure Christian Horn will be disappointed about because it seemed like after the good performance in Spain, the rumours were ramping up.

And this is the time to deliver. If you want that red ball seat when Perez is absolutely floundering, to say the least, that is where Daniel Ricardo. And when it's tricky conditions, we saw what someone like Nika Holcombberg could do, right? These are the kind of conditions of a race, where you can show something like show that spark. And that might, say he'd done something brilliant,

maybe that could have been the excuse that Red Bull needed to be like, you know what, Daniel, actually, you're doing all right. But he did not. He was just nowhere, really. It's crazy to say all of that. and then had you said coming into the weekend that Daniel Ricardo would beat Sergei Perez by over a minute and a half,

you would think that perhaps Daniel has done enough to get that Red Bullseek. I've gone for a five out of ten for Daniel. I don't think it's too... I can't slander him too much, just not a great race from Danny Rick. He had a very similar strategy to Sonoda, in fact, pitted one lap earlier

on both of his pit stops, but yeah, I think he said himself, he just didn't really have the pace. So a shame there, but still, it's not horrendous, but not great either. And fans gave him a five as well. Logan Sargent qualified 12th, started 12th, finished 11th. I'm going to give him a seven out of 10 for Logan.

I think it was a solid performance. And I saw a few comments, Matt, how could you possibly slander Logan for having the race of his life? I'm like, look, we have to look at this objectively as well. Logan has had one of his better races for sure. But Alex Albon was involved in a lap one incident where he got some damage and still beat him by over 20 seconds and scored points.

So we have to look at the bigger picture here. It's not just the position for Logan. But that being said, it was a very difficult race. The conditions were tricky. And Logan kept it on the track and almost scored a point. He didn't. But as Tommy said in the podcast, thrust himself up to P20 in the championship now. So he'll be looking to build on that.

I'm not even trying to. I mean, but he did have a good race. So that's why I've given him a seven. And he said himself that he thinks he executed everything really well, which, yeah, I mean, interesting. Because Albon still beat him quite a lot. So I wonder where the time was lost, but still a seven. Yeah, I've gone for a seven out of ten for Legger Sergeant as well.

A much better weekend for him, one of his best in a Formula One car. And it has to be said, like to do it in those. tricky conditions when it's caught him out in the past. It has to be commended, but he just doesn't have that pace and that's the problem here. Like your only comparison is your teammate and everything you said previously with Alex having a problem still manages to get points. So points were definitely on for William. So he can take some positives that he has been.

basically had a very good race and a good result. But I think other, maybe other drivers would be a little bit more like, oh, that could have been points and should have been, should have been a point for me. Absolutely. He was on the softs compared to Albon on the medium, so maybe that's where a bit of time was lost at the end as well. But the fans gave Logan a seven as well. Alex Albon, qualified 9th, started, ninth, finished ninth. I've gone for a nine out of 10 for Alex album. The album of maybe old or last year is seems to be back with this performance. Putting that Williams maybe where it shouldn't be. Who knows? We'll find out when a different driver is in that car alongside him and we get a better understanding of the pace of that Williams.

But Albin to get into Q3, absolutely brilliant. And then thought it had all gone wrong at turn one because it was an absolutely huge moment. His car was completely sideways almost at one point and thought that he was going to essentially like spear into the side of another car. Could have been a lot worse. Yeah. I think he was very, very lucky that it wasn't. And yeah, when he got going again, I did a brilliant job to gain some valuable points for Williams because they are not scoring many points at all this year. They certainly aren't. The fans gave Alex and eight. Esteban Okon, qualified 18th, started 18th, finished 16th.

What a disaster of a weekend for Ocon. I think that I am going to lock him in with a, hmm, between three and a four. I'm going to give him a four, just benefit the doubt that the Alpine's horrendous because we spoke to them on Thursday. So yeah, it's a four out of ten for Ocon. Just had the worst strategy possible.

Ocon said after the race that they basically took every single wrong decision since the beginning of the weekend. So an absolute weekend to forget. The Alpine looked horrendous and he couldn't really do much. So yeah, four out of ten. Yeah, I've also gone for a four. He's a very difficult driver to rate because I think it is just the car being horrendous. They were nowhere and we couldn't even compare to his teammate because his teammate might as well have not even bothered turning up it has to be said but I'm glad he did because we got to chat to him

but maybe that's where it all went wrong for Alpine because my god what an absolute stinker of a weekend for both drivers just when they were looking so so good and had kind of almost thrust themselves ahead of Aston Martin and it well and it was unusual conditions so we'll have to wait and see in Hungary, but it did almost look back like they were right back to square one, really, with how that car was performing over the weekend. Maybe it is just the nature of Silverstone

and high speed that Downforce is not their thing and they might be better at other circuits. Tom Bellingham, the engineer, Downforce is not Alpine's thing, and this is why you listen to Pee what we might say. The fans gave Ocon a four as well. Pierre Gazley qualified 20th started well did he start really and did he I mean he just did he do anything he just rolled straight into the pits after the formation that wasn't it but yeah

um this one's tricky and I don't know if there needs to be a discussion whether it's a non-applicable um which we have had before just because he basically did not compete in the weekend so the only thing I could grade him on was probably spinning off in FP3 it's so true That's exactly what I was thinking. Because what could he do? He sacrificed his entire qualifying for his teammate to try and see if they could do something and hope that the Ocon could go higher up if Gassley just sacked qualifying off. And then the Matt and Tommy curse hit hard where he managed to not even do the formation

lap without a problem and just went, you know what? Screw this. Screw this. I'm going to go home. so fair. So what are we doing? I think it's got to be N.A. Because is, how can you, how can you grade him because it brings his average down when he's not even driven?

But how have we, what have we done before? Have we ever N-A'd a driver before? We did with Max when he retired on lap 1, I believe. But this is arguably even worse. Oh, right. Yeah, exactly. I mean, Carla Sainz, right? like Gassley

had about as much of a weekend as Carlos Seid's did in Saudi so So we're N-Aing it then Yeah Is that locked in? It will lock in an N-A which means that it won't affect his

grade basically Everyone would like No we spun off an FP3 It's a 1 out of 10 The fans actually gave him a 5 but that is basically an N-A as well But then yeah like you can't

Surely you can't grade him higher than Ockon because we didn't even get to see them race or do anything. It's crazy that he's gained after literally spinning off an FP3. So, okay, cool. Right, let's move on to Lance Stroll. Qualified 8th, started, 8th, finish 7th. That's going to be an 8 out of 10 for Lance Stroll. I think it was a very solid weekend for old Lancey boy.

Sheffing Fernando Alonzo, which, you know, I don't like to see personally, but I love to see it for Tommy's grief. So a very good weekend. I think Aston Martin found something. They looked good from pretty much the get-go from when the weekend started. And Lance has steadied the ship.

He's scoring points. And if anything, it's the number one driver now. God, I can't wait to get to Leclair's rating. Lance Stroul, I have gone for an eight out of ten. Yeah. Has to be said, a great drive from him. qualified well. The Aston Martin,

we said this before, that the Aston Martin, kind of, it drops back, and then they end up quite together, but Stroll delivered in that car this weekend. He was actually very close to getting Holkenberg, which I think if he'd have managed to get Holcomberg,

it's, yeah, definitely be an even higher grade. But he's maximised where that Aston, has been this weekend. And it was a very good performance from Stroll. So this is more of what we need to see from him. So he kind of avoids essentially getting roasted. He has turned his form around definitely.

And the fans gave Lance only a seven. Shocking behavior. Fernando Alonso, qualified 10th, started 10th, finished 8th. I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Fernando Alonso. I don't think he was like... absolutely chefed by Lance Stroll like you seem to think. You do. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Lance proper seasoned him. Just like, it was great. Because I think Alonzo obviously got screwed over by the very silly new thing that happens in Formula One whether you'll try and go out too late and then miss the timing, which meant that he didn't qualify well. And he did actually get ahead of Stroll at one point in the race. but his strategy was, didn't go to plan compared to stroll, I believe, so. But it's not as good.

Yeah, just one lap here and there. One lap here and there and it just like costs you a little bit. So he was thereabouts. Sounds like excuses to me, mate, to be honest with you. Well, I expect more from him in those conditions because that is actually where you think that he could deliver something and we know how good he is in the wet. So I think that's probably why it is a seven and it's a bit disappointing for me. but it could be worse, could be LeClaue.

Wow, okay, just threw that one in there, didn't you? That was, didn't even expect that to come out of your mouth just then. It's a seven out of ten from me as well for Fernando. I think that, yeah, it's a good performance. He scored points. Aston looked a lot better, but I also would have expected a lot more from Alonzo and his experience in those kind of conditions,

especially not to be beaten by Lance. Yeah, of course, there's one lap here or there the strategy which does affect it and of course as you say about qualifying but still Alonzo it was all right but nothing nothing really to write home about so yeah seven for me and a seven as well from the fans Oscar Piastri qualified fifth started fifth finished fourth it's going to be a nine out of ten for Oscar Piastri I was even contemplating a 10 but I felt like maybe there's a few things that can just just nipping back to a but it was still a phenomenal weekend and drive from Oscar Piastri.

McLaren completely and utterly got it wrong with his strategy, leaving him out on the dry, is that one extra lap when it was wet. Without that, he may well have still had a great chance of winning. But his pace in that last stint was phenomenal. And I, yeah, you have to applaud the fact that he was right on the back of Lando when the conditions got really slippery. He was so confident in those conditions.

which for a driver that's not been in Formula One that long, is utterly impressive. So that's why I've gone for a nine and no podium but still deserves a very high grade. I have gone for a nine as well. I thought we were going to disagree on that one. But yeah, I think Oscar, the more I look at this race, the more I think Oscar drove fantastically. And I think he's been cost his first win by that decision. because you've got to think what

Oscar's problem during races has been that he absolutely cooks his tyres and in dry conditions he gets more tyre wear and then he tends to like drop back a bit so this really is like the perfect race for him because there was like changeable conditions he you could tell

we've made this joke I think during our like watchalongs and we said it when we're in person as well like watching that because Oscar like absolutely goes for it he can like fire up his tires quicker. And he was absolutely flying in those conditions. He was very unfortunate that like Fernando Alonso, he got caught up in that mess in qualifying because he didn't even get to do his second run

when they were looking very quick. So he shouldn't have been fifth, could have been front row. And then he made that brilliant recovery to get back to the front. When the McLaren came alive and then the team just threw it away for him. because he was fighting Norris when he was there.

He got it behind him and he was looking so quick that he, I don't think it'd have made a move on Lando, just for the team's sake. And if it had gone wrong, it would have been a very bad thing. But he was looking quicker than Lando, I think, when the tyres fired in, but it all came wrong with that pit stop. So get it for him. And another Silverstone podium that's been robbed of.

How different his race would have been had he been, able to get past Lando on that lap when it was changeable conditions. It could have been him that was the one that was really fighting at the front, but alas, shoulda, woulda, coulda. And it's an eight from the fans for Oscar Piaastri. Landau Norris, qualified third, started third, finished third. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Lando Norris. I feel like I might need to get my sword and shield out for this one, because I don't

think people may agree the fact that Lando's got a lower grade than Oscar, but for me, I think the fact that I've mentioned everything that happened with Piaastri, and of course Lando was very unfortunate with the call at the end, which I totally agreed with your,

you know, the tweet that you did and other people are saying that were like, why are they asking him? Because I actually saw a, someone posted on TikTok, the two radio messages, and Piestries was, right, we're going to go onto the mediums and Oscar's like, yep, cool. And then I think the problem was the way they worded it to Lando.

They said Hamilton or Vastappen. And as a racing driver, you go, Hamilton's leading. Of course, I'm going to pick Hamilton, whereas it wasn't really thinking the soft versus the medium. You could tell it was indecisive because he said Hamilton and he went, or whatever. Like he literally, he wasn't like a full, I want the softs.

They weren't even new. They weren't even new softs. No, they weren't even new softs. But if you listen to the cool down, if you listen to the cool down room, Hamilton sort of like goes, wait, what? You had like fresh mediums? Why did you not put them on? So I think there's more that I'd blame Lando as a driver,

even though he was very unlucky for the team as well, that there were more mistakes from a driver point of view. He had that second run in qualifying, which he didn't make the most of, should have been pole, messed up at the start again, like lost a place to Vastappen. But then when he made that brilliant record, recovery. He had every chance to do it. Do have to put a little bit of blame on him on him as well for overshooting the box because you never know if it had a normal pit stop. Cost him a couple

a second stays out of Hamilton. Maybe it would have been hard to pass. So I think that's the reason I'm downgrading Lando because I think there was while he was very unlucky with the strategy there was more to blame in my opinion on the driver's side than at Piastri for example. Okay, Tommy's laid down his defence. I've also gone for an eight out of ten. Oh, wow. I agree. I agree with everything that you said.

I thought we're going to have disagreement. No, no, I had eight because I think that Piastri drove a better race than Norris in a lot of ways, because Piastri was completely screwed. And then you look at how far he finished behind, Oscar could well have won that race. So that's why I give Oscar the benefit the doubt with Lando. And this isn't just from our perspective. Lando himself said after the race that he made the wrong calls. It's all about the feel of the car.

And he decided to stay out for a lap longer. And that's when everybody else jumped to go on to the dries. And that cost him with that. And then, look, yes, I am critical of McLaren and of the way in which they communicated the tires. But also, these are the moments where a driver can just go, know I want this or no I want that and they're not completely taken in by the moment let's say because Hamilton you think of the times where he's been leading he's like no I'm not coming in

Mercedes I'm carrying on because the tire feels good or I'm coming in I'm boxing and I'm doing that I think that it's just a small tiny thing but this is what can can change a race and this is what changed a race it sounds like from Lando's perspective as well that he wouldn't have won the race had he come out ahead of Hamilton and it had that better stop but he did a overshoot the box as well. So there are little things here. Don't get me wrong. It was still a great race from Lando and he drove brilliantly to get to the front when that McLaren came alive. But there's just a few things that let him down and sadly that cost him the victory at the end of the day. So that's why I've gone for an eight out of ten. And the fans apparently agree, or some of them do,

because they also gave an eight out of ten. Carlos Sines, qualified seventh, started, seventh, finished fifth. Now, I think this man absolutely chefed this weekend in that car, and I'm giving him a nine out of ten. I think Carlos drove brilliantly in that Ferrari that was very clearly not that good. He was right on the back of Verstappen in those really difficult conditions, and I have analysed this, right? And I'm going to get into Lecler's grade in a little bit, and it's going to hurt me greatly when I talk about it. But Carlos just went forward when the conditions got bad, and LeCleu's. went backwards. You see the intervals in those last few laps before the pit stops kicked in. Carlos was on fire. That Ferrari is by no means as quick as, and it hurts me to say this,

it is the fourth fastest car. It is not as quick as the car's ahead, but Carlos was driving really well. And the reason why I've gone for a nine as well is because he backs this up. It's not just my own assessment. He said it's one of the most solid races he's had in the last few years at Ferrari. So it kind of reassures me that the way in which I feel his race went is how he felt it did as well. Of course, he did only finish fifth and he pitted at the ends. That's why the gap's a lot bigger because he went for fastest lap. But still, I think Carlos had a brilliant race, genuinely. It's a shame that he couldn't get more because he was close.

You've convinced me for a nine. I was humming and a rowing between the two actually, eight and nine. and it's a very difficult I find it quite difficult because yeah like his teammate essentially put the inters on and it kind of went all wrong from there but I didn't think the Ferrari was there

and the fact they held on to that leading pack when I think that Ferrari like you say is just not there at the moment and Carlos is just doing another I think he did this in the last race as well just delivered the max in that car. So it's one of those things where I go,

oh, can I give him, can I give him a nine or whatever for finishing fifth? But then you have to look at the car. And then when I'm talking about it, I'm going, well, he just delivered the maximum and what more could he do? So yes, I will go for a nine. It's the expectation, isn't it? Like with Lando, he had probably the fastest car at most points in that race. But he finished third because of a few things that went wrong.

Whereas Carlos, as far as we saw, drove a brilliant. race in a car that is absolutely not at the front. So we are trying desperately to explain why we give numbers so that you all don't start getting your pitchforks out because the fans gave Carlos a seven. That is now outrageous great. Let me just actually look at the... Now it's our turn, Tommy. You know what?

We get slanded every bloody week, don't we? For terrible grades. Oh, Matt and Tommy are so washed. That is a washed grade for Carlos signs. Straight up. Let me see if like what the actual... spread of that was and how close he was to getting

anything else. Where are you, Carlos? Well, it was incredibly close between a 7 and 8, but only barely anyone gave him a 9. He got more votes for a 6 than he did a 9. Yeah, unbelievable. That is outrageous.

Yeah, Tommy and I are now kicking off. This is it. We're throwing our comments back at you. Love it. Okay, let's move on before any more anything happens. So that was a seven for Carlos Sines. Charles LeCler, qualified 11th, started 11th, finished 14th. Gone for a four out of ten for Charlerclair. Not a good weekend again.

I did feel, I did, you know, I love to race you and stuff, but I did feel very sorry for him in the, it was the press pen afterwards and he was just kind of like, what is going on? Like he looked absolutely dejected. And we've had this conversation about, oh well at least it's happening now when they don't have a championship winning car or ever but it must be so disappointing because red bull have Ferrari were in my opinion easily the second

quickest car at the start of the year in that first race and red bull have got back into that pack um and everyone's catching up but Ferrari haven't and they've now slipped back to being the fourth fastest car and then also making these mistakes and things as well just to just to add to it but i don't think shal was completely um innocent it kind of there's a bit of both here which is why he's got four yes i sadly agree and i've given him a four out of ten as well um it's it was it was a really tough weekend qualifying of course didn't make it through to q three starting 11th is going to be a difficult thing in itself and then took off while to obviously get through the pack eventually got through on stroll. Now the inters the inters moment

you know I fully slandered Ferrari oh my God I can't believe they've done this but now after looking at when those conditions kicked in I absolutely fully understand why Ferrari made that move with LeClau because he had no pace like he was maybe six seconds behind signs you blinked and he was 14 and also like yeah you watch you watch it back and say they hadn't made it and you hadn't made that call, you'd be going, oh, you know, come on Ferrari. Like the two Merks had gone off at the first turn. Like, because the two Merks, didn't they?

They kind of like straight line that first turn. And I remember thinking, you know, it's easy to go in the stands and go, uh, shouldn't they be putting on inters? So it's hard to be like too critical when it doesn't work. Yeah, because I'm looking at it right now, lap 20, which is when it all starts to kick off, just takes the lead away from Lewis and Charles is 14 seconds behind signs now and has a train of Holkenberg Stroll, Alonzo Sonoda, Albone and almost sergeant behind him. He just lost all

pace so I completely get the call to make a difference because clearly that from Charles' perspective it was too wet or the conditions weren't right. I do note that they said that Ferrari were in two completely different specs of car or whatever, not specs, but like set-ups. Yeah, you do I wonder if like Charlotte had gone all in on maybe dry set up and... But you can't judge it from... Oh, well, I'm going to give him an extra point because he was... No, it has to be a four, sadly. And the fans gave him a five.

Who's the Charlotte Club fan boys now? George Russell. Qualified first, started first, did not finish. It's an eight out of ten for George Russell from me. looked like it was going to be a Mercedes 1-2 if it stayed dry just going to be Russell wins ahead of Hamilton a boring race it looked like it was actually going to be because George had some great pace at the start

and then as soon as it got slippery Hamilton just came alive and he was all over the back of him Russell fell back, couldn't get the same speed in the car but it was interesting because then at another stage Hamilton looked like he was then dreadful and Russell's all over the back of him. It's weird how almost leading the pack sort of, yeah, gave that driver a lot less confidence. But either way, George still had a great weekend up until the DNF.

He was still in the mix, qualified on pole, and then just sad, obviously had that water pressure problem, which meant he had to retire from lap 34, where he would have finished, who knows, but he would have been in with a shout of a podium, so that's why I've given him an eight. I've gone for a nine out of ten for Russell. I think he was very unfortunate. Yes, he wasn't as good as Hamilton when the rain came down. But of course, he lost so much time. Well, I said so much time.

He lost time through the double stack, which lost him a few places, and then he had the water leak. So he didn't do too much wrong. And I think if his car, you know, if it'd been dry or he didn't have the car failure, it would have been on the podium, qualifying again, extremely strong, was managing the race at the start, but didn't quite have what Hamilton did when the rain came down.

But yeah, it was surprising that it changed a few times and Hamilton sort of got into the lead, then dropped back a bit, then came through. It was switching all the time between the McLarence and the Mercedes and I'm saying that, and I just want to watch the highlights again because it was so damn good. But Russell... Certainly was.

Okay, the fans gave George an eight. Lewis Hamilton, qualified second, started, second, finish first. It's a big old 10 for Lewis Hamilton. He finally got that front row start with Max Verstappen sort of in P4, stayed ahead of him. And as soon as he had that sprinkling of rain, yeah, he put the move on Russell. and he was was he he just it's so cheesy because like there's nothing there's nothing you can only do what you can with your car but there is something about silverston and lewis hamilton um because he just always delivers there no matter if you think sometimes he's fortunate or whatever it happens for him and

He drove so, so well. I'm absolutely, I'm so, so glad he got that victory. And yeah, it was such a good drive. I think he deserves maybe more credit than he's getting as well for like making those softs last at the end, because obviously Lando dropped back and lost a place to Max. And Hamilton kept them. And it kind of didn't really ever look in doubt with Vestappen,

which is credit to Hamilton for doing that. So, yeah, it's so good to see him win again. And yeah, it has to be a 10. Has to be a 10. I have also gone for a 10 out of 10 for Hamilton. A brilliant drive very much just, you just felt as soon as he was on the front row of the grid, he had a fantastic chance of winning the race.

And he showed his experience in all of those changeable conditions. he made the right calls in terms of when to pit. And that essentially allowed him to be in a winning position at the end. And I also agree with the soft tyres at the end. Of course, it is Mercedes versus McLaren and they're two different cars. But I think Hamilton kept his head, whereas perhaps Lando seeing coming out the pits behind Hamilton, decided to maybe push to try and regain the lead of the race

and essentially then just cooked his tires and got beaten by Vastappen. but yeah, Hamilton, he won the race. He literally won the race, and it was a very difficult race to win, so it has to be a 10. And the fans gave him a 10 as well. Somehow I don't think this one's going to be a 10. Sergio Perez, qualified 19th,

started from the pit lane and finished 17th. It's going to be a 1 out of 10 for Sergio Perez from me. The one is because he was slightly shafted by pit lane and being a bit of a just a test for Max in terms of what tire to go on. But the reason why it is a one and no higher is because he literally made that happen for himself by binning it in qualifying,

not even on a hot lap. He was on a cool-down lap before then going for another push-lap in qualifying and then binning and beaching into the gravel. It's sadly inexcusable from Perez. So the rest, you know, he's on the back foot. He couldn't really do anything. and then was just pretty

I mean look Max again was one second of winning and Perez was two laps down so it has to be a one sadly I've also gone for a one for the exact reason you said that he gets a like a pity one point because his race was he was being used as a guinea pig

but you get used as a guinea pig when you qualify 19th because you've spun off on your own Perez, yeah, it's inexcusable to go off when your warm-up lap. I'm actually, I'm thinking, was it Canada? I can't remember if it was two years ago or a year ago. I feel like he did the same thing in the wet, went off on a warm-up lap or something like that. He did it a spa when it was the safety car because he was the only one not to finish that race.

So it has happened before and he just needed a normal race and you just think when it can't get any worse it got worse so look the only way it could be worse is if he's 20th in Hungary

so let's see what he can do the fans gave Perez a zero max for Stappen qualified fourth started fourth finished second I've gone don't you dare For a nine.

Yeah, yeah, I was about to tell you to rip that tape off your door, if that was two figures. It's close. It's a, for me, it's a 9.5. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't get to say that. You don't get to say that. I do. No, it confuses everyone.

It's close to a, it's close to a 10 for me because at the end of the day, he's in, that was a race between the Merks and the McLaren. for the victory and he's finished one second off the lead in what was probably the third best car the reason it's not a 10 for me is because he did go off in qualifying to damage his car that maybe cost him something of a better qualifying position and put him on the back foot but then is a kind of minor miracle

that he's that he's qualified P4 but it's not it's not luck. It's these great drivers that do these things. We've seen it before with Lewis Hamilton. We've seen it with Michael Schumacher. And this is why he's going to be so incredibly difficult to beat to a championship, even if that Red Bull is not the best car, because he has somehow, when, like I said, it was a battle between the two McLaren's and two Mercedes. He's gone off into the gravel and damaged his car and qualifying, and he's extended his championship late.

This is what happens, right? It is what happens. Such a well-oiled machine, and he's delivered in a weekend that was really difficult once again. I've gone for a nine as well for Max. It is, I think, you know, now you've said all of that, it is close to a 10 as well for him. But, yeah, obviously made that mistake in qualifying,

which put him on the back foot slightly. But my goodness me, How he came alive with that car at the end is quite... I remember seeing them go on new hards. I was like, are they all right? Why are they going on new hards? And it turned out to be the best decision because he could just push as hard as he wanted

all the way to the end. And it nearly... I mean, if he had won that race, my goodness me. If he had won that race, every other drivers to just go home. Because... Yeah, exactly. You know, they're all sort of tripping over each other.

McLaren are making wrong decisions with both Pliastri and Norris. Then you've got Mercedes and the Russell DNF. Max is just like, okay, you guys do your silly things. I'm just going to drive. And he drove a phenomenal race. So, yeah, it's a 9 out of 10 for Max so close to the victory. And the fans gave him a 9 as well.

So who is our P1? We've got a few tens to actually decide from in this one. You can show that it's, we can tell that it's actually, well, I say few, actually. I've got two. How many have you got? I've got two as well. Okay, all right, fine.

I thought there was three, but there's only two. Ooh, who are we going to give? I'm going to give mine to Lewis Hamilton. Yes, Lewis Hamilton gets my P1. It was close between him and Holkenberg, but I think just everything that then just, it just has to be Hamilton. I'm sorry for this one.

Thank you. It has to be Hamilton. Holcombberg did brilliantly well, but Hamilton it was so, so good like, executed the race perfectly

and yeah, it's so good to see him back on the top step so 10 out of 10 definitely for Lewis and definitely P1 for me. Lovely.

That is it. We are done. Driver rating's done and dusted. I will say, if you do enjoy this series, which sometimes we deliberate whether you actually like it or not, please leave us a thursday,

thumbs up on this video and let us know that you do enjoy the series, even if we do not agree. Because sometimes with some of the comments, me and Tommy are like, should we just bin this off? So let's see if you actually do enjoy it. Tommy, what are your final thoughts? Final thoughts? It's going to be sad to stop talking about that race because I enjoyed it so damn much. but I'm just so hyped for the season now

it's insane how Formula One has just 1-80ed completely in terms of entertainment factor from that first race and I just bring on the rest of the season now because I'm just loving Formula One so much right now. It's mad, isn't it? You look it on paper.

Imagine if we could just look into the future and it's like our max is leading by nearly 100 points in the championship that we would be buzzing this much about the season. It's ridiculous. It shows when you have good racing that it doesn't hurt as much that you don't get that title battle and you still want to see people.

It would be the icing on the cake, but it's Maxfussappen. So there you go. Thank you everybody. We'll see you very soon. Of course, we've got a week off before we then go to Hungary for our final race before the summer break. So look forward to that.

And of course, myself and Tommy will be here with all the chats, all the content as you come to expect from us. Thank you again to all the love, all the love from the British Grand Prix and we'll see you very soon for another podcast. Bye. P1 is a Stack production and part of the A-cast created network.