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

Episode Date: April 22, 2024

The Chinese Grand Prix took place over the weekend and the boys are back to tell you what both you and they thought of each and every driver. Buckle up...You can sign up to our Patreon here! You'll get access to exclusive episodes you won't hear anywhere else, every P1 episode ad-free, full driver interview videos, early access to tickets and more!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. That's correct. We are here to rate every single driver's performances across the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. And it's our first difficult one because it's a sprint. And some drivers decide to turn up for sprints and not for the race and vice versa, which does cause a little bit of chaos, but we're ready for it, Tommy. we sure are i mean in a way it's good if everyone could just agree that everyone has different opinions on things but of course that is not the case um starting this off with some sass okay Tommy i see you but in a way this one creates more divisive opinion i guess over a sprint because you can

it depends how much you weigh each section up and you know some people and a lot of people this weekend had a good sprint, terrible race or vice versa. So in that way, I think a lot of people have different reasonings as to why they've given grades that they have. But as long as we can all respect that opinion, it's fine. Lovely respect. Right, let's start at the very beginning with Kevin Magnerson, qualified in the sprint in 12th, finished 10th, qualified for the main race in 17th and finished 16th. I'm giving Kevin Magnuson a three out of ten. I don't think it was a particularly good weekend for him.

The sprint was reasonably close to points, but the main race, wiping out Yuki Sonoda, getting a 10 second penalty, ruining his race, getting absolutely destroyed by Nika Holkenberg this weekend, and very much a similar sort of vibe to what we expected from KMAG last year where he's just miles off what Nico's been able to achieve.

So that has was absolutely capable of scoring points today, not double points because we had nine of Formula A finishing, but Nico Hulkenberg showed what was possible and KMAG threw that in the bin. Indeed, I've gone for a four out of ten for KMAG. The sprint was decent enough, obviously qualified better there, but that was in a wet quality and Holkenberg showed what they could have done in dry conditions. Like you say, it was similar to last year and the kind of performance that we had.

But normally what would happen in that Hasse thing with Holkenberg's great qualifying and Magnuson not qualifying, they both would just drop back to the pack because their tiewear was so awful, whereas now they actually do have a genuine chance. And Nico scored points while Magnuson was, unfortunately doing Magnuson things and taking drivers out the race, although I did enjoy how Kevin Magnuson and Lance Stroll just recreate one of the greatest battles of all time. It almost reminiscent of like,

quibitzer and Massa and Fuji all those years ago, where they're swapping positions every corner. And why was it for, I don't know why it was, that was so good. It was for 16th between two drivers that had taken people out the race, but it was brilliant to watch because it was, two drivers that already had nothing to lose, and I think fair play, they didn't make contact somehow. Somehow, yes, exactly.

And you do wonder if perhaps the two, what are deemed as worse are drivers on the grid, when those two come together and battle, neither of them know how to end the move or finish the move, and therefore they just keep battling. That's my theory. But it was great to watch either or. And yeah, thank you KMAG for that one lap of gorgeous action.

The fans gave Kevin Magnuson a five. God, you keep haters, clearly. Nico Holcombberg next. Qualified in the sprint in 13th, finished the sprint in 19th, qualified 9th and finished 10th. I've gone for a 9 out of 10 for Nico Hulkemberg. I think it was a very good drive from him in the race. Obviously sprint didn't go to plan,

but for him to, you can argue, it's very hard to score points in the sprint, whereas in the race, Haas, he delivered in qualifying again, and made sure he stayed best of the rest in the race. And yeah, Holkenberg's doing a very good job. And it's also really good to see him now be rewarded with a car that is capable to actually drive a Grand Prix distance

without destroying its tyres. So he can turn those amazing qualifying performance and actually get something from it at the end of the weekend as well. Absolutely. I've gone for a nine out of ten as well for Nico. Of course, sprint is whatever, but he's scored a lot. a point in a has and therefore that absolutely outweighs

everything else. I wonder if he would have scored that point had Bottas not had the problem. I think it would have been very close between the two of them as it was in qualifying as well and it was a proper battle

of who will win Formula B and yeah, I think Nico did a great job as I was sort of slandering Kevin. It also shows just how good Nico was and it is nice to see that Nico Holkenberg

from years ago where he would be able to perform at the top of the mid-fifference. every time he had a car that was capable of doing that, not just in qualifying, but also in the race as well. So, yeah, a very good performance from Nico, and the fans gave him an 8 out of 10. Jouguan Yu now, sprint quali was 10th,

finished the sprint in 9th, and qualified 16th and finished 14th. I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Jeuanyu this weekend. The sprint was a really promising start to the weekend, and you did wonder, oh, maybe, just maybe. we're going to have some points on the cards for kick Salba. But it didn't happen. The race was a lot worse.

Of course, he was disappointing for him to be knocked out in Q1, especially with Bottas getting through to Q3. And that just pretty much ruined his race from there. You get stuck in traffic. And we've seen it wasn't the easiest track to overtake, especially with the tailwind down the back straight, at least in the sprint. So, yeah, it's, I've definitely,

the points have been missed, I would say, for kick. And Joe was outclassed, I would say, by Bottas. Obviously, it was amazing to see the support that he got throughout the weekend for literally anything he did, breathe and he got a cheer. So it was nice to watch that. But I feel like Joe left definitely a bit on the table for the race on Sunday at the very least. Yeah, I've gone for a six out of ten for Joe.

His sprint result was very good indeed and a shame again. that you don't get points for that because P9 is a strong result. But when we had the dry qualifying, he was a long way behind Bottas. And Bottas showed that state could definitely have scored points. So when a lot of the other top runners had problems, Stroll had, you know, wasn't in that top top 10, Hamilton was coming through the field.

There was an opportunity for Saba. So I think they actually have a good, you know, the result was there for them to take. And he didn't have any problems, really. So I think it was a missed opportunity, which is a shame. It certainly wasn't a bad drive at all. And he can be, you know, proud of himself for delivering a decent result, at least in that pressure environment because some of the drivers, you know,

he was, he had such a spotlight on him all weekend. He could have easily just, you know, put it in the wall or done something crazy or had an accident. But respectable but not amazing job from Joe, I'd say. Yeah, absolutely. And the fans gave Joe a six. Valdre Bottas, sprint quality was ninth, sprint result was 12th,

qualified for the main race in 10th and did not finish. I have gone for a 9 out of 10 for Bottas. I think had he got a sprint point, it would be a 10 as well, even though he DNFed in the main race, because I think he delivered a brilliant, weekend his pace was phenomenal you look at that in a in a salber to get ninth in qualifying and then 10th in qualifying in the main race really good performance very unlucky uh to have

an incident let him down uh you know with the engine because points definitely were there and it's going to be very hard to come by so bot us again just doing unbelievable things on a low grip track certainly i've also gone for a nine out of ten which feels crazy for a of someone who's DNFed halfway through the race. It wasn't even that, I don't think. But he was performing at a very high level, was Valtrey this weekend. Really impressive.

And I think he would be world champion if we had 24 low grip tracks when he was at Mercedes. But it was a pleasure to watch him and it was such a shame that just this salber, they don't have all their ducks in a row, do they? They really don't. One thing seems to go wrong at all times.

Obviously for Joe, he had another slow pit stuff of like 5.3 seconds with Botas, obviously his card DNFing. But I still think he deserves a really high grade. So I'm in complete agreement. The fans aren't, though. They've gone for a seven. That is shocking.

Come on, fans. I take it back what I said about, we can respect everyone's opinions. Okay, let's go to Yuki Sanoda now. Sprint quality was 19th, finished the sprint in 16th, qualified in 19th, and did not finish.

I've gone for a four out of ten. for Yuki Sonoda this weekend. Rather disappointing. He's been slower than Daniel Ricardo all weekend. Of course, he was actually making some decent progress in the race until he got yeated by Kevin Magnuson round and that ruined his race completely from there. So I'm not going to grade him any lower than a four

because he might well have been on for something, not any points, but some reasonable 13th or 14th. But instead, DNF'd and yeah, all I can really say is that a 4 out 10 is about right. indeed i have also gone for a four out of ten uh is qualifying was not great you know couldn't do anything in the sprint in the short race he may have got something had magnuson not not crash into him but you got to think as i said with the other drivers you know there was an opportunity there for points so um yeah not not to the best weekend i mean he was always on the back foot after you said

biggest flop um and boy did he take that to heart because it was definitely his poorest weekend end of the season. Yeah, to be fair, with biggest flop on your back, you've got to get a six at least, haven't you really, just because of the horsepower that he was clearly missing. Sorry, Yuki Sunoda. The fans gave Yuki a five. Danny Ricardo, sprint quality 14th, sprint result 11th, qualified for the main race in 12th and did not finish. Gone for a six out of 10 for Daniel Riccardo. It's a good but not great drive in Rb. He's kind of finished where in a decent enough position but maybe could have got got points for the better result particularly with a wet sprint shootout where we got a bit of a mixed up grid and it

always gives those opportunities for something something good but it's a better weekend for Daniel Riccardo which is saying a lot when he got rear-ended by Lance Strull but he is a more solid weekend to take a little bit of pressure or often. Yeah, it's mad that we are thinking that this is like a reasonable weekend for Daniel Ricardo now. I feel like the baseline for what we expect from him has perhaps gone down slightly. Oh yeah, beating Sonoda and a DNF. It's like, good job. Exactly. I've gone for a six out of ten for Daniel as well. Obviously out qualifying UK, both of the sessions is decent because I don't think he'd done it at all this season up until

this point. And then, yeah, unfortunately for the DNF didn't look like he was anywhere near the points to be honest with you, but he still had a bit more of a settling weekend after obviously DNFing on lap 1 for the Japanese Grand Prix. So six from me and a six from the fans as well. Logan Sargent, sprint qualifying 20th, sprint result 18th, qualifying 20th, finished 17th. I have gone for A. Four out of ten for Logan Sargent. which sounds crazy considering he qualified last in both qualifying sessions. But he wasn't a million miles away from Alex Albon. I think Williams in general had a really poor weekend this weekend.

Yeah, at the end, actually, yeah, oh, it's actually a borderline three. Oh, God, I'm giving him a four because I'm like, oh, he didn't crash. You'll go in the gravel or anything. I'll stick with a four just to be nice because some of my grades have been horrendous for him. but yeah he really fell off towards the end of the race on those hard tyres because he wasn't that far behind Albon and then he blinked and he's behind Stroll literally finishing last of the runners but hey he didn't crash so you get a four well done

I've gone for a four for Logan as well I think bizarrely for someone like you say that's qualified 20th in both races and not got a fantastic result to say the least he was more on Albin's pace the Williams just isn't very good. I'm more harsh on Logan when he is qualifying 20th, when Albin's up there, fighting for points and in 11th or whatever,

but that wasn't the case this weekend. So, yeah, he did a bit better, still had a spin in the sprint. He just needs one weekend without a kind of signature error would be great. But it's his home race next weekend, so he can hopefully... One of three home races.

so he's going to have that extra. If he makes the next team. Oh my goodness me, that is savage. And of course as well, Logan's penalty, which was very, very harsh indeed. We spoke about it in the main podcast. Very harsh. For that safety car infringement and passing Holgerberg

after being about an inch behind him at the line in which it's measured. But yeah, apart from that. Yeah, we're not downgraded him for that, just for any clarification. That was not on him. The fans gave Logan a three. They were not happy with his performance this weekend.

Goodness me. Alex Albon, sprint quality 18th, sprint results 17th, the main quali 14th, and finished the main race in 12th. Gone for a six out of 10 for Alex Alburn. I feel like he's having quite a quiet season. I know the Williams isn't there and have those signature nice performances that they have where sometimes they're unbelievably quick,

but I expected more from him, you know, in the sprint quality in particular to be 18th. is not great when those conditions, you know, give you a chance. And, yeah, not the greatest race for Albin. He is really having such a quiet year after what was such a good year last year. He certainly is. I have gone for a six out of ten for Alex as well. He did end up finishing 12th in the main race.

So not horrendously far from points. But, yeah, still not quite that performance that we would like to see from Willow. especially with Albon getting in the mix for a point or two because Williams absolutely need it. But yeah, they were nowhere in the sprint. But, yeah, I can't really give any higher than that. And the fans don't either, because they've also gone for a six out of ten for Alex Albon. Esteban Ocon started the sprint in 17th, finished the sprint in 13th, the main quality 13th, and finished the race in 11th. I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Esteban Ocon.

I think it was a decent drive Very close to points Only a couple of seconds off Holkenberg Had it been a point I think it's sort of eight Eight or maybe nine territory But just fell short And a little bit of a glimmer of hope

For Alpine perhaps They were at least in the mix With the well they were further ahead of Williams And they were fighting RB And that's slightly more acceptable For Alpine and I think Ocon had a reasonable weekend. Obviously nothing to shout about in the sprint,

but yet the main race was close, but not close enough. I've also gone for a seven for Ocon. I think it just shows that Al Pina are in a woeful situation, but when they have a car that is hopefully better, I think the drivers are capable of delivering results because to be two seconds off points in that car is a good result for Ocon. I can't believe how low they've swooped that that is a good result.

but that is where we are. So, yeah, I think Ocon's doing a pretty underrated year in what is a woeful car. He seems to deliver some good results and is just getting the most you can really out of it. The fans gave him a five. They do not care about Aestabanoran O'Con, grinding away in that wheelie bin.

So anyway, Pierre Gassley, started the sprint in 16th, finished the sprint in 15th, and then the main quality was 15th, and finished 13th. I've gone for a five out of ten for Pierre Gazley. He didn't do too badly, but I think there were some moments where he was getting clearly very frustrated about the situation, complaining on the radio about certain overtakes and things. And, yeah, thankfully his mechanic was okay after that pissed up as well, because when it rains it pours for Alpine.

But his race wasn't a huge amount to shout about, really. So I've gone for right down the middle with a five. Yeah, me too. I've gone for a five. He was with Ocon in the early stages. But of course, having that early terrible pit stop meant that he fell out of contention and then didn't really manage to do much after that despite having two safety cars.

So yeah, five from me and the fans also gave Pierre Gasley a five. Next one, Lance Stroll. Sprint quality 15th, sprint result 14th, qualified 11th, finished 15th. I am locking in a 1 out of 10 for Lance Stroll. And the 1 is just sympathy. And do we even go to 0?

I think we do, but maybe not. It's called F1 to 10. Either or, I'm giving him a 1. Oh, it is just so depressing to watch him do things. Like, it's just, it is sad. And Lawrence Stroll, perhaps deep down, is regretting, hiring Fernando a lot. because it really does show exactly what that car can do.

And Lance, I mean, giving him a one, not just because he drove into the back of Daniel Ricardo, but because he then blamed the cars ahead that it was their fault. And that's annoyed me. And it annoyed Daniel Ricardo in his post-race interview as well, saying he was calming down and then found out that he was being blamed for the incident, which is wild to me and shows a lack of will knowledge on Lance Stroll's part. It shows that he's never been blamed for anything.

anything in this life. Oof size, mega. So yeah, one out of ten from me, what more can, what more do you say? It's just woeful. It is. I've gone for a three out of ten for Lance Roll, which maybe sounds quite generous. Wow. It's supposed to be at ten.

Yeah, it is one of those incidents that can happen. But he has to take some blame for it. It's a shame that it hasn't taken blame for it because I think people would have a lot more respect for him if he did. It's an attitude of someone that will never be fired and can't do anything wrong. And it just shows the way he's like acting with these kind of incidents. They just like, well, it's not my fault when it clearly was because he was watching an apex when there was a car breaking in front of him. And yeah, it's not even just the crash that has taken his grade down.

it's the fact that his qualifying is so poor when Fernando Alonzo has stuck it third in both quality sessions and Lance Stroll can't even, you know, make it out. And particularly the sprint quality, right, he was 15th in sprint quality and they are Lance Stroll turkey conditions all over when he got that pole position. Oh my God, Lance Stroll, you know, mega wet weather driver. And he just didn't deliver that that should have been the chance for him. to remind everyone that he can have his moments. But he did not.

He did not, indeed. The fans gave Lance a zero. Jesus. Wow wee. That is, I mean, straight, stone cold savage. Fernando Alonzo now. Sprint quality third. Sprint result did not finish.

Qualied for the main race in third and finished seventh. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Fernando. Alonzo, his qualifying performances are unbelievable. I don't think the Aston belonged anywhere near the second row, never mind yet, being actually in third. The sprint result, of course, he can take some blame for that for an over-ambitious move. It was, it's not an outrageous move. He just saw a chance to raise someone, went wrong, and it cost him a few points. but he was hanging on for dear life and then I think he was let down by the strategy in the race but

for me he's a difficult one to to judge because I don't think I can downgrade him just because he qualifies really well and then drops back because I think he's just over delivering so much in qualifying. Yeah I know I know what it feels like for a driver that I like to over deliver and qualifying and then fall back and then everyone thinks they're washed yeah yeah and everyone thinks they're and it's a terrible stat to have pole positions. Anyway, this is Fernando Alonzo, and I'm going for an 8 out of 10 as well. It is on paper.

You look at it and go, well, he qualified third for the sprint and didn't finish because of an error on his part and got puncturing all that sort of stuff. And then in quality for the main race, again, he's third, and then finished seventh with a questionable strategy. But I think that

that Aston Martin didn't really belong in the places that he was putting it and he drove incredibly well. Perhaps he could have overridden some decisions that Aston Martin decided to do with that strategy. at the end, but instead they went with it, they tried it, and it's still some decent points for Fernando in a car

that you would expect him to finish probably ninth if we're just going by pure performance grading. So yeah, Esther, a very decent weekend for Fernando and hope he can continue with this with a car that actually can perform in the race as well. The fans gave Fernando an 8-2. Not an 8-2, an 8-T-O. 82. My goat, 82 out of 10.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if you can go that in the sheet. Oscar Piastri now. Sprint quality eighth. Sprint result seventh. Main quality fifth, finished eighth. I've gone for a seven out of ten for Oscar Piastri. A good weekend, but nothing to write home about. Lando has really wiped the floor with him, I would say, this weekend. Of course, Lando has had his own errors, which we'll get to. but for Oscar, I would say a concerning weekend from the race pace perspective, of course he did pick up massive damage after the whole Lance stroll impact,

but even before then he was struggling for pace quite drastically compared to his teammate. And that's what we saw a little bit across last year and we're like, okay, maybe he'll learn how to bed in the tyres better and keep that longevity and keep the pace throughout the whole race. But yeah, something lacking for Oscar in the main race.

Quali was okay. I mean, he was very close to Lando in dry quality. Obviously missed out in the sprint one. But I think seven encapsulates quite well, I would say, Oscars weekend. Yeah, I've also gone for a seven out of ten. You can just essentially copy and paste any previous podcast from one of the normal Oscar races where he's done a good, solid job, but it just doesn't get it together in the race in terms of that race.

race pace that he's still clearly lacking that I thought he might have sorted out. But then it is that high, you know, low grip track that maybe is not in his favour. So, yeah, it's a decent result and he's still doing a good job. But I think when you see what Lando can do, I think Oscar needs to sort of improve a bit more. because I do think he has it in him to be with Lando and deliver those kind of Lando level performances. It's just the race pace that's letting him down. The fans gave Oscar a 7.

Lando Norris now, sprint quality first, sprint result 6th, main quality 4th, finished second. I've gone for a 9 out of 10 for Lando Norris. It is a 10 out of 10 performance in the race. It's just one silly moment from the sprint which has let him down on a weekend where even if he had just let Hamilton go, might have easily finished second in the sprint,

it's an easy 10 out of 10. I think he would have been the drive of the weekend by a country mile actually, like would have been such a good performance because sprint quality, again, him delivering in wet conditions when the track is slippery. Yeah, he's so good at that.

It kind of goes under the radar a bit. and then maximised everything from the race. It was a brilliant race. He did such a good job to finish ahead of Perez, which, who should have been easily second based on the pace of the rebel this weekend. So, yeah, brilliant drive from Norris and should beat him up too much for just one little error in the sprint, which ultimately did make a huge, huge, huge difference if you think of the points available. on the sprint.

The redemption came in the race big time. He was brilliant. I've also gone for a nine out of ten, mainly because we know what was possible for Lando in the sprint. I can't give him a 10 if we're looking at the whole weekend because second place was absolutely on the cards for Lando in the sprint as well. And that would have rounded off an incredible weekend for him. But that being said, the race was stunning.

He qualified well. and then just had amazing pace to not allow Perez to get close is no mean feat in the other Red Bull. And yeah, these kind of performances, you see all of the slander and just ridiculous stuff that gets put on social media after Lando tried it around the outside, made a mistake and obviously finished in sixth at the sprint. Are Lando no wins, all of this stuff,

are most podiums without a win. Oscar's had a win before him, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it's a similar stat. Charles LeClerpolesitions is a similar stat with Lando Norris podiums. How are these being seen as bad things? I don't get it. People are so just silly with the fact that they channel this negativity to these drivers that are outperforming their teammates most of the time

and yet are seen as bottlers because they haven't converted against a man and a machine that has broken every record in the last couple of years. pretty much the ones that he can. You can flip every stat to make it look negative about a driver, can't you? And that is exactly what people seem to do to certain drivers. It is similar to Niko Holkenberg with the, most appearances now without a podium.

It's like, so if he's not got a podium, but he's having loads of appearances, it shows that teams have faith in him to keep giving him Formula One drives, which shows that he is a very good driver. So it, you know, unfortunately, in a sport where you have to have a very good car to win. It's not, you know, if everyone was in equal cars,

Norris would have got a win by now. Like, there's no doubt about it. And that's no discredit to anyone else on the grid. It's just a fact, because he is good enough to do it. F1 is just so circumstantial. And there are many circumstances, the main one being that no one is winning at the moment, apart from what just happened,

other than occasionally car loss science. every 10 races. But that is, yeah, it's not a fair stat. And I completely agree with you that it's just not a fair start at all. No, success, but not P1s, apparently means that it's a failure, which is wild. So yeah, the fans gave Lando a 10. Carlos Sines, sprint quality fifth, sprint result fifth, qually seventh, finished fifth. I've gone for a seven out of ten for Carlos Sines.

I think that it was a good weekend. Shal, obviously, bouncing back slightly in that teammate rivalry. Carlos having a bit of a mistake, which was, thankfully for his sake, not punished too much in Kuali. But I think overall, I think just a disappointing weekend for Ferrari in general. Lando put a bet on with his team, I think it was, that he was going to finish 35 seconds behind the Ferraris at the end. I think the Ferraris thought that they were going to be a lot better as well.

but I think Charles said after the race that they just put on the hard tyres which they hadn't put on all weekend and they were slow so yeah I think overall though Carlos had a good weekend some good points still finishing fifth in both races

is still decent and yeah I've gone for a seven out of ten as well for Carlos the fact that he is finished fifth in both races yeah he's behind shal but he is one of those drivers

that we've seen more recently that you could argue that it wasn't as good of a weekend as normal. And what we've seen recently where I think that is a part of the reason that he surprised so many people when he did get those wins and had the good form recently is because this kind of performance is where a lot of the time throughout 2022, much of 2023, not all of it, but he was finishing in these places

and getting consistent solid points and maybe just a bit slower than Charlercler. And that's exactly what he's done. But one thing I would say is we look at, you know, we had a lot of questions in the podcast and, oh, Ferrari, bad weekend again. Like, where's Ferrari's pace? You can argue they've delivered again the maximum positions

that they should have had, really. You know, both of them have finished fourth and fifth in the race. And for that to be a bad weekend for Ferrari. I think it's credit to Ferrari and the drivers that they are getting the maximum out of the car and just picking up the points

and the positions that they should be in because if you have a bad weekend, Mercedes is bad weekends or other drive bad weekends is like a DNF or whatever, but they're getting good results and that's just really good for the constructors, isn't it? very efficient indeed

very efficient keep it up the fans gave Carlos a 7 Charlotte Claire sprint quality 7th sprint result 4th qualified 6th and finished fourth

gone for an 8 out of 10 for Charlotte Claire just one higher than Carlos Sainz a good weekend more what we expect I don't think he could have held on to Paris at the end

the performance car performance was too good but yeah maximising a result again and it was a good drive from Charles it was he's back the slander can just calm down for a second it wasn't a comprehensive

destruction of Carlos signs I think Carlos is still driving very very well and he had older tyres than Charles at the end so I can understand he was nursing them on the way well to the finish line but yeah Shalt still quite a quiet race in a lot of ways. But yeah, maximising the points, deserves an eight. And the fans also gave him an eight out of ten.

George Russell, sprint quality 11th, sprint result eighth, qualified eighth, and finished sixth. Speaking of quiet races, George Russell, my God, I don't even remember seeing him, apart from maybe at the start. Just a very lonely race for George Russell, who didn't really see much action, to be honest. I've gone for a seven out of ten for George because still quiet, but getting a point in the sprint, finishing sixth in the main race, when Hamilton's been having all of these problems,

Niko Rosberg very much saying about this whole set-up thing and one going one way and one going the other and then highlighting that George says that they have pretty similar cars was wild to me, but Niko takes every opportunity to fire shots at Lewis and anyone, to be honest with you. but I did find that interesting. Did beat him an equal machinery, you know.

Yeah, he did. I think George had a good weekend. Yeah, should be quite happy. Yeah, gone for a seven out of ten as well. A very, very quiet weekend from George Russell. Didn't deliver in the sprint, really, compared to Hamilton had a great one, but he was much better,

although very quiet in the main race, which I think is maybe what he needed after a few incidents and dive bombs and things in races that haven't really gone to plan. I think George did just need a solid race and just sort of like get back into the swing of it really. And he did. It's still wild to me what one uneventful race and how Mercedes are just behind McLaren now. Yeah, shocking really. And Fernando as well.

And Fernando, yeah. The fans gave George a seven. Now on to the hardest driver to grade, probably, of the entire weekend. Lewis Hamilton, sprint quality second, finished the sprint in second, qualified 18th for the main race and finished ninth. Yeah, definitely the most difficult driver to rate, but thankfully his fan base are the most understanding of the lot. So I've gone for...

seven out of ten for Lewis Hamilton. It is a five out of ten for the race, in my opinion. A really poor race from him. He had that, of course, the bad qualifying. And then maybe didn't get through the field as quick as I thought. Struggle didn't like the soft tires did he at all. And in a race where, yeah, there were a few safety cars and things, maybe expected a little more from him,

but then turn that around and look at the sprint, particularly in the wet conditions in the sprint shootout, we saw exactly why he is the driver he is in a car that's not delivered this season and not being particularly good. And in wet conditions, we saw, you know, the Lewis Hamilton of only a few years ago, even last year, like, you can't, he was really good last year as well. and then the sprint, a good second place as well. So it really was a tale of two very, very different races for Hamilton.

Yes, it certainly was. And I thought maybe we'd disagree considering the very difficult nature of trying to grade him, but I've also gone for a seven out of ten. Yeah, we nearly doubled his points, Talley, didn't he, just from the sprint? And then still managed to score a couple of points in the main race after a very, very difficult qualifying, which was completely his error that into the hairpin. But yeah, I think it's still overall, as you say,

we saw the master of Lewis Hamilton and the sprint side of the weekend. So that does deserve a little bit more of recognition. The fans gave him a six. Sergio Perez, sprint quality sixth, sprint result third, qualified second, finished third. I have gone for a 7 out of 10 for Sergio Perez this weekend. It was not actually that great, to be honest with you, in terms of his pace, nowhere near Max.

The fact that, yeah, he's finished third in both. You might think, well, perhaps he deserves an eight, but he was nowhere near Max at any point during the weekend. And it's difficult to see for Sergio, because we thought maybe he's starting to. to close the gap a little bit, especially in qualifying and okay. But then you look at the main race in particular where there was two safety cars in the middle of the race and he still finished miles behind Max and got beaten by a McLaren. That's why I've gone for a seven out of ten. Yeah, I've gone for a seven out of ten as well.

I don't think you look at it on paper, like you say, third and third. Solid result. It would have absolutely taken that halfway through last year when his performance was dipping. and he is doing what Red Bull would want of him, but he should have been second in both sessions this weekend. The Red Bull had a huge advantage. We saw once he got past the amazing battle for P3 in the sprint, he had amazing pace.

And one thing I would say about that is that Maxa Stappen had a rare off day in the sprint shootout. just like he had the problem in Australia, and that is when Perez needs to absolutely capitalise. Because even if he'd won the sprint, I know it's not a race win, but you've got to think that Max was going off all the time. You know, everyone's saying, oh, Max is washed, can't drive in the way,

it's got the best car in the world, and he still beat Sergio by two positions in the qualifying. And that is when Sergio needs to step up and deliver the result and make the most of the once in 300 odd days where Max decides to make a mistake. So, yeah, it's a decent result. Obviously, he is a long way behind, but six is way too harsh for someone that's delivered two podium.

So I've gone for a seven. Yep, agreed. And the fans also agree, giving him a seven. Finally, Max for Stappen. Sprint quality fourth, sprint result first, qualified first, finished first. It's a 10 out of 10, even with the sprint shootout issue and him sort of putting himself on the back foot. He made such easy work of it. It was fun to see him in the pack while he had no battery for a few laps to reminisce about him being in the pack again and overtaking through the field.

But once he got there, he just showed what an advance. he has and he delivered again as he does. So continues that just domination. Continues the domination. I wonder how many races we're going to get where he wins and then we look back at Australia and perhaps he would have actually had a 900 win streak by the time it ends. We'll have to reflect on that a little bit later in the season. I have also gone for a 10 out of 10 because despite the sprint quality stuff it was difficult conditions for every. everybody out there. The fact he qualified fourth after literally going to Narnia and into the gravel trap to start his lap just showed that, yeah, there was some speed in there had he hooked it up fully. It was similar to Lando, I guess he started the lap as well in the gravel. But apart from that, it was scintillating stuff from Max, driving around an issue in the sprint race, still winning.

And then the main race was, yeah, perfect from him. So great job, Max. And the fans also gave him a 10 out of 10. So who is our P1? I think Max was the only one to get a 10, no? He sure was. Well done, Max. You win something else as well. The P1 driver ratings. That's the award that everyone's here for, isn't it? Let's be honest. Yeah, yeah. That's where he'll get really excited is the P1. So 10 out of 10, Max was happening for me. You're also doing that as well, yeah. Yeah, definitely. Shame for Lando, that small mistake. I think he would have got it other than that. And also a shame for Paltry Bottas with his DNF because I think he might have even been argument for a 10

if he'd have managed to grab a P9 and beaten Holkenberg but we'll never know. P10 that would have been. But yes, it would have been good to see if Bottas could have scored that point and I think he definitely would have been a candidate for a 10 as well. But alas, Max Verstappen wins once again everything. So there you go. Tommy, we are done.

What is your final? Just one, singular thought. I'm really tired. That's my final thought. Is that it? Yeah, you're also one single thought. Yeah, but I didn't say that it has to be a rubbish thought. That's what people cheat in for, right?

My rubbish thoughts. Yes, yeah, they want to know that you're tired. No, come on. Tired thoughts are the best ones. Okay. My final thoughts are that. why final thoughts I hope

I change my mind on the sprint after another one at a different time of the day but I don't think I will because I found

it very weird going into Sunday and feeling like there'd been quite a few sessions already and being like oh yeah there's a race on I've never felt like that

I never had that with a sprint. I know a lot of people felt that with a sprint where they were like, oh, it takes away from the main race. And I was never one of those people. But for the first time, I actually had that thought where I was kind of like, oh, there's another race on. And it made me feel like I'd already seen a race on Saturday. Yeah.

I don't know why, but yeah. Well, you had. Well, I had. That's basically why, yeah. Okay, my final thoughts are. that it was great to be back in Shanghai. I love that track. I feel like maybe it didn't deliver to the level that I was hoping.

But fingers crossed, Miami will be... Oh no, I was going to say Miami to the Bangor. There's absolutely no chance of that one. But we'll be there no matter what. Imagine the bangle we've been craving for. It happens at Miami. Is Miami. Oh, please. I beg.

Anyway, that is it. Thank you so much to everybody for watching and listening, and we'll see you soon for another piece of B1 content. Lots of love. Bye. Bye. Stack production and part of the ACAST created network.