P1 with Matt and Tommy - Japanese GP Driver Ratings

Episode Date: April 7, 2025

We're back, squeezing every last drop out of the dull orange that was the Japanese Grand Prix. But, even though the race was boring, there are some spicy grades to get into...Listen to an extended version of every Race Review podcast on our Patreon! Sign up to also get every P1 episode ad-free, early access to live tickets and merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now!Matt's running the London Marathon for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity. Click here if you'd like to donate - thanks so much!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. It is your favourite number podcast right here, right now. Numbers all the way from zero to 10 where we grade the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying session because that's all we really have to look at. Because did anything really happen in the race apart from free practice four? I would argue not, especially when you look at the position changes of some of the drivers or no position changes. it was a stinker.

However, we're still going to grade every driver and we're still going to give our opinion, isn't that? Right, bomb telling them. We sure are. And yeah, it's very much a Monaco-esque session or result, wasn't it, really, with very little changing at the top. So you're salivating.

I don't know if that makes it easier or harder for drive ratings, so we'll see. Well, if you're talking about Monaco, probably harder. Right, so let's get into the first strike. Oh, he didn't react enough for me to. All right. Gabrielle Bortoletto. Started the race in 17th,

finished 19th. For me, I am giving Gabriel Bortoletto a 5 out of 10. I think we might be rolling out the bingo card. If you've got on your bingo card, it's difficult to overtake. They were pretty much stuck. Let's start with Bortoletto.

Although he did go back a couple of positions and finished in 19th, as he had a lot of wheel spin at the start, did Bortoletto. But I'm very much considering Sauba as one of the back cars, the back running cars, slowest cars

probably of the entire field. So I'm not going to grade Bortoletto or many drivers. There is one I have graded very harshly. Spoiler alert. But Bortoletto still a rookie. Didn't crash. Five out of ten. I've also gone for a five out of

10 for Bortoletto. His start wasn't great, of course. It's hard to be too critical because he was dying on hard to tires of course when the guy's behind him war on soft so even without the bad start you could maybe argue that it was probably going to get mugged anyway but still he had decent progress and decent pace he ended up in the doing train which we saw at the end of the race which was doing in 15th Holcombegg Lawson-Ockon-Bortletto was on the back of that and obviously no one could

pass. So he has finished a couple of seconds behind his more experienced teammate. So it's not bad, but just not great. Not bad, not great. The fans thought it was a little bit less great. Four out of ten for Gabriel Bortoletto. He will try to improve from that. Nika Holcomberg, started the race in 16th, finished. Guess a 16th. I've gone for a six out of 10 for Nico Hulkemberg. I think, again, the Salbers are difficult to grade. Do you think that car is maybe a little bit better than last year, that they're kind of not just far and away last, and they can kind of fight it in the mid-pack,

but it's still looking like one of, if not the worst car. So the fact that Nico Hulkemberg has managed to kind of almost break into Q2 and then do a solid job in the race as well, and actually battling the midfielders is a fairly respectable performance, I'd say. Okay. I've also gone for six out of ten for Niko Holkhamberg. Almost breaking into Q2 is not something that we wanted to say with regards to Holcomberg for this season,

but he knew what he'd signed up for, and it's definitely not 2025. It's next year, isn't it? It's next year. Yeah, six out of ten from me, finishing 16th. Well done. Congratulations. He did not a lot to really report, but he did slightly better

than what we would perhaps expect in that car. The fans gave him a five. Alex Albon started the race in ninth, finished ninth. I have gone four, an eight out of ten, Alex Albon. Gone are the days now,

I believe that that Williams should be expected as a midfield to slowest car on the grid, kind of vibe. They are there now. I think Alex is doing a phenomenal job in that car. Scrap that, nine out of ten.

Sorry, editor. No, we've changed that. We've changed it on the fly. And it kind of works as well because you've got GP start, ninth, finish ninth, and he gets a nine out of ten. He scored a couple of points. You didn't have any retirements from the front running crew. He beat Sonoda.

I don't think you can really mark him down too much. Obviously, he had agile that beat him ahead of him. But yeah, I think nine out of ten, that out of his album. I've gone for an 8 out of 10 for Alex Albarn. I think the Williams is a good car and Alex has continued to do a very good job this season. However, in a close midfield, you can get more out of that car.

And it's still a very good result for Albin. Don't get me wrong, 8 out of 10. It's still a very good grade. But I wouldn't go higher because I think he's there's maybe a bit more on the table. Okay, what does the table suggest, Tommy? The table suggests that well, a V-cab was

8, so there's time there, there's time there there's time there and you've got to have some leeway for superior results, so that's why I've gone for an 8. Superior results when the top four teams are untouchable. Interesting. Okay, this is what driver ratings is all about. 8 out of 10 is like the most horrific

I know, I'm thinking of 8 out of 10. I've slanded him for 8 out of 10 for finishing 9th in Williams. The fans gave Alex and eight. Carlos Sines started the race in 15th, finished 14th. I've gone for a five for Carlos Sainz. I think on paper it looks disappointing and it is disappointing. I think Carlos, I think looking at it now,

he's probably one of the most disappointing drivers of the year so far to think how much hype he had going into the season. Because a long time ago he was topping Bahrain testing and I know you can't take time for testing and thinking, oh, science is going to do an amazing job this year. year. And he was very close to his teammate in qualifying, just missed out. But as we know, in a track light Suzuki, which apparently is now Monaco, part two, you can't overtake. And he was always going to have problems. And then I actually watched the video back of the penalty that he got,

of course, which demoted him even further. And the team don't even tell him that Hamilton is coming up. So I can't really blame him for that one. Okay. I have also gone for a five out of ten for Carlos Sines. The penalty definitely hindered his race even more so. And he said that himself after the race, that the reposition was what cost him. The pace was there. He said he was stronger than everyone around him, but obviously didn't have that eight-tenth gap that Andrea Stella said after the race

that drivers needed to pass their opposition ahead. But I have to agree, it's been a very mediocre start. to Carlos' career at Williams. I am of the opinion that he will get his head around this car and that he will begin to perform. He just might need a little bit of time. And I think when people listen to that as well, they'll go, well, you know, why is the likes of loss or not getting time?

You know, why are we giving Carlos Sines time? He's an experienced driver. Some drivers take a little bit longer to embed themselves in the team. I think even though Hamilton has a sprint win, I wouldn't say he's embedded himself in the team just yet. and you look at a weekend like today and you can see that perhaps it just takes a little time to slot in.

But that's not to say that we can't judge Carlos on what we've seen and what we've seen is not a lot. So five out of ten from me and the fans also gave him a five. Isaac Hadjar, started the race in seventh, finished eighth. It's a 10. It's a 10 out of 10.

Isaac Hadjar, rookie, best of the rest, qualified ahead of Hamilton. You literally cannot ask any more of this driver at this stage of his career. and that's something that you also factor in to these grades, and that's what I do, at least. And there is no more leeway. There is no more room for Hajar to have jumped into, in my opinion.

And that is why I'm giving him a perfect score. Same for me. It's a 10 out of 10. Amazing performance. Only is third Grand Prix. And just the perfect weekend has to be said. We know that the V-Cab is quick. we've seen the potential of it.

And he maximised qualifying, you know, out-qualified Lewis Hamilton, which is an insane thing to think. And then in the race, top teams are, of course, difficult to beat, but did an amazing job to finish Pierre and get his first points. I know it was kind of a monoco-y race, like we've said,

but it doesn't take anything away from him. An amazing job and what a start. start to the season he's had and how he's bounced back from the disappointment of Melbourne. Yeah, and that argument can't even be used for Hajar, I don't think, because it wasn't as if there was a Hadjar train with five cars directly behind him. He was comfortably running in the P8 and he did a great job. The fans, they weren't happy, nine out of ten. I mean, what more do you want from him? Do you want to win the race? I know he's in the V-Cub, which is apparently better than Red Bull. Maybe that's why. He's in the fastest car on the grid,

Matt. Why are you giving him a 10? Ridiculous. Liam Larson started the race in 13th, finished 17th. I've gone for five out of ten for Liam Lawson. I don't think it's as bad on paper as it looks. Don't get me wrong. He's gone back into the car and Hajjad gets the praises he deserves. But I think he did have to kind of sacrifice himself a bit. And the strategy wasn't there.

it was the kind of hero V-cub strategy we normally see, which thankfully didn't affect Hadjar. They did a more normal strategy with him. Lawson, yeah, could have done better. It kind of all came undone in qualifying. I expected more from him, of course, at a track that he normally does well. And of course, doesn't look great for him finishing P-17

after the demotion. But I think he'll bounce back. I've gone for a four out of ten for Lawson. just slow. I remember looking at his lap times. It wasn't like he was, again, caught in a train. He fell off the back of where he was running at the start of that race, perhaps trying to keep the mediums in a good window to go really long. But it just was a, well, not a poor strategy, a different strategy and definitely not the best strategy. But also, he just wasn't quick. So that's the reason why he finished 17th, despite going on the softs, couldn't go on any kind of charge.

and yeah, a performance to forget for Lawson, for sure. The fans gave him a four as well. Ollie Bearman started the race in 10th, finished 10th. It is a 9 out of 10 for Ollie Bearman from me. He's picking it up quite nicely, I would say now, kind of slotting in and performing to the level of which I expected from him coming into this season, because if you remember he is my biggest good surprise of this season,

and yeah, he's kind of translating that pace now. He wasn't able to, I think, really utilise his final Q3 lap, if I remember, but to get through to Q3 in general, when his teammate Ocon, an experienced race winner being knocked out in Q1, Ocon having his struggles in that has, I think being knocked out in Q1 twice this year already. And Bearman obviously finished the race where he started, beautiful, lovely Suzuki, I'm sure, for him,

but scored another point. I think he can be very happy with that. I've gone for a 9 out of 10 as well for Olly Behrman. Not quite a 10 because I think there was more time to be had in Q3 and maybe had he qualified better, as we know, with the struggles to pass, he might have maybe even got a P8 in that race, but Olly Bearman, amazing job, particularly with how poorly his teammate did in that race. and yeah, really impressed to start to the season for Olli Behrman.

Very, very impressed with him. The fans gave Oli Behrman a 9 out of 10 as well. Esteban Ockon, started the race in 18th, finished 18th. I have gone for a 3 out of 10 for Esteban Ockon. It's another, it's all gone wrong in qualifying, and there's nothing more he could have done, really. but you have to be harsh because he's the experienced driver yes you can't overtake but he's the one with experience

in Formula One and after what was an unbelievable drive in the last race is proper like hero to zero for the next race to qualify 18th when your teammate might have even got a P8 just shows the potential of that car this team it did obviously get in the top 10, a really disappointing weekend for Ocon and just prayed for something to happen in the race that never happened. I have also gone for a 3 out of 10 for O'Con.

Really disappointing. The expectation I think a lot of us have is that Ocon should, in theory, on paper, be delivering better performances than Berman at this stage. Of course, as you say, He had a great performance last time out. It's kind of gone zero to hero to zero in terms of his first three Grand Prix so far this season. But it's hard to really understand why.

And you can see his sort of post-quality post-race interviews. It does seem quite down in the dumps at the moment with what's going on at Hasse. And very unlike Ocon, because I do think he's a very quick driver. So whatever it is, needs to figure out soon. otherwise the bearman what could be a good alliteration for Behrman, the Beerman bus. The Beerman bus will be

boarded by a lot of people. I mean, I was already on there. I was already driving the bus. But I think the people should probably get quite excited about Beerman at this stage. But back to Oconia. Three out of ten. The fans also gave him a three. Jack Duhan started the race in 19th,

finished 15th. I have gone 4A 4 out of 10 for Jack Dewan because he's one of the only drivers to have actually made progress in the race with quite an aggressive but decent strategy

started on the softs pitted really early pushed hard had ailing hard tires towards the end but kept a few positions and he only finished a couple of positions behind his teammate of course for race time

it wasn't the fastest strategy but to get a few positions out on track it was. So that's why it's a four. The reason it's no higher than that is because he smashed the car to pieces in free practice too, which has to be a mark against you. And also to qualify 19th, you're basically just signing and sealing your fate of not scoring points around a place like Suzuki. So it's still a disappointing weekend. Despite him gaining four positions, finishing two places behind Ghazley, it's still not good enough because of the fact he's a blitzing to rated the car in free practice.

I've gone for a three out of ten for Jack Dewan. It's such a shame doing with how his career is going because I think he's shown surprising pace compared to his teammate. And actually the speed he has is certainly not bad at all. But he's making too many headlines for errors and things. He could have, I think he could have got away with it for what happened in Melbourne because it was a tricky race.

and I know a lot of people are jumping on there oh well he didn't have FP1 so he's it doesn't it doesn't mean you smash it into a wall into term 1 by not taking your DRS off I don't buy that theory so you fly into term 1 in free practice 2 with DRS open

yeah I don't remember any of the other rookies doing that in FP1 the theory behind that I just don't understand like obviously there's the whole rumours of something in the simulator and blah blah blah that's not been confirmed but makes kind of sense in some ways because you wonder why would he leave DRS open unless he literally forgot.

This could be a mistake. Yeah. Which is another one. But it doesn't matter. It's a massive, massive mistake. And this is the thing we Jack doing. Alpine and Flavia Briotori needs half an excuse to get rid of him, I think. And he's given them more than that.

And it's a shame because, like I said, I do think his pace is good. And I think his performances have been surprising. he's just having too many kind of low lights of like big crashes and silly incidents and things and that and I can't even though I think his race was pretty good I can't get away from the fact that that crash in FP2 even if it's a practice session that's not where the results are that will be such a huge thing that Alpine will look at and everyone will look at from that weekend from what Tom Bellingham's looking at as well exactly I'm sure it's going to be our F1 driver rating is a free practice two of the Japanese Grand Prix and Tommy's gone for a three.

Fair enough. Okay. I went for four and the fans also went for a four out of ten. Pierre Gasley started the race in 11th, finished 13th. I've gone for a six out of ten for Pierre Gazley. I think he was very unfortunate with a slow pit stop, which meant that he dropped a few places. Otherwise, he'd have been the whopping heights of P11 or 12 instead of 13.

But jokes aside, I just don't think Alpine have the pace really this season. They're struggling with their power and the power unit don't have enough. Umph. And I can't believe. Yeah, technical term for more technical analysis. I think it's more of an umph. If you could just like, umph, I think it's umph. Anyway.

And, uh, I'm about to start beatboxing. And Alpine has, scored a point yet. Insane. After thinking that they would hit the ground running after quite hyped up in testing. Did we both go Gassley and ninth in the championship?

We did. I think I definitely top 10th. You went ninth, I think. Yeah. Good Lord. That's not looking very good at the moment. It's not looking very good at all. No. I have also gone for a six out of ten. Exactly the same reasoning as you. The pit stop obviously screwed him a little bit. He qualified quite well in 11th and

yeah, what could have been maybe. But points still looked very unlikely for that Alpine and Gassley in particular. The fans gave them five. They weren't happy at all. Speaking of not being happy. Lance Stroll! Started the race in 20th, finished 20th. I am locking in. A 1 out of 10. Yeah, we're not going zero. We're not going zero because zeros are locked in for very special performances and don't get me wrong, this was a special stroll performance. However, he didn't destroy the car. He was just slow, just having a good old time out there.

Probably not in any way. I say good. I don't think he probably enjoys that. And there's been questions about whether he enjoys four one, full stop. And I'm sure that's a weekend. He'll never want to think about ever again. But he made up one place at the start and then stayed at the back.

He pitted twice. Why is he doing a two-stop round a track you can't overtake? maybe he literally just wanted to have fun on some fresh tires. I wouldn't put it past him. So yeah, it's a one out of ten. I've gone for a two out of ten for Lance Stroll. Oh, my God. Yeah, no, highly rate him continuing his epic start to the season

as one of the best drivers in Formula One. No, it'd be easy to jump on and give him like a zero because it's Lance Stroll. Of course, it's a shocking weekend. You made the mistake in qualifying, which he deserves to kind of have a bad grade for. But it all kind of came undone. then and in the race yes he was at the back um it looks worse than it was because he made two

stops um but it's still an incredibly poor weekend that all went wrong and qualifying and then in the race do and showed that that strategy could maybe do something um but lance instead yeah pitted early um and then yeah pitted again and went for the two stop and just did some maybe testing for adrian newie or something i don't know um but yeah testing edwin New his patience, probably. Hey, come on. More of that for this season to come. The fans, they weren't happy at all.

Zero out of ten for Lance Strohl. Lance Strohl could have finished 12th, and the fans give him a zero with our votes. That's a bit of Lance Strohl tax on that one, isn't it? It really is. Yeah, zero for him. Fernando Alonzo started the race in 12th, finished 11th. I've gone for a seven out of ten for Fernando Alonzo.

I think he's done a good job to almost get points. Aston Martin are so locked in in that midfield now. I think we're going to see races where I generally think pretty much everyone out of the top teams minus Salba can have these really good results where they maybe pop like P8 and then equally they can have one mistake in qualifying like a Lance Stroll, a finish 20th. And I think that is going to be a trend we see in this season. but Alonzo's car finally decided it fancied finishing the race

and in doing so we kind of got to see that Fernando isn't a finished driver and can still deliver a decent job but I don't think the car's there for points yet still trails Lance Stroll by 10 points in the championship I know can you believe it I have also gone for a 7 out of 10 for Fernando Alonzo yeah I was going to my brain wanted to take the Mickey out of you for going for 7 out of 10 I was like I knew he's going to go for it

But I've also gone for a seven, so I can't quite say that you're a fanboy. If I agree with your rating, it was a much stronger. I will at several points, I'm sure, coming up. But I think that, yeah, it was a much better performance. A shame for him that he couldn't actually put some points on the board. But it's just a bit of a settler, I would say. And people that are saying Alonzo's too old and finished. Obviously, I've joked whenever I said about that.

Get in the bin. He's not and I think he did a great job. So seven from me and the fans gave him a six. Kimmy Antonelli started the race in sixth, finished sixth. My grade for Kimmy Antonelli is an eight out of ten. I think he did a very good job. I think his strategy was absolutely on point. I don't think there was a more perfect strategy out there.

For Antonelli, who was kind of towards the back of obviously the front runners, had enough space to be able to go as long as he wanted on the mediums to come back out on fresh rubber and then push for the rest of the race. I think that that strategy wasn't open to a lot of drivers just purely because of the traffic that they would have come out in. Whereas Antonelli, he had nothing to really lose. Don't get me wrong, he still had a great race. His pace was really good.

The tire whisperer, etc., etc. It went really long, led the race, which was quite cool, I'm sure, for Tommy to see. and then finished only a few seconds off of George Russell. But I'm not also going to ignore the fact that Russell, you know, was also stuck in traffic. He pitted early, couldn't make use of the undercut fresh rubber, just purely because he was put out into traffic and it wasn't the smoothest race for Russell.

But for Kimmy, yeah, still a very just strong foundation to be building from for him. I have gone for an 8 out of 10 for Kimmy Antonelli. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you because I thought you would have said he led 10 laps. That's a 10 out of 10. No, he's had a fantastic start to his Formula One career, done everything Mercedes would have asked for him. I think have absolutely taken the results that he's had. And yeah, he of course had a great strategy, which I think worked in his favour. But I think he deserves credit for making it happen because

he took the ties longer than anyone else could. And as a rookie, I think that is still impressive to do so. And then, you know, led the race, which was a cool thing to happen and break that record of Maxes by three days, I think it was. And he also got the fastest lap, which I think is a nice one for the record books, particularly as I am one of these people that was anti-fastest lap point. So I'm glad that that record that now stands is for a nice one. a legitimate fastest lap that's been

earned and not just because he pitted with like three laps to go on soft tires. You may as well have, mate. He pitted like 12 laps later on ours. But it's a warranted strategy. And that's part of Formula One. So I'm glad that's the case. And yeah, Antone's

continued his strong start to the season. Maybe we bring back the fastest lap points, but people can't get the fastest lap if they like pit random. I don't know. Let's not open that. No, I don't need that kind of win. the fans gave Kimmy an eight as well. George Russell started the race in fifth,

finished fifth. I've gone for an eight out of ten for George Russell. Another solid performance from George. I think he'd be quite disappointed. Maybe the best he could have hoped for is fourth, so not too disappointed. But he had a lot of pace, I think, and in qualifying, look like he might be the one to challenge.

into the McLaren's, but instead he has, you know, I think he made a mistake on his, on his qualifying lap, and then no fault of his own got stuck in the kind of traffic with the way it's worked, but bagging more points in the championship and another side job from George Russell. It's an eight out of ten from me as well for George, but a very different race to Kimmy's. as you say, I think he will be slightly disappointed, missed out narrowly in qualifying, made that mistake. He tried to get his tyres in a good window where they were slightly cooler at the start of the lap to be able to attack at the end, but he misjudged it and it was too cold and then made that mistake. But yeah, he could have easily, he looked quick. I've seen some on boards

into the Degna's in particular. That Mercedes looked hooked up. It does it really good. So I reckon if George had qualified in a second or a third, he would have caused some serious problems for the McLaren's. But alas, that is all just in our imaginations. And we have to grade him on what he's done, and it is still an 8 out of 10 because it was a decent drive. The fans gave him an 8 as well. Yuki Sonoda started the race in 14th, finished 12th.

I'm locking in. A 6 out of 10 for Yuki Sonoda. I think this perfectly represents the kind of performance that we've seen from Yuki this weekend, where it is like not a disaster, points of potential, moments to potentially look at for the future where you go, okay, in free practice here,

he was quite quick, qualifying. Yeah, made a mistake, but even in the race, gained a few positions, didn't look horrendous, and much better than what Lawson managed to do despite him having pre-season testing. Yuki being plonked into a car that is probably known as the most difficult car to drive,

alongside I would say the wheelie bin of the salibing, and he's done an okay job and that's what my six out of ten represents. I have gone for a five out of ten for Yuki Sanoda. One grade difference. Are you kidding? As Matt's eyes light up. Call yourself a Yuki fan. I know.

I dare I blindly give him a better grade for... Blindly, no. Open your eyes, sir. I can't give him the six for finishing 12th and... Don't get me wrong. I think he's done a much more solid job and it's definitely done better than Lawson, no doubt. But I think it's a shame that, yeah, he did make that mistake in qualifying. I think there was more to be had.

And I think he's going to do a better job in Bahrain. And he showed decent pace that to the point where I think he's justified the move and there's no kind of alarm bells from me, but I'm judging the performance here. And I think that, you know, there was more to be had. so we're gone for a five. Well, try picking you up and plopping you in a shopping trolley for Suzuki

and see how you do after driving a very stable V-Card. Yeah, I don't think it'll go very well. Okay, the fans gave Yuki a six. Well done, we agree. Max Rastappen, started the race first, finished first. I have gone. For a 10 out of 10.

I'm sure F1 power rankings will give him a 9. I don't know. I'm going to look it up right now because if it's anything other than a 10, I will honestly throw up. I think it's later. 9.6. What more does he have to do to be a 10? How is that?

Because, oh no, no, no, no, no. This is the 2024 Japanese squad. Okay, I was going to say. Okay, fair enough. I just saw 10th of April and I was like, oh, that's fine. Wait, what is the date today? The seventh. Okay, well, well, done, Matt.

Yeah, brilliant. Just ignore me. Wait, no. But it probably will be. No, it is. No, it's not out yet. It probably will be because they don't like to. I don't think you can say anything other than that was a perfect race.

He delivered an unbelievable qualifying lap. I know there's people out there that are kind of like, don't be ridiculous. The Red Bull is definitely the second best car or, you know, it's not as bad as Max Lestappen's making it out. It's all kind of like PR games. There's no way, regardless of what you think, that Max Lestappen should have beaten both McLaren's, and he did.

So it's a 10 out of 10. Simple as that. Oh, go on. I like it, Tommy, when you're a little bit, a little bit. You're a bit Alex Albon on the radio. That's what I like to see from you. I have gone for a 10 out of 10. The easiest 10 I think I've given for a very long time.

he not only got pole, I think if he'd got pole and finished second, I still probably would have given him a 10, just purely because he was up against the mighty force of that McLaren and two great drivers in Norris and Piastri, he had everything to lose in terms of Max coming into that thinking, right, what the McLaren's going to do? Are they going to split strategies? And they're going to do something different. Are they going to get me off the start? There were so many things that could have gone wrong for Max to not win that one. And he covered absolutely all of them perfect. Of course it helped that you can't pass around Suzuki, but I don't actually remember a single moment where Norris had DRS. I don't know if that's escaping me, but I do not actually recall. Certainly not since maybe like the first couple of laps and never got closer to the second lap.

Second third lap. But apart from that, it was always Norris and Piastri having, well, Piastri having DRS and Norris. So Max did a brilliant job and it's a stone cold 10 and I don't care what anyone else thinks. The fans gave him a 10 also. Lewis Hamilton started the race in eighth, finished seventh.

I have gone four. A six out of ten for Lewis Hamilton. Points for Ferrari will take it. You know, we've extended the gap over Kicksalba, which is always good because you never know how that's going to unfold over the course of the season. But Hamilton just lacked pace. Now, I will say that he has come out and said that components

have been working on the car and he's losing a tenth of a second, a lap here and there and. and whatnot. And I'm sure that is something that Ferrari will figure out. But also, I can't then be like, oh, that must be a seven then. I've got to grade him on the, on the, on the, on the, on the performance he's put down. And you also never know what other drivers are going through as well. You don't ever hear them really talk about components failing or how much that time they're losing a lap unless Lecler smashes an end plate off. So I feel like this is a rare insight into a driver's performance and where he may well have been lacking.

was certainly an off-color weekend for Hamilton and one that I wouldn't have expected from him, considering he's looked like quite a strong teammate compared to Charles LeClair. But yeah, this one was definitely a weekend. Not to forget, still finish seventh in a Ferrari that isn't that quick. I'm very comfortably think that that Ferrari is the third fastest car. So, yeah, Hamilton, six out of ten. I have gone for a six out of ten for Lewis Hamilton as well. qualified by a V-cab and then obviously beats the V-cab in the race

kind of the yeah not a great weekend after such a high high in Chinese Grand Prix qualifying I was going to say high low you know and then and then China sorry the sprint race and then obviously China but but he did look decent in and he's he's kind of claimed that maybe there's something going on with the floor that's affect him the first three races, but he has looked comparable to Shell in those previous races. So I'm judging it on what we've actually seen here, like you say, and I'm giving him a six because, and he also, you know, he tried something different on strategy, didn't really work out. I think when he came out on mediums, very much expected him to be the one to kind of push up to

the back of the pack and, and chase down Antonelli, but Antonelli was kind of pulling away from him. so yeah, not the best weekend from Lewis Hamilton. Certainly not. The fans also gave Hamilton a six out of ten. Charlotte Claire started the race in fourth, finished fourth. I have gone for a nine out of ten for Charlotte, Claire. Tommy, yes, I love you. I think he is the most underrated driver of the Japanese Grand Prix.

I promise Matt has not been paid me to say this. but it's genuinely true. I think that Ferrari is a lot worse than the McLaren. It's worse than the Mercedes, and he's beaten the Max. You know, I think P4 to qualify there and finish there is a great performance. I think this is more what I was hoping. I've been a little critical of Charle in the first two races of, yes, the Ferrari's not there, but we've not seen that kind of like spark from him where he's over delivered and shown well actually

even though the car's not there look what I can do this was absolutely that and it's nice to see that again because yeah it's a great performance from shal I've gone for a nine god I couldn't get used to that Tommy keep that up for the rest of the season I have also gone for a nine out of ten for shal it's definitely a worry settler for me after seeing you know how how great Hamilton has been from the get-go at Ferrari. Charles said that he's just trying to get comfortable with the car. He had moments like that when he had signs as his teammate as well, where he just sometimes just said he just didn't feel comfortable with the car

and to try and unlock some of that potential. But he had a great qualifying to be a couple of tents off pole, start forth. That was where most of the weekend was sorted, and then was able to keep, like George Russell behind. Of course, not the hardest thing ever around Suzuki. but yeah a really really solid performance from shal i just need ferrari to pick it up um because i was literally sat i was sat maybe a couple of hours ago just having lunch and i just had a moment where i went

it's another year where ferrari haven't built the fastest car isn't it and it just kind of dawned on me you know it's just quite it feels a very long time ago that we were doing and the fact that's only the third race. And I think you'd have got laughed at really of before preseason testing, saying that Ferrari maybe third, fourth best, because everyone was thinking that Hamilton or LeClair could potentially be a, you know, a title winner. And it's certainly not looking like that at the moment.

But things can change. Thanks, Tommy. Thank you. You're trying to put me up. Give you a bit of opium. It's definitely difficult. It certainly is. more difficult for me than you.

Anyway, the fans gave him an eight. Shocking. Absolutely disgrace. That is actually outrageous. I know it's only one grade. Ridiculous. Get back there and revote. It's a 10 out of 10.

Let's go to Oscar Piastri. Start the race in third. And he finished in third. I have gone for an 8 out of 10, Oscar Piastri. Because I believe that both McLaren's should have given more. And it was close.

right? We could easily live in a world where both those McLaren's went half a tenth quicker and they've secured a one-two. However, they didn't. And I am judging this purely based on the fact that that McLaren is the fastest car in the field. Yes, you know, Lando more specifically is said that the car's quite difficult to drive and quite difficult to get it in the right window and this, that and the other. How I see it is the pecking order is McLaren is fastest by, in my head, at least a couple of tents. So for Piastri to finish third off the back of something so, such a great performance, obviously last time out. Yeah, I just feel as though for both of the drivers, as much as they were both on the podium, there was more on the table in both the

quality and the race. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Oscar Piaastri. I think you've hit the nail on the head there with just the fact that the tiniest margin in qualifying and either of them are starting on pole and probably winning the race. So you can't be absolutely slanderous that they've completely bottled it in the best car where you're giving them like a five or a six out of ten but equally they can't be getting nines and tens because they are driving for the most part of what people think and I think is factual. A dominant car in a car and a car. that should be winning and getting pole position. So that's why it's an 8 out of 10.

I'm just really looking forward to a normal racetrack that's a bit more open and passing as possible. Yeah, Bahrain to see what Oscar Piastri can do because brilliantly won in China and then the other two races that he's not won and finished behind his teammate. He's been on the back of Lando kind of seemingly quick and wanting to get past

but obviously those two tracks are incredibly tricky to pass so I can't wait to see what he can do in Bahrain because he's had a really exciting start to the season I think. Me too. The fans gave Oscar an eight as well. Lando Norris started the race in second, finished second. I have gone for an eight out of ten for Lando. It was going to be a four because the unit's exclusively drove on the grass and also locked up into the final chican on the final

knobjoking. But yeah, that is kind of what most people would probably say. Again, just kind of copy and paste Piastri, very close in qualifying. And I can't blame Lando for not going for it. I think there's even more of a on Lando here. it's kind of a boring watch to watch him maybe sit back and it's frustrating as a normal one fans to go he's got a really quick car

and it's much quicker than Verstappans why isn't he overtaking but one it's incredibly difficult to pass and two he's leading the world championship and I don't think there's any problem him selling for second in that race I think it's a sensible option personally with how kind of championships can be won

and yeah He drove a good race, fine margins. The pit exit thing, I think, has been maybe blown a bit out of proportion of like just trying to go down this Norris bottle of thing. I personally would see matches to happen doing exactly the same thing trying to overtake someone. And if it doesn't work, you snitch at them on the radio. Welcome to Formula One. That's literally what every driver does. So, yeah, decent performance from Lando.

But should have won the race, but he didn't. But still P2 is a great result. I have also gone for an 8 out of 10 for Lando. Similar boat. Both McClaren drivers, an 8 out of 10 is still a decent score. May I remind you, we are not giving them 2 out of 10s. It's just that there was more time on the table. Norris missing out by a hundredth of a second in qualifying.

That is the difference. and then following Vastappen into the pits. I know that's a McLaren call as well, but like, why, just that is frustrating as more of a team element maybe than Lando specifically, but then we've seen in the past many times where drivers take it into their own hands

and do something slightly different to make something work. I don't think in this occasion it could have, because then he would have fallen behind Oscar, and if there's not been prior conversation with the two McLaren drivers and McLaren themselves, then Oscar will keep that, position and then that'll be it. So there wasn't much that Lando could do after not getting Vastappen at the start. Still had a good getaway. But I think we expected the McLaren one to,

you did in particular Tommy, coming into this one. So yeah, it's an eight out of ten. The fans gave him an eight as well. So who is our P1? My P1 has to be Max Fostappen, just purely because it was a perfect weekend. I know Hadjar obviously I gave a 10 as well to and he does deserve a shout out because it was a great performance but Max is fully deserving of every bit of the spotlight after this weekend. It's one of the best weekends he's ever had in Formula 1.

Well done Max. Yeah. Hart says Hadja, Head says for Stepan because he has basically put in I think any other weekend, Hadjar gets it, but the Stappen has put in one of those performances that makes even, you know, I've seen a lot of funny memes of people sharing about certain individuals in the sport that have maybe been quite critical of match for Stappen and then putting that,

I'm going to need new haters because even my haters are starting to like me. And it's so accurate because I think for Stappan, having had that dominant and best car for so long and winning so many races in a round, row, it was easy to kind of dismiss what he was doing. But now he's not got that and he's still, you know, putting in performances like that and winning. That was a race where so many people even that kind of didn't want to admit it have kind of gone, okay, this guy is the best driver in Formula One and is, you know, one of the greatest we've ever seen in Formula One. So, amazing performance.

Amazing indeed. And that is. is it. Thank you everybody for tuning in to the F1 driver ratings for the Japanese Grand Prix. We're back again this weekend, live on YouTube, live on Twitch for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Just bring it on, please. We are begging for some overtakes. We're begging for some strategy and just generally entertainment. Isn't that right, Tommy? What are your final thoughts? Final thoughts are respect for us speaking, for two hours about that Japanese Grand Prix if you include this drive ratings

and the podcast added together and yeah bring on Bahrain now because I'm glad to put that one behind us. Did you just reward yourself with respect? That's impressive. You're like, respect to us. Respect to us. Well done us.

It's the Barma medal. Okay, that's a great final thought. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you everybody. Remember as well, if you want to support me in the London Marathon. There's a link all over our social media, I think in our pinned, in our little link tree thing

in our Instagram bio as well. If you want to support me on the 27th of April I'm running the London Marathon. So yeah, that would be awesome trying to raise as much money as possible for the Great Longer Street Hospital charity and we will see you for predictions,

which will be very soon. Lots of love. Bye. Bye. My chore is to go and donate for the London Marathon charity. Yeah. Come on.

That's a good chore. That's a very good chore. As of recording right now, we are up to £6,092 raised, which is absolutely awesome. And I think actually, if we remember, which I'm sure we will now that I'm saying this out loud, for all the chore people, if you go ahead, actually, if you go ahead and donate, put in your comment, if you want to say a lovely comment, please do, but also write the word chore. And if you do, we'll then read it out at the end of the podcast as a thank you for donating to such an amazing cause.

I think that, as I've made it up on the spot, sounds great. So we will see you soon. Bye. P1 is a Stack production and part of the Acast Created Network.