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

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

An action-packed Japanese GP gives us plenty to chew over on this edition of Driver Ratings - do we have a newly-crowned Yuki Tsunoda fanboy? Attention, people of Bath and London: there are a handful of tickets left for our live shows this week - get yours right here! 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 P-1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. It's driver ratings time. It's time to either slander or praise. The 20 Formula One drivers on the grid, no in-betweens. And we've had some time to digest this strategy-filled Japanese Grand Prix, haven't we, Tommy? How are you feeling, Tommy? Are you feeling good, ready for another batch of ratings to go in?

Yeah, it's going to be good. believe you said potentially slander. I mean, I never slander people. They don't know what you're about. I feel like especially on YouTube, I've seen pretty much every single week for the last few, just like a top comment being, God, I love Thomas Savage Tommy.

It's my old age. I've literally just become a grumpy parent. That's probably what it is. Yeah, and I like it. Okay. Cool. Right. Let's get into the F1 driver ratings for the Japanese grombris and begin. with Kevin Magnerson.

Qualified 18th, started 18th, finished 13th. It's going to be a whopping. Five out of 10 for me for K-Mag. Gained a few positions at the beginning. Having a bit of complain, wasn't he, about Botas? I just feel as though it was a race that was very much more K-Mag than perhaps we've seen this year. Nothing special, slower than Holcomberg.

If you also consider, and I will obviously bring this up in for Holkenberg as well, that Hulk literally went into anti-stool and dropped down to P-17 at one point. So he was ahead of his teammate and still didn't manage to beat him and actually got comprehensively beaten by Hulk in the end. So it's a five out of ten for me. I've gone for a five out of ten for Kevin Magnuson as well. Thirteenth place last year, you know, that's a 10 out of 10 for a house, but it's so much

that they're doing a lot better this year and yeah surprised kind of like you said about much more of a Kevin Magnetton performance we kind of saw the the trend that we saw last year where when Magnuson you know down in 18th

and qualifying whereas Holcombberg a brilliant 12th so yeah a good 13th is actually like a decent enough result but I think could have been more for him and especially when you're that far behind your teammate. He did do the one stop, obviously,

which is something to keep a little bit of an eye on. Because, of course, that is a has doing a one stop, which is something we never thought we'd ever see. He went from the mediums to the hards, Holcomb voted soft, hard, hard. And I think that was definitely the better strategy as well for Nico. But still, you have to judge it on the performance and how far he finished away from his teammate.

And I think he ended up a good sort of 15 seconds or so, actually 12 seconds behind his teammate at the end. Okay, the fans gave KMAG a 5 out of 10 as well. Nico Holcomberg qualified 12th, started 12th, finished 11th. I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Nico Holcomberg. Good qualifying. 11th is a respectable finish. I said it so many times, say it every single podcast about.

It's very difficult to get into that top 10. We've got, it feels it almost even more extreme. We're almost going back to, your 2018, I want to say, where it's an absolute chasm between the top cars and the gap is around 50 odd seconds. I know it's more extreme on track like Suzuki where it's all about downforce and the top teams really rise to the top there. Well, all but one driver, but we'll get into him later. And yeah, it's, yeah, decent drive from Holcomburg. Very, very, yeah, good start to the season for Hass and it's a shame that there's not more more points on offer because

has to delivering some good results. It certainly are. I've also gone for a seven out of ten for Nico Holkenberg. Of course he did go into anti-stool, which he found confusing. So I'm going to give Nico Holkenberg the benefit of the doubt that he didn't just slip the clutch a little bit too much and it turned on certain things within the car. I think that it was a great result for Hass. Obviously nothing coming from it because they have scored points. They're not jostling around on zero points

trying to get the best finish that isn't in the points, even though that's what we expected from them this year. So 11th is, as you say, a great performance, not too far away from Yuki Sonoda. And I would say a solidly decent run from Niko Holcomberg. So yeah, seven out of ten, very worthy.

And the fans, give them a six. Not happy. Not happy at all, are they with Nika Holcombberg? Jeuxneau, qualified 20th, started 20th, did not finish. I'm going to go for a three out of ten for Joe this time. I know there are some Joe fanboys out there that want to let us know about everything that went on. Some claiming that Joe did absolutely no running in FP3,

and that's why he should be let off in qualifying when, in fact, he did 16 laps in FP3. And it's quite wild to see some of the claims that people make. But it was a poor weekend for Joe. again, the team still displaying how not to do a pit stop at all times. I've never seen a team struggle this much with pit stops, and that's coming from a Ferrari fan. That is, what are they doing? I know that at one point they had like a four-second pit-stop,

and we all sat there and gasped with all, oh, wow, four seconds. That was, of course, for Bottas, I think, who still managed to lose four positions, I think, with that four-second pit stop. But for Joe, qualifying last, showing no real pace and then having to retire the car, I can't give me any higher than a three. No, I've gone for a three out of ten for Joe Guan Yu as well. It was a disappointing weekend.

Obviously, the retirement's not his fault, but he didn't seem to have any pace. I think it, is it not the third race in a row where he has been P20 in qualifying? And yeah, he's just really on a bad run of form at the moment, which hopefully he turns around. because it's his home race next time out. But yeah, for whatever reason, shows not having a good time of it compared to his teammate, which we've said before, you know, he's in the twilight of his career. And if you're a young driver coming into the sport

and you really want to prove yourself and move up the grid, you need to be beating Valtru Bottas in his sort of party Australian era. You do. You absolutely do. So for Joe needs to pick it up, I think, drastically. Otherwise, I feel like he goes, he gets under the radar, I think, of anything regarding driver transfers, just purely because nobody really wants to look at that stake F1 team at the moment because they're just languishing at the back and they don't really get any sort of headlines

apart from the longest pit stops of every weekend. The fans, the fans gave Joe a three, nearly forgot to say that. So we're all agreed. Valdori Bottas now. Qualified 13th, started 13th, finished 14th. I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for Bottas. I think it was a good weekend from him again. Qualified a respectable 13th when his teammates down in last.

And he was running, you know, challenging for points in that amazing battle. But unfortunately for Bottas, It was a pit stop battle. So he was always going to lose it. And despite Steak probably doing the best pitstop they've done all year, it managed to lose him about four positions because everyone else. You just imagine them all just high-fiving, like, yes, God, we got the car out!

And then looking up and just realizing they've still lost all those positions. It's funny how everyone, like in Formula One, you do the undercut and things like that, it's going to get to the point. And it kind of happened in this, where teams just go, oh we're stuck behind a stake. Just pit when they do, we'll get them in the pits. And then they just overtake them that way. Because, yeah, the team are letting Bottas down at the moment

because I think he's doing a good job. For Valtry Bottas, I have gone for a 7 out of 10 as well, actually. We're chefing with agreement right now, Tommy, which is not what people want to hear. But I feel genuinely sorry for Bottas. I think he should have been Yuki Sanoda this weekend. I think he was showing great pace. 13th was a great result, as you say, in qualifying.

And it was just the team that let him down. Slow pit stops, getting stuck in traffic with that multi-car pit stop. That was the crucial point. Whoever came out on top of that five-car pitstop battle obviously had the best chance of scoring that, that Lance Stroll was apparently wanting to give away to one of the slower teams. And yeah, it was actually really quite refreshing to see Bottas back in the mix and not just languishing at the back in that horrendous car. And it has to be said, I'm hoping to see more of it.

So well done, Bottas, seven out of ten. And the fans gave him a six. Yuki Sonoda now, qualified 10th, started, 10th, finished, a 10th. And he is getting a 10th. out of 10. Congratulations, Yuki Sanoda. What more? What more can he do? Makes Q3, gets a little bit shafted, has to be said. But then V-Car gave it right back to him and said, here's an amazing pit stop. And that allowed him to, I think, take P-11 at the time. Then Holkenberg was still out on track and eventually took P-10. And then to hold off Lance Stroll. One of the greatest

drivers we've ever seen in our generation is quite frankly 10 out of 10 is not even enough to really sort of reflect what Yuki Snowda pulled off in that race. So no, I am going to give him a perfect score because he won Formula B and if that is Max Verstappen,

he's also getting a 10. So well done, Yuki. Gigi's. You're going to give him a 9, but you're now wondering whether you should give him a 10. I can see it on your face. It's really, no. Yeah. He's getting a 9 out of 10 for me. I don't think it's as good as his drive in Australia. I think, you know, don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant drive.

And I can't believe me as the Yuki fanboy here is the one that giving him a lower grade. But all that pressure, home race, all the adoring fans bearing down on it. And it was a good, it was a good drive. It was a very good drive. But 10 is like absolute perfection, right? And 10 is, oh my God. 10 is a P7 beating Fernando Alonzo, which is exactly what he did in the last race.

This was like... Didn't we have two retirements? I was saying you beat Alonzo, though, is what I'm saying, on the track. True. All right. Still being Astor Martin. I mean, Lance Joel, Fernando Alonzo, comparable.

Oh, yes, definitely. And don't get me wrong. Yeah, he put in some great overtakes, but I have to think that, you know, I've got to save 10. for where he's got a nine is like you've got the best out of the car and done a great job and then the 10 is like oh my god what a superb driver and that that would for me was like what he did last week was the better better version of it so it's a high nine but it's not a 10

no and we can't we can't give that that's illegal it's not it's not a perfect 10 for me Okay, well, I thought it was a good enough performance in order to still... It's a low 10 from me. The fans, the fans, gave him a 10. I'm a hater, aren't I? Yuki hater. You are a Yuki hater. Unbelievable.

I can understand because, of course, he had a bit of a bad launch at the beginning, which meant he dropped a few positions, didn't he? But then... And the reason he... Absolutely. Yeah, he made overtakes and stuff. And I just think, like, the Pits are... which is at the end of the day is the team's thing.

If that had gone the other way, he could have been 14th. And like you say, like, Bottas could have been 10th and it wasn't his fault. And we're giving him a 7. So it's just kind of like, I don't know. But think about that restart and how he made up three positions right at the beginning. That was beautiful. That was juicy. It was high 9 worthy.

From Sonoda. Fair enough. Daniel Ricardo, qualified 11th, started a little. 11th finished in the wall. Ouch. Gone for a 3 out of 10 for Daniel Ricard. He actually qualified pretty well. I know a lot of people were beating him up after Saturday

because he finished behind Senoda again. He's got knocked out when Senators got through. But there was not that much between him and Daniel didn't actually do the Friday. So the thing, or like, significant running on the Friday, because it obviously rained in FP2 and he was out. in FP1 because of Owasa. So he just needed a solid race and not to make not the worst error in the world,

but still one that is his fault. It's not penalty and grid drop worthy, like we said in the race review, but it's still a misjudgment from him at the start of the race when all cars are very close. And it's just putting even more pressure on him. through a bad spell. It certainly is. I've also gone for a three out of ten for Daniel Ricardo.

It's sad. It's sad to see just a misjudgment. It is definitely more him to blame for it. Without his movement, they're not crashing. Alex Albon, of course, put his car in a slightly risky position, but he's allowed to do this. It's Grand Prix racing. Daniel Ricardo, I think, you know,

even the stewards admitted that had it not been on the first lap, he would have probably got, well, they didn't say who, but it's obviously going to be Daniel that would have got a penalty. So it's just such a shame, because he qualified well right up there with Yuki, 10th and 11th, not that they would have been able to score any more points because the top nine were in another dimension. But he just needed a nice solid race,

and that did not happen. So it's unfortunate for him. And the fans gave Daniel Riccardo with three as well. Logan Sargent qualified 19th started 19th finished 17th gone for a three out of 10 for Logan Sargent might feel slightly harsh but at the end of the day this man has crashed in free practice obliterated his car so that he couldn't run at all in Friday not that it really mattered at the end of the day because FP2 was a washout anyway so he kind of got away with it in some ways through that but then showing glimpses of hope,

then making a fatal error that going off at Degna 2, that has to have a big effect on one's grade because he was running in an all right position, wasn't going to score points, but still it was a, oh, Logan's not taken any headlines, he's just gone round the track for 50-odd laps and finished the race, but then he ended up in the gravel

and finished last of the runners, so it's a three. I've gone for a two out of ten for Logan Sargent one more harsh harshly yeah his drive in the race itself he was doing all right at stages it looked like at the start and the restarts that he was

staying out of trouble I don't know if it generally was a bad start or if he was doing something that I think maybe a few of us have done before on open lobby Formula One game where they just, you just roll into turn one quite slowly and let the pack do their thing and just think, I do not want to make a mess here. Well, he didn't want that smoke and then all of a suddenly started overtaking Joguan I knew, I believe.

Yeah, exactly. It was almost like, I'm going to take this easy. Oh, turn one. Let's start. But then another mistake in the race, how many mistakes is he going to have? So his race is, you know, probably like a four out of ten or something. And then he gets a couple of points knocked off for that. FP1 smash which is just inexcusable really um you know it's very harsh on alban for for his in

in australia and it's the same for this that they know the situation they're in at the moment take it easy don't you know the last that is literally the one thing they didn't need they'd have rather him not even got any significant running and just pootled around and did two minute lap times would have been better than what he did an FP one and unfortunately they've smashed up another car it's costing them a fortune and yeah not good do you not think he deserves a little cheeky extra point

for the incredible clutch control in the gravel to get that car out no okay fans gave Logan four out of ten so feeling a lot more generous Alex Albon qualified 14th started 14th

did not finish gone for a five out of ten for Alex Albin difficult one to grade tell me about term one how did you how did you assess I assessed it a beautiful five yeah it's very difficult I do think Albin though

and the reason you know he's qualified all right but I do think while it was Daniel Ricardo's fault maybe slightly brave of him knowing William's situations to stick, stick his nose in there that when it could have happened, it wasn't his fault, but it's still a bold thing to do when Williams don't have the best of times with car parts and chassis and things at the moment. And they are going through their budget cap very quickly this year.

and there's all the memes about what their car's going to look like if they have a car by the end of the season but genuinely if they carry on if they carry on smashing up their car every weekend they might not even get to the final races and be able to race surely

because they're going to run out of money yes not that they will struggle with money due to their Doralton capital things and Williams aren't struggling financially but more on the cost cap budget side. And also, as James Vowell has mentioned, around their whole process is being quite archaic

and them not being able to actually have all of these spare parts. So I do wonder just exactly how well repaired those two cars will be in China and moving forward. And fingers crossed, they just have a clean weekend next time out. The fans gave Alex a five. Esteban Ocon qualified 15th, started 15th, finished, 15th. And it is a five out of 10 for Esteban Ocon. My goodness gracious me, Alpine.

I mean, they've got to slow enough car as it is, and they thought, no, let's make contact at the start between the two Alpines. That's the way to make things even better. Because of course, I think O'Con picked up a bit of damage and Ghazly did as well, picking up a bit of floor damage from that bump from Esteban. and they were just, it's not any lower than a five because I've begun to really soak in the fact that they are genuinely one of the worst teams on the grid. And it doesn't look like it's going to change.

It's got worse. They brought upgrades and they've got worse. What more is there to say? O'Conn beat Gassley, but I think Gassley had a bit more of an ailment with his flaw compared to what O'Con was having to deal with. So just fully depressing, really, for Alpine. It is very depressing.

I've gone for a six out of ten for Esteban, O'Con. Cooking. Again, I feel like he's the more comfortable, like, he's doing a better job than Gassley this year and did so again in qualifying. Of course, Gadsley had damage in the race, but O'Conn was doing some nice moves during the race. I think he did like 13 overtakes or something, which is quite impressive. 13 overtakes and finished 15. That is ridiculous. Which just shows that...

He started where he finished and he overtook 13 times. While other cars were like DNFing, it just shows that, yeah, it's not good for Alpine. But, yeah, I do believe that he is just getting as much as he can out of the car. And it must be pretty... Well, it must be very depressing to think that only a few years ago he was challenging and getting podiums, won a race. albeit quite a fortunate one, but still, like, he was doing more towards the front,

and now they do seem like genuinely the team that are last. And, yeah, you know it's bad when you get a radio message going, you need to push, and he's like, well, I am. Yeah, that was, yeah, that's crazy. Imagine if Alonzo was still there. Imagine if Fernando was still at Alpine. No chance. He always makes great career moves.

He just knew. Frank like that banter Love that Let's now say that the fans gave Ocon a five as well Nearly forgot to say that Pierre

Gaisley qualified 17th started 17th finished 16th This is a 5 out of 10 for Gassley Yeah The worst of the Alpines Not much to say Pretty quiet race

He looked like the slowest driver On Earth But we know that it was A bit of damage as well as a terrible Alpine. But boy, did it, it looked like it wasn't moving sometimes. I think you mentioned in the race review that it was like a mobile chicane, it genuinely was.

Yes, I'm going to give a five for Pierre as well. I know he finished 13 seconds behind his teammate, but you could visibly see that that car was an absolute tractor with that damage on. So I'm not going to take any points away from Pierre due to that because it did seem like he was really struggling out there. and I genuinely feel sorry for him so he can have a five.

And the fans gave him a five as well. All right, everybody, put your seat belts on. It's slander Tommy time. Lance stroll. Well, no, not slander Tommy. Tommy. Tommy Slander time. I don't do if you want. Lance stroll.

Qualified 16, started 16th, finished 12th. Oh. Oh, goodness gracious me. Oh, I don't know. Oh, I was going to give him that. But then am I going to give him that? that instead. Okay.

No, yeah, he's getting it. He's absolutely getting it. Lance Droll, two out of ten. That was one of the worst drives I have seen Lance do. He finished a whopping one minute pretty much behind his teammate. What, 60 great British seconds and every other country seconds. It was, what is he doing? How has he managed?

to get himself into Formula B. Horrendous qualifying. The pace wasn't great. And for those people that have... Because I put a tweet out about how has Lance not only not caught Sonoda on softs but lost a position to Holkenberg. People are coming to his defence.

Well, the Aston's actually pretty terrible on its tyres. Did anyone see Fernando Alonzo Stint at the start on the soft ties on heavy fuel? Full fuel? That's good things. Lance Stroll whacked him on with, what, 18 or so lapsed? to go. Onsofts, the fuel much lower,

and Bro could not beat Yuki Sanoda for the final point. That is absolutely unforgivable. So two out of ten, sorry Lance Stroll fans. If there are any listening, it's a two. Yeah, I've gone for two out of ten for Stroll as well. His qualifying, again, terrible. founder Alonso is P5 one thing we complain about in Formula One at the moment

and a driver can make that extra bit of difference but we know how important a car is in Formula One and a lot of the time in Formula One and we did in this race you saw Red Bull Red Bull, Ferrari, Ferrari and it can be a lot of the time two by two or at least they're very close no other teammate pairing has such a chasm between them and yes that you know

Fernando Alonzo in my opinion is one of if not the greatest driver of all time in my opinion but that... I love how he said in my opinion twice then just that Timelaide's don't come after you it's just opinion but he is 42 years old now he's beatable Lance has been in Formula One for a very long time

the gap should not be that big he should not be qualifying as a mess it always has been and I very much expected him to do as usual I think I said it didn't I he's going to finish 10th and we're all going to praise him and go oh well done he got back into the points

and I was going to say no because he would still be last in the top teams and he's only beating Formula B. He didn't even beat Formula B it's like it's like watching the London marathon and you know when the professional athletes go and it would be like one of the professional athletes running with the guys in

the like fancy dress costumes and and like he's like competing against them you're keesanoda and nico holcombberg well their car their cars are like the the chasm between the the two the you know it is literally like f1 and f2 the gap between that and the fact that he's like when you watch lman you got lmp one and lm p two it is like that so the fact that he's not only racing them, he can't even beat them, and then he's losing positions at the end. It's just shocking. It is actually like, it's embarrassing.

Oh, God, I love it when you pop off, honestly. It just gets me going. The fans gave Lance Stroll a three. Fernando Alonzo. Here we go. Qualified fifth, started fifth, finished sixth. Go on, Tommy, off you go. It's a 15 out of 10 for Fernando.

No, it's a 9 out of 10 for Fernando. I think it's a very good drive. I don't think the Aston Martin should be qualifying fifth. I don't think it's as quick as, you know, the McLaren's and things. And he was there and did a brilliant qualifying, got everything out of the car. He loves to say that it's, you know, the best drive of his career and all this kind of stuff and took himself up. and I don't think it's like,

I don't think it's like a flat out lie that he's saying that. I think Alonzo is just one of those drivers that can get the best out of the car all the time. And I don't think you should downgrade him because he does that. Because it almost is like normal for him to be fifth in an Aston Martin where his teammate is racing Formula B. So yeah, it's a great performance. And then just, you know, little things again like the way he was backing off to give Piastri the DRS, like science did in Singapore. Just very smart driving.

Yeah, just brilliant. Big brain strats from Fernando. It's a nine out of ten from me as well. Just amazing to watch. As you say, in the interviews, he'll say, yeah, we should have been ninth and tenth. and that sort of stuff. Obviously, it was very close between Alonzo Russell and Piastri

and Hamilton at the end. So could have easily come out the other side of that, but didn't. And he's just always the anomaly. He's always just there, even if that Aston Martin is pretty terrible. As you,

just throughout his career, he's always been able, he almost drives better when his car is rubbish. Yeah. I feel like it just unleashes the dog in Fernando, if I'm being completely honest with you. So, yeah, great to watch.

Piastri and Russell got fairly, if people were thinking the Australia one wasn't, but fairly sort of out-stategised with the DRS usage and things like that. No break checks this time, so it's a well-on Fernando, it's a nine out of ten. And the fans gave Fernando an eight. Oscar Piastri, qualified sixth, started sixth, finished eighth. Hmm, it's a seven out of ten. Oscar Piastri. It was by no means as bad as the last time we went to Suzuki in comparison to his teammate, but still lacking, I would say, in the race and in qualifying actually this time

around. I still think it's a seven out of ten worthy performance, still decent, still there scoring points and mixing it with the other drivers for P6 at the end. But yeah, there's something about Japan that just doesn't click, I think, with Oscar at the moment. So it's a same. It's a seven. Yeah, I've gone for a seven out of ten as well. I think he's had a very good start to the season and been a little, I think he's taken a step forward. Maybe it is those circuits where there's a bit more tireware. He's still getting used to that in Formula One. And he's, yeah, not not been anywhere near really Lando this weekend when in the other races this year, he has been a lot closer. and beating him sometimes as well. So this kind of felt more like rookie Oscar last year. But still, you know, a good performance. And yeah, he's just picking up solid points for McLaren.

And I think that's, if this is, if McLaren can do another big leap when they get onto the circuits that they really like and maybe an upgrade package and do what they did last. year. If they're scoring, you know, getting just the best results they can at the start of the year, they could finish very nicely in the championship. Certainly could. And the fans gave Oscar a seven. Lando Norris, qualified third, started third, finished fifth. Gone for an eight out of ten for Lando Norris. It's a difficult one to grade because I think his qualifying was sensational. I think he did very well to be so far ahead of the non-red-ball top teams

that he had that little gap between them. But in the race, I don't think it was helped by a bad McLaren strategy, and Ferrari seemed to be better on their tyres, which is a mad thing to say this year, but it is true. Here we go. So fifth is almost a disappointing. result, which you'd take fifth being a disappointing result, because it's good, good, solid points, but it's just a very good drive, but not amazing.

We're on the Agreement Express, because I've also gone for an eight out of ten for Lando Norris. I think that McLaren let him down slightly. I'm not, I'm really unsure as to how Charlotte-Clau's beaten him. I know that Ferrari is definitely a bit quicker. I think that is undeniable. But I just feel as though P4 was surely on the cards for Lando. The fact that...

They're pitted at the same time, didn't they? The same time, yeah, the same time as Lando is wild to me, considering they were on completely different strategies. I don't know if they maybe thought they were old Ferrari of old and were going to do a 10 second pit stop or something or they were steak. But not this year.

No, that's not Ferrari this year, mate. They are banging with their pit stops. Because if you think Leclair went, you know, did a ridiculous first stint all the way to lap 26, Norris put in a lap 11 off the mediums, then 15 laps on the hards, and then

did another 27 laps on the hards. And you think... Yeah, that's a really odd strategy, actually, the more I think about it. It's a very strange short stint for that first one. Perhaps they were trying to box to jump, Lecler? I don't know. But either or, it didn't work out, and Lando

couldn't get close, which was surprising. So eight out of ten and the fans gave him an eight as well. Carlos Sines qualified fourth, started fourth, finished third. It's a nine out of ten from me for Carlos Sines. I think he was very impressive once again. Delivered in qualifying, outqualified Charles LeClerc, which is no mean feat. And you've even got Charles LeCler now questioning himself and having to work on qualifying, which is something he said he's never had to do in his career before.

But Carlos is showing that the pace is there and, and it helps so much more, especially now with the Ferrari having that drive ability, having the ability to go further on the tyres, it puts Carlos in a great position that he can qualify fourth and be right up there.

So, yeah, and then also as well to then overcome the big challenge ahead of him after pitting quite late and having to make those overtakes to get back through to P3, I was thoroughly impressed by Carlos and he's having a great season so far,

apart from obviously the surgery, which I'm sure he'd rather forget, but apart from that, he is a man unleashed since Ferrari let him go. Yeah, I've gone for a nine out of ten for Carlos as well. Continued that amazing form to say that he's had that 100% podium because obviously he missed the race. Yeah, he's having such good start to the season. And he is driving so well.

His overtakes were very impressive, very clean. like he was racing on a track like Suzuki. It's not an easy place to pass, even though we did see quite a few overtakes. But yeah, he just did a brilliant job. Surprising for him to out-qualify Charlerclair, even there is a small gap, but it was a lot of positions.

And, yeah, another podium for him, a really, really impressive season so far. And, yeah, doesn't have a drive next season still, but he will. He must do. He will. He has to. Otherwise, we are all finished. The fans gave Carlos a nine. Charlerler qualified eighth, started eighth, finished fourth.

I've gone for an eight out of ten for Charles LeClair. His race was very good. His strategy was a good one, but I don't think it was an easy one for him to execute. And I think while it's Ferrari that did the strategy, I think you have to give some credit to Charlotte Claire for being able to do the job because I did not see it working. At the start it was kind of like, oh, wow, okay, it's going on. And then as it went through the race, I was like, wow, this is a really good strategy.

I can't believe this is actually, you know, going to pay off. And it was, yeah, it was really, really good. But, you know, I can't give him a nine because he qualified down in eighth. I know it's a small gap to his teammate, but it put him on the back foot for him to need to do that in the first place. And it's another sort of race that he's finished behind science, but still a solid result. Yeah, I've gone for an eight out of ten for Charles. I thought it was a brilliantly executed race. It was all lost in qualifying.

One tenth of a second, that's all it was. But that is what we've said many, many times through this period of Formula One, how close it can be in qualifying. and being on the wrong end of that can completely scupper your race. And that's not something that Charles ever really had to deal with before. It's always been, he's been on the front road. Can he do anything about it? Starting 8th, around a track like Suzuki is a really difficult race ahead of him. But he managed to get Hamilton, I think, got the restart, which obviously helped him

and then went massively long in that first stint. And I'm incredibly impressed by how long he went on those mediums for and how he didn't really show. all too much tire drop-off compared to his competitors around him. I think there was a report going around that he actually showed the least tireware of anybody. So, yeah, I think he deserves his plaudits. It can't be any higher than an eight

because he finished behind his teammate and that was due to qualifying, I would say. But still, I am happy that he finished fourth. That is how far I've fallen as a Charlotte-Glau Ferrari fan that I'm happy with fourth. And the fans gave Charlerclair an eight. George Russell, qualified ninth, started ninth, finished seventh. So seven out of ten for me for George Russell, showed some good pace.

Hamilton even volunteered to let his teammate through, which I don't know I've ever heard in the history of Lewis Hamilton's career, him actually coming over the radio to suggest they swap, not in his favour. I've heard the other way around many times with Botass and whatnot. But yeah, George, I think, had a great race, didn't actually end up finishing that much further ahead of Hamilton than maybe what we thought at the beginning. Hamilton suggesting that he might have picked up damage at the start,

which, God knows, I didn't see any damage being picked up, and he was convinced because he had massive understeer. But back to George, I like the overtake aggression on Piastri. I enjoyed it. It's good to watch as a fan. rather than DRS overtakes. Obviously got away without getting a penalty for that one and then managed to get Piastri on the last lap,

I think it was, or starting the final lap, when Oscar made that mistake. So I think it was a good drive from George once again, showing that he's not got a great car, but when you compare him to Lewis Hamilton, if he's anywhere near him, he's having a good season. I've gone for a 7 out of 10 for George Russell as well. It was, yeah, after qualifying, I was surprised that he was on the back of Hamilton and it looked like Hamilton would have the better of him this weekend because he did it.

Hamilton was so much quicker in qualifying and then normally Hamilton's the one that's better in the race, but George did a fantastic job. I agree with you in the sense that as a Formula One fan, I love to George Russell's move. I think it was bold and that's the kind of entertainment value I like to see from a team principal if I was a team principal at Mercedes

I'd probably be like that's pretty dumb because he's crashed in the last race right at the end and it's very risky and came very close to doing the same thing because I think if he'd taken his front wing off

we'd all be going oh you know George Russell is a bit too I don't know it's weird because he's not he's never seemed that kind of driver but he but yeah he it was seemed kind of a

a crazy lunge and quite quite risky at the end but I'm glad we saw it because it was entertaining but he got away with it he did but it could have gone horribly wrong but it didn't thankfully so a seven yeah if sputson maybe you know what I'm saying

I deal with absolutes fans gave George a seven out of ten. Lewis Hamilton qualified seventh, started, seventh, finished ninth. Gone for a six out of ten for Lewis Hamilton. Wow. Wow is he having a bad start to the season. I cannot believe. I heard a radio message of him going,

oh, go on, I'll let George say I'm too slow, but like that's what he was implying. and it is bizarre. I don't think for a second that he's giving up. I know people will push that narrative that, oh, he's just ready to join Ferrari and stuff. That's not who he is. He wants to win and he'll want to get a victory at Mercedes before he goes. But I don't think he will because, boy, is that car shockingly bad.

But yeah, he's not having a good start to the season at all, really struggling with that. with that car. Yeah, I decided between a six and a seven because he literally finished on the same piece of tarmac pretty much as George Russell at the end and showed some great pace

on the mediums, but he finished last of, well, if we're discounting stroll, last of Formula A. So I'll go for a six out of ten for Lewis Hamilton this time. Yeah, the cold, wow, savage, love it.

Yeah, I think we've kind of explained it all. He didn't have great pace at the start, but I think showed some good speed at the end. Of course, Russell kind of got stuck. say behind Alonzo and Piastri, so maybe that's where a bit more that gap came down towards the end. But yeah, just not the races I expect to see from Lewis Hamilton, but he is only human. Let's not forget that as well. I don't think for a second he's giving up, but I'm sure he's wondering what that 2025 Ferrari car is going to be like and how nice it's going to be to drive, especially in qualifying.

So yeah, we will have to wait and see how he adores that next year. The fans gave Lewis Hamilton a six. Sergio Perez qualified second, started second, finished second. It is a nine out of ten for me for Checo. Great performance this weekend. Exactly what the doctor ordered. Qualified on the front row so close to getting pole position. Not on Max's level, you know, copy and pace, not on Max's level,

but doing the job that that Red Bull team want from him. And I'm really happy. I'm really happy to see that from him. I do want to see him also challenge Max. please, if we are going to get Red Bull domination this year again, can we have at least one race where Checo is genuinely on the same pace as Max? But baby steps, tiny steps, can't complain, nine out of ten. Yeah, I've gone for a nine out of ten as well.

Brilliant qualifying, very close to getting pole, like you say. And in the race, yeah, he was away off Max and had to come through the field, but his passes were great to watch. and yeah another brilliant result from him at the start of the season it's now going to be fascinating to see if he carries that that form on because of course this is exactly what I did last year or I guess he won races last year but do you know what I mean in terms of like doing a very good job we were saying the very same things that like you know

Paris is doing a great job he just needs to avoid that mid-season slump like he had had last year and if he's doing what he's doing like we've said many times absolutely no chance he's going to lose that red ball seat if he keeps delivering second place every race exactly what more can you possibly want so yet the fans gave Perez a nine and finally Max Vastappan qualified first started first finish first it's a 10 out of 10 um yeah

the Max Vastapen revenge tour happened begins now how many will he get this time in a row before science breaks it in 13 races time or whatever it is science yeah that's the that's the traditional thing now

I know I know I know I know just brilliant it's just really good I've not actually said this for a while everybody's got their bingo car no no to be fair what more is there to say really

that was like halfway through last year and I've been, I've actually had a lot to say recently, but this one is just Max being Max, just makes it look effortless. It's saucy. And it is, it is, it is so impressive. It is so impressive. He's got a very good car underneath him,

but no one has dominated like this with cut. We've seen cars that are in the past that, you know, second light quicker, two seconds like quicker than the entire field, and they don't win as many races as Max in a row. His form is unbelievable. It's scary. So yeah, what more to say? There you go.

There it is. Tick it off. What more is there to say? Max for Stappen, it's a 10 out of 10 for me as well. Well done, sir. You know you did everything you needed to do. Congratulations. Great drive.

Hardly saw you the whole race. Great. Both starts were brilliant. And then he drove away and had a great time. So congratulations Max. And that is that. The fans also gave Max a 10 as well. No surprise.

Who is our P1? Well, for you, it has to be Max for Stappen, but for me. I'll give it to Yuki Sanoda because I'm a big fan. Big fan of Yuki Sonoda, the only one apparently on this podcast. But yeah, so that's mine and yours, Tommy. Of course, it's Max. And I will clarify that Max was given an NA based on, the vote last week, although

we were so like, should he get an N.A. or a 10? And because he's got 10 every weeks, it actually makes no difference because his average will be exactly the same. It's true. It's all on average, isn't it? Yeah. There you go.

So even in our ratings, he's dominating. He has the perfect season so far. Lovely stuff. Well done, Max. And that is it. Thank you, everybody, for watching and listening to the driver ratings for the Japanese Grand Prix. Tommy, what is your finale thought?

It is that looking forward to the live shows. We have just been recording some very amusing and fun things, which I enjoyed very much. So a treat for any of you coming to the live show, and you can still. Cambridge, Bath and London, there you go, Tommy. Love that. Thursday, Friday, Sunday this week. Cambridge on Thursday, Bath on Friday,

and London on Sunday. We can't wait. It's going to be so fun. We'll try and get a few snippets for those that can't make it who are in other countries, but we are trying to do our best to bring the P1 Live Show to other countries as well. So stay tuned for that, and that is it.

Thank you, everybody. Have an amazing rest of your week. No Formula One this weekend, but we go to China next week, and that will be fun when we are live on Twitch for the sprint at 3.30 in the morning. That is going to be absolutely incredible. See you soon.

Otherwise, you'll pop it. Bye. You're having another sprint rant. Oh, I certainly am. Bye. Bye. Oh, and bye from Frank. That was cute.

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