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

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

With the Drivers' Championship decided, it was easy to miss a few awesome - and baffling - performances further down the grid. So let's get into them, in the Most Controversial Series in Motorsport™.Join us for our End of Season tour across the UK this December! There are still some tickets available for London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol right here!Sign up to our Patreon here! You'll get access to bonus episodes, our classic race podcast series, every P1 episode ad-free, early access to live tickets and merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with other F1 fans!Follow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy, F1 driver Ratings Edition. Oh yes, we're back once again and we are ready to do a zero to 10 scale of every driver on the grid. How do we think we they performed? Tommy, where do you rate this one in terms of a difficult or not difficult race to grade them all? It was quite a chaotic race, but at least we didn't have sprints and all that kind of craziness to go in. So I'm sure everyone will agree this time. We've got in here, I think, this time.

Yeah, full agreement. So before we dive into all of that, we want to shout out the P1 Live show, end of season, special UK tour. London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, sadly sold out. But you can still get tickets for London, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester. We'd love to see you there. New segments, new vibes, new, just energy, beautiful stuff.

What a way to end the season, eh, Tommy, you're excited. You're going to be on the stage. I'm hyped. I can't wait. Mr. Tom Bellingham, just born to be on there. theatrical performer, right? Oh yeah, absolutely in my element. But it's going to be a lot of fun. We always have good fun at the shows.

So, yeah, I can't wait for it. The shows. Nice, good. So let's dive into the first driver. And it is Kevin Magnuson. Started 12th, finished 12th. I mean, he was actually one of the only drivers to do a one-stop strategy, which I believe may have been the wrong decision,

considering he is the only driver to have done it. his teammates scored points. So six out of ten for Kevin Magnuson. He lost a few places at the start and I think, look, I mean, he said himself after the race that the one stop wasn't the correct decision. Decided to do something different. Perhaps that was due to the fact he lost some positions at the start. But it's an okay performance. It's a little bit better than five. So that's why we're for a six. I've also gone for a six out of ten for Kevin Magnuson. P12 would be good in days gone by for for the Haas, but they're a much better team now. And I think, yeah, the one-stop clearly wasn't the right way to go, but Elisi executed it.

And there wasn't too many retirements or anything, but his teammate, of course, did get points. So it's a six. And the fans also gave KMAG a six all-in agreement. Nico Holcomberg started ninth, finished eighth. I've gone for a nine out of ten for Nico Holcomberg. I think it's a rare kind of time that Holkenberg actually moves forward in the race because normally the qualifying is where he excels, but still a brilliant qualifying and then to actually move up

and finish best of the rest is an absolutely fantastic result and more what we've kind of expected from him this year because Magnusson's playing a few good performance recently. So yes, a very, very good drive from Holcombberg. So I've gone for a nine out of ten. A very good drive indeed. I am going to give him because what more could he have done a 10? Screw it.

Why not? I was going to give him a 9, but let's get excited, shall we? Well, I mean, what more could he have done? He finished best of the rest. He's not going to beat the McLaren's, the Red Bulls, the Ferraris or the Mercedes. He put it in Q3, as you say, went forward at the start, well, went forward from where he started. And look, let's put some. some commendation on his name.

The only reason I've also gone for a ten is because there's not any other tens, I don't think, going around. So let's put some respect on Holkenberg's name. Well done, Nico. It's a ten from me. The fans didn't agree at all. They went for an eight. So that is savage, to be honest with you.

What did you want him to get a podium? He was running in P3 at one point. What more could he do? Exactly. So speaking of tens, Joe Guan Yu, started 13th. finish 13th. It's not a 10 though.

It is a 9. It has to be a 9 for show, Guan Yu. It is. Because I feel like with these numbers and perhaps where some people are like, oh, how did you give this to this person or this to this person? It is kind of do it relative to where we expect their performance to be as well, right?

Like there is part of that understanding there. And this is one of the greatest drive shows ever put in. Not the one of because he's actually scored points before. but it's unbelievable compared to being the slowest qualifier in the last eight to then sticking it in Q2 and at one point we genuinely believe that there might be

a singular point on the cards for Joe Guanyu it didn't work out but I'm still thoroughly impressed and I'm giving him a nine I've gone for an eight for Joe Guan Yu disgusting I think he did a brilliant job but he did finish 13th his qualifying was really really good. I think most impressively for him

how impressive he was in comparison to Bottas that normally excels in these conditions, yeah, and he was very, very good. Such a shame he didn't get points on paper P13. It's kind of like that is

kind of, well, I think it is disappointing based on how his performance was, but yeah, I have gone for an eight because it was one of his best races of the season for sure. Yeah, I mean, he has finished 11th, this year, hasn't he? And that's, I don't you, I literally cannot even remember why he finished 11th for a race.

I think it was Spain. I want to say Spain. I feel like he just delivers the Spanish Grand Prix every year. I think we actually joked about that in predictions than he did. Okay, so well done to Joe. The fans gave him a seven. They weren't happy that he managed to haul that dustbin into 13th place. Not enough.

They were like, no, P3 or nothing. Let's go to Valtry Bottas then, who started 19th and finished 18th. I have gone for a four out of ten for Valtry Bottas. I think it's very disappointing where he finished the race and qualified, considering we know him for being the low-grip specialist, if you like, and you felt like this was going to be one of those races, and for him to get absolutely, like you say, chefed by Géguanyu, is not great for him.

and yeah a disappointing weekend when it looks like his not got many Formula One races left in his career. No, absolutely not. And I've also gone for a four out of ten for Valtrey. I think it was a poor performance. He's supposed to be the low grip God. And sadly, he did not deliver at all. And it was his teammate. And, look, Bottas has had the upper hand over Joe the entire season.

And for Joe to then put in a performance like that, you then want to be able to. under, okay, well, where could this Salber have got this weekend? But Bottas did not deliver whatsoever, and that's why I've gone for a four. The fans gave him a five. Just one thing on Bottas before we move on. Did you see his interview with Ted Kravitz after the race? No. So Bottas has started a charity sort of, well, I don't think he started it,

but he's done this campaign of what's next, and he's wearing these t-shirts, and he's selling them on. And it's really funny because the charity is to raise money for people that have unexpectedly lost their jobs recently, which is clever. And when he was talking about it to Ted Kravitz and he explained it, and he went, it's for people that have recently lost their jobs unexpectedly. And then he stared straight down the barrel of the camera with a really serious face. If you find the clip, it's absolutely hilarious. Oh my goodness. I've not seen this.

but I have to go and see this immediately. Wow. I mean, that's one way to get your message out without actually saying anything. That's impressive. It sounds office like, if anything, like the way he did that. Okay, well done, Bottas.

I should give you a 10 after that particular performance in the interviews. Let's go to Yuki Sanoda. Started 7th, finished 9th. I have gone for a 9 out of 10th, for Yuki Sanoda. I think it was a brilliant weekend the whole way through,

like qualifying seventh is pretty unbelievable. But then the characteristics of the track did allow for some great performances to come through. Don't forget Gassley getting up to third in an Alpine. But still scored points. And I think, yeah, he was happy despite obviously still losing points in the Constructors' Championship. But Yuki doing a much better job than his teammate as well this weekend. And I think thoroughly deserves a nine out of ten. so do I have gone for a nine out of ten for Yuki Sonoda

it would probably be a 10 if he'd uh well it would have been a 10 if he'd have beat a Niko Holkenberg they had a great battle and yeah Yuki to split the McLaren's in qualifying why not giving Hulk a 10 then huh? Because he qualified uh kind of lower than Sonoda wow downgrading Hulk downgrading Hulk for the quali yeah yeah so it's not like the perfect weekend but sonoda

Sonoda, I think, was brilliant in qualifying in particular. And then the race when you can see that the V-Cab wasn't all that. Lawson didn't look very impressive at all this weekend. And I think Yuki is delivering at a very good time when there could have been a huge amount of pressure on him with Lawson coming in and all the stuff that's Horner said about, Lawson might get a seat at the big team if he does well. Yuki has done a fantastic job and done an amazing job under pressure and what a performance

and helps R be in the Constructors title as well because they are locked in that Titanic battle for sixth. They really are. The fans gave Yuki Sanoda an eight. Liam Lawson started 14th, finished 16th. I have gone for a five out of 10 for Liam Lawson. I think it is one of those. performances where he's probably done about,

he's not near his teammate, and his teammates obviously done an exceptional job, expected more from him, but it's not absolutely awful weekend. He's just not really delivered in the RB, which is very much in that midfield pack. He got his elbows out with a battle with Magnuson, twice actually.

I still can't believe that him, Peres and Magnuson went through wide into a corner and there was no damage. But yeah, five from Lawson, underwhelming, I think.

Indeed. I have also gone for a five out of ten for Liam Lawson. I think underwhelming sums it up pretty well. Lawson, of course, coming in, having some great performances

and really getting the attention of the media and everybody else. Where is he going to go? Is he going to get the Red Bull seat, etc., etc.? but whether that's the case within the teams, we don't know.

But in the media, you're a star one week and you can be completely anonymous the next. And this is a really important time for Lawson with only two races to go. Because having media backing, having people talking about you can help in situations where teams are deciding who to go with. And you need to have audience sentiment behind you. And if Lawson has a kind of anonymous next couple of races, then it might not work in his favor of, where he ends up if, you know, moving forward. So it's interesting. But Lawson, you know, he's had some great performances,

so it's not like this is a disaster. By no means, was it a disaster? But it was a very anonymous weekend, I would say, for Lawson, while his teammate Sonoda, who's trying to get a red bull seat, Sean. The fans gave Liam Lawson a five. Franco Colapinto started the race from the pit lane because he obliterated his car and finished in 14th. This is a hard one.

I'm going to go for a five out of ten for Franco. I may have even given him a six, perhaps without the obliteration of seven, but he just destroyed that car again in qualifying. And I have to downgrade him because of that. He did have a reasonably solid race. There wasn't any safety cars for him to really take advantage of after starting from the pit lane. But it's just a case of like another mistake for Franco that he really doesn't need whilst he's having these conversations with teams

about where he might go, especially Red Bull, very interested in him. He has a huge, he has a whole country behind him. So that won't change. But Franco, yeah, needs to just rein back on the mistakes a little bit. And that's easier said than done, obviously. But when you're analysing performances, you don't want to be having a huge damage bill

to go with maybe a couple of points finishes. He needs to go back to the Franco that we saw at the start where he was just shining and there wasn't really too many bad words to say. I know he obviously made that mistake in Baku, but then he bounced back really nicely. I think for the next two races, if Franco can do that, then we'll forget about these obliterations. Maybe the Williams finance people won't, but yeah, he needs to stop crashing the car now. I've gone for a five out of ten for Franco Colapinto as well. It's absolutely gutting, really, that he's crashed in qualifying because he was, well, he had outqualified him, but

of course, started from the pit lane. And if he did have gone, he'd have gone. just finished that lap even just finished 14th and not improved it without the damage to the car. It would have been another weekend where we talk about him beating Albin and qualifying. And I do think unfairly he's got this reputation as being a crasher. You know, there's people that like you say, you're only as good as your last race and the fact that he's crashed in two recent races. Makes people bring out the Logan Sergeant memes again. But I think that's quite unfair because he's got. incredible speed.

He is a rookie, he's jumped in mid-season. The Brazil crash, I think, could have happened to anyone. We saw a lot of people make mistakes. This one totally on him. A big error to make a very crucial time in his career. So that's why we've got to downgrade him to a five. It's very much of what might have been again. And he kind of needs to go into these last year races,

be Alba and have a solid results again, because the last two, when he is, he was so hyped up and rightly so, he needs to kind of have the clean weekends because teams like that as well, because we know how much pressure is on Williams and you saw the distraught look on the mechanics faces when they saw him go into the wall again. Yes, it was a tough watch. The fans gave Franco a five as well.

Alex Albonne, started 17th, did not finish. I've gone for a five out of ten for Alex Albin as well I think he obviously had a disappointing qualifying I know he had a tough weekend with what happened in Free Practice 3 he was running up in the points at one point when he retired but looking at his the old tyre graphic and where he actually pitted he pitted very early on lap 9

so he would have had to have made another stop and for me, I know he himself said he thought points were on the cards, but if he'd have had to make another stop, he was never going to the end on those tyres. I think he would have probably finished roughly around. He was on strategy with everyone else, because he just pitted slightly earlier. Everyone else pitted another time from when he did it DNFed.

He didn't pit that much earlier at Albonn than everybody else, maybe a lap or two if you're looking at the other ones that he's racing against. He was fighting, it was kind of maybe a few seconds off a lot. Alonzo, who finished 11th, so maybe 12th. I mean, Alonzo was a very strange strategy. Yeah, there's soft time. I mean, I don't think he was getting points, my argument there.

And he's been outqualified by his teammates, so that's why it's a five from me. Okay, well, I'm going to give him a six because I'm going to give a nod to him with the fact that, look, he's had a really difficult weekend. Williams, obviously, repairing everything, and it wasn't working out on Albon's car, tried to get out on FP2, I think it was,

and then it conked out. And I think this track in particular with how low grip and the conditions, you really do need that sort of practice under your belt. And he was, in my opinion, right in there. And that would have been a really good performance had his car actually got to the end. So I'm going to give a nod to him because he didn't obliterate his car. He's just had a lot of problems with just the car working. And fair enough, I mean, I'm not surprised if Williams are having to repair so many bits.

Of course, some things are going to fail. So it's a slight nod to that. So it's a six from me. The fans gave him a five. Esteban Okon started 11th, finished 17th. So I'm going to give him a six out of ten, Ocon. I know he finished 17th, but partly due to Alpine not having a clue what they're doing with their pick crew, because he was, well, he was fighting Holcomberg at one point.

Let's see where Holkenberg finished. And he finished in the points. And Ocon was told, box opposite Holcombberg. So what does he do? Holkeberg carries on. Ocon comes into the pits. Driving down the pit lane, there's one Alpine mechanic to greet him. Okay.

I'll just carry on then, shall I? Basically gives himself a drive-through penalty. I love how Ocon is known for the sort of five-second penalty for O'Con. He literally has delivered himself a drive-through penalty for no reason. So, of course, that's going to screw his race from there on. So I can't give him any higher than a six, because who knows what would have happened with this race. But again, a slight nod to the fact that a disaster from Alpine, and really delivering on my biggest flop predictions.

I've gone for a five out of ten first to my knock on. Qualifying compared to his teammate, I think that was obviously more that his teammate did an exceptional job than him doing a particularly bad job, but missed out in Q3. And then in his race, tried the one stop. Of course, yeah, the mistake in the pits wasn't his fault,

but didn't work for him in the one stop. So a race to forget because, Gasly of course retired with the mechanical failure but you've got to think what might have been for Alpine and Ocon himself if they've executed a better race definitely points could have been on the card

Yeah poor bloke being forced into a one stop because his team wasn't ready for the pit stop because no way was he going to do a one stop from there he was trying desperately to make up the tyre he basically done a two stop with only one change of tyres because of the fact he went through the pits poor bloke because yeah Alpine goodness gracious me

what a missed opportunity for them. I think it could have been double points easily for them. The fans gave Ocon a five. Pierre Gasley, started third, did not finish. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Pierre Gasley. It's a very difficult one. I think this is probably one of the most difficult ones to grade because his qualifying was absolutely exceptional,

one of the best performances of the year, without doubt, to get an Alpine into P3. and then he was never going to beat the top teams, but maybe he could have finished behind Norris on the road, beaten Piastri, and he maybe would have got a grade higher, but of course it's difficult to know when there's still a good chunk of laps, but of course it wasn't his fault they retired, so that's why I've gone for an eight.

Okay, I've also gone for an eight out of ten for Pierre Gasly. I think it sums up what could have been kind of race, because starting third, we're pretty much set on. for a nice, cheeky little 10 out of 10 for Gadsley. And he was driving really well. And then reports he has no power. The team are like, that's fine. Now, you're all good.

And he's like, I literally have no power. And sadly from there, it was game over. And I think Gatsley would have, yeah, I think he would have beaten. I mean, it's hard to say, isn't it really. But I think he would have finished best of the rest at the absolute minimum. And then, you know, perhaps even challenged Piastri, who was having a poor race.

So, yeah, shame for Gassley. because yeah he had such a high yesterday as he said and to not finish is a gut punch for sure and the fans gave Gassley an eight as well Lance Stroll started 18th finished 15th I'm going to go for a five out of ten for Lance Stroll because well there's no gravel traps

and he didn't drive into them so that's a solid five from me very anonymous though for Lance of course I think he had some problems in qualifying so he went out there and he did one lap but still he actually reckoned he could have finished 12th but he had some radio issues which caused a slow stop because the team weren't ready for him either. It's just absolute chaos around Vegas.

Three different random pit errors for different reasons but it's a five. Lance, cheers mate, take care. Yeah, I've gone for a five for Lance Stroll as well. He had no radio seemingly the whole race, what it was alluding to, which is quite a... quite a mad thing to happen. But again, let down, in qualifying, but that car is just woeful now. The downfall of Aston Martin is crazy to say that they've got all this hype around them and everything.

They're just desperate to get to 2025, I'm sure. They certainly are. The fans gave Lance a four. Fernando Alonzo, started 16th, finished 11th. I have gone for a... out of 10 for Fernando Lomte. You seemed very confident. You wanted to give him a 10, didn't you?

No, I was, I was owing an hour in between a 6 and a 7, but I think I have to look at the dreadfulness, if that's the word, of the Aston Martin now. And he was pretty close to points, beating some cars there that probably shouldn't have in the car that he had and where it seems like Aston Martin are. Yeah, unlucky not to get points.

And what a bizarre strategy he did. to start on softs and then just get rid of them immediately. Very strange, isn't it? Because of all the races, this has like a two kilometre straight or like two kilometres full power. You kind of want to be in the distant slipstream of another car to sort of tow you along.

And then Aster Martin and Fernando were like, nah, mate, we're going to just go run on our own and hope for something special. And which is very strange, wasn't it? He was the only driver to start on the softs. Okay, interesting. I have gone for a seven as well. well.

So you're not being a fanboy because he finished 11th in a car that we have to shift our perceptions of that shouldn't really even potentially be there. And with that weird strategy as well, who knows if he could have scored a point in the end. But it's a seven. It's a solid performance from Alonzo, but it's not where any of us want to see him. The fans, absolutely disgusted by his performance. They gave him a five. So fair enough.

What can Fernando do? Oscar Piastri, started eighth, finished seven. Oh, it was a pretty poor performance from Oscar. I'm going to give him, is it poor, is it bad? Is it middle? Is it Five out of ten for Oscar Piastri? He would have finished 25 seconds, maybe more behind Lando in a McLaren that yes, did struggle. But I think Oscar, it's a shame to see that he hasn't been able to really continue that momentum of looking like he was almost, being the better driver at McLaren and having these amazing performances winning twice this year,

he's kind of become a bit quiet recently and it's a shame, look, he's only in his second season still and that is a very unique track condition that's going on. So I'm sure he's still learning to really get the optimum pace in every condition at every track.

But I have to give him a five because it was a very anonymous race. He would have been probably, as I say, beaten by Gasley, I reckon. And of course, got a penalty as well for a full start, just slightly out of his

grid box. It is a mistake, albeit a very minor one. So yeah, it's a five from me. I've also gone for a five out of ten for Oscar Piastri. Another disappointing race, I really hope that he kind of delivers something in Qatar because he's quite a run of races now where not really been on it other than the sprint, of course, in Brazil, which you would have won without the teammate switch. Yeah, disappointing for him. to be that far behind Lando, caught in the pack as well, not the best start,

little error. And yeah, still a decent-ish result, but they're going to, McLaren are going to need Oscar to really, like, pick up his performances and how he's been recently if they're going to really just convincingly

win this Constructors' Championship, I think. Yeah, and when you say decent-ish, you mean that he finished seventh, but in the reality of it being in a McLaren and the drivers behind him are Holkenberg, Sonoda and Perez. That's what you mean by that, because I think people will get confused giving... Seventh is now...

Yeah. I think McLaren were the fourth best car this weekend, but it just wasn't on a two-minute level and was mixing it up with midfielders that I don't think he should have been. Absolutely. The fans gave Oscar a six. Lando Norris started sixth, finished sixth. I've gone for a seven for Lando Norris. he didn't have the car this weekend.

It was, like I said, probably the fourth fastest car. I think that he, of course, got the maximum result probably for the fourth fastest car, but I think the top drivers that we've seen, Vestappen, for example, hasn't had the car either and he's mixed up with the Ferraris and things during the race, whereas Lando was sort of fighting Ghazli at the same. start and things like that and didn't look really anywhere near challenging those kind of top

teams. So it's still a decent performance, but of course, you know, it was very anonymous from Lando to say that he still technically was in the title fight and that was the race where it kind of ended, but it was a very much a foregone conclusion, wasn't it? It was. I've also gone for a seven for Lando. It was a much better weekend overall than Oscar in terms of pace. I think it's just that Oscar's able to finish behind him due to the fact no other team can really challenge these front four teams. But yeah, Lando was in the mix but just fell away and yeah, they've really struggled with the tyres, it seemed. So yeah, so seven from me, the fans gave him a six. Carlos Sines started second, finished third. I've gone for an eight out

of ten for Carlos Sines. It was a very strong weekend once again. You know, from the first minute of practice all the way through to the race. He showed very decent pace, quicker than LeCleur in qualifying, putting himself on the front row. Yeah, and then just, you know, struggled at the end of the first stint

and also with the tires, Ferrari in general. I mean, we'll get on to LeClaire shortly, but with signs, I think it was a, yeah, a really good weekend once again. And I'm glad to see that he's finishing his Ferrari career on a high and not just, you know, slower than Lecler and he's challenging.

And for those, you know, that are saying about the whole not playing the team orders and things like that, it's Carlos. He's a tenacious driver and with only a couple of races to go. If you put yourself in his position, do you do the same thing? I don't know. Because on one side you go, do you try and show that you're a team player and the fact that he's been told not to challenge Charles? Perhaps that's what you need to do.

But on the other side, he wants a podium and he got it. how, however, it would have been a nine, perhaps, but he quite clearly should have got a penalty and didn't get one. And I have no idea to this day how we haven't had clarification. Have we had clarification? Yeah, we have. Oh, we have? Well, kind of.

They've not really come out and said it. So basically he was given a track limit warning because you're allowed to do that. Since when are you allowed to cut the pit entry? Because there's an imaginary bollard. And if you move before this imaginary ballard that you can't, there is not a physical ballard. but the ballad that has been placed and if you get back onto the track before that

apparently it's fine. So it was a track limit. He got a track limit warning basically rather than... For quite literally entering. What is this imaginary ballad? This is what's wrong with Formula One. It's in the rules so I guess he did it right. You look at Austria.

Hamilton got a five second penalty for the start of the pit lane entry. Like literally the line. That was the role. that was the rule of the track. Why? What are they doing? It should be the beginning of the pit entry line and that's it.

This is why Formula One is just so confusing. Yeah, I know. Very strange. But that's what the race director has chosen because apparently that was within the rules apparently, even though I've watched it back. And I'm confused where the imaginary ballad is because from the view, I've not actually seen an onboard,

but he gets very close to the pit wall. that he darts over and he's kind of bouncing over a curb to get back on. So strange that that is apparently within the rule. It's supposed to be a safety thing. It's supposed to be a safety thing. Why would they put the imaginary bollard anywhere other than the start of the pit entry line? That makes absolutely no sense to me. Yeah, very strange.

Anyway, Carlos. Still good drive, bye. Carlos, I've gone for a nine out of ten. I think he had a great race. I think he was the quicker furrow driver this weekend. Of course, there was some controversy over there. the passing. I don't know listening to it back

and maybe there's more more radio and this is maybe what a driver like Carlos Sainz will do and other drivers like him. His radio message was don't put Shal under pressure and him just breezing past very easily while Shal had his tie temperatures, you could argue, isn't putting him under pressure. So is it just Carlos interpreting

the radio message. It didn't almost like your papaya rules with Oscar Piastri going around the outside of Lando at Monza. But what I will suggest to counteract that is that Charles said after the race that there is a agreement before going even out on track. This isn't a thing that was done on the... What the shall would win, off the cut.

The Char would beat him. No, but he's obviously very angry about the fact that he's been passed after coming out the pits. And that was what he was saying is that there was an agreement before the race, whatever that might be. He didn't go into detail. But that's what he's,

where the anger is from, not the fact that this team radio, perhaps there was, look, Carlos has seen an opportunity, he's gone for it, he's a racing driver. Yeah, because listening to it back,

you know, there'll be more behind the scenes of what's been told and that's obviously why Charles's blown up, but from the kind of face value of what we've seen without knowing all the things, it's kind of said, don't put him under pressure.

Here's the, you know, it's going to be close on pit exit. And then he's just kind of breezed past him quite, quite easily. Yeah, maybe they needed to be forceful. Probably because Charles is on the understanding of bringing those tyres in which he's not

going to attack him or anything. Yeah, he's not going to be passed. Carlos has taken an opportunity there from. But either way, I think Carlos would have probably finished ahead anyway without his kind of weird pit lane moment and would have been fine. So I think he was the better driver this weekend.

So I've gone for a nine. All right. I'll swallow that pill. The fans gave Carlos an eight. Charles LeClair started fourth, finished fourth. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Charlerclair. An impressive performance from him getting kind of what we'd seen from the start of the year.

I think Ferrari had the second quickest car and he's finished P4 behind his teammates. It's certainly not a bad drive, but we normally see Shal as the quicker driver, particularly in qualifying to be beaten that comprehensively. Of course, made a great start, and that's where I thought he might have. gone on to potentially challenge for P2 or at least got a P3 maybe yeah it was obviously of

course very close with this teammate but I can't give him the same grade because I think Carlos was the better driver this weekend cool your thoughts are one thing and I've gone for an eight for Shal as well both of the Ferrari drivers I think had good and you know slightly downgrading moments of the weekend shal of course not a was great in qualifying, but had an incredible start, got himself in the mix, then pushed too hard on the tyres, which he fell back so much. But then the hard tire stint was, was fantastic, that next one, because he got right back in the mix again and was, you know, finishing, what, two seconds behind signs at the end. So I think it was pretty negligible between the two of them.

And, like, Charles, we've never seen a blow up like that from Charles, ever by not even, not even close, right? So that's what makes me think that there was an understanding and an agreement before the race because, yeah, you don't see Charles blow up

over that, especially over a P3. He was wanting to challenge Lando in the driver's championship as well. So maybe there was conversations there of trying to get P2 and runner up. I don't know because this is all behind closed doors.

But I think Charle and Carlos both did a great weekend and they both deserve eight out of tens. He needs his Villanuck. He needs his Villanuck. It seems like his Villanuck is coming through. I've seen Taylor Swift fans saying it's his reputation era and all this sort of stuff. That joke's gone away of my head.

But with Charles, if this is his moment where he realizes need to be a bit more ruthless, I'd probably argue it's come at a very good time when Lewis Hamilton's going to be your teammate next year. Yeah, and I've seen a very diverse amount of thoughts about this of some people saying, well, he's not going to cope when Hamilton goes there and others going, this is his time. Charles now not the nice guy. is how he takes that energy and what it does with it. And I think he will be that tenacious driver, especially when he has a driver's championship to fight for.

Okay, so an eight from both of us, an eight even, and the fans also gave him an eight. George Russell started first, finished first. It is a 10 out of 10 for George Russell. Dominated from start to finish. He pulled an unbelievable first stint. The way he managed his tires, was phenomenal because that won him the race right there and then.

Without that impressive medium stint at the start, perhaps we see Hamilton fighting him at the end. But George kept his tyres in a beautiful window and it's just a perfect weekend, getting pole, winning the race, and really making a statement, I would say, as well. I've gone for a 10 out of 10 for George as well. Absolutely incredible weekend from him.

the top drivers and they basically, when you get one opportunity to have a very quick car, which Mercedes haven't had for a very long time, he's absolutely made the most of it. Qualifying, look, never in doubt that he was going to get pole, and then he's comfortably won the race. And, yeah, he's just measured it perfectly, and that is, he's kind of, I think a lot of people have now stood up

and gone, oh, yeah, George Cannell lead this team, and do well and people realizing that he has been somewhat underrated by everyone and forgotten about because I know George himself has kind of made some comments

after the race that he kind of said you know we need to be challenging Max because I know I can do it and that's what it's that self-confidence that all top and great drivers have and based on what he did

at this Grand Prix are to disagree because Mercedes have been comfortably, you know, they're going to finish comfortably fourth in the championship. They've not had the car for a lot of the season. And they get one race where the car is very good and he just completely comfortably wins and gets pole position. I think that's testament as well to Russell and Hamilton being, when they don't have the greatest car,

it's hard to really see, you know, their true performances. but as soon as that Mercedes is quickest, they are there. There's no... They have the same number of one-toes as McLaren. Yeah, which is utterly unbelievable considering the performances there. The fans also gave George a 10, unsurprisingly. Lewis Hamilton started 10th, finished second. I've gone for a 9 out of 10 for Lewis Hamilton.

It was a 10 out of 10 race drive from him, but qualifying was so poor to not get either lap in. and he can say that he would have walked it or whatever he said was to that extent, breezed it, yeah, if he'd have had a better qualifying. But he didn't. And two mistakes on that lap is what might have been. But it was another showcase of when it comes to the Grand Prix, Hamilton is still got it,

regardless of all these shelf life comments and everything that's been said and whether he's still got it. Absolutely sensational drive. I've also gone for a nine out of ten. If you just take the race, it's a ten. If he had a problem in qualifying that wasn't due to his own errors, then it's still a ten. But sadly, he started the back of Q3 in P10.

So the race itself was amazing. You could kind of see as he was picking drivers off that, yeah, Hamilton's dialed in and we could see him on the podium. And to finish second from there is just show, the performance that that Mercedes car had and Hamilton and Russell were both able to take full advantage of that.

A one, two. Doesn't make any difference to the Constructors' Championship, but what a drive all the same. And it is that same story with Hamilton in qualifying. Just cannot get his head around the car. But in the races, he is phenomenal. And I think that will be a similar trend

maybe going into next year. For his sake, I hope he figures out qualifying and he can be up there fighting for victories and podiums all the time. But that's something he's going to have to sort out and maybe with the Ferrari different characteristics of car, maybe that's the change he needs to dial himself back in on a Saturday. The fans gave Lewis a nine. Sergio Perez started 15th, finished 10th. It's a four out of 10 for Checo. His teammate wins the driver's championship.

Checo comes home with a singular point. I mean, he was knocked out in Q1, which is just not good enough, as we always say, and it is a similar story, had a pretty good drive in the sense of there were some highlight real moments that the double overtake was juicy, beautiful, but you're fighting cars you shouldn't be fighting. So as much as this impressive and amazing to watch, he shouldn't be there in the first place. So it is still a four, sadly, for Checo. And how he is going to keep his seat for next year, I do not know. Well, I do actually. Dollar Bill's. gone for a four out of ten for sojo paris as well he qualifying to go out in q1 just disastrous and yeah he's put in some uh daring overtakes to one of the you know best overtakes of the race an

incredible watch one of those overtakes that make you kind of think oh this is going to end horribly wrong particularly when it's against lawson and magnuson so for them to go three wide into a corner a sensational move, but he's racing cars that, yeah, he shouldn't be racing an RB and an haths, and he's finishing behind an RB in Sonoda. And a has in, yeah, exactly. So he's, when his teammates winning the World Championship, there's now, you do wonder, now there's talks of it's very clear they're going to not to win the Constructors Championship. there's a lot of talk afterwards on Sky and with the talking about the team that of course while we mention the the big dogs get that celebration of Max winning the title and the publicity for Red Bull is huge the mechanics and everyone that works in Red Bull are missing out on bonuses and things like that because they haven't delivered and that is down to Paris's performance because it's just not.

not been good enough. He's barely scored at all in the kind of handful of races recently. And yeah, just another weekend to forget. Pryton and Pace. Copy and paste. He's not had even just one performance. Well, I guess the last one was probably Baku, where we went, ah, you know, he's fighting right there. And of course, that ended in the wall. But apart from that, we've just, yeah, we've not really seen the Perez that we would see occasionally pop up the king of the streets and all that good stuff, it's just not just not happened.

The fans gave Perez of four. Max Verstappen, started fifth, finish fifth. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Max Verstappen. Weirdly almost summarised his season that race of he ended up kind of driving. I can't believe he was in second place at one point during that race and looking like he might even challenge for the victory, but ultimately the Red Bull pace wasn't there. and he's kind of dropped back.

And yeah, it sums it up that he's kind of summed up this latter part of the season that even though the car is not there, he's just done everything he needed to do, picked his battles, didn't, wasn't worth fighting the Ferraris. Towards the end may have got a podium, but it was never in that fight with the Ferraris and did what he needed to do in finishing ahead of the McLaren's. Yeah, such an impressive championship bid, and I think he's getting the praise that he deserves with how he's done this year

and how it's been so difficult. They were talking about it afterwards. I heard on Ted's note, but them talking about how when the car's been bad, Max's been at the factory and making sure absolutely that, and that's what all the best drivers do. He's made sure that he's not going to lose this world title, and that's exactly what he's done.

Lovely stuff. I have gone for a nine out of ten for Max Verstappen. I think it was almost, well, it was a really impressive drive. To get up to P2 at one point, yes, that was the Ferrari dropping off, but Max, as always, was there to capitalize. And at one point, we're going, can he win the race? Like, this is crazy a bit of improvement that he was showing. And also, the reason I'm giving him a nine as well is that Red Bull brought the wrong speck of car. So Max, as well, you know, he's fighting around this.

Did he? Yeah. He's fighting around these problems as well. You've got to basically a paper mashet cut your own rear wing out, which they were modifying the car where they could. And yeah, to finish what? A couple of seconds behind Lecler, four seconds or so behind signs. He was very in the hunt for a podium.

Wasn't able to take advantage. But it's still, I think, a really good drive from Max. You convinced me to give him a nine now. I knew it. As soon as I said about the rear wing and the spec, you were like, all right, 12, 12. Oh yeah, fair, fair. Yeah, because, yeah, he was on the back foot. I think you've mentioned this at the start of the show that the drivers,

we're almost like rating the drivers that you expect, and it's a bit of a strange one to kind of grade max this year because we've had three years of him finishing races miles ahead of the field. So when he is fifth and he's so far ahead of your teammate, yeah, it's kind of, what's more impressive, whereas, yeah, like, if other people were doing it, you'd give them higher grades probably because of it.

So, yeah, fair, no. Tom was like, any excuse whatsoever to grade max higher. Lovely stuff. Okay, the fans didn't agree. They went for an eight out of ten. So there you go. So finally, who is our P1? It has to be George Russell, by a country mile for me.

Just such an impressive performance. And I think he's able to, put himself in these positions with his incredible qualifying. Yet, his race pace is slightly under question, went up against Hamilton. But if you've got Antonelli in the car next year, I think Russell will still be the fastest in over both qualifying and race into 2025. And if Mercedes are able to produce a car that's really solid and decent, George can win races.

And I think he's got the mentality to challenge for titles as well. And I can't wait for him to be in a championship fight to see that side of him because I think George is a very kind of. calm, level-headed, analytical driver that I think is born to fight for a world championship, in my opinion. So, yeah, George Russell, for me, brilliant drive. I've also gone for George Russell. It's 100%. It's the easiest, one of the easiest decisions I've ever had for P1. He was absolutely sensational. You mentioned about him being level-headed and able to challenge for a title. I think he's also got that ruthless side to him as well,

that others maybe don't have that I think would come out in a title fight as well and I'd love to see it happen because I think he would he has that level-headedness but he would also, he's not afraid to get his elbows out and what we've said before about

and other drivers maybe needing to be a bit more feared and get their elbows out and shove people wide and stuff. I feel like George Russell is definitely one of those people that would do that. So yeah, Sensational drive, fantastic timing as well to make a big statement when people are maybe questioning Mercedes and can you leave that team going into next year? What a statement from him, really good. Absolutely.

So congratulations George Russell. Obviously, congratulations Max Verstappen as well for winning a fourth world title. Just ridiculously good. And teams and drivers are going to have to sort themselves out going into 2025 and beyond if you don't want to see Max win another three or four until he decides to be like, No, I'm done with racing now. So yeah, that's it. Thank you for everybody for being a part of this beautiful P1 journey through the triple header, the final one.

But we're back into race week. It's Qatar and there's no rest for the wicked. We'll be back again, live on Twitch, Matt P1, Tommy. Don't forget to go get your P1 live show tickets in the UK for the middle of December, if you haven't already. And Tommy, what are your final thoughts, sir, please? My final thoughts are bring on another race that couldn't be any more different in conditions. I'm sure the whole order is going to flip on its head and keep us guessing again,

which will be great for predictions, I'm sure we'll absolutely be right. Hell yeah. We love being wrong in predictions because it means we've got a great season on our hands. And it doesn't mean we're washed and we know no wheel. Okay, that's not how it works. Right, thank you everybody. We'll see you soon. Let's love to take care. Bye. Bye. You thought I forgot about you? Well, I didn't. Why don't you put your items in shared spaces like the living room away in their proper places? Yep, that's on bungalow.com.

Hashtag not an ad. And also, why don't you clean up the mess, like your hair in the bathroom, you know? Like, there is so much hair right now from you brushing away. Go sort that out. I'm not talking to you, Tommy, with that a beautiful set of hair on your head.

Why don't you squeegee your shower door? I wonder where that was going. Squeegee your shower door and walls. Yeah, that's what I thought. Why don't you windex your mirror whilst you're at it as well? Got one to add, Tommy? I've got some fantastic household chores. That is.

No, I think you've covered all the bases there. Beautiful. No more. All right. Keeps grabbing everybody. We'll see you soon. Goodbye. Bye.

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