P1 with Matt and Tommy - Mexico City GP Driver Ratings

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

We're here to close out a surprisingly brilliant Mexico City GP with some not at all controversial driver ratings. Who's driving around in legitimately a P2 car? And who's come out on top? The Delusion Tour starts NEXT WEEK! We're heading to North America in November. Some shows have sold out but there are still a few tickets available - click here to grab yours: tix.to/p1liveYou can listen to an extended version of every Race Review episode over on our Patreon! You'll also access to every P1 episode ad-free, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommyFollow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Hello everybody and welcome back to the B1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. It's F1 Driver Ratings, your favourite series back once again, where we will be grading every single driver's performances at the Mexico City Grand Prix. not a lot of controversial incidents, Tommy, that could sway a grade one way or another, eh? Yes, and a few that I've spotted watching the race back, as we do, of course, watching every single driver's race from start to finish. Yeah, the POV, 20 drivers, the full race.

Genuinely, though, sometimes, to get the incidents, the amount of times, I've had to watch the start replay and be like looking at people at the back at like going frame by frame. That's how much effort we put in. So be nice and like the video. Oh yeah. Tommy is feeling sassy today. But if you do enjoy this driver racing series, please give the thumbs up and let us know. That would be wonderful to see some positive comments. Right. Let's dive into it and start where we always begin with Gabrielle Bortoletto. Started the race in 16th, finished 10th. So for Gabriel Bortoletto, I'm going to give him an 8 out of 10.

I think it was a very solid weekend. His move on Isaac Hadjar, Oh! Tasty A-F is what I'll say for that. Of course, had a poor qualifying, but made some good progress, it has to be said. He was on the decent strategy where he was on the softs at the end.

His exact strategy for those wondering, he pitted on lap 37 from the mediums and then went all the way to the end on a fresh set of softs. But Bortoletto, yeah, scored a point, made a huge amount of progress. And yeah, the Hajar move just was one of the, probably the tastiest move of the whole Grand Prix.

So you had the sort of more experienced drivers, you know, they were wheelbanging, they were cutting the grass. Not Bortoletto, eight out of ten. I have gone for an eight out of ten. Ooh, we're going to go higher or lower there, too? Lower, it's close. It's between a seven and eight. Did I sell it to you?

Was it going to be a seven? Yeah, you did. I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was very much choosing between the two. But now I look at it, at the end of the day, the race is, is where the big points are won. I know he's only got one, but he's come through the field. He's done a good job. I think he's done some lovely overtakes. And, yeah, gone for an eight out of ten.

I think he's done a solid job. Obviously, got beaten by his teammate in qualifying, which is a surprise, really. He's gone through this stage where maybe his form in qualifying in particular has dropped off a bit compared to Holcomberg. But we kind of saw the Bortoletto of what we saw in the middle of the season where he's really hyped up again and did a great job with some lovely overtakes. The fans gave Gabriel a 7 out of 10. Nico Holcomberg started the race in 13th, did not finish. I have gone for a 6 out of 10 for Nico Holcomberg. He's a very difficult driver to grade because he had basically a power unit issue on the formation lap.

And it's hard because he did a decent qualifying, tumbled down the order, of course, at the start due to his issue. Retired the car, took him to lap 26 to retire. But I'm not going to go straight down the middle just because I thought he put his car higher up than it should have been in qualifying, which I have to give him a little bit of credit for, but hard to judge if it's any more than that because, of course, we didn't really get to see what he could do with a working car. Okay, dokey, I am going to go for,

hmm, hmm, this is very hard because he DNFed on lap 26 and didn't really even make it through to Q3. I'm going to go for a five out of ten for Nico Holcomberg. Look, the power unit issue was not ideal, and of course that's what was the, cause of the retirement. It's not like he took some headlines with qualifying. Of course, he did beat Gabriel Bortoletto, but I think it's maybe more on Bortoletto slipping up slightly there and not

making a higher placement on the grid. So I'm going to go for a five. But yeah, I can see where you're coming from, Tommy, with that one. The fans gave him a five as well. Alex Albon started the race in 17th, finished 12th. Alex Albonne. is going to receive a five out of ten. Poor qualifying once again from Alex, which put him on the back foot. And from there, it's just damage limitation or trying desperately to score a point from a difficult position. Started on the hards, which was not the right strategy call. But still, it wasn't too close to scoring points in the end.

So for me, yeah, again, kind of quite an anonymous weekend for, for Alex Albon. Yes, he made some good progress, finished 12th, but it feels like there's more to be gained, especially when you see Carlos up there in, well, he literally was in Q3, wasn't he, Carlos? So there was a lot more pace than that Williams, but Alex didn't show it this weekend, five out of ten.

And sorry, Alex, because I know that sometimes you see it, really sorry, five out of ten. I've gone for a five out of ten as well for Alex Albon, a very meh weekend, I think, summarises it. That's why I've gone straight down the middle with a five. Carlos in qualifying showed that the pace was there for Williams to deliver. But yeah, he was just a bit unspectacular, really. I know he got a bit sassy on the radio again and saying that it's the worst strategy he's ever had.

Made it through to 12th, but nothing to shout about. So gone for a 5. The fans gave Alex a 5 out of 10 as well. Carlos Sines started the race in 12th, but actually got up to 7th out of 5-place quib penalty, and did not finish, but was classified P17, because he completed 0.1.5. over 90%. The race. I have gone for a 4 out of 10 for Carlos Sites. And this is the driver that I mentioned in the intro that I scrutinized and watched the

intro because there were no on boards from him. So I basically had to freeze frame lap 1 from the helicopter cam and really like watch his car. Carlos, it's very much of what could have been. he had a brilliant qualifying to be up there in P7 of course not going to downgrade him for the penalty that he got in the previous race you know because that's last week's mistake but i actually think his turn one move was a big error on his part i watched it back he collides with Lawson he actually makes the corner absolutely fine and the has in front of him has lost control a little bit. I believe it's, well, of course it would have been a knock on. And he basically has a bit of a moment that the house. And rather than Carlos slowing down and still continuing the corner, he just immediately bails and does the classic Mexico. I'm going to just go for the grass.

And in doing so, just whack straight into Lawson and doesn't, doesn't see. And that, of course, damages his tire and the sensor which which basically gave him so much trouble for the rest of the race with the fact that he couldn't you know which causes pit lane issues and speeding and things like that so it was all done undone with i think in my opinion a kind of a big error of judgment at the start that's interesting because Carlos has had some positives and some negatives from this weekend and after also watching that that term one back one more time to really focus in on Carlos. I'm also going to give a four out of 10 because I firmly believe that is Carlos's fault, the contact that he had with Lawson, which ruined Lawson's race with the

front wing damage that he had. And yeah, he jolts to the left. He absolutely jolt to the left. He wants to bail. He probably doesn't see Lawson. I think he's very much just a case of not really checking, not expecting probably, and fair enough, not expecting another driver's your left also bailing across the grass. But it's his responsibility to not do that. Yes, it's a racing incident and this, that and the other, but it's affected both of their races. And of course, you know, the sensor problems and the speeding in the pit lane and everything else came from that and also, of course, spinning out of the race. So can you really give him any higher than a four? When you take that all into account, it almost feels a little bit too generous. But I'm going to go

for a four out of ten as well. The fact is that. and gave Carlos a five. Isaac Hadjar started the race in eighth, finished 13th. For Hadjar, I am going to give him a six out of ten. Phenomenal qualifying, really good job from Isaac. I genuinely believe that the racing balls has fallen off a cliff now in terms of race pace towards the end of this season. Perhaps again, this sort of tools down, not bothering with kind of pushing the car forward at this stage of the season. didn't have any fresh softs to start the race on or new tires, sorry, because he qualified

eighth and he said himself it was enough to make the difference. He was making progress, but they're always a bit slower in the race than qualifying. So I have to give a nod of approval with the six out of 10 for Isaac for what he managed in qualifying, but a very mediocre race, it has to be said. Yep, I've gone for a six out of 10 as well for for Hadjar. His qualifying was brilliant, one of the stars of qualifying for sure, because I do think

yeah, the racing balls isn't the car that we've maybe seen for much of the season, but he made a mistake on lap one where he ran wide out the not the stadium section, the other stadium section,

the one in the middle turns four or five and he ran wide there, lost a place to Sonoda, Piastri, Ocon, and that basically kind of doomed any chance of points. But I do have to give him a six because of, you know, a great qualifying much head of his teammate who will talk about next. But yeah, six out of ten for Hadjar. The fans gave Hadjar a five out of ten.

Liam Lawson started the race in 15th, did not finish. I've gone for a five for Liam Lawson. As I mentioned earlier, his race was kind of ruined with Carlos Sites, who I'm putting more blame on here at the start. Lawson was just doing, you know, he'd already made the call to bail and obviously wouldn't have expected science to make a very last minute jolt, which damaged his front wing, of course.

That led to the quite crazy scenes of the marshals going on because he was on his own at the back. But unfortunately, yeah, too much damage to continue. So straight down the middle for a five. A five out of ten is what I will give Lawson as well. In nine laps, can you really do much more than that? It wasn't his fault that the contact, as you say, Tommy, he was just bailing as well,

and Carlos just didn't check his left-hand mirror. And then, yeah, out of the race very quickly. So a five out of ten from me, the fans gave him a five as well. Oliver Behrman started the race in ninth, finished fourth. Difficult grade this one. You know, didn't get a podium after running in P3 for so long. I love the way we always make this joke. for people that did really well.

10 out of 10 for Olly Beerman. What a phenomenal race from the rookie. Didn't look like a rookie, if I'm being completely honest with you on Sunday. He mixed it with the big boys and he looked like he belonged there. The fact that he was almost going side by side with Vestappen after that double right hand

or into the next left where notoriously last year, of course, Norris and Vestappen had that little incident. Ollie was not scared. He braked late and he stayed ahead. yeah he really could not have done much more the the strategy i think was the correct way for has and he utilized every single corner of of the entire race genuinely i don't think he put a foot wrong so it has to be a 10 out of 10 for ollie yeah gone for a 10 out of 10 for olly bearman of course if we had a a p1 driver ratings bingo sheet um one of the things on there would be oh maybe we

used our 11 for Nika Holcombugnberg too early and we said it about many drivers that have got midfield podium since and this this is one of them at an equally brilliant performance no sorry but really good drives because it is in our hearts at podium but it is superb it's a brilliant brilliant brilliant drive the fact that yeah he fought from a lower position still obviously qualified well in ninth but it was all it was all that moment of madness that he took amazing advantage of with the Vastappan and the Hamilton incident because of course he passed Russell and Vastappan in that moment and then of course benefited from Hamilton's penalty so yeah really good it would

have been amazing to see him on the podium so it was a shame when you know someone that's not been on the podium for or even a team that's not been on the podium for before finish in P4 but still amazing points for Hasse and Oli Bearman rockets up the standings in the in the championship now because he was uh I don't think I don't think his championship position reflected on on the season he's had so far um but now he's of course ahead yeah he is ahead of Espan Ocon so very good indeed that's huge that's absolutely huge so 13th for Oliver Behrman with 32 points and Ocon is 16th with 30 I mean it felt for much of the season the Ocon was like up in like the

top 10, wasn't he for quite a while because he scored some big early points. Berman wasn't really getting

off the board. So, yeah, it's a very impressive job to be in our head. It is, I mean, I know that

Formula One ever since Drov to survive love these, these fights for random positions. So I can't wait for the

fight for ninth graphic that appears because Niko Holcomberg all the way down to you've got to say Yuki Sonoda and 17th,

any of those people could finish the 9th or 17th. Yeah, 13 points separating all of those drivers, which is pretty wild. So anyway, back to Olly. Well done. 10 out of 10. The fans, unsurprisingly, gave him a 10 as well. Esteban Oconn, started the race in 11th, finished 9th. I have gone for an 8 out of 10 for Esstban O'Con. A solid drive that obviously, of course, is overshadowed by what Olly Behrman did, but still a good, a good. performance for Ocon to grab some more points. He's had a difficult time of late, but of course,

so it's a good grade putting a car that, you know, I don't think Hafts were like unbelievable this weekend or anything like that. I think they've both done a very solid job, obviously Olly Behrman doing an exceptional job, but O'Con still deserves a good amount of credit, so on four and eight. Yeah, I was deciding whether a seven or eight was a applicable for Ocon, but I think he was on the worst strategy, so I'm going to give him an eight out of 10. O'Con scoring a couple of points, being forced onto the mediums, and he didn't actually end up stopping again. One of the only drivers, well, I guess you had that whole sort of flurry of cars ahead of him that stopped to put on another set of softs, but O'Con carried on after stopping on lap 27, I believe that is. Yes, it is.

So, yeah, Ocon did a pretty good job, considering those mediums were terrible and still miles off his teammate when you look at the actual times. But he was, of course, you know, there was traffic and things like that. But Ockon still did a good job. Would like for Esty to step it up a little bit now because Olly Behrman is certainly taking the headlines now in that team and has been for a few races now, it has to be said. So it was a better qualifying though for Ocon, you know, starting in 11th. We need to see a little bit more of that, I think, because. I don't think we would have expected if we look back to the start of the season where Ockon was getting some incredible positions,

now being in going into round, what are we, 20, going into round 20 next time, you wouldn't be thinking that Olly Behrman would have more points than Esteban Ocon, but here we are. The fans gave O'Con an 8 out of 10 as well. Franco Colapinto started the race in 20th, finished 16th. So 5 out of 10. It's the Formula 2 Grand Prix

in Alpine They finished merely tenths away from each other The two Alpines But they were an absolute Mile away from anyone else Now you have to put that down to the car But I didn't see them the entire race

They were not shown They didn't do anything They were the slowest I mean Franco was of course 20th in qualifying Some getting lapped a couple of times Yeah sorry yeah Big up to Alps getting lapsed. You know, slowest qualifier and finished 16th. No disrespect to Colopinto. He's doing

well in comparison to his fight with Gasly, but I'm not going to give Gasly a 10 out of 10 just because he beat him by half a second or something. So it's a five out of 10 for Franco. Yeah, I've gone for a five out of 10 for Franco Colapinta as well. Certainly not his best race, but continues to match Gasly, which I think is still an impressive feat. I think he definitely deserves to be in that car next year. The way he's matched Gasly in these last races, and he was out qualifying Ghazly but maybe making a few silly errors here and there but now he just seems a lot more consistent

if he can just kind of go these last four races without any kind of headline crashes and just be there on the back of Ghazley or occasionally beating him I don't think you can ask much more of him really from the kind of pressure that he's had on him jumping in the middle of the season I guess earlier than the middle of the season

but still kind of going mid-season so yeah I've gone for a five it's almost a good thing for Franco the fact that Alpine is terrible not competitive in the slightest but it's giving Franco mileage it's just getting him embedded in Formula 1 a little bit more I can't see it as a bad thing in some

ways I think Alpine as you say should give him the opportunity next year and hopefully he just feels a little bit more like he belongs in Formula 1 I think I'm at the point now where I think it'd be incredibly harsh for them to get rid of him I think so as well if you're matching Ghazley like Ghazley's an experienced

and he's a race winning driver exactly. The fans gave Franco a five as well. Pierre Gassley started the race in 18th, finished 15th. The other F2 car is getting a five out of ten. Yeah, completely on their own. What could you say about them? The cars look very bright. That's about as much as you can say about the Alpians at the moment. They show up on TV when they're getting lapped. But Gassley can't give him much. more than Colapinto because you kind of expect him to beat Colapinto anyway, but he's not completely trance Colapinto, so it's a five. It's a five from me as well for Pierre. It's sad to see him so far at the back of the field, a literal race winner in Formula One. We know how talented

he is and how he's put cars that don't belong in Q3 and in the sort of first few rows. So I can only imagine Gassley's motivation is quite low at the moment with the car he's being given and for his sake. I'm sure he's hoping that Alpine next year actually create a car that isn't a dustbin. The fans gave Gassley a five. Lance Stroll started the race in 19th, finished 14th. I'm going for a four out of ten for Lance Stroll. He was the slow, you know, he finished last of Formula One cars had a spin at the start. They got beat by Formula 2 car actually. In Quali?

In Quali he did, yes, which is even worse. But then in terms of the race, he beat, you know, casually comprehensively. But still finished last for the Formula One cars is what we're calling it. A very rubbish weekend. It has to be said for Lance Stroll, unsurprisingly. And it's, yeah, it's just one of those weekends. Once again, for Lance, four out of ten. I have gone for a four out of ten.

Then, Alant Stroll. Yeah, spun at the start, just completely on his own while fighting Pierre Gasly in his F2 car. And then, yeah, useless in qualifying as seemingly always. The streak that he's had against Alonzo, you know what I think about Alonzo, but like, I think Espanokon showed that Fernando Alonzo is beatable, particularly at the age Fernando Alonzo is now. It shouldn't be a case that he's getting completely whitewashed this much. by him, it's absolutely insane. And yeah, it's just so poor from him.

He's probably just can't be bothered until Daddy gives him major in Newy. Tommy not holding back. The fans gave Lance a four out of ten. Fernando Alonzo, started the race in 14th, did not finish. I have gone for a five out of ten for Fernando Alonso. I almost said seven just to bait people and pretend that I was going to give him a seven. I know, I know. I was tempted. But it is a five. It's just straight down the middle. An average weekend, he got damaged at the start. Obviously, ended up retiring. But nothing to write home about. Qualley wasn't particularly great. Obviously, he beat Stroll, but that's not an achievement anymore. And was it ever? Was it ever? I don't know, maybe. Well, we got pole position, Matt once, remember? That wasn't when they were teammates. No, I know. And yeah, it just,

just completely forgettable racer Fernando Alonso, even if he hadn't have DNFed, I think it'd have just been a bit mad. I've gone for a five out as well, five out of ten as well for Fernando Alonzo. A shame to see him so far down. Aston just not good at all around this circuit

in comparison to some of the others. Hungary, you know, you're thinking, wow, maybe Astin mightn have figured something out. Turns out not particularly. So he wasn't happy either, was Fernando after the race? Very vocal with certain teams and drivers just cutting corners

and things like that I cannot wait to see him if he is going to be racing next year which we obviously expect of him to just literally straight line turn one in the new car

and take the lead for Aston Martin the fans gave Fernando a five as well Kimmy Antonelli started the race in sixth finish sixth I have gone for a seven out of ten for Kimmy Antonelli

a good weekend it has to be said. Nothing particularly special. Of course, when you factor in that Olly Behrman is finishing P4. But that being said, of course, took advantage of the whole carnage that was going on with Russell, Vostappen, Hamilton to get ahead of his teammate. And then his teammate, of course, gave that position back once he couldn't make any progress. Yeah, pretty good in comparison to Russell, but not the greatest weekend in general for Mercedes,

it has to be said. But yeah, Kimmy doing a good job in comparison to George. I am going to go for an 8 out of 10 for Kimmy Antonelli. I think it was a good performance from Kimmy obviously beating George in the race. You know, they swapped, of course. I thought that was a very, very interesting dynamic that we saw. I think there's a lot more to it than we maybe even saw in the broadcast as well, because it sounds like, you know, the, Mercedes kind of annoyed both their drivers in that whole swap situation. And it was very interesting that Kimmy got straight on the radio and asked to swap back pretty much as soon as George couldn't overtake Olly.

Yes, there's a bit of rookie tax on here. And maybe because his form kind of dropped off in the middle. So I think beating George Russell and kind of matching him on pace and then beating him in the race due to getting ahead. It's no mean feat because George is having a fantastic year and obviously a top driver, so I'll go for an eight. The fans gave Kimmy Antonelli a seven out of ten. George Russell started the race and fourth, finished seventh. I've gone for a seven out of ten for George Russell.

Not a huge amount to shout about, but I don't think it's like a really bad performance, which is why I've gone for. A seven out of ten, of course, we saw a side to George. that we've not seen in terms of we've seen radio anger but not not at his kind of at his own team which was very interesting to see to say the least I understand why he feels aggrieved at the kind of start even though I stand by the fact that it's just those guys knowing the rules and what you can get away with do I think it's fair not really I is they are the rules but I understand why you'd kind of be annoyed because it does pose the question like why would you even

try to just stay on the track now and just bail over the runoff and give the position back so yeah gone for a seven for George I've also gone for a seven out of ten for George Russell certain parts of the weekend better than his teammate Kimmy but of course Kimmy ended up beating him better qualifying

up in P4 and I think he was quite unlucky in the whole kerfuffle with Hamilton and Vestappen pushed wide which caused him to lose a couple of spots. He was quicker in the race, I think, as well than Antonelli, but couldn't get past because it wasn't a massive gap so he could actually make the move, which is what Mercedes wanted him to do, which was a pretty wild listening when you think that George might well be the team leader, but clearly not when they're telling him to dive down the inside of Kimmy rather

than team orders. Eventually the team orders happen, but he isn't able to make any inroads on Olly Behrman, which is something I did not expect to be saying in this driver ratings. But I don't think you can really separate the two when you factor in all of that. The fans gave Georgia six. Yuki Sonoda started the race in 10th, finished 11th. I've gone for a seven out of 10 for Yuki Sonoda. I feel as though his weekend was a lot better than what is on paper and what we have seen in terms of the finish.

First and foremost, we have to say, he had a 12 second pit stop, which can completely screwed him. And I was keeping an eye on his gaps to Vestappan when, I think they were about 12, 13 seconds apart when he was in clean air, both of them on medium tires. And his pace was good. His pace was really good in comparison to Max. Of course, Max was managing a bit of a flat spot on that medium tire. But overall, I think he went quietly about his business and was on for a pretty decent result. And then Red Bull, I can't remember how to change tires. So that screwed him massively to not even score one point after the race pace being pretty solid. So yeah, I've gone for a 7 out of 10 because I think he deserves it.

I love that because he deserves it because that is my grade. Yuki Snowda, I've gone for a 6 out of 10. I think it's a better, I think he did better than the result suggests for sure. The bad pit stop probably would have allowed him to get maybe a P9, P10, get some points. which wouldn't have looked so bad. P7's maybe a bit much for me personally, but I do think that... P7 or seven out of time?

Sorry, seven out of... Tell me with numbers. Here he is. Well, actually, P7 is what he said he would have got without the, you know, the mistake and stuff, which, the Pits stop mistake, which I don't agree with personally,

either. But still, I think he's showing better signs, which is insane to say when he's so far with his teammate, but we just know that that's the second Red Bull. We certainly do. Second Red Bull is really fun to grade. The fans gave Yuki a 5 out of 10.

Goodness gracious, give the guy a break, guys. Max Verstappen started the race in 5th, finished 3rd. This one's another difficult one for me personally. I'm going to go for a 9 out of 10. I was I found it tough between 8 and 9 personally but the reason I've gone for a 9 is because he was so close to

finishing 2nd I don't think the Red Bull should have really been finishing second you know it's very much just happened that he still manages to deliver a good performance when it feels like he's on the back foot the reason I was deliberating an 8

is because I do think he pushed his luck at moments. Watching it back, I know I said this on the podcast about things like he gave the position back, you know, watching it back. I don't think he gave the position back. I think it just happened that Hamilton overtook him on the start because the way he was battling Hamilton did not look like someone that was actually giving him the position back. So that was, I think, more good fortune that he gave that position back to Hamilton, whether he would have later in the race, of course we don't know. And yeah, I think he was kind of maybe pushing his luck sometimes with, you know,

obviously like the dive bomb on Hamilton and banging wheels and things like that. Could have easily cost him because, of course, if he'd got a penalty, he's tumbling down the order and the championship is very much over. But it's a nine because he fought back, made the strategy work, fought all the way back to probably P2 if we hadn't have had that VSC. so very close indeed. So I've gone for a nine for Max. I found it also quite difficult to grade Max.

Both of us being, of course, huge Max for Staffan fans, really hard to separate the bias. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Max, and there's a couple of reasons why. Qualifying, P5, not the best of qualifying days, I would say for Max. With the move on Hamilton, yes, there was no penalty given,

but it was a scruffy move. it was an out of shape move, banging wheels with Hamilton, pushing him off the track. I can understand the just frustration from Hamilton fans, from potentially neutrals as well, how Max can get away with that

and there'd be no penalty, especially when he then cuts the corner straight after that. Now, when you look at the rules... We've seen penalties given for less, I'd say. Yes, and when you look at the rules, Max is, again, utilising it to the absolute T

of... He breaks late. Hamilton breaks pretty late for term one anyway. He senses a Max for Stappen little move coming. Max then bleeds off the brakes, you know, lets off the brakes slightly to then be able to get to the apex first. He wins the corner by the Stewards Book. He wins the corner. It is his corner now. And the next corner coming up, he is the defending car and Hamilton is the attacking. So then the fact that he's then cut the grass doesn't matter because you can do that, kind of, if he knows how to drive. He adapts his driving style. and I understand why it annoys people because if you didn't know the rule book and it is hard to understand

because you look at it as a Formula One fan and a racing fan and you watch it and go, that's not really fair, is it? But yeah, like you say, like the way he controls the car, he knows exactly what he's doing to make sure that certain bits of the regulations

kind of fit what the stewards want. So it makes it almost like they can't give him a penalty, which is weird. Yeah, the racing rules benefit drivers like Max Verstappen, who are incredibly aggressive and will just dive to the apex first. He made it work for him. I don't like these racing rules. When I look at that sequence of corners, I think Hamilton is well within his rights to have racing room, to not be hit off of the track. And then in my head, in my head, and this doesn't matter because this isn't in the racing rules, they're still racing.

I don't think Max has won the position because he's dived to the apex first, hit Hamilton, and then cut the corner. And then Hamilton's on the inside line for the next corner. So like, I know this isn't the racing rules, but then, yeah, Hamilton understandably is like, well, I'm going to make the corner. Yeah, it's so bizarre, isn't it? Yeah, so that was a move that could have easily been a penalty if Max had hit him a little bit harder or, you know,

they've been a little bit damage, whatever. So I didn't particularly think it was a clean move as much as he didn't, he got away with no penalty. And of course, going off at term one as well, Max again, utilising the rules to him to his benefit and breaking as late as he possibly could, although was on the curb and so immediately locked up. And then a great car control to not end up in the wall.

But once again, you know, going off the track. I honestly cannot tell sometimes of Max if that was luck. Like luck or judgment of him not going into that wall. Oh, no, it's complete judgment. You see that he's literally 180 degrees across at one point with his steering wheel to try and counter the slide. Like I think a lot of drivers are ending up in the wall. wall at that point. But Max, yeah, I'm not going to glaze him, but it was a great car control

to not go in the wall. But I'm talking about the things I'm downgrading him for because I'm giving him an eight out of ten. Still a great weekend. An eight out of ten is not a bad grade. But there are things that I've downgraded him for, hence why I've given him that number. The fans gave him a nine. Lewis Hamilton started racing third, finished eighth. Oh, dear, this grade. Oh, this is great. The tricky one. This grade's tough. I've gone for a seven out of ten for Lewis Hamilton, as it's a great way of sort of carrying on from what we've been speaking about with Max. I do feel for Hamilton in some ways. I can't give him any higher than a seven because he definitely had his part to play by getting his penalty. What he did was a penalty. I know some

people are going, what about Max? What about Sharpe? Yes, they are separate incidents. Hamilton also deserved the penalty for what happened with going straight over the grass. The move, although I guess again, if you then think, but then we were sort of judging that by our own opinion, not the racing rules. The racing rules is that Max Verstappen had those corners before that, and Max had the position, Hamilton locks up at turn four, carries on, gets the position illegally. So I can see why he gets the penalty. It felt incredibly harsh, of course, and a lot of people rooting for him to get a podium, but the emotion aside, it was a penalty.

Great qualifying, though, and I genuinely was convinced he was going to get a podium. After even the first couple of corners, I was like, well, he's second on the road at the moment. And then three cars just entered the scene from a completely different continent because they were going over the grass. So yeah, it's a seven out of ten. It's what could have been, it's eighth. It's a disaster, to be honest with you, purely because of the podium potential. But I hope my grade still reflects the fact that there was so much more that could have happened. And some of it I don't blame Hamilton for in terms of the Max Lewis.

wheel-to-wheel stuff. Oh, I am really struggling with this one. I, it's how you judge it based on like, what are the rules? We've got to judge it by the rules. It doesn't matter if we don't like the racing rules. We've got to judge it on what the sport is right now.

Yeah, true. I will go for a seven out of ten for Lewis Hamilton. I was aiming and narrowing about an eight because I do think he's been shafted by lap one. I do think he's been really, really shafted there. I think LeClau should have given him the position back as well. And, yeah, that obviously puts him into the clutches of Max and then they have that moment.

He obviously, yeah, he goes over the track, cuts it, doesn't give any time or the place back. And I do think it's a deserved penalty. I do wonder how much of Lewis Hamilton and it's maybe you could argue is too late now but you can tell Lewis Hamilton is like an old school fair driver

and unfortunately these new racing rules do not benefit someone like Lewis Hamilton who is like I'm going to stay on the track actually I'm going to you know do this and do that I love I to say that when he literally straight line term one at Mexico a few years ago yeah yeah yeah But in this situation, you know, he obviously stayed on the track and kind of got penalised for it.

And then, yeah, he's made a mistake. And it is disappointing because it really did feel like that. That was the podium up for grabs and what might have been. But he's going to Brazil now, which we all know he does well at. So maybe that's the time to get the podium. Fingers crossed for him, the fans gave Hamilton a seven. out of 10. Charles LeCler started the race in second,

finished second. I have gone for a nine out of ten for Charleclair, despite his despicable driving at turn one and, you know, not giving Hamilton the place back. No, I'm joking. But yeah, he should have given that place back. We said it in the race review. I think he was very fortunate not to get a penalty there,

but I do think they either didn't see it or it's, because it's his teammate and Hamilton's of course not going to get on the radio and complain about it. And Ferrari aren't going to obviously complain about it either. But I've still got to give him a huge amount of credit, you know, qualifying second and finishing second in a Ferrari that's not the top two cars, I don't think, this season. They did look obviously quicker here and more suited, but I think he did a great. job, which is why I've gone for a nine, but it's not a perfect 10. I've also gone for a nine out of ten for Charler-Claire. I just wanted to add one more thing on the Hamilton point as well, is that with the whole

kerfalfi had with the Stappan and the term four and him locking up and going over the grass and things like that. That is absolutely a role that Ferrari had to play in that as well, of communicating to Hamilton, who's just been, you know, very heated moment with the Stappen. There's been wheel-to-wheel banging and things like that. Hamilton can't see exactly where his car is, who's won the corner, etc, etc.

Ferrari need to analyze that and go, we think you're going to get a penalty if you don't give the position back. I don't really understand why Ferrari haven't. And then it's in Hamilton's hands if he says, no, this is BS, ignores it,

and then you can kind of say it. But yeah, like, because they can see all the off boards and things like that. Anyway, that's another point. I just wanted to get off my chest.

To Shao LeCla, how on earth has he managed to cut the corner and keep Hamilton behind him? I do not know. That's down to the FIA to have found that and noted it and probably penalized him. But he got away with it. That's the only sort of bit of a downgrade for Shal is that I wasn't a massive fan of the way he bailed out of that corner to go over the grass. I know he said he hated every meter of that first corner, things like that and felt like there was going to be a collision.

When you actually look at the replay, there was more than enough space for Shal to tuck in and continue. continue through those first few corners. He didn't lose the car. He decided to bail, which is two completely different things in my opinion. So that's the only thing that I'm really downgrading Shal for, because apart from that, finishing second is a phenomenal job. Qualifying second as well. Brilliant to see. Ferrari, nowhere near McLaren, but were we expecting that in the race? Absolutely not. So yeah, nine out of ten from me to Shal. LeClair, the fans gave him a nine as well. Oscar Piestri, started the race and seventh, finished fifth.

I've gone for a six out of ten for Oscar Piastri. Still a very awkward weekend for Oscar. Quite telling, I think, as well in the post-race interviews about how he's saying that he has to drive a different way to what he has done all season. I don't really understand why that's the case. I'm not suggesting anything sinister, but it's a very bizarre situation for Oscar to be in

where he's wondering where the feeling of the car has gone. I can't give him any higher than the six. He finished fifth. He finished behind Berman. Yes, the VSC screwed him a little bit to maybe get ahead. But that being said, he was miles off Lando. He did show moments of pace in the race, and it was quite promising,

but couldn't make enough progress to finish. Second was easily on the cards, I think, for Oscar, had he shown great pace and qualified a little bit better, is teammate won by 30 seconds. So Oscar has to slot in MP2, even if he is finding this McLaren quite difficult. So that fifth isn't an absolute disaster,

still one point off the championship. It is a P5. So that's why I've gone for a six, which I think reflects that. I've gone for a six as well for Oscar Piastri. I still think it's a disastrous weekend for him. I think fifth place in the end is maybe a slight positive in a really poor weekend because it looked like it could have been even worse. You know, you mentioned about him. Surely he's got to slot into P2 and argue the same in qualifying, you know, because Lando stuck out on pole by a massive margin as well.

The McLaren in Lando's hands looked so dominant. It feels like an easy P2. and of course the championship lead that he's had, he could have kind of afford to do that here and there, but he's obviously lost a huge chunk of points in the last few races and ended up, you know, now losing the championship lead. I am, so we had a controversial opinion when I'm looking through the controversial opinions for best reactions. I just want to throw this one into the mix because one of the,

them was Oscar Piastri's got his mojo back. And I was chatting to my mum after the race. And she said the exact same words. Like, I think Oscar Piastri's got his mojo back. And I'm sorry to throw my own mum under the bus here, but I could not disagree anymore. Like, I do not know how anyone can come to the conclusion that Oscar's got his mojo back when he's finished 42 seconds behind his teammate in a race.

Like, don't get me right. Why are they basing that on? The overtakes and the fact that he's lost the championship league? The overtakes, like he was making his moves at the end of stuff. But I'm like, he's making his move. He's making overtakes and things on much slower cars. And, you know, he finished buying a Hass in Olly Behrman. I don't, I don't personally buy that narrative at all.

And obviously we'll find out whether he can turn this form around in Brazil. He absolutely has to. Otherwise, you know, if he has another weekend, I don't know how he's going to recover from it because Austin was a nightmare anyway. This, the fact that Lando was so comfortable and so dominant. Yes, Oscars, you know, made some some overtakes to fight back, but I didn't, I didn't think that drive was anything to shout about at all. No, no, I completely agree. I thought it was going to be, he's going to have his mojo back for the next race because the pressure is kind of off and he's now the hunter with that one.

point deficit, but either or I disagree. I think Oscar has a huge amount of work to do to try and fight for this championship altogether. The fans gave Oscar a six out of ten. Lando Norris started the race in first, finish first. It's a 10 out of 10 for Lando Norris. It is so easily a 10, so clearly a 10. It was an absolutely phenomenal drive from Lando.

I don't think there's been a better drive in his entire career. To take the championship lead, you know, he's had moments where he's dominated races last year, still made the odd mistake here and there and stuff. And people were, I think giving him maybe unfair grief, but people are saying, like, oh, he's never had this, like, completely amazingly perfect weekend. Well, there you go, because it was absolutely phenomenal. qualifying so dominant and I do think as well he deserves a big a huge amount of credit for the way he did turn one as well you know covered the inside it's not an easy place to stay in the lead

when you're getting slip streamed by loads of other cars he played it perfectly and then of course you know I think even if he'd lost the lead yet it'd have had the pace to win the race but he didn't lose the lead and he just made it look so so easy and it's a massive, massive confidence boost now going into the championship lead after delivering a weekend like that. He was absolutely superb. Best weekend of his career, Lando Norris.

It's a 10 out of 10 of course from me as well. Missed FP1 because a rookie went in and so you would think maybe on that. That's mad to think actually. I completely forgot about that. Maybe he's missed an hour compared to Oscar. Didn't matter whatsoever. However, you know, qualifying.

Yes, Charlotte Claire pipped him in the first runs at round of runs in Q3, but the second one, he was light years ahead. So phenomenal Saturday. Sunday, I completely echo your thoughts, and that was going to be one of my major points is not only just the pace that he showed, but that was probably the best start of his career as well. He absolutely flew off the line. He was miles ahead in that first sort of 100, 200 metres.

Of course, everyone slipped streamed. It was four wide going into term one. But Landau did exactly the right thing. the inside line, notice that there was nobody going to try something daring down the inside, then slowly moves more towards the middle to try and help his racing line into term one. Hamilton gets very close to just nipping his right rear tire

for a puncture, but thankfully didn't, and then just drove off. And that was the level of confidence that Lando had this weekend. And how can you bet against him for the championship with a drive like that with only a few races to go? Brazil, a dry Brazil, I think Lando, McLaren can walk that

in a very similar fashion to what we've seen this weekend, or this weekend just gone for the Mexico City Grand Prix. If it's wet, games on. But yeah, it has to be a 10. A phenomenal drive from Lando. And you have to say, and I hate to say, it's so cliche, that was a champion's drive. It was.

That is a world championship worthy drive from Lando. The fans gave him a 10 as well. So who is our P1? Very difficult, actually, because as much as Ollie Berman did a phenomenal job, I think I have to give it to Lando Norris because of everything I've just said. It was an utterly perfect weekend from start to finish,

and I think it would be doing him a disservice if I didn't give him P1, so that's mine. Yeah, I completely agree. I thought it might be an unpopular opinion to go for Lando when literally Olly Berman and a half has finished P4, but Lando's performance was so, good and I know he's in a very quick car and the best car but so was Oscar finished fifth exactly yeah exactly it was it was brilliant you know it's the this the best drive of his career

he looked like a champion out there and we'll wait to see how he does now now he's got the championship lead how we'll deal with that that pressure being in the lead of the championship again but what what a way to to you know deliver the championship lead with the drive like that And there we go. That is driver ratings done and dusted. Quite a difficult one. I'm sure Brazil will be easy. Good joke. And a sprint. Yeah.

It's so true. Yeah. Tommy, what are your final thoughts? Final thoughts are, I don't want to wait, have to wait two weeks for Brazil because it's just such a banger. And we will be leaving very soon for the delusion tour. We will. Get your last tickets while you can. Exactly. We're flying in a matter of days.

P1 Live Delusion. tour, going to North America. We'd love to see you there. Tickets are available. You just type in P1 Live Delusion Tour. It will come up. Go and see us, please. We love to see you. Sold out San Francisco and New York now. New York, yeah. Some tickets available for the other venues. We'd love to see you there. And that is it. See you very soon. Thank you as always for being so lovely to us about driver ratings. New numbers could make people so passionate. And we'll see you soon. Bye. Bye. Bye.

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