P1 with Matt and Tommy - Our 2026 mid-season F1 Driver Ratings: P10 to P1

Episode Date: August 4, 2026

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Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. You can now finally breathe a sigh of relief. The top 10 mid-season driver ratings is here. And we are going to get straight into it, aren't we, Tommy? We sure are. In 10th position, I have gone for. Well, the averages have gone for. I'm not actually selecting P10.

Gabriel Bortoletto with an average grade of 6.7, a highest grade of 9 in Belgium and a lowest grade of 5 in China, Canada and Monaco. Gabby Bortoletto makes my top 10. I think I, doesn't surprise me actually because I've been impressed with his consistent performances where Holkhamberg

has faltered slightly. I think that's where and I don't know, you can deem it as fair or not because of course the rankings are supposed to be off one particular measurement, but I think we are, we both naturally lean towards

ah, this guy's pretty new to Formula One and he's doing an excellent job here, have an extra point from me sort of thing. So yeah, Bortoletto in the top 10 has had a great season. And yeah, he's had moments, I think, at the end of last year where we were starting to take notice. But I think this season has been one where I've probably been the most impressed. So, yeah, P10. P10, I have Franco Colapinto with an average grade of 6.6.

highest was nine in Miami and Canada. Lowest grades were a lot of fives. Yeah, surprising that the colapinto is in P10 because, yeah, I don't think I'd be perfectly honest. I don't think I'd have picked him in my top 10. However, I can see why he is in there. You know, for his lowest grade, not to dip below a five all season,

is helping his average a lot. Of course, he has been a driver that has, had moments of like crashing in years gone by and it's piled a load of pressure on him and stuff and this we've not seen that from him this year and equally when the alpine was good particularly at the start of the year we've seen moments in like miami and canada where he has got a car to fight so as we mentioned with maybe some of the other drivers that don't have this luxury uh because they are for the back of the midfield or an alonzo or something when they've beaten their teammate they can actually do something and deliver

and he absolutely did that in Miami and Canada with a brilliant two fantastic results and that's why he got the nine and obviously two nines is bumping your average as we say that it's so close between these midfielders that little moments here and there like one bad grade here

like what Oscar Piastri did or Colopinto getting a couple of nines is swaying maybe five or six positions sometimes. Certainly is. And this is where we could get some spicy little results. The fans in P10 have gone for Isaac Hadjar with an average grade of 6.8, a highest grade of 9 in Belgium, and a lowest grade of 4 in Miami, which I believe is the biggest discrepancy

between our results and the fans' results. Yes, correct? Indeed. Yeah, yeah. We'll dive into everyone at the end and how it changes, but you can already see that this is the case. Hadjar is actually the driver that's been most overrated by the fans compared to us. On average.

We're not the answer, by the way. Just see. Yeah, exactly. It's not the answer. It's not the answer. But it's just interesting to compare. And on average, he receives 0.6 of a grade better every single race from the fans, which is quite a big discrepancy.

Obviously. Red Bull's second seat tax. Maybe. Yeah. Maybe it is because the bar is so low. And again, You know, he got a nine in Belgium from the fans, very nearly got a 10. And we've gone into many times why we believe that was maybe not as exciting as seen on the eye, I guess.

Exactly. In ninth position. I will step back because ninth place is Charlotte. You didn't step back. I can't. I'm on a chair. Average grade, 6.7, highest grade a 9 in Australia, Japan. Silverstone in Belgium and a lowest grade of a three in Barcelona

Charlotte Claire I don't know how I feel about this Is it a surprise that he's low down? I feel like he's one of those top drivers That's had a really solid year But what if you take that middle part of the season Where he went on a really horrible run Can you call it a really solid year then? No, I think a solid year apart from that

Is that a really solid year apart from half of the Apart from half the mid-season, exactly. Yeah, this is what I mean. What I'm trying to say is the fact that you look at my grades. His first three were a nine, eight and a nine, so really solid. And his most recent three have been a nine, nine, and a seven. So, but the problem is here after Miami, where he had that horrible race where, you know, he was doing quite well, looked like he was going to get a podium, had the spin,

then cut all the corners and got penalties and things. he went on a really poor run after that five in Miami six in Canada four in Monaco three in Barcelona five in Austria and it was a case where he just really didn't seem to find an answer

it even continued into the sprint at Silverstone where we thought how long is it going to go on for where Shah just doesn't have an answer to his teammate and of course he's turned that around now but that mid-season of the mid-season slump I'm going to call it that has been really poor and that's why he's all the way down in ninth position. Disgusting, Tommy. I can't believe you had grade Charlotte Clare so low.

My P9 is Charlecler. With an average grade of 6.8, highest grade of 9 in Australia, Japan and Silverstone and lowest grade of 4 in Monaco and Barcelona. How do I reflect on the mid-season point of Charlotte, Clair's, 2026? not fondly, I'll be honest with you. Hamilton has had the upper hand. Yes, there has been moments where Charlotte Claire has been brilliant. Silverstone was of course one of them where he got that victory. And yeah, we have seen glimpses of Charlotte Claire at his very best, but that's all it's been. Because as you've mentioned, that run of five races was horrible for me to watch as a Charlotte

LeCleau devote fan because it just, you know, the fact that I was uttering, you know, when I'm grading LeCler 6-6-4-4-5, my mental health was lower than that if I was to grade it out of 10 for those five races because, you know, I expect Shal to be delivering and qualifying. He wasn't really. And then in the races had no answer for Hamilton or he was crashing or, you know, of course he had reliability in Spain and in Monaco depends how much you put down to the degrading track as a factor and his brakes and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, it's been a mysterious year for Charlotte Clare's form. But I'm hoping we're out of that now as much as Hungary left a few things to desire, I would say, when it comes to pace again. But yeah, it's been very much a tale of two halves.

The mid-mid season, the tale of two halves for the Charlotte-Clae mid-part of 2026. for sure. And before you start all going, how could you put Charlotte Claire 9th? The fans? Charlotte Claire P9. Average grade of 7.0. Highest grade of 9 in Australia, Japan, Silverstone and Belgium, and the lowest grade of 4 in Barcelona and the Red Bull Ring. P8, I have, in my averages, Arvid Lindblad. There's a big bump up here. Average grade of a 7.4. Highest grade of 10 in Australia. I do want to just quickly say that my 10 for Canada has been removed and replaced with an eight after I realized too late that he bent his clutch out. But he did start to have a phenomenal sprint. The lowest grade of a five in China and Miami. Arvid Limblad. I've been accused of being a

slight fanboy of Arvid on the podcast, I think by you maybe sometimes a couple of times, Tommy. And it's interesting that you've not mentioned his name yet either. But I think Limblad has had a phenomenal rookie season to be eighth in our mid-season driver rankings so far. Of course, things can change very quickly. 1-0 when you're hurtling down the order. But Limblad has not had that. He has been consistent. He has scored points.

Yeah, he's been a little bit off Liam Lawson, I think, for the majority of the year. But can you expect anything else from Arvid in this set of regulations? Maybe works in his favour slightly because he's not having to relearn, unlearn. but yeah I've been really really impressed with what Arvid's put down so far you just expect him to make Q3 you expect him to score a point or two his teammate rivalry with Rivalry with Lawson is is fascinating to watch and I think it's just going to get even more intriguing as we go on but yeah I think Arvid's got not just the speed and the talent

I think he's also got the mindset as well because even when he finishes 9th or 10th but he hasn't put the race that he wants to put down on a sound Sunday, you'll still see it in his face. You'll still see that he's pushing and wanting more. So, yeah, I think he's the hallmarks of a very good driver for future seasons to come. P8. I have gone for Arvid Lindblad with an average grade of 7.3, highest grade are 10 in Australia, lowest grade of five in China and Miami.

He's had a very impressive rookie season. Yeah, the car, of course, is very strong. It's the class of the midfield now. but he is delivering and obviously the the most impressive thing was his drive in Australia straight out the blocks his first Formula One race all the nerves and expectations and so many times that could go wrong on the pressure get to you he was amazing

like had such a good race was so so strong most impressive I think here is the fact that yeah like his lowest grade is just a couple of fives and when we look at certain drivers that got below a five. A lot of the time it's because they've had a crash or a spin or something like that, like Oscar Piastri or Charler-La Claire or Olli Bearman or whatever that have had like moments where they've gone for us like had something quite bad happen to them and we've gone, oh yeah, it's like a two or a three or something like that.

So for a rookie to not have those moments because you kind of forgive it a little bit as a rookie, I think especially in a team like racing balls formerly Tarossa of course they used to say well actually we just want you to show some speed and if you crash the car then it's not ideal we don't want it but we want you know it's all about learning and stuff so the fact that he's not had any of that I think has been incredibly impressive whether we'll see a lower grade later this year because there's been a few close moments with Liam Lawson will we'll find out and but maybe they surprise us and they don't actually collide all season for this kind of incident that we seem like almost like we're waiting for this year.

But the fact that, you know, Lawson, his name's not been mentioned yet. We've joked a few times about who knows where he's going to be in this list because he's had a really, really strong season. Arvid's now there or thereabouts with him like quite often and that's why he's racing him because he is there able to fight. So, yeah, a strong season for the rookie. The fans agree. Average grade of a 7.0 for Harvard Limbad, so a bit lower, quite a bit lower actually, than both of our average grades.

A highest grade of 9 in Australia and a lowest grade of 5 in China and Miami. P7! Tom Bellingham. P7, I have George Russell with an average grade of 7.3. Highest grade was a 10 in Australia, lowest grade was a 5 in Miami, Monaco and Hungary. probably the one of the most interesting, intriguing drivers in driver ratings. Start with the positives. There'll be some people here going,

George Russell should be 14th or 15th. He's been awful. He's had a terrible season. He's nowhere near Antonelli. I don't think that's strictly true. George Russell has had many a race where he has been competitive. I think it's easy to forget because of the run he's on at the moment and he can't find an answer and Antonelli's been so strong

that he's been completely washed all season. That's definitely not the case and that's why he is up in seventh because he has had drives. Obviously the first race goes without saying but I think there's almost a bit of a myth that he won the first race in Australia and then he's been useless since,

which certainly isn't the case. Second in China. You know, Canada he was on to win that rate, won the sprint and competitive with Antonelli, won the race in Austria as well. So that's the good side. Obviously, the reason he is lower than a driver that's driving the best car on the grid and a car that's been so strong is because he has had some really horrible races as well.

You know, Miami had no answer for Antonelli. Hungary again, gave him a bad grade. Monaco was an absolute disaster for him. And yeah, there's been moments this year where he has been so far off Antonelli's pace and it always there's always like a different idea first it was his driving style then it seemed like there was some kind of power unit problem that then it's something else so George Russell cannot find an answer for Antonelli at the moment he needs to because if he wants to win this world championship it can be done we're only halfway through the season um so he can turn it around but yeah it's one of

those weird ones where it's not been a great year for George, no doubt, but I don't think it's been as bad as some people maybe say. Well, I strongly disagree because my P7 is George Russell. With an average grade of 7.6, a highest grade of 10 in Australia and Austria, and a lowest grade of 5 in Monaco. So my average grade is 0.3 higher than yours, Tommy, which means I am in agreement with the positive sides of what George has put down this year to some extent. The problem is he has had moments where he was miles off, Kimmy, as we've said. And I think as well, our ratings, again, potentially skewed ever so slightly with the fact that the expectation coming into this year, the expectation after round one, to then not be able to

really deliver from there, apart from Austria, of course, and a few other races where, of course, he was in the mix, had problems with his kind. car and he's not had the easiest season for that either. So there is, of course, an element of consideration there. And an average grade of 7.6 when, you know, the narratives going around around George having a horrible season, I don't think that equates to an average grade of 7.6 personally, which is why we do this. It's to take out recency bias. It's to take out moments where it's terrible and moments where it's great and find an average.

So, yeah, George's season has been good, but only good. And considering he should, he's in the fastest car, he should have an opportunity to win the world championship. And he's not delivering on that so far because Antonelli has simply been stunning. Okay, let's go to the fans. Seventh place, Pierre Gazzley, with an average grade of 7.1, highest grade of 9 in Japan and Monaco, and the lowest grade of 5 in Austria. It's getting tense now. P6 is Pierre Gazzley for me.

An average grade of 7.8 and highest grade of 10 in Japan and Monaco in the lowest grade of six in Belgium. Gassley has quietly gone about his way. That's how I would probably sum up Pierre Gassley. I've tried ever so desperately to notice midfield performances. And Gassley has very quietly put together a solid season. Of course, the Alpin was very quick at the start of the year. I gave him an eight and eight and a ten in the first three races.

He had a ten again in Monaco where he scored an unbelievable. believable podium. And overall, I said this earlier in the podcast. Crazy, the fans gave him a nine, by the way, from Monaco. They were like, no. No, should have won the race in the Alpine.

I personally would love to see Pierre Gasley get an opportunity again at a top running team. We know what happened at Red Bull. We know what that second Red Bull seat is all about. But Gasly has consistently put together amazing midfield seasons, which are obviously slightly hamstrung by the car anyway, so you don't know exactly where he would end up.

But he's always been a solid performer. He's done it again this year so far. I just hope that Alpine are, for his sake, able to challenge V-Carbon Aldi, who looked like the quicker cars in Hungary and perhaps moving on after the summer break as well. What's crazy about that? You mentioned about, yeah,

Gassley's always been a solid performer. Just like a statistic that I saw that is absolutely crazy, is like how many podiums Gassley has scored. and he scored almost a podium every year since 2019. And you think that that's like, 2019 in a Torrosso, 2021 in an Alpha Tauri,

22, oh God, I'm testing my knowledge here. No, 23 in an Alpine. And then, yeah, like 24 in an Alpine as well, and 25 in an Alpine. Like, that is so impressive that he's managed to get onto the podium in those midfield cars that, you know,

many a driver Nico Holkenberg sorry to mention it is always that like well he's never driven like a top car but that is so impressive that Gazley's managed to do that

in his career and and again here you know he's got a podium again which is madness when the opportunity presents itself Gazley is one of those drivers to try and you know take it with both hands

if it's a wet race if it's a Monaco like Perez used to do like he's kind of become that new midfield driver that seems to do that exactly So well-down to Gassley, P6 from both of us.

The fans... I didn't actually say anything. Oh. No, it's right. I mean, you kind of... I was talking into it. Spoken, yeah. Sorry.

It's right. Who have you gone for sixth place? Sixth place for me is actually Pierre Gassley. What? What? With an average grade of 7.6, highest grade, 10 in Japan and Monaco, lowest grade. A six in Austria. Gassley, yeah, had a really good season again.

He was... I think he's obviously... I love how I was speaking like it's over, by the way. He's had a great season. It's over. He's done. No more races to come. He's had a great season so far.

Most impressively, it was at the start of the season. Alpine have fallen off now. They're still able to fight a little bit and it makes me he's able to score points. A lot of the heavy lifting here from his grade was at the start of that season where he was, you know, the Alpine was strong and he was able to deliver amazing results. You know, that 10 in Japan when he kept Max de Stappan at Bay for the whole of Suzuki really glad I had to remind myself of that. And yeah, an amazing drive from him.

One of those, back when the Alpine was more, you know, probably top of the midfield before racing balls kind of kicked on. He was just scoring like P7s and things for fun. And then of course got that podium as well. So yeah, a really good season for Gassley so far. The fans, P6, Liam Lawson, with an average grade of 7.4, highest grade of 9 in Monaco and Silverstone,

and lowest grade of four in Australia. P5, Tommy. P5 for me is Liam Lawson with an average grade of 7.7. Highest grade was a 10 in Monaco. Lowest grade was a 5 in Australia. Parts of me was thinking that Liam Lawson might be number one,

which is how seemingly he has the grades that he's scored and seemingly getting eights and nines every single week. It feels like particularly at the moment, at the end of the day, you could say that the racing balls is a very good car, it's the class of the midfield now.

And there's always that element of like, a bit like Gasly at the start of the season, the top driver in the midfield gets huge plaudits. But I think it's totally deserved with what he's doing because it's the consistency, I think, is the most impressive. It feels like all,

the time at the moment, Lawson is the one that's finishing best of the rest where there's that chasm between the top and the midfield. And when Lawson is finishing there, he's never going to be able to, and no one is, be able to beat any of those top runners. That's why we're so kind of maybe less excited by those drives through the field, because it's just pretty much impossible to beat them. So when he does finish best of the rest, which is very often, he's getting eights and nine all the time. And his consistency has been so, so good. His 10 was for Monaco, which was such a crazy race.

I cannot even remember when he finished. But I imagine it was very good. Let me just actually look. And Georgie just type in BBC Sport as if they were going to go to there for the results. but I can realize I can just do it through Google. He was sixth. So yeah, a great result from him there, strong in qualifying. And yeah, he's just been so, so impressive this year.

And I wouldn't be surprised if no one's catching racing balls. Because as we say, he had a low grade in Australia, like didn't start the season well compared to his teammate Limblad who had an amazing race. if he keeps doing this like consistently he could end up even higher on this list for me absolutely my fifth position max for stappen completely washed average grade of a 7.9 highest grade of nine in australia austria belgium and hungry and a lowest grade of six in china max has not received a single 10 for me the entire year dreadful dreadful driver and i'm kidding i'm kidding i'm kidding i'm joking obviously he's a phenomenal talent just winding you up if anything

Max's season he's been fighting his own inner demons in the sense of hating everything these 2026 cars stand for and I don't think he's put down I don't think he's driving to the level of which we've seen in the past when he's fighting for world championships

there have been small moments here and there of course he's had the problem with his rear wing which turns out to be an issue that the rebel have tried to rectify and yeah it's a really hard season this one to to sort of measure he's done phenomenally well over the last couple of races it's just yeah the red bull's not been great he's been complaining most of the time car degradation so on and so forth i still think you know max is still performing at a level that a sort of decent season for him not his best but a decent season is still better than well 17 other drivers in my list so

Yeah, a P5 for Max for staff, but I'm not particularly shocked to see that. And an average grade of 7.9 is still a very, very strong number. So that is my P5. As for the fans, George Russell with an average grade of 7.4, a highest grade of 10 in Australia, and the lowest grade of 3 in Monaco. I'd be interested to see what our George grades were in comparison. 7.6 for me, and he's 7th. And yours was the 7.3.

Wow, okay. That is fascinating to read. In fourth place, just missing out on the podium of our mid-season driver ratings, Liam Lawson, with an average grade of 7.9 as well. So the same as Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson has put down a brilliant season, and the average grade speaks everything you need to hear about that. And highest grade of 10 in Monaco, a lowest grade of 6 in Australia, Miami and Belgium. He's not out of 5 this year from me.

Yes, he had a steady start in Australia. But the consistency, the level he's put down has been fantastic. Yes, the car's been great. Yes, the car's been fifth fastest. But you have to turn up week and week out and deliver on that front. And that's what he's done. Let's not forget. Literally only last year he was thrown out of that Red Bull team after only a matter of races,

a couple of races. He was at his absolute lowest, but he's turned it around phenomenally. and I'm not, I wouldn't even change it. I wouldn't even change fourth position in my driver ratings if I could just pick it because I have been so, so impressed by him. P4 in my driver ratings is Max Verstappen with an average grade of eight, exactly. Highest grade was a nine in Australia, Monaco,

Austria, Belgium and Hungary. So no 10 from me. Lowest grade was a six in China and Miami. I remember in particular Miami, my grade giving him a six was very controversial, surprisingly getting sort of annoyance for grading Max lower than what people gave him. But again, it was another drive where he spun at the start, which was his fault, and then went through the field.

And again, like, he's in a top car. It's expected to go through the field. So that's like the lowest grade that I gave Max and China as well, where like the Red Bull was just horrible. They were having a really tough time and then it broke as well. You retired from the race. And yeah, still no 10. Maybe there's a bit of kind of because Max has won so many races,

even though the Red Bull is not quite there, even those races where he's finished second and maybe put in a really, really strong drive, we're not getting like, we're expecting like a 10 from a max win for example. But a really weirdly, surprising. I think even the fanboy that I am, dare I say, if I was like, yeah, Max has been the fourth best driver of the season. I think a lot of people would be like, no, Max

hasn't actually been grey. He's not like wild anyone, but I think it's just that relentless consistency of Max of, again, like we're talking about how he beats Hadjar every week, still like very strong and getting good grades. But I think because Max has been so strong in the past and pretty much always challenging for a world title, you kind of put this season as a kind of, oh, it's not really one of his best, which is mad, because it's a fourth,

fourth best driver on my list and fifth, fifth on yours as well. So, yeah, and tied fourth. Yeah, so like it's still a top five driver. In fourth place from the fans, Lando Norris,

with an average grade of 7.6, highest grade of 10 in Hungary, and a lowest grade of five in Monaco. We now move to the podium. The podium. Indeed, P3, I have Lewis Hamilton with an average grade of 8.1. Highest grade, no surprise, is his drive in Barcelona, his race win, of course, with a 10. Lowest grade of 6 in Miami where, yeah, he had a shocking race and we were kind of questioning, oh no, is Hamilton's pace going to drop off again? But certainly didn't.

You know, he went through that stage where he was, we thought, how's he going to beat Charler this year? year, you know, he was way down our rankings last year because he had such a poor season, couldn't get comfortable with the car struggling against Charlotte Clare, but instead, you know, he's had this amazing season where he's turned his form around. He's obviously much happier in this regulation of car, not been perfect in kind of a few recent races. We've seen a few mistakes here and there that's dropped a few of his grades down to like sevens and things. but can't take anything away from what a great year Lewis Hamilton's had and it's no surprise that if I was picking I'd definitely put Lewis in the top three this year because he's kind of answered

a lot of critics and people saying that you know this is this is it for Lewis is he going to retire and end on such a bad note in last year but here he is you know getting race wins and regular regular podiums. P3 for me is Lando Norris with an average grade, you guessed it, of 7.9. So fifth, fourth and third all have 7.9 as an average grade. Of course, it's Lando's graded higher because he's had more tens and if they have the same amount of tens, then it goes to nines and so on. So Lando, P3, highest grade of a 10 in Miami and Hungary and a lowest grade of six in China, Monaco and Austria. I feel comfortable with this. I have been going on and on on, on the podcast in the last few race weekends about how Lando's season is slightly underplayed, underrated,

maybe, because every time he's not had a car that's disintegrating, he's done brilliantly well. The calmness that he's showing now that he's won a world championship into this year, I think is on full display. You know, we talk about these sort of, they're not tangible, but these benefits that drivers get when they win a world championship and how they might drive after that. I think this is, I think Lando is a pure example of that where he is just driving with a different air of confidence, I would say. And his season has had some lows, mainly due to the McLaren not working. But yeah, a lot of highs and of course off the back of an amazing win in Hungary.

So, yeah, well done to Lando. And I think that he could even go higher if McLaren are able to continue on this trend where they can sort of challenge. It'll be good to see. Third place for the fans, Max Vestappen, with an average grade of 7.8, highest grade of 9 in Australia,

Austria, Belgium, Hungary, and a lowest grade of 5 in China. I'm glad it's not me that's put Max in the top three because I'd definitely get called a fan boy. He was the fan boy now. Exactly. P2,

who has just missed out top spot of the P1 mid-season driver ratings. I know that they'll all be tuning in maybe in like a driver brief. or something in the run up to Zamvort or watching this video. Second place, Lewis Hamilton for me, with an average grade of 7.9. So fifth, fourth, third and second, all 7.9 as an average grade.

So you're telling me with one... Max is actually the second best driver then, technically. No, Liam Lawson is the joint second best driver as well for me. But Lewis has just edged it on the countback. Lewis Hamilton's season this year has been a true resurgence from the seven-time champ. 2022 to 2025, we're all questioning where has he gone. Moments, yes, but that was really all we ever saw of Lewis.

He just didn't enjoy the ground effect cars, didn't enjoy the brakes when he went to Ferrari last year, and he's been able to change that. Charlotte Clers followed Sue, and Lewis sort of just putting his DNA as he likes to call it into the car and and it's showing. He's he's back and I'm scared as a Charles LeCler fan that the minute Ferrari produce a world championship winning car, Hamilton might be the one to win it. Of course, the the storylines of him winning an eighth

at Ferrari would be phenomenal and of course there would be an element of sadness for me, but there'll also be an element of wow, that's an incredible storyline. And he's got a chance. He's 50 points away. The reason why he's not first is, well, I think my first place you can imagine is probably quite far away in terms of the average grade. But yes, there have been blemishes on his card, things where there could have been a nine, could have been an eight, could have been a ten, had he not picked up penalties in the last few, some unwarranted as we've discussed at spa, but some definitely within his own making. So, yeah, P2 for Lewis Hamilton for me and a 7.9.

P2 for me is Lando Norris, with an average grade of 8.1. so the same as Lewis Hamilton however two tens for Lando Norris in Miami and Hungary sorry to be the bearer of curses but his lowest grades and I would argue

his only two real bad races this year were Monaco and Austria I said he would win and Austria I picked him as my good surprise so Lando fans I will not be uttering his name for the rest of the season good surprise Lando Norris for Hungary any won by an absolute landslide.

So you're welcome. So, yeah, they are the only two races where you've gone, oh, Landos, yeah, like not really had a good one, slower than Piastri, not looked up to it. But my word, he has been absolutely sensational for the rest of the year. So, so good. Even China where I could only give him a seven

because basically marked on his sprint because he did so well in the sprint. I had to give him his props there. And yeah, brilliant drive in Hungary, so, so quick. Miami as well, so nearly the driver to be the first one to beat the Mercedes. Had McLaren done a better strategy for him, he would have won that race as well. So, yeah, Lando has landed. Landed.

That's a very commentary line. But he is a driver that I think if there was any doubt, and there shouldn't be, but people love to hate and question everything of like him winning the world title and how good of a driver he is because he still got a lot of unfair criticism even when he won the world championship last year.

This is a proper like, or watch this, because he has been so, so strong this year, showing he's one of the best drivers on the grid, a worthy world champion. and he's been driving so, so well. And I think that new level of confidence of like, you can see it as body language and everything of kind of such a different year for him. Sadly, you know, he's not going for the world title this year.

Yet. Yet, who knows. Maybe he does a max and claws back a massive gap. It would be amazing to watch because he has been very strong in the last couple. But Landoz had a phenomenal season. And, yeah, if I were to pick, I would. be putting him second anyway because I think he has been the second best driver this season for me. The fans, they disagree. They've gone for Lewis Hamilton with an average grade of eight on the nose,

the highest grade of 10 in Barcelona and a lowest of six in Miami. So who has won the midseason driver ratings? Well, by way of elimination, Tommy, I think everybody's going to know what you're about to say. They are. It is in P1, Kimmy Antonelli. And we've said that a lot this year. P1 Kimmy Antonelli, average grade an 8.7 out of 10, so a big jump has to be said. And that is because he has got two tens in Monaco and Belgium. His lowest grade was a seven in Austria, which some people thought I was quite harsh for, giving him a seven, because, yeah, he finished on the podium, but he had a really scruffy race Antenelli in that race. And it's his only seven of the year. When he has, you know, had, we went through quite a run where he was getting nines even when he was

winning the race. But it's his consistency there, you know, 8, 9, 9, 10, 8, 9, 10, 8, 7, 9, 10, 8. Just no one else has those kind of grades this year. And it's because Antonelli has just always looked like he could at least win the race every single time. And a lot of the time he has. what won the race. You know, people weren't expecting, and unsurprisingly, that he was going to be able to beat George Russell this year, be able to challenge him for the title. We thought it was George's after the first race and, oh no, this is going to be an awful year. And Antonelli stepped up as soon as he won his first race, went on this amazing run. Monaco, I know we're, we're not doing this, but I'm going to create a little extra award and say, the P1 best drive of the year for me is

that drive in Monaco. We've given P1s. Just making an award up on the fly. Exactly. In the mid-season. In mid-season. So far, I just like, what's the best drive of the season so far? I have to go for Kimmy in Monaco.

That one, you know, was so, so good. He was amazing in Kuali when Ferrari should have been quicker. Amazing in the race, just completely faultless while his teammate was struggling. It was a track that shouldn't have suited Mercedes. And he was unbelievable. he's driving like a veteran a lot of the time, you know, just looking so calm and collected for someone that's only 19 leading the World Championship. And it's, yeah, no surprise at all that Kimmy Antonelli is top of this list and top by quite a long way as well.

My first position, unsurprisingly, Lance Stroll. I've changed it around. You just could not resist making the joke. Couldn't resist. I was all thinking. It's the Tifi DJ in Silverstone, 10 out of 10. Kimmy Antonelli, of course, is my first position with an 8.9 average grade, 0.2 higher than what Tommy's given Antonelli,

with the highest grade of 10 in Monaco and Belgium, and a lowest of 8 in Barcelona, Austria and Hungary. He's not scored anything lower than an 8 the entire year. But that being said, as you mentioned, he also went on a run of winning races but not scoring 10s because there were mistakes there. He was not a complete perfect package. There were moments that could have ended badly for him when he's racing George Russell at Canada, for example.

But these are tiny, tiny marks on what is such an impressive, phenomenal midway point of his season. He's not looked like he's been phased by this being given a championship winning car at all. Most weekends, I'm sat there going, maybe this is the weekend we start to see a crack show. And Antonelli starts thinking about the championship. He's 19 years old. But he hasn't. He has a 50 point lead in the World Championship. Could be more if he didn't have two retirements himself.

Of course, George has had problems. But George isn't even second in the World Championship. It's Lewis Hamilton. Yeah. So Kimmy could easily be 80 or 90 points clear right now, had Fortune slightly favoured him a little bit more. So, yeah, Antonelli 100% would be my number one. He would 100% be that far clear as well on his average grade.

Or like, you know, if I was to say. That's like, yeah, miles clear in first place. Antonelli's been the driver of the season. Expectation as well. Even after Australia, you go, oh, and yeah, George is winning every race this year. Kimmy, you know, good luck. Maybe you'll get some retirements from George to maybe have a chance of the World Championship. No, it's the other way around.

So yet, I cannot say more superlatives for Antonelli and his performance this year so far. Let's hope for his sake, he keeps it up. But for the championship, can you not? Thank you. So we can get, you know, like four or five drivers in. for the world championship. Thank you, including Charlotte Claire. Okay, the fans, Kimmy Antonelli as well,

with an average grade of 9 out of 10, the highest grade of 10 in China, Monaco and Belgium, and a lowest of 8 in Barcelona, Austria and Hungary. So there you go. That is our grades, our rankings locked in.

And now the thing you literally host, hosted, teased. Teased, is because it says hosts in this thing. Oh, right. is about five hours ago when we started this podcast was where do our biases swing? Where do our points go? And you've got a little chart.

Not biases. Just our grades compared to the fans. Well, no, you know, people might think we're biased. And then when we say, well, actually, this is what we've done compared to the fans. What have we learned? What have we learned is that Hadja, by far and away, is the driver who's got more than our grade. as I mentioned, nought.6 of a point every single time. The fans are also very generous to Charlotte.

Yeah, well, yeah, let me come into that for a second, hey. Oh, who's the fan boy? Apparently you, the fans. Exactly. Point two, three, on average, grading him higher than me and Tommy. Antonelli also gets a little bit more of a grade. Bottas as well, maybe no surprise because Bottas, even when he was doing quite badly, would get a lazy five.

Hamilton and Stroll perfectly rated If you'd have guessed Who I say perfectly rated In our opinion Of us two versus the fans And if you'd have said Who's actually going to be You know

How Jaws the most overrate Who's the one that's underrated By the fans compared to us I'd have picked Stroll every day of the week So it's interesting that he's You know We both agreed on that There in terms of the driver

Who has been least agreed with with ours is Carlos of us highly rating. So Carlos Sines on average receives a 0.7 of a point lower every single race. So the fans are not

and that would have been obviously even from Hungary. Well had it no because they were the same so had it been a zero. It would have been even more extreme. Oh yeah it was nearly a zero wasn't it? Yeah. Gassley second from yeah 0.6 on average

getting lower from the fans And then Liam Lawson, who's obviously very high up on that list. Lawson and Lando Norris actually receive 0.4, like almost 0.5. 0.45, Tommy. This is Formula 1. Let's use the exact numbers. Oh, sorry. We don't. We don't do. We don't do decimals anymore. We have to, otherwise everything's just 0 or 1. 0.38. The fans, sorry, we vote higher for Holkenberg over you guys the fans. Alonzo.36, Perez 2, Lindblad,

0.23, Borsoletto, 0.18. Albon, 0.14. Same for Piastri, same for Vestappen. Colapinto gets 0.09 more from us. And then finally, George Russell, 0.05. So, there you go. That is the results. Interesting, yeah, to see.

I'm glad it's not crazy. I'm glad there's not like, you give Max Verstappen seven extra points every single race. So, yeah, that's an interesting to see how it changes. It's not all too extreme, but yeah,

interesting to see the two sides of it that hadjar and, you know, who's the fanboy of LeClau. Apparently you guys. There you go. Right, that is it. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in to this mid-season driver ratings,

a long one, a juicy one. I hope you've enjoyed both of these parts, of course. Disappointed that Liam Lawson's not number one for both of us, thought that was coming, but of course, Kimi Antonelli. What a story. that would have been winning by a mile will that continue of course we will look at our average grades at the end of the year as well to recap and see how things have changed didn't do with final thoughts so tommy final thoughts final thoughts that was a lot of fun to dive into it I think more than any other season that was a lot of surprises I think by our own own grades and things so yeah really interesting one to dive into and hope you enjoyed a very beefy podcast very beefy lots of love bye bye P1 is a stack production and part of the ACAST creator network.