P1 with Matt and Tommy - Our 2026 mid-season F1 Driver Ratings: P22 to P11

Episode Date: August 3, 2026

We get plenty of comments about them, so we've done the maths... And it's time to reveal our average driver ratings for the halfway point of this F1 season! And you said WE were biased?!Our brand new live show 'Super Podding' is coming to the UK this autumn! Get your tickets here: http:/tix.to/p1liveSign up to our Patreon for just $5 a month! You'll get access to every P1 episode ad-free, extended versions of every 2026 race review, 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 P1 with Matt and Tommy is the world's biggest F1 podcast. Subscribe for new podcasts around every single race throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the B1 podcast with Matt and Tommy in real life. Don't touch me. Sorry. I had to. I did not give you permission for that. But we are here at the Fanatics Collectible store in Regent Street because we've got some very cool things happening in this podcast. And I'm very happy to be here, Tommy. Very happy to see you in person and to talk about our mid-season driver ratings.

And I have absolutely no. idea where drivers are going to be. That is the beauty of this and I'm more excited than ever for this. Obviously it's our average grade throughout the year. So, you know, we're not picking 22nd to 1st. And it's based on the average and it's been such an unusual year, hasn't it, this year with Formula 1, massive change in the regulation, so much going on. And that's what is the beauty of it. I don't actually know what it's going to be. So it's going to be a lot of fun. Now, if you are unaware of what these mid-season driver ratings are. Essentially, we do driver ratings every single race weekend from zero all the way to 10. And you love them. I love them. I love your comments. So keep

them coming in about how much you disagree with us. Helps the algorithm. So with the averages, basically, is what we're going to be working with. So we'll, we put it through the data calculated thing. Exactly. And we've got our drivers from 22 all the way to first. And that's going to be exciting. We'll have yours as well, won't we? We'll have the fans. The fans as well, of course. And a little bonus to make sure you watch all the way to the end. We've got some nice little info as well about how our grades are different to fans as well. So stay tuned for that.

Yes, yes. And how our biases or maybe not biases work out. So let's get into it, shall we, and begin with 22nd position. P22 for me. Last, the Wooden Spoon Award goes to Valtry Botas. I'm sorry, Valtrey, but I'm really not surprised. If I was going to say anything in terms of surprising moments, this is not one of them. My average grade for him was a 4.9.

Now, he got a big old seven in China, Valtrey Bottas. P-13 of Dreams. Which is, you know, still doing him solid against the, well, the big battle with Sergio Perez. Cadillac, they've been very up and down. We were sort of singing their praises at the start of the year. year and then they had a bit of a slump after Austria where they've brought upgrades and all of a sudden the reliability is a massive issue. It has been an issue of course before then. But yeah, there's so many issues happening at Cadillac that it is very difficult to, as much as we joke about

our Bottas versus Perez rivalry, it's very difficult to fairly judge how either of them are doing. There was the rumours around Valtrey losing his seat in Canada, I think it was. Then he's picked it up a little bit, but then again, how much of that is Perez's car breaking? Quite a lot of the time, but then Valtrey also has bad reliability. So yes, I'm unsurprised to see 22nd for Valtry BOTAS. My 22nd place is Valtory Bottas with an average grade of 4.7. So slightly lower. Interestingly enough, yeah, not surprised that it's Valtry. However, what I will say is, interestingly, that, yeah, yours is 4.9, mine's 4.7. Years gone by when we've done this. There's normally a driver that's had an absolute horrendous year getting twos and threes every single week.

Some might say it's the year of the five. Maybe. But here, you know, highest grade for me was a six as well, lowest grade three in Canada, as you mentioned. In Canada, Bottas was having a kind of a run of a few races where Perez was able to deliver in that Cadillac even though it was pretty terrible car, be able to show at least something. And Bottas was finishing way behind. his teammate having a shocker and that's where all these rumors which ended up being completely you know squashed and it was a load of rubbish but of him potentially even being replaced but botas hasn't had a good year that's for sure i'm not surprised that he's 22nd however i will caveat with the fact that you know this year we've definitely had a worse p 20 well 22 this year driver

i think we've been a bit more sympathetic with to these new regulations and it's been kind of of erring on the side of caution with some of these drives. You know, some drivers are finishing four laps down. We're like, oh, it's probably the car. Probably, you know what, that's a five. Now, I'm looking at Bottas' grades after the two canceled races in Saudi and Bahrain. I scored him 534-55-55-5-5-5. So that tells you everything you need to know about Bottas and his performances this year.

But hey, let's not forget China. And we've heard the half-grade comments next year, don't you worry. We've heard them. But also there was a lot of people saying no. So I think we actually have to do a poll. Oh, wow. Okay, just to figure that one out. because some people are saying that it overcomplicates it

if we go to half grades. So we're going to do it out of a thousand instead. So yet Valtry Bottas is last for both of us. The fans aren't stroll. It's your P-22 this year with an average grade of five. We didn't have any... So the fans, don't get... Right here, right now, the analytics say

that the fans have not given any driver an average of anything other than 5.0. Wow. Nothing lower than a 5. Yeah. Generous. feeling good about Valtrey clearly. But yes, they've gone for Lance

with the highest grade of seven in Hungary and three in Monaco. 21st position, Tommy. 21st for me is Lance Stroll with an average grade of exactly five. Highest grade was a seven in Hungary, lowest grade of four in China, Canada and Monaco. Lance has had an okay year.

Obviously, again, he's at the back. I think a lot of it is the fact. that he's not been able to do really a lot, so he's never really getting more than like a five, for example, other than Hungary, where they could actually do something and they had the upgrades. But a lot of those fours have been the fact that, you know, maybe Alonzo has finished well clear or done something special in qualifying, and it feels a bit of a lazy five to just give him straight down the middle when, you know, people have done a lot worse than their teammate. Yeah, Lance, maybe no surprise to be lower down the order, but I don't think he's had a terrible year as such.

No, no, it's so funny. You know, we talk about Aston Martin and I think it's more the fact that Fernando Alonzo maybe hasn't done special things. Canada, I think, was one moment where he got himself up into an insane position in the tractor. But apart from that, do you mean, he's got a point? He's got a point. I mean, let's not get into Monaco and why he got a point, because everybody decided to not start in the correct grid positions. and crash and all sorts of stuff. But yeah, it's mad to think that, you know,

we've given both Aston Martin drivers a lot of fives, and my 21st position is Lance Stroll with 5.0 as my average grade. And that's not to say I've given him five the entire season, because I've not. 5, 5, 6, 4, 3, 6, 4, 5, 7. And that's how we've ended up at 5 bang on. And that's why we shouldn't have half grades because we wouldn't get such beautiful 5.0s.

The fans have given it to Valtry Bottas with an average grade of 5.5. point zero with the highest grade of six in china and four in monaco right we've said goodbye to one cadillac and one astam martin driver we go to 20th position and mine is alice alban oh no alex i hope you're not tuning in because it scarred me now every time that you said not every time the one time you've told us that you have tuned into some kind of driver rating but hopefully not this one hopefully not this one um i i'm not surprised with this one either to be honest with you. I don't think it's been a particularly

strong year for Albon so far. Of course, Williams have struggled. My highest grade for Alex was an eight in Monaco and a three at Silverstone. Overall, he's obviously struggled to

get anything out of that Williams because it's been pretty poor, pretty terrible. James Vals needs to put his hands up and say, look, I've failed you guys for this year. This was the year we were aiming for. But that being said, I think Carlos has still been the standout Williams driver this year and has been the one to, I mean, let's ignore hungry for a second. I know a lot of people are still emotional about that, but he has been the better Williams driver, most of the time, you would have to say.

So not surprised to see Alex down in 20th as much as it hurts me with a 5.5 average grade if I didn't say that. P20 for me is also Alex Albern with a 5.6. Will we agree the entire way through? I hope not. I don't think we do. And so yeah, Alex Albin, crazy to think. This time last year, Alex Alburn had a great Williams car underneath him and was able to prove all the doubters wrong. I was having an amazing season.

I think he was up in well into the top 10 in our midseason ratings, maybe even higher, almost into the top five because he was scoring so many points. The Williams was great. The problem for Alex here is one, the car is nowhere near good enough. so he's unable to do what he can. So it's very rare for him to get any higher grades. And equally, Carlos has had the measure of him this year. I have got here. I'm bringing the stats here.

So Alex Album does actually have the worst head-to-head with his teammate in qualifying. Science is 12-1. So, yeah. And this is the thing with Williams that the car is poor, no doubt. And that's probably why Alex is so low down this list. for sure, but he hasn't been at the level that his teammate has managed to show sometimes consistently and a deservingly good grade for Monaco where he was very strong, but sadly just hasn't had enough of a car underneath him to be able to show it more often.

He has not the fans in 20th position. Esteban Ocon with an average grade of 5.3, highest grade 7 in Japan and Monaco, and the lowest grade of 4 in China and Belgium. 19th position time we're getting pretty high now who's got p 19 the dizzying heights of p 19 is estabana o'con with a 5.6 out of 10 this doesn't surprise me that o'con's low on this list he hasn't had the best year we've spoken many times about will he stay in formula one will he be at has next year or yeah like even stay in formula one altogether his highest grade was a nine in japan where i think he was absolutely brilliant

you know, put in a great performance there. His lowest grade, he's got fours in China, Canada, Austria and Belgium from me. And that seems to be like a running trend recently. I know he had a much better race in Hungary, but last time out. But Ocon has really struggled this year compared to his teammate, Berman. And there's always that side of a veteran driver and, of course, a race winner in O'Con. You expect him to be better than Berman. I know Berman is this brilliant talent and has a lot.

and has been in former a little while now but you feel like if Ocon wants to stay in Formula while he needs to be beating someone like Bearman who's still a bit rough around the edges still learning and stuff so it's a disappointing year

for Ocon no doubt so I'm not really surprised to see him this far down no my P19 is also Estaban Ocon what a turnaround of events for Esty Besty this year you look at the first three races two of those were excellent

in Australia and Japan. I gave him nines for both of those. And then you fast forward, and it's been a run of just, meh, you know, not the best performance. Of course, Hasse have fallen off in terms of where they sit in the pecking order, and Esteban maybe has,

and they've also, again, this is what frustrates me so much with this season is like the inconsistency of parts you hear at Hasse and, oh, my car's not the same as his. And it's up and down the grid. not just has. So that's something that I constantly get a little bit aggravated about. But you have to grade what's in front of you.

And Esteban Okon has been beaten quite comprehensively by Olly Behrman. That's where maybe some of our slightly harsher grades come in because we look at the teammate comparison and we go, oh, Olly Beerman's very new to the sport. And he's able to extract some brilliant positions and results out because we were giving, I think, Beerman, I think it was a nine and a ten at the start of the year. Yeah, the head to head. Yeah, I mean, points-wise, 18 to 3 in the points for Olly Behrman, which shows.

O'Conn has had a good run of races, but the biggest thing for Hasse is scoring points, and Olly Behrman's got a lot of them, and O'Con really hasn't. 11-4 in the Qali head-to-head as well, between Bearman and O'Con in Bearman's favour, and obviously a best race finish of fifth for Olly. So it's been pretty good, I would say, in the Olly-Berman. camp for his future career. But for Ocon, as you say, I know we say race winner. I don't want to take anything away from that.

Of course, it's a one race win where it was the most mental, crazy, ridiculous thing to ever happen. So it's not quite the same as like saying Carlos signs the race winner, who's, of course, one multiple for Ferrari. Ocon, yes, he has won a race and he's shown that he can win a race when the circumstances are there. But I wouldn't say, put him on the same sort of pedestal as some of the other race-winning drivers in Formula One. But that being said, he should be doing better.

There was a lot of hype around him many years ago, and it's not really come to fruition for Ocon. But here's hoping he can turn it around. Of course, it wasn't the worst performance for him in Hungary, and he was able to beat Behrman who had serious struggles. The fans gave it to Alex Albon. Average grade, 5.4, highest grade of a 7 in Miami and Monaco, and the lowest grade of 4 in Japan.

18th position. Sergio Perez. An average grade of 5.9. My highest grades for him came in Japan, Miami, I assume that is meant to say. And Canada, seven out of ten for all three of those. And then lowest grade, only fives in China, Austria, Belgium and Hungary. For Perez, no, I backed Bottas coming into the year. I was like, look, Valtrey, he's got that Saturday in him.

I didn't know about Sunday. Turns out it doesn't really have either day in him this year. Perez has done a great job in a team that I think also has done a great job on the face of it. Maybe don't look at the amount of retirements now because they are stacking up. But Cadillac have done a brilliant job to come into the sport in such an insanely technical and difficult regulation set. And for Perez, he's shown that he hasn't lost it. It's hard to know just where his level is. Same with Bottas because they are so far away from any sort of meaningful points.

but not to take anything away from Perez to nearly have an average grade of six when you're in a car that can easily be given a lazy five is testament to I think what Czechos has done so far this year. I also have Sergio Perez in 18th place with a 5.8 average grade. Highest grades were seven in Japan, Miami and Canada as well.

A lot of fives. Impressive really that Perez hasn't had one of those races his way you go actually lower than a five because he's been really off his teammate or stuff. He certainly hasn't. I think the one stand out there that isn't his highest grade for either of us is Monaco. And had he lined up in his grid box properly, he'd be getting a point and we'd probably be thinking at 10, probably a 10. But instead, me and you, I think, were harsh on him because it is a mistake and you have to, you know,

punish mistakes in these driver. that's what it's there for because it's a driver error. But Perez, I think, really has done a really good job this year. He's been a driver that's been much more comfortable, I think, than his teammate. And I think what we've seen is Bottas kind of struggling to get results here and that in that kind of mid part of the season, whereas Perez see what we've seen. to be somehow able to fight a midfield car, almost get into Q2.

He was battling seemingly, you know, having the odd ding-dong with his old friend Liam Lawson a few times at the start of the season when we thought Cadillac would be way at the back and absolutely nowhere. So it's a good job from Perez this year, but when you're in a car that's at the back,

you're not really going to hit any higher than 18th to the list. And of course, retiring as well. Exactly. 9-5 to Perez in the qualifying head-to-head as well. so Mr Saturday in Bottas is struggling a little bit on his special day. The fans gave it to Sergio Perez. Average grade of a 5.6, a 7 in Monaco and a 5 in Australia, China, Canada, Austria, Belgium and Hungary. Lots of fives from the fans.

17th position, Tom Bellingham. 17th to me is Nika Holkenberg. The 6.1, which is quite a surprise, actually. I'm very curious to see with these lists and we said this before on drive ratings you have a driver like Nico Holkenberg this low down

and you do think is are they it seems harsh for him to be that low but then you actually look at who's ahead of him and a lot of the time you're like yeah okay fair enough I wouldn't actually put him ahead of these these drivers his high his highs have been

Barcelona hungry last time out was a brilliant drive to get points. Lots of, lots of fives. Obviously, he's had a lot of reliability issues. For me, like, you know, the race head to head is 10-5 in Bortoletto's favour. We expect a lot more from Hulkemberg, maybe. When we're saying 10-5, of course, that's including Spence. Yes, yeah, as well, yeah. And, yeah, Bortletto's had three points for this is one. Reliability, obviously, is a big factor here. But yeah, Holkenberg, I don't think he's had the greatest season personally, but maybe 17th is surprisingly late.

Interesting. My 17th is Fernando Alonzo. Disagreement. Oh, yeah, we've disagreed. I'm sure he'll come in. I'm sure he'll come in in 16th place for you. 6.2 average grade for Fernando Alonzo, a highest grade of 10 in Monaco,

of course, scoring that insane point in a horrible car. and then the lowest grade of five in multiple races. It's, um... That 10 was a joke, by the way. That 10 was a joke. Yeah, I still can't believe that there was a 10, but, you know. All right, I respect it because, you know, I'm a Lonso fan, and it was just a bit of a mockery of the 10, but...

A mockery? Yeah, what do you mean? Like, he scored a point. Yeah, I know it was insane. I know that they were... He circulated, and he scored a point. Like, don't, let's not open up the Oscar Piastri-Hungary debate again, you know? Let's not do that.

So, yeah, I think that perhaps the 10 in Monaco was a bit of a stretch. But at the same time, when are you ever going to give a car that's five or six seconds a lap slower, a 10? Like, you're just not. He scored a point. So I still back that. And he's still 17th in my driver ratings because this is the epitome of a lazy five, because they break, they are at the back. We don't know what's gone on. Fernando's not really

I mean he has occasionally cooked Lance stroll but I'd say since they've been teammates this is probably the least he's cooked Lance stroll because those two just decide to... 11 to 2 in qualifying the least he's cooked up Yeah but if you actually look at the races right I know it says 9-3 head-to-head Alonzo's beating stroll

but you actually look at them they're battling on track they're... He's not been miles ahead has he? No he's not. A lot of them sometimes he has but not it's not like a regular occurrence like maybe years gone by. Yeah, yeah it's more than

the pace difference than it is, obviously, the results. Alonso may be just thinking, well, I should battle Lance, because otherwise I'm not going to see another car. And I joked about the qualifying head-to-head, but it is 11-2, which technically is good for Stroll, because of course it was that 44 run of races where he hadn't out-qualified. Stroll hadn't out-qualified Alonzo, so actually he's cooking. So, yes, Lance Stroll actually should be first in our mid-season drive ratings.

So, yeah, Alonzo is locked in for me. For the fans, Carlos Sines, with a nice. average grade of 5.8. I wonder if the, to be fair, it was very close to zero, which would have been, I think Carlos would have plummeted even more down the order. Because, yeah, like, that seems quite harsh on Carlos with the way he's driven. He's, the problem is, again, it's that situation of, like, he's not got a car underneath him to be able to prove it.

But I think he has more often than not. And, yeah, a grade that low. For something like Hungary, you know, we've both gone for Holkenberg and Alonzo in our 17th place. Neither of them dropped below five, which I think is the kind of reason why these average grades are actually quite high for even the lower drivers. We've not given out many kind of ones and twos this year because, yeah, it's been very little of that. And obviously, if you get one, it plummets your grade quite a lot. And that's probably what has happened to Carlos here. Certainly does.

So, yeah, the average grade was a five point. in eight. The highest grade was an eight in China and Miami and the lowest grade of three in Hungary. 16th position. Niko Holkenberg is my P-16 with an average grade of 6.3, highest grade of a 9 in Hungary, lowest grade of 5 in Canada, Silverstone and Belgium. Nika Holkenberg has been plagued with a lot of car issues, as we know, was well on for an amazing result in Spain. I can't remember. exactly what we graded him in Spain. I think it was still quite high. Oh, when he had the...

Yeah, he was fighting Lawson, wasn't he, for a point? Yeah, so Spain is... Awesome points. I can't even see Spain in this list. Which one's Spain? Bar, Barcelona. Because it's not Spain. It's technically not Spain anymore.

Yeah, so we still gave him high grades. I think it was an eight from me for Holkenberg there. Yeah, I'm looking at his grades. He had an NA to start in Australia because of just not even starting. And then he had 6-6-6-5-6-8-7-55 and then a 9. So that 9, of course, for scoring some points in Hungary. Overall, Nico's season has been a little bit lackluster.

Of course, he has reliability issues, but I would still expect him to be beating Bortoletto at this stage of their teammate rivalry. And if we were to have a look at the head-to-head, I think we had a look previously with Borteletto. And the head-to-head in qualifying is 8-7 to Hulkenberg, in fact. but in the races, I believe it's all Bortoleto, isn't it? 10-5, yeah. So, of course, 10 points for Bortoletto, two for Holkenberg.

And yet, it's been a steady season for Niko. He's shown, I'd say, I recall saying in quite a few different qualifiers this year of him having scruffy sessions. And perhaps this car isn't really working to his liking, maybe the older gentleman of the grid, which Nica-Holkberg is one of them. it takes a little bit longer to adapt to such a complex car that these 2026 ones are. So yeah, Nicke Hockenberg is my P-16. Grab your popcorn, everyone, because my P-16 is Isaac Hadjar. Now, his average grade is 6.2. His highest grade is an 8 in Australia, Monaco and Belgium.

His lowest grade is a 2 in Miami. Surprised that he's this low for sure. I will counteract the grade. I think if I was choosing them, I'd put him higher. I think a lot of the heavy lifting of the fact that he's so low is getting a two in Miami, as we mentioned. An average grade knocks them down so much when you get a bad grade because we've not been giving a huge amount of bad grades this year.

But I would say that I think Hadjar, before I say all this, Hadjar is, I think, the right driver for Red Bull right now. I do believe that. I think he's also in a very fortunate position that he, and I'm sure there'll be a lot of fans of Liam Lawson, Sergio Perez, Yuki Snowder thinking this, that he has joined Red Bull at a dream time where Helmut Marco's gone, Horn has gone,

there's so much less pressure, there's a chasm between the top teams and the kind of midfield. that when Hadja has a race where he's 40, 50 seconds behind Max, it's still a P6, it's still a P7. So we're of course going to like, it's hard to grade. And for me, like, the kind of, maybe it's a bit of a myth that he's like broken this curse and he's doing absolutely amazingly because he is the only driver that's not beaten his

teammate through the whole season in the head to head. it's uh what you mean in the head to head in the head to head it's 12 3 but those three races are when max retired so it's it's DNF's included those three races as well max was ahead when he retired so that it's a case of like he's doing a solid job and i think it's it's the perfect time and i think he's the right driver to be in there where he's not being just thrown to the like how it was at rebel say someone like Liam Lawson thrown under the bus immediately oh you know he's got time to learn he's got time to improve and he's doing a solid enough job but I think people saying that he should be really high up in this list and he's broken the second seat curse and everything's fine I think is

maybe a little bit over exaggerated um but yeah that's just my my thoughts on it you're unbiased max and stuff and well yeah I need to yeah well look you got to cover off I know there's people sat there they're probably saying the same team. Yeah, probably, but I mean, yeah, some people would say that he's not there to beat Max. So he doesn't have to beat him. But he is also, it's a fact that he is the only driver on the grid that hasn't beaten his teammate in any situation. And, you know, Max hasn't been perfect this year for sure. It's not been a vintage match for Sapa in years, not going for the championship or anything.

So, yeah, I think, I don't think he's been as impressive as people. people maybe think. And if I was someone like Liam Lawson, I'm thinking, God, I wish I was in Red Bull at this time because it's the perfect time to be there and not when he was there. Okay, the fans gave P-16 to Fernando Alonzo. Average grade of 5.8, highest grade of a 10 in Monaco, but apparently that's a joke according to Tom Bellingham. And then a lowest grade of five in a lot of places that I'm not going to read out. Yeah. P-15. I have Fernando Alonzo with a 6.2. I gave him a whopping nine. in Monaco.

A tens of a joke. Yeah, tons of a joke. I kind of wanted to give him an eight to be honest. But no, it was close. But lowest grade was a four in Barcelona. So he did dip below a five for me in Barcelona where, yeah, I don't think he had one of his strongest races. It's been a year where Alonzo is fighting at the back.

There was so much hype and expectation about Alonzo and what he could do this year. And realistically, he's only... At the start of the year, he was able to show it in some round. under moments of like starting on the soft tire or doing something fun in him going showing that he's still got it in terms of like racecraft and being able to make positions up at the start and things but inevitably just slips back down then there was kind of the middle part of the season where he's just racing stroll at the back and we're joking that they're kind of a formula two car hopefully you know he can show more of what he can do with with the upgrades but it's been a

It's been a season where, yeah, it's just been very anonymous really for Fernando and just he's this high up probably just from the fact that there's been a few rare moments where he can show something a little bit special compared to his teammate. Indeed, I'm still processing your Hajjar P16. I'll be so honest. My P-15 is Isaac Hadjar. Oh yeah, sorry, yeah, because we get really angry about one difference. Yeah, yeah, exactly. You know, P-15 just sounds so much better. Yeah, yeah. No, I'm kidding.

Hadjar, I am in agreement with a lot that you've said, to be honest with you. He has shown some qualifying pace, which people have, I think, latched on to and gone, okay, couple of tents behind Max. He's beaten Max twice in qualifying, which no one's done in goodness knows how long. Exactly. So over one lap, he's able to extract a pretty decent amount out of the car that you can't sort of argue against that. However, in race trim, that's where he has fallen off compared to Max.

He's not been really, I guess we were there, weren't we, in Silverstone, but he was quite close, I guess, to Max in the sprint at Silverstone. I feel like they were, that's probably one of the only times I've seen them almost go wheel to wheel. Apart from that, Hajar has lacked race pace compared to Max. And it is a very damning stat to see that he hasn't beaten him once in a race this year. I mean, does any second Red Bull seat do that? And then that would then... No, but I'm surprised by that because it does feel like he did maybe at the start of the year,

because there was this kind of a bit more of a talk of like, Hidda's doing really well. He's broken the second year. I guess he would have beaten him in Australia because Vastappen crashed into the wall in qualifying. Hadjar put it in P3. I'd like to have seen how much would have, you know. There have been opportunities where Hajar may well have got one on the board. So I think that's fair to kind of caveat that.

But that being said, yeah, he's still a way off Max Verstappen. the talent and the ability that we've seen from Max this year. But are we really expecting anything else? I don't think so. Not at this stage, not at your first year in the team. So yeah, P15 seems harsh,

but when you look at other drivers... And of course, are incredibly harsh 8 out of 10 for his drive in Belgium, which a lot of people were probably more leaning on the side of the fact that it should be a 9 or 10 because he's driven through the field. But we've had the conversation a few times, haven't we, about when the top guys come through the field,

it's maybe not as impressive as it maybe looks. It's not. It's not anymore. When you're in a car that's two seconds a lap quicker than all of the midfield, basically, apart from maybe V-Carb, or a second and a half, maybe I'm exaggerating. But a big amount, that's expected to come through the field, I would say. And an eight is not a bad grade. May I remind everybody.

So yes, I gave an eight in Australia, Monaco and Belgium, and a lowest grade of three in Miami. I was slightly less harsh than Tommy for the crash that he had. The fans gave P-15 to Nika Holcomberg with an average grade of 5.8 and highest grade of 8 in Bahrain and Hungary and a lowest grade of 5 in many places. Interesting to see once more the fans' average grade is lower at this stage than where we are.

You know, I'm at a 6.4 for 15th position. You're at a 6.2 and the fans are at a 5.8. Yeah, interesting. And yeah, obviously they do not agree because Hadja has not been mentioned yet. We will wait with baited breath. P1. 14th position.

Wow. I hope you haven't put your popcorn down. Because mine is Oscar Piastri, with an average grade of 6.5. Highest grade of 10 in Japan and the lowest grade of 1 in Australia. That's probably not helping things. Crashed on his way to the grid.

So before OP 81 fans all start hurtling in with comments, I will remind you all of the fact that these grades are so insanely close. 0.1, 0.2 of a grade can get you many positions each way. And yes, that one in Australia has started him off quite terribly. And then after that, he's not been a match for Lando this year. He hasn't. He's had moments of brilliance.

Japan, he should have won, undoubtedly. when I look at his grades and what I've given him this year. Yeah, he starts with a one, then a five, then a ten. And then we get to Miami where he was brilliant again. I scored a nine, then a four in Canada, 7-6-8-6-78. So when you hear those grades, you're like, oh, that's not too bad. And it's a 6.5. You've got to remember it's an average.

Yeah, it's an average of 6.5. Absolutely destroyed it. It's destroyed his opportunity of maybe being in the top 10. I mean, out of curiosity, because I can do this, you get rid of his one it goes up to a seven so it does massively change just put like a six or something let's let's it rather than getting rid of it okay what does it change six point nine which would probably rocket him up the order and this this is the thing like correct me if I'm wrong but I do not see other than yeah like no one has got a grade that low for a one and can you really because I gave him a one as well

I believe can you really blame us like he crashed on his way to the grid he held his hand up. Yes, these cars are very confusing, but he said himself, didn't he? A lot of this is on me. And it was gutting. It's absolutely gutting for him in his home race for it to happen. But it did. It did indeed. So there you go. That's my 14th. P14 for me is Ollie Bearman with an average grade of 6.2. His highest grade was a 10 in China. Lowest grade was a 3 last time out in Hungary. now Olly Behrman could so easily have been higher if Hasse would actually have a good car as they did at the start of the season.

Olly Bearman was absolutely brilliant at the start of the season. He got a nine in Australia from me, then a 10. And, you know, he started off so strong with those amazing results. He got a P5. You know, that seems impossible now to think that A Hasse could get a P5. I've never mind anyone else in the midfield,

just how much those top teams like lock everything out. But with Ollie Bearman, he just hasn't had the machinery for this latter part of the season to be able to continue that great form. And a lot of the time, and this is why drive ratings is so difficult, and we all disagree, and it's so hard to know what to do sometimes with your grade,

is Olly Behrman is essentially now in a race between Hassan Williams and no one else comes close now if Olly Behrman beats them by 20 seconds and finish 15th, it's ridiculous to give him a 10 because that's just silly but yet he has done a really, really good job. So there's always a little bit of like

when the car's not there, it is hard. A little bit is massive. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So Olly Beerman, I think is still a very good driver and had a good season, but there's only so much you can do in that house when it has completely fallen off a cliff. Yeah, very much hamstrung by the car this year.

The fans also went for Olly Behrman, an average grade of 5.9, and a highest grade of 10 in China, and the lowest grade of 4 in Monaco and Hungary. 13th, unlucky for some. 13th, I have Gabrielle Bortoletto, with a 6.4 average grade. His highest was a 9 in Belgium.

His lowest was a 4 in Monaco, where of course he crashed in qualifying. He was looking so strong. Spoke to us on a super unit. So you've got to factor in a bit of P1 curse in that grade as well. 10. Would have been a 10 if he hadn't spoken to us. Nine in Belgium, really, really strong drive.

As we mentioned, Holcombberg is a lot lower down. The head-to-head Bortoletto has been stronger this season. Audi is a bit of a weird one because their car breaks down a lot and it does seem like only one of them a lot of the time seem to be able to get to get a race in without any issues. But Bortleto has done a solid job. Obviously, Niko Hockenberg is a very highly rated driver even if he is in the kind of twilight of his career now. And Bortletto is doing a really solid job against him. So, yeah, I think P-13 is a fair enough assessment.

I'm not really surprised by this one. My P13 is Olly Behrman. Average grade of 6.5, highest grade of a 10 in China and a lowest grade of 4 in Hungary. Yeah, I, and probably my small sprinkling of fanboy for him would be the reason why I'm saying this. And it's the same for a lot of these midfield drivers that are having a great season,

but are in a car that, yeah, you put 20 seconds on your teammate. If you're doing that for P5, you are getting a 10. If you're doing it for P14, you are getting a 7. A 7. Yeah, it's so true. But like how else can we grade them? We have to grade them on star performances and sometimes they just can't do it.

And that is, you know, we bring back the Alex Albon quote again, but that is so true in the fact that you're saying, I could have driven a 10 out of 10 race, but you just don't know. We'll never know. And that's probably one of the frustrating things about being an F1 driver is that it is not equal cars and only they know how well they've performed. That being said, for Olibeam, I think he's done. done really well this year when the Hasse was able to deliver. And it's been a huge fall from grace for Hasse and their performance this year,

that they're now trundling around sort of the ninth fastest car, which is devastating for them. But I think Olly Berman is doing a great job in the sense of solidifying himself as a Formula One driver for years to come. And he'll be waiting for that Ferrari drive whenever it may well appear. The fans, 13th, Oscar Piastri. Oh, thank you. So I'm not going. That's it.

If you've written your abusive comment, please delete it because the fans have gone for 13th. Oscar Piastri with an average grade of 6.4, a highest grade of 10 in Japan and a zero in Australia. So let me just have a look quickly at my average grade of Oscar Piastri, 6.5. And the fans was a 6.4. So actually, I've been nicer to Oscar Piastri than the fans have this year.

Yeah, I mean, Piastri, the zero is doing all the kind of heavy lifting there. I mean no one's come close to that other than Carlos Sainz, which as we mentioned is maybe a bit of kind of heart, not head, with what happened in Hungary. But yeah, that is, of course, going to plummet his grade down massively getting a zero. Indeed, 12th position. Carlos Sines for me with an average grade of 6.6, highest grade of 8 in China, Miami, Canada and Monaco,

and the lowest grade of 3 in Hungary. We have touched upon him already with the comparison with him and Alex Albon. But I do think Carlos has been the stronger Williams driver this year. I don't think he's going to stay around if there's another opportunity to go somewhere else. If there's an Audi sniff, I think he's gone. But for Carlos, he's in his prime right now, I would say. And it's being wasted at a team that is not able to deliver him a car that can score points, let alone anywhere near a podium this year.

So yeah, I think he's still performing it. a level that he can be proud of Hungary, exception. Of course, everyone's going to have a recency bias when it comes to that, but that's not to take away anything of his season. And I think the three was fair. I wouldn't change it as much as a lot of people wanted to give him zero. So yes, P12 for me, Carlos Sons.

P12 for me is Oscar Piastri with a grade of 6.6. Of course, highest grade was a 10 in Japan, lowest grade, a one in Australia. Yeah, just to like, everything you've said and what we said about the fans, you know, same really applies there. Oscar, Australia was obviously the biggest low moment for him.

Japan, he was absolutely amazing, you know, should have won that race without some bad luck. And we're thinking, wow, you know, McLaren are looking really strong. And when, you know, as we've kind of got into the season, there's been some races where, you know, Oscar, I think, was one of them where he was quicker than

Lando Norris, but it's very few and far between and he looks to be struggling a lot more than his teammate when it comes to driving these cars and driving this McLaren. Just raw speed, right? Raw speed, exactly, yeah, we've not seen that and you know

there's question marks of whether that season last year was the kind of moment for him and he was so confident in that McLaren and I think that suits his driving style. I think he is like one of those drivers like a Charlotte Claire that just loves to just go as fast as possible. He was always good at those tracks last year at McLaren where it was

very much like, you know, flat out basically. But yeah, I mean, for his season, when you look at the head-to-head and things, it's not, he's not like miles from Lando. I think that the main thing is qualifying head to head is 114 but then in terms of actual the kind of gap between them. I think they're one of the closest teammates. Yeah, I mean, on average it's 0.06 apart if you count actually all the numbers. So it's not, it's certainly not not his best season. And of course, as we said, the mistake and the really like low moment in Australia is bringing his grade down massively of course as well at this stage. It's a very small pool of races.

So a one or a zero hurts it so hard. Certainly does. The fans went for Gabriel Bortoletto with an average grade of 6.4, a highest grade of 8 in Australia, Silverstone and Belgium and a lowest of 5 in China, Japan, Miami and Canada. Who is missing out just for the top 10 in 11th position? 11th place for me is Carlos Sainz with a 6.6. highest grade was a nine in China.

A lowest grade was a three in Hungary. Yeah, Carlos has been one of those drivers where, as we mentioned, like Alex hasn't had the best year. Carlos has been great in qualifying almost more often than not. Carlos, it has been the quicker driver. There's been races like China, for example, where he got points, I think, even when the car was really, really poor. You know, Williams haven't been anywhere.

they've not really had a race this year where they've even remotely competitive. And yet Carlos has managed to, you know, get some good results for Williams, six points on the board, three points. Yeah, exactly, yeah. But three points finishes on the board. And yeah, Carlos has been the stronger driver. Obviously, the biggest letdown for him was Hungary. Maybe he would have been in the top ten had it not been for,

for that crazy moment. But yeah, it's so disappointing for science. I do think we're going to see him certainly look around in the summer break. And I don't think it would be a shock if we see him move to another team. If there's room at the end, I think he'll be gone, for sure. It's a strange, going to be a strange silly season, I think this one. 11th position for me is Franco Colopinto. with an average grade of 6.6, highest grade of 9 in Miami and Canada,

a lowest grade of 5 in Japan, Monaco, Austria and Hungary. Interesting, Franco has made your top 10, which I don't know if you would have chosen that necessarily. No. Yeah, P11 for me, it's mad to think that he's got 11th here where his seat was being questioned, not at the start of the year, I think it was, wasn't it? And Flavio being quite vocal and callipins of getting off to a seat. steady start with an alpine that was very good. Gazley really sort of kick things off very, very fast in those first three races.

Colopinto was slightly lagging behind, but then went on a nice run of a nine and a nine after the two cancelled races, Miami and Canada. He was excellent and he's had a lot of sevens as well, which has helped his grade. And overall, I think Franco's had a good season. he's in my mind being able to solidify now being on the grid for next year and beyond if he can keep these performances up. Ghazley is obviously showing that he is still an excellent, excellent driver and really does need to be in a top team in my opinion. But for Colapinto, it's kind of been reparations, not because he's crashed the car in season's gone by, but just purely for his own career, I think he's needed to just settle down a little bit and be able to show that he's got speed. and I think he does.

So maybe, yeah, 11th place surprises me slightly. I thought maybe he would have come in one or two positions lower, but that being said, I think he's had a good season. The fans also went for Franco Colopinto with an average grade of 6.5, highest grade of 9 in Miami and Canada and a lowest grade of 4 in Japan. Right, that is it for part one of our mid-season driver ratings.

We'll be back very soon for part 2, the all-important 10th all the way to first. See you soon. Bye. Great, perfect. P1 is a stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.