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

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

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Hello everybody and welcome back to the B1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. It's driver ratings time. And my God, before we start recording, Tommy, he's ready to pop off. He's ready. He is going to be unhinged this driver ratings. I think finally we've done enough episodes where it's now time to just get a little bit saucy and a little bit naughty. Now, of course, we've got Singapore, which is essentially just another batch of Monaco

Grand Prix F1 driver ratings. We're going to have a lot of factors to take into account that, perhaps isn't just gaps because, well, it's impossible to overtake around here. How are you feeling, Tommy? I'm good. Yeah, a lot of factors to take on board, but of course everyone will agree and be respectful, so it's fine. We love it. We love it, love it, love it. And everyone definitely listens. Now, before we get into it, please subscribe. We are so close to half a million subscribers. I can't even tell you, okay? Like, it is so close. We want to hit it so that we can just, you know what I mean? Just tick it off and then we can be very happy.

It's free. You literally just press the subscribe button. Okay, right now, please. Just do it. Join the fan. Join the fan right now. Tommy, have you joined the fan? Yes, always, of course.

Every single, all my burner accounts that I used to slate your driver ratings and stuff. Oh, it was you all along. Okay. I'm the show fan. Here. Right, let's get into driver ratings and start with Kevin Magnuson. Started 14th. Did Not Finish.

K-Mag. K-Mag, K-Mag, K-Mag, you promised to F-S-Up. I mean, you did kind of F-S-up by getting a puncture. It's a four out of ten for K-Mag for me. I'm not being horrendously harsh on him because, well, he was banned. There might have been a slight bit of rust that formed on him after one race of being off. No, I'm kidding. Formula One drivers shouldn't be rusty after one race off, but it was a very meh performance from K-Mag. qualified, nowhere near Holkenberg, touched the wall, got a puncture.

It was slightly unlucky. It was a bit of a bang, don't get me wrong. It wasn't like an insane mistake. And, yeah, then after that, DNF, so it's a four from me. I've gone for a three for Kevin Magnuson. I think it's very disappointing with his qualifying to come back and not be anywhere near Holkenberg after we saw how Berman did against Holkenberg. and then I genuinely was on the hype train of this being a good KMAG track.

He's done really well here in the past. He's delivered some great qualifying laps, so disappointing to see how far he was behind Holkenberg in qualifying, and then he's one of the only drivers to actually make an error that, well, he is the only driver that's made an error to put him out the race, essentially. So, yes, not good from KMAG, so I've gone for a three-year-old. out of 10. The fans gave him a five. Interesting. Nika Holcombberg started sixth, finished ninth. I have gone for a nine out of ten for

Nika Holkenberg. It was a great drive from him. We've seen it before where he qualifies exceptionally well, which he did again. And as is Formula A and Formula B, it was always going to drop back somewhat, but it's a nine from me because it's a great drive to bag some more points for Hass when not many drivers, well, only a couple retired, but arguably ones that wouldn't have been ahead of him anyway, so very, very good job from Nico Okunberg, and now he's up to 10th, I believe, in the Drivers' Championship, which is wild when I think I thought he was going to be 19th. Yep, I think we both did.

I have also gone for a nine out of ten for Nico. I was actually deliberating a ten, but I think Hass actually let him down slightly with being undercut by Alonzo and didn't finish eighth because of it. But it's still a very, very strong drive from Holcomberg. I mean, he got up to P5 at the start. Of course, Oscar then dive-bombed him

because, I mean, he had to, and it was a good move. But after that, he was just very, very, very, solid indeed. He was kind of in the pack of Alonzo himself, Perez, I mean Perez, and Colapinto, and Sonoda not too far behind that as well. And yeah, it was just a really strong drive. To score more points for Hass,

beat your teammate comprehensively, it's a very solid showing, so yeah, a nine from me. And the fans gave him a nine as well. Joe Guan Yu, started 20th, finished 15th. It's going to be a whopping six out of ten.

for Joe Guan Yu. Yeah, boom. Not straight down the middle. Not a seven though, but a six. Joe beats his teammate, gets past Bottas, who I think had some break problems, but still, got past Bottas. And funnily enough, with all of the Joe comments from previous driver ratings, due to the fact there had been so many. And then we started to joke about it. I now watch Joe's race more than most other drivers in the entire Grand Prix. I'm always, keeping an eye, seeing what the gaps are throughout the race, what his pit stops are, and Salbert are horrendous in terms of pace. But they worked together, Joe ahead, did the Carlos keeping Valtrey in his DRS zone

to then keep Pierre behind Valtry. Oh my God, what team play to secure P15? Bet Gazley was absolutely fuming at that point. But it's a six out of ten. Well done, Joe. Only in F1 Drive ratings do we compare Joe Guanyu to Carlos Sainz at last year's Singapore Grand Prix with his goat drive.

Should have been a 10 really, shouldn't it? Well, look, he compared himself to Carlos, so I'm only saying what he said. I've gone for a 6 out of 10 as well for Jay Guan Yu. It was, as expected, from that dustbin of a salber, where they are so far and away, the worst team on the grid now. They've kind of locked into that almost Williams

or that we saw back in the Russell Latifi days or or Hass where where they were right at the back that you know they they were we've had a while before last year the year before where the kind of back of the field there was no like straight up this is the worst car on the grid I think now that is very much the case that we can tell that is the the salbanau but to beat your teammate Botas. That's why he's getting a six from me. The fans gave Joe a five.

Valtry Bottas started 19th, finish 16th. I've gone for a four out of ten for Bottas. I know he's on the back of his teammate, but I should be being his teammate with the experience that he has. And yeah, disappointing from Bottas, really. I know he can, I just think he should be doing better. Absolutely trancing Joe in the races when he's not to say that's why he's getting a four from me. Poor Tommy popping off. Botas, slander, here we go.

I've gone for a five out of ten for Valtry Bottas. Yes, he has been beaten by Joe, hence the one grade lower, but was also managing some issues apparently, so I'm not going to be too horrendous on him, and if he'd finished 20 seconds behind, then perhaps it's a different story. But as you say, he was right on the back of Joe. they were playing the team game. But yeah, Bottas with his experience

and from what we've seen over the course of this season with Joe and his performances, Bottas was Blam and Lewis Hamilton's teammate not that long ago and sometimes stuck it on pole. And what's going on here? But then he also said, was it this press conference on the last one?

Where he said, I think I'm driving better than I did at Mercedes. I'm like, are you sure about that? That is Formula One though, isn't it, really? Yeah, you'll never know. Maybe show is actually the greatest of all time. No, we do know, and these drive ratings are always correct, Matthew. Sorry, sorry. BOTUS 5.

The fans also gave Bottas a 5. Yuki Sonoda started 8th, finished 12th. Oh gosh. Oh, dear, dearing me. Yep, it's going to be a 7 out of 10 for Yuki Sonoda. A bit of a what could have been, what should have been, as it always is with R.B., to be honest with you. Of course, there was that very strange decision to leave Ricardo ahead for a few laps,

a second and a half, two seconds ahead of Sonoda, who was on fresh softs on very worn medium tires. And then eventually, when he got up behind Daniel Ricardo, and it was within a second, they let him through. Daniel Ricardo was never in with a shot of a point ever during that Grand Prix. What on earth a V-carb doing? And we will copy and paste that when we speak about Daniel Ricardo as well shortly. but Yuki finished what two odd seconds behind Colapinto that might have been quite easily the difference could he have gone on a little surge and beaten Perez right at the end

had his tyres not been slightly cooked from following Daniel Ricardo who knows but I still think it was a a strong weekend for Sonoda when you compare where Daniel Ricardo was and it's just just typical V-carb strategies that you've got a question mark so that's why I'm not being too harsh for him finishing 12th after finishing starting eight I've gone for an eight out of ten for Ikeesaneda. I think his qualifying was exceptional and V-carb going to V-carb when it comes to strategy.

It feels like that team, more than any other team on the grid, just have these rogue races. I think I've joked about it before that, you know, they've won one random race at Monza where they got lucky with strategy and then they just, sometimes they just go into race weekends and go, right, so everyone's going hard medium. let's go medium soft. Why not? Yolo. Just so bizarre. Yeah. Throwback.

But yeah, it's such a bizarre strategy. And yeah, again, the Daniel Ricardo thing, not letting him out the way further. I think Yuki did everything from his side to get points. And he should have got points. But V-Carb just mess up the races for their drivers. so hard sometimes and this is a perfect example of one of them. I don't know what they were thinking really. Are you got a question though both Sonoda and Ricardo, neither of them touched the hard tire. You have to throw into the mix. Did they decide that the hard tire was actually horrendous

on their car from earlier on in the weekend and they were forced into this kind of strategy because at the end of the day if they have gone for a medium soft there's no way he can pit any earlier Sonoda without having to go an insane distance. on the softs. Why are they the only team doing it, though? So bizarre. Like not even, not even, yeah, soft. I mean, Galsi did finish 17th.

So it is strange that they've decided to go with that. Perhaps their, yeah, as I say, the car doesn't react too well on the hards or maybe they are just completely incompetent. We won't know. But yes, Yuki Sonoda got a seven from the fans. Daniel Ricardo, started 16th, finished 18th. I've gone for a five out of ten for Daniel Riccardo

taking the emotion out of it and actually looking at his results it was a poor qualifying he obviously went for a very unusual strategy again which I am going to slate V-Cab for again that what are they doing going soft medium soft soft soft that is just crazy you know even before the fastest lap point

to go soft medium soft is a very odd strategy it really, you know, is almost like laughable like they were, like they were wanting to make sure he was constantly at the back. It was bizarre. And then to not do team orders and let him get out the way to help his teammate was very odd indeed. But at least he got the fastest lap point at the end, which is something to, you know, be proud of and enjoy in what looks like his final race, which is such a sad. Is that how far he's fallen, enjoy a non-fastest lap point?

But it's still fastest lap, isn't it? It's in the record book, so. Fastest ever lap, actually, as well, Singapore. Yeah, well, there go. But what, like, I didn't mention this in the actual podcast, but not only should V-Card be just, what are you doing with strategy.

I think they need to look at themselves of how they've treated, Daniel Ricardo in this whole situation as well because it's absolutely pathetic and ridiculous to be honest to have to watch you know his guests and things

at Singapore applaud him and then him almost crying in the interview pen afterwards yet there's been no announcement of him leaving like just let the guy I'm of the opinion and maybe in the minority that I think it's the right decision to let Liam Lawson go like get in that car now but but let the guy have his moment and and have not have to kind

of half-assed kind of make these things where he can't say he's actually retiring but we all know he's retiring and it's just pathetic really it's actually ridiculous oh geez I did say at the top of the show Danny Tommy even not I was going to pop off and it was about Danny I've gone for a five out of ten as well for Daniel Ricardo. Yeah, a very poor strategy from V-Cub. And what the hell are they doing? They look at Singapore and go, yeah, that's a two-stop. Yeah, no, we don't want track position around here.

We want fast tires. Just bizarre. To start on the soft tyres, fine, if that's the decision you want to make, to try and make up a few positions at the beginning. Cool. You're pit on lap 10. You're going on an undercut of nobody. Like, you're literally undercutting nobody,

because nobody else's pit for another 10, 15 laps, because they're all doing a one stop. Just to add to that, I don't feel like anyone has ever started at the back of the grid and gone, yep, soft tire, that's what we need to start the race on. It's the hard tire is what you start when you're at the back, so you go really long. Well, I guess if you don't have a car to actually do anything, maybe they're going for, well, those 10 laps, they were like, let's get track position. After that, no, we'll do two-stop.

We'll overtake everybody with our really fast two-stop. V-carb have messed up Daniel Ricardo over a. over and over again with strategy. And it's just not good enough, really. They are the worst team on the grid by quite sub-margin when it comes to strategy. And I think they go under the radar slightly by just how bad they have been sometimes.

But yeah, it's a five from me straight down the middle. As for how he's been treated, I think Daniel Ricardo deserved a hell of a lot more than what he got. Now, I don't know if it's because of contracts or perhaps even from Daniel Ricardo's side of the garage or like his team of being like, well, we've been binned off quite unfairly here. Let's make it as questionable and murky water as possible to have people talk about this and how he's been treated.

I don't know. This is just speculation. But this man is, what, an eight-time Grand Prix winner, I believe it is. He is one of the most loved personalities in the paddock. he's a drive to survive sensation. How? How are you going, oh, we're going to assess over the... No, you're not.

You clearly have made your decision here. Why? From Red Bull, the most savage team in history with drivers and cutting them off. Why is it now like, maybe? Maybe not. But you are gone, but we're not going to say anything. We're not going to give you... Every interview was like, thank you for everything you've done

and all this kind of stuff. You don't say that to someone that's not going. He's stayed, I'm sure you've seen the stuff on Twitter where he stayed in the paddock for like hours saying goodbye to everyone. He's gone. Like, he's clearly gone, but he's not gone officially. What the hell?

Yeah. It's ridiculous. What is going on? It's just ridiculous. Because fine, if it's like legal this or that and you can't announce that he's gone until, can we just use our brain cells for a second, our common sense, our human decency,

when it comes to this kind of thing. Formula One is a brutal sport. Don't get me wrong. But why are we making it more brutal than it needs to be by doing stuff like this? Fine, he's lost his seat. But can we at least be like,

okay, this is his last Grand Prix and fit his fans, right? The people that absolutely love and adore Daniel Riccardo, I would want to know going into a Grand Prix weekend concretely that it is his last one so I can enjoy every single lap he turns

until the end of the weekend. But instead it's like, oh, what he might, he might be. be still in the Red Bull pool? I don't care. That pool are you going to drown in? Because, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, exactly. What, like, the Red Bull pool is that, like, him going back to a Red Bull and being their, like, marketing clown for driver, no. So, yeah, it's, it's just disrespectful. Like, it is just disrespectful. I just don't understand why there's not some kind of firm, concrete thing that just, just, just own it. Like, Red Bull, like you say,

they were this brutal team that are happy to just let people go, but just show them some respect. And he's earned the respect for everything he's done at Red Boy. You know, Red Bull took him back after you can say that maybe he wasn't treated very well at McLaren as well. And now Red Bull are doing the same thing to him after they kind of brought him back in and went, oh, you know what, Danny, like, we love you here. You stay with us.

And now they've like tossed him to the curb again, like, what the hell? utterly bizarre, but let's leave it on a good note because the fans gave him a 10 out of 10. Franco Colapinto started 12th, finished 11th. I am giving Franco Colopinto a 9 out of 10. An utterly deserving 9 out of 10 as well, I would say, because he was brilliant once again. There were no DNFs, there were no reliability issues or anything like that in front of him. that was a purely deserved 11th, which on another day might have scored him a point or two. Just brilliant on lap 1.

That's what set him up for the rest of the race. We've already spoken about in the main race podcast, but I'll mention it again, Albon not being happy with a dive bond. Perhaps that was just heat of the moment. You know, Albon has caught him in his mirrors. What the hell is he doing? Fine. We can't judge. We're not Formula 1 drivers.

We're not sat in the seat. I know a lot of people will quote Albon for that. Oh, you know, he's finally got a competent teammate. whatever. But this is about Franco and his performance, and he was in the fight for a point the entire Grand Prix. Perez was commending him every lap that was done, really. So it's a shame that he just got beaten by Perez in the end. But to finish one and a half seconds behind him is quite the achievement. So yeah, it's a nine out of ten for me. A shame he didn't score a point, but another achievement, I would say, in his CV to start showing around for teams in 2026. Yep, I've also gone for a nine for Franco Colopinto.

His move at the start was sensational. I don't get the hate. Maybe, you know, Formula One drivers are getting a bit too boring and they're used to everyone finishing the races and stuff. Because I saw Carlos as well kind of making a point. He came out in the press conference and said, you know, absolutely insane move. He made the corner. It wasn't like an absolutely audacious move where like all it,

you know, his front two wheels are locked up and he's pushing people off. It's completely legitimately made the corner. He's nowhere near any crashing into any car. And if they are the ones that have chosen to bail on the runoff, then that's up to them. But it was an amazing move. This is what Formula One's about as well, right? Yeah, exactly. I don't understand this whole like, oh, gentlemanly like.

He overtook me. Oh, how dare. How dare a driver come in and make an amazing four-car pass. turn one. You're not allowed to do that. This is Formula One. We have to be boring. Yeah, it's two by two. Nobody overtakes anybody. It annoys me. And the more this goes on, the more like, yeah. He is, if he keeps doing dive bombs like that, I am becoming a colapinto stand. I kind of already am, to be honest, is awesome. No, you can't start standing everyone that comes in. Kimmy Antonelli. Let me have Franco. Just give me a dive bomb and I'm sold, basically. Yeah, that was so good from him. Big statement as well to be ahead of Perez and have Perez on the radio going, he's very good.

Yes, what can he do in those final races now to, it's going to be really interesting. Like I said, in the main podcast, because if he keeps being album, of course, sorry, didn't outqualify him, but right on the back of him with a lesser performing car, if you like, without the upgrade. so oh very very going to be very interesting to watch him for the rest of the season and I'm looking forward to it certainly at the fans gave franco an eight out of ten alex albon started 11th did not finish I've gone for a five out of ten for Alex alban of course you know it's a it's not his fault that he's retired it was a car issue but of course his start he was never going to get points anyway with dropping and losing four places.

So that is on him. You know, you put your car there and choose to bail on that runoff. You know, that is just the nature of a Formula One start. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. And you've put yourself on the outside when drivers are diving down the inside. So you're going to lose places. And that's why I've gone for a five out of ten for Alex Albon.

I've also gone for a five out of ten for Alex Albon. a pretty, I mean, the qualifying was decent, but nothing special if you compare to what Colopinto managed after his third race, but he was still in the hunt, but as soon as, yeah, as soon as he dropped down to P15, you may as well have just pulled in and retired anyway, because there's no chance of overtaking around Singapore. So yeah, it's very down the middle, and of course, DNFing, so yeah, it's a five from me. The fans gave him a five as well. Estebanok on, started to 15th, finished 13th. I have gone for a six out of 10 for Esteban Okon.

Wow. Alpina finished. They are so slow. And you just think, maybe they've got two great drivers. Maybe they'll just be able to, nope, no, they can't. No, they're 35 seconds behind Sunoda in 12th. Okay, right.

He gained positions at the start at Ocon, up to 13th by lap six. That put him, I guess, in a great position to be able to, finish 13th, which gives you absolutely nothing after all your hard work. But it's a reasonable performance, but very hard to actually, it's actually as if there was Formula A, B, and C in this race. Because you had Oconstrol, Joe Bottas, Gassley and Ricardo in a world of their own. Then you had Formula B ahead of them. And then you had Formula A.

So, yeah, I'm still going to give Ocon a six because he did a bit better than expected. I'm going to go for a seven for Esteban Okun actually. I think the Alpine is finished like you say. And in a role reversal of last week, he's kind of really trounced Ghazli this weekend with his performances. And 13th, how Alpine have fallen, the 13th is a good result for them now. But when these things you can only really compare to your teammate. and I think Ocon's really put one over on Galsley this weekend, so that's why I've gone for a seven.

The fans gave Ocon a five. Pierre Gassley started 18th, finished 17th. I've gone for a four out of ten for Pierre Gausley, which is a shame after how well it did in Baku, and we're praising him for putting that LP in ahead of where it should be. But this weekend, yeah, really did not go well for him. Not a great quality

and just never really recovered in the race 18th to start and finish 17th. Not good at all for Gassley. So yeah, one to forget. I've gone for a 5 out of 10 for Gassley. He, of course, didn't have a great qualifying. Don't get me wrong. But he did have a slow stop in the race

and then he had to try and get past the mothership of the two Stake F1 team cars working together with DRS in a similar dustbin. So I do feel for him, I still finish about 14 seconds behind Ocon considering all of that. So I'm not going to be too harsh on him, just as you say, a race to forget for Gassley, who should not, with his talent, be finishing in 17th. So I hope for both Gassley and Ocon's sake, something changes for Alpine, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

The fans gave Gassley a five as well. Lance Stroll! started 17th, finished, 14th. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh, oh, hmm. I'm going to give Lance Stroll a four out of ten. I was going to give him a three, but I'm going to be slightly more generous because he only finished 40 seconds behind his teammate. Just a very, a very, just,

just rubbish performance really. Nothing good to really say about Lance Strolls. I mean, the qualifying just ruined his whole weekend, really, as it's similar to Monaco. Of course, he gained three positions in the end, but I mean, he was absolutely nowhere in comparison to his teammate, but I think that's more Fernando Alonzo things, which is where my grade will be shown when we get to Fernando.

But Lance, it's just a performance that we expect from him, really. at this stage. He's kind of now going back to, because he did have a run of races. We're okay, okay, Lance. Five, ten seconds behind Fernando. This is not too bad. Now he's gone back to whatever this is. Yes, I've gone for a four out of ten for Lance Roll as well. Take about 20 of the previous two years races and just paste what I said about that into this section. Because my God, poor qualifying, which is just very, very, much Lance Stroll things and know where he was a teammate in a race but that is very Fernando Alonso things.

Yeah, the reason it's not, I couldn't give him a three is because, you know, I can't give him as bad as a great as Magnuson who's actually hit the wall and given himself a puncture. So, yeah, not a, not a good performance at all. And Lance, yeah, I really need to pick up his form because otherwise, you know, all that seat's under threat, isn't it? certainly isn't okay the fans gave Lance Stroll a three

Fernando Alonzo started seventh, finished eighth I've gone for a nine out of ten for Fernando Alonso I was tempted by a ten but flirting with the idea

I was flirting with the idea so difficult when he's got a useless team mate we don't know how good it is I do think a lot of it is Fernando Alonzo up forming the car and being able to get, I don't think there's a better driver in history that

can get stuff out of a mediocre car. That's what Alonzo's done. He's kind of back to doing this again, where you look at his races and you kind of forget he's even in it because he's just in that kind of bubble of not quite getting into Formula A because the car's not there, but he's just maximising everything he's got with what it's got available. So, hurry up Adrian Newey and give my goat a good car. A great car, the best car, maybe. We will see. I have gone for a nine out of ten for Fernando Alonso. I was also flirting with a ten. But I feel as though, had he beaten signs who was four and a half seconds ahead, maybe that's where Alonzo tens are born. It was very close.

It was a great result for him, top of Formula B. And back to the sort of Alonzo we expect to see, getting the most out of a car that doesn't belong to be there. Use Lance Stroll as an example of that, but very similarly to Albon and his previous teammates, we don't actually really know how amazing Fernando currently is in his current form until we get a different teammate, which is never going to happen. So, yeah, Alonzo doing a great job for sure and very deserving of a nine out of ten. The fans gave him an eight. Oscar Piastri started fifth, finished third This one's a difficult one

This one I am struggling But I'm going to give Oscar Piastri A seven out of ten I was deliberating a six But I'm going to go for a seven Because He had a very good car this weekend And just wasn't able to unlock the potential

Lando Norris I know he won by 21 seconds He could have easily won by 30 plus, I think, without some mistakes. And I think his last stint was reasonably chilled by the looks of things. It's still a good weekend. He scored a podium. That's where the seven comes in for me.

But qualifying, that's where he lost certainly a little bit and ruined his chances of P2, which I think was absolutely on, if he had track position. But he didn't. He got stuck behind the Mercedes. There's a bit of leniency there, obviously, because it's Singapore. It's hard to overtake. but an off-color weekend from Oscar, it has to be said, from the start all the way through, he just didn't look on Lando's pace.

And for his sake, I hope he picks it up because we love to see that battle. McLaren don't. I'm sure this is a headache that they're like, oh, okay, few, we don't have to worry about the interteam battle for one weekend. But yeah, I think a seven reflects Oscar's performance this weekend. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Oscar Piastri. I don't think he definitely should have been second. Can't disagree with that. You look at what Lando did in that car.

He should have been there. Qualifying let him down, which is where it's made it more difficult for him. But at the end of the day, he's still, if he should have been finishing second, he's only finished one place behind where he should. Was he fattening in 42 seconds behind him?

I mean, I'm just covering off the comments. No, I will cover off the comments as well. I think six is insane to like even consider for Oscar Piastri. So that's where we disagree. Okay, fine. Because I think, you know, you have to look at the result. Like, don't get me wrong.

I'm not here going to say he's had a good weekend compared to Lando. But you have to look at the result that he's actually managed. And I think six is for, you know, finishing like a fifth or a six in that car. And I'm going to say that I think previous Perez to Vestappen comparisons, have looked at times at that. Yeah, but when Perez was third and got the podium, I feel like we were giving him eights and nine, so.

Interesting. Well, look at us. Counter, count. Look at us. I know, finally. This is what people finally want from drive ratings, but. Well, I'm sure you will have all let us know in the comments. Where you sit with Oscar Piaastri's grade, but just to clarify, I didn't go for a six, I went for a seven. So well, that Oscar, a good performance.

The fans gave Oscar an eight. Lando Norris started first, finished first. It is a 10. Of course it is. He locked up something. But he brushed the wall twice. He locked up, bro. Yeah, it's ridiculous to even consider going for anything other than a 10 for Lando Norris, in my opinion.

You can't give him a nine because he's brushed the wall twice. That's absolutely insane. I know it was a big, one of them was very sketchy, but the fact is he didn't. You know, we've seen races before where Alida's gone wide and gone over the runoff. It looks maybe worse than it does because of Singapore and there being walls there. But, you know, I don't think we downgrade other drivers that are leading the race and have one little whoopsie over the grass once. I'm sure like Verstappen's done that many, many times during his career and I know he has. So cannot downgrade him.

Like he's absolutely trounced his teammate. And it's a big win for him. So yeah, very impressive stuff. Just missed out on the fastest lap. But that was, of course, we know the reasons for that. But he had so much pace. It was absolutely insane the way that even when people were kind of pitting and on fresh tires going for fastest lap,

he'd just pop another fastest lap back in. Yeah, sensational drive. Can't say anything more than that. I've also gone for a 10 out of 10. Anyone that thinks anything other than that is quite frankly cooked. I think that you genuinely need to appreciate what these drivers are going through during the Grand Prix, especially at Singapore,

to think that Lando deserves anything other than the 10 is quite frankly ridiculous. He drove away. He extracted everything out of the car. He destroyed his team. mate, he destroyed Max Verstap and they went over the radio. I think we won a five second gap. Yeah, no worries.

Do it in two laps. Like the guy was on it this weekend, gets pole, leads every lap. I think he did? Yeah, he did. He led every lap. And just, it was a brilliant performance. Yeah, there was a close call for sure. And oh my God, squeaky bum time, absolutely.

But also, he didn't hit the wall and he continued on. And therefore, it's a 10 out of 10. had he hit the wall and broken his suspension, oh my God, that's an alternate reality where, yeah. But this is what I said in the main podcast, like he didn't. Exactly. You know, it's, some people are like, he's not championship worthy because he's made a mistake and nearly hit the wall.

Sorry? I'm trying to think of, like, examples maybe, you know, it's like saying that the only example I can think of is, you know, like when Max had that insane qualilap. and uh 2023 monaco and he came out the final quarter and like banged it banged the wall and he got pole and it's like one of the most sensational qualifying laps we've ever seen that's like no that lap wasn't any good because if he'd got a puncture from that it's like but he didn't get a puncture so like i'd argue those two stars are slightly different

because one is one is lando having to manage a 20 second lead making a mistake and nearly bidding it in the wall when everything is chill max is trying to gain a two-tenth advantage in the last So I'd say that those two are quite different scenarios. And I can see where people do go, Lando nearly threw away the easiest victory of his career. But he didn't. But he didn't. He didn't, though.

Yeah, this is like, it's sort of. Rich bias. Yeah, but the, just to defend him here. Just to defend him here. And I'm, you know, defending him as, as, you know, the Max fan here that wants Max to win the title. It's getting a lot of stick. And some of it is fair.

I think for, like, in my opinion, He should even be leading the championship now with the card that he's had. And there's this whole like Twitter meme of calling Lando Norris, if, like, you know, having that whole if thing. Like, if he did this, if he, Norif and all that kind of stuff. It's like, you can't flip it round and now say if he'd hit the wall and turn it into a negative to like when he's done something good and say if he hit the wall because he didn't. So like you can't have it both ways. Oh, Tommy cooking Twitter. love to see it.

So yes, it's a 10 from both of us. And the fans gave him a 10 as well. Carlos Seins started 10th, finish 7th. Oh, I'm going to give Carlos signs, it's not been a great weekend for Ferrari in general. It's a 6 out of 10 for Carlos Sines. Of course, he binned it in qualifying, which definitely downgrades him

one for me personally. It was a big mistake to make. He was literally on his outlap, starting his flying lap, hits the bump, goes into the wall. And after that, it was a difficult race for him. He went a bit long. I think that he then struggled on the hards in the final stint, finished over half a minute behind Charles. So yeah, I am feeling like Ferrari missed a trick this weekend and could have been much more in the mix than they were, hence the slightly harsh grade, I would say, so Carlos Yac gets a six.

I have also gone for a six for Carlos Sites. You've changed that? No, no, I didn't actually. I was just, I was actually just checking to see how far he finished behind Leclair. It all came undone for him in qualifying. It's a massive error to make. And I completely agree that Ferrari could have got a big haul of points. Their car did look very good around here.

So when you qualify 9th and 10th, it's going to be very difficult at a place like Singapore where you can't pass. So yeah, not a good weekend for Saints. Not a good weekend at all. The fans gave Carlos a 7. Charlotte Clare started 9th, finished 5th. I've gone for a seven out of ten for Charlerclair. Of course, you know, had that stint where he came back in the race. But for me, he should have been P2 this weekend.

And that all comes down to qualifying and it going wrong for him. You look at that enormous gap between Lando and Vastappen or even Piastrian think that that Charles should be getting a podium there. which is why it's only a seven. He's come back through the field and damage limitation, of course, but it's all mainly due to qualifying and not maximising what he had there because it's a completely different story if he starts to race in P2 or even P3. He's on the podium, no doubt in my mind at all.

I've gone for a seven as well for Charlotte Clare. I was deliberating maybe an eight because the qualifying, well, he was very very, quick to blame some operational issue within Ferrari of the front tire temperatures being cold on his final lap in Q3, hence why he wasn't able to extract anywhere near the same pace as he usually would, but at the same time we have to just grade it on as well. The, oh, it's so difficult, but the performance, and it was a fifth place, started ninth. It was a good drive, and to get up to fifth. I think that was maybe the

max. Of course he was right behind Russell at the end, but he had a great start. I don't think there was much more. He could have done with the start to allow for something to happen, but getting stuck behind Holkenberg and Alonso for half the race was painful to watch for most people.

So yeah, it's a weekend I'm feeling a little bit like he could have definitely finished second and he's finished fifth and an absolute minute behind Lando. Good, fantastic. Let's move on quickly and delete this from my memory. The fans gave Sharl an eight.

George Russell started fourth, finished fourth. I have gone for an eight out of ten for George Russell. I think it was a decent weekend for George. The Mercedes didn't look that great as we constantly talk about, but then it sometimes looked great. and most of times didn't look great. And he then had understeer and oversteer during the race, which was quite a funny team radio that was not perfectly balanced.

You don't want understeer and oversteer at different times. And to beat your teammate, go on the better strategy. We'll talk about Hamilton's decision to go on those softs shortly. But I think it was a decent weekend for George, for sure, to finish fourth. I've also gone for an eight. yeah a very very solid weekend from george he needed a good points hall after kind of what's been going on recently with the number of points he's been scoring in races so p4 and p4 you know in quality and and the race surprised that he got beaten by hamilton in qualifying because that's normally his his strong point

but i don't think he could have yeah very close but i don't think he could have done anything more in the race to be P4, the Mercedes wasn't there this weekend. The fans gave George an eight as well. Lewis Hamilton started third, finished sixth. I have gone for a seven out of ten for Lewis Hamilton. The strategy was a very odd one. He qualified well, but strange strategy. And the reason he's lower than George,

I do think you have to sort of it is an odd tire strategy but you have to sort of put some blame in Hamilton's court because he's agreed to it you know I think had a give this race to a Lando Norris or Char LeCler

an Oscar Piastri or whatever and we'd be saying oh well a more experienced driver would basically be like well absolutely not why am I on soft and like take it into their own hands and do something about it so that's why for me it's a seven i'm really surprised that he went for the the soft tire it's surprising like don't really know what he had to to gain and it's a very short rundown to

turn one um was he really going to go around the outside of vastappen and norris in turn one i don't think so maybe a track like a monza or something makes more sense um or if there was a longer rundown to turn one to try and get ahead of and then just the nature of Singapore, it being difficult to overtake. But yeah, it really did just ruin his race, having to pit so early. I've gone for a six out of ten for Lewis Hamilton.

I think that we don't really need to even discuss why he's had a lower grade than George Russell. He's finished 23 seconds behind him, had no pace at the end of the race, and I completely agree that he needs to take some of the blame for the soft-hire decision. It's a very strange one from, Mercedes, it felt like almost a little bit of a gamble in some ways of some kind of early

safety car or whatever and he's been able to gain a position or perhaps even take the lead on the softs. But that didn't come to fruition. Then he didn't have much pace on the softs and then had to pit early. Then wasn't very happy with the team with that and the hards. But you think that was kind of the strategy that they went for. So why is it now such a big issue that this is what's planned out? Like you chose the softs. So obviously that's going to happen. So yeah, I don't think it was a particularly great performance from Hamilton. Obviously, still finished sixth, so it's some points. But judging by where George Russell ended up, it was a much better performance from his teammate.

So I've gone for a six. The fans gave him a seven. Sergio Perez, started 13th, finished 10th. Oh, dearie, dearie, dearie, dearie me. Sergio Perez, you are going to get a four. You're going to get a four out of ten, Sergio Perez. Yes, all undone in qualifying, as we've said, for a few other drivers, and then just get stuck. And it's very difficult.

That's why I'm not giving him a three or a two, because he's got stuck. And I am being aware of the Singapore Grand Prix layout, and he's very much in the midfield where there's no chance. And that was, he scored a point. That's all he scored was a point, and he finished an absolute mile behind Vast. happen. So yeah, I'm going to go for a four. Maybe I'm too lenient. I don't know. But that's what I've gone for. I've gone for a four out of ten as well for Sergio Perez. Shocking qualifying to be down in 13th. And at a track like Singapore, you're always going to struggle. You know, stuck behind other cars, the Red Bull is nowhere near the advantage it used to be where he could

just breeze through the field. You know, even that Formula A and Formula. similar B gap. We're not seeing what we did in maybe like three or four years ago where the Red Bull would easily be able to get past things like Williams's and stuff and obviously part of that is the nature of the track but you need a huge deficit to be able to pass around Singapore. So he was stuck and it was all about damage limitation. He couldn't really do much from there. so a point is a big outch for for perors after such a good Baku because we were praising him after Baku he did sorry 10 no um oh just just so bad and we go into this break now where it's kind of Vestappen's really delivered and kind of Perez has had a shocker again and we also go into the

break with Daniel Ricardo losing his seat and everyone sat there going, why is Perez not then? Because still in the Red Bull family. But we're not going to get into that discussion because we've said it a million times. The fans also gave Perez a four. Max Rastappen, started second, finish second. I've gone for a 10 out of 10 for Max Verstappen. And you can call me a fanboy all you like. But I think it was an absolutely sensational drive. I didn't think at the start of season that I'd be giving Max a 10 out of 10 for a P2 finish but I think well I don't think it's even where the Red Bull should be you know I think they're the third or fourth fastest car there's clearly a lot of problems with that car um you know there was a lot of talk before this race of

of them kind of pinpointing the problems and the fact that perors has been struggling massively and they didn't take what Perez was saying seriously um because Max was still winning and now Max has fallen off, they've gone, ah yes, this car is not where it needs to be. So the fact that Max has finished second at his bogey track, I think is such a good drive. Can't, you know, one of his most impressive drives of the air, I think, even. Because, yeah, he's delivered with a car that shouldn't have been

and really damaged the deficit and what could have been, you know, a crushing points gap for Orlando to like pick up and it's actually only seven points. Tommy squashing the allegations of him not being a Max fan there. I hope you all enjoyed that. I am in such two minds right now as to which grade I go for for Max. Are we are we cloaked? Are we masked by the fact that we didn't expect them to be very good and Max just did a really good weekend? Oh God, what is it going to be? Matt, what is it? What is it? It's a nine. It's a nine for Max for Stappen. I'm sorry. Yeah. Like, just because we expected them to be horrendous, uh, Max said the balance was a lot better.

Obviously they worked very hard. They did great. But can I realistically give them a 10 for finishing 21 seconds. Oh, no, you can. Well done. Congratulations. You know, oh, I love Max. But I'm not. I'm going to be more level headed. And, uh, yeah, it was, it was a, a nine is not a terrible weekend. A nine is just, just not perfect, I don't think. But it was still a really good performance. from Max, I think that other people floundered around him and didn't, weren't able to capitalize on that. It's close to a 10. Don't get me wrong, but I'm not going to be the fanboy on this podcast for that, and I'm going to go with a 9. The fans also gave Max a 9 out of 10. So who is our P1? For me, it's Landau Norris. Hands down, there is no other driver that,

well, those drivers come close. Don't get me wrong, there are some 9s out there. But Lando was the performance of the entire weekend. He really threw down the, the gauntlet for this championship fight and he needed to. If he ended up in the wall, if you finished second to Max, it was pretty much curtains and we would have had a very hard time selling the next six races because they have to keep eating the lead of Maxfussap and that's what Lando did. So it's a 10 out of 10 and my P1. Yes, correct. I'm going to go for Max and I don't care what a stick I get for it. And I can't believe people are giving him a nine because it's the damage limitation was insane. He's extracted everything as being his teammate by well over a minute.

And he didn't put a foot wrong like Lando did. So they go. You can't say that. You cannot say that like Lando did. That's wild. But I can because Max drove the perfect race in my opinion. How have you known? Did you watch on board with him the whole time? Did you see any mistakes from him? What else do you think I do after the race? That's crazy. That's wild. Okay. Well, I'm glad I've done. I'm glad I've triggered you with this nine. Let us know, I'm sure you have in the comments. Where you sit, is it a nine or a ten for Max Verstappen?

And I can't wait for someone to be cooked. But it's all good. It's all in the name of comments, isn't it? And engagement. So keep going. We love this season. Hey, Tommy, we do care about what I have fans say. No, I do care about the ratings, but I don't like, it's my opinion.

I'm allowed it. I know I teed up Tommy being like this man of not caring. But wow, I was not expecting this. Have you enjoyed it, though? Because what are driver ratings this has been? Hey? I like a bit of disagreement. I think it's what this series needs, to be honest.

Okay, all right. Fine. Max Stauffin was washed this weekend. Right, no, it's fine. It's all good. It's all good. I love it. Well, look, we love this driver rating series,

and maybe just having a bit more fun with it is where we need to go with this. We just throw some one out of tens for just to see what people say. to annoy people. Yeah, it'd be great. But no, thank you as always. Leave a like if you like this series and you want it to continue because we love doing it.

Lots, don't we, Tommy? Absolutely. Yeah, we do. It's great bans. Tommy, what are your final thoughts? You haven't given me those? My final thoughts are, yeah, we can all see different races differently

as we kind of joked at the start of the show about you never know how good someone's performance is relative to car performance and all that kind of stuff. So at the end of the day, it comes down to your opinion and people are allowed to different ones and you can respect that. So I do enjoy that this is pretty much always your final thought. And yet all of the keyboard warriors have already written their comment of like driver three when they get to this point they've gone, oh no, maybe I should have been nicer with my comment. But it's fine. You know, it's all water of a duck's back. and all that. So we will see you. Thank God in a month's time for the next driver ratings video.

We'll see you very soon. I hope you enjoy the summer break. Of course, summer break, winter break, whatever this is, autumnal break. Second break. We are going to be doing our US tour. So if you haven't got a ticket for that and you want to come and see us during this break, then go and get your tickets. And also the UK Live Tour tickets are available still as well as we've just launched those. And we'll see you very soon for another podcast. Bye! Thanks for stab at 9 out of 10. Goodbye. Fuck you.

Oh, wow. Editor, you have to believe that out. This is a PG podcast. Jesus. P1 is a Stack production and part of the Acast creator network.