P1 with Matt and Tommy - United States GP Driver Ratings

Episode Date: October 22, 2025

Another sprint weekend means a confusing set of Ratings for us to work out - but whose dominant performance puts them at the top of the list, we wonder...The Delusion Tour is only a few weeks away! We're heading to North America in November and there are still a few tickets available - click here to grab yours: tix.to/p1liveYou can listen to an extended version of every Race Review episode over on our Patreon! You'll also access to every P1 episode ad-free, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommyFollow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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We have returned to the United Kingdom. Our bodies have not returned to the United Kingdom in terms of our body clock, because I think there's some sassy Tommy coming out today in driver ratings. We love it when Tommy's tired. Particularly because Franks just started barking the second you said hello. Here we go. Chaos is ensuing in the Bellingham household. He is slamming the door as I speak. So yeah, I'm looking forward to this one.

Obviously great to be back. Was in Austin. Had time to, well, not a lot of time, but some time to digest what's gone on. And we are ready to give some driver ratings, aren't we? We sure are. And yeah, just to throw the extra curveball in the mix, it's a sprint. and some people had amazing sprints and then crashed in the race and all sorts. They did.

So we will try and factor it in. The sprint, qualifying and of course at the main race as well. Now, as we wrap up the United States Grand Prix content, it's worth mentioning the P1 Live Delusion Tour. We are coming to America, North America, in literally, I mean, we've just got back and we fly in, was it, 10 days or something like that, the 2nd of November, we're flying out there. So if you haven't got your tickets and you'd love to come see us, there's so much. to talk about now in this F1 season. We are rewriting the live show as we speak. Every single race that we have changes it ever so slightly. So if you want to come and see us, please do the link for the P1 Live Delusion Tartic tickets will be at the top of the description and we can't

wait to see you there. Okay, let's begin and start with Gabrielle Bortoletto. Started the sprint in 20th, finished it in 11th and started the main race in 16th, finished 18th. I am going to give Gabrielle Bortoletto a four out of ten. Underwhelming weekend for Gabriel Bortoletto. Nico Holcomburg taking absolutely all the plaudits, all the highlights, all the limelight, some low light said in fact for Nico, but we'll get on to that very shortly. But for Gabriel, very anonymous. It has to be said, qualifying has been his strong point this year in comparison to

Nico, didn't really shine there, didn't even set a lap time for the sprint quality. and yeah it just was a weekend to forget for Bortoletto. Of course he was in the mix with the Alpines right at the end. That's the only time we really ever saw him. But it's going to be a four. Yeah, I've gone for a four as well. And I'd like to apologise to Bortolete for going for a good surprise because he just really wasn't there all weekend compared to his teammate,

a disappointing one for sure. So yeah, I've gone for a four as well. The fans gave him a four as well. Nico Holcomberg started the sprint in fourth. finished 13th, started the main race in 11th, finished 8th. I have gone for a 9 out of 10 for Nikko Holcomberg.

Say it confidently next time, Tommy. Yeah, I've gone for a 9. It's between an 8 and a 9, but I am going to give him a 9. The sprint, you know, looking back at it, he was amazing in qualifying. I caught up in that turn 1 chaos and wasn't, you know, his fault, majoratively. Like, he obviously played his part, but I think really small.

Yeah, that's a subject. I'm loving Tommy Jetlack, majority is right that one in the dictionary. But the fact that he was just so much quicker than his teammate all weekend, I don't think actually Salber were that good. I think it was more than just Nico Holcomburg was really, really good. So that's why I'm going for a nine. Okay, I am going to give Niko Holcomberg, and nine out of ten as well,

past me, immediate reaction me, of course, said that Nico had a part to play in that term one sprint. I think the only part he really played was being there. When you look at the aerial view of that sprint start, it is absolutely almost entirely on Oscar Piastri. So for those of you that didn't see the fact that we retracted, or at least I heavily retracted the statement that I've made in the sprint, just to clarify that is what I'm doing here.

That's why I'm giving him a nine out of ten, because as well, in the main race, he scored a solid amount of points, showed that the Salber did have pace, at least at the hands of Nika Holkenberg. And he can be very proud of scoring some good points. It could have been a lot more. But yeah, the sprint did not go his way. The fans gave him an eight out of ten. Alex Albon started the sprint in ninth, finished sixth, started the main race, an 18th, finished 14th. I am going to go for a six out of ten for Alex Albon.

He did gain a little bit from the sprint, just purely from the absolute chaos, but a reasonable effort and to score three points from the sprint can't be ignored. Of course, the main race did not go his way. He was involved in another incident. It feels like he's involved in quite a bit recently. Of course, causing him to spin.

So it wasn't the best of races by any stretch. So I probably would have given him a five. had it not been for the decent sprint result. So, yeah, I'm going to go for a six and just say, well done for putting some points on the board for Williams. I have gone for a five out of ten for Alex Halban. It's close between a five and a six. I think the reason I thought it might be a six is because, yeah, he's got obviously the sprint points on the board. But I think a lot's been left on the table for Williams this weekend.

And if you look at how well they did in the sprint and how well, you know, science qualified and where he was until his incident, which we'll get onto later when we talk about him, Alex had a really, you know, disappointing race, obviously having the track limits in qualifying, which meant he started way down the order. And then having the contact at the start, which is, you know, unfortunate, but I think it's just, you know, you always put yourself in that position when you're near the back of the pack and racing those kind of cars. So, yeah, I missed opportunity, I think, for Williams to to grab some really, really good points. I know they did grab some points in the sprint, but it could have been a lot more than that's why gone for a five. Yeah, the way I've leaned more to a six is just the benefit, the doubt slightly from a driver's perspective, even though, of course, he has a part to play with the fact that he started on the hard tires, which I believe were, honestly, you may as well just not put any tires on for that particular race, because I think it was Ocon, it was Hajar and Alba.

the guys that had their qualifying just risked, didn't they? Yeah, and then they were like, oh God, there is literally no grip on these times. The fans gave Alex Albonne a six out of ten. Carlos Seine started the sprint in seventh, finished third, started the main race in ninth, did not finish. I have gone for a seven out of ten for Carla Seints. Brilliant, brilliant sprint result, of course, are getting another trophy. But in the main race, a great result. result again in qualifying and looking like he could get some big points. He made that great move

on Bermann looking like he was going to move up the order and had some pace to be able to fight Antonelli and look like he was going to move up again, but made contact. We saw a few incidents in that corner. It wasn't the most malicious thing in the world, but it was his fault for sure. But I've gone for a seven because obviously scored those big points in the sprint. I've also gone for a 7 out of 10 for Carlos. The sprint was obviously a 10 out of 10 performance getting on the podium, navigating the chaos incredibly well. But yeah, the main race was his fault.

Kimmy tried to give him a little bit of room, but it wasn't enough because he snatched his break. And at the end of the day, it was a misjudgment from Carlos. It's happened before at that corner. It will happen again. But yeah, of course, that's where he's taken a large hit for his grade. Because apart from that, as you say, Tommy, it was a fantastic weekend once again for Carlos.

The fans gave him a seven also. Isaac Hadjar started the sprint in 12th, finished 12th, started the main race in 20th, finished 16th. I've gone for a four out of 10 for Isaac Hadjar, similar to Bortoletto, a very anonymous poor weekend. It has to be said for Isaac. Just failed to set a lap time in qualifying. It was all the way, only managed to get up to 16th come the end. Of course, he started on the hards as well. but realistically not a Hadjar performance.

It has to be said and that was all undone in qualifying because yeah, you're screwed. If you don't manage to get out of Q1, we know how much of a qualifying championship this is. And then the sprint, of course, was, you know, considering the chaos that happened, he wasn't able to take any advantage from that as well. So it's a four from me.

It's a four from me as well for Isaac Hadja kind of ruined his whole race from qualifying with that big error and then as soon as he started on the hards it was all downhill from there really so I don't think racing balls had had the pace particularly this weekend they didn't look particularly strong but that being said you know have to downgrade him a lot for for the the big qualifying error absolutely the fans gave him a four out of ten Liam Lawson started the sprint in 15th finished 9th started the main race in 12th finished 11th I have gone for a seven out of ten,

Fuliam Lawson. I think it's a very, I think it's actually a pretty solid weekend in a pretty meh V-Cab, to be honest. I think he's unlucky not to get a points finish. You know, arguably the worst place he can finish

is ninth in the sprint and 11th in the Grand Prix. And unfortunately for Liam, he finished there in both of those. So I think he delivered more than what the V-Cab had. You know, he's done a good job. and yeah,

and unlucky not, not to get points. And it's just, you know, it is difficult to score points these days with, with how many, you know,

drivers are in the mix in the midfield and the reliability. So yeah, I think it's actually a pretty solid result, even though he's obviously left the, the whole Grand Prix weekend

empty-handed. I'm in complete agreement, Tommy, I've gone for a seven out of ten as well for Liam Lawson, which may well have gone under the radar for some people watching. But, yeah,

a ninth and 11th in a sprint weekend is, yeah that's very much got yuki snowed a p 11 from that meme that he had and to be fairly the ollie beerman and p11 as well meme from this year yeah it was considering the v carb has been known to be quite a quick car throughout most of this season they had they were definitely lackluster this weekend and i think lorson extracted a pretty good amount out of that car but sadly didn't come away with anything the fans gave him a six ollie bearman started the sprint in 16th finished 15th started

the main race in 8th, finished 9th. Oh dear, this is difficult one degrade, Mr. Olive Beerman, because you could easily have been banned for next race. I have gone for a 7 out of 10 for Olly Beerman. Weirdly sat here thinking what could have been again, shock. Ding, ding, that's just Olly Berman in a nutshell. But I think he genuinely could have finished 7th this weekend in the main race. The move, I've got to say, look, I'm a big fan of Oli Behrman, I think he's got a huge amount of potential, as you will know if you listen to this podcast.

His take after the race was pretty wild, and I really don't. I think it did not match what Sonoda did in the car. Sonoda covered that first part of the left-hander as he's allowed. He's allowed to go slow. He's allowed to break early if he wants to, to make sure he covers it. He then sort of reacts a little bit more to the inside. Yes, that's Yuki Snowdo I'm talking about. But again, I think he's well within his rights to do that.

There was not enough space down the inside in the first place. There was no move on for Olly Behrman. So the fact that he said... The context with his quote as well, you basically just... Oh, right, okay. Don't worry, man. You know I love giving context. Come on.

I was about to say yes. So he said, regarding the incident with Yuki, I felt like what he did was very dangerous against the spirit of the regulations and against the spirit of going racing, actually. This is not how we grow up racing. this is not how we race at this level, not the way we want to teach people watching, young kids watching and how we should be racing

because you should not move in reaction to other cars and that's what I felt that he did. I've got to heavily disagree with that quote. I don't think Yuki's done anything near to that level. Sure, he's allowed to criticise and go, well, Yuki jolted a little bit to the left. But if you just watch the replay, you shouldn't be down there anyway.

That's my thoughts. Yeah, I've gone for a seven. and for Raleigh Berman as well. He's a really difficult one to grade because I think he had amazing pace. And I think he could have easily got really good finishes in both these races. You know, he was running in the points,

of course, in the sprint race and then ran wide and gained an advantage from track limits, didn't give the place back, and then got a 10 second penalty. And then to go into the race where, again, he was looking, very, very quick, could have got a fantastic result and did still get a solid result, which is why he's getting a seven.

But it's so risky when you are so close to being banned to just be having these incidents where you're getting penalties here and penalties there. And I don't really agree with his kind of crash out. It seems extreme for what actually happened. And maybe it is a bit of frustration from the fact that, you know, you could have got a really, really good result. But it's another weekend where he shows that once he cuts out those mistakes, boy, you see going to be a really special driver.

Yeah, and it can also be sort of excused by the fact that he's a rookie. So, you know, he has, uh, because of, these are rookie experiences. Of course, he's had these standings, but technically this is his rookie season. Yeah, yeah. The fans gave Ollie Beerman as seven as well. Esteban Ockon started the sprint in 19th, did not finish. Started the main race in 17th, finished 15th.

I've gone for a four. But Ocon, he is in struggle town at the moment, particularly in qualifying. I think at the start of the season, it was probably one of the most underrated drivers, where he was just occasionally putting the house into places where it didn't belong, and he got the odd P5 and stuff here and there, which has boosted his points massively. But I don't know if what is going on at the moment and if he's just trying new things or whatever, but he just looks nowhere compared to his teammate. particularly in qualifying and yeah it feels like a long time since we've seen really anything at all

from o'con i've also gone for a four out of ten for o'con um it's i think a deserving grade sadly just purely because of what ollie bearman his rookie teammate was was showing this weekend i'm just looking back at his results and he scored a point in the netherlands in zamvort but the other seven races around it so the four we've just had no points the three before Zandvort no points but then you look at the first half of the season

he's scoring a fifth in China and eighth in Bahrain a seventh in Monaco a ninth in Canada and a tenth in Austria they got a good sprint result as well I think it was a spa I think he got a P5 in that as well so yeah so in terms of his position

in the championship he's 15th now so I think he is falling down from where he was after the first half of the season but yeah he's very much in a slump at the moment and something I hope he is able to turn around the fans gave him a four as well Franco Colapinto started the sprint in 17th finished 14th

started the main race in 15th finished 17th for Franco I am going to lock in a 6 out of 10 it is again a very good performance when you compare it to Pierre Gasley which is literally the only thing we can still do because that Alpine is absolute garbage I also want to say that I think Alpine were completely out of order for trying to stop Franco going through on his teammates.

The absolute normal situation, especially when there's another team behind you, is to let the faster car through. So whether there's some weird tension there, a message from someone up the top of Alpine to say, no, don't let Franco through because it looks bad on Pierre. I don't know what it is because there's only a few things in my head that makes sense for why they would have tried that. So for me, Franco, all he needs to do is beat his teammate. He's done that. And I firmly believe he is very much deserving of that seat for next year. I have gone for a five out of ten for Franco Colapinto. Yeah, another solid weekend from him.

Not, you know, amazing. I think last race, you know, particularly good from him. This one, it's really impressive how he's managed. to consistently sort of like match Ghazley, Ghazley now. And yeah, I completely agree that I think he's shown enough now. He seems to have, you know, touch wood, kind of the mistakes are being cut out. And I think if he just has a solid end to the year without any mistakes,

he will get the seat. There's obviously a few question marks of, was it the right thing to do to disobey team orders when you're trying to get a drive from them? But I think it's completely unfair how I've been put in that position in the first place. I can't really blame him for going for the move when he had such a tire advantage. So it's a strange position for them to put him in. But he's driving so much better to think what a slump he was in at the start of the year

and all the kind of talk of how he's not impressed and he's having all these incidents. So yeah, he's doing a good job. The fans gave Franco a 5 out of 10. Pierre Gazley started the sprint in 13th, finished 10th, started the main race in 14th, finished 19th. I have gone for a five out of ten for Pierre Gasley, gone for the same for two Alpines. I think Gasly impressed more in qualifying and the sprint, but of course Franco's beaten him in the race. I think it's quite close between the two of them. I think Gasly in that race in particular, it looked like he had some really good pace in qualifying.

So could it have been one of those races where they bagged a point, particularly after the sprint chaos? It's so rare now for them to get points. has been so long, but alas, no, and they were trundling around at the back. For Pierre, I've gone for a five out of ten. Yeah, the sprint was definitely better, but of course, huge amount of chaos and a lot of positions gained that way. And then in the main race, finishing 19th, for his experience, for what he's been able to achieve, Franco is impressing more at this point at Alpine, so I can't give him the same

grade, just purely because he's been beaten by his rookie team mate. And, well, is it rookie? It's still technically a rookie. He hasn't had a full season. So, yeah, Pierre Gazley, it's a five out of ten from me. The fans gave him a five as well. Lance Stroll started the sprint in 14th. Did not finish.

Shock. We can talk about that. And then in the main race started 19th, after being penalised five places and finished 12th. Lance Stroll is going to receive a... four out of ten. Four out of ten for Lance Stroll. Absolutely diabolical move in the sprint.

He went for something that, I'm sorry to say, but his talent does not match up to those kind of moves. And he tried it, he locked up and he yeated Ockon into another dimension. And then in the main race, I think Alonzo was trying to help him. Was he not?

I'm pretty sure Alonzo was backing up the pack to try and get strolled a good position. And he still wasn't able to do that. So it probably would have been a five had it been just the normal Grand Prix, but I've got to take into account the sprint, so it's a four. I've gone for a four as well for Lance Roll, yeah. His result in the end, a B12 isn't that bad reading, but I have to take into account.

You know, his qualifying performance or weekend competitive teammate was poor, but I guess, you know, we expect it now. I think it's 30 consecutive, you know, beaten by your teammate in qualifying, which is insane. And then, yeah, the sprint move was ridiculous, which of course puts him on the back foot for the race, although it doesn't matter when you qualify poorly anyway. So, yeah, one to forget, four stroll.

The fans gave Lance a four out of ten. Fernando Alonzo started the sprint in sixth, did not finish, started the main race in 10th, finished 10th. I've gone for an eight out of 10 for Fernando Alonzo. So his result in the Grand Prix, I don't think Aston looked particularly quick these days, and he bagged a point and a decent qualifying. I think in the sprint, I've got to kind of give him credit there like I did for Holkenberg

that he was on for a really, really, really good result. And of course, ended up in the chaos and getting taken out. And as he said, has no luck at all. So I think would have bagged a really strong finish there as well. so that's why I've gone for an eight I have gone for a seven out of ten for Fernando Alonzo I think it's very close between a seven and an eight

of course yeah qualified well for the sprint didn't finish and then in the main race it's all right it's a point isn't it I did read yeah as I mentioned with Lance I believe he was trying to help his teammate they were slow in the race with Aston Martin and Alonzo couldn't make any progress from P10

seven's not a bang grade. I don't know if I can give him an eight. Obviously with the benefit of the doubt of the sprint, you could weigh either. Either way, but it's a seven for me. The fans also gave him a seven out of ten. How dare you? God, yes, you just get so angry about the Alonzo grades, don't you? He's just what a guy. The fans just don't like him. Oh, like Tommy. Remember, we're biased Tommy, not the fans. Yeah, yeah, of course. Who don't have favorite drivers. Kimmy Antonelli started the sprint in 11th, finished eighth, started the main race in seventh, finished 13th. Kimmy Antonelli is going to receive a six out of 10.

Unlucky, of course, to be taken out in the main race with Carlos. He did give him a little bit of room, whether, you know, more experienced drivers would have seen that coming and just kind of almost driven off the circuit to make sure he didn't get hit. I don't know. That's not for me to potentially judge, but it's definitely a thought in my head. That being said, it's not his fault. He didn't, he was just literally just driving around and Carlos went for an audacious move and hit him and it's Carlos's prerogative to not hit Kimmy. The sprint, of course, he scored a point, but realistically not, not the greatest of weekends for Kimmy, but also not like he was completely un-attily off the pace and deserves

anything lower than a six in my opinion. Yeah, gone for a six as well. It's very much kind of not terrible but also not particularly a great weekend. Obviously, you know, the result, I think could have had a really decent points finish. It looked like he was maybe potentially going to finish behind his teammate, although who knows because it was so early in the race. Of course, he got hit, but he was running there after a much better qualifying, but the sprint start at, you know, where he started in the sprint was poor and who knows had he been further up. We, of course, saw the chaos at the start and that's how people ended up with really fantastic results. So, yeah, it's just a case of, I think, for him, if this is a bad weekend, I think

that's a much better bad threshold than what he was having earlier, so he'll take it. Yeah, he's upped that bad weekend sort of line, hasn't he? Yeah, yeah. Very important for him. The fans gave him a six as well. George Russell started the sprint in fifth, finished second, started the main race in fourth, finished sixth.

Ooh, this one's a difficult one. I'm going to go for an eight out of ten for George Russell, close between a seven and an eight. But I do think he got a good amount of what he could with his car this weekend, of course. Sprint result was his highlight. It looked like he had a good amount of pace and at the start looking like he was, of course, you know,

challenging Max for the victory. Didn't have that same pace in the main race, and it very much looked like Mercedes were kind of fourth best. So I've gone for an eight, though, because I think it's a good amount of points from a weekend where I don't think Mercedes were particularly great. I've gone for a seven out of ten for George. He lost two positions at the start of the main race,

which sometimes is a little bit of luck of the draw in term one, but also you have to position your car as well as you, you can. That outside swooping line is what paid dividends for Oscar and for Lewis coming through on George. He said the qualifying is obviously so important and that first lap after the race. And had he stayed in fourth, he said he would have finished fourth. If he got up to P3, he probably would have finished third. So to finish sixth in the main race, when there was definitely more on the table, means I'm going to go for a seven. Of course, the sprint was very good. Finish second there and took advantage of the absolute carnage that unfolded, sorry, in front

of him. So the fans gave him a seven out of ten. Yuki Sonoda started the sprint in 18th, finished seventh, started the main race in 13th, finished seventh. Might be an unpopular one, but I'm going to go for a six out of ten for Yuki Sonoda. Yes, he has finished in two seventh places, but he is absolute light years behind Max Wastappen, who has dominated the entire sprint weekend. It would be a disservice to Sergio Perez and those that have gone before. him to give him any higher than a six out of ten, yes, he struggled with the car, how do you then incorporate that in your grades? I genuinely think six is a very fair grade for Yuki. He finished, what was it, I'm looking now, I'm just doing the math, it's over 40 seconds

behind. He was 52 seconds. 52, yeah, so I was just looking at the board and adding them all together. 52 seconds behind Max. His qualifying was poor in both of the sessions this week. end, of course, did well in the races to score some points, but he is driving the race-winning car, so it's a six. I have gone for a six out of ten for Yuki Sanoda, and I was actually Eming between a five and a six. Yeah, he's such a difficult one because, yeah, on paper you're like, seventh and seventh, perfect, like, this is what Red Bull need to be doing.

but Red Bull and I know it's so different because we all know the second car and it's all very different and they are a unique team to judge but Red Bull aren't you know and certainly in Max's hands the fourth best car anymore you know you can argue that they're even the best car now or very much at least on par with McLaren now in Max's hands so yuki is I mean 52 seconds is so far off you know no one else is that far behind their teammate. Almost a second a lap. Yeah, exactly. And even the sprint finish,

I'm not trying to kind of discredit, you know, what he's done to get a seventh place, but of course he qualified 18th, and it was almost like Estebanok-on-Hungary situation where the sea just parted for him. I will just argue and say that Red Bull did not do him any favours

in that final part of sprint qualifiers. No, where he got blocked, of course, But he didn't have any particular pace in qualifying anyway before that. He was down in 14th. So, yeah, I just, you know, I can't give him a higher grade for being that far off. There you go then. Let us know your thoughts. I'm sure you already have.

The fans have given him a 7 out of 10. Same as Fernando Lanzai crazy. You know, but I'm biased. Please like the video if you enjoyed. We will see you next week. Max Verstappen. Started the sprint in first, finished first.

Started the main race in first, finished first. I've gone for a 10 out of 10 for Max Verstappen. It's the perfect weekend. The fact that he just dominated, I don't think, you know, the Red Bull has improved a lot.

I don't think it certainly wasn't light years ahead of the McLaren this weekend. He just delivered the perfect weekend to top all the sessions at a sprint weekend when it's how you see it, isn't it? Like, is the pressure on or is the pressure off? He needs to be perfect, but the pressure is off in the sense that like he's the underdog, so that he's kind of thriving from that.

But also at the same time, it is a huge amount of pressure because he literally can't put a foot wrong if he wants to stay in this title. And he didn't. First in everything. just amazing, amazing weekend. And yeah, it piles that pressure onto McLaren now. I've gone for a 10 out of 10 as well. Unsurprisingly for Max Verstappen,

what a good surprise prediction. Honestly, just a clean sweep the whole weekend. Come on, that's unbelievable. Anyway, sorry, back to the driver ratings. Yes, I do believe, yeah, that he was not that far ahead in terms of the pace. Charlotte, Clair did him a massive favour in the main race to give him that buffer

because I think Lando once in clean air showed that he was at least on par with Max Verstappen's race pace. I go back to your point, Tommy, about pressure. I personally believe that Max is feeling no pressure whatsoever. I feel like he is so ingrained in Formula One anyway. He's been in championship fights many, many seasons,

sometimes just only fighting himself in 2023, for example. And it was interesting. There was an interview that he did, I believe it was after the race, where he kind of just, I think the question was, you know, you're feeling the pressure and stuff like that and things like that.

And he just sort of turns it around into, well, it's an opportunity. There's not, you kind of sense that he was not feeling the pressure. And I personally think he is absolutely relishing the fact that he's the underdog. It just is such an exciting thing for him that he was probably losing interest

halfway through this season with his car being absolutely nowhere compared to McLaren. It's now not losing interest in terms of not trying, but just, you know, you're destroying. You get if it's slightly distracted, you think about GT racing and things like that. But now he's absolutely locked in. He firmly believes he can win this championship. And it is going to be a very scary Max Verstappen, I think, between now and the end of the season.

If I'm Oscar Piastri, I know that he said after this weekend, I'd rather be in my position than the other twos. I'd be shaken. I would, and this is why I'm not a Formula One driver. I would be absolutely shaken in my base that Max has 40 points behind with five races and two sprints to go. because anything can happen and we're going to be there every step of the way. The fans gave Max a 10 as well.

Lewis Hamilton started the sprint in 8th, finished 4th, started the main race in 5th, finished 4th. I have gone for an 8 out of 10 for Lewis Hamilton this weekend. I think it was a very good one from him. Very unfortunate to not, not unfortunate, but just

so tantalizingly close to getting another podium at least in that first phase of the race. He wasn't able to really utilize the soft tires in that second stint. I think he had a puncture scare as well towards the end, which allowed Oscar to really close up at the end. But when you compare Lewis and Shaul, Lewis was better in the sprint. Shal made that mistake. In the main race, of course, Charles really excelled. But I think Lewis, even though he finished 13 seconds behind his teammate, I don't think that truly represents what a good weekend it has been for Lewis. And when you consider the season he has had.

Yeah, I've gone for an 8 out of 10 for Lowe's Hamilton as well. A much more solid performance from him this weekend. Two fourth places. Still obviously, of course, tantalizingly close in results at the least to that podium that he's still not achieved at Ferrari yet. But this is exactly kind of what we expected more from Hamilton that even if he's not beating Charlerc at the moment, this is more kind of, you know, along the lines of the Lewis Hamilton. We know, of course, still in a new team, still learning his new environment.

And if this is the kind of more of the baseline, then it's much more, you know, impressive from Hamilton. So, yeah, a good weekend and good points for Ferrari and the fight for second place. It's interesting when you look at the head-to-head stats between Leclair and Hamilton. there's a couple of an old results due to the Chinese Grand Prix where they both disqualified and the Dutch GP where they both retired but in qualifying

Leclero leads 145 over Hamilton in the sprint it's two all in the main race it's 143 to Lecler with those two taken out of the disqualification and the retirement but in the sprint races

Lecler Lee's sorry Hamilton leads 3-1 so clearly one practice session is exactly what Hamilton needs in that Ferrari because I mean the amount of times we hear as well of like oh the car felt good on Friday and then we changed something

and now it's absolutely horrendous so this is what happens in it's just lock it in free practice one and just stick with that car the fans gave Lewis Hamilton an eight as well Charlotte Claire started the sprint in 10th finished fifth started the main race in third

finished third I have gone four a nine out of ten for Charlotte Claire I think his race in particular was very very good I don't think Ferrari had the pace to challenge.

Obviously, he made that kind of gamble, if you like. Although they didn't turn out to be too much for gamble in the end when we saw that the hard tires didn't work at all, of course. But starting on the soft, got ahead of Lando, managed to hold him up for a long time, which I think was a mixture of, you know, Charles' great defensive driving, but also a little bit of Lando,

and kind of probably being in championship mode as well and managing the kind of risk there. So, yeah, a really good result. Can't be a 10, I think, because of obviously the sprint and being beaten by Hamilton there, but a really, really good weekend from Shal and just a reminder that he's had a few times this year where, you know, if he gets the car as well,

he can also be, you know, fighting these drivers like Piastri and Norris for Stappen. everyone as well. So yeah, a good, good performance. I've gone for a nine out of ten for Charlotte Clare. It's fully deserving. I think, I think the main race, the main weekend, not much more he could have really done in the sprint, of course, he had a poor qualifying, but his first lap in the sprint was genuinely like Mario Kart, just avoiding all of the carnage, the debris and everything else. Made that small mistake in the sprint, of course, which put Hamilton through. But yeah, it was an unbelievable display on

Sunday, so I think a nine is very deserving. The fans gave Charles a nine as well. Oscar Piastri started the sprint in third, did not finish, started the main race in sixth, finished fifth.

Well, well, well, here we are at one of the most controversial grades, I'd imagine, and most divisive grades. For me, I am going to lock in drum roll please, whilst I think between two numbers. I am going to go for a five out of ten for Oscar Piastri.

Close between even downgrading in one more, but I'm going to lock in a five. His qualifying was okay for the sprint. Then it was absolutely his fault. What happened at term one? I'm not, it's not a, it's not the same move as in my head, right? The way I'm trying to sort of grade this, it's not the same move as locking up and doing a launch stroll and just yeeting someone into non-existence.

What I would put that down to is in experience and tunnel visioning towards Lando Norris. Of course, the grade is still low anyway at five out of ten. But it was, it was his fault. Had he been more sensible and not forgotten about the other cars behind him, that instant wouldn't have happened. And then in the main race, again, qualifying was poor, P6, when your teammate is up in the front row. and then he was very anonymous during the race. He still finished fifth. He didn't get beaten by George Russell.

It still points for Oscar Piastri, but I cannot in any realm give him any higher than a five out of ten because it was a weekend. Another weekend now, not as bad as Baku, but another weekend where the championship leader does not look untouchable by any means. I can't give him a five. I will give him a four.

out of 10. I think it's a really poor weekend from Oscar Piastri. I think the whole, I think what's most concerning is just the pace all weekend was was really poor from him. The sprint move, of course, in a weird way, you know, I'm not, it's not a four because I think, you know, he deserved a penalty in his sprint move was, was outrageous. It was incredibly risky and that is part of the kind of downgrading here, but the reason I'm giving him a four is just how slow he looked at all weekend. He just wasn't able to find anything. He was three-tenths off Lando in qualifying in the sprint. He was almost three-tenths again behind Lando in qualifying, which is a massive margin. And then in the race, he was 22 seconds off Lando. These are huge margins. And we know that

that Piastri is not that driver because he's been really, really, really good this year. That's why he's leading the world championship. But, yeah, he's just had no pace this weekend. He was not delivering compared to his teammate. And it's just such a shocking time for him to do it when the pressure is really ramping up as well. So it's probably worth sort of, because I feel like there will be people listening that question our grades. I mean, it literally happens every single weekend. Really?

Yeah. But I just, I think maybe we just go in. to a little bit more about how we can give Oscar Piastria 4 out of 10 for example he said 22 seconds off his teammate but Yuki Sanoda who finished 52 seconds behind his teammate and it's a 6 out of 10 so like just maybe explain because obviously I've given a 5

it's slightly less harsh what you're thinking is there why does he deserve so much lower than a Yuki in this example because that also takes into grade what their teammate got spoiler alert Lando's not getting a 10 and also the

fact that, you know, you do grade a little bit on what you expect of a driver. And Oscar Piazsche's leading the world championships, had a brilliant season. Particularly, you know, first half of the season, I think he was comfortably quicker than Lando Norris. So we know he's much quicker. So for him to be, this is the only race I can remember all season where he's just not looked anywhere compared to his teammate. And that's why it's such a poor grade for me.

Yep, there you go. Just explaining, because everybody has their own grades and whatever they decide. decide to give is totally a personal thing. Also, just to mention, downvoting the YouTube video is not meant for when you disagree with our grades. It's usually you just comment and go, oh, I don't agree with that grade. Just thought I'd let you know about that one. The fans gave Oscar Piastri a five out of ten. So if you like drive ratings, give it a like. Yeah. And that's a great thing to say. If you like the series. If you like the fact we don't agree, give us a little thumbs up. Let us know you enjoy the series. Because it'd be a really boring video if we all put

the same. I know right, wouldn't it? Why don't we all just have the same and live in half? Could it just been an email, couldn't it really, if that was the case. Lando Norris, started the sprint in second, did not finish, started the main race in second, finished second. I've gone for an eight out of ten for Lando Norris. I think he had a good solid weekend. Obviously, he, I think the reason I'm not giving him a nine is because I do think that the McLaren had good pace. Obviously, the sprint. is not his fault at all. But in the main race,

I think he, and maybe understandably very cautious at the start, particularly with not making moves on, on Shal and had he got past him earlier, could he have fought Maxis for the win? I certainly think so. Whether it got past him or not is another bet. But this felt like just a solid,

consistent drive from someone going for the World Championship and maybe playing that percentage game. So that's why I've gone for an eight. I have also gone for an eight out of ten for Lando Norris. Very unlucky in the sprint, qualified well for the sprint. I think the main race, had he finished just second behind Max and got through on Charles Leclair early, probably would have been a nine. The downgrade is from the cautiousness.

It's not a four. It's not a five. It's an eight out of ten. It's still a strong. grade. But yeah, we kind of came into this weekend saying we're not going to take it away from him or criticise him for being cautious on Max Verstappen. But when you're behind Charles Leclerc, who is, I mean, Shal even said after the race,

you know, that or basically insinuated that the Ferrari is not as quick as the McLaren by quite some margin, but he was still able to hold Lando until, what, five laps to go. Of course, Ferrari, I think, did a very good strategy to put Shal in the mix there. but Lando's cautiousness did affect him and affect his ability to even put any pressure on Max Verstappen. Max wouldn't have felt that throughout the entire race. So it's an eight or ten for me for Lando. It's still a good enough result that he is well within the championship hunt. I am constantly changing my mind as to who's the favourite,

but I think Lando is being slept on slightly here. And if Oscar's form continues this way, Lando can very easily clinch this championship. So these kind of performances are absolutely fine. Can't allow Max to win every single one of them, but if he's finishing seconds consistently. I mean, they can do if they want. Please feel free to. If he finishes second consistently,

he'll have a very good opportunity to win the championship. If Oscar beats him a couple of times, but then Max beats him three other times, Math's on the spot. He's probably got a good shout of still winning. So, yeah, good performance from Lando. The fans gave him an eight as well. Finally, who is RP1?

Max Verstappen. It has to be. be Max for Stappen because I'm pretty sure he's the only 10 I've given, but also even if there were 20 10 out of tens here, it was the absolute definition of a perfect weekend for Max, untouchable, and oh my goodness gracious me, 40 points to go. Get that tattoo book, Tommy. I am going for Max for Stappen. Yeah, it's... Wasn't that the only 10 you gave as well? Yeah, exactly. Okay, good suspense. enjoyed it. Yeah, exactly. It's so clearly,

Max Verstappen, I'd probably argue that this might even be the easiest giving P1 because the fact that, you know, he's won literally everything and no one else has got a 10. So easydubs for Max Verstappen. Easydubs indeed. Right, that is it. Thank you, everybody for tuning in to driver ratings for the United States Grand Prix. We'll be back literally in less than a week to do another driver races for the Mexico City Grand Prix. Will it be another 10 for Max Rastappan? Will he be closing in?

Will he be within a win, Tommy, come the end of Mexico? Can you imagine another? Well, you say I doubt that. He gained 23 points on Piastri. I've been saying every time I've gone, well, he needs to do this, and then we'll do that the next race. Or is better than what you even say. So there you go.

Thank you, everybody. We will, yeah, thank you. As well, I want to say, thank you for bearing with us with us being around and slightly slower with everything. We're back to normal now before we then go, of course, for the P1 Live Delusion tour. Tickets still available if you want to come and see us. It's going to be very exciting. We love going around America, don't we, Tommy? The energy at the shows are just something that you just cannot get enough of. Hence why we're doing another batch of shows. So we love to see you there. Take care. Tommy, I forgot to say what your final thoughts. So give us your jet lagged

final thoughts whilst we wave. Get those tickets for the show. because it's going to be good. And Tommy won't be tired there. I won't be tired. But my God, is he sass? I'm looking forward to rewriting. Tommy Live is something you have to experience, by the way. I'm just saying, my God, this man pops off.

Bye. And not just about Fernando's great. Oh, Philharando's so great. 10 out of 10. Everything he does. The way he breathed. God, I think it's such a man. P1 is a Stack production.

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