Although the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a largely processional race, a few drivers managed to distinguish themselves with their performances.
However their efforts in qualifying the previous day had a significant bearing on their overall result – as Lando Norris knows only too well.
Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field last weekend, plus our average scores for the first five rounds so far.
Lando Norris
▶ Fastest on Friday and in Q2
▼ Crashed in Q3
▲ Passed Sainz early on
▶ Took three laps to complete pass on Hamilton
▶ Passed Russell with less difficulty but ran out of time to catch Leclerc for third
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0s faster
5/10: Redeemed himself somewhat after qualifying error but third looked possible
Oscar Piastri
▲ Almost nothing in it between him and Verstappen for pole position
▲ Great start put Verstappen on the defensive
▶ Kept up the pace as well as he could stuck in Verstappen’s dirty air in the first stint
▲ Swift pass on Hamilton was vital to ensure he jumped Verstappen in the pits
▶ Measured his pace over the final stint to keep Verstappen out of range
9/10: Stood his ground at start, judged risky pass on Hamilton superbly
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Charles Leclerc
▲ Appeared to wring everything there was out of the SF-25 in qualifying
▲ Ran an impressively long stint on mediums
▲ Passed Russell in his second stint
▲ Out-ran Norris for final podium place
9/10: Needed to wring every drop from his Ferrari to beat Norris to third, and did
Lewis Hamilton
▼ Scraped into Q3, fortunate to only start three places behind Leclerc given how large the gap was
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.099s faster
▲ Got by Sainz on the first lap
▶ Frustrated Norris’s efforts to pass for two laps, which proved useful for his team mate
▼ Closed on Antonelli in final stint, aided by fresher tyres, but dropped back at end
5/10: Another poor qualifying effort and his race pace wasn’t sufficient to make up for it
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Max Verstappen
▲ Superior Q3 tactics, tow from Tsunoda and superb lap put him on pole
▼ Didn’t get off the line as well as Piastri which cost him the lead
▼ Took the lead back by deliberately cutting the first corner
▶ Took longer to pass Hamilton than Piastri did – was his former adversary being unco-operative?
▲ Strong pace in final stint despite being in Piastri’s wake
▼ Received a 5 second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in the grand prix
7/10: At his irrepressible best in qualifying, strong pace in race, cynical turn one tactics
Yuki Tsunoda
▼ Crashed in second practice
▼ Nine tenths of a second slower than Verstappen in Q3, but gave him a tow
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.214s faster
▼ Lucky to avoid a penalty (again) for contact he was better able to avoid than the other driver
3/10: The pace was there but Q3 lap was poor and he crashed twice
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
▼ Had the pace for fourth on the grid but made small error early on final lap
▶ Wisely chose not to force the issue with Leclerc at turn one at the start
▶ Ran fifth throughout opening stint, fell to sixth behind recovering Norris after pit stop
▲ Better pace than Russell in final stint
7/10: Still working it out in qualifying but coped better than Russell with tyres in race
George Russell
▲ Another strong qualifying effort but rued not doing two runs in Q3
▶ Couldn’t stick with Verstappen and Piastri in the opening stint
▼ Pace didn’t improve in second stint which allowed Leclerc and Norris past
▼ Faded badly at end and lost over a second per lap to Antonelli
7/10: Again a top performer in qualifying by faded badly in the race
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Lance Stroll
▶ Very little between the two Aston Martins when Stroll went out in Q1
▶ Ran the longest opening stint of anyone on hards
▲ Used blue flags cleverly to pass Bortoleto
▼ Lapped, unlike his team mate
5/10: The gap between him and Alonso was more typical this weekend
Fernando Alonso
▲ One of few drivers who put all of his three best sectors together in qualifying.
▲ Beat Lawson off the line at the start
▼ Lost a place to the other Racing Bulls of Hadjar on lap after restart
▶ Took evasive action to prevent collision with Bortoleto
6/10: Left little on the table in qualifying but surprising to see him lose a place to Hadjar so easily
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Jack Doohan
▼ Reprimanded for twice crossing the painted area between the pit entry and the track in practice
▼ Three tenths of a second off Gasly when he went out in Q1
▶ Made first pit stop on opening lap but lost places in second half of race
▶ Only driver to make second pit stop, once it became clear he was under threat from Bortoleto
▲ Used fresher tyres to catch Bortoleto and won drag race to the finishing line
5/10: Qualifying deficit to Gasly left him running a ‘hail Mary’ strategy
Pierre Gasly
▲ Aimed to do two laps after the red flag in Q3 but abandoned his first, had to be held in his pit box and did not have correct tyre temperatures for final lap as a result
▶ As a result his Q3 time was 0.342s slower than he managed in Q2
▲ Was in the process of passing Tsunoda on the first lap when he was hit by his rival
7/10: Unlucky to be taken out by Tsunoda but could have started ahead of him
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Esteban Ocon
▼ Admitted he’d struggled all weekend after being half a second off his team mate in Q1
▲ Only one of the three drivers who pitted on the first lap to complete the race distance
▶ Let Bearman past when told to.
5/10: Didn’t have the pace to match Bearman
Oliver Bearman
▲ Beat his team mate to reach Q2
▶ Set a better times in Q1 than Q2, by 0.112s
▼ Failed to improve on his new set of tyres in the second part of qualifying
▼ Pace faded towards the end of both stints in the race
6/10: Workmanlike performance in car which wasn’t quick enough
Isack Hadjar
▼ Said he’d struggled throughout the weekend after dropping out in Q2, clipping the wall on his way
▲ Got ahead of his team mate at the start
▲ Excellent pass on Alonso after restart, without DRS, likely earned him a point at the end of the race
▶ Finished race stuck in ‘DRS train’ behind co-operating Williams drivers
7/10: Made up for disappointing qualifying performance with excellent pass on Alonso
Liam Lawson
▼ Reprimanded for twice crossing the painted area between the pit entry and the track in practice
▲ One of few drivers who put all of his three best sectors together in qualifying.
▼ Beaten off the line by Alonso, then lost another place to Hadjar running off the track
▼ Failing to make the corner after passing Doohan led to a 10 second penalty
▶ Not much to choose between the two Racing Bulls on race pace
6/10: Quick over one lap but wasted his advantage on lap one
Alexander Albon
▶ A close match for Sainz’s pace in qualifying – a later spot in the running order might have got him into Q3
▶ Co-operated with Sainz to keep Hadjar behind – tactics they originally planned to use on Gasly
7/10: Dissatisfaction over Q2 exit was understandable, but he rebounded in the race
Carlos Sainz Jnr
▶ Only driver besides Verstappen to complete two timed laps after the red flag in Q3
▲ Beat Hamilton and Tsunoda for excellent sixth on the grid
▶ Chose his battles more wisely than he did in Bahrain
▲ Aided team mate with DRS in the race to maximise Williams’ points haul
8/10: Used same Q3 tactics as Verstappen to great effect, played team role superbly in race
Nico Hulkenberg
▼ Made a mistake at turn one which potentially cost him a place in Q2
▲ Got ahead of Doohan at the start
▶ Quick enough to out-run Stroll but not to attack the cars ahead
6/10: There was more in the Sauber, but probably not much
Gabriel Bortoleto
▶ Missing the single most representative practice session of the weekend due to a technical fault undoubtedly compromised him
▶ Poor luck continued in qualifying as he picked up a plastic bag
▼ Tried to use Verstappen for a slipstream but underestimated his speed at turn one and spun
▶ Let Hulkenberg through when ordered to.
▶ Plugged away on fading tyres at the end of the race
▶ Powerless to keep Doohan behind on final lap
5/10: Luck was against him in practice, hair-raising moment with Alonso in race
Over to you
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