The Belgian Grand Prix showcased a high standard of performance across the Formula 1 field, with every small shortcoming costing drivers dearly in Edd Straw's rankings. Some drivers faced far bigger issues, which were reflected in their lower positions. This ranking system, which fluctuates significantly from weekend to weekend, considers pace, racecraft, consistency, and key mistakes, as well as how close each driver got to delivering the maximum performance potential of their car. It's important to note that this ranking is not a measure of all-round driver qualities, but rather a reflection of their performance on a given weekend. The rankings also differ from the overall results due to the varying performance potential of each car and external factors like 'luck'.
Let's delve into the rankings and explore the performances of the drivers:
Max Verstappen
Pros:
- Made the most of Isack Hadjar's tow in Q3 to secure a front-row start against the odds.
- Briefly led the race before slipping to third, only to regain the lead over Leclerc due to the VSC timing.
- Extracted the best from his Red Bull car.
Cons:
- Had the advantage of a team-mate without competitive ambitions in Q3, which simplified his weekend.
Verdict: Despite having the second-best car, he put himself in a position to finish second.
Charles Leclerc
Pros:
- Dominated his team-mate George Russell throughout the weekend.
- Showed patience when he lost the lead due to the VSC, pacing his re-passing of Leclerc effectively.
Cons:
- Only a couple of track-limits violations in the race.
Verdict: Impressive performance, even when misfortune affected his race.
George Russell
Pros:
- Dominated his team-mate Max Verstappen all weekend.
- Showed composure when he lost the lead due to the VSC, pacing his re-passing of Leclerc well.
Cons:
- Only a couple of track-limits violations in the race.
Verdict: Imperious performance, even when misfortune complicated his race.
Oscar Piastri
Pros:
- Seemed more in control of the McLaren than his team-mate from the start of the weekend.
- Displayed strong pace in both qualifying and the race.
- Would have been on the podium without the 10-place grid penalty, which he wasn't responsible for.
Cons:
- A small error on his final Q3 lap meant his run was aborted.
Verdict: Strong performance, with the Q3 error as the only significant negative.
Pierre Gasly
Pros:
- Strong start to the weekend, initially outpacing his team-mate.
- Drove a strong race, passing Gasly and Liam Lawson on the Kemmel Straight.
- Won the four-car scrap for the final point with a strong race drive.
Cons:
- Lapped marginally slower than Gasly in qualifying, but only by 0.061s.
Verdict: Bounced back to form after a couple of difficult weekends.
Fernando Alonso
Pros:
- Back-of-the-grid penalty meant reaching Q3 and towing Verstappen was a successful qualifying session.
- Felt most at one with his Red Bull car and had decent underlying pace.
- Strong first lap to climb to 15th before the safety car forced a pit stop.
Cons:
- Climb to sixth wasn't as dramatic as the 15 places gained suggested.
Verdict: Podium was potentially on the cards without the grid penalty that shaped his weekend.
Lewis Hamilton
Pros:
- Had the edge over Lewis Hamilton in qualifying by a minuscule margin, despite a yellow flag error at the pit entry.
- Did his best to stay clear of Antonelli, but the Ferrari lacked pace.
Cons:
- Needlessly moved over Piastri, hitting the McLaren and fortunate to avoid a penalty.
- VSC timing helped him in his battle for second with Verstappen.
Verdict: Strong performance, but the Piastri clash could have been costly.
Esteban Ocon
Pros:
- Outpaced Sainz throughout the weekend.
- At or close to the maximum of the car, beating everyone he realistically could have done in the race despite the first-lap puncture.
Cons:
- Only a few thousandths would have been needed to outqualify Sainz, and he compromised his deployment by knocking a switch.
- While the clash between Haas drivers was unfortunate, Bearman could have done more to avoid it.
Verdict: A largely strong weekend, with only a few rough edges.
Nyck de Vries
Pros:
- Outpaced Lindblad throughout the weekend.
- Strong race pace, despite the VSC timing and Lindblad's aggressive driving when he emerged from the pits.
Cons:
- The gap to Lindblad wasn't entirely explained by the spec difference, especially as de Vries struggled in the second stint.
- Could have taken the final point, but slipped to third in the four-car battle.
Verdict: Spec offset made life harder for him than Lindblad, but he didn't extract everything from his car.
Lance Stroll
Pros:
- Prevailed in the intra-team battle with Lance Stroll, outqualifying him by 0.175s and running ahead for most of the race.
- Relieved that this was likely the last weekend with struggles at their worst.
Cons:
- Briefly fell behind Stroll when overtaken by his team-mate and Bearman on the Kemmel Straight, then lost another position on that lap to Hadjar.
Verdict: Troubled Aston Martin continues to make it impossible to fairly judge his performance.
Valtteri Bottas
Pros:
- Had one of his more straightforward weekends for Cadillac, making good progress through practice and qualifying.
- Lapped 0.148s faster than team-mate Sergio Perez in qualifying.
- Drove a clean race, but with the Cadillac in no-man's land, there wasn't much to race for.
Cons:
- Perez's deployment problems in qualifying and early demise meant there wasn't a clean pace comparison.
Verdict: Bottas's most straightforward weekend, showing good pace.
Lando Norris
Pros:
- Battled on well in the race after suffering damage from hitting Leclerc, an incident he wasn't at fault for.
- Unexpected power unit behaviour contributed to his qualifying deficit to Norris.
Cons:
- Struggled for confidence with the rear end, making him more inconsistent and slower on single-lap pace.
- Never managed to get as on top of the car as Norris did.
Verdict: A middling weekend by F1 driver standards.
Sergio Perez
Pros:
- The mitigation of a drag problem meant the comparison with Bottas wasn't fair.
- Wasn't responsible for his elimination from the race due to an inboard suspension problem.
Cons:
- Deployment problems in qualifying, with the gap to Bearman bigger than it should have been.
- In the wars on the first lap, but that was more circumstantial than through misadventure.
Verdict: Ranking is low due to lack of opportunity rather than shortcomings.
Yuki Tsunoda
Pros:
- Had deployment problems that cost straightline speed, contributing to the unrepresentative 0.688s deficit to his team-mate.
- Relatively consistent performance, despite car problems.
Cons:
- Gap to Bearman was bigger than it should have been, even without deployment problems.
- In the wars on the first lap, but that was more circumstantial.
Verdict: Stuck in the spiral of car problems that have characterised his season.
Charles Leclerc
Pros:
- Russell's underlying qualifying pace deficit wasn't the half-second suggested due to deployment troubles.
- Mitigating factor for the first-lap clash, given Mercedes deployment problems.
Cons:
- Simply wasn't at Antonelli's level.
- First-lap move on Hamilton was risky and ultimately backfired.
Verdict: Despite mitigating factors, Russell couldn't get close to Antonelli.
