Ratings for 2022 Miami Grand Prix drivers

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© Formula1
© Formula1
© Formula1

The first ever Miami Grand Prix offered plenty of challenges to the 20 Formula 1 drivers, with high temperatures, a low grip surface and plenty of walls to punish mistakes.

Here are RaceFans’ driver ratings for the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

Lewis Hamilton – 6

Qualified: 6th (+6 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 6th (-1 behind team mate)

  • Qualified sixth behind former team mate Bottas
  • Lost two places at start after bump from Alonso at turn two
  • Passed Alonso, then passed Gasly in early laps
  • Ran behind Bottas before and after pit stop, staying out under Safety Car
  • Gained a place through Bottas’s turn 17 error, lost one to his team mate soon after
  • Was briefly handed his place back from Russell before being passed a second time, finishing sixth

George Russell – 5

Qualified: 12th (-6 behind team mate)
Finished: 5th (+1 ahead of team mate)

  • Set the pace on Friday with the fastest lap of the day
  • Eliminated from Q2 by 0.045s in 12th, admitting lack of confidence in the car
  • Started on hard tyres and fell to 15th at start, later losing another place to Albon
  • Passed Ricciardo and inherited places when medium runners pitted and to move up to fifth
  • Pitted under convenient Virtual Safety Car, losing only two places and switching to mediums
  • Passed Bottas after his mistake at turn 17, then passed Hamilton outside of track limits, having to give up place
  • Overtook Hamilton a second time after handing back position, holding onto fifth at the finish

Max Verstappen – 8

Qualified: 3rd (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: Winner (+3 ahead of team mate)

  • Overheating problems on Friday led to him setting no timed laps in second practice
  • Had provisional pole in Q3 but turn five mistake allowed Ferraris to jump him on grid
  • Passed Sainz to take second at the start
  • Caught Leclerc in early laps before passing him for the lead into turn one
  • Managed the gap to Leclerc on the hard tyres before Safety Car
  • Resisted pressure from Leclerc in closing laps to claim second successive victory, with fastest lap

Sergio Perez – 5

Qualified: 4th (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 4th (-3 behind team mate)

  • Qualified fourth after admitting leaving time on the board in sector two on final Q3 lap
  • Held fourth at the start and kept in touch with Sainz before sensor failure cost him seven seconds
  • Unable to close gap to Sainz ahead after switching to hards
  • Pitted for another set of mediums under Safety Car
  • Tried to pass Sainz at restart but could not get past
  • Almost able to pass Sainz with lunge into turn one but ran wide, finishing fourth

Carlos Sainz Jnr – 5

Qualified: 2nd (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 3rd (-1 behind team mate)

  • High speed spin in first practice led to puncture
  • Crashed at turn 14 in second practice
  • Took advantage of Verstappen’s Q3 error to take second on grid by five thousandths of a second
  • Lost second to Verstappen at the start
  • Slow pit stop but had enough margin to retain third
  • Struggled to match team mate on hards, dropping off by over half a second a lap
  • Almost lost position to Perez after bad restart, then did well to repel his later attack
  • Finish third and claimed his fitness was not 100-percent after recent lack of race distances

Charles Leclerc – 7

Qualified: Pole (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 2nd (+1 ahead of team mate)

  • Took pole after being quickest in all three qualifying phases
  • Held his lead off the line and led the early laps before being passed by Verstappen
  • Pitted first of the frontrunners but lost time to Verstappen in the pit cycle
  • Tried to pressure Verstappen after restart but unable to get close enough to make a move for the lead
  • Never lower than second all weekend

Lando Norris – 5

Qualified: 8th (+6 ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Crash – L40)

  • Comfortably reached Q3, securing eighth on the grid
  • Lost one place at the start, running ninth until switching to hards and dropping to 16th
  • Struggled to catch and pass Schumacher but later passed Vettel for 14th
  • Collided with an ailing Gasly ending his race on the spot, deemed racing incident

Daniel Ricciardo – 4

Qualified: 14th (-6 behind team mate)
Finished: 13th

  • Reprimanded for failing to follow practice start procedure correctly
  • Eliminated in Q2 after delay leaving the garage compromised his final run
  • Gained one place on opening lap, then lost two in consecutive laps
  • Pitted the latest of the medium starters, but fell to 17th
  • Switched to softs under Virtual Safety Car and gained two places after melee at restart
  • Passed Magnussen on penultimate lap at turn 12 outside of track limits, earning five second penalty
  • Crossed the line 11th but fell to 13th after penalty

Fernando Alonso – 3

Qualified: 11th
Finished: 11th (-3 behind team mate)

  • Disappointed to miss out of Q3, blaming traffic
  • Gained four places at the start, bumping Hamilton at turn two
  • Passed by Hamilton on lap three, dropping to eighth, then ran close to Gasly over opening stint
  • Tried to undercut Gasly but failed, spending 22 more laps unable to pass him
  • Hit Gasly at turn one, earning a five second time penalty which he later apologised for
  • Investigated twice for missing the turn 14 chicane and gaining an advantage, handed a second time penalty for one of them
  • Finished eighth on track but penalties demoted him to 11th

Esteban Ocon – 4

Qualified: 20th – No time set
Finished: 8th (+3 ahead of team mate)

  • Reprimanded for nearly hitting Russell in pits in first practice
  • Heavy 51G crash at turn 14 in third practice forced him out of qualifying
  • Passed Latifi on the second lap before running behind Albon on hard tyres
  • Gained places from rivals ahead stopping, eventually rising to eighth
  • Pitted after Virtual Safety Car was upgraded to Safety Car, allowing him to rejoin in tenth
  • Ran tenth at restart, gained ninth after Vettel and Schumacher collided
  • Claimed after the race to have been feeling “50 percent physically” after Saturday crash

Pierre Gasly – 5

Qualified: 7th (+2 ahead of team mate)
Finished: Retired (Crash damage, L45)

  • Secured seventh on the grid after “best qualifying of the year”
  • Passed Hamilton at the start to sit sixth before Hamilton retook the place on lap six
  • Absorbed pressure from Alonso and had to pit early to defend undercut attempt
  • Faced more pressure from Alonso until being hit by the Alpine at turn one
  • Told that his car data looked clear after clash but complained of bent steering
  • Suddenly lost grip entering the marina, losing multiple positions until contact with Norris ended his race

Yuki Tsunoda – 4

Qualified: 9th (-2 behind team mate)
Finished: 12th

  • Struggled for practice pace compared with team mate
  • Reached Q3 to secure ninth on grid
  • Lost one position to Alonso at the start
  • First to switch from mediums to hards, dropping him to the back
  • Pitted for softs under Safety Car but only able to pass Latifi, finishing in 12th

Sebastian Vettel – 4

Qualified: 13th (-3 behind team mate)
Classified: 17th (-7 behind team mate)

  • Eliminated in Q2 after admitting “small wobble” in final sector cost him Q3 berth
  • Forced to start from the pit lane after fuel legality concerns
  • Followed team mate Stroll up the order on hard tyres until passed by Magnussen
  • Repassed Magnussen at turn 17 before losing position to both Haas at turn 11 the next lap
  • Gained two places after restart clash between Stroll and Magnussen to sit 11th
  • Snatched two places from Ocon and Schumacher at turn 17
  • Collision at turn on with Schumacher ended race, deemed racing incident

Lance Stroll – 6

Qualified: 10th (+3 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 10th (+7 ahead of team mate)

  • Reached Q3 but “messy” final sector left him ninth
  • Forced to start from the pit lane after fuel legality concerns
  • Ran hard tyres on first stint, passing Latifi and fighting off Magnussen
  • Stuck behind Alonso for 24 laps until pitting under Virtual Safety Car
  • Clashed with Magnussen at restart, losing three places
  • Received black-and-white warning flag for weaving
  • Second collision with Magnussen at turn 11, but deemed not responsible by stewards
  • Finished 12th on track but inherited a point for tenth after Alonso and Ricciardo penalised

Nicholas Latifi – 3

Qualified: 19th (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 14th (-5 behind team mate)

  • Slowest in all three practice sessions
  • Eliminated slowest in Q1 to start 19th
  • Started on hard tyres but struggled for pace over first stint
  • Ran at back of the field before pitting but could not take advantage of medium tyres
  • Finished ahead of both Haas drivers after their late problems

Alexander Albon – 6

Qualified: 18th (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 9th (+5 ahead of team mate)

  • Fined for exceeding pit lane speed limit by 7.6km/h in first practice
  • Baffled by failure to convert promising practice pace into qualifying, leaving him 18th
  • Used medium tyres to pass Russell in early laps
  • Made early switch to hards, passing Tsunoda and Latifi still on old tyres
  • Jumped five spots to 11th under Safety Car
  • Passed by Vettel after restart, dropping to 12th
  • Gained two places after Vettel and Schumacher collided to finish tenth, which became ninth after Alonso penalty

Valtteri Bottas – 6

Qualified: 5th (+12 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 7th

  • Crashed at turn seven in first practice, causing heavy damage that ended his Friday running
  • Secured ‘best of the rest’ honours with fifth on the grid in qualifying
  • Kept fifth off the line and ran there through the entire opening stint
  • Gained fifth back under Safety Car but lost two places to Mercedes after turn 17 mistake
  • Unable to challenge Hamilton ahead and finished seventh

Zhou Guanyu – 5

Qualified: 17th (-12 behind team mate)
Finished: Retired (Water leak – L6)

  • Eliminated in Q1 for only the first time this season after hitting traffic on final lap
  • Gained one place over Russell on opening lap
  • Ran 14th until being called in to retire with a water leak on lap six

Mick Schumacher – 4

Qualified: 15th (+1 ahead of team mate)
Finished: 15th (+1 ahead of team mate)

  • Reached Q2 but eliminated as slowest in second session
  • Passed Ricciardo and Tsunoda in early laps, before being told to let Magnussen by for tenth
  • Gained ninth after rivals pitted under Safety Car
  • Took advantage of Magnussen’s lunge on Vettel to pass him before Magnussen error moved him 12th
  • Clashed with Vettel in closing laps, causing him to pit for new front wing, deemed racing incident

Kevin Magnussen – 3

Qualified: 16th (-1 behind team mate)
Finished: 16th (-1 behind team mate)

  • Eliminated in Q1 after losing radio communication in qualifying
  • Passed Ricciardo and Tsunoda in early laps before being allowed past Schumacher
  • Dived past Vettel for 13th but mistake at turn 17 allowed Schumacher back through
  • Clashed with Stroll at the restart, suffering front wing damage
  • Made further contact with Stroll at turn 11, receiving a five second penalty
  • Described the race as the “hardest I’ve ever done”