US Grand Prix driver ratings

6 NICO ROSBERG
Mercedes F1 W07

Start: 2nd
Finish: 2nd
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 7

Rosberg was second best to Hamilton at Austin, but that's all he needs to be from now until the end of the season.

He was understandably circumspect fighting Ricciardo through Turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap, and decided to leave that battle for later in the race. The fortunate timing of the virtual safety car meant he didn't need to engage in it in the end.

44 LEWIS HAMILTON
Mercedes F1 W07

Start: 1st
Finish: 1st
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 9

Hamilton was superb this weekend, delivering a mighty lap - particularly through the tricky high-speed first sector - at the crucial moment in qualifying and also putting his startline demons to bed with a decent getaway.

He controlled his pace and the race from there. It was not a crushing display, but Hamilton was understandably concerned about protecting his engine, so he did the minimum necessary.

5 SEBASTIAN VETTEL
Ferrari SF16-H

Start: 6th
Finish: 4th
Strategy: 3 stops (super-soft/soft/medium/super-soft)

Rating: 7

Vettel really struggled to get his Ferrari working in Friday practice, and admitted to overdriving in qualifying, where he finished up a couple of tenths shy of Raikkonen.

He got stuck behind Verstappen on the first lap, but was quicker than Raikkonen on soft tyres in the second stint, so was favourite to finish best of the Ferraris even before the Finn's retirement.

7 KIMI RAIKKONEN
Ferrari SF16-H

Start: 5th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (super-soft/soft/super-soft/retired)

Rating: 7

Raikkonen was very good in qualifying again here, getting the better of Vettel for the second race in succession - and by a decent margin.

The Finn's first stint was strong, but struggles on the soft tyre dropped him back from the Red Bulls and into a fight with his team-mate, before a botched third pitstop forced him out.

19 FELIPE MASSA
Williams-Mercedes FW38

Start: 9th
Finish: 7th
Strategy: 3 stops (super-soft/soft/medium/super-soft)

Rating: 6

A race of two halves for Massa, who should have beaten Sainz and Alonso. OK, the virtual safety car cost him, but the Williams then spent 18 racing laps inexplicably bottled up behind the Toro Rosso.

Massa was understandably frustrated, but with F1's best engine turned up he should have passed a car powered by F1's slowest engine, before Alonso muscled in.

77 VALTTERI BOTTAS
Williams-Mercedes FW38

Start: 8th
Finish: 16th
Strategy: 2 stops (super-soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 7

The US GP was ultimately a horrendous race for Bottas, who qualified decently and made a good start, but got hit accidentally while inside Hulkenberg at Turn 1 on the first lap. That caused a puncture and damaged the car.

Bottas recovered past the Manors, before losing a feisty battle with Nasr's Sauber near the end. An ambitious 36-lap stint on mediums was asking too much.

3 DANIEL RICCIARDO
Red Bull-Renault RB12

Start: 3rd
Finish: 3rd
Strategy: 2 stops (super-soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 9

A very good performance from Ricciardo, who reasserted himself well after the disappointment of Suzuka. He needed a slightly better start to challenge for victory, but getting ahead of Rosberg was a good effort.

Ricciardo felt he was quick enough to fend the championship leader off too, but the unfortunate timing of the virtual safety car handed Rosberg a crucial initiative.

33 MAX VERSTAPPEN
Red Bull-Renault RB12

Start: 4th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (soft/soft/medium/retired)

Rating: 7

Verstappen struggled to find a decent set-up on Friday, and couldn't live with Ricciardo through the second sector in Q3. He dropped behind one Ferrari at the start, but held off the other, and was pressuring Rosberg's Mercedes before mistakenly pitting before the team was ready.

A subsequent gearbox failure let Vettel off the hook in the battle for fourth.

11 SERGIO PEREZ
Force India-Mercedes VJM09

Start: 11th
Finish: 8th
Strategy: 2 stops (super-soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 8

Austin was ultimately a pretty decent salvage job from Perez, who was hampered by damage to parts of his brakes in qualifying, delayed by the Hulkenberg/Bottas collision at Turn 1, and hurt further by a hit from Kvyat under braking for Turn 12 on lap one.

He battled understeer and a lack of traction, but a smart final stop got him ahead of Button's McLaren.

27 NICO HULKENBERG
Force India-Mercedes VJM09

Start: 7th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (super-soft/retired)

Rating: 9

Hulkenberg starred in qualifying, getting among the Red Bulls and Ferraris briefly and lapping miles clear of the rest of the midfield runners. Unfortunately he couldn't capitalise on that good work in the race.

He got sandwiched between Vettel's Ferrari and Bottas's Williams at Turn 1, and contact broke the Force India's steering. It was bitterly disappointing given the promise of Saturday.

20 KEVIN MAGNUSSEN
Renault RS16

Start: 18th
Finish: 12th
Strategy: 3 stops (soft/soft/medium/super-soft)

Rating: 7

Changing winds seemed to catch Magnussen out, and he didn't make the best job of qualifying. The race was much better, though.

He switched strategies a couple of times, and caused his team-mate some annoyance, but enjoyed charging through the field in the final stint. A time penalty for going off track passing Kvyat cost him 11th, but it was a decent drive nonetheless.

30 JOLYON PALMER
Renault RS16

Start: 15th
Finish: 13th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 7

Overall a decent display again from Palmer, as he made Q2 despite a disastrous last run in Q1 that began with impeding Button.

He showed strong pace in parts of the race, and felt the team should have moved Magnussen aside, but ultimately paid a high price for poor pace on the opening two laps, which put him on the back foot.

26 DANIIL KVYAT
Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11

Start: 13th
Finish: 11th
Strategy: 1 stop (soft/medium)

Rating: 6

A disjointed weekend from Kvyat, who didn't really shine after getting re-signed by Toro Rosso just before the race.

He struggled to balance his STR in qualifying and ended up a chunk behind Sainz, then got slapped with a penalty for hitting Perez - who he felt defended too aggressively - under braking for Turn 12 on lap one. The Russian was in go-slow one-stop mode after that.

55 CARLOS SAINZ JR
Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11

Start: 10th
Finish: 6th
Strategy: 2 stops (super-soft/soft/soft)

Rating: 9

A brilliant job by Sainz, in a car he had found impossible to race with at Suzuka. He qualified strongly and kept Massa's faster Williams honest early on, before utilising the virtual safety car period to jump it in the pits.

From there on had to execute a tough 26-lap stint on softs while defending position. His tyres eventually gave out, making Sainz easy meat for Alonso.

9 MARCUS ERICSSON
Sauber-Ferrari C35

Start: 16th
Finish: 14th
Strategy: 1 stop (soft/medium)

Rating: 9

Another strong performance from Ericsson, who impressed rival outfit Manor with his Q1 qualifying lap, which was half a second faster than Nasr's, and quicker than both Renaults and both Haas drivers.

He backed the team's one-stop gamble, even though he got overtaken by Kvyat and the Renaults in the closing stages while trying desperately to hang onto his tyres.

12 FELIPE NASR
Sauber-Ferrari C35

Start: 21st
Finish: 15th
Strategy: 1 stop (medium/soft)

Rating: 6

Nasr looked in good shape on Friday, but lost his way in qualifying after some minor set-up tweaks overnight made the car more difficult to drive, something he described as "super strange".

He then slipped behind all bar Bottas's delayed Williams after starting on the medium tyre. While he recovered past the Manors and got back ahead of the Williams, it was a hard slog for little reward.

14 FERNANDO ALONSO
McLaren-Honda MP4-31

Start: 12th
Finish: 5th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 8

A strong race for Alonso, who wasn't particularly fast, but scored the best result possible. He was displeased his first stop stuck him behind two Renaults and a Sauber, but making the next one under VSC paid off.

Alonso was then at his relentless best hunting down and surprising Massa at Turn 15. He went off after passing Sainz, but just about kept it together.

22 JENSON BUTTON
McLaren-Honda MP4-31

Start: 19th
Finish: 9th
Strategy: 2 stops (super-soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 7

Button and McLaren made a real hash of qualifying - too slow on the soft tyre then dumped out in Q1 after encountering a torrent of traffic. Button salvaged that situation with a brilliant first lap to rise to 11th.

He overtook Gutierrez, and gained when Verstappen and Raikkonen dropped out, but lost out to Perez in the pits. Still, it was a solid effort.

31 ESTEBAN OCON
Manor-Mercedes MRT-05

Start: 22nd
Finish: 18th
Strategy: 3 stops (medium/soft/soft/super-soft)

Rating: 6

Ocon was looking pretty good until the final runs in Q1, where he took a bit too much from the tyres on the out-lap and ended up well adrift of Wehrlein, having pretty much matched him to that point.

He started the race well, but struggled on the medium tyre and picked up some suspected damage that sent his race into freefall.

94 PASCAL WEHRLEIN
Manor-Mercedes MRT-05

Start: 20th
Finish: 17th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 7

Another decent performance from Wehrlein, after a tricky build-up in which he missed first practice so Jordan King could drive, before beaching the car in the gravel in final practice. In the circumstances he was delighted to outqualify Ocon by 0.258 seconds.

He did what he could in the race, but Manor was not competitive. At least he finished close behind the delayed Bottas.

8 ROMAIN GROSJEAN
Haas-Ferrari VF-16

Start: 17th
Finish: 10th
Strategy: 2 stops (super-soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 8

An excellent race from Grosjean, who made big progress on the first lap and picked off Palmer, Ericsson and Kvyat to be right with team-mate Gutierrez after just five tours.

He got past him after seven, and although Perez came through, Grosjean was able to score thanks to Verstappen's and Raikkonen's misfortune. Qualifying was a horrible mess, but he rescued his weekend.

21 ESTEBAN GUTIERREZ
Haas-Ferrari VF-16

Start: 14th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (soft/soft/retired)

Rating: 7

Gutierrez produced what he felt was the best qualifying performance of his career, after a terrible build-up for Haas, which included shedding aero parts on the track and terminally damaging his remaining new-spec front wing.

He started the race reasonably enough, but slipped back during the first stint before brake failure put him out shortly after his first pitstop.