Autosport's final F1 2017 driver ratings

After every grand prix, Autosport assesses every Formula 1 driver's individual performance and gives a - sometimes contentious - mark out of 10.

These rankings take place in isolation immediately after each grand prix, so cannot account for the bigger picture painted across the year, as new information about certain performances, and the wider context in which those performances occurred, inevitably comes to light.

Nevertheless, a look at the average ratings at the end of the season is always an instructive exercise as part of a review of each driver's performance. They are not designed to decide who the best and worst drivers on the grid are, but simply to indicate how well they drove over the course of their individual campaigns.

At the end of the season, we total the scores and draw up the definitive full-season rankings - and chart how some drivers' performances soared or slumped as the year progressed.

Jolyon Palmer Renault RS17

Rating: 5.4 - 20th

That Palmer only completed just over three quarters of this season before losing his drive tells its own story. Yes, he was unlucky to suffer the brunt of Renault's poor early-season reliability at times, but there were also far too many deeply underwhelming performances.

Palmer was usually rated five out of 10 or less because of the trouble he had in stringing a complete weekend together. He drove well until Q3 in Bahrain, was the fastest Renault driver until the car broke in Q3 in Belgium, and did well to score points finally in Singapore.

But by then Renault had run out of patience and determined to replace him with Carlos Sainz Jr. This year was a big chance for Palmer to make a name for himself, but he paid the price for too often falling way short of Nico Hulkenberg's level.

Lance Stroll Williams-Mercedes FW40

Rating: 5.9 - 19th

Rookies are expected to endure peaks and troughs in Formula 1, given how complex this category can be for newcomers, but Stroll simply endured too many troughs in his first season racing at the highest level.

Running a special private testing programme in a 2014 car, and leaning on experienced team-mate Felipe Massa for driver coaching, was a smart move, and Stroll often raced reasonably well once he had track position.

He put together a complete weekend in Azerbaijan - even though he was fortunate to finish on the podium - and qualifying fourth in the wet in Italy was something special in a Williams.

Those performances were both rated nine out of 10, and are something to build on, but they were the only proper highlights for a driver who too often struggled to turn it on in qualifying. Failing to escape Q1 12 times in a car that regularly threatened the top 10 was simply not good enough.

Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault STR12

Rating: 6.5 - 18th

Kvyat is well within his rights to look back on his shortlived F1 career as a rank injustice. He impressed mightily as a Toro Rosso rookie in 2014, and was Red Bull's top points scorer the following season, but unfortunately lost his seat four races into '16 and never recovered.

Red Bull was unusually patient with Kvyat, but the young Russian did not make proper use of his final chance in 2017. He was often plenty quick enough over one lap compared to Sainz, but failed to score enough points and got caught up in too many incidents, earning himself the unfortunate nickname 'torpedo'.

Though he was unlucky at times, he also struggled to string together a strong weekend when he badly needed it. When Kvyat crashed under pressure to save his seat in Singapore, that was that.

In the end, the rise of Max Verstappen, coupled with Kvyat's alarming propensity for getting caught up in high-profile first-lap incidents, cost him his reputation and enacted a severe mental toll that Kvyat simply could not overcome. That's a shame, because clearly a very capable driver lurks somewhere within.

Romain Grosjean Haas-Ferrari VF-17

Rating: 6.7 - 17th

Another mixed season for Grosjean. When the Haas was to his liking, you could count on him to do some extraordinary things with it, but the sporadic brilliance he showed in places such as Australia, Austria and Abu Dhabi was too often tempered by weekends where he got trapped in a seemingly inescapable negative spiral.

Grosjean still displays a tendency to demand more from the car than it is willing to give, but having a team-mate such as Magnussen, who prefers a different fundamental car balance, has at least helped make Grosjean more aware of his own weaknesses. Like his former Lotus team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, Grosjean abhors understeer, and he struggled whenever that became the Haas's prevailing balance.

Haas is still finding its feet, which makes the task of finding consistency all the more challenging, but that is what Grosjean desperately needs to discover next season, if he is to avoid becoming permanently cast into the netherworld of F1's midfield.

Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari C36

Rating: 6.7 - 16th

It is difficult to make much of an impression when you've spent your four seasons in F1 consistently driving pretty much the slowest car on the grid. You naturally get even less credit for that driving when your personal sponsors invest heavily in your team to keep it afloat.

But regardless of his particular circumstances, Ericsson has evolved himself into a respectable driver at this level. He knew being paired alongside highly-rated Mercedes junior Pascal Wehrlein represented a chance to properly benchmark his own progression, and ultimately Ericsson fared pretty well.

No team-mate pairing was more closely matched in qualifying across the season than this one, which is all the more impressive from Ericsson when you consider he carried a considerable weight disadvantage to Wehrlein for much of the season.

Ericsson's grand prix career survives into a fifth season as Alfa Romeo branding and current-spec Ferrari engines arrive for 2018. If Ericsson can somehow see off Maranello protege Charles Leclerc, it will be time for F1 to take him much more seriously.

Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren-Honda MCL32

Rating: 6.7 - 15th

Vandoorne enjoyed a decent first season in F1, but nothing more. He would likely be much better placed in these rankings had he not struggled so badly compared to team-mate Fernando Alonso in the early races, when the McLaren-Honda was at its worst.

That's perhaps no surprise considering Vandoorne's relative lack of experience, but failing to escape Q1 in any of the first five races, even in a McLaren, was not good enough, and his ratings reflected that.

A concerted effort with the team to adapt his driving and find a set-up that worked for him helped improve Vandoorne's form, and he was much stronger from Silverstone onwards - better than Alonso there, in Italy and (most impressively) in Malaysia.

It was just as well Vandoorne found a way to get back on track, because his McLaren future was not guaranteed before the summer. Now a firm foundation is laid, much more will be expected from him in 2018.

Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari SF70H

Rating: 6.9 - 14th

Raikkonen's average driver rating score for 2017 is a slight improvement (by 0.1 marks) on '16, which means this was his best season yet in V6 hybrid turbo F1 in pure performance terms. Unfortunately for the 2007 world champion, too many of those performances were not at the same level as the other drivers in the best teams, as evidenced by the considerable distance between him and them in these rankings.

Raikkonen suffered badly for a set-up misstep in the early races, but even with that corrected he only did his Ferrari justice sporadically. He was excellent in qualifying at Sochi, got pole in Monaco, was stronger than Vettel at high-speed Silverstone, and did a decent job at the Hungaroring and Interlagos. But too often he finished way too far behind Vettel, or got beaten by drivers in slower cars that he should have been ahead of.

There were no truly terrible Raikkonen performances this season - he was never awarded lower than a six out of 10 for any race. The trouble was he earned that mark for 10 out of the 20 starts he made, which indicates a largely underwhelming season.

Raikkonen fans will be hoping Ferrari's engine becomes more fuel efficient and Pirelli's softer range of tyres are more to his liking in 2018.

Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari VF-17

Rating: 6.9 - 13th

Magnussen's first season at Haas was unsurprisingly a mixed bag, as he adjusted to a new environment and the team adjusted to him. Nine Q1 exits in 20 attempts tells its own story regarding his inconsistent qualifying form, but he pushed new team-mate Grosjean hard and outqualified him seven times.

That led to some mutual praise about each being the fastest team-mate the other had ever come across in F1. But the most impressive aspect of Magnussen's season was how strong he was when the Haas was at its worst - notably in Russia, Azerbaijan (where he ran third!) and Mexico, where he held off Hamilton and Alonso to finish eighth.

Magnussen's strength is in his uncompromising racecraft, which won him few friends but plenty of points. He admitted he struggled to drive the Haas quickly when it was oversteering (a balance Grosjean thrives with), so Magnussen's big challenge will be to improve his Saturday form by overcoming this weakness.

Pascal Wehrlein Sauber-Ferrari C36

Rating: 7.0 - 12th

Wehrlein enjoyed another decent season at this level, but just couldn't quite make enough of a splash with Sauber to keep his F1 dream alive. Missing the first couple of races due to a lack of fitness after his Race of Champions crash didn't help, nor did getting regularly outshone by team-mate Ericsson in the latter part of the season.

At his best, Wehrlein was excellent again - making Q2 in Bahrain, Spain and Azerbaijan, and finishing a brilliant eighth in F1's slowest car at Barcelona. But he found it difficult to stand out in a car that wasn't a match for the midfield most of the time.

Wehrlein also suffered engine and chassis problems that took a long time to resolve and hampered his performances for much of the second part of the season, when he really needed to be consistently beating his heavier team-mate.

Mercedes wanted Wehrlein to stand on his own two feet this year. He drove well enough to deserve another shot, but not well enough to force the issue without some extra help. It now seems Force India was Wehrlein's big opportunity and he missed it. Esteban Ocon took that seat, leaving no space at the inn for Mercedes' other junior.

Carlos Sainz Jr Toro Rosso-Renault STR12/Renault RS17

Rating: 7.4 - 11th

On balance, Sainz had a stronger season than his average driver rating ranking suggests. He was the undoubted star of Toro Rosso's season, accruing 48 of the team's 53 points and delivering some truly stunning performances in a difficult car.

His drive in mixed conditions in China was on another level to the rest of the midfield, and he was so good in Monaco that Hamilton picked him out as a star to watch. There were strong drives to big results in Hungary and Singapore too.

What lets Sainz down in this ranking is a couple of average outings in Azerbaijan and Italy, plus a bad mistake at the start of June's Canadian GP - which took out Felipe Massa and almost eliminated Grosjean's Haas too - and a needless crash on the first lap of Sainz's final race with Toro Rosso in Japan.

After a stunning Renault debut at Austin, Sainz was perhaps unsurprisingly shaded by new team-mate Hulkenberg too, which hurt his ratings further at the very end of the season.

Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes FW40

Rating: 7.4 - 10th

Massa drove extremely well in 2017, considering he's a driver nobody wanted to hire in the first place and that he only raced this year because Williams sold star man Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes.

Massa relished F1's return to a style of car and driving more in tune with his 2006-08 peak, and his performances regularly put him among the upper echelon of the midfield drivers.

A sub-par race in the wet in China and a needless clash with Alonso in Spain were Massa's only real low points. Apart from those races, the veteran Brazilian was rated seven out of 10 or better for every grand prix he contested.

It's a shame that Williams wasn't in a strong enough financial position to offer Massa a fresh deal, because that consistently high level of performance is worthy of a place on the grid.

Esteban Ocon Force India-Mercedes VJM10

Rating: 7.6 - 9th

To be in the mix at the upper end of these rankings with drivers of such calibre and greater experience as Hulkenberg, Perez and Bottas shows what a brilliant first full season of grand prix racing Ocon enjoyed in 2017.

Ocon was consistently close to Perez through the season's first half, but once Ocon returned to the circuits he knew already from his part-season with Manor in the latter half of last year, his performances went up a notch and there was pretty much nothing to choose between the Force India team-mates.

Ocon was only two points shy of Perez's points tally from Spa to the season's end, he edged the qualifying battle 5-4, and matched Perez's average score in the driver ratings.

In his own quiet and unassuming way, Ocon is rapidly maturing into a talent of Verstappen-esque potential.

Valtteri Bottas Mercedes F1 W08

Rating: 7.6 - 8th

Bottas was excellent through the first 11 races of this season. He bagged two poles, won two races, was brilliant in qualifying in Monaco, and was better than his illustrious team-mate Hamilton at handling the difficult Mercedes W08 in its trickiest moments. Heading into the summer break, only Hamilton, Verstappen and Vettel had a higher driver ratings average.

The fact Bottas slumped to a final position of eighth in these rankings shows how difficult he found things in the second half of the season. In the four races after Hungary, only once did Bottas score more than six out of 10.

It took until Mexico for Bottas to become a match for Hamilton again, and the final two races showcased the sort of form that made the Finn a potential title contender in the first place. His challenge is to hit that mark much more consistently in 2018.

Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes VJM10

Rating: 7.8 - 7th

Perez matched Hulkenberg's average score this season, which indicates how well Perez drove this year. With Hulkenberg replaced by an inexperienced driver and the rules changing so substantially, Force India needed an ultra-reliable reference, and Perez did not disappoint.

He was particularly impressive early on, when the team was still working out how to get the best from the VJM10, racing brilliantly in Australia, Russia and Spain. Perez is probably the most well-rounded driver in F1's midfield now - fast, consistent, good on the tyres, and opportunistic in battle.

Perez was pushed harder by Ocon in the season's second half, but never crumbled. Only once (when they collided needlessly at Spa) was Perez rated below seven out of 10 in 20 races. His transformation following that ill-fated spell at McLaren continues apace.

Nico Hulkenberg Renault RS17

Rating: 7.8 - 6th

Renault's 2017 F1 car got better as a direct result of Hulkenberg's feedback, and his season got better and better as the car improved. Only twice was he rated below seven out of 10 all year - when he threw big points away with a silly crash in Azerbaijan, then followed up with an underwhelming race in Austria.

Otherwise, Hulkenberg was a consistently strong performer this year and was particularly outstanding in Canada (where he finished within two seconds of Raikkonen's Ferrari), in Britain (where he destroyed his midfield opposition and raced Red Bull), Singapore (where he challenged Bottas for a podium before the car broke), and Abu Dhabi (where he sealed Renault's sixth place in the constructors' championship).

Hulkenberg waited a long time to become a works F1 driver, and he has immediately lived up to the billing.

Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault RB13

Rating: 8.0 - 5th

Ricciardo summed his season up pretty well in a special video recorded for Autosport's annual Top 50 drivers feature, in which he said there were a few races he did that were "number-one worthy" this year.

He was outstanding defending third from Hamilton in Austria and drove brilliantly all weekend until the car let him down at the Abu Dhabi finale. There were a few of those patented 'Ricciardo lunges' to enjoy in races too - both Williams drivers in one go in Azerbaijan, or firing one down the inside of Raikkonen in Italy.

But that's the problem with Ricciardo's season compared with last year - that he was occasionally brilliant rather than relentlessly so. He pushed Verstappen hard, as you'd expect an established star to do, but too often Ricciardo struggled to get the most from the new generation of Pirelli tyres in qualifying (previously a strong suit) and was found eating his team-mate's dust.

Sebastian Vettel Ferrari SF70H

Rating: 8.2 - 4th

Vettel was right up in the Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso bracket for much of this season. Until he went mad in the eighth race of the season in Baku, he had the highest average rating of any driver on the grid.

That moment of madness behind the safety car in Azerbaijan, along with the startline crash he triggered with that defensive chop on Verstappen in Singapore, cost Vettel the chance to take the title fight to the final race, and they are the main reason he is not better placed in this ranking too.

Vettel was underwhelming at Silverstone, and outpaced again by Raikkonen as Ferrari struggled in wet qualifying at Monza, but otherwise was rated eight out of 10 or better in 16 of the 20 races held this year - a testament to how consistently excellent he was for most of the season.

But 'most' is not quite good enough when you're fighting a driver like Hamilton for the world championship.

Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda MCL32

Rating: 8.5 - 3rd

Alonso didn't quite hit the same heights as Hamilton and Verstappen this year, but was still relentlessly superb in his own inimitable way, and is well placed in these rankings by virtue of his outstanding consistency.

Alonso was rated nine out of 10 or better in 11 of the 19 grands prix he contested, and was particularly brilliant during the first five - when the McLaren-Honda package was at its most recalcitrant - and the last four, as he finished the season with three consecutive points finishes.

Malaysia was Alonso's only real low point, as he struggled with a difficult McLaren upgrade and was off rookie team-mate Vandoorne's pace. Otherwise, Alonso scored seven out of 10 or more every time he drove - still as brilliant as ever inside the car, despite its obvious shortcomings. F1, and the man himself, deserve better.

Max Verstappen Red Bull-Renault RB13

Rating: 8.7 - 2nd

Verstappen was outstanding again in 2017, marrying stronger qualifying form to the stunning racecraft that has marked him out as F1's most exciting emerging talent in recent seasons.

Ricciardo is rightly renowned as a superb qualifier in his own right, but Verstappen comfortably had the beating of his team-mate this year and deserved to finish much better than sixth in the championship considering how consistently well he drove.

Poor reliability cost him strong results in Bahrain, Canada, Azerbaijan and Belgium, but not in his driver ratings. Only twice did Verstappen rank below eight out of 10 this year, and never lower than seven.

He feels his only real mistake this year was taking Ricciardo out at Turn 2 in Hungary. Even then, Verstappen recovered from a 10-second penalty to finish right on the tail of both Mercedes. Without a couple of costly collisions, Verstappen probably would have topped these rankings.

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 W08

Rating: 8.7 - 1st

This was arguably Hamilton's most impressive season yet as a Mercedes driver, which is reflected in the fact his average rating is at its highest since he won his first title for the team in 2014.

Hamilton came only 0.2 shy of beating his 2014 mark of 8.9, and likely would have done so had he not endured a couple of underwhelming races in Russia and Monaco, where he struggled to make the new ultra-soft Pirelli tyre behave properly.

Otherwise, Hamilton was outstanding - rated eight out of 10 or higher for every other race he did. Hamilton achieved five perfect scores in 2017 and was only twice rated lower than nine out of 10 after the August break, which indicates how well he raised his game to run away with the title in the end.

How to split Hamilton and Verstappen

In mathematical terms, Hamilton and Verstappen were tied on points at the top of our driver ratings ranking, so how to split them?

Both enjoyed outstanding seasons and it was difficult to pick a winner. There was nothing to choose between them in so many respects, but Hamilton eventually won the day thanks to becoming F1 champion for a fourth time and showing an impressive capacity for self-improvement amid Mercedes' early-season struggles with its car.

Hamilton dug deep within himself and found a way to make a difference in the title fight with Vettel and Ferrari.

Verstappen was his usual swashbuckling self in 2017, and with another year's experience behind him evolved into Red Bull's outstanding driver - defeating highly-rated team-mate Daniel Ricciardo (2016's top performer) decisively in their qualifying battle, winning two races, and outscoring everyone bar Hamilton over the final six grands prix.

Verstappen will surely top our list one day soon. But not yet. We ultimately elected to rank him second on the basis of painstaking analysis and observation, drawing on information gleaned from a team of journalists in place at every one of the 20 grands prix held this year - reporting on sessions, talking to drivers and key team personnel, as well as other experts.

SUPER SUBS

Drivers who completed a handful of races are not included in the main rankings, because the sample set is too small

Paul di Resta Williams-Mercedes FW40

Rating: 9.0

Di Resta qualified on the back row of the grid and failed to finish the only race he did in F1 this year, but he earned close to full marks for his effort because of how well he acquitted himself in impossible circumstances.

Raikkonen wasn't much impressed, but for di Resta to be as competent as he was, stepping into a car he hadn't driven before for the first time in Q1, having not started a grand prix for three and a half seasons, had to go down as a superb effort.

Massa's surprise illness forced Williams into calling on di Resta to drive unexpectedly, but di Resta earned the praise of many for his performance, and put himself in the frame for a 2018 race seat.

Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso-Renault STR12

Rating: 7.0

It is difficult to properly benchmark Hartley's four starts for Toro Rosso at the tail end of the season, considering his references were Kvyat on a one-race comeback, then Pierre Gasly, who barely had more grand prix experience under his belt than Hartley did.

Hartley made too many mistakes in the Abu Dhabi season finale, but the car was poor there also. Otherwise, he did the sort of solid and professional job you'd expect from a driver who has grown from his experience outside of F1, and who became a double World Endurance champion with Porsche.

The refreshing thing about Hartley's approach is that he is completely honest about his failings. He owns his mistakes and drives with a calm assurance that Kvyat often lacked. Hartley's four starts were really a prelude to 2018 winter testing. Now, it will be down to him to prove deserving of Red Bull's renewed faith.

Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso-Renault STR12

Rating: 6.8

Persistent reliability problems (he couldn't even participate in Mexican GP qualifying) and Toro Rosso's difficult end to the season also made it tough to rate Gasly during his five-race stint with the team.

He did a respectable job compared to Sainz in Malaysia, and was decent in the race in Japan, before skipping a grand prix for an abortive attempt at winning the Japanese Super Formula title. Gasly raced well in Brazil, but then suffered a costly spin in Abu Dhabi.

He admitted overdriving the car at times, having become used to the greater capabilities of Red Bull machinery, and he also found the grid penalty system hugely frustrating. On recent evidence, that was useful preparation for STR's upcoming partnership with Honda.

Antonio Giovinazzi Sauber-Ferrari C36

Rating: 6.5

Giovinazzi was stunning on his grand prix debut for Sauber in Australia, stepping in for Wehrlein after Friday practice and almost outqualifying Ericsson on an unfamiliar circuit, after just a single practice session to get up to speed.

Unfortunately, Giovinazzi did not build on that nine out of 10 foundation. Lapping quicker than Ericsson at the start of Q1 in China showed another glimpse of the talent that has Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne so enamoured, but two costly shunts subsequently ruined Giovinazzi's weekend.

Crashing Magnussen's Haas in Friday morning practice in Hungary didn't do Giovinazzi any favours either, but he may yet still get his big chance if he remains patient and learns to curb his enthusiasm.

Jenson Button McLaren-Honda MCL32

Rating: 6.0

In retrospect, Button probably deserved a little better than six out of 10 for making Q3 and lapping only two tenths slower than Vandoorne while deputising for Indianapolis 500 star rookie Alonso in Monaco.

The mean streets of Monte Carlo are not the easiest place to make your 2017 F1 debut, in a car you haven't driven before, even if you are a world champion.

Grid penalties made Button's race pointless, and it ended in a clumsy crash with Wehrlein's Sauber. That wasn't a fitting way for a driver of Button's quality to bow out of F1.

Not that he seemed to care one bit. All it did was reinforce the impression he is truly done with F1 at last, having chased the dream for at least one season too many.