F1 2017 mid-season driver ratings

44 Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes F1 W08

Rating: 9

When Hamilton has been on form, he's been outstanding. Six poles from the first 11 races attest to his general brilliance on a Saturday afternoon - especially considering the W08 hasn't been the easiest car to set up. Races such as Silverstone also remind us that Hamilton is capable of being in a different league to the rest when Mercedes gets everything right.

But occasionally this year it hasn't, and in these circumstances - Russia and Monaco in particular - Hamilton hasn't looked comfortable. Titles are won on the bad days as much as the good, and Hamilton needs to be better on his bad days.

Highlight Utter domination of his home race at Silverstone - pole by half a second and an easy win.

Lowlight Finishing a distant fourth in Russia as his team-mate beat the Ferraris to victory.

77 Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes F1 W08

Rating: 8

Bottas has progressed at an impressive rate, especially considering how late his Mercedes deal came together. Pole in Bahrain gave a first glimpse of his frontrunning potential, but letting Hamilton through in the race suggested Bottas might be cast in a supporting role.

How things have turned around since. Breakthrough victories under pressure in Russia and Austria have forced Bottas into title contention. He's often been better than Hamilton when the car hasn't performed well, and the fact that Mercedes agonised over team orders in Hungary shows just how far Bottas has come in a short time.

Highlight Commanding pole position and fending off Vettel to win in Austria.

Lowlight Getting pulvarised by Hamilton in Bahrain after starting on pole.

3 Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull-Renault RB13

Rating: 8

We know Ricciardo is a class act and he's been impressively consistent over the first part of the season. He's bagged some strong results since Red Bull started sorting its car out properly in Spain, including that win in Baku, and has even squeaked ahead of Raikkonen's faster Ferrari in the championship.

But the results only tell part of the story. Ricciardo has generally been overshadowed by team-mate Verstappen in pure performance terms so far this season, particularly when the car has run with less downforce. But in higher-downforce trim there's nothing in it. Ricciardo has been excellent since Austria, getting stronger as the car evolves further.

Highlight Won opportunistically in Baku, but his drive to third in Austria was better.

Lowlight Crashing out in qualifying twice, in Australia and Azerbaijan.

33 Max Verstappen
Red Bull-Renault RB13

Rating: 9

Verstappen has scored almost half the number of championship points of his Red Bull team-mate, but that disguises how well he's driven. Too often reliability has let him down and taken him out of strong positions - brake failure in Bahrain, battery failure in Canada, engine failure in Baku, clutch failure (and Daniil Kvyat) in Austria.

Verstappen's mixed-conditions charge in China, battling with Vettel at Silverstone, and relentless pursuit of Bottas in Hungary, remind everyone how good he can be when the car is working properly. Was scruffy in qualifying in Austria, and too aggressive on the first lap in Spain and Hungary, but otherwise has driven impeccably.

Highlight Brilliant charge from 16th on the grid to the podium in mixed conditions in China.

Lowlight Taking his team-mate out in Hungary with an overzealous move at Turn 2.

5 Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari SF70H

Rating: 9

Vettel has raised his level this year, as Ferrari has transformed itself from also-ran into title contender again. The Scuderia hasn't often had the fastest car over one lap, but Vettel has usually been the one pushing Hamilton hardest in qualifying, and has qualified on the front row more often than his main title rival so far (the current score is 8-7).

Vettel leads the championship by virtue of finishing first or second in almost every race. But for a moment of madness behind the safety car in Azerbaijan and a front-left puncture at Silverstone, he would be even further ahead. Deservedly Ferrari's number-one contender.

Highlight Harassing Hamilton from behind until Mercedes caved at the Australia season-opener.

Lowlight Needlessly driving into Hamilton behind the safety car in Baku, costing himself a likely victory.

7 Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari SF70H

Rating: 7

In different circumstances, Raikkonen could have won two races already this year. The points he gave up to Vettel by not winning in Monaco and Hungary, where Raikkonen had the pace to do so, are currently making the difference in the title battle.

In that sense, Raikkonen is playing the Ferrari back-up role to perfection; in terms of the constructors' championship, he has simply not scored enough points so far. Partly, that's not his fault (he got taken out in Spain and Azerbaijan), but his drives in Australia, China, Bahrain, Canada and Austria underscore Sergio Marchionne's impression that Raikkonen 2.0 remains an occasional "laggard".

Highlight Scoring his first pole since 2008 in Monaco.

Lowlight Copping public criticism from Ferrari's president for an underwhelming race in China.

11 Sergio Perez
Force India-Mercedes VJM10

Rating: 8

Perez has gradually morphed into one of F1's most effective and consistent midfield operators at Force India, and the fact that he sits best-of-the-rest behind the drivers from the big three teams in the championship after 11 races reinforces that impression.

He has scored more points than rookie team-mate Ocon, and outqualified him more often than not too. That's to be expected, given their relative experience, but Ocon is pushing hard and Perez will need to be at his best over the second half of the season to stay ahead. His reputation depends on it.

Highlight Overtaking both Toro Rossos on the first lap to finish seventh in Australia.

Lowlight Retiring in Azerbaijan after a collision with his team-mate.

31 Esteban Ocon
Force India-Mercedes VJM10

Rating: 8

Ocon has seriously impressed Force India with his rapid rate of progress over the first 11 races. He's driven sensibly and methodically, and but for an unfortunate puncture in Monaco would have scored points in every grand prix held so far.

Perez has largely had Ocon covered in qualifying until now, but there's not been much in it, and Force India feels Ocon has the potential to do even better as he builds experience. The fact that Perez and Ocon have clashed a couple of times already shows how hard Ocon is pushing his team-mate - and he's only going to become more of a threat...

Highlight Forcing Perez to defend for his life in the closing stages in Canada.

Lowlight Causing a damaging collision with Perez while well placed in Baku.

18 Lance Stroll
Williams-Mercedes FW40

Rating: 5

The first six races of Stroll's F1 career were largely disappointing, as he failed to score any points in a car most considered to be the best in the midfield and struggled to get anywhere near team-mate Felipe Massa in qualifying.

Then Stroll scored points with a decent drive to ninth in his home race in Canada, and his confidence soared. A subsequent test in a 2014 Williams at Austin allowed him to further hone his basic set-up direction and he was excellent in the next race in Baku, where he finished on the podium. Williams has lost its way since, but Stroll no longer looks like a fish totally out of water.

Highlight Strong weekend in Baku culminating in an unlikely podium finish.

Lowlight Off the pace and last of the classified finishers in Spain.

19 Felipe Massa
Williams-Mercedes FW40

Rating: 7

Massa has done a predictably solid job since stepping out of short-lived retirement to replace Bottas at Williams - he's banked solid points, provided a frame of reference for the team's engineering group, and brought his vast experience to bear in tutoring rookie team-mate Stroll.

This new breed of F1 car seems to suit Massa's attacking driving style, and he's clearly enjoying this unexpected opportunity, but that tendency to go missing in the odd race remains, and Massa needs to step up now that Williams has dug itself back into a developmental hole.

Highlight Finishing best-of-the-rest behind the big-three teams in Australia - not bad for an old boy!

Lowlight Finishing nowhere after losing tyre temperature and confidence in mixed conditions in China.

2 Stoffel Vandoorne
McLaren-Honda MCL32

Rating: 6

Vandoorne has mostly looked a pale imitation of the driver that everyone expected to take Formula 1 by storm this season. McLaren-Honda's woeful winter testing certainly set him back, but he also struggled to adapt his driving to F1 2017-style. He's also found it tough to deal with the relentless force of Fernando Alonso (Vandoorne's childhood idol) on the other side of the garage, often exiting in Q1 as Alonso's battled for top-10 grid positions.

Interestingly, Vandoorne performed much better in Alonso's absence in Monaco. McLaren has also implemented special measures to get more out of Vandoorne, and recent displays at Silverstone and Budapest suggests he's beginning to turn his season around. Not before time.

Highlight Qualifying ninth at Silverstone and almost finishing in the points on a difficult track for McLaren-Honda.

Lowlight Spain. Qualified on the last row, miles off Alonso, then got penalised for turning into Massa in the race.

14 Fernando Alonso
McLaren-Honda MCL32

Rating: 9

Given lofty pre-season expectations of a big step forward with Honda's revised engine concept, McLaren-Honda has been utterly woeful over the first half of 2017. Alonso has been anything but - arguably driving better than at any time since he returned to McLaren in 2015.

Some of his qualifying performances - particularly his effort in Barcelona - have been mind-blowing, and often he has lifted the McLaren-Honda into places it ordinarily would have no business occupying. He is revelling in the steroidal aerodynamics of F1 2017; enjoying the increased driving challenge at least. It remains a travesty that Alonso's extraordinary talents are going to waste in such uncompetitive machinery.

Highlight Too many to choose from. That qualifying lap in Spain was mighty; raced brilliantly in China until the car broke; drive to sixth in Hungary was excellent too.

Lowlight Any one of McLaren-Honda's many unacceptable reliability issues. ERS failure on the formation lap in Russia was particularly woeful.

26 Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso-Renault STR12

Rating: 6

Kvyat is emerging from the darkness that almost destroyed his career last season, but it's still a work in progress. The raw speed is there - he has knuckled down with his engineers and pushed Sainz very hard in qualifying. But the occasional Saturdays when Kvyat has suddenly gone missing entirely without explanation - think Spain and Austria - are troubling.

More troubling still is his recent propensity for colliding with rivals, earning him the nickname 'torpedo'. Kvyat needs to start pulling his weight in the constructors' championship. Currently, he has more penalty points on his licence than he does real points in the drivers' standings. That's a sad indictment of his season so far.

Highlight Recovering from an awful qualifying performance in Spain to score points.

Lowlight Misjudging his braking and piling into the back of Alonso and Verstappen at Turn 1 in Austria.

55 Carlos Sainz Jr
Toro Rosso-Renault STR12

Rating: 8

Sainz has continued the good work that made him such hot property in the midfield driver market last season, and has once again done well enough to have his contract option taken up early by Red Bull to ward off potential suitors (or at least make them pay to release him).

He has impressively shown an Alonso-like capacity for sometimes qualifying higher up than his car really warrants - making Q3 in Austria and Hungary for example, and some of his races (China, Monaco, Hungary) have been outstanding. Needs to stay on top of Kvyat in qualifying, but cut out an occasional propensity for erratic behaviour in wheel-to-wheel battle.

Highlight Beating Hamilton to sixth in Monaco was good, but Sainz's race to seventh in mixed conditions in China was on another level.

Lowlight Running Grosjean off the road on lap one in Canada, sparking a big accident and calls for a race ban from rivals.

8 Romain Grosjean
Haas-Ferrari VF-17

Rating: 7

When all is right in his world, Grosjean remains one of F1's most outstanding qualifiers. That he's made Q3 five times already in the inconsistent Haas stands as further testament to that. He's bagged some decent points finishes too when the car's been working well, particularly in Bahrain, Monaco and Austria.

But Grosjean's braking style is still too often jarring with the car. Haas's relative naivety with tyre science isn't helping, but Grosjean admits Magnussen is doing a much better job when the car is being difficult. That's encouraging. The first stage in recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Highlight Qualifying sixth in Melbourne was a vintage Grosjean special.

Lowlight Looked totally lost all weekend in Russia, qualified last, then collided with Palmer at Turn 1.

20 Kevin Magnussen
Haas-Ferrari VF-17

Rating: 7

Magnussen has settled in quickly at Haas, revelling in the relaxed atmosphere and simplicity compared to his prior stints at McLaren and Renault. A multi-year contract has given him stability and he's done what Haas needed him to do by banking a decent haul of points.

F1's 2017 cars are much better suited to Magnussen's high-momentum style too, which has helped. Is yet to reach the peaks Grosjean's capable of, but has coped much better when the car hasn't been working. Hasn't impressed some (Hulkenberg in particular) with some aggressive defensive driving, but generally speaking it's been a good, solid start to the season.

Highlight On-track: running as high as third in Baku before finishing a season's best seventh; off-track: telling Nico Hulkenberg to "suck my balls" after their feisty battle in Hungary.

Lowlight Qualifying last in Bahrain before retiring early on with an electrical problem.

27 Nico Hulkenberg
Renault RS17

Rating: 8

Hulkenberg has made an excellent start to his new life at Renault, shouldering the burden of the team's competitive expectation and galvanising Enstone with the stunning pace he's extracted from the car. Hulkenberg has made Q3 six times in 11 attempts and scored all of Renault's 26 points so far.

The car wasn't great early on, so Hulkenberg struggled to be consistent in races, but since an updated floor hit the track for Silverstone he's been the midfield's outstanding qualifier. If Hulkenberg and Renault can tidy up a few rough edges in the races, they will become a truly potent combination.

Highlight Undoubtedly Silverstone: qualified sixth and his was the only midfield car to finish on the lead lap.

Lowlight Throwing a potentially large haul of points in the bin by deranging the right-front corner of his Renault against a wall in Baku.

30 Jolyon Palmer
Renault RS17

Rating: 4

It's been a chastening start to 2017 for Palmer, whose stock has taken a battering from a vicious cycle of reliability problems, repeated crashes, poor qualifying performances, a lack of results, and his team-mate's blistering comparative form. Palmer is one of only two regular drivers on the grid yet to score a point (the other is Ericsson), and the only one not to have outqualified his team-mate at least once.

Renault has moved to quell speculation that Palmer will lose his drive before the grid reconvenes at Spa, but there's no doubt he is under pressure to raise his game considerably. If he cannot then his F1 career will surely be over.

Highlight Recovering from a Q1 exit to finish just 0.545s away from the points in Austria.

Lowlight Baku: crashed in FP1, car caught fire in FP3, missed qualifying, then an ignition problem en route to the grid restricted him to seven pointless laps in the race.

9 Marcus Ericsson
Sauber-Ferrari C36

Rating: 6

This is a big season for Ericsson, who knows he needs to do well paired against Mercedes junior Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber to stand a chance of getting taken seriously as an F1 driver by bigger teams. So far, Ericsson has done a reasonable job. He's behind, but not by much.

In fact, these two are one of only three team-mate combinations - the others being Hamilton/Bottas and Sainz/Kvyat - to be within 0.1% of each other on pure pace after 11 races. Ericsson hasn't achieved Wehrlein's peaks, or points, and has generally paid the price for qualifying behind Wehrlein too often.

Highlight Canada. Finished very close to the top 10 in a race where his team-mate was nowhere after a qualifying crash.

Lowlight Handing over a points finish to Wehrlein under team orders in Baku.

94 Pascal Wehrlein
Sauber-Ferrari C36

Rating: 7

Came under fire for skipping the first two races while suffering the after-effects of his back-breaking Race of Champions crash in January, but a fully-fit Wehrlein has reminded F1 of his potential with a few outstanding performances. He's made Q2 three times in the slowest car on the grid, and scored points twice.

But Mercedes will want to see him flatten out the peaks and achieve more consistency. Races like Canada, where he crashed in Q1, qualified last and couldn't recover in the race, will simply not do if he wants to earn the promotion he missed out on last season.

Highlight Holding off much faster cars to finish eighth in Spain.

Lowlight Pulling out of the Australian Grand Prix after Friday practice due to lack of fitness.

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