Mid-season F1 driver ratings

Formula 1 is on its summer holidays, giving its 20 drivers a chance to reflect on their work over the first 10 races of the campaign and figure out how to come back better, faster and stronger in Belgium at the end of the month.

It's also given AUTOSPORT the chance to assess those performances over the first half of the 2015 campaign, using its popular 'driver ratings' format.

What follows is a subjective analysis of each driver's efforts over the first 10 grands prix of the season, which accounts for (but does not depend upon) averages of the individual scores we've awarded after each race of 2015 so far.

6 Nico Rosberg
Mercedes W06
Rating: 7

Rosberg has raised his game this year, even though he's worse off in the championship than he was at the same stage last season. Unfortunately for Rosberg, his newfound level has not been enough to topple world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Qualifying form - Rosberg's big strength last year - has largely deserted him this season, and although his racecraft has improved, it hasn't been enough to make up for that.

In fairness, Hamilton has generally been superb this year, but on the one occasion he has let his guard down (in Hungary) Rosberg wasn't strong enough to capitalise.

Highlight: Overturning Hamilton's pole advantage to win in Austria.

Lowlight: Losing points to Hamilton in Hungary when his rival was there for the taking.

44 Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes W06
Rating: 9

Reliability at Mercedes has improved, so momentum in the title race has (strategy debacle in Monaco aside) swung on the level of performance produced on respective sides of the garage.

In this regard, Hamilton has more often that not clearly been better than his team-mate. Finally winning that second world title seems to have lifted a weight from Hamilton's shoulders, and the way he's driven so far this year reflects renewed confidence.

He has addressed last year's qualifying hoodoo (9-1 up in the intra-team battle with Rosberg) and looks very difficult to beat. That said, he's made mistakes in the past two races, and three consecutive bad starts could present a serious problem if the root cause is not addressed.

Highlight: Flawless run to ninth pole in 10 races on Saturday in Hungary.

Lowlight: Losing Monaco win to a strategic blunder; or that error-strewn drive to sixth in Hungary.

3 Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull-Renault RB11
Rating: 7

Ricciardo has endured a similar comedown this year to the one his former team-mate Sebastian Vettel experienced at Red Bull in 2014. The RB11 has not been as competitive thus far as its predecessor was in 2014, so Ricciardo has reverted from occasional race winner to one-time podium finisher.

This has clearly frustrated him, culminating in an outburst in Canada, scene of his maiden F1 win in 2014. Behind the wheel he's generally been strong, though perhaps guilty of overreaching while the car has been below par.

In Hungary, when the Red Bull was the best it's been so far, he was back to his fast and feisty best.

Highlight: Battling with Rosberg for a podium in Hungary.

Lowlight: Comparing his Canadian GP qualifying effort to sweaty genitalia, then failing to convert a top-10 grid slot into points.

26 Daniil Kvyat
Red Bull-Renault RB11
Rating: 7

Kvyat has shown only flashes of the form that convinced Red Bull to promote him from Toro Rosso after just one season racing in F1, but in fairness he's had a tough start trying to settle into a new team, driving a difficult and unreliable car.

Things are still a bit up and down, but he's been getting better as the car has improved and generally pushing Ricciardo harder from Monaco onwards. That's reflected by the fact he's scored 40 of his 45 points over the past five grands prix. A solid start.

Highlight: Maiden podium in Hungary is obvious but his drive to fourth in Monaco was better.

Lowlight: Crunching a development nose on his first lap of pre-season testing, or reversing out of the points in Spain.

19 Felipe Massa
Williams-Mercedes FW37
Rating: 8

Massa has been quietly effective so far this year, and arguably better than last season. Williams has been slightly weaker relative to the opposition, meaning Massa and Bottas are fighting for top six finishes and occasional podiums, rather than the regular rostrums of late 2014.

But Massa has scored far more consistently than he managed in the first half of last season (almost doubling his equivalent 2014 tally at this stage), and he's been a thorn in his team-mate's side in qualifying too. His career revival at Grove continues apace.

Highlight: Holding off Vettel's faster Ferrari for Austria podium.

Lowlight: Poor race in Hungary after lining up incorrectly on the grid.

77 Valtteri Bottas
Williams-Mercedes FW37
Rating: 8

After a breakout season in 2014, Bottas has continued to excel across the first half of this campaign. Ferrari has overtaken Williams as the second best team, but on three occasions (Bahrain, Spain and Canada) Bottas has seized his chance to beat the lesser of the two red cars.

His qualifying form hasn't been quite as strong as it should be (he's 6-4 down on Massa), but consistently excellent races have largely made up for that, to the extent that he is ahead of his team-mate and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the points, despite sitting out the first race of the season with a back injury.

Highlight: Opportunist podium in Canada was good, but beating Vettel to fourth in Bahrain was his best drive.

Lowlight: The FW37 was bad in Monaco, but Bottas struggled to cope and failed to escape Q1.

5 Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari SF15-T
Rating: 9

Vettel looks a driver reborn at Ferrari, following his 2014 struggles with Red Bull. That was perhaps an inevitable consequence of his previous team's fall from grace, after consecutive seasons of dominance in the V8-engined era.

Ultimately, he remains in the second-best team this year, but he looks far more robust in red and has generally been a nuisance to Mercedes over the first 10 races, opportunistically winning twice with the sort of clinical execution for which he became renowned during his title-winning seasons. He has been consistently excellent and largely error-free so far.

Highlight: Either of his victory drives, not just because of the fact that he won, but the flawless manner in which he seized on Mercedes' mistakes.

Lowlight: Going off in Bahrain, damaging his car and getting stuck behind Bottas.

7 Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari SF15-T
Rating: 6

Raikkonen looked a driver transformed over the first four races of the season, following the trouncing he received at the hands of Fernando Alonso in 2014. He out-qualified Vettel in Australia, and almost beat Lewis Hamilton to victory in Bahrain. He looked to be getting back to his best, but his form has dipped since.

Although he can rightly say he's been unlucky at times, the truth is he has not been quick or consistent enough, often qualifying further down than he should. He needs to raise his level in the second half of the season, especially if he wants to secure a contract extension.

Highlight: Tyre management masterclass that almost netted victory in Bahrain.

Lowlight: Crashing out on the first lap in Austria after qualifying way down the grid.

14 Fernando Alonso
McLaren-Honda MP4-30
Rating: 8

Alonso's Ferrari career was epitomised by against-the-odds achievements in inferior equipment, which has no doubt prepared him well for his reunion with McLaren, given the team's current competitive predicament.

Many wondered whether frustration would quickly get the better of him, but the Spaniard does genuinely seem to be enjoying himself, despite usually being at the back of the grid. Whenever he's had a sniff of a strong result he's risen to the occasion, but his strong form is largely going to waste at the moment, which is a shame for F1.

Highlight: Battling the faster Toro Rossos and finishing fifth in Hungary.

Lowlight: Losing a rare points chance to gearbox shutdown in Monaco.

22 Jenson Button
McLaren-Honda MP4-30
Rating: 7

Button relishes the opportunity to take on highly rated team-mates in F1, and a strong record against Lewis Hamilton when they were together at McLaren rightly gives him self-confidence in these fights.

He's generally fared pretty well against Alonso so far, particularly in qualifying, which is not perhaps the strongest suit of either driver. Button was below par in Spain, and his collision with Maldonado in China was uncharacteristically clumsy, but he's also had the lion's share of reliability woes, forcing him to sit out qualifying twice and fail to start in Bahrain. It's been close, but Button's been slightly shaded by Alonso so far.

Highlight: Was heroic battling Perez's faster Force India in Australia.

Lowlight: Letting his head drop after encountering unexpectedly severe oversteer in Spain.

11 Sergio Perez
Force India-Mercedes VJM08
Rating: 7

Perez got off to a bad start, driving off the track a lot in Australia and crashing into Romain Grosjean in Malaysia, but the Mexican then hit a purple patch of form and was the stronger of the two Force India drivers through April and May, culminating in a flawless drive to seventh in Monaco.

It seemed Perez was coping best with Force India's late start to the season and slow rate of development on the VJM08, but he's been second best to team-mate Nico Hulkenberg since then. He has generally driven well, but could do with finding an extra gear in the second half of the campaign.

Highlight: Qualifying and finishing a season's best seventh in Monaco.

Lowlight: Making a hash of fighting Jenson Button's slower McLaren in Australia.

27 Nico Hulkenberg
Force India-Mercedes VJM08
Rating: 8

Hulkenberg's season has been something of a slow burner so far, but he's started to come on really strongly recently. There were suggestions that Force India's early lack of development might have negatively affected his mindset for the first part of the year. He was driving fine, but perhaps the former fire was missing.

Then he went and won Le Mans. Ever since that June victory (his first in any form of racing since 2009) Hulkenberg has looked a driver rejuvenated by success, and the way he's been bothering faster cars over the past three grands prix has reminded everyone how good he can be.

Highlight: Apart from winning Le Mans, it has to be his fight for fifth with Bottas at the subsequent Austrian Grand Prix.

Lowlight: Monaco, where he glanced the barrier in qualifying and never quite recovered his confidence.

33 Max Verstappen
Toro Rosso-Renault STR10
Rating: 8

Amid all the hype and controversy surrounding Verstappen's rapid (some say premature) rise to F1, the 17-year-old has acquitted himself superbly over the first 10 races of his grand prix career.

There have been mistakes, such as clattering into Romain Grosjean in Monaco and spinning off all on his own at Silverstone, but they are inevitable with such a raw driver. His more experienced team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr says he's never had a team-mate push him so hard, and at his best Verstappen has been outstanding. He just needs to iron out one or two creases on his lesser days.

Highlight: Hungary was his best result, but the way he raced through the field in China before the car broke down really stood out.

Lowlight: Bahrain. He struggled with set-up all weekend and let frustrations at Renault boil over after a bad race.

55 Carlos Sainz Jr
Toro Rosso-Renault STR10
Rating: 8

It's probably fair to say Sainz's peaks haven't been quite so high as Verstappen's, but the Spaniard has arguably been one of the most consistent performers on the grid over the first part of the season, which is unexpected with rookies.

The team has been particularly impressed with his technical understanding and feedback, and he has generally been very good in qualifying, making Q3 in 50 per cent of the races so far and getting the better of his team-mate more often than not. He'd be better off in the championship but for poor reliability too. All in all an impressive start.

Highlight: Taking strategy into his own hands and qualifying fifth for his home race in Spain.

Lowlight: No really bad moments, but was fairly anonymous while his team-mate made waves in China.

8 Romain Grosjean
Lotus-Mercedes E23
Rating: 7

After a nightmare season in 2014, when Grosjean seemed to let emotion get the better of him as he watched the momentum he built through 2013 drip away, things have been better so far this season.

He has generally coped well with the added complication of missing several free practice sessions to allow reserve driver Jolyon Palmer to drive, and Grosjean's qualifying form has been outstanding.

His race form has been a little up and down, but the reason the under-financed Lotus team remains in contention for fifth spot in the constructors' championship is mostly down to his results.

Highlight: His Q1 lap in China was so good that Lewis Hamilton felt moved to praise it on the radio. Making Q3 in Hungary was also outstanding.

Lowlight: Clumsy collision with Will Stevens in Canada, which cost Grosjean a decent chunk of points.

13 Pastor Maldonado
Lotus-Mercedes E23
Rating: 5

If only Pastor Maldonado could access his best qualities consistently he would be a force to be reckoned with in Formula 1. Unfortunately for him, and for Lotus, he simply makes too many silly mistakes at crucial times.

The most recent race in Hungary is the perfect example: fast enough to make the top 10 in qualifying, but he dropped out in Q2 with a scruffy lap, then picked up several penalties that prevented him scoring in a race where points were there for the taking.

In fairness, he's been unlucky too - getting taken out of six races through crashes or technical problems that weren't his fault - and his race pace on occasion has been truly impressive, but he just can't seem to string it all together often enough.

Highlight: Consecutive points finishes in Canada and Austria suggested he'd turned a corner.

Lowlight: Hat-trick of driving standards penalties in Hungary meant points went begging.

28 Will Stevens
Marussia-Ferrari MR-03B
Rating: 6

It's not been an easy start to Stevens' first full season at this level, and it's a good job he did last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the post-race test for Caterham given the last-minute nature of Manor's revival and consequent lack of testing.

He's generally been the stronger of the two drivers in the team's inexperienced line-up, which was perhaps unexpected given Roberto Merhi's greater success at the lower levels. Merhi has come on a bit stronger recently, though, so Stevens will need to make sure he doesn't get eclipsed in their private battle at the back of the grid over the second half of the campaign.

Highlight: Impressively qualifying over a second clear of Merhi in Bahrain.

Lowlight: Being second best to Merhi all weekend in Hungary.

98 Roberto Merhi
Marussia-Ferrari MR-03B
Rating: 5

Merhi's rookie campaign in Formula 1 has been puzzling, and largely disappointing so far. Manor's late start to the season and an early weight disadvantage to Stevens hasn't helped, but it's also true that he was a bit late to the party over the first quarter of the campaign, when Stevens enjoyed a clear edge.

Things have been much better recently, as Manor has improved the MR-03B and Merhi has relaxed a little and stopped over-driving so often. It's taken a while, but Merhi has finally started to look more like the driver who won the F3 Euro Series in 2011 and threatened Carlos Sainz Jr's supremacy in Formula Renault 3.5 last year.

Highlight: Hungary was by far his best weekend; from start to finish he was better than his team-mate.

Lowlight: Getting nowhere near Stevens in Bahrain.

9 Marcus Ericsson
Sauber-Ferrari C34
Rating: 6

The Swede is clearly revelling in the chance to properly compete in F1 now he's in an improved Sauber team, rather than just participating, as he was in his rookie season with Caterham last year.

He's capable of producing the odd fine performance, as his impressive Q3 display in Malaysia showed, but sometimes lets himself down with scruffy driving and silly errors, such as the misjudged pass on Nico Hulkenberg's Force India that cost him his chance of converting that grid slot into points.

Generally he's been shaded by his rookie team-mate Nasr, but Ericsson has improved recently, thanks mainly to focusing more on his own game than the Brazilian's. He needs to maintain that mentality.

Highlight: Superb up to and including qualifying in Malaysia, but beating Nasr to the final point in Hungary was his most impressive race weekend.

Lowlight: Throwing his Sauber clumsily into the gravel while trying to pass Hulkenberg's Force India early on in Malaysia.

12 Felipe Nasr
Sauber-Ferrari C34
Rating: 7

Nasr's F1 career got off to a superlative start when he recorded the highest finish for a Brazilian debutant in Formula 1 in Australia. Thing have got tougher since, owing to the aerodynamic limitations of the Sauber C34, but Nasr has generally been the stronger of the Swiss team's two drivers and has performed with a maturity and aptitude that is rare to see in rookies.

He has struggled a bit with his brakes at times, though, and needs to ensure the mini revival his team-mate has enjoyed recently (Ericsson has outqualified Nasr for three of the past four races) doesn't become a regular pattern.

Highlight: Finishing fifth on his debut in Australia with a flawless drive.

Lowlight: Accidentally opening DRS and crashing into the wall while warming his tyres in Canadian GP practice - the true definition of a rookie mistake.