The 2023 F1 half-term driver grades

Max Verstappen: A+
Championship position: 1st

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Erik Junius

Top of the class. Searing pace and scarce mistakes have led to Verstappen’s domination of proceedings in 2023, and only unfortunate circumstances have cost him victories this season. Without the driveshaft issue in qualifying for Saudi Arabia and a poorly timed pitstop in Azerbaijan, he could have very realistically headed for his summer holidays with the full collection of (slightly broken) winner’s trophies. Recent victories in Hungary and Belgium were comprehensive, as he grew in power during the first 12 races. Qualifying performances have been comparatively close to the rest, but that has generally mattered little during his Sunday drives into the sunset.

Fernando Alonso: A
Championship position: 3rd

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Reborn at the wheel of the most competitive car he’s driven in years, the veteran Spaniard embarked on an impressive run of podium finishes in the opening rounds. Recent results have slipped slightly as Aston Martin initially struggled to get its head around updates, but the AMR23 appears to be in the ascendancy again, with Alonso leading the line. There have been slim opportunities to win, although the mistimed tyre call in Monaco arguably snatched away Alonso’s best chance of the year so far; further shots at victory will depend on continued progress… and a lot of luck.

Lewis Hamilton: A-
Championship position: 4th

Pole man Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG, celebrates on aarival in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

A lack of a noticeable step in Mercedes’ fortunes frustrated Hamilton, but he has pulled out big results when the car is capable of doing so. By his own admission, he threw everything at his pole lap in Hungary to narrowly beat Verstappen, but the Mercedes is still leagues apart from the Red Bull in race trim. Beyond that pole, dragging his car with floor damage – sustained in a clash with Norris – to second at Barcelona must be a highlight. The Mercedes W14 has fluctuated between the second and fourth-fastest package, but Hamilton got the best out of it regardless and hasn’t finished a grand prix outside the top eight all year.

Lando Norris: A-
Championship position: 8th

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-23, the rest of the field at the start

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

When the McLaren MCL60 was struggling for pace, Norris knew how to get results out of it despite its clear limitations. Now that the car has been retooled, he’s chalked up podiums and dug results out when conditions haven’t been favourable. Australia had been the season highlight until the first phase of wide-ranging upgrades arrived in Austria, which allowed Norris to dice with the Ferraris and Mercedes. He claimed two consecutive second-place finishes at Silverstone and the Hungaroring, and was every bit a contender for pole for both races, but Spa showed that he must learn to deal with the growing threat of team-mate Piastri.

Alex Albon: B+
Championship position: 13th

Alex Albon, Williams

Photo by: Williams

The Anglo-Thai has been working wonders in a Williams that, beyond straightline speed, is lacking compared to some of the teams around it on the grid. A savvy dry-tyre call in qualifying at Montreal set up his race-day defensive efforts, where he held off the faster cars of Ocon and Norris. He was equally impressive at Silverstone, trying to attack Alonso’s Aston Martin and defend from Leclerc’s Ferrari in the dying stages of the race. His crash from sixth at the Australian GP can be forgiven for a reported spike in tyre temperatures, but a Baku underperformance was of his own making. He must make the most of the FW45 at Monza.

Charles Leclerc: B+
Championship position: 5th

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23

Photo by: Erik Junius

Misfortune and early-season mistakes cost points, but the Monegasque bounced back with an impressive weekend at Baku to break Red Bull’s hegemony over pole positions. Austria and Belgium yielded further podiums on days when Ferrari tyre mismanagement was less obvious, and he’s had the measure of Sainz over most of the opening 12 races. But old habits die hard, and Leclerc has made mistakes: he threw the car off the road in Miami qualifying to cost himself a second successive pole, and leaned on Stroll too much at the start of the Australian GP, yielding a first-lap retirement. He really must stop blotting his copybook.

Yuki Tsunoda: B+
Championship position: 17th

Yuki Tsunoda, Scuderia AlphaTauri, in Parc Ferme

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Most improved student of the season. Tsunoda looked down and out at this stage last year, but the departure of Gasly to Alpine has done the Japanese the world of good. A willingness to accept more responsibility as a team leader has helped Tsunoda mature. He has therefore raised his game and brushed away de Vries during their 10 races together as team-mates. His drives at Baku and Spa were worthy of more than a point apiece, and he’s cut unforced errors out of his game over 2023 so far. He probably underestimated the Ricciardo challenge when the Australian joined in Hungary, but Tsunoda’s response next time out in Belgium was immaculate.

Esteban Ocon: B
Championship position: 10th

Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team, 3rd position, lifts his trophy

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Has been genuinely impressive in a congested midfield, but Alpine's unreliability has sapped away at results too many times this year. Third place finish in Monaco was exemplary, as he mastered the difficult conditions to successfully convert his strong qualifying result. Fine drives in Spain and Canada followed, but recent races have been difficult for reasons beyond his control. He loses marks for horror-show weekends in Saudi Arabia and Austria, where he racked up an unprecedented number of time penalties, but was largely blameless in both Alpine-on-Alpine clashes this season. A late-race charge to eighth at Spa showed Ocon’s ability and cerebral approach.

Oscar Piastri: B
Championship position: 11th

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Piastri could be forgiven for a slightly slow start to life in F1, given the difficulties of the early-season McLaren package and having done no racing in 2022. Eighth in his home race at Melbourne was impressive, and he grabbed a point at Monaco in difficult conditions. Things have picked up with McLaren’s improvements, with podium near-misses at Silverstone and the Hungaroring, and then he managed second in the Spa sprint race after outpacing Norris through the weekend. Qualifying performances have largely been impressive, although has shown signs of race-rustiness over the year: his Belgian GP clash with Sainz was 50-50. An impressive first half-term in F1.

Carlos Sainz: B
Championship position: 7th

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

Sainz is yet to show the heights of performance that Leclerc has managed over the opening 12 races, and has alarmingly failed to reach the podium this term. For comparison, Leclerc has managed three trips to the rostrum. The Spaniard appears to have lost all trust in the strategic decision-making at Ferrari and has been more inclined to call the shots himself. Is definitely the more amenable of the two Ferrari drivers with tyre struggles, although a harsh Australian GP penalty for clashing with Alonso puts Sainz below Leclerc in the points standings. His year so far is the definition of ‘solid, but unspectacular’.

George Russell: B-
Championship position: 6th

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, loses his tyre in the pitlane

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Recent rounds have been middling for Russell as struggles to get on top of the revised Mercedes mean he has looked less of a challenge for Hamilton this season. His overall consistency has remained, but at a lower level. The opening races have produced just one podium finish, at Barcelona, where he recovered well from a lowly grid position after squabbling with Hamilton in qualifying. His trip to the wall in Montreal cost a possible podium finish and, although he recovered to eighth, the damage to his car was ultimately terminal. Russell is in dire need of a reset over the summer.

Sergio Perez: C+
Championship position: 2nd

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Started the season in great form, but his head dropped significantly after being passed by Verstappen in Miami. A subsequent allergy to reaching Q3 in the following races eventually came to an end at Silverstone, after needing to pull off too many recovery drives in the preceding events. His wins in Jeddah and Baku, while aided by Verstappen’s misfortune, looked assured and hinted at championship credentials. From there, it all went south; a Monaco Q1 crash yielded a disastrous weekend and he missed the mark in subsequent races despite having the best car. His second place at Spa showed that the slide had been somewhat arrested.

Pierre Gasly: C+
Championship position: 12th

Pierre Gasly, Alpine A523

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Gasly has endured more than his fair share of bad luck but has been altogether less consistent than Ocon in their first season as team-mates. He had impressive Q3 performances in Miami and Spain, and both races rewarded him with points, but there have been some alarming no-shows too. He wasted a strong Melbourne race at the final restart by skittering across the grass, bringing him into contact with Ocon, while his strong sprint race last time out at Spa during drying conditions was not followed up on in the full-fat grand prix. If the Alpine package wasn’t so mercurial, Gasly might have a chance to settle…

Nico Hulkenberg: C
Championship position: 14th

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

On his full-time return, Hulkenberg’s qualifying performances have been stunning despite the clear limitations of this year’s Haas. Great opportunism in Q3 in Canada handed the German second place in qualifying, although a penalty snatched away his front-row start. Qualifying fourth for the Austria sprint also offered three points in the shorter race, vital for Haas’s constructors’ championship position. Aside from there and his stunning defensive efforts in Australia, races have been more anonymous, and Hulkenberg invariably slides back into the lower third of the field. That’s not of his own making, but rather his car’s predilection for tyre rubber.

Daniel Ricciardo: C-
Championship position: 21st

Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri AT04

Photo by: Erik Junius

After the expulsion of Nyck de Vries before the end of term, Ricciardo was handed the unenviable task of getting acquainted with a difficult AlphaTauri car with zero testing. His performance to outqualify and outrace Yuki Tsunoda at the first time of asking in Hungary was remarkable, although the Belgian Grand Prix brought difficulties in racing with the backmarkers. It’s clear that the half-year away from racing has done Ricciardo the world of good, after his McLaren stint proved to be a bruising two seasons. Support from Red Bull has helped to realign his ambitions; now he must simply try his best in a tricky AT04 car.

Valtteri Bottas: D
Championship position: 15th

Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

A very quiet year so far as Alfa Romeo’s 2023 expectations have fallen short. Eighth in Bahrain was a stellar drive to open the year, but nothing has been able to reach that height since. The C43 has, according to Bottas, struggled in the straightline speed stakes, with drag proving to be an issue; although recent updates have helped, the team needs another push to break it out of its inertia. Bottas has impressed on occasion but seems too content with the current mediocrity, and seems like a man waiting for the future. Has been sent to the headmaster having been repeatedly told that mullets are not school uniform.

Zhou Guanyu: D
Championship position: 16th

Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C43

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Like Bottas, has been offered few chances to prove his worth in a disappointing car. Fifth place on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix was the highlight, but the frustration produced by a starting issue triggered the Turn 1 clash that claimed both Alpines. An assured drive in Spain unlocked one of two points finishes; the other was when he kept his head at a chaotic Melbourne. Has largely been on a par with Bottas’s pace, but one senses that the Finn isn’t currently in the form of his life. Needs to kick on in the second half, particularly since academy prospect – and F2 title hopeful– Theo Pourchaire remains a threat to his seat for 2024.

Kevin Magnussen: E
Championship position: 18th

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

After redefining himself as the clear team leader last year, Magnussen has been overshadowed by new team-mate Hulkenberg. The Dane has struggled to apply his driving style to the VF-23, which is poor in its management of tyres over a race distance, leading to a lack of confidence in qualifying trim. But Magnussen must try to work around the issues for the time being and unlock sprint race form as they are currently Haas’s best hope for points. Two 10th places, in Saudi Arabia and Miami, are the current high points, as well as his qualifying in fourth place for that race in the US.

Logan Sargeant: E
Championship position: 19th

Logan Sargeant, Williams FW45, leaves the circuit and runs through the gravel into the wall during FP3

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

The American has quietly got on with the job of adapting to the rigours of F1 but has yet to show anything particularly impressive, while his team-mate does all the heavy lifting in the constructors’ championship stakes. Sargeant kicked off the year with a solid 12th in the Bahrain opener, but a silly qualifying crash in Jeddah undid a bright start and he narrowly avoided a penalty for taking out Nyck de Vries in Melbourne. His 11th at Silverstone is the highlight of his season so far, but the Floridian must get much closer to Albon over the second half of the season to earn a second year with Williams.

Lance Stroll: E
Championship position: 9th

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23, climbs out of his damaged car after a crash in Q2 of the Sprint Shootout

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Escapes an F purely because of his heroics in Bahrain with a broken hand. Otherwise, Stroll has been too far away from Alonso’s pace overall and has failed to make the most of a competitive AMR23 chassis, which may yet set the team back in the constructors’ championship. He got lucky with fourth in Australia when the Alpines took themselves out and managed to finish outside the points while Alonso got a podium in Miami. Sixth in Spain was solid when Aston Martin wasn’t firing on all cylinders, but otherwise has not taken advantage of the machinery at his disposal. Must do better.

How will the second half of the 2023 F1 season pan out?

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images