US Grand Prix driver ratings

1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL
Red Bull-Renault RB10

Start: Pits
Finish: 7th
Strategy: 4 stops (medium/soft/medium/medium/soft)

Rating: 7

The introduction of a sixth power unit meant Vettel's weekend was focused on finding a race set-up that would allow him to make up ground.

The low-downforce set-up made life difficult when in traffic, but the race came to him and climbing to seventh was a decent effort.

3 DANIEL RICCIARDO
Red Bull-Renault RB10

Start: 5th
Finish: 3rd
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 10

Another exemplary weekend from Ricciardo. As usual, his pace was strong, his tyre management excellent and his racecraft superb.

He was seventh early in lap one, passing Magnussen and Alonso incisively and then undercutting both Williams drivers.

A wonderful performance turned a likely fifth or sixth into a podium.

6 NICO ROSBERG
Mercedes F1 W05

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

Rating: 8

Nailed it in qualifying and certainly had the pace to have given his team-mate a run for his money had Hamilton not been battling a braking problem.

A moment's inattentiveness in calling for an ERS boost cost the German, as Hamilton again outraced him.

44 LEWIS HAMILTON
Mercedes F1 W05

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

Rating: 9

Qualifying was compromised by his front-left brake being around 100C cooler than the front right, leading to lock-ups and making it difficult to take the fight to Rosberg.

But in the race, he tracked his prey and pounced at the first opportunity to take a fine win.

7 KIMI RAIKKONEN
Ferrari F14 T

Start: 8th
Finish: 13th
Strategy: 3 stops (soft/medium/soft/soft)

Rating: 5

Raikkonen struggled badly with the lack of front-end grip, although he was only two tenths behind team-mate Alonso during qualifying.

His race drive wasn't as bad as his 13th place suggested, as early on his pace wasn't dramatically worse than Alonso's, but as the race progressed he seemed to struggle more.

It's possible there was damage from being tapped by Perez on the opening lap, but ultimately it was a lacklustre drive.

14 FERNANDO ALONSO
Ferrari F14 T

Start: 6th
Finish: 6th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/soft)

Rating: 8

You could argue that Alonso might have been able to extract another tenth or two from the car in qualifying, but not enough to beat Ricciardo.

In the race, he effectively won his class and had no chance to do any better than sixth.

8 ROMAIN GROSJEAN
Lotus-Renault E22

Start: 16th
Finish: 11th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 7

Qualifying was disappointing as his Lotus seemed to go from relatively handy to shocking during the course of Saturday, but a mistake on his final Q1 lap didn't help.

Grosjean fought hard in the race and might have been able to finish as high as eighth before being torpedoed by Vergne and sustaining damage.

13 PASTOR MALDONADO
Lotus-Renault E22

Start: 10th
Finish: 9th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 9

Maldonado qualified well, although without a small error he could even have made his seasonal Q3 debut.

He gave a good account of himself in the race in battle, although he earned himself two five-second penalties, which held him back.

Even so, Maldonado emerged with his first points of the year.

20 KEVIN MAGNUSSEN
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29

Start: 7th
Finish: 8th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/medium/medium)

Rating: 7

Another decent weekend's work from Magnussen, who is showing signs of starting to find the consistency that has eluded him for much of the season.

He was quick and acquitted himself well in battle, only losing out late on to the charging Vettel.

22 JENSON BUTTON
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-29

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

Rating: 6

Button's weekend started encouragingly, with good pace in Friday morning practice, but things gradually seemed to get worse as time progressed.

He drove reasonably and his brief battle with Alonso was a joy to watch, but a gearbox change penalty and strategy cost him.

27 NICO HULKENBERG
Force India-Mercedes VJM07

Start: 13th
Finish: DNF
Strategy: retired (medium/medium/retired)

Rating: 7

Hulkenberg did seem to have the edge on Perez on pace, but getting a visor tear-off wrapped around a front wheel on his final Q2 lap cost him.

Collecting his team-mate's front wing on the opening lap forced him into an early stop, but the race would have come to him had he not suffered an engine failure.

11 SERGIO PEREZ
Force India-Mercedes VJM07

Start: 11th
Finish: DNF
Strategy: retired (soft/retired)

Rating: 5

Perez managed to pip Hulkenberg in qualifying, although he looked unlikely to do so until Hulkenberg had his tear-off incident on his final lap.

His two-dimensional approach to the attack on Sutil on the opening lap led to him tagging Raikkonen.

It was unfortunate, but Perez only had himself to blame as the stewards' "reckless" verdict underlined.

21 ESTEBAN GUTIERREZ
Sauber-Ferrari C33

Start: 15th
Finish: 14th
Strategy: retired (soft/medium/medium/soft)

Rating: 4

Gutierrez wasn't able to match team-mate Sutil's speed in the Sauber, so he spent the weekend towards the bottom of the timesheets.

A five-second penalty for breaking the safety car speed limit didn't help, but his race pace was unremarkable even for a Sauber.

99 ADRIAN SUTIL
Sauber-Ferrari C33

Start: 9th
Finish: DNF
Strategy: retired (soft/retired)

Rating: 9

Sutil drove absolutely superbly in qualifying to reach Q3, the first time a Sauber has made it that far this season.

It was always going to be hard to stay there in the race, but he was the innocent party of the first-lap clash with Perez.

25 JEAN-ERIC VERGNE
Toro Rosso-Renault STR9

Start: 14th
Finish: 10th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 8

The Frenchman wasn't quite as strong as Kvyat on qualifying pace, but he drove a good race to pick up a point.

It could have been more without his tendency to pick up penalties.

The Grosjean pass was a forceful and incisive piece of racing that he probably could have been allowed to get away with, though.

26 DANIIL KVYAT
Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR9

Start: 17th
Finish: 15th
Strategy: 3 stops (medium/medium/soft/soft)

Rating: 8

Kvyat had speed in abundance and was impressive in practice, his pace through the fast esses particularly eye-catching.

He did well to recover from his grid penalty, but contact with Raikkonen forced an extra stop and cost him a points finish.

19 FELIPE MASSA
Williams-Mercedes FW36

Start: 4th
Finish: 4th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 8

A mistake in the esses meant he ended up three tenths behind team-mate Bottas having looked strong all weekend.

Massa held third in the race, but while strategy and a slow second stop helped Ricciardo get ahead, time lost late on the in-lap also contributed.

77 VALTTERI BOTTAS
Williams-Renault FW36

Start: 3rd
Finish: 5th
Strategy: 2 stops (soft/soft/medium)

Rating: 7

Bottas went into the race well-placed to be best of the rest, but lost a place at the start to Massa and was then undercut by Ricciardo to slip to fifth.

He didn't do a great deal wrong and his qualifying lap was excellent, but ultimately the race just didn't go quite right.