US Grand Prix driver ratings

6 NICO ROSBERG
Mercedes F1 W06

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

Rating: 9

Superficially, this looked like another opportunity blown by Rosberg. The race was his to win and he lost it - and with it his threadbare hopes of the title - with a mistake on cold tyres.

Hamilton ended up with the title and an unexpected win © LAT

But beyond that, this was actually a great day for him. He was excellent again in qualifying, refused to yield to his team-mate in battle, and passed him decisively on track. Rosberg perhaps needs to forget the championship in future and just take more risks.

44 LEWIS HAMILTON
Mercedes F1 W06

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

Rating: 9

Hamilton is world champion and deservedly so. He was mighty impressive in setting the fastest time in final practice on Saturday, and qualifying a tenth behind Rosberg on new tyres actually represented a fine effort given the difficulty of scrubbing the rubber in on a horribly gripless surface.

He pushed the limits with his team-mate at Turn 1 after the start, and looked vulnerable early on, but Hamilton never gives up, and eventually the race came to him.

3 DANIEL RICCIARDO
Red Bull-Renault RB11

Start: 3rd
Finish: 10th
Strategy: 3 stops (intermediate/soft/soft/soft)

Rating: 9

Beating the Mercedes in Q1 was arguably the most impressive performance of all in qualifying, as Ricciardo's risky approach to the wet paid dividends. He couldn't get near them in the worsening weather of Q2, but was still faster than everyone else.

Red Bull upstaged Mercedes for a spell © LAT

Ricciardo showed his usual blend of feisty racecraft and careful judgement in the race, which he might have won if it had stayed wet. Whacks from Hulkenberg and Sainz ultimately ruined any lingering hope of a decent result.

26 DANIIL KVYAT
Red Bull-Renault RB11

Start: 4th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/soft/medium/retired)

Rating: 7

Kvyat's aggressive style works well in slippery conditions, but his driving was a little rough around the edges in qualifying, and he loses marks for being almost half a second slower than Ricciardo in Q2.

He drove quite well in the race initially, but struggled a bit more than Ricciardo after the first safety car period. A switch to the medium tyre didn't work out thanks to a careless crash, for which he accepted blame.

19 FELIPE MASSA
Williams-Mercedes FW37

Start: 7th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/soft/retired)

Rating: 6

Massa was delighted to make the top 10 in qualifying, given the ongoing struggles of Williams in wet conditions, but the car looks better on the wet tyre than the intermediate that is more often run in the rain.

Williams's race was brief © LAT

He endured a messy start to the race, which included a clumsy collision with Alonso's McLaren at Turn 1 and a concurrent spin. He recovered, but made little progress until the team decided to retire the car after a rear damper failed.

77 VALTTERI BOTTAS
Williams-Mercedes FW37

Start: 16th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/soft/intermediate/retired)

Rating: 6

It looked a disappointing performance from Bottas to qualify outside the top 10 having been rapid in final practice, but broken rear suspension accounted for his struggles. Williams elected to change the gearbox in fixing the problem, so a five-place grid penalty rubbed salt into the wounds.

His race was notable only for tagging Ericsson's Sauber at Turn 1, before retiring after five laps with another suspension failure.

5 SEBASTIAN VETTEL
Ferrari SF15-T

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

Rating: 9

Vettel looked more comfortable in the wet than team-mate Raikkonen, but was also lucky to get away with striking the barriers after a spin at Turn 10 in Q1.

Raikkonen's damage proved terminal © XPB

A penalty for engine changes meant this was always going to be a tough race for Ferrari, but Vettel made light work of the task. He rose to seventh before the end of the first lap and was close to challenging Rosberg for second at the end. He drove very well again.

7 KIMI RAIKKONEN
Ferrari SF15-T

Start: 18th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/soft/soft/retired)

Rating: 6

Raikkonen loses marks for being a chunk slower than Vettel in wet qualifying (though he gets massive style points for saving a 90-degree slide at Turn 10!)

Like his team-mate, Raikkonen started the race strongly to climb into the top 10, but he got stuck battling with the Toro Rossos in the wet first stint, then crashed on his out-lap after pitting for slicks, so he loses more marks. He tried to carry on, but brake duct damage forced retirement.

14 FERNANDO ALONSO
McLaren-Honda MP4-30

Start: 9th
Finish: 11th
Strategy: 3 stops (intermediate/intermediate/soft/soft)

Rating: 8

Alonso used Honda's latest 'phase four' engine (apparently worth an extra 15-20bhp), and felt points were possible after producing McLaren's best qualifying result of the season. He got spun to the back by Massa's Williams at Turn 1 after the start, but recovered superbly.

Alonso spins with help from Massa © LAT

The Spaniard felt a "miracle" top-five finish went begging thanks to an engine problem that ruined his sprint to the finish. It was fixed, but a wobble exiting Turn 11 on the last lap meant he couldn't hold off Ricciardo's Red Bull.

22 JENSON BUTTON
McLaren-Honda MP4-30

Start: 12th
Finish: 6th
Strategy: 3 stops (intermediate/soft/soft/soft)

Rating: 9

Button felt Alonso should "annihilate" him here with the 'phase four' engine, given he was still using the 'phase three' version while Honda builds another updated unit.

He was nearly a second slower than Alonso in qualifying, as he struggled for rear grip (the new engine is not worth a second per lap), but his race was excellent given the car's limitations. Button battled hard, was close to Alonso's pace in the dry, and made the right strategic calls to bag a top-six finish.

11 SERGIO PEREZ
Force India-Mercedes VJM08

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

Rating: 7

Perez excelled in beating team-mate Nico Hulkenberg (an acknowledged F1 rainmaster) by a tenth of a second in qualifying, and showed strong pace in the wet early stages of the race to hold Vettel's Ferrari at bay.

Hulkenberg was charging forward when his front wing broke © XPB

He loses marks for poor pace after switching to slicks, which dropped him behind the Toro Rossos and his team-mate. Perez felt happier on the medium compound, but warm-up struggles on the soft arguably cost him a genuine shot at beating Verstappen to fourth.

27 NICO HULKENBERG
Force India-Mercedes VJM08

Start: 6th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/soft/medium/retired)

Rating: 8

Hulkenberg wasn't far off Perez in qualifying here, but would have expected better given he was second fastest of all in final practice. Conditions were bad, but he loses marks for the spin that cost him his chance to beat Perez in Q2.

He wasn't spectacular early in the race, but came alive on slick tyres, and would likely have challenged Verstappen for fourth had his front wing not broken over a bump while trying to pass Ricciardo's Red Bull.

33 MAX VERSTAPPEN
Toro Rosso-Renault STR10

Start: 8th
Finish: 4th
Strategy: 2 stops (intermediate/soft/soft)

Rating: 10

Verstappen produced an outstanding effort to make the top 10 in qualifying, having missed most of the final free practice session thanks to a problem with his Renault engine, and was undoubtedly the star of this race.

Verstappen shone on the way to fourth © LAT

He showed supreme racecraft and delicate judgement throughout, raced hard with everyone he came across, pulled off multiple passing moves in a car that wasn't fast in a straightline, and finished higher than a Toro Rosso merited. Flawless.

55 CARLOS SAINZ JR
Toro Rosso-Renault STR10

Start: 20th
Finish: 7th
Strategy: 3 stops (intermediate/soft/medium/soft)

Rating: 6

Sainz compromised his weekend with a costly crash for the second race in succession, this time losing control over a wet kerb in Q1. He started from the back in a rebuilt STR10 and drove a feisty but messy race.

He was lucky to escape sanction for moving across on Ricciardo in the braking zone for Turn 12 late-on, and also lost a position thanks to a five-second penalty for speeding in the pits. A decent result, but an erratic display.

8 ROMAIN GROSJEAN
Lotus-Mercedes E23

Start: 10th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/intermediate/soft/retired)

Rating: 7

Grosjean expected Lotus to struggle in the wet, no doubt because the E23 lacks downforce compared to its usual rivals, so his failure to make the top 10 was no great surprise, but he was over a second faster than his team-mate in Q2, which was impressive.

Yet again, Lotus lost a car to damage from a first-lap mess © XPB

His race ended at the first corner in reality, thanks to a hit from behind following contact between Bottas and Ericsson. Floor and brake damage necessitated an early retirement.

13 PASTOR MALDONADO
Lotus-Mercedes E23

Start: 12th
Finish: 8th
Strategy: 3 stops (intermediate/soft/soft/soft)

Rating: 6

Maldonado struggled a bit more with the inconsistencies of the Lotus than Grosjean in qualifying and that carried through into the early part of the race, where his pace was disappointing, though his chances weren't helped by a massive delay resulting from Massa and Alonso's first corner collision.

He couldn't explain his lack of pace in the race (usually his stronger suit), but at least he kept out of trouble again and scored points.

28 WILL STEVENS
Marussia-Ferrari MR-03B

Start: 19th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediates/retired)

Rating: 6

Stevens lost out to bit-part team-mate Rossi in qualifying here (by 0.350s), not helped by a big spin at Turn 10, but in fairness many drivers were caught out on the standing water there.

Rossi became the first American to race at home in F1 for eight years © XPB

Unfortunately his race was over after just one lap, thanks to being rear-ended by team-mate Rossi in the melee caused by Massa's first-corner incident with Alonso, so we never got to see how the two Manor drivers compared in the race.

53 ALEXANDER ROSSI
Marussia-Ferrari MR-03B

Start: 17th
Finish: 12th
Strategy: 3 stops (intermediate/intermediate/soft/medium)

Rating: 7

Another solid showing for this year's GP2 bridesmaid-in-waiting, who became the first American driver to start (and finish) a US GP since Scott Speed raced for Toro Rosso in 2007. Beating team-mate Stevens in qualifying, having missed the previous race in Russia, was a good effort.

For a long while he was involved in a game of leapfrog with Felipe Nasr's pit-addicted Sauber, but in reality Rossi was in a race of his own at the back.

9 MARCUS ERICSSON
Sauber-Ferrari C34

Start: 14th
Finish: Retired
Strategy: (intermediate/soft/soft/retired)

Rating: 6

Ericsson tried hard to elevate the Sauber from Q1 mediocrity, but even in updated specification the C34 remains weak on traction and thus poor in wet conditions. He qualified almost a second clear of team-mate Nasr, which was a good effort, then survived contact with Bottas and Nasr early in the race.

Nasr ended up with points despite a crazy afternoon, but Ericsson retired © XPB

The Swede looked decent in the wet phase, but struggled on slicks. It was all made academic by an electrical shutdown just before half-distance.

12 FELIPE NASR
Sauber-Ferrari C34

Start: 15th
Finish: 9th
Strategy: 5 stops (inter/soft/inter/soft/soft/soft)

Rating: 6

Nasr struggled badly in qualifying, ending up less than a second faster than Rossi's Manor and complaining of "zero rear grip". Some of that was down to setting his car up in anticipation of a dry race, though.

He endured a crazy race: contact with his team-mate early on, five pitstops, then a late surge into the points thanks to problems for Ricciardo and Alonso. It was an unlikely but welcome result on a tough weekend.