Driver ratings for Formula 1 in 2023: Max Verstappen is flawless, while Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris are excellent

This weekend in Abu Dhabi will mark the conclusion of the 2023 Formula One season, capping a very disappointing yet record-breaking year.

As amazing as Red Bull’s and Max Verstappen’s almost flawless season has been, fans won’t remember it with nostalgia. This is unfortunate because if those two hadn’t been in the mix, there would have been a close race for the championship amongst other drivers from various teams.

Even if the grid will hardly change in 2024, certain drivers’ performances the year before might be absolute fireworks, while others will be left cursing the racing gods for still having a spot.

In light of this, Metro Sport has evaluated every one of the 22 drivers that have graced the circuit this year, ranking their performances from Perfect to Return to Formula 2:

10 = Completeness

9 = Excellent

8 is Excellent; 7 is Good; 6 is Decent; 5 is Acceptable.

4 = Indifferent

3 = Not good

2 = Extremely Poor

1 = Return to Formula 2

Driver Rating

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has a 10/10.

Verstappen had an almost faultless season, so there’s not much more to say, so let’s just go over some of his numbers and records:

Four Sprint victories, the greatest percentage of wins in a season (86%), the most consecutive wins (10) and the most laps led in a season (951) are among the records for most wins in a season (18), most podiums in a season (20), 12 poles, eight fastest laps, and never finishing below the top five.

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez: 7 out of 10.

Perez has been made up to seem like a failure compared to his teammate, and he is continuously in danger of losing his position. Ultimately, however, Red Bull hired him to help Verstappen when things didn’t go as planned rather than to defeat him.

This season, the Dutchman has only lost three times, and on those two occasions (in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan), Checo emerged victorious. He also achieved a career-best P2 in the standings, which is the first time Red Bull has achieved a 1-2. Perez fulfilled his obligations perfectly, even if it wasn’t a nice thing.

8/10 for Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Lewis Hamilton may be proud of placing best of the rest behind the undefeated Red Bulls, despite the fact that he was unable to snap his winless streak. This was a return to form for the seven-time champion after a dismal 2022.

Don’t bring up his collision with teammate George Russell, however.

Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ford): 8 out of 10.

Sainz, who stopped Red Bull from winning all three races in 2023, is maybe the most underappreciated driver of the year. His triumph in Singapore demonstrated what he might do if Ferrari got their act together.

In two of their three years together, Sainz has already finished ahead of his colleague Charles Leclerc, who is seen as the Scuderia’s greatest hope.

Alonso Fernando (Aston Martin): 8/10

Even if Alonso’s much-anticipated 33rd career victory never happened, he still had a tremendous year, finishing on the podium eight times more than any other driver who isn’t a Red Bull driver.

Sadly, Aston Martin’s decline in performance hindered his performances during the second part of the season; yet, the forty-two-year-old remains among the best drivers competing.

8/10 for Lando Norris of McLaren

Although Norris’s skill was obvious from the start, 2023 will go down in history as the year he really made an impact because McLaren gave him a vehicle that could run at the front.

The young British driver started to establish himself as the quickest guy on track who wasn’t named Max after Silverstone, and he finished on the podium seven times. Next season, if he and his squad keep going in the right direction, they may contend for the championship.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc: 7/10

A year that has been very painful for Leclerc, who is fast becoming as the most unlucky driver in Formula One history.

He may be the quickest on the grid after five strong pole positions, but that won’t matter until Sunday’s results start to go his way.

6/10 for George Russell (Mercedes)

Russell had the whole world at his disposal after defeating Hamilton in their first season together, but his sophomore year with Mercedes has been somewhat lackluster, as he has only finished on one podium.

Though he hasn’t always been lucky, the British driver has a history of expensive and careless errors. His collision during the last lap of the Singapore Grand Prix while fighting for the victory will probably follow him for the rest of his career.

Oscar Piastri (Formula MacLaren): 8.0

The highlights of Piastri’s excellent debut season were two podium finishes and a sprint race win in Qatar, confirming his switch from Alpine to McLaren and establishing him as the sport’s hottest young star.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll: 5/10

No matter how much his father spends in Aston Martin, this season has more than any previous shown that Stroll isn’t made out for professional racing, with the exception of the rare outstanding performance.

Alonso’s immaturity after yet another terrible qualifying round in Qatar has further damaged his image, and his team has lost the title because to his disparity in skill.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly: 6/10

This year, Alpine looked to be taking a step backwards as their vehicle mostly seemed to be in a massive hole between the top five and the bottom four. Gasly, however, held his own throughout, finishing in the top three in the Belgian Sprint and taking an outstanding podium in Holland.

6/10 for Esteban Ocon (Alpine)

Ocon would be the clear winner if there was a trophy for the driver who was the most inconsistent. A podium in Monaco and an incredible drive in Las Vegas were counterbalanced by weekends in which the Frenchman was almost absent, including seven in which he failed to finish.

Williams’ Alex Albon: 7/10

Albon deserves a lot of credit for scoring 27 points and propelling the British team to seventh place in the constructors’ championship on his alone. He is just too talented a driver to be fighting with Williams for points every now and then.

6/10 for Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)

It was a discouraging year for Tsunoda, who made significant progress, but his vehicle could hardly win. Even though he collected more points than all three of his colleagues combined, Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo seem to have a better chance of being promoted to Red Bull.

Alfa Romeo, Valtteri Bottas, 5/10

As the Italian automaker is ready to leave Formula One, Alfa Romeo has managed to retain their position as the most unassuming team on the grid. As expected, Bottas was nowhere to be seen in 2023.

5/10 for Nico Hulkenberg (Haas)

Hulkenberg put on some impressive qualifying runs, but the Haas car was destroying its tires at an alarming pace, rendering them almost worthless come race day. Nonetheless, the German’s return year proved his skeptics wrong.

5/10 for Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)

Though he plans to return to the grid full-time the following season, Ricciardo still has a ways to go before he can take Perez’s spot at Red Bull. Apart from an incredible drive in Mexico, he was just overshadowed in most races, and his apprentice Lawson was able to outperform him due to a broken hand.

Alfa Romeo (Zhou Guanyu): 5/10

It’s difficult to judge Zhou’s skill level considering that he hasn’t really had a competitive vehicle to work with. It’s going to be make or break for him next year.

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 4/10

Magnussen was largely outperformed by his teammate and was able to recover to some extent from his car’s shortcomings, although he was still unable to match Hulkenberg’s speed.

Liam Lawson: 7/10 (AlphaTauri)

Before Ricciardo’s injured hand eventually gave Lawson his F1 debut, the Kiwi was passed over twice for the AlphaTauri seat, and boy did he make the most of it. Even if he won’t be competing in 2024, we will still see him in the future.