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As we move through the Formula 1 summer break, it’s time to look back and take stock of the year so far.
This year has served up some epic races. From the Hamilton-Verstappen rivalry developing, to some truly unexpected results, it’s already been a season to remember for the neutral.
But that’s not necessarily the case for the drivers, and some have had a first-half of the year to forget. We’re going to take a look at every driver, rate their season so far, and look at the implications for the rest of the 2021 season.
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2021 Formula 1 Driver Ratings so far
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton – B
The reigning World Champion came into 2021 off the back of the easiest of his seven titles. This year he faced fierce competition from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who has pushed him to one of the closest battles in recent history. While Hamilton leads the championship at the halfway mark while Verstappen has enjoyed a dazzling year, Lewis has made a few vital mistakes that could have made his lead far more comfortable. His error in Baku saw him throw away the chance to make up a huge 25 points on the Dutchman, while his crash at Silverstone made his job far more difficult. And at Hungary, he was the only driver not to pit for dry tyres before the restart, making his charge to 3rd on track much more difficult than it needed to be. While his recoveries from these mistakes have been marvellous, the second half of the season will be gruelling and any more slip-ups could prove costly.
Valtteri Bottas – D
Knowing the gains Red Bull had made coming into 2021, Mercedes needed Valtteri Bottas to be on his A game. He’s consistently outperformed Red Bull’s number two Sergio Perez, but has failed to put himself in race-winning situations as he did in 2020. His crash at Hungary shone a spotlight on the pressures the Finn is facing from rumours George Russell is waiting to take his seat. He’s out-qualified his teammate on three occasions including a pole in Portugal, but needs to up his race craft to be in with a remote chance of keeping his seat.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen – A
This has been the year the Dutchman has come into his own. He came into the 2021 season more mature, racier and hungrier for race wins. While Hamilton’s errors have led to dropped points, Verstappen has hardly put a foot wrong this season. His crash in Azerbaijan was the fault of a tyre blowout, and he was taken out by both Mercedes drivers in the last two races before the break. Barring those three results, he’s been on the top two steps of the podium at every race. Credit must also go to Red Bull’s strategists, who set up phenomenal races in Bahrain and France.
Sergio Perez – C
A big step up for Perez this season. He was looking at a season with no racing, but instead finds himself a vital component in Red Bull’s title charge. In a car that’s notoriously difficult to drive, Perez has had some stellar moments in the first half of the year. Qualifying within half-a-tenth of a second of pole at Imola showed he meant business. And he kept his cool during a hectic final two laps at Baku to take his first win for the Milton Keynes-based team. But like Bottas, Red Bull will need Perez to be knocking on the podium far more often in the second half of the year. He may be the best number two driver they’ve had since Verstappen himself, but there’s still room for improvement.
McLaren
Lando Norris – A
This is the big coming-of-age story in Formula 1 this season. Norris showed potential in his first couple of seasons, but he’s been nothing short of the most impressive driver on the grid this year. Until he was unceremoniously taken out by Bottas in Hungary, he was the only driver to score in every Grands Prix this year. Podiums in Imola, Monaco and Austria have seen him maintain a stellar 3rd place in the drivers’ standings. His performances have certainly turned heads in the paddock, but his long-term commitment to McLaren shows his faith that the team can provide a championship-challenging car. And he’s the man to push the team closer to a title push.
Daniel Ricciardo – D
It’s always tricky getting to grips with new machinery. But a seasoned driver like Ricciardo should have settled into the Papaya car much quicker than he has. He’s driven for four teams before his move in Woking, but this has been one of his most disappointing starts to a season in years. Especially while his teammate is enjoying such successes. He’s regularly failed to get his car out of Q2, and even failed to get out of Q1 in Portugal. Despite this, he has finished in the point on all but three occasions – so the race pace is there. Who knows what could have happened in Hungary had he not been taken out by Charles Leclerc with a clear road into P2?
Aston Martin
Lance Stroll – C
Stroll came into 2021 off the back of an incredible season, with two podiums and a pole position to his name. With Sebastian Vettel by his side to learn from, he’s failed to live up to expectations, with 8th being his highest finish of the year. While his retirement at Azerbaijan wasn’t his fault – and he was on for his best performance of the year – his crash in Hungary certainly was. Work to do for the Canadian.
Sebastian Vettel – C
To be fair to Stroll, Vettel has only had a marginally better year. Stroll has finished in the points on six occasions, with a best finish of 8th. But Seb has only had three points finishes, but one of those was a right-place, right-time 2nd in Azerbaijan. And Vettel was unlucky to lose his 2nd place in an incredible Hungary race. He proved he’s still as racey as ever at the Hungaroring, but needs more consistent performances in his Aston Martin.
Alpine
Esteban Ocon – B
Undoubtedly the best moment of his career, Ocon’s victory in Hungary was incredible. While he may have lucked out with Nicholas Latifi holding the field up behind him, he masterfully held off Sebastian Vettel to take a magnificent victory. It came at a time where he needed a boost in form; the Frenchman has struggled to push for Q3 throughout the season. The French team will be hoping the unexpected victory will herald in a revitalised Ocon in the second term of the year.
Fernando Alonso – C
There were questions to be answered about whether Fernando Alonso could come back strong after two years out. He has proved that there’s life in the old dog, yet. He has impressed in qualifying, failed to finish in the point only three times, and masterfully defended from Lewis Hamilton in Hungary to set up a victory for his teammate. The experienced Spaniard will be pleased with his opening few races, as the team sit in front of AlphaTauri and Aston Martin in the constructors’ standings.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc – B
A few flourishes of brilliance have defined Charles Leclerc’s season. He stuck his Ferrari on pole twice in Monaco and Baku, but couldn’t convert either in the race. His finest moment, though, was his brilliant drive at Silverstone. He drove through the carnage Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen left, and was just a few laps from victory before he was caught. It’s an improvement on last season, but still, a lot of ground for Ferrari to catch up.
Carlos Sainz – B
Sainz struggled to match his teammate throughout the opening rounds of the season, but brought home two podiums for the Scuderia. But despite a few great finishes, he has only out-qualified his teammate on 3 occasions. Nonetheless, Ferrari has found consistency with both drivers that rivals McLaren haven’t, and that could give them the edge at the end of the year.
AlphaTauri
Pierre Gasly – B
AlphaTauri was hotly tipped to be the surprise package this year. And Gasly has shown the car does have the pace to compete in the midfield. He was also in the right place in Baku to pick up his only podium and has strung together a positive run of results. Perhaps the team hasn’t made the gains it had hoped for, but despite his setbacks, Gasly continues to prove his abilities as one of the grid’s most exciting talents.
Yuki Tsunoda – D
Perhaps predictably, Yuki Tsunoda’s rushed promotions through the ranks of the Formulas hit a bit of a wall when he reached Formula 1. While he had impressive years on F3 and F2, Formula 1 is a different ball game. He’s struggled to get to grips with the car that’s resulted in a few embarrassing moments. Tsunoda has been unsettled, with a move from Milton Keynes to Faenza initiated to help focus the young driver. But he will have to pick up the pace if he wants to stay in the good books of Helmut Marko and co.
Alfa Romeo
Kimi Raikkonen – D
It’s not unusual for Kimi Raikkonen to cut a stoic figure. His no-nonsense reputation is what sets him apart from the rest of the grid. But this year the Finnish driver has simply looked uninterested in racing hard. He’s been out-qualified by his teammate on seven occasions this year, and seemed to have lost some of that raw drive that saw him at the front end of the pack a few times in 2020.
Antonio Giovinazzi – C
On the other side of the garage, Antonio Giovinazzi is finally starting to prove why he’s worthy of the Sauber seat. He has picked up his pace and enjoyed some fine qualifying performances in Monaco and Bahrain. But the race pace still isn’t quite there, and with a few Ferrari juniors knocking on the door for this seat, the Italian will be looking to add plenty more point finishes than his sole 10th place in Monaco.
Haas
Mick Schumacher – C
Both Haas rookies have had a baptism of fire getting used to a difficult-to-handle machine in 2021. Schumacher has easily been the better of the two, despite not finding it easy. Crashing under the safety car in Imola was a low moment, and he has crashed out of qualifying in France, with big shunts in FP3 in Monaco and Hungary ruining his qualifying chances. However, in the crazy Hungarian race, he showed some of his fighting know-how against the likes of Max Verstappen. A sign of things to come? Maybe, but probably not this year.
Nikita Mazepin – E
Mazepin has done his reputation no favours this season. While his spin at turn 3 in Bahrain was a low moment, he’s consistently finished behind his teammate. And at Baku, we caught a glimpse of the hot-headed Mazepin we saw in F2 as he dangerously pulled over to attempt to block his teammate from overtaking him on the line. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but the question is whether he has the skill to close the gap.
Williams
George Russell – A
George Russell has had a fantastic year. Not only has he put the Williams into Q2 at every race this year bar one, stunning laps in Austria and Britain saw him drag the car into Q3. He was bitterly unlucky not to hold on to a place in the points in either race, which is a shame. The points did eventually come at the crazy Hungaroring race, but it would have been nice to see them scored entirely on merit and race pace with a fuller field. That said, he is another driver maturing, and looks ready to take a big step in his career at the end of the year.
Nicholas Latifi – C
While Latifi did get more points on the board than his teammate, he’s hardly been able to match Russel for quali or race pace. Russell has out-qualified Latifi in every single round, as he did in 2020. With Williams stating they’re not looking for ‘pay drivers’ in the system anymore, unless he produces the goods, he could be saying goodbye to his Formula 1 career after this year.