Welcome to the fourth edition of my F1 driver POWER rankings list. I hope you enjoyed my previous edition after the Portuguese Grand Prix but if you didn’t get around to reading it and don’t want any spoilers, you can find it here.
The second part of the Iberian doubleheader at the Spanish Grand Prix was a mirror image of its predecessor, as all the excitement – apart from some nice first lap overtakes – happened in the second half of the race compared to the opposite in Portugal. Logically. A race once again dominated by Hamilton-Verstappen story lines did not pack action around the processional Catalunya circuit but there were some fights and some outstanding performances. Surprisingly, there was a genuine tyre strategy conundrum to be solved with the two stop seemingly the way to go on the day, but for some they figured it out one lap too late.
After Spanish Grand Prix (4 of 23)
1. Lewis Hamilton (-+)
Another race where the results do not tell the whole story for Hamilton. This win came through a combination of his speed and a clever strategy decision from the Mercedes pit wall. In a very similar occurrence to Hungary 2019, Mercedes pulled Hamilton in for a second pit stop after it looked like he would be stuck behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Like 2019, he went on to catch back up and pass the stranded Dutchman with 5 laps to go. Mercedes used the gap behind, that Red Bull hope will be filled by Sergio Perez ASAP, to find an advantage to give Hamilton the opportunity to pass, which he took. A fantastic team win for Hamilton & Mercedes on a day where they had the fastest car but had to get aggressive to make it work. This was Hamilton’s fifth win in a row in Spain, equaling his hero Ayrton Senna’s record for most consecutive wins around a specific track; his being around the streets of Monaco. Another record for Hamilton to add to the collection.
2. Max Verstappen (-+)
A very aggressive overtake into the first corner gave him the lead he missed out on in qualifying by six one hundredths of a second, to set up an interesting battle at the front in Spain. His overtake did require a compliant Hamilton, who could have turned in and caused a collision but the gap was there to attack. It was borderline-hard, clean racing which is what you expect from the Dutchman. Verstappen was able to keep Hamilton behind during the first round of pit-stops, after an uncharacteristically slow one from the Red Bull boys, as Mercedes decided to stretch out the first stint. However, once Mercedes made the late decision to pit Hamilton for the second time on Lap 42, Max was in no man’s land as the powerful undercut (when the car behind pits earlier, puts fresh tyres on so goes faster than the car in front on worn tyres, who then pits but comes out behind due to this time differential) meant pitting would have forfeited track position. As a result, he had to eek out as much performance as possible from his older tyres without losing too much time and then trying to keep Hamilton behind when he inevitably caught up. This felt like Formula 1’s very own Catch 22, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Max can be happy with P2 though as he pushed Hamilton all the way on a track he and Mercedes have dominated at in the Hybrid Era. It keeps him in the title fight and I am sure he is relishing the challenge of Monaco next, a track he is yet to conquer.
3. Charles Leclerc (+)
It is only fair that the Monegasque driver jumps ahead of Norris this week such is the standard required at the top and I think Charles pretty much aced his weekend. He qualified a mighty P4 on the grid and then pulled off the overtake of the day around the outside of Bottas at Turn 3 on Lap 1, which screamed Alonso 2013 in a similar red Prancing Horse. His race pace was then so strong throughout he kept his starting spot of 4th and finished 18 seconds ahead of his main championship rivals. He is looking like the complete driver who is at one with his machinery at the start of this 2021 season. What a difference 6 months make for the Scuderia. If Leclerc can get on the podium at his home Monaco race, I think it would genuinely be a universally celebrated event.
4. Lando Norris (-1)
For the first time this season, Norris had a so-so weekend. It sounds like McLaren knew they would struggle more around the Circuit de Catalunya than the previous tracks and Lando did not have the cleanest weekend to compound issues. He was blocked off in Q1 by Mazipin so used up his extra pair of soft tyres. This would hamper him in Q3 as he could only complete one lap with fresh tyres, compared to two for his competitors and the best conditions had already past when he completed that lap. He lined up 9th and with some nice strategy decisions from McLaren he was able to pass Ocon in the final stages to grab 8th. However he never looked on the leading midfield pace on Sunday and lost third in the championship to Bottas.
5. Lance Stroll (+1)
Stroll had to battle hard to go home with nothing from Barcelona. He missed out on Q3 by eight one hundredths of a second and was smelling a point until it was cruelly taken away by Pierre Gasly with 3 laps to go. Lance is still the Aston Martin driver getting the most out of this car and showed off his overtaking prowess with a couple of moves on Alonso. The first was a lovely case of car positioning and forward planning as Stroll switched from attacking the inside to the outside in the Turn 4 braking zone, which then switched into the inside and dominant line running down the hill into Turn 5.
6. Daniel Ricciardo (+3)
A very important weekend for the confidence of Daniel Ricciardo and one for him to say ‘Remember me?’ to the F1 world. He has been thoroughly out driven by Norris in the first three events but a return to familiar surroundings for the smiley Aussie bucked that trend. He got faster in every qualifying session to secure 7th on the grid and really helped his race by moving forward at the start by smartly going around the outside as the pack pinched into Turn 1. He eventually lost a position to Perez but held off Sainz on faster tyres to come home in 6th. It wasn’t a flashy performance but Daniel efficiently got the job done to help McLaren have their best points total to start a season since 2012.
7. Sergio Perez (-2)
Perez drops on this list on a weekend where he was most conspicuous in his absence for the fight that arguably cost his team a win in Spain. In Q3 on Saturday, he ran wide at the entry into the last chicane, touched the gravel trap and spun. This cost him a timed lap when conditions were at their best and he ran out of tyres on his final attempt to line up 8th. He started well to jump up to 6th but it took him too long to get past Ricciardo and wasn’t around to help his teammate in the fight for the win. Red Bull need Perez to be in the pit stop window of the Mercedes – at the very least – so they aren’t able to use the tactic seen on Sunday to race-winning effect. The worrying thing about the mistake in Qualifying is that you can’t blame it on the transition to a new team and car, it was a bit of a clumsy unforced error. This is the sign of a driver starting to over-drive, which became his predecessors’ issue as well.
8. Pierre Gasly (-1)
Pierre moves down this list through no fault of his own. His car isn’t quite showing the speed that it promised in the pre-season and half of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend but Pierre is keeping it in the fight. He was out of the points pretty much all weekend until a storming last stint on the red soft tyres grabbed a point off of Lance Stroll. Gasly used a slow Alonso to gain on the pack but some opportunistic overtakes helped him gain positions quickly from 15th. He was also the only driver to overtake at Turn 10 (not counting Hamilton on Bottas) so an extra driver point for that. Its no coincidence that Gasly’s name shows up in the points most weeks in such a tight midfield battle.
9. Carlos Sainz (-1)
Carlos also moves down through no fault of his own, it was mainly just a great weekend for Ricciardo. He is showing good pace in this Ferrari and seems the driver in a new team who is generally most comfortable. He qualified a great 6th but couldn’t repeat the result on Sunday with a 7th place finish. He got pinched on the inside of Turn 1 so lost a few places but battled back well with some good strategy and as always with Carlos in the last few years – strong, consistent race pace.
10. Esteban Ocon (+1)
Ocon continues to rise and has now jumped his teammate on this list. He seems more on top of this car than Alonso and the updates they brought to the last two races seem to be working. A really strong result in qualifying for P5 on the grid shows the raw pace in the car around a track that shows chassis strength, but unfortunately for Ocon he was caught out on the slower one stop strategy and fell late in the race to come home 9th. While he is probably disappointed in ninth, this shows the ever changing nature of F1 expectations as he would have bitten your hand off for that result in the first two races of the season.
11. Fernando Alonso (-1)
Fernando was in amongst the action on Sunday but unfortunately for him the action was people overtaking him. A lockup into Turn 1 at the safety car restart invited pressure from Stroll which resulted in him losing a place, and he was the cork in the bottle for the late race midfield action. This is the second weekend that Ocon has been noticeably quicker but even 2-time World Champions take time to adjust to their new surroundings. Fernando crossed the line 17th trying to make the one stop work but maybe he just a bit slow realising that the tyres weren’t going to make it. He ran in 10th, where he started, for a long time but once he lost one position they fell like dominoes, and a late pitstop finished his day. This will be classed as an information gathering weekend in the archive of Fernando Alonso’s career.
12. George Russell (-+)
No Saturday magic this weekend for George but some nice sleight of hand to get through to Q2, beating an Alpha Tauri in the process. Williams were one of the few to take advantage of the safety car, pitting both cars on Lap 9 and putting them on essentially a one-stop strategy but out of sync with the rest of the field. Russell’s pace gave him track position when others made their second stop under race conditions and won himself the first crack at Alonso’s 10th place. On Lap 60 he was pressurising Alonso for the last point but a horror couple of laps saw him drop to 15th by Lap 62 as this draggy Williams is still a bit weak in a fight. He continues to keep Williams in and around the action.
13. Kimi Raikkonen (-+)
No points for Raikkonen in Barcelona but a race where, once again, he has moved forward and, like Russell above, got himself in and around the action. Also like Russell, the car’s pace meant points were out of reach realistically for the Finn. He was knocked out of Q1 and outqualified by his teammate, but, as has been his forte recently he finished Sunday the leading Alfa Romeo. Not much else to say about the understated legend.
14. Sebastian Vettel (+2)
Sebastian rises two stops on this list because there are signs of improvement from this driver-car combination. While they are small steps – Vettel started and finished the race 13th – he looked more comfortable and showed some fight. Exhibit A would be some quick thinking to turn pressure from Gasly into overtaking Giovinazzi on Lap 30 into Turn 5. He is still a step behind his teammate but this was another step in the right direction after Portugal.
15. Valtteri Bottas (-+)
This is going to get old quickly me saying Valterri was just not quick enough on Sunday but it happened again in Spain. He has the speed to have a chance for pole but he gets left behind when it matters. I have seen people compare the Bottas and Perez situations but I disagree with the validity of that comparison. Bottas has had 4 years to prove he is quick enough, while Perez has had 4 races. Unfortunately for Bottas, he hasn’t proved it. His behaviour when asked to not hold up Hamilton in the race won’t help his relationship with his current employer – but did save face. It feels like everyone knows that he won’t be back at Mercedes next year so is this the start of Bottas truly driving for himself and his F1 future?
16. Mick Schumacher (+2)
Mick gets his recognition with a 2-place rise on this list after Spain. He is taking control of this Haas team in the public eye as his teammate is only getting bad press and Mick is seen as the early shining light of hope. He is looking professional and assured on the track which is backing up this image. The car isn’t letting them be relevant at the moment but Mick has been the most impressive rookie so far, so had to jump ahead of Tsunado.
17. Yuki Tsunoda (-3)
Not the weekend Yuki was looking for in Spain as he was knocked out in Q1 and then retired on Lap 8 after an engine shutdown. He can’t be blamed for the shutdown, unless he is keeping taking the key out a secret, but not much pace shown all weekend really. He is making more waves for his radio profanities than his on-track prowess at the moment, which is never good. Still lots of driving and learning to do for Yuki this year.
18. Antonio Giovinazzi (-1)
Giovinazzi drops again after a down weekend in Barcelona. He did outqualify Kimi but fell back in the race to finish 15th after getting caught at the back of some DRS trains. We didn’t see much of him on Sunday so moves down mainly through good work from others needing some recognition.
19. Nicolas Latifi (-+)
Latifi is starting to look alive in this Williams. He is still some way off Russell but he did shadow his team leader for quite a lot of Sunday’s race. However, the gap in pace meant Latifi was at the back of the Alonso train while George was at the front of it. He did finish in front of Alonso to come 16th so that’s got to feel good and give him confidence to join the fight.
20. Nikita Mazipin (-+)
Mazipin is getting hit from all angles at the moment. You can now add Toto Wolff to the list of ‘complainers’ after he took an age to move out of Hamilton’s way while being lapped. The spinning is definitely slowing but he is looking more of a hazard than an F1 driver at the moment. He may just not be ready for Formula 1 but has been promoted to help the Haas team survive with the money he brings in.
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