Austrian GP driver ratings: Max Verstappen rating takes big hit with costly mistake

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris collided to give George Russell an unlikely win but how did they and the other drivers fare?

Both Norris and Verstappen will have been dreaming of that win before their incident but what score did we give them after their crash?

Driver ratings for the 2024 Austrian Grand Prix

George Russell 8.5

You have to be in it to win it they say and George Russell was in the right place at the right time. But saying it was all luck would not be fair to Russell who drove a fine race of his own which would have earned him a podium regardless of what happened ahead of him.

His hardest task appeared to be fending off Hamilton early on but he did so and was then able to stay in the hunt, albeit a long way off the two leaders.

And then it happened. P1 and P2 crashed meaning Russell earned his second F1 victory in a manner no one saw coming.

Oscar Piastri 9

The main focus is unsurprisingly on the other side of the McLaren garage but Oscar Piastri had an excellent race.

A small (but fair) track limits breach in quali sent him down to P7 meaning finishing on the podium represents an excellent recovery drive.

He will rue the win he missed out on had he started P3 but there is also no guarantee he would have been spared being involved in a similar clash with either Norris or Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz 8

A good result for Carlos Sainz who was another beneficiary of the Verstappen/Norris crash.

Given the pace of McLaren, Ferrari are in a real battle for P2 and this podium may well prove vital come the end of the season.

Lewis Hamilton 7.5

A good race for Hamilton but Russell had the beating of him.

Finishing P4 is not quite the podium of Spain last time out but another step in the right direction for him and the team.

Max Verstappen 6.5

Stupid? Hard racing? Typical Max Verstappen? The opinion will be different whomever you ask but as the stewards determined, it was the Dutchman’s fault.

For the first time in a long time, he had a quick driver breathing down his neck and the frustration of poor tyre wear and a slow pit stop appeared to boil over with some controversial tactics that we have not seen from Verstappen since 2021.

Some will see this as a perfect example to go after what they consider a typical Verstappen shunt but it was a moment of fine margins and not one to put him in the stocks for.

It cost him a race win and it cost Norris the chance of one – but let’s not forget it is not always easy to keep calm while driving at 200mph.

Nico Hulkenberg 8.5

A good quali finally resulted in a healthy chunk of points for Hulkenberg, albeit with one car ahead of him retiring.

He got past his team-mate in one of the fiercer battles of the race session and afterwards he was also able to finish ahead of Sergio Perez due to the Mexican’s penalty.

Sergio Perez 5

On the rare occasion, Max Verstappen will not be able to carry Red Bull and this is exactly when they need Sergio Perez – but where was the Mexican? Down in seventh.

Finishing behind a Haas is a statement enough and this form is simply not good enough from Perez. Damaged car or not.

Kevin Magnussen 8

Was slightly annoyed to have been told to save his tyres as Hulkenberg went by but the Dane would have been less peeved if he was told patience would earn him a P8.

Haas have looked quick this weekend so coming away with more points than any other midfield outfit is a just reward.

Daniel Ricciardo 8

A notable improvement from last time out in Spain with Daniel Ricciardo in the points once again.

It is the fourth time he has beaten Tsunoda this season and the team-mate tussle at RB is looking closer now than it has done for a while.

Pierre Gasly 7.5

“Ciao!” Gasly happily exclaimed after he put his team-mate firmly in his rear view mirror but it was a battle that would have had some in the Alpine garage peeking through their fingers.

But Gasly, as he has done often this season, proved his skill over Esteban Ocon and earned another point for his tally.

Charles Leclerc 7.5

His race started in the worst possible manner when he was sandwiched going into Turn 1 and it gave him damage, resulting in a very early pit stop.

Despite this, his engineer was confident a points finish was on the cards and even if that was not quite the case, P11 was a good recovery.

Esteban Ocon 6.5

Ocon is certainly not afraid to burn some bridges at Alpine as he heads for the exit door. With his team-mate quicker behind him, it would have been advisable to let him go and focus on his own race but Ocon was insistent on running Gasly close.

It could have been the Norris/Verstappen incident before the real thing but Gasly did well to avoid his team-mate.

The end result was Gasly up in 10th and Ocon out of the points.

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Lance Stroll 6

Beat his team-mate but that was about all. It is easy to blame Stroll at times but not really his fault on this occasion as the Aston car is just not quick enough at the moment.

Yuki Tsunoda 6

One to move on from for Tsunoda who was beaten by his team-mate pretty comfortably in the race.

The RB car had more pace in Austria than it did in Spain but it was still not enough to fight for points in what is a very competitive midfield.

Alex Albon 6

A case of damage limitation for Williams this weekend with the team admitting the car was slow at this circuit.

Changes made ahead of the sprint helped somewhat but it was not enough to allow Alex Albon to trouble the points.

Valtteri Bottas 6

Beat his team-mate but that is about it for Valtteri Bottas, who does not have the tools underneath him to do much better.

Zhou Guanyu 6

Was punted by Alonso from behind having recovered somewhat since his pit lane start. Still though, the Stake car is one of, if not the, slowest cars in the field.

Fernando Alonso 4.5

An off weekend for Alonso which was summed up by him crashing into the back fo Zhou Gunayu going into Turn 4.

He was given a 10-second penalty by his old friend Johnny Herbert but even if he went without that punishment, there is not much to suggest this Aston car could have challenged for the points this weekend.

Logan Sargeant 3.5

No speed at all. Lapped twice by the leader and finished plum last.

Did not finish

Lando Norris 7.5

Could he have done more to avoid contact? Maybe. But he had every right to go for it. Fights for the lead often result in moments like this. The reward is so high that drivers perhaps feel more emboldened to risk it.

Norris’ frustration would have been building for a few laps with some questionable moves from Verstappen but his overtake was a clean one and one that should have seen him take the lead.

In the end, minimal contact had a major impact with Norris out of the race and his main title rival moving further ahead in the standings.

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