Feature

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix

George Russell (P2, 9 pts): 10/10
As it became increasingly clear on Sunday that the race wasn't going to happen, many people's thoughts turned to George Russell and commented on how it looked like he was going to get no reward for what had been one of the most phenomenal qualifying laps of the season, if not the last decade. To put the Williams legitimately on the front row of the grid had been an insanely brilliant achievement. Actually holding on to points in race trim was always going to be a tough challenge, but at least there was a chance. However an outright cancellation would have made it all academic and left Russell's lap a mere footnote in the record books known only to the cognoscenti. So if nothing else good came out of Sunday, the fact that the chaotic events in Spa and those laps behind the safety car handed him his first official podium is a true reason to rejoice. If this doesn't persuade Mercedes to hand over the keys to the kingdom in 2022, nothing will.

Max Verstappen (Pole, P1, 12.5 pts): 9.5/10
Max Verstappen was somewhat despondent to lose the lead of the drivers championship in the last race before the summer shutdown, and after recharging his batteries he was determined to come back swinging and reset his campaign in Spa this weekend. He did absolutely everything possible (and more, as evidenced by his crash at the end of FP2), but the weather meant that he came away with the job only half done: the two-lap race resulted in only half points being awarded at the end of the day, leaving Verstappen still three points in arrears of Lewis Hamilton in the standings. Even though in the process he clinched his first career win at Spa- his favourite circuit on the calendar and virtually a home race for him, having been born just 60km sway - the safety car parade was not the way he would have wanted to do it. He'd earned it thanks to a terrific, perfectly timed final lap in qualifying the previous day, but it's still a day and a result he'll file and forget as he looks forward to his true home race next week in Zandvoort.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.