F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2022 Saudi Arabia GP

Lewis Hamilton (P10, 1 pt): 6/10
When Formula 1 overhauled its rules and regulations for 2022 to tighten up the competition, no one imagined the impact it would have on the reigning constructors champions Mercedes or their iconic star driver Lewis Hamilton. Bahrain had been bad enough, but at least he finished on the podium thanks to the late retirements of the two Red Bulls. There was no such reprieve for Hamilton this weekend, who started off with P9 in FP1, peaked in P5 in the evening before dropping out of the top ten in final practice. Even so, nobody expected Hamilton to miss the cut at the end of the first round of qualifying for the first time since Brazil 2017. And it couldn't all simply be blamed on the car, with George Russell making it all the way to Q3 to pick up sixth place on the grid. Hamilton said the team had tried an aggressive set-up approach that simply hadn't worked, and in the race he started on the hard compound tyres in the hope of getting some sort of strategic advantage. Unfortunately an early safety car helped his rivals make a 'free' stop to exchange mediums for hards which negated any advantage his strategy had offered, and when it came to his own stop later in the race there was some momentary hesitation on the team's part that meant he failed to respond to an outbreak of multiple retirements before the Virtual Safety Car and pit lane entry was closed, meaning he had to wait for the restart to make his stop. What has looked like being another top six lucky escape instead became a single point for tenth, and the gloom at Mercedes just got deeper.

Kevin Magnussen (P9, 2 pts): 7.5/10
This might not have been the dream outing that Kevin Magnussen had experienced last week in his return to F1 after a year's hiatus, but the Dane would have all-but chewed off a limb for a second consecutive points-scoring race in his previous tenure with Haas. It's especially commendable given that the team was knocked off balance by Mick Schumacher's huge accident in qualifying, which must have been a big distraction as they anxiously awaited word from the medical centre. Before that, all the drama had been on Magnussen's side of the garage with persistent technical issues limiting his running in both FP1 and FP2. He rebounded from that with eighth in final practice and then swept into the final round of qualifying like it had never been in doubt. He was one of three drivers to start the race on the hard tyres, and consolidated his position with an early pass on Pierre Gasly to run in ninth place. He stayed out while the medium-shod cars pitted under a safety car to take the restart in sixth, where he battled with Lewis Hamilton - and the Haas proved up to the challenge with more than enough pace to thwart the Mercedes. Eventually he had to yield and spent the next 14 laps in seventh; a Virtual Safety Car on lap 38 enabled him to make his own stop at last, and a quick pass on Lance Stroll put him up to ninth which he successfully defended to the line from a frustrated Hamilton.