Max Verstappen (P6, 13 pts): 6.5/10
Yes, you read that rating right. Sorry Max fans, but we really don't think this was a good weekend for Verstappen; in fact it was surely his worst race of the season, which is why he scores badly against the established standard we've come to expect. He didn't lead a single session in Brazil, although in fairness he was only 0.008s off Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez in first practice. He then missed out on pole position in qualifying, and while some of that was down to weather and lucky timing it was still unusual to see him unable to catch a Haas when it counted. He appeared to put that right at the start of the sprint race, but he had opted for a set of mediums while everyone else around was on softs and that cost him as the race wore on (although quite why, we're not sure). After a protracted fight, he lost the lead to George Russell and then had his front wing damaged by Carlos Sainz. It left him fourth on the grid for the Grand Prix, and when the race resumed after an early safety car he went wheel-to-wheel with his old nemesis Lewis Hamilton with contact being made. It left him with damage requiring a trip to pit lane, and a five second penalty from the stewards for causing the collision. Naturally Verstappen didn't accept he was to blame, he never does. The rest of the race was spent on damage limitation, but it took longer to work his way forward because of the damage to the RB18. With six laps to go the team allowed him to pass Perez to put his fresher tyres to catch Alonso, but it didn't pay off. And when it came time to hand the place back to Perez before the finish as agreed, Verstappen refused the team order point blank. That caused many jaws to drop in the paddock and left him being accused of poor sportsmanship, and for that alone he's been docked a further full point in the F1i ratings.
Fernando Alonso (P5, 10 pts): 8.5/10
There was no doubt that Fernando Alonso was in fighting form this weekend - perhaps a little too much so at times. he was 11th in first practice suggesting he might struggle to reach the final round of qualifying, but when it came to it he did so with ease and was a strong contender to pick up pole, only to be thwarted by the rain picking up. "When it started raining, it was always going to be a benefit to the ones at the front of the queue," he said. "We probably missed a chance to start higher up for the sprint." Saturday saw him clash with his Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon twice in one lap, invoking a furious response from boss Otmar Szafnauer raging that he expected better from both of them in their constructors battle with McLaren. Alonso and Ocon started Sunday's race outside the top ten, with Alonso the first to make a scheduled pit stop on lap 14 which put him off-sync with the front runners - a tactic that succeeded in advancing him to fifth place before the second safety car. Alonso took advantage of this to pit for a third time for new softs, and this gave him the speed he needed to rush past Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez in the remaining laps to cross the line in fifth place. The fight left in this old dog must never be underestimated!
