F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2023 Azerbaijan GP

Max Verstappen (SP3, P2, 24 pts): 8.5/10
While a perfectly respectable weekend, this was not quite a vintage performance from the reigning world champion, who for once came away from Baku without either pole positions or race wins. He was quickest in the sole practice session by 0.037s from Leclerc but ended up being out-classed by the Monegasque in qualifying later in the day. He slipped to third on the grid after the sprint showdown, and clashed with George Russell when the lights went out for the sprint itself later in the day. He remonstrated with the Mercedes driver afterwards in a "how dare you try and fight back against me?" manner that's becoming a bit too familiar of late, although he soon calmed down and regarded it as more like a racing incident. He also tried to put a brave face on ending up second on Sunday: while Sergio Perez had undoubtedly driven brilliantly to claim the win, Verstappen had every reason to be annoyed by the way a mistake on the timing of his pit stop cost him the lead and victory through no fault of his own.

Sergio Perez (SP1, P1, 33 pts): 9.5/10
It was a very impressive weekend for Sergio Perez, who'd set himself the objective of earning maximum points in Baku to make up for the disappointment of Melbourne. And that's exactly what he achieved, with impressive fault-free victories in both the sprint race and the Grand Prix earning him the title of current street circuit king of F1. The only thing stopping him from getting a perfect ten from us this week is the fact that he didn't manage to top practice, the sprint showdown or qualifying, but he was always right there in the mix in the top three in every session. Perhaps his most impressive moment over the weekend was the way he managed the race on Sunday following the restart, pulling away from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc without cooking his tyres in the process and then ensuring that his team mate stayed firmly out of DRS range. Not only did it mean that he couldn't present a threat on track, it also meant there was no possibility of a call to the Red Bull pit wall pleading for team orders to be invoked. There was simply no arguing with Checo when it came the race track this weekend.