F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2023 Italian GP

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23 leads at the start of the race. 03.09.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 15, Italian Grand Prix, Monza, Italy, Race Day. - www.xpbimages.com, EMail: requests@xpbimages.com © Copyright: Batchelor / XPB Images'
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The Tifosi may have dared to dream this weekend, but in the end the cold hard reality of Red Bull's imperious form could not be denied as Max Verstappen stormed to a record victory. But Ferrari certainly didn't make it easy for the bulls, and the battle over the remaining podium spot between Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc was a highlight of the season and ensures they get high ratings this week.

Yuki Tsunoda (Did not start): 6/10
How so you come up with a rating for a driver who didn't even make it to the starting grid? Fortunately our scores range over the whole weekend, not just Sunday, so we can give the AlphaTauri driver credit for being P8 in FP1 and for beating his stand-in team mate Liam Lawson again in FP2. Lawson was a thousandth quicker in final practice and the pair were still very close in qualifying, and to be honest we'd expect Tsunoda to be further ahead of the new boy at this stage. The race was his chance to put the newbie back in his box and reaffirm his own credentials as team leader, which is why the DNS is so painful.

Esteban Ocon (Retired, Lap 40): 5.5/10
Despite things briefly perking up for Alpine last time out in Zandvoort, this week demonstrated that firing your senior management team before the summer break is not in fact a panacea that will cure all that ails you, because this was a terrible weekend for the team. Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly failed to make it beyond the first round of qualifying, and while an impressive 24-lap first stint on medium tyres saw Ocon peak in tenth he was soon labouring at the back alongside the likes of Gasly, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll. It was simply the truth of Alpine's situation at Monza. In many ways it was a mercy killing when a steering issue forced the team to retire the car on lap 40.