Feature

F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2023 Japanese GP

Valtteri Bottas (Lap 8, Accident damage): 5/10
Alfa Romeo is still firmly stuck in the doldrums as the final weeks of its current incarnation run down, but there were some glimmers of hope in Japan with Valtteri Bottas making decent progress though the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. Making the top ten might have been seemed a bit ambitious, but it wasn't totally out of the question. Failing to make the cut at the end of Q1 was therefore a big disappointment, and it left the Finn lining up on the grid in 16th place on Sunday. That's the sort of neighbourhood that can see you caught up in all sorts of trouble when the lights went out, and so it was here when he was disastrously squeezed between Esteban Ocon and Alexander Albon. After repairs, he was then taken out with extreme prejudice by Logan Sargeant. What Bottas has done to deserve this onslaught of bad luck is a mystery to us - and to him.

Sergio Perez (Lap 16, Accident damage): 3.5/10
Let's start with a look at all the good things that Sergio Perez managed this weekend at Suzuka. Go on, we'll wait. All done? We suppose that we should give him credit for making slow progress through the three practice sessions, but by FP3 he was still only fourth and 0.737s behind his Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen. He started the race from fifth place sandwiched between the two Ferraris, but in fact it was Lewis Hamilton with whom he clashed on the opening lap leaving him with a damaged front wing forcing an early stop. He then overtook Fernando Alonso behind the safety car to earn a penalty, and he seemed to lack composure when he speared Kevin Magnussen's Haas into a spin. Having retired due to the damage, there was then the surreal corollary when he came back out an track an hour later to serve an outstanding penalty so that it didn't carry over to Qatar, making a mockery of the FIA rules. The governing body was not laughing, and Perez was lucky to escape the fiasco with a mere four point penalty.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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.

Recent Posts

McLaren: Team orders always ‘make life difficult for ourselves’

McLaren's successful 1-2 finish in the Brazilian Sprint race came with a dose of complexity,…

2 hours ago

Verstappen demoted to P4 following VSC infringement in Sprint

Max Verstappen has been demoted from third to fourth in the final standings of Saturday’s…

3 hours ago

Norris thanks Piastri for handing Sprint win, but not ‘proud’

Lando Norris secured victory in Saturday’s Sprint event in Sao Paulo thanks to a McLaren…

4 hours ago

São Paulo GP: Norris handed sprint win by Piastri

McLaren clinched a valuable 1-2 sweep of the São Paulo sprint race, with polesitter Oscar…

5 hours ago

2024 São Paulo Grand Prix - Sprint Race results

Full results from the Sprint race for the São Paulo Grand Prix at São Paulo,…

5 hours ago

Aston’s Alonso and Stroll to start Sao Paulo Sprint from pitlane

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will start Saturday's sprint race at Interlagos from the pitlane…

6 hours ago