F1i Ratings: Our top drivers of the 2023 season

Round 1: Bahrain

F1i's driver of the weekend: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 10/10

Red Bull's 2023 campaign got off to the best possible start, with Max Verstappen claiming victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix and team mate Sergio Perez joining him on the podium in second place after Charles Leclerc suffered a loss of power on lap 40. The big shock was Fernando Alonso barnstorming his way to third place despite clashing with his Aston Martin team mate Lance Stroll on the first lap. after thrilling battles with Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton,

Perhaps surprisingly, we chose Alonso as our driver of the Bahrain weekend over race winner Max Verstappen, giving the Spaniard a perfect score of 10 compared to 9.5 for the Red Bull driver. Sergio Perez and Alpine's Pierre Gasly were some way back, tied on 8.5 for third place.

"So much of the chatter heading into the Bahrain GP was about Aston Martin, and whether the impressive pace shown in pre-season testing was a real thing or a desert mirage," we explained in the F1i Ratings on the Monday after the race.

"Most people decided that it had been some sort of trick caused by low fuel loads or by rival teams 'sandbagging'. They expected Aston to drop away when it got to the race weekend and things got serious, because teams from the back simply don't make up that sort of ground on the leading squads over a single off-season - even if they've recruited one of the top F1 driving talents of the last two decades.

"Most people were therefore dumbfounded when Alonso finished Friday practice on top. They were reassured by the Spaniard 'only' qualifying in fifth (nonetheless still ahead of both Mercedes) since at least that meant he had little chance to claim a podium. That was even clearer when Alonso lost out to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at the start, and got rear-ended by his team mate Lance Stroll.

"But he survived, and duly caught and dispatched first Russell and then Hamilton in a thrilling battle that would have been the highlight of the race if not for the even better duel he had a few minutes later with Carlos Sainz to secure a spot on the podium after all.

"In so many ways, this was a ten out of ten performance if ever there was one - not to mention one of the most popular among the fans."

Round 2: Saudi Arabia

F1i's driver of the weekend: Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - 9.5/10

Sergio Perez overcame a poor start to claim victory over Max Verstappen, who had started the race from P15 after problems in qualifying. Having originally snatched the lead from Perez at the start only to be passed again on lap 4, Fernando Alonso crossed the line in third and joined the Red Bull pair on the podium for a second race in succession to show that Bahrain had been no fluke.

Perez and Alonso were our joint drivers of the weekend on 9.5, with Verstappen just behind in third on 9.0. Mercedes' George Russell just edged his team mate Lewis Hamilton for fourth on 8.5. We'll cast a tie break and hand the top honours for Saudi Arabia to Perez. Here's what we said about him in our summing up on post-race Monday:

"Max Verstappen might have been in top form throughout practice in Saudi Arabia, but Sergio Perez was also looking strong right from the get-go as well. He was less than three tenths off Verstappen's imperious pace at the end of Friday's sessions, and while Fernando Alonso was an ever-present threat it looked like a reasonable bet that Perez would be alongside Verstappen for a second successive Red Bull front row lock-out of 2023. Instead, Verstappen was no where to be seen after suffering a driveshaft failure at the start of the second round of qualifying.

"Perez still played his part and claimed pole by almost half a second over Alonso (after Charles Leclerc was ejected from the top ten by a grid penalty). But he didn't get a great start, and immediately lost the lead to Alonso into the first corner. No need to panic: Perez knew it was just a matter of time before he got the place back just four laps later. When the race resumed after a safety car, Perez wasted no time in pulling away as fast as possible - but it wasn't Alonso he was worried about now, but rather Verstappen who was carving his way back to the front.

"If Verstappen got too close then Red Bull would inevitably contemplate issuing team orders to force Perez to hand over the position, and the Mexican wasn't having any of it. Anything Verstappen threw at him to close the gap, Perez responded in kind until the penny dropped all round: Perez was determined to win this whatever he was told to do, and so he did - and deservedly, too."