As we have reached the Formula 1 summer break, I thought it would be a good idea to give ratings for the 20 drivers based on their performances so far this season.
Starting with the team at the top of the championship, Red Bull. Max Verstappen currently leads the championship ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez by 125 points and I have given Verstappen a 9.5/10. Max has won every race this season bar 2 which was won by his teammate Perez and he rarely misses out on pole position in Qualifying. I have given Perez a rating of 6.8/10 due to his poor qualifying performances and a lack of podiums in comparison to his teammate. Admittedly, not all of Perez's qualifying mishaps have been his fault but it all contributes to being 125 points off your teammate at the summer break.
Mercedes currently sit second in the constructors' championship but are 256 points behind Red Bull who sit comfortably first. Lewis Hamilton is currently 4th in the driver's championship and I have given him an 8.7/10 due to his 4 podiums, 1 pole position, and his overall performances this season as well as outperforming his teammate George Russell. Russell is currently 6th in the driver's championship but is 49 points off his teammate and I have given him a rating of 7.5/10 due to his podium this season and he did outperform teammate Hamilton in the old spec W14.
Aston Martin is third in the constructors' standings and was in second for the majority of the first half of the season. However, since Canada, the British team has struggled and has gone from podiums to lower points. Fernando Alonso is 3rd in the drivers championship, 1 point ahead of Hamilton and I have given him a rating of 9.1/10 due to his impressive 6 podiums and dominating Stroll in the championship. Lance is currently 9th in the drivers championship and a staggering 101 points behind Alonso in the championship so I have given him a rating of 5.6/10 as he did perform well at the start of the season with his injury but I'm sure Aston Martin will want to see more of him in the second half of the season.
Ferrari currently sits 4th in the constructors' championship as we enter the summer break and are just 5 points behind Aston Martin in 3rd. Ferrari has had a pretty average season as their car is track specific and their car suits tracks that Red Bull's car does as well. Charles Leclerc is currently 5th in the championship and I have given him a rating of 8.2/10 as he has achieved 3 podiums and is ahead of his teammate in the championship. I have given Carlos Sainz a rating of 7.4/10 mainly because he is yet to score a podium this season but he has been fairly consistent and is only 7 points off his teammate in the championship.
McLaren is the team in 5th place in the constructors' championship with most of their 103 points scored in the last few races thanks to their season-changing upgrades. Lando Norris is 8th in the driver's championship and I have given him a rating of 7.8/10 based on his performances in an underperforming car and with the new upgrades, he has achieved 2 second place finishes. Oscar Piastri has had a great rookie season as he sits 11th in the championship I have given him a rating of 7.1/10 as he has narrowly missed out on a podium at the last few races and he was 2nd in the Belgium Sprint Race.
Alpine is 6th in the constructors' standings with no team close to them ahead or behind. Esteban Ocon has had a great season so far in my opinion as he is currently 10th in the drivers' championship and I have given him a rating of 7.3/10 based on his performances in comparison to Gasly and the podium he achieved in Monaco. Pierre Gasly has had a pretty average season and that is why I have given him a rating of 6.6/10 as he has had some good performances but nothing that stands out.
Williams have had a great start to the season as they are 7th in the constructors' standings where they are now finally not always at the back of the pack. Alex Albon has scored all 11 of these points and has had some amazing races which is why I have given him a solid rating of 7.7/10 as he has had some brilliant drives this year. Logan Sargeant is one of 2 current drivers yet to score a point this season but in Sargeant's defence, there were several races where he didn't have the same car that Albon had as Albon had the upgrades whereas he didn't. I have given him a rating of 4.7/10 but I do think he will prove himself enough to keep his seat for 2024.
Haas are joint on points with Williams in the constructors' championship as sit in 8th as we reach the midpoint of the season. Nico Hulkenberg has impressed everyone I think as he has outperformed teammate Kevin Magnussen this season at most races. Hulkenberg is currently 14th in the drivers' championship and I have given him a rating of 6.8/10. Kevin Magnussen has disappointed me so far this year as there have been races where Nico has made Q3 and Kevin can't escape Q1 and for these reasons, I have given Magnussen a low rating of 3.9/10.
Alfa Romeo is 9th in the standings and they've had a pretty bad season so far with an underperforming car. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have been more or less evenly matched this season with Bottas having 5 points and Zhou having 4 points. I have given the 2 teammates the same rating of a 5.5/10 with Hungary qualifying being the highlight of the team's season.
Finally, Alpha Tauri is 10th and last in the constructors' championship. This hasn't been helped by a mid-season driver swap and due to this, I won't give ratings to either Nyck De Vries or Daniel Ricciardo. Yuki Tsunoda has scored 3 points so far this season and outperformed Nyck De Vries when he was on the team and I have given him a rating of 5.4/10.
!!DISCLAIMER: THIS IS AN OPINION BASED ARTICLE!!