Brendon Hartley has been given a 7/10 by Autosport.com in their Brazilian Grand Prix driver ratings. In its post-Grand Prix analysis, Autosport.com gives a rating and explanation for each F1 driver and in turn gives readers an opportunity to also rate each driver.
It seems a bit harsh, that his efforts in Brazil were worth just 7/10. In giving Hartley their rating, Autosport explains:
“Another one of those qualifying sessions where a mistake, this time a lock-up at in the middle of the infield section that caused a flatspot, cost him. After running long on mediums, Hartley was able to show his pace in the second half of the race although he took too long to pass Gasly despite the confusion caused by the Frenchman not heeding team orders. His 11th place was probably as good as it was going to get for a Toro Rosso.”
Hartley’s team mate Pierre Gasly also scored a 7/10, mainly due to his qualifying efforts, getting into Q3.
“Gasly did a great job to haul his Toro Rosso into the top 10 in qualifying, nailing his laps when he needed to while others floundered amid the threat of rain. He didn’t have the pace to stay there in the race, but executed his one-stop strategy pretty well only to lose places to Hartley and Sainz late on. Disregarding team orders to let Hartley past was understandable, but unnecessary.”
Despite his clash with Esteban Orcon, Max Verstappen was given a 10/10:
“Gasly did a great job to haul his Toro Rosso into the top 10 in qualifying, nailing his laps when he needed to while others floundered amid the threat of rain. He didn’t have the pace to stay there in the race, but executed his one-stop strategy pretty well only to lose places to Hartley and Sainz late on. Disregarding team orders to let Hartley past was understandable, but unnecessary.”
Lewis Hamilton must be given credit for not only winning the race but also taking pole position. He’s won the 2018 title so in some ways was expected to ‘ease’ back but scored a 9/10
“Hamilton could not have won without Verstappen’s misfortune, but Bottas’s struggles in comparison show the Mercedes wasn’t the car of choice on race day. Though the champion’s pole lap wasn’t perfect, on both Q3 runs he set a time good enough for the top spot. In an occasionally fraught race of tyre concerns and engine worries, second place was already a very good result. Many drivers wouldn’t have won facing these circumstances.”
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