2023 Formula 1 mid-season driver ratings part one: Max Verstappen on fire, Lewis Hamilton consistently brilliant

Follow us on Google Discover

With the 2023 Formula 1 season on its mid-season break, it’s time to give ratings to Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin.

The F1 season is 12 races in – although it should have been 13 were it not for the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships appear to already be sewn up.

However, there’s still plenty to fight for all the way down the grid, not least drivers’ futures at their respective teams.

Red Bull: A+, Max Verstappen: A+, Sergio Perez: B+

If Christian Horner was asked to describe his perfect Formula 1 season, it would be pretty similar to what Red Bull are experiencing right now.

The team are currently on the longest winning streak in F1 history with no signs of that ending any time soon.

For the first five races, it looked like Max Verstappen was going to be challenged by teammate Sergio Perez.

He was defeated in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, but then the 25-year-old turned it up a gear.

Verstappen has now won eight races on the bounce, with some massive margins over the next driver.

He often doesn’t even sound troubled in the car and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he’s not even pushing the car to its maximum.

Perez’s brilliant start fell away after a series of poor qualifying performances.

The 33-year-old has failed to reach Q3 on six occasions and ultimately that’s ended his chance of challenging for the World Championship.

His drives through the grid have been impressive but ultimately expected in a car that is dominating the sport.

Mercedes: B, Lewis Hamilton: B+, George Russell: B

The name of the game this season for Mercedes has been consistency.

Out of 24 potential points-scoring opportunities in races, they’ve only missed out twice (excluding Sprint Races).

Lewis Hamilton has only missed out on Q3 once, while Russell has appeared in the final qualifying session eight times.

It looked like Mercedes were the fourth-fastest team at the start of the season, with Aston Martin and Ferrari looking like Red Bull’s likeliest challengers.

However, they’ve got their upgrades right this season, initially bringing them to Monaco before a double-podium finish the following race in Spain.

Hamilton appears to have accepted that he’s not in a title-challenging car and his positivity around Mercedes’s improvements this year have been great to see.

He’s only finished outside the top four once in the past six races and will be hoping to finish best of the rest this season, potentially even challenging Perez if his qualifying struggles continue.

He’s also put any speculation about his future at the team behind him after being linked with a move to Ferrari.

George Russell outscored Hamilton last season and has driven well when not suffering some bad luck or confusing his sweat for rain in Barcelona.

The young Brit will want to finish above both Ferraris and potentially Fernando Alonso if Mercedes keep delivering upgrades.

A second fourth-place finish in a row would be a good season for the 25-year-old.

Aston Martin: B+, Fernando Alonso: A, Lance Stroll: C

The murmurings during pre-season testing that Aston Martin might be the team to keep an eye on in 2023 were certainly true when the season started.

After being a solid mid-table side team last year, their winter development turned them into an outfit capable of racing at the very front.

Fernando Alonso’s six podiums in the first eight races suggested the experienced Spaniard could be Max Verstappen’s biggest challenger this season.

However, the teams around Aston Martin have stepped their game up in recent weeks and they’ve struggled to keep up.

Lance Stroll was given the second-fastest car at the start of the season but failed to convert that potential into a single podium.

A fourth-place finish during a chaotic race in Austria is his best finish to date, but generally, he’s been picking up steady points towards the bottom of the top ten. It’s up to Aston Martin to now find a way to catch back up to Mercedes to record their best finish since returning to the