Max Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna’s Formula 1 win record with a commanding victory in Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, wrapping up Red Bull’s 100th win as a constructor.
Fernando Alonso came close again with a bold drive to second, whilst Lewis Hamilton picked up third ahead of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Total-Motorsport.com rate all 20 drivers based on their qualifying and race performances at the Canadian GP.
Team errors such as a slow pit stop or poor strategy do not affect our ratings as they are no fault of the drivers. Instead, our ratings solely look at how well the drivers got on throughout the weekend in Canada.
F1 Driver Ratings – Canadian GP 2023
Max Verstappen 9.5/10
Started: 1st – Finished: 1st
Four in a row for Verstappen after another commanding drive from pole, leading every lap despite reporting grip issues during the race.
Fernando Alonso 8.5/10
Started: 2nd – Finished: 2nd
Following the disappointment of Spain, Alonso was back on the rostrum after another good weekend’s work, but he will be left wondering if a win could have been possible.
Lewis Hamilton 8/10
Started: 3rd – Finished: 3rd
Another good weekend for Hamilton with his second podium in four races after making an excellent start which saw him briefly hold second until Alonso strode past using DRS.
Charles Leclerc 8/10
Started: 10th – Finished: 4th
Leclerc could’ve been on the front row for Sunday’s race if it weren’t for an awful Q2 caused by a dreadful strategy call. However, a long stint on the mediums paid off, making up for Saturday’s disappointment.
Carlos Sainz 6/10
Started: 11th – Finished: 5th
Canada was a case of back to reality for Sainz, who crashed heavily in FP3 before being penalised for impeding Gasly in Qualifying. The race was better, but still, he couldn’t match Leclerc’s pace.
Sergio Perez 6/10
Started: 12th – Finished: 6th
Perez never hit the ground running in Canada, and a dreadful Qualifying doubled his workload. Sixth was damage limitation after a fastest lap attempt proved fruitless.
Alex Albon 9/10
Started: 10th – Finished: 7th
With an inspired strategy call and a heavily upgraded car, Albon shined in Canada, holding off Ocon for most of the race to secure Williams’ best result since the 2021 Belgian GP.
Esteban Ocon 7/10
Started: 6th – Finished: 8th
More points for Ocon after enjoying a steady race despite a shaking rear wing and constant attacks from Norris in the closing stages.
Lance Stroll 5/10
Started: 16th- Finished: 9th
Two points may seem on paper like a good homecoming for Stroll if you ignore the grid penalty for blocking Ocon and the fact he was struggling for pace during the race.
Valtteri Bottas 6.5/10
Started: 14th – Finished: 10th
After a string of poor races, Bottas finally broke into the top 10 with his first points since Bahrain enjoying a clean weekend before benefiting from Norris’ five-second penalty.
Oscar Piastri 5/10
Started: 8th – Finished: 11th
Until Q3, Piastri enjoyed an excellent first weekend in Canada before blotting his copybook by spinning into the wall. The race started well, but points became hard to achieve after the pit stops.
Pierre Gasly 6/10
Started: 15th – Finished: 12th
Gasly will leave Montreal, cursing Sainz‘s blocking, which ruined his final run in Q1, knocking him out of Qualifying. An alternative strategy of starting the race on softs didn’t bear any fruit.
Lando Norris 5.5/10
Started: 7th – Finished: 13th
Norris had been on course for points after another Q3 appearance, but a five-second penalty for unsportsmanlike behaviour under the safety car meant he was unlikely to end McLaren’s Montreal points drought.
Yuki Tsunoda 5/10
Started: 19th – Finished: 14th
A lack of pace and a grid penalty for impeding during Qualifying meant Montreal was one to forget for Tsunoda.
Nico Hulkenberg 5.5/10
Started: 5th – Finished: 15th
An inspired strategy call had secured Hulkenberg a spot on the front row, but a breach of red flag regulations cost him dearly. A poor strategy which destroyed his race added insult to injury.
Zhou Guanyu 4/10
Started: 20th – Finished: 16th
Nothing of note for Zhou in Montreal after qualifying last before following it up with a low-key drive to sixteenth.
Kevin Magnussen 4/10
Started: 13th – Finished: 17th
Whilst Hulkenberg broke into Q3, Magnussen had a torrid weekend struggling for pace until making up ground behind the safety car. However, contact with de Vries when under attack from Russell wrecked his day.
Nyck de Vries 3.5/10
Started: 17th – Finished: 18th
AlphaTauri’s lack of pace hindered De Vries, but it didn’t excuse a poor weekend which saw him out-qualified again by Tsunoda before coming off second best when engaging in bumper cars with Magnussen.
George Russell 4/10
Started: 5th – Finished: DNF
Russell had looked on course for points before a clumsy shunt at Turn 8 forced him to pit. A good comeback drive followed, only for the brakes to call it quits.
Logan Sargeant 3/10
Started: 18th – Finished: DNF
Another grim weekend for Sargeant, qualifying last before being promoted to 18th because of penalties. An average start followed before a technical failure ended his 100% finishing record.
