It’s 10 in a row for Max Verstappen as he silenced the Tifosi by winning the Italian Grand Prix from Sergio Perez and pole-sitter Carlos Sainz.
Charles Leclerc came home a close fourth, while George Russell led home the Mercedes charge from Lewis Hamiton despite him picking up a five-second penalty for contact with Oscar Piastri.
Total-Motorsport.com’s driver ratings for the 2023 Italian GP assesses all 20 drivers based on their qualifying and race performances at Monza.
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 driver ratings solely look at how well the drivers got on throughout the weekend in Italy.
F1 Driver Ratings – Italian GP 2023
Max Verstappen 9/10
Qualifying: 2nd – Race: 1st
For the first 15 laps, Verstappen was glued to Sainz’s rear wing, but once he managed to get by the Spaniard, it was a simple cruise to a record-breaking victory.
Sergio Perez 7/10
Qualifying: 5th – Race: 2nd
Behind his teammate throughout, Perez worked hard to get second place, not least after making several unneeded trips across the escape road.
Carlos Sainz 8.5/10
Qualifying: 1st – Race: 3rd
Sainz drove brilliantly all weekend, securing an excellent pole position after a string of fastest times in practice. He defended well from Verstappen, but a lock-up cost him a potential shot at victory.
Charles Leclerc 7.5/10
Qualifying: 3rd – Race: 4th
Fine margins were pivotal to Leclerc’s weekend as Sainz had his number throughout, causing him to play catch-up in the race and lock up in the closing stages when gaining on his teammate.
George Russell 7.5/10
Qualifying: 4th – Race: 5th
On a track where Mercedes looked reasonably average, Russell enjoyed a great weekend, out-qualifying Perez before causing him plenty of headaches during the race before he eventually got by.
Lewis Hamilton 6.5/10
Qualifying: 8th – Race: 6th
Hamilton’s weekend had been a tricky one as he struggled for speed in qualifying before a long first stint which didn’t bear fruit adding to his workload. A collision with Piastri didn’t help.
Alex Albon 8/10
Qualifying: 6th – Race: 7th
Another giant-killing performance for Albon, who drove the wheels off his Williams and secured yet more good points after some stout defending, which gave faster cars plenty to think about.
Lando Norris 6.5/10
Qualifying: 9th – Race: 8th
Norris had a relatively quiet weekend, being out-qualified by his teammate before getting his elbows out during the race to get some reward for his efforts.
Fernando Alonso 6.5/10
Qualifying: 10th – Race: 9th
The former darling of the Tifosi had a tough weekend through no fault of his own, but two world championship points will do nicely on a weekend where Aston Martin were outpaced on the high-speed straights of Monza.
Valtteri Bottas 7/10
Qualifying: 14th – Race: 10th
Points for the first time since Canada, after holding off Sargeant, will relieve Bottas and give Alfa Romeo a near-perfect send-off to their home race.
Liam Lawson 7/10
Qualifying: 12th – Race: 11th
With a whole weekend now under his belt, Lawson continued to impress, qualifying just under two-tenths slower than his teammate before a solid drive to 11th
Oscar Piastri 6.5/10
Qualifying: 7th – Race: 12th
A missed opportunity for Piastri, whose race was ruined by a broken front wing following contact with Hamilton before picking up a five-second penalty for going off track and gaining an advantage.
Logan Sargeant 4.5/10
Qualifying: 15th – Race: 13th
Sargeant had a relatively trouble-free weekend in Monza but cost himself a chance to join his teammate in the points after making contact with Bottas, earning him a five-second penalty.
Zhou Guanyu 3.5/10
Qualifying: 16th – Race 14th
It was not a weekend filled with highlights for Zhou, who was out-qualified and out-raced by his teammate, extending his points wait by another round.
Pierre Gasly 4/10
Qualifying: 17th – Race: 15th
Considering he lives not far away from Monza, Gasly might as well have stayed at home this weekend, as Alpine’s lack of pace and a slow first stop doomed him to an anonymous race.
Lance Stroll 2.5/10
Qualifying: 20th – Race: 16th
With next to no practice time, Stroll had a dreadful weekend rooted to the back of the pack, only narrowly missing the wooden spoon.
Nico Hulkenberg 5/10
Qualifying: 13th – Race: 17th
Friday’s pace had looked decent for Hulkenberg, but despite a brief run in the points after a good start, he eventually tumbled down the order due to Haas’ lack of pace.
Kevin Magnussen 3/10
Qualifying: 19th – Race: 18th
Monza was more of the same for Magnussen, as an innocuous race to last followed off the back of another back-of-the-grid start.
Esteban Ocon 3.5/10
Qualifying 18th – Race: DNF
It was a wretched Monza weekend for Ocon, who had no speed and made a clumsy mistake in Q1, which damaged the floor. An early retirement caused by a steering issue ended his misery early.
Yuki Tsunoda 6.5/10
Qualifying: 11th – Race: DNS
A good weekend for Tsunoda, who narrowly missed out on Q3, making his engine failure on the formation lap even more disappointing with points on the table.
