Max Verstappen became just the fifth driver to take 50 Formula 1 victories after a hard-fought win at the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
Lewis Hamilton had kept Verstappen on his toes all weekend, and came over the line a close second, but was later disqualified for a technical infringement, handing Lando Norris second place ahead of the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
Total-Motorsport.com’s driver ratings for the 2023 United States GP assess all 20 drivers based on their qualifying and race performances in Austin.
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 Austin.
F1 Driver Ratings – United States GP
Max Verstappen 9/10
Sprint race: 1st; Qualifying: 6th – Race: 1st
Half a century of F1 wins for Verstappen after dominating the Sprint and then driving a clever race to hold off Hamilton despite suffering brake issues.
Lando Norris 9/10
Sprint race: 4th; Qualifying: 2nd – Race: 2nd
It was a tremendous 100th GP weekend for Norris, who had a decent stint in the lead before securing his sixth podium of 2023, helping McLaren move up to fourth in the constructors’ championship.
Carlos Sainz 7/10
Sprint race: 6th; Qualifying: 4th – Race: 3rd
Sainz had a clean but unspectacular weekend, securing solid points even if a podium had looked well out of reach until Hamilton was disqualified post-race.
Sergio Perez 6.5/10
Sprint race: 5th; Qualifying: 9th – Race: 4th
After spending Thursday batting away rumours surrounding his future, Perez had a solid weekend, securing his first top-five finish since the Italian GP. Yet he was still miles away from challenging for the podium.
George Russell 6.5/10
Sprint race: 8th; Qualifying: 5th – Race: 5th
It was a relatively quiet weekend for Russell, scoring some solid point, but didn’t have the speed to make his 100th GP start more memorable.
Pierre Gasly 7.5/10
Sprint race: 7th; Qualifying: 7th – Race: 6th
Gasly performed well in COTA, driving two solid races to secure a good haul of points, giving Alpine’s new investors something to smile about.
Lance Stroll 6/10
Sprint race: DNF; Qualifying: 19th [started from the pitlane] – Race: 7th
It looked as if another weekend from hell was on the cards for Stroll after suffering brake issues in practice, but instead, he drove a spirited drive from the pits to score his first points since Spa.
Yuki Tsunoda 7.5/10
Sprint race: 14th; Qualifying: 11th – Race: 8th
After previously knocking on the door of points and receiving no answer, Tsunoda fought hard to pick up the final point and fastest lap before doubling his points tally via disqualifications.
Alex Albon 7/10
Sprint race: 9th; Qualifying: 18th – Race: 9th
It looked as though Austin would be a double near miss for Albon after just narrowly being out of reach for points in both races. But a slice of post-race luck got him his overdue two points.
Logan Sargeant 5.5/10
Sprint race: 19th; Qualifying: 20th – Race: 10th
After struggling for pace in Qualifying and the Sprint, Sargeant produced his best drive yet in Formula 1 with a clean race to 12th before later picking up his first world championship point through post-race disqualifications.
Nico Hulkenberg 5/10
Sprint race: 15th; Qualifying: 16th [started from the pitlane] – Race: 11th
New upgrades didn’t change much for Hulkenberg as he struggled for pace and was left fighting for scraps at the back and missing out on points.
Valtteri Bottas 4.5/10
Sprint race: 16th; Qualifying: 13th – Race: 12th
Bottas looked the part in Austin, but on-track things were more of the same as he couldn’t capitalise on the early pitstop, driving a quiet race to no points.
Zhou Guanyu 4/10
Sprint race: 17th; Qualifying: 12th – Race: 13th
It was a forgettable weekend for Zhou, who picked up a five-second penalty in the Sprint and never really looked like challenging for points in the race.
Kevin Magnussen 4/10
Sprint race: 18th; Qualifying: 14th [started from the pitlane] – Race: 14th
Points in Singapore seem like a lifetime ago for Magnussen, as Austin was another innocuous and point-less weekend where he struggled for speed.
Daniel Ricciardo 5/10
Sprint race: 12th; Qualifying: 15th – Race: 15th
Ricciardo had a quiet comeback weekend, as he didn’t have the pace to match Tsunoda instantly. However, he couldn’t muster much in the race with a wounded car and a strategy which didn’t pay off.
Lewis Hamilton 9/10
Sprint race: 2nd; Qualifying: 3rd – Race: DSQ
Before his late-race disqualification, Hamilton had enjoyed a great weekend hassling Verstappen throughout the Sprint and Sunday’s GP, but ultimately didn’t have the car to challenge his former foe.
Charles Leclerc 8/10
Sprint race: 3rd; Qualifying: 1st – Race: DSQ
Strategy let Leclerc down this weekend, meaning his hard-fought pole position and third place in the Sprint were all for nought. A late-race disqualification put the icing on the cake of misery.
Fernando Alonso 6.5/10
Sprint race: 13th; Qualifying: 17th [started from the pitlane] – Race: DNF
One to forget for Alonso, as his first Q3 miss of 2023 was compounded by a pointless Sprint. He had moved into the points during the race before floor damage ended a great drive early.
Oscar Piastri 6/10
Sprint race: 10th; Qualifying: 10th – Race: DNF
Piastri had a tricky time at COTA, qualifying tenth before having his Sprint ruined by damage picked on Lap 1. His race was a similar tale as contact with Ocon on Lap 1 ended his day 10 laps later.
Esteban Ocon 4.5/10
Sprint race: 11th; Qualifying: 8th – Race: DNF
Ocon was outpaced and outraced by Gasly all weekend and ended his race after six laps after slamming into Piastri on Lap 1, picking up damage, and securing his fifth retirement of 2023.
