Chinese Grand Prix: Harry Benjamin evaluates the drivers

Mercedes took second place again at the Chinese Grand Prix as 19-year-old Kimi Antonelli won his first Formula 1 race from pole position ahead of George Russell.

Lewis Hamilton took his first podium for Ferrari, while constructors’ champion McLaren failed to start Sunday’s race due to separate electrical problems for both drivers.

Here are the driver ratings for the second weekend in China:

Kimi Antonelli – 9 – A real moment for Italian youth this weekend. The youngest driver ever and the first Grand Prix win under his belt.

George Russell – 8.5 – Another strong weekend. He recovered well from qualifying problems but faltered fighting Ferrari in the race.

Lewis Hamilton – 9 -Louis has regained his magic. He loves the track in Shanghai. Great battle with Russell and his teammate Charles Leclerc.

Charles Leclerc – 8 – Great battles with Hamilton and great wheel-to-wheel racing craftsmanship. He doesn’t like the track very much and a mistake at Turn 14 allowed his teammate to take the podium.

Oliver Berman – 9 – I’ll be handing out the nines today but everyone should watch what Berman does in the Haas car now. The Briton ranks fifth in the drivers’ championship.

Pierre Gasly – 8 – Another impressive round from the Frenchman, as he scored back-to-back Grand Prix points.

Liam Lawson – 7 – Compared to this time last year, it feels like we have a different driver. Clear of teammate Arvid Lindblad to provide points in both race and race.

Ishaq Hajjar – 6 – It is difficult to achieve much with a car and power unit combination. But it will be encouraging to be there with Max Verstappen. His score was lowered for turning in the race.

Carlos Sainz – 7 How Sainz managed to steal two points is beyond me and is a testament to his skill (and dependability). But she got the most out of the playoffs, too.

Franco Colapinto – 6.5 – He looked out of his depth in the race but just missed the third quarter and a very strong drive on Sunday to get his first points since 2024.

Nico Hulkenberg – 5 – An unknown weekend for the German driver. I saw the science was at least checkered.

Arvid Lindblad – 5 – After the highs of Melbourne, it was a very educational weekend for the British rookie.

Valtteri Bottas – 5 – He edged out Cadillac teammate Sergio Perez this weekend and finished the race in China.

Esteban Ocon – 4 – He was in the shadow of his teammate Berman for the second weekend in a row and made a ridiculous move on Colapinto in the race.

Sergio Perez – 4.5 – Suffering from car problems but couldn’t quite keep up with Bottas this weekend.

Max Verstappen – 6.5 – He cannot do much except with the car he owns. Ahead of his teammate Hajjar in qualifying, as expected, but only just. He’ll be worried about two bad starts in a row.

Fernando Alonso – 6.5 – Another difficult weekend for him and his Aston Martin. Great start in the Grand Prix to get into the top ten. The engine was limited and eventually retired.

Lance Stroll – 3 – Barely present on the track. It can only be seen when he comes out during the race. Out of qualifying by Cadillac Bottas.

Oscar Piastri – 5 – Two consecutive races the Australian failed to start. It’s not his fault in China and his ineligible teammate Lando Norris. However, he was unable to keep up with his teammate in the sprint.

Lando Norris – 5 – He did not start the race and the Briton was behind Piastri in Saturday’s qualifying, but he finished better.

Gabriel Bortoletto – 3 – She crashed in Q2 and was unable to start Sunday’s race.

Alex Albon – 4 – He had a bad car and didn’t turn off the lights – From the race and qualifying, he is far behind his teammate Sainz.