Thursday 14 April 2011

Malaysian GP Driver Ratings


Vettel – 9

Another almost-perfect weekend. Brilliant qualifying lap gave the German pole, and he produced a commanding drive in the race in a car that appears to still be the class of the field, despite KERS problems.

Webber – 7

Couldn’t quite eke out the tenths needed to pip his team mate and Hamilton in qualifying. KERS problems hampered his start and race, but he recovered well to score decent points.


Hamilton – 6

Fabulous qualifying lap still wasn’t enough for pole. Stuck behind Heidfeld for first stint, then suffered botched pit stop and wore out tyres in closing stages. Slightly over-aggressive against Alonso, but 20 second penalty was a little harsh.

Button – 8

Fourth of the four quickest cars in qualifying. Drove a good, consistent race to 2nd, benefiting from Hamilton’s slow pit stop and collision with Alonso. Let the Spaniard through too easily himself though.


Alonso – 6

Eight tenths off the pace in qualifying; worrying as it looked like he got the most out of the car. Race was going well before Hamilton collision, for which he was more to blame than the Briton.

Massa – 7

A decent weekend for Massa, who was respectably close to Alonso throughout qualifying and raced solidly to beat his team mate home. Wasn't forced by team to let Alonso through either, which will help his confidence.


Schumacher – 7

A better performance from the German legend, although he missed Q2 once again. Looked racy on Sunday and picked up two points for 9th. He will be concerned by Mercedes’ lack of pace though.

Rosberg – 5

One of Rosberg’s poorest weekends since joining Mercedes. Made Q3, but that was as good as it got. Thoroughly anonymous come the race, struggling to 12th behind both similarly-powered Force Indias.


Heidfeld – 9

Much improved performance after Australia woes. Outqualified Petrov and made stunning start, before dropping back after first pit stop. Elevated to podium by Alonso-Hamilton clash, and also fended off Webber well in closing stages.

Petrov – 6

Solid qualification and great start put the Russian in with a chance of good points, but undid all his hard work with late-race off which launched the car and broke steering column. Blamed marbles, but it was the same conditions for everyone.


Barrichello – 6

Struggled to get through Q1 and lined up 15th for race, which didn’t last long. Assaulted by Sutil on opening lap just after pit entrance and lost lap recovering to pits with puncture. Then slogged round until lap 22 retirement.

Maldonado – 5

Knocked out in Q1, only three-tenths quicker than Lotuses, after embarrassing crash entering pits on Friday. Energetic battle with Perez at start of race, but managed just 8 laps before mechanical problems hit.


Sutil – 6

Outqualified by Di Resta again after a mis-shift in Q2. Hit Barrichello at start necessitating an extra trip to the pits. Did well to recover and finish just behind Di Resta, but team mate’s form is putting him under pressure.

Di Resta – 8

Another great drive from the rookie, who spent much of the race fighting with Michael Schumacher of all people. Eventually ended up behind the German, but drove maturely and sensibly and richly deserved his point.


Kobayashi – 8

An excellent performance all weekend from the Japanese driver, who is starting to look like the real deal. Made it to Q3 and was towards the front for the whole race, including a fabulous dice with Webber in the opening laps.

Perez – 6

Came crashing back down to earth after his Albert Park heroics. Still looked quick at times, but only 16th on grid. Started race well and could have perhaps nicked a point, but then forced to retire after car struck by debris.


Buemi – 7

Outqualified Alguersuari again, but just missed Q3. Race compromised by speeding in the pit lane, for which he was harshly awarded a stop-and-go penalty. Still beat his team mate home though.

Alguersuari – 5

Just behind Buemi in qualifying, but struggled to 14th in the race after a thoroughly anonymous performance, only just ahead of Kovalainen, apparently suffering from excessive tyre wear.


Kovalainen – 8

A breakthrough weekend for Lotus, spearheaded by the Finn, who was just four tenths off Maldonado in Q1. Finished the race on the tail of Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso after trouble-free run.

Trulli – 6

Fractionally behind his team mate in qualifying, but respectably close to the midfield pack. Spent race battling with Glock, rather than chasing the midfield as Kovalainen did, before clutch expired.


Glock – 6

Didn’t make much of an impression all weekend. Four tenths quicker than D’Ambrosio in qualifying, as expected, but miles off the pace of Lotus and the midfield runners, and not far ahead of the HRTs. At least he finished.

D’Ambrosio – 6

Lost a lot of track time on Friday after suspension failure. Nevertheless made the grid and drove a decent race, hanging on to Glock’s tail and setting a quicker fastest race lap before retiring due to hitting a kerb, which cut the engine.


Liuzzi – 7

Brilliant qualifying performance to get within a second of the Virgins. The race was more of a struggle, but drove sensibly to stay out of the way of the leaders and maintain a reasonable pace before being withdrawn for safety reasons.

Karthikeyan – 5

It can’t be easy for a driver to adapt to single seaters again after racing NASCAR Trucks, and the Indian's struggles prove it. A second off Liuzzi in qualifying, his race didn’t last long before he was withdrawn due to rising water temperatures.

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