F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: Driver ratings as Max Verstappen wins season opener

Defending world champion Max Verstappen started the 2024 season off with a bang, taking victory in Bahrain.

The gruelling 5.41km circuit is one of the harshest on the calendar, and with many cars still going through a bit of a shakedown, many drivers encountered issues during the race. Lewis Hamilton finished the race with a broken seat in his Mercedes, and Williams driver Alex Albon was having troubles with his team's new steering wheel.

From first to last, here's how each driver performed on track this weekend, with a rating out of 10.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 9.5/10

After designer Adrian Newey spent the winter break with energy drink injected directly into his brain, the Red Bull appears even more dominant than it did last season. What's more, Verstappen is almost the perfect driver, rarely ever making a mistake. So here's the deal...

Max expects perfection from himself, and so should we. Therefore, he will only score a 10/10 if he finishes P1 in every single qualifying session, wins the race and sets the fastest lap of the grand prix. Because he finished third in the first qualifying session, it's only a 9.5/10 this week. We still anticipate a blowout of a season from the Dutchman, though.

2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - 8/10

After qualifying fifth, Perez showed some great race pace to secure a second place finish. It's somewhat unsurprising given how fast the Red Bull is, and Perez's affinity with the Bahrain International Circuit.

His score here is let down by a sub-par qualifying and the fact that Verstappen finished the race 22 seconds ahead of him. If Perez is going to challenge the double world champion, he'll have to do better than that.

3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - 9/10

After Ferrari's announcement that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be joining them next season, this will be Sainz's last season for the scuderia. He drove in Bahrain like a man possessed, overtaking his teammate Charles Leclerc not once, but twice, and keeping pace with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Sainz is driving for his future - and if he keeps this sort of wind in his sails, Ferrari might find themselves second guessing their choice to bin him off.

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 7.5/10

Leclerc is building a reputation of qualifying well, then falling away in the race. From a front row start he was overtaken almost immediately by the Mercedes of George Russell, then got shown up by Sainz.

He was complaining over the radio about his brake balance (and was locking up quite a bit, especially in the first stint) so perhaps it can be put down to teething problems with the SF-24.

5. George Russell (Mercedes) - 6/10

After overtaking Leclerc at the start to claim second place, how on earth did Russell end up finishing fifth? Well, the Mercedes cars appeared to struggle during the race, with both Ferraris and Sergio Perez making quick work of the Brit.

He was fighting with Leclerc for fourth towards the end when he locked up his front tyres, and spent the final few laps with one eye on Lando Norris in his wing mirrors. Clumsy mistakes like that will cost him points, and Russell will be determined to bounce back in Saudi Arabia next weekend.

6. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 7/10

Starting seventh and finishing sixth, it was a somewhat uneventful race for Lando Norris. Caught in the Mercedes sandwich towards the end of the race, he did well to fend off Hamilton while also giving Russell some food for thought.

It's a far better start to the season than last year for McLaren, and the Woking team will almost certainly build upon these solid foundations as the season goes on.

7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 6.5/10

Halfway through the race, Lewis Hamilton got on the radio to his team to inform them that his seat had broken. The seats are moulded to the driver, who is then strapped in as tight as possible, so not only could this have been uncomfortable, he might have been moving around in the car quite a bit.

In those circumstances, just keeping it on the road is impressive - but he'll be keen to qualify a bit better than ninth at the next race.

8. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 7/10

Much like his teammate, Piastri didn't exactly have much to do in today's race. But he still put in a solid performance, finishing where he qualified and almost 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the field - and six seconds behind Hamilton.

9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 6.5/10

This time last year, Fernando Alonso was standing on the podium after Aston Martin built a bit of a rocketship for him. But after qualifying sixth, he staggered down the order in a car that is far less competitive 12 months on.

Alonso is renowned for getting the absolute maxiumum from whatever car he's driving. But finishing 20 seconds behind the car in front doesn't bode well for Aston Martin's hopes this season.

10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 7.5/10

Yes, he was caught up in a collision with Nico Hulkenberg in the very first corner, and found himself stone-dead last - but that wasn't really his fault, and what a recovery drive from Lance Stroll. The Canadian driver, who is now in his seventh season of Formula 1, made up good ground but still finished 19 seconds behind teammate Alonso.

Aston Martin will be encouraged by both cars finishing in the points - but may have hoped to finish a tad higher than they did.

11. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) - 8/10

Where did that come from?!

The Sauber looked abysmal in qualifying, with Zhou 17th and teammate Valtteri Bottas 16th. But with some good overtakes, solid race pace and excellent tyre management, Zhou dragged his car by the scruff of the neck to an impressive 11th place finish.

I wasn't expecting Sauber to be challenging for points this season, but here we are. Zhou is in his third season of F1 and continues to show his quality.

12. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 7/10

Last year's Haas was like putting a drag racer onto an ice rink. Lots of wheelspin and the tyres would only last about 45 seconds. We expected more of the same this season, but Magnussen seems to be proving us wrong.

A solid drive from the Dane, whose future was being called into question towards the end of last year. More races like this please, Kev.

13. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) - 6.5/10

No, we're not calling them the Visa Cash App RB Formula 1 team - it's RB and that's that.

Ricciardo looked set to finish where he qualified in 14th, but after switching to the soft tyres late in the race he was gifted 13th place via team orders, and told to chase after Magnussen. Instead, Tsunoda stayed on his tail until the chequered flag.

The Australian is still being linked to a Red Bull drive in the near future, but if I were Dr Helmut Marko I would be seriously considering his teammate instead.

14. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) - 7/10

Poor Yuki. He put up a good fight throughout the race, and at one point was fighting with Zhou Guanyu for 10th place.

He probably feels quite hard-done by the Ricciardo swap near the end of the race; it made strategical sense but after a solid grand prix from Tsunoda, I think he deserved better.

15. Alex Albon (Williams) - 6/10

Williams have changed their car philosophy this season; gone is the blistering straight-line speed, in favour of more stability through the corners, which in theory leads to a quicker lap overall.

The downside is that Alex Albon can't breeze past other midfield cars with the same ease as he once did. Instead, he spent most of the race looking at Haas rear wings - which I imagine was rather frustrating for him. The technical problems with his new steering wheel - and an overheating car - won't have helped his cause either.

16. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) - 6.5/10

Nico Hulkenberg was quite unlucky this weekend. A fantastic qualifying performance put him 10th on the grid when the lights went out, but contact with Stroll and a broken front wing forced an early pitstop, from which he struggled to recover.

He still put his foot down to finish ahead of four other drivers though, and Haas will likely still be very pleased with his performance this weekend. But the American team should try and make the most of the opportunities in front of them - before other midfielders catch up with development.

17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) - 5/10

In a show of solidarity with their country's farmers, Alpine have built a pair of carbon fibre tractors for their drivers. Ocon gets a bonus point for beating his teammate, but both he and Pierre Gasly will be disappointed by the team's lack of performance.

18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 4/10

Didn't beat his teammate, and only finished 18th because of the misfortunes of the pair behind him. It's going to be a long season for the French outfit...

19. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) - 5.5/10

Valtteri Bottas was having a good race, showing the Sauber's pace up until his second pitstop. Wheel nut problems left him sat in the pit box for almost a minute, sending him tumbling down the running order.

Bottas is a consumate professional though, and I have no doubt he'll bounce back in Saudi Arabia next weekend.

20. Logan Sargeant (Williams) - 5.5/10

After qualifying ahead of the two Alpines, an issue with his steering wheel forced the American to pull over to the side of the track. He kept it going but still finished 20th as a result.

Up until then he had been driving well, though, battling firmly in the midfield with the likes of Zhou and Ricciardo.