F1 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix: Driver ratings as British teen Oliver Bearman makes Ferrari debut

Max Verstappen extended his lead at the top of the drivers' championship with his second victory of the season in Saudi Arabia.

The Dutchman cruised to the chequered flag once again at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, in a weekend that saw British teenager Oliver Bearman make his Formula 1 debut for Ferrari. The 18-year-old, from Chelmsford, stepped in for Carlos Sainz after the Spanish driver was diagnosed with appendicitis.

But how did he fare in his first grand prix, and what did we make of the rest of the field? Here is our rating for each driver's performance this weekend.

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

Quickest in all three qualifying sessions and took the victory at a canter. After the early safety car he lost the lead to McLaren's Lando Norris, but passed him with ease and romped into the distance.

In Bahrain he won by 22 seconds - here in Saudi Arabia he could only manage 13 seconds, and lost the fastest lap to Leclerc right at the end. Another imperious drive by the Dutchman, but we can't give him a 10/10 unless it's a flawless grand slam weekend.

Better luck next time, Max.

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

He was disappointed in his qualifying result, but once again Sergio Perez put his Red Bull into second place early in the grand prix. Checo was given a five-second penalty for an unsafe release .

If he didn't put the hammer down, he could have therefore lost P2 to Leclerc, so did well to preserve his step on the podium. If he can get himself onto the front row in qualifying, his rating from us will certainly improve.

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 8.5/10

Last week it was his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz taking the last step of the podium, this week Leclerc took that spot. He did everything that was required of him in what was a hectic weekend for the prancing horses.

He described the grand prix afterwards as a "boring race" as he struggled to keep up with the Red Bulls, but was miles clear of those behind him. The Ferrari is the clear second fastest car at the moment.

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 7.5/10

Once again, Australian driver Oscar Piastri showcased his quality, despite finishing almost 15 seconds behind Leclerc. He ran a good race, managed his tyres and played the long game against both Norris and Hamilton, who he knew both had to stop for fresh rubber towards the end of the race.

His wheel-to-wheel driving is firm but fair, and he will no doubt be delighted with a fourth place finish.

5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 8.5/10

Fernando Alonso is one of a select few drivers throughout F1 history who can extract the absolute maximum out of any machinery he's given. Today was no exception.

That Aston Martin is the fifth fastest car, at best - but in Alonso's hands it has been dragged by the scruff of the neck to a strong points finish. If Aston develop this car in the right direction, I reckon we'll see the Spaniard back on the podium at some point this season.

6. George Russell (Mercedes) - 8/10

Once again beating his teammate Lewis Hamilton, George Russell had a somewhat uneventful race - but after his troubles in Bahrain, a mistake-free drive to a solid points finish is precisely what he needed.

Russell has remarkable race pace and will hope to build on today's result in next few grand prix.

7. Oliver Bearman (Ferrari) - 9.5/10

What a stellar drive from rookie Oliver Bearman this weekend. Thrown in at the deep end for a top team, the teenager didn't put a foot wrong all weekend, pulling off some brilliant overtakes after the safety car restart to establish a solid points finish.

I would argue it's the perfect debut, and what really impressed me was his race awareness - particularly towards the end, asking his race engineer about the pace / time differential between himself and the next two drivers, who were hunting him down on fresh tyres.

Call it British bias, call it media influence, call it what you like... I call that a damn good performance. It's only a matter of time before Oliver Bearman is on the F1 grid permanently.

8. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 8/10

Benefitting from the early safety car to skyrocket into the lead, Lando Norris was effectively running a different race to everyone else, preserving his old tyres as long as he could in hopes of a free pitstop later in the grand prix.

But the gamble didn't pay off, and a slow pitstop almost put him behind Lewis Hamilton. But the McLaren driver did well to keep Hamilton behind, while also putting pressure on Bearman up ahead.

9. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 7/10

Much like Norris, Lewis Hamilton did not pit when the safety car came out for Lance Stroll's crash. He duelled with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri for fourth place on the road, but eventually pitted with 15 laps to go and dropped down the order.

The seven-time world champion is lagging quite a way behind his teammate George Russell so far this season... with his move to Ferrari locked in for 2025, is Hamilton fighting as fiercely as he has in previous years?

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) - 7/10

Another driver who gambled by not pitting under the safety car, Hulkenberg's pace was good, but I'd argue he only scored points thanks to his teammate - who we'll talk about in just a bit. Points on the board are great for Haas, though.

11. Alex Albon (Williams) - 7/10

Thai driver Alex Albon benefitted from both Lance Stroll's retirement and Kevin Magnussen's penalties to finish one place higher than where he started the race. He narrowly missed out on points here in Saudi Arabia, but has shown that the Williams is once again a strong midfield contender this season.

Albon scoring championship points is a question of when, not if.

12. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - 8.5/10

"How can you give someone who finished so far back such a high rating?"

Hear me out, dear reader - because I almost gave Kevin Magnussen a 10/10 for this one.

Following some questionably aggressive driving early on (which has impacted his rating), Magnussen had 20 seconds worth of penalties added to his race time, and looked to be travelling at a snail's pace on-track. In fact, those behind him were complaining on the radio about his lack of speed.

Not only did he fend off (on-track at least) Alex Albon, Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda, he intentionally drove slowly to create a gap for his teammate Nico Hulkenberg to slot into after his late pit stop, enabling Haas to score a point. Excellent teamwork out of Magnussen and a flawless defensive drive.

13. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) - 7.5/10

"Les tracteurs" actually had a bit of race pace this weekend, despite qualifying towards the back of the grid. Ocon made solid progress through the field early on, and was fighting with the two Haas drivers and Alex Albon for most of the grand prix.

The Alpine team will certainly be buoyed by Ocon's performance, and hopefully the French outfit can build on this in the coming races.

14. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) - 6.5/10

After looking properly racey early in the grand prix, fighting with Oliver Bearman and Kevin Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda's day fell away as the laps dwindled away.

The feisty Japanese driver is clearly racing with a point to prove over teammate Daniel Ricciardo, after what happened last time out in Bahrain. Today, he comfortably had the measure of his Australian teammate, with qualifying being a particular highlight.

15. Logan Sargeant (Williams) - 6/10

Now in his second season of Formula 1, the Williams bosses will expect Logan Sargeant to kick on a bit this year. Today he certainly did just that, beating three drivers on-track and setting faster lap times than Tsunoda ahead of him.

Sargeant needs to improve his qualifying though; starting 19th or 18th gives him far too much to do in the grand prix itself.

16. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) - 4.5/10

What a dismal day for Danny Ric. Yes, he got somewhat screwed over in the pit lane when the safety car came out, but once the race was back underway he failed to make up any of that lost ground.

The two Saubers behind were quicker than him too - Ricciardo was lucky not to finish last.

17. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) - 4/10

The Saudi Arabia Grand Prix is one Valtteri Bottas will be keen to forget in a hurry. An anonymous drive at the back of the field, he was quicker than Ricciardo ahead but never got close enough to make a move for 16th place.

18. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) - 7/10

The last driver to make a pit stop, Zhou Guanyu had been flying high in the midfield, hoping for a safety car or red flag to save his race. Sadly for him, it never came, and more Sauber pit stop troubles left him finishing in last place.

After putting up such a great fight earlier in the race, Zhou deserved more from today. Sauber need to get their pit stop problems sorted as a matter of urgency.

DNF. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 4/10

After qualifying 10th, hopes were high that Lance Stroll could put in another solid performance, as he did at the first race in Bahrain. However, the opposite turned out to be true in Jeddah.

On lap seven, Stroll put his Aston Martin into the wall and took himself out of the race, bringing out the safety car. You can't write off your car and expect a high score, I'm afraid.

DNF. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 5/10

Retiring almost immediately with a gearbox problem, Gasly was unable to show what he could do in what seemed like a better Alpine this weekend. While Ocon's performance will give them something to smile about, reliability problems such as this are rare in modern F1 - and so there will likely be some raised eyebrows at the Enstone factory.