Rating the drivers for their performance in the Canadian Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1st | 9/10
Vettel once again mastered slippery conditions when it mattered and subsequently executed his race strategy with perfection to register his third win of 2013. He misses out on a perfect 10 due to two minor errors.
Mark Webber | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 4th | 7/10
Webber’s race was largely defined by missing out on a super lap in qualifying when conditions were at their best. He made a strong start but was unable to capitalise and was stuck behind Rosberg. Incident with Van der Garde was unfortunate but was ultimately unable to hold off Alonso.
Fernando Alonso | Scuderia Ferrari | 2nd | 9/10
After a miserable Monaco, the usual Alonso fight returned in Canada. From sixth, a podium was always going to be the best possible result so finishing in second is a bonus. Fair fights with several drivers livened up his race.
Felipe Massa | Scuderia Ferrari | 8th | 6/10
It was a stirring drive by Massa, who seemed to accept his mission to overtake all of his midfield rivals. Ultimately, his weekend was hindered by his qualifying accident. Eighth represented a worthy fightback, but he should have been higher anyway.
Jenson Button | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 12th | 5/10
Button had a simply miserable weekend. Long run tests on Friday were abandoned after a gearbox problem; he missed his final run in Q2 in qualifying and then struggled in the race. The silver lining is that it was better than his Canadian voyage in 2012…
Sergio Perez | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 11th | 6/10
Perez finished slightly ahead of his McLaren team-mate, but it wasn’t a result so shout about. The Mexican’s two stop strategy was slightly quicker than Button’s sole stop, resulting in Perez narrowly eclipsing Button.
Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 9th | 7/10
It was one of those weekends where very little went right for the Finn. The E21 wasn’t suited to the nature of the circuit and Raikkonen was stuck in the midfield traffic jam for lengthy periods. Brake issues and a slow stop simply compounded matters
Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 13th | 5/10
Grosjean’s weekend was always going to be affected by his Monaco misdemeanours but starting last meant a difficult race was in store. He tried to execute a one stop strategy but bailed out for a second stop and finished in thirteenth.
Nico Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas | 5th | 7/10
Rosberg simply didn’t have the pace of team-mate Hamilton but was holding a podium position early on. He switched to options at his first stop and conceded that it was an incorrect decision. But fifth still represents a good haul of points.
Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas | 3rd | 9/10
Montreal specialist Hamilton finally ended his ‘win-or-bin’ record in Canada as he registered his third podium of the season. He had no answer to Vettel’s blistering pace and lingering lack of confidence with his brakes accelerated his loss of second to Alonso.
Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | Ret | 6/10
With every passing race the Sauber driver must be regretting his move from Silverstone to Hinwil. The C32 was awful throughout the weekend, although Hulkenberg briefly flirted with the points. Reality soon set in, although his move on Van der Garde was clumsy.
Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 20th | 4/10
Gutierrez struggled with the handling of the C32 and made an embarrassing mistake during the final laps. The resulting fatal injury to a marshal was tragic, although the Mexican should not feel at fault for what happened.
Paul di Resta | Sahara Force India | 7th | 8/10
For the second successive race weekend di Resta bounced back from qualifying woes to finish in the points. He nurtured a set of prime tyres for an astounding 57 laps and by then the job was done.
Adrian Sutil | Sahara Force India | 10th | 6/10
Sutil’s eventful race including a spin, a whack from behind and a penalty for ignoring blue flags. The spin was a racing incident and the drive through penalty appeared a little harsh. But more was on offer on a day he was eclipsed by di Resta.
Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 16th | 4/10
All of those 2012 mistakes now seem more galling considering the pace of the FW35. Maldonado had a thoroughly miserable weekend, although his penalty for hitting Sutil appeared to be on the harsh side.
Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 14th | 8/10
Sunday’s race highlighted the weaknesses of the FW35. Bottas starred in qualifying but few expected him to last long in a dry race and so it proved. Poor traction left him a sitting duck and a general lack of competitiveness limited him to fourteenth.
Jean-Eric Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 6th | 10/10
After a luckless start to the season, Vergne is staking his claim for a future Red Bull seat. He not only achieved his best Formula 1 result, but also Toro Rosso’s highest placing since 2008. It was a strong race, built on the foundations of once again excelling in slippery qualifying conditions.
Daniel Ricciardo | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 15th | 5/10
While Vergne moved forwards, Ricciardo slipped back. Ironically, his poor pace allowed Vergne to escape slightly but for the Australian it was a dismal race as he struggled with oversteer in his STR8 and eventually limped home in fifteenth.
Charles Pic | Caterham | 18th| 7/10
Pic had to take evasive action at the start, costing him a couple of places. From there he took the fight for Marussia but was ultimately able to beat only Chilton.
Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | Ret | 4/10
It wasn’t the greatest of races for the Dutchman who, despite a good start, struggled with tyre wear. Incident with Webber was clumsy – a five place penalty all but guarantees starting last at Silverstone – but wasn’t to blame for eventual Hulkenberg-inflicted retirement.
Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 17th | 7/10
Bianchi admitted the prospect of a one stop race was ‘daunting’ but he pulled it off to secure another strong result for Marussia having started on prime tyres and switched to options on Lap 40.
Max Chilton | Marussia | 19th | 6/10
Chilton tried the same strategy as Bianchi but ultimately suffered more with tyre wear and was unable to hold off the advances of Pic.