POWER RANKINGS: No perfect 10s in Jeddah – but who impressed the judges in Saudi Arabia?

There were a number of outstanding performances in Jeddah, including from Sergio Perez, who claimed pole position and the win at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But who else do the judges feel deserves a spot in this week's top 10? Scroll down to see the latest rankings.

How it works

Our five-judge panel assess each driver after every Grand Prix and score them out of 10 according to their performance across the weekend – taking machinery out of the equation
Our experts’ scores are then averaged out to produce a race score – with those scores then tallied up across the season on our overall Power Rankings Leaderboard (at the bottom of the page)

WINNERS AND LOSERS: Who thrived under the lights at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix?

A second pole position at Jeddah and in his Formula 1 career followed by a fifth career victory for the Mexican, in what his Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner called “his best ever race”.

Perez was made to work hard for the win, after losing the lead at the start to Fernando Alonso and later having to hold off the charge of his team mate, Max Verstappen. But he handled it all well, earning him a place at the top of this week’s rankings.

F1 NATION: Perez perfection as Alonso plays another ace – it’s our Saudi Arabian GP review

A driveshaft issue in qualifying forced Verstappen to start in P15, but many in the paddock still backed him for victory on Sunday night. He skilfully powered his way through the field to finish second, and while Verstappen was accepting of the result, he was also a little disappointed, showing just how well he is performing right now.

What an eventful evening for the Spaniard, as he was made to wait until well after the race for his 100th F1 podium to be confirmed. When he overtook Perez at the start, many wondered whether that 33rd win was on the cards too, but he later lost out to the faster Mexican and his Red Bull team mate. Still, Alonso never looked under pressure from any of his rivals behind, driving wonderfully to finish third.

There was a point in the night where Russell thought he had earned himself a first podium of the year – after Alonso was given a 10-second penalty and demoted to fourth – although Russell would later learn that he had to settle for his original P4 finishing position.

Russell should still take solace from the fact that he enjoyed what he called one of his strongest weekends in F1, putting in an impressive lap to qualify fourth fastest, before holding off the early challenge of Lance Stroll and later on, his team mate, Lewis Hamilton.

Ocon described his race as lonely, but also revealed his P8 finish was the maximum he and Alpine could have hoped for on Sunday. It was the typical convincing performance that we have become accustomed to from the French driver in Alpine colours, as while he could not catch the faster cars ahead, he was also too quick for his rivals behind.

Magnussen and Haas were made to work hard for their first points of the year, as the Dane was embroiled in an exciting multi-lap battle with Yuki Tsunoda. After many attempts, Magnussen finally breached the Japanese driver's staunch defence, putting the finishing touches on a strong performance after starting 13th on the grid.

It was a case of what might have been for Stroll, as he had made a brilliant start to the evening by pulling off a stunning overtake on Carlos Sainz, round the outside of the Spaniard at Turn 13 on the opening lap.

He was driving well in fourth, but unfortunately for him, he lost out in the pit stops to Sainz and Charles Leclerc, before retiring from the race on Lap 16. Nevertheless, it was a still a strong weekend from the Canadian, who admitted before the race that his wrists were still not a 100%.

MONDAY MORNING DEBRIEF: How Jeddah highlighted the fascinating battle between Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes

Verstappen was not the only driver to make his way through the field on Sunday, as despite setting the second fastest qualifying lap on Saturday, Leclerc had a 10-place grid penalty – for fitting another control electronics power unit component – that forced him to start in 12th.

A bold decision to start on the soft tyres paid off as he made his way up as high as fifth in the first stint. He, however, lost out under the Safety Car caused by Stroll stopping on track and found himself down in seventh. He could not go any higher for the rest of the evening, but it was still a drive to be proud of from the Monegasque.

Hamilton revealed that a set-up issue had put him on the backfoot in Jeddah, as he qualified down in P8. A brave strategy to go long on the hard tyre at the start somewhat paid off, as he could change to the faster mediums for the final stint.

He pulled off a sweet overtake on Sainz for fifth, but unfortunately for the Briton, he could not go any higher than that. However, after a trying week for him and the team post-Bahrain, it wound up being a solid outing for the seven-time world champion.

For the second consecutive race in a row, Tsunoda suffered the heartbreak of narrowly losing out on a top-10 finish. The Japanese racer put on a robust defensive showing to keep the faster Magnussen behind for multiple laps, as he looked to hold on to P10.

Unfortunately for him and his team, the Dane got past, much to Tsunoda’s frustration on the radio, but if he keeps driving like this, expect him to be a regular member of these rankings.

Missing out

Narrowly missing out on a place in the top 10 are Pierre Gasly, Zhou Guanyu and Alex Albon, who all scored seven out of 10 for their performance in Saudi Arabia. All three drivers showed great pace, while Albon will count himself as unlucky, given he was forced to retire with a brake issue.

Leaderboard

POWER RANKINGS: No perfect 10s in Jeddah – but who impressed the judges in Saudi Arabia?

How it works

Missing out

Leaderboard

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Coming Up