POWER RANKINGS: Which driver earned a perfect score for their Australian Grand Prix weekend?

Carlos Sainz delivered a sensational performance to go from a hospital bed to victory at the Australian Grand Prix in the space of two weeks. But which other drivers impressed during the Melbourne weekend? Scroll down to check out the latest Power Rankings leaderboard.

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)

READ MORE: Sainz storms to victory amid drama in Australia as Verstappen retires and Russell crashes out

Having been forced to sit out the previous round in Saudi Arabia due to appendicitis and subsequent surgery, Sainz marked his return to action with a gutsy display around the streets of Albert Park, impressively pushing Max Verstappen’s Red Bull for pole position, overhauling it at the start of the race and never looking back. That earned 10/10 from all of our judges.

READ MORE: ‘Life is crazy sometimes’ – Sainz overjoyed after ‘rollercoaster’ ride from hospital bed to Australian GP victory

While Charles Leclerc backed up Sainz for a Ferrari one-two finish last weekend, it was Lando Norris who slotted into second position in our Australia rankings, having charged to a first podium finish of 2024 for both himself and McLaren – getting the Woking operation’s season moving in the right direction.

READ MORE: Norris believes pace was strong enough for P2 in Australia with McLaren ‘getting closer’ to Ferrari and Red Bull

On team mate Daniel Ricciardo’s home Grand Prix weekend, Yuki Tsunoda stepped up to lead the RB charge, qualifying eighth fastest and going one better on race day to give the Italian team a valuable first points finish of the year. It was a showing that earned him a tied Power Rankings podium to boot.

READ MORE: Mekies says RB need to see Tsunoda ‘take the next step’ in fourth F1 season

Holding the same score as Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg made it two points finishes in two races with another assured drive to ninth position, impressively rising from 16th on the grid to underline the progress Haas have made with their long-run pace so far this season.

READ MORE: ‘It’s very encouraging’ – Hulkenberg and Magnussen hail ‘teamwork’ as Haas score double points finish in Australia

Oscar Piastri could not quite make it onto the podium at his home race, having been asked to move aside for his approaching team mate Norris mid-race, but he still contributed significantly to a strong McLaren points haul and showed maturity over how he handled the squad’s instructions.

IN DEPTH: ‘More people will know who I am this time!’ – Oscar Piastri opens up ahead of his sophomore home race

Leclerc started the Melbourne weekend on top with a pace-setting display in Friday practice, but from there he lost confidence in his Ferrari, abandoning his final qualifying run to start a disappointing fifth and then playing second-best to returning team mate Sainz in the race.

READ MORE: ‘He deserves it’ – Leclerc praises team mate Sainz as he admits needing to do ‘a better job’

Kevin Magnussen made it two Haas drivers in the top 10 in Australia and, as a result, the top 10 in our latest Power Rankings, with the Dane enjoying a similar rise to team mate Hulkenberg as he turned 14th on the grid into the final point.

GREATEST RACE: Kevin Magnussen remembers the Grand Prix that ‘changed my world’ on and off the track

It was a race day to forget for reigning world champion Max Verstappen as he lost the lead to Sainz on Lap 2 and retired a tour later amid brake issues, ending a run of 43 events in the points. His efforts to qualify on pole position still earned him a solid placing in this week’s charts.

READ MORE: ‘It hurts everybody’ – Red Bull say ‘lots of lessons’ to take from first mechanical retirement since Melbourne 2022

It was also a chastening weekend for Williams who were only able to compete with one car after Alex Albon’s FP1 crash wrote off a chassis and the team had no spare to hand. Albon ultimately took over team mate Logan Sargeant’s FW46 and did all he could to score a point, only narrowly missing out on a reward in P11.

EXPLAINED: Why Williams had to bench Sargeant in Australia – and the big impact it has on the rest of their 2024

Esteban Ocon gave Alpine the first mini highlight of what has been a painful season so far by dragging his car into the second qualifying phase in Australia. He then got himself into the mix for a point on race day, only for a visor tear-off to work its way into a brake duct and scupper his chances.

Missing out

Just behind Ocon, a trio of drivers ended the weekend on the same score, with George Russell (having crashed out on the final lap), Fernando Alonso (having picked up a penalty for his actions before that incident) and Pierre Gasly (battling in similar fashion to his Alpine team mate) all close to the top 10.

READ MORE: 5 Winners and 5 Losers from Australia – Who left Melbourne on a high?