POWER RANKINGS: Who made the biggest impression on our judges during a magical Monza weekend?

Charles Leclerc made his and Ferrari’s dreams come true at the Italian Grand Prix by delivering a superb home win for the Scuderia in front of the Tifosi. But who else impressed our judges at Monza? Read on for the latest Power Rankings scores and 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)

F1 NATION: How Ferrari and Leclerc outwitted McLaren at Monza – it's our Italian GP review

Ferrari returned home looking to get their season back on track but few expected the outcome that Leclerc delivered at Monza on Sunday. Slower than both McLarens and George Russell’s Mercedes in qualifying, Leclerc expertly pounced on Lando Norris after the papaya cars went wheel-to-wheel on the first lap and then overhauled Oscar Piastri when he and Ferrari opted for an inspired one-stop strategy, rather than the two-stop. A flawless race day performance.

Piastri was understandably frustrated when the chequered flag dropped on Sunday, having fallen 2.6 seconds short of Leclerc after making two stops to the Monegasque’s one. Before that, the Australian had done everything right, pulling off one of the moves of the season on Norris at the start and then controlling the race until McLaren and Ferrari went in different strategic directions. While he could not quite reclaim P1, it was a statement drive from Piastri.

Alex Albon and Williams entered the Italian Grand Prix weekend knowing that it would provide one of their best opportunities to score points and, once again, the British driver delivered when it mattered. After charging his way into Q3 and claiming ninth on the grid, Albon managed to hold onto the position on race day – despite some late pressure from Aston Martin rival Fernando Alonso – to bag a hugely valuable reward.

Carlos Sainz celebrated his 30th birthday on Sunday at Monza and, while it was Leclerc who secured that dream win for Ferrari, the Spaniard played his part as a rear-gunner en route to a strong fourth-place finish. It should also be noted that Sainz delivered his composed performance amid the emotion of competing on Italian soil as a Ferrari driver for the last time, with his trophy-filled chapter at Maranello reaching its final few pages.

THE STRATEGIST: How Sainz helped Leclerc beat McLaren – and the odds – to seal a famous Ferrari victory at Monza

Lando Norris had a golden opportunity to slash Max Verstappen’s championship lead in Italy, having stormed to another pole position while the Dutchman struggled to seventh on the grid in his ill-handling Red Bull. But it went awry for the McLaren man on the first lap, with team mate Piastri boldly going around the outside of him at the second chicane and the knock-on effect allowing Leclerc through. P3 would be where Norris finished as both the driver and his team were left to ponder what they could have done differently.

Verstappen and Red Bull were on the back foot throughout the Monza weekend, with the three-time world champion absent from both the battle for pole position and the race victory amid the RB20’s ongoing issues. After coming home sixth in a commendable damage limitation exercise, Verstappen bluntly commented that the team need to “basically change the whole car”. But can they achieve that in time?

Mercedes entered the summer break having won three of the last four races, but the two events since have been less fruitful for the Silver Arrows. Lewis Hamilton was furious with himself after qualifying at Monza, feeling that he blew a shot at pole, but bounced back to lead the team’s charge in the race. After pouncing on a mistake from team mate and second-row starter Russell, Hamilton finished a respectable fifth – and ‘best of the rest’ behind the Ferrari and McLaren drivers.

Kevin Magnussen was left with a host of different emotions after the Italian Grand Prix, having battled to a brilliant points finish before being handed a race ban for exceeding the limit of penalty points on his Super Licence – thanks to a clash with Alpine rival Pierre Gasly. That incident and penalty aside, the Dane earned one of his best scores of the season from our judges.

Alonso’s weekend in Italy was one of near misses, with the Spaniard failing to make it into Q3 by just one-hundredth and then failing to score a point by only two-tenths. Nonetheless, the Power Rankings panel were impressed by how he again seemingly pushed the Aston Martin beyond its capabilities – finishing a long way clear of team mate Lance Stroll in both qualifying and the race.

Franco Colapinto was given the opportunity of a lifetime when Williams turned to their academy member and F2 race winner as a mid-season replacement for Logan Sargeant. With a huge amount to learn, the Argentinian’s approach and steady improvement throughout the weekend (despite an understandable mistake in qualifying) impressed many in the paddock. At the end of it all, he was just two places away from the points and within 15 seconds of experienced team mate Albon. A fine start, even if Baku and Singapore are likely to pose more challenges.

Missing out

Sergio Perez just missed the cut after qualifying on the tail of Red Bull team mate Verstappen and finishing the race some 16 seconds back in eighth, with 13th-placed RB driver Ricciardo and seventh-placed Russell also close to making it into the top half of the table.

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POWER RANKINGS: Who made the biggest impression on our judges during a magical Monza weekend?

How it works

Missing out

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