2022 Mexican Grand Prix driver ratings · RaceFans

The Mexican Grand Prix may not have been the most thrilling or eventful race of the season, but it did prove to be an interesting battle of strategies up and down the field.

Those who opted to take harder compound tyres after their first pit stops struggled to make them work, while those who took the aggressive route of using medium or even soft tyres generally found that paid dividends later in the race.

With only two drivers dropping out, the 20 drivers did a generally good job of keeping their cars on the road. But as always some did better than others. Here are the RaceFans driver ratings for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton – 7

Qualified: 3rd (-1 place behind team mate)
+0.005s slower than team mate in Q3
Finished: 2nd (+2 places ahead of team mate)

• First Q3 lap deleted for track limits, then missed out on front row start by five-thousandths of a second from team mate
• Started on medium tyres and passed team mate for second in turn two on the opening lap
• Maintained a gap of around two seconds to leader despite harder tyres before pitting after Verstappen on lap 29
• Fitted hard tyres and rejoined six seconds behind Verstappen
• Struggled to keep pace with Verstappen ahead on his hard tyres, slowly falling back over the course of the second stint
• Had Perez get within two seconds but successfully kept the Red Bull out of DRS range until pulling away
• Crossed the line to take a disappointing second place, over 15 seconds behind the winner

George Russell – 6

Qualified: 2nd (+1 place ahead of team mate)
-0.005s quicker than team mate in Q3
Finished: 4th (-2 places behind team mate)

• Missed first practice to allow Nyck de Vries to drive in his place
• Had been level with Verstappen on final Q3 lap before mistake in turn 12 cost him chance at pole
• Lined up second on the grid on mediums and challenged Verstappen into turn one before losing places to Hamilton and Perez
• Kept around two seconds behind Perez before the Red Bull pitted, then lobbied team to extend first stint
• Pitted for hards from the lead on lap 34, rejoining five seconds further back from Perez in fourth
• Slowly began to close gap to Perez over second stint but remained at least four seconds behind
• Asked team to pit him under Virtual Safety Car but told to stay out
• Pitted on penultimate lap for softs, remaining in fourth and finishing there
• Comfortably claimed the fastest lap of the race on the final lap

Max Verstappen…