Australian GP 2022
Charles Leclerc: 10/10 Sergio Perez: 8/10 George Russell: 9/10 Lewis Hamilton: 9/10 Lando Norris: 9/10 Daniel Ricciardo: 8/10 Esteban Ocon: 7/10 Valtteri Bottas: 8/10 Pierre Gasly: 7/10 Alex Albon: 9/10 Guanyu Zhou: 6/10 Lance Stroll: 6/10 Mick Schumacher: 6/10 Kevin Magnussen: 6/10 Yuki Tsunoda: 5/10 Nicholas Latifi: 3/10 Fernando Alonso: 9/10 Max Verstappen: 8/10 Sebastian Vettel: 2/10 Carlos Sainz: 6/10
Charles Leclerc is the favorite for the world title at the moment. The Ferrari driver delivered a superior and again flawless performance in Melbourne. That left five of his colleagues with a maximum of 9 despite almost perfect races. Charles Leclerc dictated the pace at will. The Red Bull drivers didn't stand a chance. When their tires began to grain, Leclerc pulled away from them. The Monegasse showed impressive tire management. As one of the few, he kept the left front tire in good shape.
With his second win of the season, Leclerc earned the top mark of 10 for the third time. A few other drivers also deserved them for getting the best out of worse cars, but they were all outshone by the Ferrari driver. So Leclerc is the clear favorite for the world title. Max Verstappen said grumpily: "I would need 45 races to catch up 46 points behind."
Five times the grade 9
Five drivers can feel almost as satisfied as Leclerc. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished third and fourth with the fifth fastest car. Hamilton only lost to Russell by changing tires at race pace, his compatriot under a safety car. Lando Norris blessed McLaren with a fifth place just ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The team couldn't even dream of that before the weekend.
Alexander Albon managed the impossible with a risky tactic: A championship point in a Williams from the last place on the grid. The Thai stayed on hard tires until the last lap and only then switched to the medium rubber. Alonso could have done that too, but Alpine wanted more than just a championship point and got nothing.
Alonso was unlucky. He had the speed for the front row. An oil leak threw him off track at Turn 11 in qualifying. Starting on hard tires didn't work out because he felt the safety car came 15 laps too early. Perez, Hamilton, Gasly, Zhou and Magnussen also cursed the timing of the safety car.
Driver grades GP Australia 2022
Here are the driver grades in a short overview. As always, you can find the individual reviews for all 20 pilots in the gallery.
