Australian Grand Prix- Driver Ratings

The 2015 season got off to an underwhelming start on Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix, but there were still plenty to talk about.

Hamilton won again, Vettel looks back to his best and Ferrari and 17-year-old Max Verstappen looks right at home.

Here is how they all got on around Albert Park.

Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton started the new season in exactly the same way he finished the last. Dominating at the front.

The Briton was on the back foot on Friday, but he quickly went back to a familiar set up and was brilliant in qualifying.

On race day, he as untouchable. Rosberg fans will point to the slender gap that existed between the pair throughout the race, but it was clear Hamilton could have won by more, if he really wanted to.

9/10.

Nico Rosberg

Rosberg appeared happy with his weekend’s work, but in reality he has little to smile about.

On Saturday, he fluffed his lines in qualifying by making errors on both of his flying laps, while he failed to really threaten Hamilton in the race.

Each time the German got close to his team-mate, the defending champion pulled away with ease. Rosberg still picked up 18 points, but it appears little has changed from last season.

6/10.

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel looks like he has rediscovered his mojo at Ferrari, after he claimed an impressive third place on his debut for the Italian team.

The former champion rediscovered his tyre preservation skills, as he kept them fresh for longer than Felipe Massa. When the Williams driver pitted, Vettel put his foot down and came out in front of the Brazilian when he made his own stop a couple of laps later.

Vettel also beat Kimi Raikkonen in their race together, in a positive start to his Ferrari career.

8/10.

Kimi Raikkonen

The former champion admitted that he wasn’t at his best on either Friday or Saturday, but he still managed to come fractionally behind Vettel in qualifying.

On race day, a fine start was ruined when he was hit by his team-mate,  but his recovery drive was superb. Kimi is clearly happier this season, and his fight with Vettel could be the most exciting thing to watch this year.

8/10.

Felipe Massa

Solid and dependable, Felipe Massa got his season off to a decent start by finishing fourth on Sunday. He may not have had a perfect qualifying lap, but by coming third he showed who is the best of the rest over one lap.

Felipe Massa, Williams FW37 Mercedes

However, the Brazillian couldn’t make his tyres last as long as Vettel and this, ultimately, cost him third place.

Still, 12 points on a track where he has rarely done well is a positive start to the season.

7/10.

Valtteri Bottas

It was a massive shame that Valtteri Bottas missed the race with a back injury, as he would have added an interesting element to the Massa/Vettel fight.

The Finn qualified brilliantly on Saturday, considering his back injury, and his aim is to recover in time for Malaysia.

He looked quick and bright on Friday, and the early indications are that he remains the quicker Williams driver.

7/10

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo was one of the star performers in qualifying, but his seventh place on the grid shows how far behind Red Bull (and Renualt) are.

In the race, he made a poor start and fell behind Felipe Nasr. The home favourite struggled to get near Nasr in the race, and he will hope that Malaysia is more to his car’s liking, after this write off.

7/10

Daniil Kvyat

It’s hard to judge a driver who broke down on the way to the grid, but, in truth, it summed up Kvyat’s disappointing Red Bull debut.

The Russian struggled with the car all through Friday, and he was comfortably out-qualified by Ricciardo on Saturday as he bowed out in Q2.

He may have scored points if his gear-box didn’t pack up, and he’ll face a strong challenge to get off the mark in Kuala Lumpa.

4/10

Jenson Button

Jenson Button

Button, and McLaren, can’t really be judged until they turn the power up on their engine but the Englishman must be praised for his fighting performance.

He managed to keep the much faster Sergio Pérez behind him for most of the race, while he impressively nurtured the car to its first ever race distance.

8/10.

Kevin Magnussen

His engine blow up on the way to the grid was a hard pill to swallow for Magnussen, who is unlikely to drive in F1 again this season.

However, it was a mixed weekend for the Dane as he qualified slower that Button and hit the wall in free practice two.

4/10

Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India VJM08

What a performance by a classy driver. The car is the second slowest, ahead of McLaren of course, while it has done less running that anyone else.

Yet still, Hulkenberg drove superbly. He kept out of danger, took advantage of other drivers’ misfortune and claimed a fine seventh.

He was composed throughout in another faultless drive.

8/10

Sergio Pérez

While Hulkenberg gave a typically measured performance, Perez gave a typically erratic one in a weekend he will want to instantly forget.

He stupidly overtook Marcus Ericsson under a safety car, while he banged into Jenson Button. He battled to earn the final point, but he was lucky he only had Button to beat.

Expect a much improved display in Malaysia.

4/10

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz jr.

Toro Rosso’s other débutante made the sport stand up and take note with a fine performance across the weekend.

Sainz out-qualified Max Verstappen on Saturday, while he made a great start and climbed to fifth. He was lucky not to suffer more damage when he touched Kimi Raikkonen, but that caught up with him when a poor pit stop cost him seventh.

Two points is still an impressive return, and he will look to improve on that in Malaysia.

8/10

Max Verstappen

Verstappen was composed all weekend, and proved a point to all his doubters. A qualifying error saw him start 11^th, but on Sunday he was largely faultless as he sat contently in the points before an engine failure.

Sainz is already ahead in qualifying, which is why he has a mark less.

However, on this evidence, it won’t be long before the sports youngest ever driver becomes the sport’s youngest ever points scorer.

7/10

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean

Grosjean would have backed himself for points on Sunday, but a mysterious loss of power ended his race early.

He qualified well in eighth, but he will be disappointed to have been beaten by Sainz and Ricciardo.

Lotus have clearly improved and it won’t be long until the Frenchman is scoring well, but it’s hard to judge him on such limited running.

7/10

Pastor Maldonado

Maldonado crashed into the wall again, so on the face of it not much has changed from last season.

However, the Venezuelan was blameless on this occasion, as he was powerless to stop Sainz and Raikkonen shoving him in the wall.

Despite this, he was slower than Grosjean in qualifying so he still has ground to make up.

6/10

Felipe Nasr

After a turbulent build-up to the opening race, Felipe Nasr gave Sauber plenty to smile about.

The Brazilian was the driver of the day, as he made a blistering start and comfortably kept Ricciardo behind in the faster Red Bull.

He looked at ease fighting for the high points in one of the best débuts in recent times.

If Sauber do have to bring in Giedo van der Garde, Nasr is unlikely to be the man to make way based on this fine performance.

10/10

Marcus Ericsson

Ericsson may have scored his first F1 points, but he has to be nervous if Van der Garde wants to race. The Swede may have had mechanical problems during Friday and Saturday, but he shouldn't have finished as far behind Nasr as he did in qualifying.

On race day, he wasn’t as quick as he should have been around his pit-stops and he gave Hulkenberg an easy ride in seventh.

6/10

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