What a blast this race was! The best Grand Prix in almost two years also delivers the best results in the driver rankings of Motorsport-Magazin.com the day after, there was still some explosive material. Firstly, with a showdown for the title of the best driver at Formula 1 in Canada. Secondly, with one of the most abysmal performances that MSM editors and readers have ever rated for the ranking.
Yes, the ranking in Montreal is framed by Red Bull. But Max Verstappen had to worry this time. Because he, like almost no one else in the difficult mixed conditions, remained error-free this weekend. The MSM editors gave him three Very Goods, as did his constant pursuer Lando Norris. But the readers are harsh critics, and both drivers get
Verstappen & Norris drive Canada in their own ranking class
The readers’ score narrowly decides in Verstappen’s favor (1.56 to 1.58). With overall scores of 1.28 and 1.29, Verstappen and Norris are in a class of their own in the rain. The other drivers in the leading group all made mistakes at one point and failed to make it into the top 5 (Russell: 2.35; Piastri: 2.52; Hamilton: 2.72). Daniel Ricciardo’s solid weekend (minus a small false start, oops) therefore earned him an average of 2.18 and third place, just ahead of Fernando Alonso (2.20).
Alex Albon, innocently knocked out by Carlos Sainz, pulled off perhaps the move of the year with a double overtaking maneuver on the brakes between two cars, and ultimately secured fifth place. Sainz gets a lesson for this move, but an average of 4.59 in Canada is “only” bad enough for 17th place. There’s a lot more to be done. Much, much more.
Perez result worse than Mazepin 2021 in Bahrain
The last place goes to Sergio Perez. With a straight six from the editors, he reaches a rarely researched ranking depth. For the first time since Nikita Mazepin 2021 in Bahrain we actually have to delve into the history of our system introduced in 2021 and check whether this is not even a negative record.
The answer is: No. But Perez came within 0.06 of the record. It has never been this close. It is the second worst ranking result since 2019. Worse than Mazepin’s crash on the first lap of Bahrain 2021, worse than Bottas bowling in Hungary in 2021. Charles Leclerc, of all people, saved Perez from the ultimate disgrace – he received 5.77 for knocking out teammate Sebastian Vettel in Spielberg in 2020.
In Canada, Perez also saved the usual candidates Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant from worse. With 4.83 (Zhou) and 4.93 (Sargeant), both were absolutely abysmal. On many weekends, such scores would be enough for last place.
Canada cracker: Formula 1 only needs rain
And we’re back to Bernie Ecclestone’s sprinkler systems. That’s just how it is in Formula 1. Add water, get season highlight. With 1.39, Canada 2024 is the best-rated Grand Prix since Hungary 2022.
- Readers’ rating race: 1.45
- MSM-Note Race: 1.33
- Overall race score: 1.39
Driver ranking Canada 2024: The MSM grades
| P. | driver | Menath | Niedermaier | Stonecracker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verstappen | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Norris | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Russell | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Hamilton | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | Piastri | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Alonso | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | Stroll | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 8th | Ricciardo | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Gasly | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Ocon | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 11 | Hulkenberg | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Magnussen | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 13 | Bottas | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 14 | Tsunoda | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| 15 | Zhou | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 16 | Sainz | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 17 | Albon | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 18 | Perez | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 19 | Leclerc | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 20 | Sargeant | 4 | 5 | 5 |
F1 driver ranking Canada 2024: Hard cases of the editorial team
Christian Menath
Positive hardship case: Lando Norris
Negative hardship case: Zhou Guanyu
Wow, what a weekend! First the second closest pole decision in Formula 1 history, then a Grand Prix that five different drivers could win. In the end, it wasn’t the best car that won in these conditions, but the best driver with the best team. Lando Norris may have had the best car for long stretches, but not the best team at the crucial moment. He drove (almost) error-free and was on a par with Verstappen in this respect. Perhaps he should have given the team clearer instructions before the safety car phase. Zhou Guanyu also needs clear instructions now. Things cannot continue like this for the Chinese. Zhou is breaking too much and is far too slow. His third year in Formula 1 is his worst.
Florian Niedermair:
Positive hardship case: Max Verstappen
Negative hardship case: Logan Sargeant
No one was completely error-free this weekend – especially in the race. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were the closest. Both of them would have deserved a mention here: Norris because he was actually booked to win and was only prevented from doing so by bad luck with the safety car, Verstappen because he was able to perfectly convert his somewhat lucky lead in the second half of the race. Balancing justice for Miami, so to speak. Logan Sargeant, on the other hand, proved once again in difficult conditions why Williams would do well to look for alternatives. Even if, by the way, their preferred candidate Carlos Sainz has shown anything but talent. But back to Sargeant: One slip? It can happen in this weather. Two? Okay, maybe more. But then to throw the car into the wall and all that within 23 laps? Sorry Logan, that’s not how you deserve a Formula 1 cockpit.
Markus Steinrisser
Positive hardship case: Daniel Ricciardo
Negative hardship case: Sergio Perez
This race managed to change almost all driver decisions from Red Bull has been portrayed as wrong in recent days. Daniel Ricciardo, who is still driving without a contract, delivered the best weekend of all in the squad behind Max Verstappen. Really great qualifying, in the race only the small jump start went wrong. Yuki Tsunoda, who had just been given a one-year contract extension, actually drove well, but eventually he hit the grass. Sergio Perez, who had just been given a TWO-year contract extension, was not driving well anyway, and then he hit the wall. I am a strong advocate of not questioning long-term decisions just because of one race, and this paragraph is not intended to be an argument for a Ricciardo promotion. But for Perez this is already the third race in a row.
The top 5 in the MSM season ranking 2024 to Canada
Lando Norris has now established himself as the first Verstappen hunter and has created some breathing room against Charles Leclerc. The two are also clearly the best drivers of the season so far in terms of average marks, and are the only ones below second place. In the duel between Perez and Ricciardo, the score is now 3.41 to 3.42, with Ricciardo in the lead. A word about the team rankings: this is where things are getting tricky for Red Bull. They have long since been out of the running in terms of points, and McLaren and Ferrari are battling for the top spot.
How the MSM driver ranking works
Long-time MSM readers already know the ranking, the now proven system of previous years will enter its sixth year in 2024. Immediately after the finish of each Grand Prix, we will call you in our Formula 1 live ticker for the race and here in the article about the ratings of all 20 drivers. You can rate as much as you like until next midday (or longer for evening overseas races).
The average of your marks is used to give each driver a reader’s mark. In parallel with you, we, the MSM F1 crew around Christian Menath, Florian Niedermair and Markus Steinrisser, also rate the performance of all drivers on the weekend in question. We also calculate an average from our judgements – the MSM mark. The overall mark is created in the last step by averaging the user and MSM marks in equal parts. In the event of a tie in the final ranking, the best individual mark decides.
As a little extra, each editor provides his personal hardships of the weekend by choosing and explaining which driver particularly caught his attention. Once in a positive and once in a negative sense. Online, the overall result is always 18:00 the day after the race.