F1 | Chinese GP report cards – Ricciardo is a juggler, Bottas deserved it, Vettel hit and sunk…

Un Chinese GP (vote 8) divided between the intense duel of Ferrari and Mercedes and the winning chase of Red Bull. Exciting in the last stage, with an unexpected and surprising final ranking.

Daniel Ricciardo 10 The ability to seize the moment like few others. The skill in transforming the opportunity into a result, the coldness in the maneuvers, the highly spectacular yet precise driving to the millimetre. A driver of rare skill, very fast and reliable. You take the safe tire advantage, but the overtaking on Bottas which gives him the victory is a high school trick. First triumph of the season, sixth in his career. TIGHTRIGHT

Valtteri Bottas 9 Ahead of Hamilton in qualifying. Excellent shot at the traffic light. A sure victory is built with perfect timing. Very fast on the return lap and on the exit lap from the pits, surgical in the undercut against Vettel. He deserves it, but Mercedes couldn't deal with the attacking Red Bull. SAWING

Kimi Raikkonen 8 At the start he raises his foot out of common sense and loyalty to the cause, proving once again a precious ally for Vettel. The podium is deserved for what was shown over the weekend, even if the race itself is slightly indecipherable, also due to a strategy that wasn't too sensible. CORRECT

lewis hamilton 6,5 In some ways he seems to have remained with the Australian virtual safety car. Up until then he had been a contemptuous dominator, then he slowly faded away in the next two rounds, proving to be less and less brilliant than the revived Bottas. What happens? COUNTER FIGURE 

Max Verstappen 3 A full and sacrosanct awareness of one's great means does not yet correspond to a full awareness of one's limits. The latter, however, will be necessary to give measure and meaning to his races. At least he publicly apologizes. DEPLOYED

Nico Hulkenberg 7,5 He senses the excellent result at hand and doesn't take any pressure. The pit stop under the safety car was also providential, sixth place is pure gold for the current Renault. ON THE PIECE

Fernando Alonso 7,5 From the seventh row to the seventh position. With the usual stubbornness and a pinch of (gratuitous?) malice towards Vettel in difficulty. With a car that is certainly not exceptional, but reliable, he is back to permanently occupying the points zone. CONSISTENT

Sebastian Vettel 8,5 The champion's push in qualifying, the bad start, like Schumacher, the first phase of the race conducted with great authority. He suffers Bottas' undercut, also paying for a less than impeccable strategy. He has no way of building an answer to the Finn on the track, nor of taking home a possible "quiet" third place. When Verstappen sees red… SUNK

Carlos Sainz 6,5 He fights with his partner Hulk in the early stages of the race. He gets a little stuck in traffic, losing contact with Alonso. He still suffers from some problems adapting to the Renault, but the two points boost morale. WILLING

Kevin Magnussen6,5 The soft-medium strategy is intelligent. At the start of the race he "presses" the wall to let Grosjean lead the way. He can do very little at the end against faster cars. EASY

Esteban Ocon 6 With this Force India, a distant relative of the fourth force of previous seasons, he fought to get into the points, but at the restart he lost too much time in overtaking Grosjean, despite the fresh tyres.

Sergio Perez 6 Chaotic race with a forgettable start; in the first corners he went off-piste after a contact in a brawl. From there he goes up, but there is little he can do.

Stoffel Vandoorne 5 For the second GP he's left with the clutch in his hands... So it's tough to get into the points.

Lance stroll e Sergey Sirtokin 6 Williams still late. The two made no mistakes, with the Russian more efficient in qualifying, while the Canadian was the protagonist of an overall positive GP.

Romain Grosjean 5,5 He qualifies in the top ten, but his Shanghai is a bit in shrimp format. In the final result you weigh heavily on the restart with the medium tires already significantly worn.

Marcus Ericsson 6 He is bringing the regularity and consistency that Leclerc still lacks.

Charles Leclerc 4,5 Faster in qualifying than his teammate. In the race he ruins everything with an unexpected spin. He is learning, for now he is still (a talent) immature.

Pierre Gasly 3,5 Unrecognizable compared to Bahrain, already from the qualification stage. He rams his teammate badly when braking at the hairpin. Risky maneuver, the result of a misunderstanding with the wall due to an exchange of positions between the two Faenza cars.

Brendon Hartley 5 Ahead of Gasly in qualifying, who hit him hard in the race. Honest to admit that it was also a misunderstanding, even if he really has very little to blame.

Antonino Rendina

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