The Race's Mexico GP driver tier list puts Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell under the microscope

Mexico GP driver performances were assessed again this week in the tier list format introduced by Edd Straw of The Race. Straw said nobody was flawless in Mexico City and went through each driver's weekend one by one.

Verstappen, Hamilton and Russell

Straw said Max Verstappen stood out with strong pace and sound decisions at the start, and he also kept Lewis Hamilton behind him. A lock-up on his final qualifying lap could have kept him out of the top tier, but traffic softened the impact. A grid penalty he picked up after an incident with Liam Lawson on Friday was noted as a minor negative.

Hamilton had a strong weekend. He took his first pole position since 2023. Straw wrote that Hamilton drove without error apart from a late braking moment at Turn 4, where both he and Verstappen braked late, and that without it Hamilton could have swapped places with Verstappen.

George Russell set a very good final lap in qualifying. Straw said the power delivery problem at the race start was not Russell's fault. However, Straw said Russell should have been more pragmatic in his battle with Hadjar, and noted that the penalty he received dropped him to sixth.

Mistakes and difficult weekends

Charles Leclerc had good pace. Straw wrote, however, that Leclerc lost pole because of a shortfall in his tyre preparation on his final qualifying lap. In the race he made two mistakes: a late braking move at Turn 4 and a lock-up at Turn 1 on the restart. Nico Hulkenberg wrecked his weekend with one error, hitting Bearman from behind on the restart. Straw considered the mistake understandable but avoidable.

Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto were penalised for ignoring yellow flags. Colapinto received a 10-second penalty. Straw said Oscar Piastri's weak Q2 and his collision with Lindblad counted against him.

Ryo Hirakawa was assessed in extraordinary circumstances after stepping into Esteban Ocon's seat. In the race he passed two Williams cars and scored points after penalties were applied. Kimi Antonelli won the world championship, but in the rankings both his health and his pace fell short.