Barcelona GP Driver Rankings: Who ended up bottom of the pile?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Athletic.
The race is on, and the Barcelona-Catalonia Grand Prix proved a historic one on track as Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory for Ferrari. But after returning to the top of the F1 podium for the first time in more than 600 days, will he also make a return to the top of my rankings for the first time since the 2024 British Grand Prix? I'm Ed Shaw, and joining me once again to discuss how I rank the drivers' performances in Barcelona is Ben Anderson. Well, Ben, this isn't very rotating, cast. It's you again, second time in a row.
Yes, the turntable has rotated so far that just as you thought you'd vanquished me and wouldn't have to see me again for some time, I'm back to oppose you almost immediately. So, yeah, we've kind of broken the format straight away, haven't we?
Yeah, well, often who is able to join me will depend on schedules. And this one was a particularly narrow and awkward window, so we're doing it at quite an odd hour, and you were the unfortunate who was available.
Yeah, that's why I'm looking dishevelled, for those of you watching on YouTube. And of course, as you know, Ed, I'm always available.
What made Lewis Hamilton's victory at the Barcelona GP historic?
Absolutely, that's your main value, yeah. So both looking dishevelled, probably, for this one, because I'm currently in Madrid taking a look around the... around the circuit so driver ranking so let's give it a rundown 22nd charles leclerc 21st fernando alonso 20th alex alban 19th gabrielle bortoletto 18th esteban ocon 17th valtteri bottas 16th, Sergio Perez. 15th, Lance Stroll. 14th, Franco Colapinto. 13th, Isaac Hajar. 12th, Oscar Piastri. 11th, Liam Lawson. 10th, Pierre Gasly. 9th, Arvid Lindblad. 8th, Carlos Sainz. 7th, Oli Behrmann. 6th, Nico Hülkenberg. 5th George Russell 4th Kimi Antonelli 3rd Max Verstappen 2nd Lando Norris 1st Lewis Hamilton So, Ben, what's the first thing that's shaken you by the shoulders and grabbed your attention in terms of what the hell is going on here?
Well, there's quite a few things to look at, I think, in these rankings. We had a lot of questions from the race members club. They're going to be my allies in this interrogation. They've submitted many questions. Obviously, if you want to get involved in grilling Ed on his driver rankings after each race, then you can join the Race Members Club on Patreon and earn question-asking privileges. I think it makes sense to briefly start at the top, the top three. You had Lewis Hamilton... Obviously, number one in your rankings, the first time this season that he's been number one. You described him as being somewhere near his best in your rankings. Lando Norris, also on the podium. You said he got close to the maximum out of the McLaren.
And Max Verstappen, who was number two in Monaco, also in the top three this time. You said he slightly overachieved in the fourth best car. So I just want to know, was there anyone else other than those three in contention for the podium? Or was this your nailed on top three? And Thoronin Gunnarsson wants to know if you look past Lando's lucky podium finish when determining his ranking.
Well, the podium finish for Norris wasn't really relevant because that was just a consequence of two cars coming out. So Norris would have been ranked the same whether he was fifth or third because... I try and think of it in terms of what the ceiling of the car is. So I don't think that made any difference. There was no part of my thinking that was like, oh, he's got a podium, isn't that brilliant? Because I always conceive of the results. I think I try and conceive of them slightly differently. I tend to have an idea of where the ceiling of the car is, what the performance order is. and where you've put it. And I think with Norris, he wasn't finishing any higher, was he? And I think it would have been hard to qualify any higher.
Okay, maybe he could have got ahead of Antonelli, because Antonelli under-delivered in qualifying. But he still put the McLaren ahead of all the cars it should have been, and maybe a car, well, certainly one car in the Ferrari, it shouldn't have been, or that was Leclerc's fault, and he finished.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–1:16
2
What made Lewis Hamilton's victory at the Barcelona GP historic?
1:16–6:45
3
How did Edd Straw rank Lewis Hamilton after his performance?
6:45–12:41
4
What were the highlights of the driver rankings for the top three?
12:41–30:39
5
How did the Mercedes drivers perform in the rankings?
30:39–42:47
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Race F1 Podcast
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