Vote for your 2015 Chinese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend

2015 Chinese Grand Prix

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Which F1 driver was the best performer during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend?

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most during the last race weekend.

Chinese Grand Prix driver-by-driver

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton – Fastest in every single session, except for Q1. Led all but three laps of the race en route to his second hat trick of the season. Able to control his pace and manage his tyres whilst never allowing his team mate to get within a second of his lead all race. Has now beaten his team mate to the chequered flag in all three races in 2015.

Nico Rosberg – Only just missed out on beating Hamilton to pole by four hundreths of a second on Saturday. Kept pace with Hamilton during the race but once again was never close enough to mount a serious challenge for the lead. Was very open after the race about his views that Hamilton’s tyre saving pace had left him unnecessarily at risk from Vettel, but Rosberg was never required to defend his position.

Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo – Decent qualifying position was squandered after poor start as the car fell into anti-stall and was forced to try and fight his way back through the field but was held up by team mate Kvyat in the opening stint. Ran the longest stint of the race on Soft tyres but had a tough time passing Ericsson’s Sauber in the final stint and inherited ninth following Verstappen’s retirement.

Daniil Kvyat – A weekend of problems for the Russian with brake issues on Friday, followed by a loss of power in qualifying that left him 12th on the grid. Lost places at the start as one of only two drivers to start on Medium tyres and unnecessarily cost his team mate and himself time by fighting before his Renault engine blew on lap 15, ending a forgettable weekend.

Williams

Felipe Massa – Damaged a front wing during second practice when his rear wing stalled, sending him into the barriers. Impressive lap in qualifying put him fourth on the grid but he lost out to Raikkonen at the start. Ran fifth for the entire race, powerless to catch the leading pack but comfortably the quicker of the two Williams.

Valtteri Bottas – Lined up behind his team mate on the grid and was able to jump him at the start, but lost out after Raikkonen’s daredevil move into Turn Three. Struggled to match his team mate’s pace during the race but was easily quicker than the Lotus behind and so spent the race virtually alone.

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel – Three races, three podiums for Ferrari’s newest driver. Was consistently quicker than Raikkonen all weekend and ran third the entire race, behind the Mercedes. Tried to put Rosberg under pressure in the middle stint, but the way that Mercedes pulled away after the final stops suggested challenging for the win was never really a possibility for Vettel in China.

Kimi Raikkonen – Failed to beat the Williams in qualifying after complaining of balance problems during his final run. Leapt into fourth at the start with an aggressive move on Bottas into Turn Three and spent the first two stints behind Vettel. Had an opportunity to challenge for the podium with fresher tyres in the last stint, but the late Safety Car robbed him of a chance to challenge.

McLaren

Fernando Alonso – Beaten by Button in qualifying to start 18th, but jumped his team mate at the start. Benefitted with a couple of positions after Button and Maldonado collided, but was too far off from the top ten to have any chance of points. Seeing the chequered flag for the first time this season will have been the main target achieved for this weekend.

Jenson Button – An encouraging tenth in second practice, but the pace was not there for the team in qualifying and 17th on the grid was likely the best he could achieve. Button lost out to Alonso at the start and ran the Medium tyre in his last stint. Button admitted the collision with Pastor Maldonado was a misjudgement and he received a five second time penalty and points on his superlicense as a result.

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Force India

Nico Hulkenberg – Was one of the first drivers to do his last run in Q1 and paid the price, missing the cut for the next stage. Jumped from 16th to 12th at the start which included passing Daniil Kvyat’s Red Bull and was running close to Verstappen and Ericsson before being forced out with drivetrain problems.

Sergio Perez – The first car to be eliminated in Q2, Perez was one of the few drivers to opt for an aggressive three stop strategy to try and make places through the field. Was catching Ericsson’s tenth placed Sauber in the final stint, but was unlikely to have ever challenged him even without the Safety Car.

Toro Rosso

Max Verstappen – A lock-up in qualifying cost Verstappen a place in Q3, by his own admission. Made up two positions at the start despite contact with Kvyat before gradually making his way into the points, pulling off a series of stunning and aggressive overtakes on the two Saubers and Sergio Perez along the way. Was running in eighth before his car ground to a halt along the pit straight.

Carlos Sainz Jnr – A tough weekend for the Spanish rookie. Beaten by Verstappen in qualifying before a spin at the beginning on lap two left him last. Recovered to 14th by his first pit stop but a gearbox problem on lap 20 left him stranded on track, costing around 20 seconds. From that point on, points were never a possibility and ultimately crossed the line an unfortunate 13th.

Lotus

Romain Grosjean – Sat out first practice as Jolyon Palmer drove his car. Consistently in the top ten on the timing sheets all weekend and qualified a decent eighth. Kept his nose clean at the start and managed his tyres well throughout the race but could do nothing to help catch the Williams ahead. Crossed the line a solid seventh for his first points since Monaco last year.

Pastor Maldonado – Missed out on Q3 by three hundredths of a second. Blamed a braking issue for his pit entry lock-up, had no one else to blame for his spin a few laps later but was blameless in the collision with Button that forced him into retirement for the third consecutive race.

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson – Decent qualifying performance saw him into Q3 and ultimately line up tenth – just less than a tenth of a second off his team mate. Spent a lot of the race battling for position but was passed more often than he passed others. Struggled with front tyre wear and inherited the last points position after Verstappen’s late retirement.

Felipe Nasr – Performed well in qualifying to secure his best grid slot of the season so far with ninth. Passed by Verstappen in the first stint and then struggled to catch the Toro Rosso back in the final section of the race. Gained eighth from Verstappen after the Toro Rosso stopped, but will likely be satisfied with his afternoon’s work.

Manor

Will Stevens – Out-qualified Merhi in his first qualifying run of the season. Was finally able to take to the start of a race this season but was passed by his team mate on the opening lap. Stevens overtook Merhi on lap nine and then concentrated on reaching the chequered flag, which he ultimately did, two laps down in 15th.

Roberto Merhi – Went into qualifying on the back foot after electrical problems in final practice kept him from doing a run on the soft tyres. Passed Stevens at the start, but was re-passed during the opening stint. Ran last for the vast majority of the race and was around 15 seconds behind his team mate at the time of the Safety Car, later receiving a five second time penalty after failing to adhere to the Safety Car time delta.

Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job this weekend?

Cast your vote below and explain your choice in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend?

  • Roberto Merhi (0%)
  • Will Stevens (0%)
  • Felipe Nasr (1%)
  • Marcus Ericsson (0%)
  • Pastor Maldonado (1%)
  • Romain Grosjean (5%)
  • Carlos Sainz Jnr (0%)
  • Max Verstappen (31%)
  • Sergio Perez (0%)
  • Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
  • Jenson Button (0%)
  • Fernando Alonso (1%)
  • Kimi Raikkonen (6%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (5%)
  • Valtteri Bottas (0%)
  • Felipe Massa (3%)
  • Daniil Kvyat (0%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
  • Nico Rosberg (0%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (45%)

Total Voters: 647

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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104 comments on “Vote for your 2015 Chinese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend”

  1. Although I don’t like Hamilton a lot (Ferrari-supporter since 2 decades and Vettel since this year) you have to vote Lewis.

    He played with his opponents, especially with Nico.

    That’s what a champion is about. Driving just as fast as you need without doing any mistake.

    1. Yepp, same here =) Ferrari fan for 20 years) Gotta give it to Lewis.

    2. Although I don’t like Hamilton a lot (Ferrari-supporter since 2 decades and Vettel since this year) you have to vote Lewis.

      What do you mean? Because you don’t like Hamilton others have to vote for him?

      Btw, I vote for Romain Grosjean.

      1. Yes ;-)
        I’m not a Hamilton fan but with a realistic view you probably have to give your vote to LH coz he dida superb drive throughout the whole weekend.

    3. I don’t agree that LH played with anyone. It’s ludicrous for NR to expect LH to compromise his own race and help him win instead. NR would not make such sacrifice for his teammate, but he’s arrogant enough to expect LH to do it for him. Remember Brazil 2014? NR control LH’s race causing him to destroy his tyres staying too close the entire race and forcing the inevitable error that made it impossible for LH to attack and overtake.

    4. Last grand prix i voted Lewis as 1 but this race i had the feeling he was saving something when i hear and saw both Lewis and Nico. So now i voted Max Verstappen as 1 (last time i voted him as second) as he gave me the feeling he was racing. This is what i missed by the most other drivers..

  2. L.H. No question.

  3. Hamilton – top 2 three times in a row now which is his place in the Mercedes. Once more also ahead of Rosberg whom many hold strong to be fast driver. Was never really threathened by his teammate entire weekend.

    Vettel – top 3 three times in a row now which is his place in the Ferrari. Once more also ahead of Raikkonen whom many hold strong to be fast driver. Was never really threathened by his teammate entire weekend.

    Massa – top 6 three times in a row now which is his place in the Williams. Once more also ahead of Bottas whom many hold strong to be fast driver. Was never really threathened by his teammate entire weekend.

    So, Hamilton because he finished the highest.

  4. Easy, Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen was great in race as well.

  5. Perhaps Lewis deserves it and I suspect he’ll win the vote without my contribution, so I chose Romain Grosjean for giving Lotus their best finish since 2013. Clean, fast and way ahead of his teammate.

  6. Verstappen. He was barely the only overtaking driver this weekend. The man is fast.

    1. He was great in the race but made an admitted mistake in quali. In my mind that means he can’t be driver of the weekend, so I went for HAM (who didn’t have anyone to overtake).

      1. Lewis said he made a little mistake with his quali that is why he didn’t improve his poletime. But this is Quali and i find the driver of the weekend should be the reflection during the race. They say not for nothing Saterday pole is great but it’s the race on Sunday which counts. (and remembered)

    2. + 1. Him and Maldonando were the two entertainers in the GP for different reasons!

  7. Hard not to chose Lewis this weekend; he dominated the track and smashed Rosberg mentally in and out of track.

    His driving was very reminiscent of the Old Professor Alain Prost.

    Time to reflect on how his past team mates, like Button and Alonso, has influence in the way Lewis are managing his races and a great driver like Rosberg.

    1. +1 Nice point Becken.

  8. Hamilton. Won a race Fangio would’ve been proud of.

  9. Tough choice between Hamster and Verstappen, went For Hamilton thanks to those pit window laps.

  10. Definitely Lewis this weekend, though Max is showing he belongs in a big way and would have gotten my vote if Lewis hadn’t dominated everything consistently.

  11. Lewis Hamilton.

  12. How can it not be Lewis? Fastest in practice, pole, quali and fastest race lap. Max had a great weekend too and had an amazing race while it lasted, but Lewis crushed it.

  13. Maldonadoh!!!!!

  14. For me it was very tough between Hamilton and Verstappen, but went for Hamilton simply because the way he dictated the race. He is right now at his career best form, looks very calm and has few tricks in his bag which he uses at will.

    Verstappen was also very very good on race day, a future star in making. Honorable mentions for Grosjean too.

  15. OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
    14th April 2015, 17:30

    Hamilton and Verstappen. I went for Verstappen (just because my bias stopped me to vote for Lewis ;P) because that teen deserves the seat Rosberg is wasting.

    1. Yeah, would be cool to see what Verstappen could do in that Mercedes.

      Something tells me we would be having a much more entertaining season then. Perhaps like the season when Hamilton was a rookie and Alonso had his meltdown because couldn’t cope being beaten by a rookie.

      1. Alonso had his meltdown because couldn’t cope being beaten by a rookie.

        Glad to see some people continue to beat that drum.

  16. Massa, for missing the long runs in practice due to a rear wing problem, yet being miles ahead of Bottas on Sunday.

    1. Miles ahead? I know F1 cars are fast, but Bottas was only slightly over a second behind Massa. No way they can cover “miles” in that short amount of time.

      1. That was due to the Safety Car at the end. They were separated by 11 seconds when the race was yellow-flagged, which under no circumstances amounts to a literal mile, much less miles with plural s (it would be slightly over a kilometer when travelling at a constant speed of 360 kph, but yeah …).
        Figuratively speaking, though, 11 seconds in 54 lap is quite a significant gap between team mates who had a problem-free race with identical strategies.

        I voted for Massa, too.

        1. Meta-comment:
          This is one of the rare instances where “figuratively” is misused, but “literal(ly)” isn’t.

  17. Hamilton. He destroyed his teammate on and off the track and put Ferrari’s ambitions seriously in check. He has a massive pace advantage in the Mercedes, and can only be slowed down by the tires.

  18. Hamilton – He was a man on a mission to win the race all weekend after Malaysia and it showed in how he drove and won the race. deservedly driver of the weekend
    But Vettel gets my vote for simply trying to win the race

  19. Hamilton I guess is one of the more obvious choices, and I was tempted to go with Verstappen. However, I think Grosjean did a great job this weekend. Got the maximum out of the car, and secured Lotus’ first points when they sorely needed it. Mature drive, whilst his team mate squandered the opportunity.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      14th April 2015, 22:09

      @jamiefranklinf1 – How did he squander his race? Button squandered Maldonado’s race!

      1. That only happend after his (oh so many) stupid mistakes that cost him his race and put him in the position where he had to fight with the McLaren’s. I would vote for him for worst drive of the sunday :)

  20. Massa for outperforming his younger teammate (with champion genes) in the qualifying and in the race. There is still life in the old dog.

  21. Can I vote for ‘anyone except Rosberg, the whining hot lapper’?

    No?

    Even if I mention that you can teach anyone to drive fast, but a racer is born?

    Still no?

    OK, Hamilton then as he won the race easily and controlled his pace and machinery to perfection. Wiping the whining Rosbergs face in it like a naughty puppy.

    By the way, I’m not sure if its clear – but I have zero respect left for the Mercedes number 2 driver.

    1. Because he asked the team to ask LH, you know, his rival and the race leader to go faster? And they did? And he did?

      It’s not like he asked to be allowed past LH. It’s not like he wasn’t suffering with poor tires in dirty air just as SV complained about. It’s not like he just decided to stop trying to beat LH. And it’s not like they didn’t talk about this very scenario within the team ahead of the race.

      I really don’t get this backlash toward NR, like everyone thinks he should just snap his fingers and beat LH, or that so many other drivers would do better in that car. Is LH at one with that car or not? A proven WDC or not? No driver in NR’s seat would have any easier a time of beating LH right now, or what does that say about LH?

      1. Btw…I voted for LH for dotw.

      2. I don’t think anyone objects to Nico’s behaviour during the race, although many would
        have preferred him to have a go regardless of tires; the positive or negative wisdom of
        this is rather easier after the race since at least one outcome is known!

        The problem most have is with the talk after the race, as though a jolly team mate
        (and most likely rival for WDC, but that doesn’t come into play now does it) should
        expect to be voluntarily given favours at the expense of Lewis’ tyre management.

        Not gonna happen.

        1. @boylep6 And that’s just it. Just because NR feels LH’s pace is sending him into the clutches of SV, that means to you he’s asking for some big favour…some big handout. I say again…he asked his teammate to speed up. You’d think that would be counterintuitive to a bloke wanting to win a race…having the team tell LH to speed up. And the team did. And LH did. Perhaps LH legitimately did not know how close SV was getting to NR, or how badly dirty air was affecting NR even at 2 seconds back, but once told, he did speed up.

          I don’t get what is so wrong with NR’s request. Any driver would have done the same thing in the same situation. And the team obviously would not want to see NR passed by SV. Nor did they let that happen.

          How do you think fans and the team would have reacted if in fact LH was doing something intentional and NR did lose 2nd place? Oh I’m sure some would say there’s the Champion LH taking no prisoners. I’d like to think some would say dirty selfish non-team play too. I also think NR is getting so much negativity that had he attempted to haul in LH, and even if that didn’t run hs tires, he would have been criticized for risking both cars when they were already going to finish 1-2. Yet LH running so slowly and NR falling into SV’s clutches was not risking a 1-2? NR should have just closed on LH, no matter the long-term consequences to his tires? It’s only LH in clean air that should be allowed to preserve tires?

  22. Grosjean to reward tenacity: His first points since Monaco 2014. He’s been keeping his team together during hard times and he made it to Q3 everytime since the beginning ot the season

  23. Verstappen for me.

  24. i say Pastor Maldonado for his missing the gate to the pits and the Marshals had to give him a hand by pushing him back .Boy!!! this dude never ceases to amaze me

  25. A very Vettelesque performance from Hamilton.

  26. Hamilton and Verstappen are both picks to be the driver of the weekend. For Hamilton, he has got a beautiful performance and mental edge over Rosberg, but for Verstappen he deserves but in the final events it was too shame but close to finish on points.

  27. Led all practice sessions, got pole, fastest lap and race win.
    Lewis.

  28. Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen are all worthy choices for DotW. However, I voted for Romain Grosjean.

    He out qualified his team-mate by well over two tenths, made a good start, and although he had a quiet race he also never put a wheel out of line to bag his first points since Monaco last year. While his team mate was battling with the underpowered McLarens and nearly crashing in the pitlane, Grosjean did a fantastic job and stayed out of trouble.

    I’m delighted for the Frenchman, as it’s clear that while the new Mercedes power unit is a big improvement for the team, it’s clear that the car is still far off the pace and points will most likely continue to be a struggle. This result is richly deserved by Grosjean after struggling manfully in a dog of a car last year, when 18 months ago we were watching him fight with the Red Bulls and be tipped for a possible future with a front running team. How times change!

    1. I’ve gotta laugh at people voting grosjean. Let’s not forget, he was behind his teammate for most the race, maldonado.

      1. Lotus-grosjean
        14th April 2015, 22:20

        I’d also laugh at you because Lotus pitted Maldonado first after the 1st stint and he jumped Grosjean during the pit stop, who was ahead during the 1st stint. Better watch race carefully next time before you “laugh at someone”.

  29. Rosberg, for sure. Almost got pole and managed to finish in an excellent second, despite all the dirty air and being pushed into the Ferraris.

    1. Ha! Excellent :)

    2. COTD!!! jajaja

  30. My driver of the weekend was Hamilton, he dominated all weekend and controlled the race superbly making sure he did just enough to win when there were questions going in to the race about Mercedes tyre wear compared to Ferrari.

    Second would Verstappen for his overtaking moves before car trouble robbed him of another points finish.

    Mentions also for Raikkonen mainly for his opening lap, Grosjean and Nasr.

  31. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    14th April 2015, 19:19

    I’ll choose Verstappen!

  32. Has to be Lewis.

  33. Nico Rosberg. Lewis cOmpromised his race unfairLy. Nico’s anger was Justified, as we Know he would have won.

  34. Hamilton is almost on another planet this year. He deserves to be clearly driver of the weekend so much that he shadows other great drives, so voting for driver of the weekend should not include his name.

  35. I see Max Verstappen has got quite the cult following already. Fine with me, he deserves some love after all the undeserved and often cringeworthy machistic criticism he drew before he so much as took place in an F1 car. If his real age were unknown and somebody had told the press he was 25 years old, no one would have noticed.

    I didn’t vote for him, however. He had a couple of very brave moves, one of which could’ve ended his race if the other driver (I forget who it was) hadn’t moved out of the way, but apart from that, I don’t think he was outstanding.

    Not outstanding being the keyword here. To be honest, I don’t see too many indicators for an outstanding performance. Lewis Hamilton comes to mind, but I honestly refuse to follow the Lauda line of argumentation. If there’s a briefing in which both drivers agree to take certain measures to ensure the team gets a 1-2 finish, but one driver unilaterally decides to ignore the agreement and tries to make life harder for his team mate at the expense of the team’s interest, I can’t applaud him. That’s a kind of dishonest, definitely not gentleman-like behaviour that disappoints me. He didn’t need to, but he insisted on playing psycholgical games. Not my driver of the week-end.

    Rosberg clearly can’t be, either. He was slower than Hamilton, although by quite a small margin in qualifying, but couldn’t keep up in the race due to stronger tyre degradation.

    Vettel did well by getting the maximum out of the Ferrari’s potential, which was P3. He’s already establishing himself as the number one driver, which is nice for him. The fact that there was a large gap to the front and to the back, which made his life comparatively easy, means that there is simply no way to judge if he really did well.

    Räikkönen, on the other hand, clearly screwed up his qualifying lap. If you’re power-sliding in one corner, but miss the next apex due to late braking, all evidence is against you, and blaming the car sounds cheap. He did recover from that mistake, but didn’t really challenge Vettel after that. Looks like the next top driver has come to cast a shadow over his career.

    I don’t want to go on like this forever, so I’m cutting it short:
    I vote for an outsider, who had a pretty unremarkable week-end, but solidly out-performed a strong team mate. My vote goes to Felipe Massa, who, unlike Bottas, couldn’t race with an updated nose that was damaged in an accident caused by a technical issue, imposed himself both in qualifying and race, both times with a comfortable gap. It makes you wonder if the new nose was as effective as Williams thought it would be, but it was nevertheless a strong performance.

    1. @nase – I see that you have taken Rosberg’s apparently paranoid assumptions (actually rather pitiful attempts at psychological warfare) seriously. Shame.
      Toto Wolff categorically denied that Hamilton had done anything wrong, when pressed by journalists.
      Also worth noting that Rosberg never had to actively defend against Vettel.

      1. You could’ve just written the last two sentences, and I would’ve felt like discussing with you. But with after an entrée spiced with “paranoid”, “pitiful” and “shame” … nah, thanks.

        1. @nase – Context is everything. Sorry you didn’t see it that way.

    2. @nase I agree with the points you have mentioned. A balanced view. I voted for Massa as well.

      IMO Lauda needs to stop acting like the president of the Lewis Hamilton fan club.

  36. I’m unashamedly a Hamilton fan. So it was difficult, as Verstappen was the most exciting, Hamilton the wisest, Grosjean the most deserving and Hulkenberg so solid but so unlucky.
    A special shout out for Button, keeping the Maldonado meme alive.
    I voted for Verstappen as he was showing phenomenal skill AND he was exciting to watch.

  37. Driver of the weekend = the driver I enjoyed most. So must be Verstappen. Otherwise it would be Hamilton for his suberb performance…

  38. Some drivers did a solid job (e.g. Hamilton), some drivers didn’t. In the meantime I almost fell asleep if it wasn’t for Max Verstappen. Gruesome, slow engine, but thrilling overtakes. He gets my vote.

  39. I think Kimi and Verstappen.

  40. Kimi. 2 overtaking precise n safe, than keep’n push till the end. Iceman it still alive.

  41. I am not anti-Lewis, but there is nothing particularly special about a veteran driver winning a bland race in the best car.

    Verstappen had the best drive, relative to his experience/car, in an utterly boring race.

    1. Pat Ruadh (@fullcoursecaution)
      15th April 2015, 12:43

      +1

  42. I think Hamilton kept up his super form and beat Rosberg, who is always there in case you make mistakes. Massa dominated his team mate all weekend long, something which went a bit unnoticed and devalued. Verstappen was brilliant to watch but too impulsive, he avoided collisions because his rivals backed out from the racing line just as they were closing the door, something which isn’t always granted.

  43. Massa. Led team-mate all weekend after crashing in FP2 (not his fault.)

    His world champion team mate needs to get a move on.

  44. I saw 5 potentials for it this time, Vettel, Verstappen, Hamilton, Grosjean and Massa

    5th. Grosjean. He had a very good qualifying, getting the Lotus through to Q3, and then in the race he showed his pace by being able to keep up with the Williams in terms of pace. He kept it clean when in possible tricky situations, and brought it home for some well deserved points. Wasn’t amazing though and so gets 5th.

    4th. Massa. Great qualifying, and although he didn’t do too great at the start, losing 2 places, he quickly made one of those back with a very opportunistic move. He then proved he still has pace by having a great race, and just about showed up Bottas, by just edging that gap each and every lap all the way to the SC. Pretty much got everything out of it he could, but had a couple of mishaps here and there.

    3rd. Vettel. Once again Vettel is right up here, and this time he was able to put serious pressure on Rosberg in a faster car. Yes, he was helped by Hamilton, but first you have to be there and he was pretty much all the time. He once again had a pretty great qualifying lap. Towards the end it looked like he was going to be challenged by Raikkonen, but considering he was in clean air and Vettel wasn’t, I think Vettel’s performance was just ahead (it should be said that Raikkonen was 6th on my list).

    And now to the two favourites above the rest:

    2nd. Verstappen. Started 13th, and was running in 8th before his car conked out. Usually that’s pretty impressive on its own, making up places in a car that has issues (engine in this case). However, it was the way he made it up to 8th, with some phenomenal overtaking ability. What a fantastic race he had and should have got some healthy points as a reward. It just wasn’t to be. An exciting young talent that is so young he could end up racing for more of his life in F1 than not.

    1st. Hamilton. To be so fast that you can cause issues for a team mate, who is in the same car, by not driving as fast as you could in the given situation, and still being faster… That is phenomenal pace, that really is. And when he needed to get the hammer down (apologies) he was incredibly quick. His qualifying lap was excellent given he set it on his first timed run and was still good enough for pole, he had everything under control from lap 1… Fantastic. He won the race at the slowest possible pace he needed to because it was just that good.

  45. petebaldwin (@)
    14th April 2015, 21:57

    I went for Verstappen. Lewis drove a faultless race but it seemed like he could go much quicker if needed. If the Mercedes wasn’t a million miles quicker than the rest, he would have had to driver harder and would have been under more pressure. That would be deserving of a DOTW but for me, this was just too easy although I do appreciate that he did what was needed and dominated the whole weekend.

    Verstappen just drove a great race including some fantastic late breaking. This has nothing to do with his age by the way as it doesn’t matter – it was just a great drive.

  46. Max Verstappen by a distance. I said it my rate the race and I’ll say it again, he injected some life into what was otherwise an absolutely boring race. I just hope he doesn’t fall away like a few other drivers. His overtakes were calculated, clean and courageous. A very heady mix if you ask me!

  47. Hamilton easy. Honorable mention to Verstappen and Massa.

  48. I went for Grosjean, welcome back in the points mate!

  49. Hamilton. Great racer, great weekend. Also Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstapeen and Grosjean did a good job.

  50. ColdFly F1 (@)
    14th April 2015, 23:07

    It is difficult arguing against Hamilton (except for having the best car), but Verstappen moves really made me enjoy the race.
    And this time I go for who excited me most.

  51. Grosjean. Arguably the only one who finished better than where his car belongs both on saturday and sunday.

  52. Verstappen by a mile! I didn’t see L.H. pull off any passes during the weekend. Given the difference in machinery you have to give the weekend to Verstappen.

    1. @irejag pardon me, but how does one pull off a pass while leading the cars for requisite for intended pass? :)

      Concerning shade cast on Hamilton’s measured pace control, surely if he’d cantered off for miles out front, the same detractors would be moaning at what a mockery he’s making of the sport at the procession’s expense?

      Anyway he gets my vote. Superlative performance this weekend.

  53. PS: ignore the first ‘for’; my bad: )

  54. Hamilton for sure! Looked like he didnt even break a sweat in that race!

    Great race from Verstappen! loving this kid! Going to be very interesting to see where Verstappen takes his career next. Depending on how his contract is with Red Bull, would love to see him take over from Raikkonen at Ferrari

  55. Definitely Hamilton. What a perfect weekend for him.

  56. Hamilton. Is not about his sublime driving only, but how mentally fit he has been so far.

  57. Easy, Verstappen.

  58. Voted for Nasr – He is talented and good to see him push Sauber to the limits. I’m enjoy these Midfield battles rather than train at the front

  59. tgu (@thegrapeunwashed)
    15th April 2015, 9:21

    Pretty easy for me: even allowing for having the best car of the field, Hamilton dominated every session and made his teammate look irrelevant. I hope others can quickly raise their game, otherwise the racing is going to get very predictable – at the front, at least.

  60. Aditya (@adityafakhri)
    15th April 2015, 9:23

    long live Finns supporter here, and I can’t think any single moment of Raikkonen to be deserved top three beside scrapping those Williams at 1st lap. whilst that was good moves, that was expected as the car was faster.
    my nominations were: Lewis, baby Verstappen, Massa, and Nasr.
    in the end vote for Massa, simply because Verstappen and Lewis has got too many votes, so I choose to help the others.

  61. For 2nd weekend in a row, I voted for Verstappen. His overtakes were the only thing that kept me awake in such a boring race. The young man might be best thing that has happened to this sport for a while. Hamilton and Grosejan had great weekends also, but Rosberg has been pretty average lately and Grosjean was actually around 7 seconds behind Maldonado before Pastor started his show, so it was an easy decision in the end.

  62. Overtaking still is an art!!

  63. I voted for Verstappen.

    Ricicardo and Rosberg should take lessens from Verstappen on how to overtake.

  64. Voted for Vettel. Outqualified his teammate by 0.6s and the only one who put some pressure on the dominant Mercs.

  65. Lewis hamilton.absolutely faultless..

  66. Of the weekend, can’t look beyond Hamilton.

    Of the race, Verstappen probably edged it.

  67. Raikkonen is 3rd at the moment, ahead of Vettel. Is this a joke? Vettel beat him in Q and R, still Raikkonen getting more votes? It is a joke.

  68. There were too many drivers who made the race eventful and bearable like Verstappen, Maldonado, Ricciardo, Nasr, but, that is not the case here. There was only one driver who beat his teammate in and out of track, kept his performance always optimized to get the chequered flag as fast and safe possible and led every single session all weekend long, except Q1, where he didn’t use softs like the others (topped the other medium runner Nico anyway).

    It will be a well deserved and a certain driver of the weekend win for him. And i think we are all lucky to witness these kind of top class performances.

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