Italian GP driver ratings: Rare score for Charles Leclerc as Franco Colapinto springs surprise

The 2024 Italian Grand Prix started and ended in stunning fashion, resulting in a home win for the Scuderia Ferrari team courtesy of Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc earned a perfect score in our driver ratings for the Italian race, but Franco Colapinto also earned excellent accolades in his debut for Williams.

Driver ratings from the 2024 Italian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc: 10/10

Scuderia Ferrari’s strategy hasn’t always fallen Charles Leclerc’s way this season, but in Italy, the combination of team, driver, and strategy worked in perfect tandem at Monza.

The one-stop strategy has been the preferred strategy at Monza for years, but this weekend, there were rumours that some teams might opt for a two-stop — and the front row McLaren team opted for that strategy. Ferrari, however, went traditional.

And it worked. Charles Leclerc nursed a set of hard tyres far beyond what seemed possible, bringing his car home just three seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri.

Oscar Piastri: 9.5/10

If 2023 was Oscar Piastri’s learning curve, 2024 is his ascension to greatness. The McLaren driver roundly outperformed his teammate Lando Norris, passing his more experienced teammate within a few corners of the first lap.

Piastri’s cool head enabled him to hold the lead with confidence and to negotiate with his team about what might be the best strategy — a one- or two-stop race. Had Piastri been able to nurse his tyres home on a one-stop, he could have won. But for his second year in Formula 1, the Australian driver is keeping himself remarkably composed in opting for the strategy that would see him bring his car home in one piece.

Lando Norris: 8.5/10

While Lando Norris managed to launch off the front row and hold the lead over teammate Oscar Piastri, it wasn’t a lead that lasted particularly long. Within a handful of corners, he lost positions to both Piastri and Charles Leclerc — positions that proved to be decisive ones in the final running order.

Even worse, Norris had a few runs into the gravel and also locked up trying to hit pit road speed during his first stop.

While it’s almost certain that Norris has been working on improving his starts, it’s clear that there’s still more work to do, especially with a championship on the line.

Carlos Sainz Jr: 8/10

Carlos Sainz’s performance at the Italian Grand Prix would have been exceptional in almost any other event, but unfortunately, fourth place paled in comparison to his teammate’s victory.

Sainz had fresher tyres than teammate Leclerc in the final stint of the race, but by Lap 45, he was reporting that his left front tyre was completely gone. Whatever Leclerc had done to preserve his tyre life had been lost on Sainz.

Lewis Hamilton: 7.5/10

After a disappointing qualifying session, Lewis Hamilton lacked the race pace to make a statement at Monza. He crossed the line 22 seconds in arrears of winner Leclerc, but he felt there was no real reason for the W15’s lack of pace. It comes back down to tyre degradation, and even though Hamilton performed decently, he felt limited by the machinery.

Max Verstappen: 7.5/10

The Italian GP turned out to be one hell of a tough race for reigning champion Max Verstappen. The RB20 was a handful for the driver, to the extent that he was told he could pick up the pace by his team when he made it into the lead on Lap 21.

However, Verstappen also ran wide over the kerb on Lap 19 and suffered a slow pit stop courtesy of his team. It’s not likely he could have extracted more from the car, but he may have also benefitted from a cleaner race.

George Russell: 6/10

The Italian Grand Prix was an unusually messy one for Mercedes’ George Russell. He had a comfortable launch at the start of the race, but both McLarens were battling hard for the lead, and Oscar Piastri cut in front of Russell. The Mercedes driver was forced to take evasive action through the first chicane — but it was the story of the weekend.

In almost every battle Russell had, he either ran wide through the gravel or had to battle back onto the track after dipping a tyre off into the gravel. He finished well, but there’s no doubt a cleaner race could have resulted in a much better points-paying event.

Sergio Perez: 7.5/10

Sergio Perez had a fairly quiet weekend at a track that proved immensely difficult for his Red Bull team. Aside from a skirmish with Russell about halfway through the race, the Mexican racer had a quiet event to be proud of, and one that will take the heat off his shoulders for another race.

Alex Albon: 9/10

Alex Albon once again took home a comfortable points-paying finish with the Williams team, despite struggling with his tyres. He was one of many F1 drivers who experienced serious degradation of his front left tyre, but he did managed to outperform both Haas cars in a win for the whole Williams crew.

Kevin Magnussen: 6/10

A top-10 finish is a more than decent result for Kevin Magnussen, but unfortunately for him, his collision with Pierre Gasly was disastrous. The Danish racer now faces a one-race ban thanks to an abundance of penalty points, two of which he secured during the Italian Grand Prix. It overshadows what should otherwise have been a decent performance.

More reactions from the Italian Grand Prix:

👉 Revealed: What shocked Oscar Piastri said to Charles Leclerc in Monza cooldown room

👉 Kevin Magnussen triggers F1 race ban as FIA dish out penalty punishment

Fernando Alonso: 6.5/10

A quiet race for Fernando Alonso, but one that also left him just outside of the points. His performance was decent, especially compared to his teammate, but Aston Martin simply hasn’t found the pace it needed to succeed in 2024.

Franco Colapinto: 8/10

Franco Colapinto! The rookie making his debut for the Williams team was seriously impressive in the Italian Grand Prix. He raced hard and well, and he kept his nose clean — which meant he was able to bring a clean car home in 12th position in what was a very chaotic race for many of his more experienced racemates. Williams will be feeling good about its decision to replace Sargeant after this.

Daniel Ricciardo: 6.5/10

Oh, Daniel Ricciardo. He was penalized at the start of the race, then penalized for failing to correctly serve his penalty when a crew member touched his front wing. It was otherwise a good race for him, but his contact with Nico Hulkenberg was ultimately to blame for the fall off of his race.

Esteban Ocon: 5.5/10

Esteban Ocon managed to hold onto the tyres he started the race on for far longer than anyone else, but it wasn’t a strategy worthy of securing him a points-paying finish. The French driver earns a slightly better score than his teammate, if only because he managed to finish ahead of him.

Pierre Gasly: 5/10

A tough weekend for Pierre Gasly was capped off with a challenging race that saw him get hit by Kevin Magnussen and then run wide while battling Daniel Ricciardo for position. Gasly lost out on critical points by having to let Ricciardo past again.

Valtteri Bottas: 6/10

The pace of the Sauber has left a lot to be desired in 2024, and despite running a fairly smooth race, Valtteri Bottas simply couldn’t get his car to perform well enough to help him secure a finish anywhere near the points.

Nico Hulkenberg: 5/10

Nico Hulkenberg ran into the gravel at the start of the Italian Grand Prix, and it was all downhill from there for the Haas driver. He lost critical positions having to pit for a front wing change, then took a penalty for his messy start. He had the car for a points-paying finish and lost out of his own accord.

Zhou Guanyu: 5/10

What started off looking set to be a decent race for Zhou Guanyu was ultimately lost thanks to a car that couldn’t cope with the high-speed pace needed to be decent at Monza. The Chinese racer couldn’t get his hard work behind the wheel to pay off.

Lance Stroll: 4/10

There wasn’t really a reason for Lance Stroll to end up as the last car to finish the Italian Grand Prix. The Canadian driver had worked his way up the Italian GP field, only to fall off the pace completely after running wide.

Yuki Tsunoda: N/A

AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda’s abysmal luck at Monza continues into 2024. At the start of the race, Nico Hulkenberg collided with Tsunoda; both drivers were able to initially continue, but the Japanese driver was instructed to retire his car by the end of Lap 7 having taken terminal damage.

Read next: Italian GP: Ferrari stun McLaren at Monza as Charles Leclerc pulls off incredible one-stop win