Vote now: Who were the best drivers in Spa-Francorchamps?

– It is one thing who won the Belgian Grand Prix. But it can be another matter which drivers delivered the best performance at Spa-Francorchamps. Because in Formula 1, it’s not just the driver’s performance that counts. Crucially, it’s also the performance of the car available to them, and of course the team’s performance as well.

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Isolating the driver’s performance from other factors is extremely difficult. Nevertheless, we dare to try. Our grading system consists of three pillars. First: the fans. Our users now have the opportunity to rate the performances of all 22 drivers. Analogous to the school grading system from 1 (very good) to 6 (insufficient).

Second: the expert. Marc Surer grades the performances of Max Verstappen & Co. as he has done in previous years. And third: the editorial team. We conduct our own small voting within our core Formula 1 team.

The three pillars then each contribute one third to the overall grade for the weekend. In the end, this produces the ultimate ranking – which is great for discussion!

Our format is inspired by the grades that, for example, football magazines give after each match. But grading only as an editorial team was too subjective for us. To arrive at as balanced a judgment as possible, we therefore ask our expert and our users for help.

Guide: How should you give your grades?

For orientation: For grade 1, a driver should have done something very special. For example, in relation to their teammate. Grade 2 is a very, very good performance by a world-class driver who only lacks a special element. Grades 3 and 4 are good or worse average – so actually still quite good!

Grade 5 is given for rather poorer performances, for example if a driver is clearly dominated by their teammate all weekend or delivers an average performance and then causes a avoidable accident. Grade 6 should only be given in the category “brainfade” – that is, when a driver has done something particularly stupid.

Try to be objective in your evaluation! Of course, that’s not always easy. But whether you are a fan of Max Verstappen or Fernando Alonso should not play a role in giving the grade. No one will ever be able to completely free themselves from personal preferences and prejudices. But at least trying contributes to a fairer grading system.

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Don’t be blinded by external influences! Only what the driver had control over should be reflected in the grade. An example: Are degrading tires a driver factor or an external factor? If the tires degrade because the driver braked too late shortly before, this should negatively affect the grade. If the tires degrade due to a material defect, there should be no deductions.

Weight the race most heavily! Only there are points awarded. The performance on race day should make up about 70 percent of the grade. Qualifying 25 percent. And the three free practice sessions a maximum of five percent. An excursion in free practice where a front wing flies off might cost a few minutes of practice time. One on race day possibly the win.

What about a sprint weekend? Then the weighting shifts a bit. In the sprint, the winner gets eight points. In the main race 25. So one could say: sprint qualifying and sprint race should make up one third of the grade, qualifying and Grand Prix the other two thirds. And the only free practice counts only if something extraordinary happened there. For example, a crash that endangered participation in subsequent sessions.

Remember who is sitting in which car! It’s easier to drive error-free in a Mercedes than in a Cadillac. That relativizes somewhat when George Russell drives to pole with a commanding lead and Sergio Perez spins. That might not have happened to him in the Mercedes. But …

… always ask yourself: If two drivers sat in the same car, who would then deliver the better performance? This way, one of the less talented drivers might only get a 3 or 4 even for a strong performance for them. Because in the same car, even on a good weekend, they would still perform worse than a Max Verstappen on a bad weekend.

Don’t take it too seriously! Of course, our grading system is an attempt to objectively classify driver performances. Ultimately, this is never 100 percent possible. Everyone evaluates things a little differently, and that’s okay. That’s why there are three pillars as mutual corrective measures. Criticizing others for their opinion is possible. But it should always be done with the necessary respect! For example, in discussions of our community on social media.

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And now: Have fun grading! Here’s the link to the voting!