RacingNews365's 2024 F1 US Grand Prix driver ratings

Charles Leclerc prevailed at the 2024 United States Grand Prix, taking his third race victory of the campaign, and eighth of his F1 career.

The Ferrari driver's strong performance during the race at Austin's Circuit of the Americas means he tops our list.

But who else impressed throughout a hectic race weekend, and which drivers failed to perform, leaving them at the bottom of the ranking?

See our full F1 driver rankings from the Austin round below!

The top five

Charles Leclerc - 9

Leclerc controlled the US Grand Prix brilliantly, delivering when it mattered during the weekend. He was pushed on numerous occasions throughout the event by team-mate Carlos Sainz, but his drive in the grand prix was faultless. His efforts have lifted Ferrari and has placed it firmly in contention for the constructors' championship this season.

Liam Lawson - 9

Lawson's arrival back in F1 has come with the added baggage of being linked with a promotion to Red Bull for 2025. If Austin was a first audition, he certainly passed. Forced to start from the pit lane with a grid penalty, a mature, veteran-style drive during the race saw him climb into the points and keep RB's fight with Haas for sixth in the championship alive.

Franco Colapinto - 9

Colapinto is continuing to go from strength to strength. Four grands prix into his F1 career, he has already bagged two point-scoring finishes and is providing a real and memorable contribution to Williams' campaign. As he vies for a full-time seat on the grid, he can add the COTA outing as an example of why he deserves a spot.

Carlos Sainz 8.5

The Ferrari-related headlines from the US event will go the way of Leclerc but let's not ignore what was a great weekend for the Spaniard. The pair were neck and neck throughout, with Leclerc's position heading into the first corner likely sealing the win for him, which easily could have been Sainz.

Max Verstappen - 8.5

Verstappen kept himself in contention all weekend, taking pole for, and winning the sprint. In truth, he had no answer for Ferrari on Sunday and was instead embroiled in a battle with McLaren's Lando Norris. In the heat of the fight, the Dutchman still managed to build a gap to the second-placed man in the championship and take a closer step to his fourth consecutive world title.

The bottom five

Esteban Ocon - 4.5

Ocon's race took a hit when he was turned at the opening corner by Williams' Alex Albon. Marred by a lack of upgrades, Ocon endured a miserable weekend and was consistently out-paced by team-mate Pierre Gasly. Eighteenth on the road at the chequered flag capped off a challenging event for the Frenchman, who has just five races remaining in Alpine colours before his switch to Haas. 

Alex Albon - 4

Like Ocon, Albon's race was compromised by the Turn 1 collision. However, he was pushed, and even out-paced throughout the weekend by Colapinto, who has 96 fewer race starts than Albon to his name. Although Albon is secure at the squad for next year, it will be easy for his confidence to take a hit if he does not start to beat his interim team-mate.

Sergio Perez - 4

Red Bull's constructors' championship position is now critical- and it needs Perez fighting for the points. Seventh on the road and 40 seconds down on Verstappen is simply not good enough, and could not only cost Red Bull first in the standings but second place as well.

Lewis Hamilton - 3

It could arguably be considered Hamilton's worst weekend in F1. He showed a flash of pace on Friday but could not contend with those at the front of the field. A Q1 exit on Saturday marked his worst result at COTA. From 17th on the grid, he made a strong start and was looking forward to a point-scoring charge before a Turn 19 spin on lap three saw him end up in the gravel and out of the race.

Zhou Guanyu - 2

Slowest in the sprint qualifying, P19 in the sprint, slowest in grand prix qualifying and last of the classified runners in the race. It could not have gone much worse for Zhou. Granted, the car is not up to competitive standard but his results throughout the weekend make for despairing reading.