F1 Driver Ratings – Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 9

Fighting back from his difficult raceday and illness at Hockenheim, Lewis Hamilton was back on-song in Hungary. He left a bit on the table in qualifying, finishing two-tenths off pole and behind his teammate (hence no 10), but was superb in the race. The late charge to make up 20 seconds in the final 20 laps was vintage Hamilton, highlighted by a run of eight qualy-style laps on the bounce that proved instrumental in his push to victory.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes – 6

In need of a response after his Hockenheim crash, Valtteri Bottas was stellar in qualifying on Saturday as he narrowly missed out on pole. But things quickly went south in the race, with two lock-ups in the first two corners leaving him at risk of being passed, leading to contact with both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, the latter clouting his front wing and leaving him with damage that compromised his race. P8 is another blow to his title hopes – but how about his Mercedes future?

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari – 7

Sebastian Vettel knew what Ferrari was up against heading to Hungary, the circuit’s slow- and medium-speed nature hitting the weaknesses of the SF90 car. Finishing a minute behind Hamilton despite “pushing flat out” is nevertheless a huge margin. Vettel was outqualified by Leclerc, but made a two-stop strategy work well to pass his teammate cleanly with three laps to go for P3. A tough weekend where he couldn’t have finished much higher.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 6

Leclerc was fortunate to qualify P4 in Hungary after spinning into the barrier midway through Q1, damaging the rear of his car. He ran well early in the race to pass Bottas and pull a slight buffer to Vettel, but couldn’t keep his teammate back on a one-stop strategy.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 10

A wonderful weekend from Max Verstappen, even if he didn’t come away with the race win. After taking his first pole on Saturday, Verstappen controlled the early part of the race and did well to see off Hamilton during their initial battle on the Hard tyres. Mercedes backed Red Bull into a corner that left Verstappen powerless to stop Hamilton passing late on, but still comes away with a perfect score.

Pierre Gasly, Red Bull – 4

Pierre Gasly’s breakthrough at Silverstone hasn’t carried through well, with Hungary acting as another weekend to forget. Eight-tenths off Verstappen in qualifying and a lap down in the race, Gasly made a poor start before toiling behind the McLarens and Kimi Raikkonen through the opening stint. He managed to jump Raikkonen and Lando Norris in the pits, but could still only finish sixth. Verstappen has scored more points in the last four races than Gasly has all season. 

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault – 5

Ricciardo’s weekend was effectively over from the moment the cat-and-mouse game with Sergio Perez unfolded at the end of Q1, leaving him P18 on the grid. The Renault driver started last to gain some more power unit parts, and advanced nicely on the Hard tyre, but couldn’t get past Kevin Magnussen on Softs at the end, leaving him a disappointing P14.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault – 6

Left to lead Renault’s charge solo from P11 on the grid, Hulkenberg was hamstrung early on by an engine issue that left him down on power. It left him unable to stick with the points-scoring cars, ultimately ending up 12th at the finish.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas – 6

Far from the disastrous weekends of late for Haas, Kevin Magnussen looked good in the race despite dropping from 14th on the grid to sit P16 early on. He ran long on the Mediums before moving to Softs that allowed him to keep Ricciardo back in the closing stages, and was ‘only’ 12 seconds off the points. Definite progress for the team.

Romain Grosjean, Haas – 6

Grosjean was impressive again in qualifying to reach Q3 with his Australia-spec car, and did well in the opening stint to hold up a train of cars. But the moment he switched to the Hard tyre, his pace fell away, again creating more questions for Haas. A water pressure issue ultimately forced him to retire from the race.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren – 10

Back-to-back fifth-place finishes for Carlos Sainz after another superb display in Hungary. A good start saw him jump teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly, putting him fifth after Bottas came in. Sainz exceeded the team’s expectations by sticking on the Softs for 29 laps, meaning he retained P5 upon exiting the pits before keeping Gasly back through the second half of the race. A foot-perfect display from F1’s resident smooooooooth operatoooooooooor.

Lando Norris, McLaren – 8

Some hard luck denied Lando Norris a better finish in Hungary. He edged out Sainz in qualifying and also managed to pass Gasly at the start, but a slow stop meant he came out behind both Gasly and Kimi Raikkonen. The recovering Bottas also picked Norris off late on, leaving the Briton P9 – but his performance deserved a much-better result.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point – 6

Perez produced a decent fightback in the race after his run-in with Ricciardo left him 16th on the grid. A rocket start saw him gain four places before undercutting Daniil Kvyat and the struggling Nico Hulkenberg in the pits, putting him in contention for points. Alexander Albon’s fresher tyres allowed him to pass Perez late on, albeit with a touch that left the Racing Point driver feeling aggrieved. Nevertheless, a solid fightback.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point – 5

After his Hockenheim heroics, it was back down to earth with a bump for Lance Stroll in Hungary. Eliminated in Q1 before spending his race stuck behind George Russell, with a two-stop strategy failing to offer any kind of breakthrough either as he came home P17.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo – 8

A slick performance from Kimi Raikkonen in Hungary as Alfa Romeo returned to the points. Starting P10, Raikkonen got off the grid well to run seventh through the opening stint, and held position after stopping as Gasly got ahead and Norris dropped behind. Most impressive was his defence of Valtteri Bottas in the final few laps, scoring a tidy haul for the team in the process.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo – 4

Not the weekend Giovinazzi would have wanted to enter the summer break with. A three-place grid drop for impeding Stroll in Q1 was followed by contact on the opening lap, leaving him 18th. A tyre issue then forced the Italian into stopping early, with the long Hard tyre stint that followed giving him little scope to move up the order, eventually leaving him 18th.

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso – 5

Like Stroll, Kvyat also came back down to earth in Hungary after reaching such heady heights in Hockenheim. An early stop in a bid to react to Perez coming in left Kvyat trying to get home on faded Hard tyres, causing his pace to take a dive in the closing stages and fall from P10 to P15 in the final 22 laps.

Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso – 7

Albon fought hard for a point in Hungary, avoiding his teammate’s tyre woes by completing a long first stint that meant his Hards were fresh to the end. There was enough life in them to pick off Sergio Perez with a few laps to go to grab P10, sending the Anglo-Thai driver into the summer on a high.

George Russell, Williams – 9

While raceday may have seen normal service resume for George Russell and Williams as he came home 16th, his qualifying heroics must not be downplayed. Ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and both Racing Points, Russell was a slender 0.054s off a place in Q2, but P16 was nevertheless a huge achievement. Robert Kubica may have the point, but it is Russell who is the driving force at Williams right now.

Robert Kubica, Williams – 5

A big weekend for Robert Kubica as tens of thousands of Polish fans made the trip to Hungary, but it didn’t offer much joy on-track. 1.3 seconds off Russell in qualifying (on a short lap, remember) and no kind of breakthrough like his teammate left him propping up the running order once again.