F1 Driver Ratings - Hungarian Grand Prix

Here’s how we rated each driver in Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix, as Lewis Hamilton made it two wins on the bounce to move into the championship lead…

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 10

Back-to-back perfect scores after another exemplary performance from Hamilton en route to a dominant eighth win in Hungary. Set up his win by beating Bottas to his 90th career pole position and was untouchable in the race. He was flawless throughout and romped to victory.

Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 7

Having been pipped to pole by Hamilton, Bottas fluffed his lines with a terrible start that saw him get swallowed up on the run to Turn 1. The Finn ultimately recovered well to claim third, but took too long to close in on Verstappen late on as he missed out on P2 - and with it three valuable championship points - by less than a second.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 8

A much-improved showing for Ferrari and Vettel in Hungary. A fantastic start was somewhat undone when the German lost time in the pitstops as he waited to be sent back out by Ferrari. Looked racey and outperformed his teammate throughout the weekend, but missed out on fifth place when Albon got ahead.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari - 6

Had no answer to Vettel all weekend but still managed a solid sixth on the grid. Ferrari gambled on the hope of rain when it pitted Leclerc for slicks but the predicted precipitation did not come. Fell down the order during a mammoth 50-lap stint on Hards and just missed out the top 10.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull - 9

Only misses out on a perfect score due to his embarrassing off on his way to the grid which could have proved a terminal issue had it not been for the miraculous work of his Red Bull team. Otherwise, Verstappen’s run to second-place behind the untouchable Hamilton was outstanding, which he teed up with a stunning start and opening lap.

Alex Albon, Red Bull - 7

Albon endured a torrid qualifying in 13th but bounced back with a strong display in the race to grab fifth place. His aggressive recovery drive highlighted his ability to overcome adversity and such steely grit will serve him well as the year progresses. P5 was arguably the best he could do in the circumstances.

Carlos Sainz, McLaren - 7

Recovered well from being outpaced by McLaren teammate Lando Norris as he jumped the Briton with an ace start. Always looked on course for points and fought hard throughout, despite losing time with a slow pitstop. Could have been closer to Magnussen’s Haas but jumped him for P9 thanks to a post-race penalty.

Lando Norris, McLaren - 6

Norris admitted his costly howler of a race start was one of the worst of his career as he dropped to 13th by the end of the first lap. Faced an uphill battle to recover and finished P13 thanks to another last-lap pass, this time on Ocon’s Renault.

Daniel Ricciardo, Renault - 8

Ricciardo’s best drive of the season yet was rewarded with an eighth-place finish. The Australian turned in a consistent and error-free race to beat faster cars in the shape of both McLarens, as well as Leclerc’s Ferrari.

Esteban Ocon, Renault - 5

Ocon was once again outpaced in qualifying by teammate Ricciardo as he finished exactly where he started the race, a sub-par P14. A poor start failed to help his cause.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri - 8

Battled engine issues throughout qualifying and the race but still managed to bag a top-10 starting position with his latest impressive Saturday showing. Gasly’s race ended with yet another power unit problem.

Daniil Kvyat, AlphaTauri - 7

Drove a very solid race after he was eliminated in Q1. Made the Hard tyres work for a long stint and beat the faster McLaren and Renault cars en route to a decent P12.

Sergio Perez, Racing Point - 6

Put some of his qualifying deficit to Stroll down to feeling dizzy, though he was still able to claim P4. Faded in the race following a slow getaway and early wide moment where he was lucky not to lose the car altogether. Unable to find a way past Vettel’s slower Ferrari as he took seventh.

Lance Stroll, Racing Point - 9

Starred in qualifying to inflict a rare defeat on Perez and continued to impress in the race as he scored a strong fourth. Can have no complaints finishing behind the three drivers he did and managed to keep Bottas’ faster ‘black’ Mercedes behind him for longer than expected.

Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo - 5

Another dire performance from Alfa Romeo and it was far from Raikkonen’s finest hour either. Was the slowest driver in qualifying and finished a lowly 15th after a clumsy mistake when lining up on the grid resulted in a five-second time penalty.

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo - 6

Outqualified Raikkonen again but could only muster P17 in the race after being badly hurt by tyre degradation which forced him to make an extra pitstop compared to his teammate.

Romain Grosjean, Haas - 7

Was running inside the top five at one stage thanks to a brave strategy call from Haas but ultimately slipped down the order. A post-race penalty dropped him to P16 but otherwise this was a solid showing from Grosjean.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas - 10

Outperformed Grosjean all weekend and benefited from Haas’ bold strategy call to run as high as third early on when his rivals pitted for slicks. Magnussen executed a perfect race from his side to secure Haas’ first points finish of the season, despite being demoted to P10 after the team’s double-penalty.

George Russell, Williams - 8

Starred again in qualifying only to slip back in the race as Williams’ mysterious lack of race pace continues to haunt them. Russell made the most of the situation but could only finish 18th.

Nicholas Latifi, Williams - 6

Scored his best qualifying result of his rookie campaign to land Williams its first two-car Q2 appearance since 2018. A pitlane clash with Sainz ruined his race after Williams released him into the McLaren drivers path. Suffered a late spin following a mistake on his his way to finishing five laps down on Hamilton.