F1 Driver Ratings from the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Each driver is scored out of ten with the rating being heavily weighted on their race day performance. Qualifying performance holds less weight when deciding the ratings

At the time of writing, Sebastian Vettel’s second place still stands after Aston Martin noted its intention to appeal his disqualification. The German was initially excluded from the results but the FIA’s post-race classification had Vettel still in second. Any outcome of a possible appeal is inconsequential to his driver rating for this weekend.

Esteban Ocon (Qualified 8th, finished 1st) - 10

A change in chassis appears to have worked wonders for Ocon as he out-qualified teammate Fernando Alonso for the first time since Monaco. Ocon picked his way through the chaos on the opening lap to come out of Turn 1 in second place behind Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes’ decision not to pit Hamilton before the second standing start proved critical as Ocon inherited the lead, before enjoying a race-long battle with Sebastian Vettel. For the whole 70-lap race, Ocon was faultless and error-free as he claimed a remarkable shock victory at the Hungaroring. 

Sebastian Vettel (Qualified 10th, finished 2nd) - 9

Like Ocon, Vettel benefitted from the Lap 1 chaos to move up the order. It looked like Aston Martin had the faster package so when it called him in on Lap 37, an undercut attempt was likely to put him in the lead. A slightly delayed pit stop allowed Ocon to retain the lead and with overtaking so difficult at the Hungaroring, Vettel couldn’t find a way past. It was a fantastic drive by the German but one that should have rewarded him with his first victory since 2019 had it not been for a sluggish pit stop. 

Lewis Hamilton (Qualified 1st, finished 3rd) - 8

Hamilton was at his very best in qualifying as he stormed to pole by over 0.3s ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas. He made the perfect start and avoided the carnage, mainly caused by his teammate. Hamilton’s race was undone on the second standing start when he decided to stay out on intermediates while the rest of the grid switched to slicks. While it seems like it was a Mercedes-led decision, Hamilton himself thought dry tyres were the way to go and given his experience and standing in the team - ultimately the driver is on track and feeling the conditions - he could have decided to pit. However, due to Mercedes’ positioning in the pit lane, he would likely have been held in his pit box to wait for the oncoming traffic. The win was still there for the taking but Alonso’s stern defence meant he had to settle for third. A good day in the championship but another missed opportunity to take the win when Verstappen continued to endure bad luck.

Carlos Sainz (Qualified 15th, finished 4th) - 8

Sainz’s crash in Q2 at the final corner left him in 15th, blaming a 35-40kph gust of wind for his error. The Ferrari driver was one of the main beneficiaries from the opening lap as he moved up to fourth. Sainz lost out to Nicholas Latifi and Yuki Tsunoda through the pit stop phase as the race resumed after the red flag. With Tsunoda stuck behind Latifi, Sainz bided his time and when Ferrari called him into the pits, he overruled them, telling his team to ‘have patience’ as when he had clean air, he was faster than the two leaders. Sainz couldn’t keep Hamilton at bay for third but resisted fellow Spaniard Alonso to finish fourth.

Fernando Alonso (Qualified 9th, finished 5th) - 10

Unlike Ocon and Sainz, Alonso opted to take the outside line into Turn 1 on the opening lap meaning he didn’t quite make the gains you’d expect early on. Running in sixth once the race resumed on slicks, like Sainz, he was patient as they sat behind Latifi and Tsunoda. A late switch to hards on Lap 40 gave him the freshest rubber out of the leading pack - besides Hamilton who switched to mediums on Lap 48. Somehow, Alonso defended Hamilton’s fast-charging Mercedes, who at times was over two seconds a lap faster. It took about 10 laps for Hamilton to get past his old McLaren teammate, who put on a great defensive masterclass. Without Alonso, there’s no doubt that Hamilton would have won. 

Pierre Gasly (Qualified 5th, finished 6th) - 9

Gasly was ‘best in the rest’ in qualifying and his strong grid position meant he couldn’t avoid the wreckage on the opening lap, dropping down to 11th at the red flag. The Frenchman was only ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi and Hamilton when the race resumed after the race flag but he still managed to recover to finish sixth, beating AlphaTauri teammate Tsunoda after the team ordered him to let Gasly by. An impressive recovery from outside of the top ten.

Yuki Tsunoda (Qualified 16th, finished 7th) - 7

A crash in FP1 put Tsunoda on the back foot for the rest of the weekend as he trailed Gasly by over a second in qualifying. The Japanese rookie moved up to fourth once the pit stops played out after the red flag but his inability to overtake Latifi on track was his undoing as he lost a considerable amount of time to the Canadian. Tsunoda undercut Latifi and fended off Hamilton for a handful of laps, before struggling for pace in the second half of the race. Good points but shouldn’t have been beaten by his teammate after Lap 1.

Nicholas Latifi (Qualified 18th, finished 8th) - 10

Seeing Latifi run in third place for the opening stint of the race just summed up how bonkers Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix was. While the Canadian continues to lack one-lap pace in F1 - although he was only out-qualified by George Russell by 0.1s -  his race pace and consistency came to the fore as he scored Williams’ best result since 2017. Latifi kept Tsunoda at arm’s length in the first stint and once he retained track position after making his pit stop on Lap 24, Latifi was comfortably ahead of his teammate. An assured race performance and a well-deserved haul of points for Williams.

George Russell (Qualified 17th, finished 9th) - 9

Russell was eliminated in Q1 for the first time in 2021 as he out-qualified Latifi by the slenderest of margins. The Mercedes-backed driver was eighth at the red flag and was very opportunistic when all but Hamilton switched to slicks, taking to the right of the pit lane exit to overtake several cars into the net lead of the race. Russell was ordered by the stewards to hand the positions back, dropping to seventh behind Alonso. “If you need to compromise my race to help Nicky [Latifi], do it. Prioritise Nicky,” he said mid-race with Russell fully aware that it was Williams’ best chance of a double points finish since 2018. With Latifi just ahead, Russell defended from Daniel Ricciardo and then Verstappen in the closing laps to finish ninth.

Max Verstappen (Qualified 3rd, finished 10th) - 9

“Again taken out by a Mercedes,” was Verstappen’s first words when reflecting on his Hungarian GP to Sky Sports F1 - well he isn’t wrong. Verstappen moved into second having got past Bottas off the start but the Finn’s terrible misjudgement saw him clatter into the back of Norris, which in turn speared him into the Red Bull pair. This left Verstappen with floor and bargeboard damage, with Red Bull only managing slight repairs under the red flag. With his RB16B severely damaged, Verstappen was unable to overtake Haas’ Mick Schumacher for several laps. Still, Verstappen didn’t give up as he overtook Kimi Raikkonen and then Ricciardo to finish tenth and score a solitary championship point.

Kimi Raikkonen (Qualified 13th, finished 11th) - 8

Raikkonen was eighth at the restart but was handed a 10-second time penalty for an unsafe release. He was released into the path of Haas’ Nikita Mazepin, ending the Russian’s race prematurely. Without the penalty, Raikkonen’s pace was strong and would have likely rewarded him with a points finish. He got past Ricciardo in the closing laps but had to settle for 11th. 

Daniel Ricciardo (Qualified 11th, finished 12th) - 6

He was one of the drivers caught up in the Lap 1 shenanigans as Lance Stroll’s lunge into Turn 1 ended Charles Leclerc's race and spun Ricciardo around. After the race, Ricciardo confirmed that he sustained damage hence his lack of pace as he was unable to get by Russell. Ricciardo lost out to Verstappen and Raikkonen late on to conclude a weekend to forget for the Australian.

Mick Schumacher (Qualified 20th, finished 13th) - 8

We got to see some of Schumacher’s quality as a driver with his stern defence of Verstappen in the early phase of the race. Haas simply doesn’t have the pace to score points so Schumacher did his best to put on a show. He beat one of the Alfas and defended well - other than his crash in FP3, a positive weekend for the German.

Antonio Giovinazzi (Qualified 14th, finished 14th) - 5

A race to forget for Giovinazzi as he was the only driver to fit slick tyres before the first standing start. His race was ruined when he picked up a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Giovinazzi didn’t have the pace of Raikkonen all weekend and was beaten by Schumacher in the end.

Nikita Mazepin (Qualified 19th, DNF) - 6

Mazepin struggled for pace but kept it clean throughout practice and qualifying. His race was ended through no fault of his own - an unsafe pit release by Alfa Romeo with Raikkonen gave him suspension damage.

Lando Norris (Qualified 6th, DNF) - 8

Norris once again had a significant margin over Ricciardo in qualifying and looked set for a strong race. A good start from sixth allowed him to get ahead of Bottas on the run down to Turn 1. Bottas broke too late, locked up and clattered into the back of Norris, pushing him into the Red Bull pair. He managed to return to the pits but couldn’t continue due to the damage sustained.

Valtteri Bottas (Qualified 2nd, DNF) - 1

It was the first time in his F1 career that Bottas had retired from a grand prix on the opening lap. Another poor start from the Mercedes put him on the back foot, dropping him to fifth. Looking to make amends, Bottas misjudged his braking, clattered into the rear of Norris’ McLaren, spearing him into the Red Bull drivers - ending Perez’s race. An amateur mistake from Bottas to add to his long list of wet-weather mares. 

Sergio Perez (Qualified 4th, DNF) - 7

Six-tenths was the gap to Verstappen in qualifying as Perez struggled for one-lap pace at the Hungaroring. Perez got past Bottas on the run to Turn 1 but was an innocent passenger as he was taken out by Norris’ flying McLaren.

Charles Leclerc (Qualified 7th, DNF) - 8

Leclerc was minding his own business and looked like he was going to come out of Turn 1 in second behind Hamilton, but Stroll had other ideas. The Aston Martin driver smashed into the side of Leclerc into the first corner, ending his race.

Lance Stroll (Qualified 12th, DNF) - 1

Like Bottas with Norris, Perez and Verstappen, Stroll was entirely to blame for ruining Leclerc and Ricciardo’s races on the opening lap. An over-opportunistic move into Turn 1, where he cut the apex, saw him crash into the side of Leclerc’s Ferrari. A rookie mistake from Stroll.