Hungarian GP F1 driver ratings: Lewis Hamilton stars with another masterclass

Oscar Piastri - 9

Piastri drove a great race to take his maiden F1 victory. Up until his first pit stop, he was near-perfect. No doubt, his final stint was subpar but his win was thoroughly deserved on the whole.

Lando Norris - 8.5

Norris was left to rue another sluggish Lap 1, dropping down to third initially. He was out-paced by Piastri in the first half of the race but showed his class late on. Norris ultimately played the team game, handing Piastri his first F1 win as he obeyed McLaren's instructions. 

Lewis Hamilton - 9.5

Hamilton delivered another masterclass at the Hungaroring. While Mercedes only had the third-fastest car (at best), Hamilton got the most out of his machinery. His defensive performance against Verstappen was sublime.

Charles Leclerc - 8.5

Leclerc was unfortunate with the timing of the red flag in Q3, leaving him down in sixth having been unable to complete a second run. However, a great start put him in the mix at the front. He had a decisive edge over teammate Sainz in the race.

Max Verstappen - 7.5

One of Verstappen’s more scrappy races. He made an uncharacteristic error when battling Hamilton, while his frustration over team radio was petulant. Every driver is allowed an off day but with McLaren growing into the asdency, both Verstappen and Red Bull need to be on it.

Carlos Sainz - 7.5

Sainz did well in qualifying to secure fourth but a poor start dropped him behind Alonso. He drove a solid race from that point to secure sixth.

Sergio Perez - 6

After another poor qualifying performance, Perez put together a fairly decent Sunday afternoon to finish seventh, beating Russell.

George Russell - 6

Russell’s worst weekend of the year as he was knocked out in Q1. He was stuck behind Bottas before losing out to Perez through strategy. Not a great weekend overall. 

Yuki Tsunoda - 8

A good weekend from Tsunoda, who made the most of the one-stop strategy to finish in the points. His crash in qualifying was the only blemish, although it didn’t really affect his starting position.

Lance Stroll - 6.5

A favourable strategy gave Stroll the advantage over Alonso on race day in Hungary. He ignored team orders to remain ahead and pick up the final point.

Fernando Alonso - 7

Alonso was understandably fuming by Aston Martin’s decision to pit early. This put him on the backfoot relative to Stroll and Tsunoda.

Daniel Ricciardo - 7

Like Alonso, Ricciardo was left to rue an early pit stop and two-stop strategy. Otherwise, he was on the pace and competitive at the Hungaroring.

Nico Hulkenberg - 7

Hulkenberg was the one who triggered the early run of pit stops, coming in on Lap 3. It didn’t quite work out with Haas simply not having the pace for points.

Alex Albon - 7

Points were never on the cards for Williams at Hungary. While there was some frustration from Albon after qualifying as he failed to make Q3, the Astons and RBs had a clear edge.

Kevin Magnussen - 6.5

Magnussen was a step behind teammate Hulkenberg once again pace wise this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas - 6.5

The Sauber appeared to be more competitive with a number of upgrades introduced this weekend, allowing Bottas to qualify 12th.

Logan Sargeant - 6

Sargeant continued to make gains in qualifying as he was only a tenth off Albon. A poor start and a late switch to softs dropped him down the order.

Esteban Ocon - 6.5

A poor weekend for Alpine overall. Their weekend was effectively ruined by a decision to stay in the pit lane when the track was ramping up in qualifying. Unsurprisingly, Ocon couldn’t recover.

Zhou Guanyu - 6

Zhou was well off it in qualifying before putting in an anonymous drive.

Pierre Gasly - 6

Gasly was forced to start from the pit lane before dropping out early on due to a hydraulic issue. A weekend to forget for him and Alpine.