Hungarian Grand Prix driver ratings

Sebastian Vettel: (qualified 1st, finished 1st)

It was a measured race weekend from Vettel, doing just enough to get pole and win the race, at the slowest possible speed in the mold of Alain Prost or Jackie Stewart. In qualifying he managed to be the grab pole position, somewhat opportunistically, with his two main rivals for pole, Raikkonen and Hamilton, both not having as clean a run as they would have liked. Hamilton had a vibration on both sets of tyres in Q3 and Raikkonen clearly felt he was quick enough for pole but made a mistake at the chicane, handing pole to Vettel.

In the race it was nowhere near as comfortable as he would have liked, with a steering column problem affecting his pace throughout the race, first dropping him back to his teammate and then backing both of them into the clutches of Hamilton. Fortunately for Vettel, on a track where overtaking is tricky, his rear gunner in Raikkonen saved him the win, holding off Hamilton valiantly. However, credit must be given to Vettel who drove much of the race with damaged steering, coming home to collect his fourth win of the season. 

Rating: 9.5/10

Kimi Raikkonen (qualified 2nd, finished 2nd)

It was a race of what could have been for the Finn, in that it was a race he was more than capable of winning if situations had been different. In qualifying he clearly felt he could have got pole position, a mistake at the chicane costing him the extra position on the grid. It is that position that possibly cost him the race victory in the end. as if Vettel was behind him in the race, as he was clearly the quicker of the two drivers throughout the race, with Vettel having to drive around his problems.

It was clear he was not able to overtake the team leader, owing to the championship situation with Vettel, and this dropped him into the clutches of Lewis Hamilton, where he put up a great defence to keep the Mercedes behind. It was this defence, that although frustrating for Raikkonen saved the team the 1-2, but he clearly felt he should have been able to have an easier run and challenge Vettel. Ultimately he did the best job he could for the team, and a second consecutive impressive weekend should just about save his seat at Ferrari.

Rating 9/10

Valtteri Bottas: (qualified 3rd, finished 3rd)

Bottas did well on Saturday to get ahead of his teammate but couldn't challenge the Ferrari's who had the upper hand in qualifying. Race day brought opportunity for the Finn who was surely having flashbacks of his lightning third place start in Russia.

He got a good getaway off the line, but so did everyone else around him, neutralising his initial charge. He dropped back slightly from the Ferrari's who appeared to have the upper hand on the super soft compound, while he kept himself clear of pressure from behind. 

It was clear that in the second phase of the race on the soft compound, Bottas struggled compared to teammate Hamilton and was forced to let him through. After he had done that, he dropped behind by a number of seconds and gave Mercedes a scare when Hamilton had to let him through on the final lap with Verstappen hounding his rear. Another podium for the Finn to add to his growing collection, albeit with some race struggles.

Rating: 7/10

Lewis Hamilton: (qualified 4th, finished 4th)

It was a bit of a topsy turvy weekend for Hamilton. The Brit struggled with the car through qualifying and failed to challenge his rivals. He was over four-tenths of a second down on Vettel and was forced to start behind teammate Bottas who went just under two-tenths quicker than him.

At the start of the race, Hamilton dropped behind Verstappen and couldn't make inroads on the cars ahead as he was stuck behind the Red Bull. However, after making the switch onto the softs, Hamilton came alive and set some impressive laps, closing up and passing Bottas with the instructions to let him back through if he couldn't get by the Ferrari's.

Hamilton streaked clear of Bottas and closed up behind Raikkonen but due to the nature of the track, the Brit couldn't find a way past. The soft tyres seemed to work much better on the Mercedes, which has been a trait all season. While showing some electric pace in the race, Hamilton's day was undone by his poor qualifying result.

Rating: 7.5/10

Max Verstappen (qualified 5th, finished 5th):

After Daniel Ricciardo had topped the timesheets on Friday, it was Verstappen who was the faster Red Bull on Saturday - the Dutchman lined up fifth on the grid. He would replicate this result on Sunday too, but not without disaster as he understeered into his team-mate on the first lap, bursting Ricciardo's radiator and putting him out.

Verstappen was hit with a 10-second time penalty for his regrettable mistake, which he served at his pit stop, but even this did not dampen his efforts and he still finished in a solid fifth place. He should be commended for both his damage limitation and accepting that he did wrong.

Rating: 7/10

Fernando Alonso: (qualified 8th, finished 6th)

Yet another blistering drive from Alonso. Heading into the weekend, the Spaniard knew this was probably the place he could max out the potential of his McLaren chassis due to the tight, narrow corners and the lack of long straights.

Another Q3 appearance was somewhat less surprising this time around but the 36-year-old delivered in qualifying before going on to impress once again in the race. A clean start, a long stint on the super soft tyres and a "kamikaze" move on Sainz into Turn 1, Alonso recorded his seventh consecutive points finish at the Hungaroring.

Rating: 9/10

Carlos Sainz: (qualified 9th, finished 7th):

Hungary marked another great drive from the impressive young Spaniard. As the Hungaroring is a difficult track to pass on, Sainz only really had a charging Alonso to deal with, but he did so with great maturity and fairness (even if he did briefly shove the McLaren off the track). Ultimately, the wisdom and experience of the double World Champion meant that Sainz had to settle for seventh, but he nevertheless continues to prove his worth with another valuable points haul.

Rating: 7/10

Sergio Perez: (qualified 14th, finished 8th)

In qualifying, Sergio Perez ended his run of seven consecutive Q3 appearances for Force India which started in Russia back in April by getting knocked out in Q2. This left him in 14th place, being promoted forward one position on the grid through Daniil Kvyat's penalty. This meant that he started directly behind his team mate.

On the race start, Perez had one of the best getaways in the field, punching his Force India into the top ten although he did make contact with his team mate, Esteban Ocon. Running in eighth place, Perez was unable to make any inroads on Carlos Sainz who was ahead of him. A slow pit stop from Force India ended any hope that Perez had to move into seventh. 

Rating: 8/10

Esteban Ocon: (qualified 11th, finished 9th)

A good qualifying session saw Ocon out qualify Sergio Perez for only the second time in 11 attempts this season. Like Perez however, Ocon also failed to progress to Q3, qualifying down in 12th place. A penalty for Nico Hulkenberg saw Ocon promoted to 11th on the grid.

A messy start from Ocon reduced the Frenchman's chances of securing a better result in the race. Contact with Perez on the opening lap saw him pick up floor damage which resulted in a slight loss of performance. A slow pit stop for Stoffel Vandoorne saw Ocon move into ninth place, holding off the McLaren in the final stages of the race to finish there. A tenth place finish in 11 races ends Ocon's first half of 2017, which has so far been very impressive.

Rating: 8/10

Stoffel Vandoorne: (qualified 9th, finished 10th)

Vandoore headed to Hungary in search of his first points finish of the year. His first full season at McLaren has been overshadowed by the woes that McLaren-Honda have suffered this season, but in Hungary, it was up to Vandoorne to prove his worth.

The margin to his teammate in qualifying was closer than it has been, but four tenths of a second is still a lot of time dropped. Can he be exempted from criticism while racing alongside Alonso who continues to prove his worth? By the end of the year, Vandoorne needs to be showing why he belongs in the team.

The Belgian lost out at the start of the race and due to the difficulty in overtaking around the Hungaroring, he came home in tenth place and collecting a point for himself and the team. He showed some strong pace during the Grand Prix but couldn't get by the cars ahead due to the consistent flow of turbulent air. 

Rating: 8/10

Daniil Kvyat: (qualified 16th, finished 11th)

Starting from the lower half of the order on a tight and twisty circuit, it seemed going into Sunday that Kvyat might struggle to make progress in the race. Unfortunately, this ultimately seemed to be the case, and from his P16 grid slot the Russian only moved up at the start, where he claimed fourteenth, and as his rivals pitted around him. He was unable to get close to the points during the race, and only found himself eleventh after a penalty was applied to Kevin Magnussen, finishing off an underwhelming weekend for Kvyat.

Rating: 5/10

Jolyon Palmer: (qualified 10th, finished 12th)

Another pretty disappointing race for Palmer, after he failed to convert the top 10 place on the grid (which he inherited after his teammate’s gearbox penalty) to a points finish, which will be the main headline for a driver under pressure for his seat. His race weekend started poorly with two crashes in free practice, further putting the spotlight on himself for all the wrong reasons.

In qualifying he did come close to Q3, ultimately missing out on the third session by a tenth, which doesn’t sound too bad on the surface, but ultimately he was a long way away from his teammate, who was again a long way ahead in qualifying trim.

He did however benefit from his teammates gearbox penalty putting him p10 on the grid, in position to score perhaps a point. He did suffer at the start, through no fault of his own, having to dodge the spinning Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo. This dropped him out of the top 10 and he couldn’t really manage to drive himself through the traffic. He also had to deal with a strategy change to try and help his teammates race, and let his teammate through because he was quicker. However, ultimately he was not quick enough to deal with the traffic and get himself into the points.

Rating 5/10

Kevin Magnussen: (qualified 15th, finished 13th)

The Hungarian Grand Prix was certainly an action-packed one for Magnussen. He made his intention of racing 'dirty' clear over the radio at the start, and as he fought to try and move up the field he did himself no favours by landing himself a 20-second time penalty. This came with nine laps to go, when Nico Hulkenberg attempted to pass the Dane around the outside of Turn 2. The Haas man shut the door, leaving the Renault with nowhere to go but the grass and dropping Magnussen from eleventh in the final classification to thirteenth. Perhaps the Dane should have known better; here's hoping that both he and Hulkenberg have cooled down before they get to Spa.

Rating: 6/10

Pascal Wehrlein: (qualified 18th, finished 15th)

Heading to Hungary, Sauber was expecting a performance boost with a new aerodynamic update before the summer break. In qualifying, it was apparent that the update had not made any major inroads, and Wehrlein was once again knocked out in Q1, out qualifying his team mate nevertheless. 

In the race, Wehrlein pitted early and drifted at the back of the back for the majority of the race. A late second stop prevented him from challenging Lance Stroll who was his nearest competitor. Wehrlein finished ahead of Ericsson, who followed him closely for most of the race.

Rating: 6.5/10

Marcus Ericsson: (qualified 20th, finished 16th)

Like Wehrlein, Ericsson was expecting greater levels of performance from his Sauber. A very disappointing qualifying session saw the Swese emerge as the slowest driver on the grid, not only being out qualified by his team mate but also by Paul di Resta for Williams, who, prior to the session, had never driven a 2017 F1 car.

Ericsson's disappointing weekend continued in the race, locking up at the start and nearly collecting Wehrlein in the process. An early pit stop saw Ericsson get stuck behind Wehrlein, following him for much of the race. A second pit stop cost him any chances of scoring any major result, being the last classified finisher in the field. A disappointing weekend rounds out a disappointing first half of 2017 for Ericsson, being one of two drivers who have not yet scored points this season.

Rating: 5.5/10

Lance Stroll: (qualified 17th, finished 14th)

It was ultimately an anonymous race for the canadian, not quick enough to keep up with the cars ahead, but way clear of the Saubers and his teammate behind. In Qualifying he did just as well as perhaps was hoped, on a track not suited to the Williams’ strengths, getting ahead of the Saubers and his newly drafted teammate, Paul Di Resta, but no further up the grid, but he could perhaps be aggrieved, with only seven thousandths separating him from a place in Q2. the race again was ultimately a lonely affair, he even admitted he was bored at points with nobody to battle around him. The one cause for concern was the fact that an ill Felipe Massa was quicker than him in FP3 before forfeiting his seat, perhaps hinting at more pace in the car than he had.

Rating 6/10

Nico Hulkenberg: (qualified 12th, DNF)

Hulkenberg's weekend was really decided before qualifying with a five place grid penalty, which ultimately wrecked his race totally. In qualifying he did the best job he could, getting P7 without the penalty, which is the best he could have hoped for with the superiority of the top three teams.

After the penalty and demotion, he had work to do on a track where it is tricky to overtake.

In the race, he was heavily hampered by traffic, but did manage to show he was a lot quicker than his teammate, pulling out 20 seconds in 25 laps, and did seem to be set for a points finish. However a very slow pitstop from 7th position really did drop him back into the pack, which again put him on the backfoot. His fight with Magnussen was a fight he should never really have been in, proving to be much quicker than the Haas, and being run off the road, ultimately ended a frustrating race for the German.

Rating 7/10


Paul Di Resta: (qualified 19th, DNF)

What a weekend for the scottish driver, if not from a driving perspective, then from a personal point. Drafted in at the last minute to replace the ill Felipe Massa for his first F1 race since 2013, he did a sterling job having not ever driven a 2017 car before qualifying. To actually qualify ahead of a car is a magnificent effort, and to be closer to Stroll than Palmer was to Hulkenberg, speaks volumes as to how good his performance was.

Ultimately going into the race with no expectations he kept his car clean, which was probably his mean objective for the race. Although he running in last at the time of his car breaking down, he did just about as well as one could expect.

Rating 7.5/10  

Romain Grosjean: (qualified 14th, DNF)

Grosjean struggled with both balance and brakes on Friday, and Saturday did not go much better as he failed to progress beyond Q2. He could have hoped for more on Sunday, but the Frenchman's race was almost immediately compromised when Hulkenberg pushed him off at Turn 1.

This dropped him to sixteenth, and he would hold station thereafter until lap 21, when he was called into the pits so the team could change tyres after a slow puncture. The stop initially seemed to go smoothly, but less than a lap later Grosjean pulled off to retire due to a loose wheel nut. This season hasn't been the luckiest for the Frenchman, but thankfully he now has a summer break to recharge - let's hope he has a smoother weekend in Belgium.

Rating: 3.5/10

Daniel Ricciardo: (qualified 6th, DNF)

After topping both practice sessions on Friday at the Hungaroring, it was a tougher day on Saturday for Ricciardo as he qualified sixth, which was not where he had hoped to start. It is likely that he also hoped to get further than lap 1 of the race, which saw him hit by an understeering Verstappen at Turn 2. The resulting radiator damage knocked him into a spin and his race was over, much to Ricciardo's fury. There is no doubt that he will bounce back in Belgium - but will this change the relationship between the Red Bull team-mates?

Rating: 5/10