F1 Driver Ratings: 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

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The Hungarian Grand Prix turned the form book on its head: Red Bull struggled, Aston Martin were up at the sharp end and Ferrari took their first pole position of the season.

McLaren were as competitive as ever, however, and scored another one-two. But did the change in order between their drivers owe more to skill or luck?

Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field at the Hungaroring:

Lando Norris

Qualified: 3rd (1 place behind team mate, +0.015s)Grid: 3rd (1 place behind team mate)Start: -2 placesStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 1st (1 place ahead of team mate)

▶ In the hunt for pole position but caught out by changing conditions in Q3▼ Lost places to Russell and Alonso at the start but quickly re-passed Alonso▶ Gambled on one-stop strategy▲ Managed tyres, traffic and pressure from Piastri to grab unlikely win

7/10: Nip-and-tuck with Piastri on pace, poor at start but made tricky strategy work

Oscar Piastri

Qualified: 2nd (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.015s)Grid: 2nd (1 place ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 2nd (1 place behind team mate)

▶ Like Norris, in the hunt for pole but Q3 conditions change surprised him▶ Rebuffed Norris at the start then tracked Leclerc over the opening stint▲ Two-stopped in an effort to pass Leclerc, then passed him in final stint▶ Put Norris under sustained pressure but turn one lock-up on penultimate lap consigned him to second place

8/10: Did everything right but Norris landed on a better strategy

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Charles Leclerc

Qualified: 1st (11 places ahead of team mate, -0.247s)Grid: 1st (11 places ahead of team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 4th (8 places ahead of team mate)

▶ Consistently third in practice▲ Took shock pole position by being only driver to improve his lap time in Q3▶ Kept lead at start and had good pace in first two stints▶ Mystery loss of pace struck after final pit stop▼ Risked contact with reckless defence against Russell

7/10: Drove a great weekend but lost his cool when he hit car trouble

Lewis Hamilton

Qualified: 12th (11 places behind team mate, +0.247s)Grid: 12th (11 places behind team mate)Start: -2 placesStrategy: One-stop (H-M)Finished: 12th (8 places behind team mate)

▼ Improved too little on his second Q2 run to reach final 10▶ Lost two places at the start to rivals as he started on hards, but moved up the order as others pitted▼ Dived off-track at turn four and let Verstappen by for sixth▶ Passed Gasly and Ocon with little difficulty to finish 12th, where he started

4/10: Too far off Leclerc in qualifying and lacked fight in the race

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Max Verstappen

Qualified: 8th (8 places ahead of team mate, -0.163s)Grid: 8th (12 places ahead of team mate)Start: -1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 9th (8 places ahead of team mate)

▶ Battled to reach Q3 in a car which was further off the pace than usual▲ Passed by Lawson at the start but retook him, then mugged Stroll▼ Lap times tailed off early on, forcing him in for an early first pit stop▶ Rose to fifth before second pit stop left him a place lower than he started

7/10: Pulled off some good passes but pace and strategy meant he toiled in vain

Yuki Tsunoda

Qualified: 16th (8 places behind team mate, +0.163s)Grid: 20th (12 places behind team mate)Start: Held positionStrategy: Two-stop (M-S-H)Finished: 17th (8 places behind team mate)

▼ Closer to Verstappen than usual but eliminated in Q1▶ Started from the pits after taking a fresh power unit▼ Couldn’t make the gains he needed in mid-race switch to softs▶ Only had the Alpines behind him at the end▶ Cleared of forcing Hulkenberg off-track

5/10: One-lap pace looked better but race pace didn’t

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Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Qualified: 15th (11 places behind team mate, +1.185s)Grid: 15th (11 places behind team mate)Start: +2 placesStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 10th (7 places behind team mate)

▶ Declared himself much happier with Mercedes’ car after they switched back to an older suspension configuration▼ Poor Q2 lap saw him six tenths of a second off his Q1 pace▶ Picked up two places at the start and ran successful one-stop strategy▶ Great pass on Sainz secured the final point

6/10: Atoned for messy qualifying with mature drive in race

George Russell

Qualified: 4th (11 places ahead of team mate, -1.185s)Grid: 4th (11 places ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 3rd (7 places ahead of team mate)

▶ Had flashes of pace whenever the track conditions cooled▶ Came close to nabbing pole position but over-committed at the final corner▲ Passed Norris at the start then cunningly helped Alonso get by too▶ Resisted Norris to begin with but two-stop strategy let the McLaren through▲ Passed Leclerc for final podium place

8/10: One of many drivers who could have been ‘best of the rest’ behind the McLarens

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Lance Stroll

Qualified: 6th (1 place behind team mate, +0.017s)Grid: 6th (1 place behind team mate)Start: -1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 7th (2 places behind team mate)

▶ Looked re-energised by a more competitive car and almost ended losing streak to Alonso in qualifying▼ Passed by Bortoleto at the start▼ Dropped another place when he left the door open for Verstappen on lap two▲ Lost no time passing Sainz after his pit stop to prevent Lawson undercutting him▶ Wasn’t able to attack Bortoleto for sixth

7/10: Much better one-lap pace and tyre management than usual

Fernando Alonso

Qualified: 5th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.017s)Grid: 5th (1 place ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 5th (2 places ahead of team mate)

▶ Missed first practice due to back pain▶ Pleased by car’s performance but got progressively slower throughout qualifying▲ Briefly got ahead of Norris at the start but focused on managing his tyres and keeping others behind▶ Climbed to fifth and kept midfield rivals at bay

8/10: Looked like there was more in the car in qualifying but shrewd as ever in the race

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Franco Colapinto

Qualified: 14th (3 places ahead of team mate, -0.091s)Grid: 14th (2 places ahead of team mate)Start: -4 placesStrategy: Two-stop (M-H-H)Finished: 18th (1 place ahead of team mate)

▶ Unhappy with his car on Friday but pleased to reach Q2▼ Poor start wasted his qualifying effort, leaving him 19th▶ From there his two-stop strategy meant he took the chequered flag last

5/10: Points were always going to be a long shot but poor start ruined his day

Pierre Gasly

Qualified: 17th (3 places behind team mate, +0.091s)Grid: 16th (2 places behind team mate)Start: -3 placesStrategy: One-stop (H-M)Finished: 19th (1 place behind team mate)

▶ Blamed understeer after Q1 exit but was close to joining Colapinto in Q2▶ His ‘reverse’ one-stop strategy meant an ambitious 37-lap final stint on mediums▶ Attempt to hold 14th fell apart when Hulkenberg passed him▼ Forced Sainz off as the Williams came by and incurred a penalty which left him last

4/10: Disappointing in qualifying and silly move on Sainz in the race

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Esteban Ocon

Qualified: 18th (7 places behind team mate, +0.273s)Grid: 17th (6 places behind team mate)Start: +2 placesStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 16th (4 places ahead of team mate)

▶ Quicker than Bearman through the final corners but lost too much time earlier in the lap to join him in Q2▶ Attempted a very aggressive one-stop strategy, pitting on lap 14, before most two-stoppers came in▶ Was 13th with seven laps to go but three drivers on fresher tyres came by

6/10: Did what he could with ambitious strategy after indifferent Saturday

Oliver Bearman

Qualified: 11th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.273s)Grid: 11th (6 places ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: Retired

▲ Qualified well ahead of Ocon, seven-thousandths off reaching Q3▶ Looked in with a chance of points after passing Hadjar at the start▼ Picked up floor damage at turn four in the race – the third time he did so during the weekend▶ Retired due to damage

5/10: Solid on Saturday but let a point-scoring chance get away

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Isack Hadjar

Qualified: 10th (1 place behind team mate, +0.094s)Grid: 10th (1 place behind team mate)Start: -1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 11th (3 places behind team mate)

▶ Potentially quicker than Lawson but lost more when conditions changed in Q3, taking 10th▶ Lost a place to Bearman at the start as flying gravel hurt his hand▶ Antonelli undercut him to take last place in the points

6/10: Small details made the difference between him and points-scoring team mate

Liam Lawson

Qualified: 9th (1 place ahead of team mate, -0.094s)Grid: 9th (1 place ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 8th (3 places ahead of team mate)

▶ Wasn’t happy with his car on Friday and did well to claim ninth▶ Passed Verstappen at the start but lost the place on the next lap▶ Missed chance to ‘undercut’ Stroll with his single pit stop▲ Held eighth to the flag despite Verstappen appearing behind him on fresher tyres

7/10: Carved out a points finish on a challenging weekend

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Alexander Albon

Qualified: 20th (7 places behind team mate, +0.571s)Grid: 19th (6 places behind team mate)Start: +3 placesStrategy: Two-stop (S-M-H)Finished: 15th (1 place behind team mate)

▼ Late change back to original set-up plus poor out-lap left him last in qualifying▼ Gained no places at the start despite lining up on softs▶ Degradation bit during middle stint on mediums▶ Passed Gasly and Ocon for 15th

5/10: Qualifying left him with too much to do at a track where passing isn’t easy

Carlos Sainz Jnr

Qualified: 13th (7 places ahead of team mate, -0.571s)Grid: 13th (6 places ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (S-H-M)Finished: 14th (1 place ahead of team mate)

▲ Nearly reached Q3 after his team mate dropped out last in first round▶ Started on softs and took 12th off Hamilton▶ Abandoned optimistic attempt to one-stop from there▶ Lost time when forced off by Gasly but comfortably beat Albon

7/10: Had the pace to nab a point with a conventional strategy

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Nico Hulkenberg

Qualified: 19th (12 places behind team mate, +0.495s)Grid: 18th (11 places behind team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: Two-stop (S-M-M)Finished: 13th (7 places behind team mate)

▼ Stung by lapping almost half a second off Bortoleto in Q1▶ Gained a place at the start on softs then pitted early for mediums▲ Decent pace on second set of mediums saw him pass Gasly, Ocon and the Williams pair

6/10: Another race where he couldn’t make up on Sunday for missed chances on Saturday

Gabriel Bortoleto

Qualified: 7th (12 places ahead of team mate, -0.495s)Grid: 7th (11 places ahead of team mate)Start: +1 placeStrategy: One-stop (M-H)Finished: 6th (7 places ahead of team mate)

▲ Starred in qualifying again, pipping Verstappen to seventh on grid▶ Unflustered by the Red Bull in his mirrors over the opening laps▶ Executed one-stop strategy flawlessly for sixth place

9/10: Another deeply impressive performance

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