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The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP ended with Max Verstappen on top of the podium with Lando Norris and Sergio Perez alongside him.
The race was arguably a more dominant display than what many are used to by now. Lewis Hamilton unfortunately was unable to convert his pole position into a podium and finished P4 in the race.
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was a fun little race with quite a few interesting performances from drivers. In this feature, we will take a look at how each of these drivers fared during the weekend.
Criteria for rating: When we rate the drivers, there are a few things that we take into consideration. These are:
- Performance in both qualifying and race
- Results achieved compared to the potential of the car
- How many mistakes were made over the weekend
- Relative performance against their teammate
2023 F1 Hungarian GP: Rating the drivers
Red Bull
Max Verstappen (Started: 2nd, Finished: 1st)
Rating: 9
That was utter dominance in the race from Max Verstappen. He made sure that he nailed the start, was sufficiently aggressive when it came to diving down the inside and then never looked back.
Was it a flawless weekend? Not really. He messed up his final qualifying lap and hence gets docked a point.
Sergio Perez (Started: 9th, Finished: 3rd)
Rating: 6
A nice return to the podium for Perez but in all fairness it wasn't the best weekend for him. A Red Bull should not be starting the race in P9 and that is going to start hurting the team when the grid closes up.
For now, though, a decent podium for the Mexican as this helps rebuild confidence in what he can do in that car.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc (Started: 6th, Finished: 7th)
Rating: 7.5
Extracted whatever was possible in that Ferrari during the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP. Charles Leclerc could have potentially challenged Oscar Piastri if not for the slow pitstop and getting stuck behind his teammate but it's almost expected now from the team that something is going to go wrong.
Leclerc wasn't without his share of blame either though as he exceed the pitlane speed limit and cost himself a 5-second penalty.
Carlos Sainz (Started: 11th, Finished: 8th)
Rating: 7
Carlos Sainz has now more or less reached a point where he's just a 10th or two away from Charles Leclerc. He's not getting dominated by his teammate which is a good thing for Ferrari as well.
The weekend was a decent one. Sainz messed up his qualifying lap and was punted out in Q2. His electric start helped him jump a few places and that's where he finished in the end.
Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (Started: 1st, Finished: 4th)
Rating: 8
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP qualifying was just magical. Lewis Hamilton got his first pole position in almost 600 days and the joy was visible on his face. Having said that, the Brit not finishing on the podium comes down to his mistake at the start of the race.
Hamilton was jumped by three cars for being far too cautious and then ended up costing him the opportunity to fight for the podium.
George Russell (Started: 18th, Finished: 6th)
Rating: 6.5
While the team rushed to his defense after the qualifying debacle, George Russell should take a part of the blame on himself as well. The driver was playing catchup to Lewis Hamilton all weekend and even in qualifying he was behind.
Yes, he could have had a better qualifying session and maybe a better result as well but that didn't happen. With Hamilton taking all the limelight, Russell has started to become the forgotten man at Mercedes this season and he might need a statement-making performance soon.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly (Started: 15th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 5
Pierre Gasly's race ended at the first turn as he was caught out by the chain reaction initiated by Daniel Ricciardo.
The qualifying was not too good either as the French driver was outqualified by his teammate as well.
Esteban Ocon (Started: 12th, Finished: DNF)
Rating: 6
Esteban Ocon is going through a bad run of form that has not been his doing in any which way. This was his second DNF in a row and it was the second time the driver had to retire without making any mistake whatsoever.
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP is another one in a series of races that the Alpine driver would rather forget and move on from.
McLaren
Lando Norris (Started: 3rd, Finished: 2nd)
Rating: 9
Lando Norris was quite frustrated at losing out on pole position by less than a tenth. He was arguably more frustrated to see Mercedes get a pole position as well. He turned things around on race day though as he got the jump on Lewis Hamilton on the first lap.
From that point onwards, it was a methodical jump on Oscar Piastri and then just pulling away. Another strong result from Lando as he starts to become a factor at the front of the grid.
Oscar Piastri (Started: 4th, Finished: 5th)
Rating: 7.5
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was a character-building race for Oscar Piastri. The driver was in P2 and minding his race but things slowly began to unravel.
Piastri might have picked up damage against Perez that compromised him but his race started to unravel once Norris got the jump on him. That first team radio from Piastri after Norris jumped him said a lot.
The rookie is doing an impressive job though, he'll learn and get back to know the horse soon enough.
Alfa Romeo
Valtteri Bottas (Started: 7th, Finished: 12th)
Rating: 6
Alfa Romeo should have scored points in the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP but once again it does appear that the drivers let it down. Valtteri Bottas did not have a good start and that dropped him back. After that, he was never able to make his way through the field.
It's unfortunate because Alfa Romeo won't have too many of these weekends where the car works perfectly. This was a race one and the driver messed it up.
Guanyu Zhou (Started: 5th, Finished: 16th)
Rating: 5
Qualifying was impressive from Guanyu Zhou but once again when it comes to putting together the entire weekend, there's one thing or the other that ruins it.
Even if we take cognizance of the fact that there was some issue with the car at the start of the race, one only has to look at what Daniel Ricciardo did in a car that was arguably slower than Zhou's.
Alfa Romeo needs new drivers and the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was proof of that.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso (Started: 8th, Finished: 9th)
Rating: 7.5
Fernando Alonso has been keeping a brave face on and the 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was no different. The former podium contenders have been leapfrogged and the effects are there to be seen.
The Spaniard isn't his chirpy self anymore and was happy to just bring his car home in points on Sunday.
Lance Stroll (Started: 14th, Finished: 10th)
Rating: 6.5
Decent weekend from Lance Stroll to bring home a point.
The Canadian didn't have a good qualifying but gained a few places to finish 10th, arguably the best he could have hoped looking at the performance of the Aston Martin.
Haas F1
Kevin Magnussen (Started: 19th, Finished: 17th)
Rating: 4.5
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP just followed the same template as every race does for Kevin Magnussen these days.
Dominated by a teammate in qualifying, he couldn't make much impression in the race either.
Nico Hulkenberg (Started: 10th, Finished: 14th)
Rating: 7.5
We're reaching that point of the season where a conversation needs to be had over good Nico Hulkenberg has been in that Haas. The German once reached Q3 in a car that his teammate could not even make it beyond Q1.
The poor race pace has been a feature of the car and we can't even criticize Hulkenberg anymore for dropping places in the race.
AlphaTauri
Daniel Ricciardo(Started: 13th, Finished: 13th)
Rating: 8
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was a perfect weekend for Daniel Ricciardo. He outqualifed Yuki Tsunoda and he outraced him as well.
Do that for the rest of the season and pray for Sergio Perez' downfall, a seat at Red Bull could be there for the taking.
Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 17th, Finished: 15th)
Rating: 5
Not the weekend Yuki would have wanted with the new teammate in the other car. The Japanese driver needs to be careful because Ricciardo's performances get better with confidence.
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was a race where he wasn't prepared. From Spa onwards, Ricciardo will be prepared and Yuki needs to bounce back.
Williams
Alex Albon (Started: 16th, Finished: 11th)
Rating: 8
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was another race that showed how impactful Alex Albon has been this season.
On a track that does not suit the car, he almost scored a point on Sunday and one has to tip his hat to the way Albon has gotten on at Williams.
Logan Sargeant (Started: 20th, Finished: 18th)
Rating: 4
The 2023 F1 Hungarian GP was another example of why Logan Sargeant might need to up his game.
The gulf between him and his teammate is just too big now and this should concern Williams. The spin near the end of the race didn't help either.
