2022 F1 Hungarian GP: Driver Ratings

The 2022 F1 Hungarian GP was another addition to Ferrari's long list of errors this season. However, this feature for the F1 Hungarian GP is for the drivers, not the teams. We've seen some fantastic performances from quite a few drivers this weekend. On the other hand, there are some that would have left for the summer break not feeling so great about the race.

Max Verstappen, for instance, will be giggling from ear to ear after picking up his eighth win of the season. Certain drivers, on the other hand, will not be as happy. Who are those? Well, let's find out in the driver ratings for the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP.

2022 F1 Hungarian GP: Rating the drivers!

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (Started: 7th, Finished: 2nd)

Rating: 9

We're not too far away from the time when Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen fought it out for race wins. The Mercedes is becoming all the faster and so is Lewis Hamilton. He's arguably been the most consistent scorer on the grid since his podium in Canada and the F1 Hungarian GP was no different.

Starting the race in P7, Hamilton showed spectacular tyre management and made the most of the chances given to him. Was a race win possible if his qualifying had not been compromised? We're edging closer to a Lewis Hamilton win and it might come sooner rather than later.

George Russell (Started: 1st, Finished: 3rd)

Rating: 8.5

That champagne would not taste as sweet today as it probably would have after clinching pole position for the F1 Hungarian GP. George Russell was certainly very quick on a single lap. However, there is one weakness that is starting to get exposed when he's going toe-to-toe with Hamilton. The young Brit eats up his tyres faster than his teammate, which is where the veteran appeared to have the edge in the F1 Hungarian GP. Russell is good, but he's not the complete package yet.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen (Started: 10th, Finished: 1st)

Rating: 9.5

It almost feels offensive to take away half a point from Max Verstappen as the win in the F1 Hungarian GP will go down as one of the best of his career. Throughout the race, Verstappen kept his cool and didn't panic at any point. Ultimately, everything fell into place as he ended up climbing his way through the field to win the Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez (Started: 11th, Finished: 5th)

Rating: 6

The F1 Hungarian GP was an overall poor weekend for Sergio Perez. He should not have been in the position he found himself in Q2. Even during the race, after following Verstappen for a few laps, Perez fell back into anonymity. While his teammate went on to win the race, he was P5. It's just not the kind of result you'd expect from the Mexican.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (Started: 3rd, Finished: 6th)

Rating: 9

Once Charles Leclerc was able to make his way past George Russell, it almost felt as if Ferrari could not get it wrong from that point on. Leclerc was leading the race comfortably and had a clear margin over the chasing pack. It was then that Ferrari pulled the masterstroke of putting the driver on hard tires and completely destroying his race.

It appears as if Ferrari are simply not capable of performing at a high level and it's starting to cost the driver an elusive chance at the title.

Carlos Sainz (Started: 2nd, Finished: 4th)

Rating: 8

It was a solid weekend from the Spaniard. Sainz is slowly but steadily starting to show his value as a consistent performer. However, he still lacks the pace that Charles Leclerc has frequently shown.

McLaren

Lando Norris (Started: 4th, Finished: 7th)

Rating: 8.5

Lando Norris is arguably performing similarly to last season. Since McLaren are not up to the mark this season, his performances aren't as noteworthy though.

Having said that, it was another stellar qualifying for the young driver and a strong race where he was able to fend off the Alpines and claim the best of the rest tag.

Daniel Ricciardo (Started: 9th, Finished: 15th)

Rating: 6

There was a point in the race when Daniel Ricciardo was lapping at more or less the same speed as Lando Norris. However, once the pitstops were out of the way, the Australian found it hard to maintain speed. The incident with Lance Stroll was not ideal, and neither was Ricciardo's finishing position.

Alpine

Fernando Alonso (Started: 6th, Finished: 8th)

Rating: 7.5

Watching Fernando Alonso fight it out against his teammate in the F1 Hungarian GP and ultimately overtaking him is not talked about enough. Alonso has been the surprise of the season so far and the F1 Hungarian GP was no exception.

Sure, it's not the vintage Alonso performance we've grown accustomed to. Ocon pipped him in qualifying and there was that slight error when Max Verstappen jumped him in the race. Nonetheless, the Spaniard jumped his teammate and was the lead Alpine when the checkered flag fell.

Esteban Ocon (Started: 5th, Finished: 9th)

Rating: 7

Ocon is slightly under pressure at Alpine and it showed at the F1 Hungarian GP. The qualifying lap from Ocon was spectacular, to say the least, but the race was a bit tentative. The defense against his teammate was marginal and, in the end, the Frenchman conceded his position to Alonso anyway. There's certainly room for growth for Ocon.

AlphaTauri

Pierre Gasly (Started: Pitlane, Finished: 12th)

Rating: 5

Gasly's raceday presence is becoming increasingly anonymous with the AlphaTauri becoming increasingly uncompetitive. The French driver had an average outing at the F1 Hungarian GP and will be hoping for the tides to turn soon.

Yuki Tsunoda (Started: 16th, Finished: 18th)

Rating: 4

The F1 Hungarian GP saw the return of 'Spinoda' as the young Japanese driver once again had an uncharacteristic spin that more or less ended his race. It's not looking good for the AlphaTauri boys right now.

Aston Martin

Sebastian Vettel (Started: 18th, Finished: 10th)

Rating: 8

It was astounding to see Sebastian Vettel make his way through the field from 18th to 10th and not get much of a mention in the live broadcast. Vettel's charge through the backfield from 18th was another impressive drive from the German. Maybe postpone retirement for another year, Seb?

Lance Stroll (Started: 14th, Finished: 11th)

Rating: 7

It was an impressive drive from the Canadian at the F1 Hungarian GP, which showed that Aston Martin have a good race pace. But when your teammate starts four places behind you and beats you, it's gotta hurt.

Alfa Romeo

Valtteri Bottas (Started: 8th, Finished: DNF)

Rating: 6

After a strong qualifying, that was not the kind of result Bottas would have expected. The Finnish driver just didn't have the pace to score points in the F1 Hungarian GP. Additionally, the late-race DNF was the final icing on the cake for a race that exposed how far Alfa Romeo have fallen in terms of performance.

Guanyu Zhou (Started: 12th, Finished: 13th)

Rating: 5

Zhou had a more or less similar F1 Hungarian GP weekend compared to his teammate. The only difference being that the Chinese driver was a couple of tenths down on what Bottas was able to pull out of the car.

Haas F1

Kevin Magnussen (Started: 13th, Finished: 15th)

Rating: 6

A race to forget for Kevin Magnussen as a good start early in the outing did help him run inside the top 10 for some time. Once again, however, a damaged front wing forced an early stop, which was further made worse by the switch to hard tyres.

Haas lacked speed and the Danish driver needs to keep his nose clean on the first lap of the upcoming races.

Mick Schumacher (Started: 15th, Finished: 14th)

Rating: 6

Mick Schumacher's race was more or less similar to his teammate's. The only difference being that the German was comparatively slower than Magnussen (probably because of the upgrade package) and had a cleaner race.

Williams

Alex Albon (Started: 13th, Finished: 13th)

Rating: 6

Alex Albon is going through what could be termed the 'George Russell Syndrome'. It's hard to judge how good or bad he is, performing with Latifi as his teammate and Williams as his machinery.

Williams was not as competitive in the slow-medium sections and left Albon closer to the back of the field at the F1 Hungarian GP.

Nicholas Latifi (Started: 20th, Finished: 18th)

Rating: 5

It's more of the same for Nicholas Latifi at the F1 Hungarian GP. The Canadian driver started the race at the back and finished close to it as well. Topping the timesheets in the F1 Hungarian GP FP3 was a change though.