Kimi Raikkonen (P10, 1 pt): 7/10
Despite missing out on first practice in favour of Alfa Romeo reserve driver Robert Kubica, Kimi Raikkonen was soon up to speed and always looked in course to make it through to the second round of qualifying, which he duly did. Starting the race ahead of his team mate Antonio Giovinazzi for once, Raikkonen successfully avoided the mayhem at turn 1. While he didn't pick up as many positions as some of the others (and as he'd been known to do in previous outings when the opportunity has arisen) but soon settled into eighth place when the race resumed after a red flag. Unfortunately he soon found trouble on pit lane when he clashed with Nikita Mazepin for which he was handed a penalty that ruined any chance of finishing in the top ten. "Up until the penalty we were deep in the points, but making it back from the bottom was just too much."
Max Verstappen (P9, 2 pts): 8/10
Max Verstappen had been having such a strong run of late this season - four consecutive pole positions, four wins in quick succession - that it was possible to imagine him simply running off with the 2021 title. But that clash with Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone appears to have broken his momentum, and worse was to come in Hungary. Although he was fastest in FP1 he never seemed happy with the balance of the car, and Red Bull went into qualifying on the back foot allowing Mercedes to lock out the front row of the grid. Despite that, a slow start for Valtteri Bottas enabled Verstappen to jump up to second even if Hamilton was already too far down the road to challenge for the lead into turn 1. Unfortunately Verstappen then got hit by a McLaren which had itself been hit from behind by Bottas. The damage to the Red Bull was significant. It's a miracle he was able to continue and his struggle to pass Mick Schumacher's Haas clearly demonstrated how badly compromised the RB16B was. Rarely has a single point been so hard won - how crucial might it prove at the end of the season?
