Fernando Alonso (P4, 12 pts): 9.5/10
For many fans, Fernando Alonso was the driver of the day in Hungary and it's hard to argue otherwise. His Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon might have won the race, but things could have been very different indeed had Alonso not been able to delay Lewis Hamilton's recovery drive for a crucial five laps toward the end of the race. It took all Alonso's proven skill to accomplish, and reminded us of what made him a two-time world champion in the first place. Even after a two-year sabbatical from F1 and turning 40 on Thursday, this showed that he still has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the greatest drivers in the sport. It was a performance that capped a strong weekend for Alonso, who was never outside the top ten in practice or qualifying. The eventful start to Sunday's race saw him gain a modest two places before he settled in behind Carlos Sainz for the opening stint. When Sainz, Sebastian Vettel and finally Ocon made their pit stops, Alonso briefly took the lead of the race for two laps. His own stop set off a 25 lap cat-and-mouse battle with Hamilton culminating in that absorbing duel that finally saw Hamilton get by on lap 65. Alonso came close to pipping Sainz in the final laps but in the end had to settle for fifth, and then he joined the celebrations for Ocon's maiden win.
Carlos Sainz (P3, 15 pts): 8.5/10
Carlos Sainz was in the top four at the end of first practice and repeated the feat again on Saturday morning. Doubtless he was expecting to be starting the race high up on the grid, but then oversteered off the track and into the barrier at the start of Q2, putting himself out of the running. "My first big mistake since joining Maranello," he declared. An apologetic Sainz duly started from 15th place doubtless with damage limitation on his mind, but within seconds of the start the picture had been radically transformed: the chaos at the first corner triggered by Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll cleared an express lane for the Ferrari to fly up to fourth place. The pit stop confusion at the restart saw Sainz shuffled back behind Nicholas Latifi and Yuki Tsunoda but there were plenty of laps left to take care of that, and by the time he made his pit stop on lap 31 he was up to third and in with a strong chance of a podium. Unfortunately he didn't have quite enough tyre life to stay ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps, and his frustration at missing out was evident over the team radio even though fourth is an excellent result for the Spaniard.
