George Russell (P6, 8 pts): 8.5/10
It was all or nothing for George Russell this weekend. He was quickest in first practice (although admittedly, many drivers didn't get to set a time amid the rain and red flag disruption) but slowest of anyone later in the day in FP2. Sixth quickest in final practice was probably his true level, but a disastrous timing miscue in the first round of qualifying left him down in 18th place on the grid for the race. Given that Toto Wolff owned up to the mistake, we'll give Russell a pass on this and not hold it against him in the ratings. Especially not after his outstanding drive on Sunday, in which he made up four places on the opening lap alone thanks to the accidents ahead of and around him, and then picking off Kevin Magnussen on lap 2. Having started on hard tyres he benefitted from the early stops of those on softs to move up to tenth, then dispatched Nico Hulkenberg in the second Haas on lap 16. By the time he finally pitted on lap 28 he was up to fifth. Moving on to the mediums for the remaining two stints saw him settle into eighth behind the two Ferraris: he blasted round the outside of the final corner to take care of Sainz on lap 65, and got close enough to the back of Charles Leclerc to benefit from the Monegasque's post-race five second penalty for speeding on pit lane to secure sixth place in the final results. From 18th on the grid, that's a great performance. “Our strategists promised 11th place, seventh if we really maximised everything. Sixth is therefore beyond our expectations." Ours too, to be honest.
Oscar Piastri (P5, 10 pts): 8.5/10
Having seriously surprised and impressed us last time out at Silverstone where he came close to securing a podium finish (if not for that meddling safety car), Oscar Piastri proved that it was no one-off fluke with another terrific performance in Hungary this week that's making us forget he's 'just' a rookie. He was only P19 on Friday where weather, red flags and tyre allocation issues gave all teams a bit of a headache, but he moved forward in final practice and had no trouble cruising through to the final round of qualifying where he secured a place on the second row lining up alongside his McLaren team mate Lando Norris for the start of Sunday's race. When Lewis Hamilton went wide defending against Max Verstappen in the first corner, Norris and Piastri jumped at the opportunity to pass the Mercedes - and Piastri came out of the move with second place. While Verstappen charged away into the distance, Piastri was allowed to keep his spot until the first round of pit stops on lap 18 and a switch from medium to hard tyres. A podium looked within reach, but Norris was now in second and Sergio Perez' comeback drive saw Piastri pushed out of the top three by lap 50. Shortly afterwards he was also picked off by Hamilton, leaving him following the Mercedes to the line in a 'mere' fifth place.
