Nico Hulkenberg, Haas (SP19, P6, 8 pts): 8/10
It was a very good weekend for the Haas team who looked transformed from the wooden spoon winners that limped to the finish in 2023. Their Achilles Heel last year was tyre degradation - the car could barely finish a lap without needing a new set right away - and there was a slight concern about that when Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg were among the first cars to pit in Sunday's Grand Prix. But it proved to be tactical decision rather than a technical necessity, and Hulkenberg staying out a lap longer enabled him to narrowly gain track position over Magnussen that proved critical once the race settled down. Hulkenberg made himself at home in seventh, which was promoted to sixth after Lando Norris retired. The Sprint qualifying and race was an altogether different matter for Hulkenberg so we'll gloss over that and accentuate the positive instead.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull (SP1, Pole, P5, 18 pts): 8/10
Calculating Max Verstappen's rating for Austria proved a complicated mix of debits and credits on his account. On the one hand, he was clearly in town to make a statement, and to silence the criticism that's been building after the last few races where things haven't been quite so dominant and straightforward for Red Bull as he and the team (and everyone else, to be fair) had been expecting. Sure enough he swept practice, all three rounds of Sprint qualifying, and took pole and victory in the Sprint itself. His march continued with a jaw-dropping time in qualifying for the Grand Prix, and in the race itself he flew off into the distance with victory seemingly assured. If the race had stopped on lap 60 then it would have been a perfect score of ten. But a slow pit stop (not his fault) put Verstappen in the clutches of Lando Norris and all hell break loose as both drivers went to the very limit (and over) of what was acceptable in close-quarter racing. It's been some time since Verstappen was last under this sort of pressure, and it brought back some of that red mist bullying attitude that we thought he'd grown out of since becoming world champion. As much as he raged about it, Max got what he deserved and he owes his (former) best friend Lando an apology. And from us, he gets a two point deduction which we're sure will be the most painful cut of all.
