Complete weekend for Norris but poor result for Sainz – driver ratings

Complete weekend for Norris but poor result for Sainz – driver ratingsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, McLaren’s Lando Norris is fifth in the drivers’ championship, while Williams’ Carlos Sainz is 15th ByHarry BenjaminBBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentator at the HungaroringPublished24 minutes agoWorld champion Lando Norris took victory from pole position in Hungary on Sunday to secure his and McLaren’s first grand prix win of 2026. Norris was passed for the lead by team-mate Oscar Piastri at the start but the Australian later retired from the race with a gearbox failure. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second and title leader Kimi Antonelli claimed the final podium in place in third. Lewis Hamilton, who was given a three-place grid penalty before the race for impeding Piastri in qualifying, dropped from fourth to fifth at the chequered flag, after he was handed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Hungary. Lando Norris – 9.5/10The complete weekend McLaren and Norris have been waiting for. Pole position, outstanding pace when finally released into clear air and a controlled run to the flag earned him his first grand prix victory of the season, even if losing the lead on lap one was a minor blemish.Max Verstappen – 8.5/10Dragged a difficult Red Bull to a result that looked unlikely after qualifying. He battled constant issues with his car throughout the weekend but still put himself in the right position to inherit second when Piastri retired.Kimi Antonelli – 8/10A strong damage-limitation drive from Mercedes’ championship leader. His failure to slow sufficiently for yellow flags in qualifying compromised his starting position, but recovering from seventh to the podium and holding off the Ferraris was an impressive response.Charles Leclerc – 6.5/10Ferrari looked extremely quick on Friday but Leclerc was unable to turn that promise into a podium. Lost positions to Oscar Piastri and team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the start and finished fifth on the road before Hamilton’s penalty promoted him.Lewis Hamilton – 6.5/10The fastest Ferrari driver across the weekend, but two costly penalties undid much of the good work. He missed pole by just 0.012 seconds and raced strongly, yet impeding Piastri in qualifying and speeding in the pit lane turned a potential podium into fifth.Isack Hadjar – 7.5/10A quieter weekend from Hadjar. Qualified and finished comfortably inside the points and brought home sixth on a day when his more experienced team-mate demonstrated how difficult the Red Bull was to drive.George Russell – 7.5/10An excellent recovery after anti-stall dropped him from sixth to 21st at the start. Qualifying was disrupted by a water leak and his race appeared ruined within seconds, but the Mercedes driver fought his way back to seventh to rescue valuable points.Liam Lawson – 7.5/10Admitted he underperformed in qualifying but put that right with a very good race. Used his fresher tyres to pass team-mate Arvid Lindblad late on and led Racing Bulls home in eighth.Nico Hulkenberg – 8/10A deserved points finish after reaching Q3 and keeping himself at the front of the midfield battle. Passed Lindblad late on and comfortably outperformed Audi team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto across the weekend.Arvid Lindblad – 7.5/10Another strong rookie weekend. Reached Q3 despite missing most of final practice and made an ambitious one-stop strategy work well enough to claim the final point, although Lawson got the better of him.Norris wins his first grand prix of year in Hungary