Pit Debrief’s Driver Rankings for the 2025 F1 Hungarian GP have dropped. Take a look at who starred and who flopped at the Hungaroring.
1 | Gabriel Bortoleto
Following Nico Hülkenberg’s maiden podium at the British GP, Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto has been absolutely sensational over the last two rounds. He demolished his teammate again.
Since the team updated their car at the Spanish GP, the Brazilian has come alive and consistently delivered in qualifying.
A P7 on Saturday was the latest brilliant showing. He was almost half a second quicker than Hülkenberg in Q1 as the German was only 19th. That came after a difficult Friday.
In the race itself, he jumped Lance Stroll at the start and stayed between the Astons for the entire race to finish 6th on a one-stop strategy. Despite his best efforts, Fernando Alonso had a little bit too much for him as the medium and hard stints went on.
At the rate he is going, the Brazilian rookie could end up fighting for the top 10 in the standings by the end of the year. The 2024 Formula 2 champion continues to show why he is a future race winner and potential World Champion, all being well.
2 | Fernando Alonso
After missing FP1 because of a back injury, the two-time F1 World Champion was excellent on Saturday, and exceptional on Sunday.
In qualifying, he pipped Lance Stroll to 5th by 0.017s. Alonso was just over a tenth off pole thanks to that dramatic Q3 when the wind direction changed.
After jumping Norris on the first lap, he let the British driver go a couple of laps later as the McLaren was far quicker. From there, he produced a masterpiece in race management.
Holding the rest of the field behind him inside DRS for the first 10 laps because of his tyre management, the Spanaird picked up his pace as the stint went on, leaving Bortoleto and the rest in his dust. There is no question it hurt the tyres of some behind. It was a perfect drive to maximise his result.
A P5 ahead of the summer break will certainly be a boost for him and team. Alonso continues to perform at a high level when the car is very competitive.
Critically for the 44-year-old, he can also rest his back now.
3 | George Russell
Mercedes returned to their old rear suspension for the F1 Hungarian GP. George Russell had a much stronger weekend because of it.
After missing out on pole by five hundredths which was only enough for P4, the Brit looked set for that spot in the race as Lando Norris’ one-stop strategy moved him ahead after Russell passed the McLaren at the start.
However, a massive drop in pace for Charles Leclerc in the last stint because of car issues opened the door for Russell to take 3rd. It got very close into turn 1 after an unusually big bit of movement from Leclerc under braking during their second battle.
While Mercedes are here to fight for championships every year, this result is a boost following a brutal run since the Canada 1-3. Russell got the maximum out of it.
4 | Lando Norris
A very strong Friday for Lando Norris looked to have in prime position for pole. However, Oscar Piastri found a lot through Saturday. Both McLaren drivers underperformed in Q3, even if the wind direction change hurt them, leaving the Brit P3 on the grid.
The first lap was a disaster for Norris. He looked for the inside heading down to turn 1 after a good launch. However, when Oscar Piastri covered that, it allowed George Russell and Fernando Alonso to pass.
Following his move on Alonso, he closed the gap to George Russell but could not find a way past. So, the plan changed. A one-stop came to play with Leclerc, Piastri and Russell all two-stopping.
Setting plenty of fastest laps after his only stop, Norris came under big pressure from the Australian in the closing laps. However, no mistakes were made as dirty air was very prominent around here.
In a season of highs and lows for Norris, this was arguably his best race moment to date. A win after dropping to 5th on the first lap was absolutely huge.
He has won three of the four races since his terrible error in Canada. The championship is well and truly alive.
5 | Charles Leclerc
In a long list of heartbreaking races for Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, this must rank quite highly for him.
As Ferrari struggled in Q1 and Q2, a top 6 looked to be the maximum. But as the wind caused havoc in Q3, he was the only driver to improve his time in the final segment vs Q2 to take a shock pole.
On race day, he was fast and consistent for the first two stints. Whether he would have passed Lando Norris, there is no point speculating. What can be said is he had Oscar Piastri under control in the first couple of stints.
Unfortunately for him, his Ferrari developed a chassis problem according to the team and driver himself. It left him completely exposed to the Australian and Russell, dropping to a distant 4th in the end.
Leclerc did almost everything perfectly through qualifying and the race. However, his erratic movement under braking in the second fight against Russell hurts his ranking. The penalty was deserved. It was very out of character for him.
Overall, he continues to drive very well and is putting Lewis Hamilton in the shade. If Ferrari can give him a car that can be run at 100% throughout a race, a win could be possible before the end of the season. That is if a weekend like Hungary repeats itself.
6 | Oscar Piastri
On Friday, Oscar Piastri looked a small step behind Lando Norris as McLaren utterly dominated. By Saturday afternoon, however, the Australian was back to his 2025 form.
Come Q3, though, the championship leader underperformed like his teammate to lose out on pole to Leclerc. From P2 on the grid, he tracked the Monegasque driver in the first two stints without ever looking like a big threat to pass on the road.
The demise of Leclerc later on left Piastri to fight Norris for the victory. With the Brit on the one-stop vs two for the Aussie, Piastri closed big time in the closing laps.
Despite his best efforts, including a big lock-up into turn 1 trying to pressurise Norris, he could not find a way past.
Piastri will be left to wonder over the summer break if a one-stop was possible for him too. The first stop to try and undercut Leclerc was ambitious at best by McLaren.
Nonetheless, he still leads the championship by 9 points.
7 | Lance Stroll
This was a good weekend for Lance Stroll, backing up Fernando Alonso nicely in qualifying and the race. After they locked out the last row at Spa, it was the third one in Hungary.
It was a quiet and solid race for the Canadian. He lost out to Bortoleto at the start, and then Max Verstappen a couple of laps later. From there he did not quite have the pace of his teammate or Brazilian, particularly on the mediums. But a one-stop was key and he made it work as well.
He held off a charging Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen in the closing laps. P7 was a good reward for a good weekend.
8 | Max Verstappen
For the first time since Singapore 2023, Max Verstappen looked like he could be knocked out in Q2 on genuine pace. Red Bull were nowhere all weekend in Hungary. The car had no grip at the front or rear, leaving the four-time World Champion and Yuki Tsunoda exposed.
In rather limited machinery, he did well to make Q3 and take P8 on the grid. Early passes on Lawson (who jumped him on lap 1) and Stroll saw him up to 7th. As the medium stint went on, though, he dropped away from Bortoleto and Alonso.
Boxed into a lot of traffic, he got stuck behind his old rival Lewis Hamilton for quite a few laps. Eventually he made a move into turn 4 that was extremely ambitious to say the least. The Brit took to the run-off as no contact was made.
He did move up to P5 at one stage but his tyres could not get to the end and a second stop was made. After catching Liam Lawson, he could not find a way through as his RB21 looked like the F14 T at times. P9 was his result in the end.
Red Bull’s fall off since its dominance of 2023 and early 2024 reached a new low in Budapest. They will be hoping it’s a one-off. Otherwise it could be a very long second half of 2025 for Verstappen.
9 | Carlos Sainz
A P13 in qualifying and a P14 in the race is not what Carlos Sainz wants, but he had a very strong F1 Hungarian GP weekend.
His final Q1 lap was outstanding. He was over half a second quicker than Alex Albon. Q2 was a big achievement considering how much Williams struggled in practice. 13th was the final result, missing out on Q3 by less than a tenth.
A long middle stint in the race did see him run P10 at one stage as he pitted early enough off the softs. Ultimately as Antonelli and Hadjar passed him, a second stop was inevitable. P13 looked like his final result but as he battled Pierre Gasly who was on much older tyres, the French driver ran him off the road at turn 2. That allowed Hülkenberg through.
Sainz got Gasly in the end, P14 was his final result. He’ll be hoping for more clean weekends like this when Williams are more competitive at tracks coming after the summer break.
10 | Liam Lawson
For a second straight weekend, Liam Lawson finished P8 in the Grand Prix.
Through practice and Q1, the Kiwi looked to be someone who would not make Q3. He was consistently lacking a couple of tenths to Isack Hadjar throughout. However, his Q2 lap was good enough for P9. A cleaner lap than the Frenchman saw him secure P9 on the grid, but he could and probably should have been ahead of Bortoleto and Verstappen.
At the start, he overtook Verstappen. The Dutchman only took a couple of laps to regain the spot at turn 6. However, their paths would cross again later.
As Lawson did the one-stop, the Red Bull driver came at him in the final stages. This time around, the Kiwi fended him off. In fact, by the end, the Racing Bulls driver was more of a threat to Stroll than Verstappen was to him.
Following a brutal start to 2025, the New Zealander has bounced back really well in recent rounds. He’s now just 2 points behind teammate Isack Hadjar in the standings.
11 | Ollie Bearman
Although it ended in a DNF, Ollie Bearman had a strong weekend at the F1 Hungarian GP.
In qualifying, he missed out on Q3 by 0.007s. Not for the first time recently, he put Esteban Ocon in the shade. The Frenchman was out in Q1.
Crucially for Bearman, he jumped Isack Hadjar at the start. P10 was a possibility from there as he remained ahead of the Frenchman, Antonelli and Hamilton in the first stint.
Unfortunately for him, the handling of his car dropped off as the race went on, eventually leading to a retirement because of floor damage according to Ayao Komatsu.
It was a good drive that went unrewarded once more.
12 | Kimi Antonelli
This was a better event for Kimi Antonelli after the emotionally draining and tough weekend he endured at Spa.
In Q1 at the F1 Hungarian GP, he was a tenth off Russell. Unfortunately for him, he was a bit too aggressive and pushing over the limit in Q2, costing him a spot in Q3. His best time was deleted and he dropped to 15th because of that. That lap was not fast enough anyway.
The young Italian overtook Colapinto and Hamilton on the first lap, before pitting earlier than Hadjar and Bearman to get the undercut. In the end it was a 12-lap difference to the Frenchman.
Passing Sainz was key, and he held off Hadjar for P10 in the closing stages.
While it was not his greatest weekend, it was progress after Spa.
13 | Isack Hadjar
Just like at Spa, this was a what could have been weekend for Isack Hadjar. This time it was on him, however.
Up until Q3, things looked great for Hadjar. He was regularly inside the top 10. He was also consistently faster than Liam Lawson.
The sting in the tail came in the final segment of qualifying as he got on the grass on his final run in Q3 and hurt his best lap. What should have been P7 and close to the Astons was a P10 result in the end.
His race was a story of traffic. Losing out to Bearman on the first lap — picking up a sore hand from gravel stones in the process as the Haas was wide in turn 12 as well — he spent the next 30 laps behind him. Following the British driver’s DNF, it was Kimi Antonelli he faced later on as the Italian’s undercut got him in front. Sadly for Hadjar, he could not find a way through.
Points definitely got left on the table on Sunday.
14 | Yuki Tsunoda
The F1 Hungarian GP weekend was progress for Yuki Tsunoda, even if his P17 finish was lowly.
Throughout practice and Q1, the Japanese driver was much closer to Max Verstappen over almost each run. A Q1 elimination was disappointing, but the gap of 0.166s to the four-time World Champion showed how much trouble Red Bull were in around the Hungaroring.
Instead of starting P16, he would be taking off from pit lane as Red Bull put a new PU in his car. It was a day full of traffic as Red Bull had poor pace on top of it. A two-stop ultimately resulted in P17, gaining a spot thanks to Pierre Gasly’s penalty.
15 | Esteban Ocon
Over 0.2s slower than teammate Ollie Bearman in qualifying 1, Esteban Ocon was bumped in the first segment once again.
Stopping on lap 14, the French driver did a whopping 55 laps on a set of hards, ultimately not having enough in the final third of the race to hold off the Williams drivers and Hülkenberg.
16th was his end result on a day where Haas had unusually average race pace.
16 | Lewis Hamilton
2025 has not been easy for Lewis Hamilton in his first year at Scuderia Ferrari. This was the lowest point to date.
After missing out on Q3 and qualifying 12th, he called himself absolutely useless in an interview with Sky Sports. The Brit was very downcast. His teammate getting pole did not help it. The gap between them in Q2 was 0.247s.
In the race itself, he got stuck behind a bunch of cars after losing out to Sainz and Antonelli on the first lap. Later on he had that battle with Max Verstappen where he lost out.
Switching to mediums after a long stint on hards, he recovered to 12th. Ultimately, points never looked a possibility despite finishing close to Hadjar and Antonelli.
No Grand Prix podiums across the first 14 rounds is very unique territory for Lewis Hamilton. He needs the summer break to recharge and look to come back fighting after a weekend where he was very deflated and beaten.
17 | Alex Albon
While Williams never looked like a points scoring car in Hungary unless attrition came into it, Alex Albon had a very disappointing qualifying performance at the F1 Hungarian GP. He was over half a second off Carlos Sainz as he was slowest in Q1.
The Thai drove a solid race, managing to beat the slow Alpines, as well as Ocon and Tsunoda. He finished 15th at the flag.
In what has been a very positive opening 14 rounds, this was a rare underwhelming weekend by Alex Albon in 2025, even if the car was not fast enough for points.
18 | Franco Colapinto
As Alpine continue to struggle for car pace, Franco Colapinto had a better weekend in Hungary. Sadly for him, it gets masked because of how far off the pace the A525 was.
A fine effort in Q1 saw him get through, outpacing his teammate Pierre Gasly by less than a tenth. The French driver was P17.
From P14 on the grid, the Argentine driver lost four spots on the opening lap. From there it was about bringing the car home pretty much with Alpine having the slowest car in Budapest. A time penalty for Gasly moved him to to P18 when the race was done.
19 | Pierre Gasly
There is only so much a driver can do and Pierre Gasly’s superb run of dragging the A525 into Q3 or the points recently came to an end in Budapest.
Complaints of understeer in qualifying left him in P17, just under a tenth slower than Colapinto.
An aggressive one-stop strategy saw the one-time race winner end up doing 37 laps on mediums. As they wore out significantly towards the end, he had a battle with Carlos Sainz as he forced the Spaniard off track at turn 2 via contact wheel-to-wheel. He picked up a 10-second penalty for it, dropping him from P17 to P19 at the flag.
While this was a relatively poor weekend by his recent standards, Alpine’s lack of pace is their biggest issue. With all focus on 2026, this will not change.
20 | Nico Hülkenberg
Like at Spa, this was a weekend where Nico Hülkenberg underperformed massively compared to the pace of his car.
After outpacing Bortoleto by 0.017s on the first runs in Q1, the German failed to make the big step many did at the end of that session. Although he improved by over a tenth, he was 0.495s down on the Brazilian. P19 was miles off where he should have been with that car.
A false start gave him a 5-second penalty to compound his poor qualifying. Although he made a recovery to 13th thanks to undercuts and overtakes, he should have been fighting for points.
Despite that memorable podium at Silverstone, he has now been outqualified at the last four Grands Prix by Bortoleto, and the gaps in some must be a concern. A turnaround is required quickly.
