(Motorsport-Total.com) – Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli determined the reader ratings of Motorsport-Total.com after the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix. But right behind them there was a surprise: Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg took fourth place – unlike in reality – after scoring his first Audi points in the real race in ninth place.
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Formula 1 expert Marc Surer and the editorial team each gave Hülkenberg a 2. The readers contributed an average of 2.28 points. This resulted in a final score of 2.09. Only the three real podium finishers Norris (1.24), Verstappen (1.90) and Antonelli (2.05) performed better for Budapest.
Interesting: In the readers’ favour, it was not race winner Norris who was ahead, but Verstappen: He received a rating that was 0.04 points better. However, because Verstappen had “only” received a 2 from both Surer and the editorial team, he ultimately remained behind Norris.
Surer explained: “Verstappen’s overtaking manoeuvre against Hamilton deserves a 1 – the spin in qualifying does not.” Norris also did not remain flawless, “but I forgive him the small driving error in Turn 2,” said Surer.
Oscar Piastri: Not at the finish, but in fifth place
Furthermore, the fifth place in the reader ratings for Hungary is curious: Oscar Piastri. The McLaren driver did not see the finish after a technical defect. According to Surer, Piastri had “bad luck with Sainz and the gearbox” and was also overshadowed by Norris. Therefore, the editorial team gave him a 3. In the end, the average was 2.47 points.
Incidentally, the aforementioned Carlos Sainz was at the bottom of the ratings this time. Surer was still the most lenient with a 4. His reasoning: “Sainz seemed a bit unfocused this weekend. The contact with Piastri took away his chance of victory.” Readers (4.97) and the editorial team each gave him a 5. This meant an average score of 4.66.
In the unofficial championship table for the reader ratings, Antonelli continues to lead significantly ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen. Norris is the new fifth behind George Russell. Piastri is new to the top 10 and Hülkenberg has made a small jump. After the first half of the season, Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll are still without points in the reader ratings.
Who really shone in Budapest – and who didn’t?
Incidentally, how the editorial team discussed the driver ratings after the Hungarian Grand Prix will be a topic on Tuesday evening from 8:30 PM in the call-in show “Live bei Scheuren” on the Twitch channel of Formel1.de. Host Kevin Scheuren invites users to join him personally via Zoom to chat about the Hungarian Grand Prix and Formula 1.
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Click through: How Surer rates the 22 drivers!
How Marc Surer rates the other drivers can be read in detail in an extended photo gallery. In this photo gallery, both the Formula 1 expert and the editorial team explain their individual ratings for each of the 22 drivers. So that users can hopefully understand even better how the driver ratings came about.
Budapest: The driver ratings from Marc Surer and the editorial team
By the way: Many users wish for more transparency from the editorial team when assigning ratings. That’s why we decided to publish the individual ratings of our editors in a separate table. For the overall editorial rating, which constitutes pillar 3 of the system, the editorial team agrees on a common full rating in a conference.
In this conference, which has become a fixed agenda item for us every Monday morning after Formula 1, things sometimes get heated when different opinions clash. And we collect arguments that speak for or against a better or worse rating.
How we assign our ratings
The idea behind our rating system is to evaluate performances over a weekend, and especially in the race, with grades (1 = Very good, 6 = Insufficient). External influences that drivers cannot control themselves should be excluded. And so that not only the editorial team evaluates subjectively, as is the case with football magazines, we have created a total of three equal pillars with the readers and the expert.
And this is how we calculate:
From the average rating of Motorsport-Total.com users, the rating by expert Marc Surer, and the rating by our editorial team, we determine the average. This average value results in our driver ranking. We only display one decimal place, but for the calculation, we use all decimal places. These partially invisible decimal places determine the order of the ranking of two drivers in the event of a supposed rating tie.
The individual editors’ ratings:
We are often asked how our editorial ratings come about. All editors of our Formula 1 team first submit their individual ratings. In an editorial conference on the morning after the Grand Prix, we then exchange views and agree on common editorial ratings, which usually (but not always) reflect the average of the individual editors’ ratings. When determining the editorial ratings, discussions sometimes get heated. The goal is to agree on common driver ratings with which every editor can agree.
Award for Driver of the Year:
Based on the overall ratings of a race weekend, we award points for the 2026 annual standings. Analogous to the points system in the real Formula 1 World Championship, the winner receives 25 points, the second 18, the third 15 – down to one point for 10th place. There is no bonus point for the fastest lap. After the end of the season, the driver with the most points will be awarded the Motorsport-Total.com Award for Driver of the Year 2026.
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