Austrian GP 2026 driver ratings: Hamilton challenge fades as Verstappen ups the ante

George Russell topped our driver ratings courtesy of a much-needed race win in the Austrian GP, heading home an especially rapid Max Verstappen and an underperforming Kimi Antonelli.

With wheel to wheel action and some surprising performances, here’s how PlanetF1.com rates each driver’s performance at the Red Bull Ring.

Austrian GP 2026: Full Driver Ratings and Analysis

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George Russell – 9

Qualified: 1st | Race: 1st

A well-executed performance by George Russell who never dominated the race. He converted pole position into the race lead and resisted pressure from Lewis Hamilton in the early laps. He then had Max Verstappen to contend with, though he proved more a looming presence than an immediately threat. It was a result set up by his experience on Saturday and understanding the yellow flag rules, showing the value of experience. After a tough run of races, it was a near flawless performance.

Max Verstappen – 9

Qualified: 5th | Race: 2nd

A surprisingly competitive and combative performance from Max Verstappen saw him within striking distance of an unlikely race win. Perhaps a sharper strategy might have delivered that result, but it wasn’t to be. Instead, without the performance of the Mercedes, Verstappen did what he does best; he battled with Lewis Hamilton and proved a nuisance for Mercedes.

Kimi Antonelli – 6

Qualified: 4th | Race: 3rd

Competitive at the very front once the race settled down, the opening exchanges were especially untidy for Kimi Antonelli. He left the road twice during the opening lap before settling into a rhythm, a point that again speaks to a little inexperience – as did his yellow flag error in qualifying that cost him a shot at pole. The positive is the pace was there on a circuit he wasn’t comfortable a year ago, but that’s hardly a crumb of comfort by this stage.

Oscar Piastri – 7

Qualified: 7th | Race: 4th

To beat not one but both Ferrari’s marks a strong result for Oscar Piastri and McLaren. It looked the third-best team on Saturday, and Piastri the second best driver within it, making the result a strong turn around. The Australian passed Charles Leclerc twice, though the Ferrari struggled with tyres leaving it somewhat defenceless. The start was key as it bought track position and even allowed a sniff at the battle for the podium in the opening corners. In reality, fourth was more than McLaren could realistically have hoped for, so this is a strong result if not spectacular.

Lewis Hamilton – 7

Qualified: 3rd | Race: 5th

It looked so good for Lewis Hamilton in the opening laps at the Red Bull Ring. Pushing hard in the opening moments likely pushed him into an early three-stop strategy that ultimately caused his race to unravel. He engaged in a thrilling battle with Max Verstappen for a time, arguably the highlight of the race, before drifting backwards as the race wore on. A strong drive in an underperforming Ferrari in which he showed world class race craft and strong strategic instincts.

Isack Hadjar – 8

Qualified: 8th | Race: 6th

There was much more to Isack Hadjar’s race than sixth place shows. For much of the race he was in and amongst cars that should have been clear of him. He battled with the Mercedes and McLarens at times, doing so cleanly and confidently. But it wasn’t without gremlins, with Hadjar battling brake issues and suggested he was “too kind” in his battle with Lewis Hamilton. This was a strong, composed performance from a man growing into his role at Red Bull.

Lando Norris – 6

Qualified: 6th | Race: 7th

Tidy but not especially quick is perhaps the best way to sum up Lando Norris’ Austrian GP. He lost a place on his qualifying result at the expense of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and was never a significant factor outside the opening salvos. He avoided mistakes in brutally hot conditions, managed the tyres well enough and acknowledged that the McLaren remains difficult to balance rather than making excuses. That said, compared to the benchmark in the other McLaren, Piastri converted seventh on the grid into fourth, while Norris slipped backwards from a stronger starting position. Some of that was strategic circumstance, but the end result still leaves him with relatively little to show from the weekend.

Charles Leclerc – 5

Qualified: 2nd | Race: 8th

After one of his strongest qualifying laps of the year, hopes were high Charles Leclerc could go on with it in the race, but it wasn’t to be as he slipped to eighth. Rear tyres were the root cause, with overheating a key issue, with Leclerc unable to get the balance be needed from the car. Neither Ferrari had any race pace as they hopes evaporated under the hot Austrian sun. A black mark against Leclerc’s name was the contact with Oscar Piastri; an unnecessary clash on a corner he’d already lost.

Liam Lawson – 8

Qualified: 9th | Race: 9th

Another excellent performance from Liam Lawson as he led his Racing Bulls teammate to the flag in what has to be considered the equivalent of a race win for the squad. It wasn’t as simple as the result suggests, however, with heat in the cockpit early (he reported fire) and brake management to deal with later on. Given the credentials of the teams ahead, ninth was unquestionably Lawson’s ceiling. He can therefore be satisfied knowing he got everything available to him from the race.

Arvid Lindblad – 8

Qualified: 10th | Race: 10th

Another performance that belies the fact Arvid Lindblad is a rookie. Elbows out when he needed to be while refreshingly honest with himself post-race in admitting he could have done better with tyre management. Team orders to hold station in the latter part of the race weren’t received as well as they might have done, but none of the best have had much chop with instructions from the pit wall. Nonetheless, another points finish as Racing Bulls remain best of the rest.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 8

Qualified: 13th | Race: 11th

There wasn’t much more Gabriel Bortoleto could have taken from the Austrian GP. He posed the greatest threat to the Racing Bulls pair ahead and out-paced his more experienced teammate at the same time. It was a collected, mature performance in which he maximised the package available to him, delivering a solid result if not an exceptional one. Clean and mistake free, it was a confidence building race.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7

Qualified: 14th | Race: 12th

An extended opening stint saw Nico Hulkenberg attempt to gain a tyre offset and, to begin with, it looked promising. However, track position and blue flags cost him time and meant he wasn’t able to exploit his fresher tyres. In clear air, there was encouraging pace but Hulkenberg’s race was largely dictated by qualifying down the order before traffic and blue flags meant his performance was more encouraging that it might first appear.

Pierre Gasly – 5

Qualified: 11th | Race: 13th

This was one of Pierre Gasly’s weakest weekends of the 2026 season, declaring it “the toughest Sunday of the season by far,” and it’s easy to understand why. Like many others, Gasly suffered with high tyre degradation, in conjunction with inconsistent balance. Even with three stops, it was a job to keep the tyres alive, leaving 13th the best the Frenchman could manage. And to that point, Gasly never looked capable of dragging more out of it and there was not great moment for the highlight reel to warrant more than an average score.

Oliver Bearman – 4

Qualified: 13th | Race: 14th

A largely invisible race from Oliver Bearman who, like so many others, struggled with balance and rear end instability. While there were no glaring errors, that doesn’t equate to points for a clean race, it’s a minimum expectation of F1 quality drivers. It was a clean an unspectacular drive that drew no headlines; an anonymous performance.

Franco Colapinto – 5

Qualified: 16th | Race: 15th

There was some early promise on Friday for Franco Colapinto, but as the weekend wore on, the Alpine appeared to slip further and further backwards. In the race, he reported balance issues, poor traction and excessive rear tyre degradation, the latter a common complaint with teammate Pierre Gasly. A lack of power hurt him off the line and, while he recovered a few places he didn’t have the outright pace for a points-paying position. The Austrian GP was a data gathering exercise in the end, with the team hoping to find within it the answer as to why its upgrade didn’t help Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto more.

Esteban Ocon – 4

Qualified: 15th | Race: 16th

There’s a fine line when it comes to fair criticism and one might argue comparing the VF-26 to a road car probably crossed that line for Esteban Ocon. However, it also highlighted his frustration as the team was unable to root out an issue with rear-end load on his car all weekend. In the race, he did what he could before overheating the rear tyres.

Alex Albon – 5

Qualified: 18th | Race 17th

High degradation and poor tyre life meant there was little Alex Albon could do in the Austrian GP. But the race aside there’s an undercurrent of discontent, with communication issues in the garage across the weekend. His car wasn’t competitive enough, but sharper operational execution could perhaps have got more out of the event.

Fernando Alonso – 6

Qualified: 21st | Race: 18th

A lap down on the car ahead tell you everything you need to know about Fernando Alonso’s Austrian Grand Prix. Aston Martin struggled for pace all weekend, and so we must lower our expectations of Alonso’s performance as the machinery simply wasn’t there for his brilliance. There were no glaring errors, pit lane speeding aside, and he saw the flag, which is perhaps all he could have hoped for following practice.

Lance Stroll – 6

Qualified: 22nd | Race: DNF

With an uncompetitive package, there’s only so much the driver can do, but Lance Stroll shows flashes of sharpness during his brief appearance. He passed Fernando Alonso, suggesting he was there or thereabouts with his more illustrious teammate.

Carlos Sainz – 7

Qualified: 17th | Race: DNF

An electrical failure saw Carlos Sainz parked his Williams on the front straight around a third of the way through the Austrian GP. A problem identified earlier in the weekend was rectified and while Sainz didn’t qualify especially well there were signs of encouragement – though the suggestion is that was the driver outperforming his machinery. A strong performance across the weekend, robbed of the result it deserved through no fault of his own.

Sergio Perez – NA

Qualified: 19th | Race: DNF

Reliability is clearly a concern at Cadillac, and Sergio Perez was unable to shy away from that when he spoke following an all-too-brief appearance in the Austrian GP. He branded it “totally unacceptable” after suffering braking issues, the Mexican having no impact on the race after exiting it so early, ending what was a dismal day for the all-new team.

Valtteri Bottas – NA

Qualified: 20th | Race: DNF

It was a short afternoon for Valtteri Bottas, who suffered an early brake issue that ended his race. With a new upgrade package in Austria it was a disappointingly familiar end for the team, an issue no doubt exacerbated by high ambient temperatures. In reaction to the disappointment, Bottas was pragmatic and looking to push the team forward rather than apportion blame.

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