Let's play a game. The Rank-Checo game.
Put all 20 drivers into 3 categories.
1. Clearly superior to Checo
2. Checo and comparable skill
3. Clearly inferior to Checo

Obv do your own, before checking spoilers.

I had the same 1 group minus Sainz.

1. VER, RUS, HAM, LEC, SAI, ALO, NOR, HUL, OCO, PIA, RIC, ALB, GAS, BOT, ZHO, TSU, SAR, MAG, STR
2. PER, Mazepin
3. Some, but not all, of the safety car drivers

Impossible to judge frankly so I will just put

1. Max
2. ??
3. ??

Also racing Perez is a lot different to qualifying Checo. And really if you don't know how to qualify you shouldn't be in F1

'The car is made for Max' is the dumbest argument there is and if Ricciardo does end up in that RedBull again he will get into the same issue he had with Lando. These drivers fail so badly because they can't deal with a team mate that is significantly better and that gets into their head, they try things beyond their skill and then the downward spiral begins. Lando is probably the best young driver on the grid together with Max and Piastri.

Edit:

1. Ver, Nor, Pia, Alo, Ham, Rus, Lec
2. Sai, Ric, Alb, Bot, Per, Zho, Hul, Tsu, Gas, Oco
3. Mag, Str, Sar

Ham and Alo ranked on current form. At their top they were equal 1 with Ver as being exceptional drivers. Basically 1. can win WDC. 2. Can be a good 2nd driver. 3. should not be in F1.

Checo with a big shunt in FP1

That man is in a world of hurt

I’m actually most looking forward to Tsunoda vs Ricciardo this quali.

Oooh Dani takes it, just barely but got it done nevertheless. Good start for him 1-0

Wow! Lewis takes pole! Merc is quick!

George so tilted. Mercedes got too fancy in Q1. Paid the price.

McLaren new upgrades crushin.

I thought I would like the one tire type for each qualifying session. Not so sure now. Seemed kinda gimmicky and really limited what teams could do. Seemed like a good idea on paper.

I cheered for Lewis beating Max. Back in 2021 that is something I couldn't imagine doing ever.

Alfa Romeo the obvious biggest surprise. Valtteri beat Alonso by 1 millisecond in Q3, while Alonso beat Sainz by 2 milliseconds in Q2.

As a Lewis fan, any hope for a Mercedes win? I know it's one of the circuits that Mercedes has always performed well on and iirc Redbull less.

Probably gets overtaken on the first straight line with DRS in lap 3

Odds to win

Max 1.38
Lewis 4.38
Lando 9.0

Driver winning race starting 2nd has been done only once in past 12yrs.

RB still fastest car, been a while since we can get Max at 1.38 hard not to see him winning.

Lewis only wins if RB hasn’t made the adjustments overnight to Max’s car to his liking. Doubtful, they too polished.

Great start for him as the first time he drove an AT was on Friday as previously his test was in the Red Bull.

Also, George would be down in the dumps as his car was good enough for top 4 and could easily be a podium double for Mercedes in the race.

No it reinforces existing performance gaps between teams and takes away that ability to mix it up by some teams using the softer rubber earlier and putting pressure on the higher up teams to do the same.

Lewis and Max need to get through turn 1 first. Ideal for Lewis is Lando and Max crashing into each other as both of them are expected to have better race pace than the Mercedes. Lewis is just amazing at qualifying in Hungary.

2023 is Mature Max, he’s not as Cowboy’ish as 2021. Back then, the kid ain’t willing to give an inch, nowadays he’s more patient, knows his car is superior.

Willing to lose small battles to win the war, will back off if need be just to still be in the race.

Even though this track is difficult to overtake, staying in the game is key. Could be a 3 stop race.

12 in a row so lots on the line for Max the Stats guy. He’s also wanting to break Seb’s 9 in a row streak.

Yeah well it isn't a track that needs good h/P or drag so more down to ability of driver and fondness for track. Good on Lewis. Hoping Dan can finish in the points somehow

It's a lot easier to be more patient when you know you're going to easily overtake in the next straight line tbf

He's lost a fair few turn 1 battles this season which ended up not mattering (as it rarely does, overtaking in turn 1 is overrated imo)

Absolutely! Start is overrated when it comes to Max. He was 11th last year and came back to win.

He’ll spot them the first turn to avoid dnf’s.

Hate to be so repetitive on RaceDay’s but this is quite boring so far, many dry races nowadays.

1.9sec pit stop! RB fundamentals so solid.
C’mon Checo!!!

Yeah, this race wasn't very interesting.
Decent showing for Danny Ric

https://www.espn.com.au/f1/story/_/i...um-celebration

Lando not coming across too well here