Edd Straw's 2026 Dutch Grand Prix F1 driver rankings

Combine the sprint weekend format, the demands of the Zandvoort circuit, and rain just before the start - and the final edition of the Dutch Grand Prix (for the time being) had enough about it to properly test the Formula 1 field.

Who came out of that test unscathed and whose hopes were torpedoed? Here are Edd Straw's driver rankings from the Netherlands.

Want to quiz Edd on his driver rankings? Sign up to The Race Members' Club to do exactly that - and ask your questions in reply to this post.

Champions-tier members can also try their hand at putting their own driver rankings together for Edd to react to in a separate feature!

How do the rankings work? The 22 drivers will be ranked in order of performance from best to worst on each grand prix weekend. This will be based on the full range of criteria, ranging from pace and racecraft to consistency and whether they made key mistakes. How close each driver got to delivering on the maximum performance potential of the car will be an essential consideration.

It’s important to note both that this reflects performance across the entire weekend, cognisant of the fact that qualifying is effectively ‘lap 0’ of the race and key to laying the foundations to the race, and that it is not a ranking of the all-round qualities of each driver. It’s simply about how they performed on a given weekend. Therefore, the ranking will fluctuate significantly from weekend to weekend.

And with each of the 11 cars fundamentally having different performance potential and ‘luck’ (ie factors outside of a driver’s control) contributing to the way the weekend plays out, this ranking will also differ significantly from the overall results.

Started: 1st Finished: 1st

PROS
- His stunning pace on the hard tyres, which team-mate Oscar Piastri couldn't switch on, was key to his victory.
- Razor-sharp in battle to take the opportunity to pass Kimi Antonelli when the pair were chasing the slower Lewis Hamilton.
- Was the faster McLaren driver even compared to Piastri's best work.

CONS
- Had a shot at sprint pole, but only produced what he called a "reasonable lap" to end up 0.041s behind George Russell.
- Slipped from second to third in the sprint, although in mitigation his pace after being passed showed the rear tyre degradation was a problem.
- Losing the lead at the restart from what he felt was the lower-grip pole position grid box after the red flag complicated his race.

Verdict: Probably his best grand prix win capped a strong weekend.

Started: 18th Finished: 9th

PROS
- While his qualifying performances looked poor on paper, the failure of straight mode in the rear wing ruined sprint qualifying, with some traffic-management errors from the pitwall infuriating him in Q1 proper.
- Drove an impressive sprint race after starting from the pits, going against convention by making some overtaking manoeuvres.
- Race drive was high-class, as he was the only driver to execute a de facto one-stopper and made the most of clear air when he had it, then kept Pierre Gasly at arm's length in the closing stages.

CONS
- The only negative is that qualifying circumstances and the way the races played out made it difficult to benchmark his pace definitively. But that's not his fault.

Verdict: Showed he could still produce a race miracle after a troubled weekend.

Started: 8th Finished: 7th

PROS
- Adapted well to the Red Bull and looked dramatically more comfortable than he did in early 2025 from the start of practice.
- Showed good single-lap pace relative to Max Verstappen, particularly in main qualifying as he ended up just over a tenth-of-a-second slower.
- Seventh in the grand prix was as good as it was going to get, albeit without the yardstick of Verstappen to measure it by.

CONS
- Was on target to make the top 10 in sprint qualifying, only to struggle to go with the improving grip in SQ2. Given how hard it was to pass, that doomed him to a pointless sprint.
- The grand prix itself was straightforward given he had a car that didn't have the pace to threaten those ahead, but was clear of the midfield.
- Yellow-flag infringement penalty may not have impacted his finishing position, but it was a needless penalty.

Verdict: At the upper limit of what he could have expected to achieve given he had never driven the RB22 before Friday.

Started: 11th Finished: 10th

PROS
- Gelled well with the heavily upgraded Alpine and excelled in the sprint parts of the weekend, getting the best-possible result in qualifying and the race.
- Ambushed Yuki Tsunoda at the restart from the Esteban Ocon-induced virtual safety car to turn 11th place into a point.
- Race pace was good in the grand prix, although he was contained for a spell by Arvid Lindblad's rolling-roadblock Racing Bulls.

CONS
- Didn't get the most out of the car in Q2 on Saturday, although that was largely down to the team's confused traffic management.
- Pace advantage over Franco Colapinto is meaningless given only Gasly had the upgrade.

Verdict: Adapted well to upgraded Alpine.

Started: 2nd Finished: 3rd

PROS
- Maximised what was possible in the sprint component of the weekend, winning from pole position.
- While he wasn't necessarily the faster Mercedes driver, taking the weekend as a whole he was the tidier one.
- Brilliant rearguard action to hold off Hamilton salvaged a podium, after letting through his team-mate.

CONS
- Had a shot at pole position for the grand prix, but overdid it into Turn 11 and spiked the tyre temperatures, which swung the battle with Norris against him.
- Lost out to Antonelli at the start, then Piastri at the restart, which meant his victory chances took a big hit.

Verdict: Outstanding in the sprint part of the weekend, but struggled a little more in the grand prix.

Started: 6th Finished: 5th

PROS
- Drove an excellent race in the sprint as one of only two drivers to start on softs, passing Norris to finish second.
- Race pace was good across compounds, and he made a good pass on Piastri in the grand prix.
- The timing of the first VSC went against him in the grand prix battle with Hamilton that he initially had the advantage in.
- Rated his sprint qualifying lap as "my best qualifying lap this year".

CONS
- Did a fractionally worse job than his team-mate in main qualifying, pointing to a change of power modes from Q2 to Q3 putting him off.
- Losing a place to Piastri at the restart compromised his race and ensured he fell back from the top two.

Verdict: Showed how quick the Ferrari was in race trim, but always started on the back foot.

Started: 5th Finished: 4th

PROS
- Executed his offset strategy in the grand prix well, although the first VSC played to his advantage.
- Had the race pace for a podium finish, but track position was always against him.
- Beat Leclerc in grand prix qualifying and the race.

CONS
- Sprint qualifying went badly, as he struggled with a car that felt very different to practice after what he called "subtle" changes. That led to a mediocre sprint result.
- Qualifying proper was also disappointing, with Hamilton saying tyres were the "culprit", although the Ferrari's single-lap pace wasn't as strong as on long runs.

Verdict: Had the pace for better results, but the weaker qualifying pace meant he was always on the back foot in terms of track position.

Started: 16th Finished: 17th

PROS
- Started the second half of the season well, characterising his Friday lap as the first good qualifying lap the car has allowed him to do this year.
- Led the way for Williams, and put the car as high as it had the performance to be throughout the weekend.
- Wasn't in any way responsible for the clash with Sainz, given he'd attacked in a safe way with a tyre advantage.

CONS
- The pitstop strategy put him in trouble with blue flags, which made it difficult to maximise the grand prix even before the Sainz clash.

Verdict: Considering the car, a good weekend's work.

Started: 15th Finished: DNF

PROS
- Largely got the most out of the Haas, putting it roughly where it should be.
- Had got himself up to 13th at the first start, and given his pass on Albon was legitimate as he'd cleared the Verstappen crash it was unfortunate he lost that position because of the way the restart grid is calculated.

CONS
- Failed to improve on his final lap in sprint qualifying, although it's unlikely to have cost him a place.

Verdict: Continued his recent revival by leading the line for Haas.

Started: 10th Finished: 12th

PROS
- Thrived on his first experience of the Zandvoort track, with his attacking approach enjoyable to watch trackside at Turn 3 during practice.
- The drivethrough penalty that destroyed any realistic hope of points was harsh and cost him a good chance of 'winning' the midfield fight in the grand prix.
- Had genuinely good pace in the race.

CONS
- Qualifying execution was a negative, as he didn't fully deliver on his underlying pace in either qualifying session.
- Lock-up at Turn 2 on the opening lap of the grand prix temporarily cost him a place to Tsunoda.

Verdict: A classic rookie blend of real pace that wasn't always capitalised on.

Started: 13th Finished: 8th

PROS
- Brilliantly avoided T-boning his spinning team-mate at the end of the first lap of the grand prix thanks to a well-judged last-second change of direction. Fortune played its part, but Hulkenberg also had time for his response to impact the outcome.
- The grand prix was very well executed, with crucial passes on Gasly and Lindblad to put him clear of the midfield.
- Eighth in the grand prix was the best possible result for an Audi, while his sprint was a write-off owing to a power problem.

CONS
- Although Hulkenberg said he felt confident in free practice, watching trackside at Turn 3 he seemed a clear step behind Gabriel Bortoleto.
- Both qualifying sessions went badly, sprint qualifying due to the car feeling very different to practice, and main qualifying due to a snap at Turn 1 that was wind-influenced.
- His outright pace was, at least at times, perhaps not as strong as Bortoleto's.

Verdict: Tricky Friday and Saturday, but a superb Sunday.

Started: 12th Finished: 11th

PROS
- Considering he'd never even driven a 2026-spec F1 car before, adapted well to the demands of the reduced downforce and the energy regime and showed more than respectable pace relative to Lindblad.
- Had the pace to fight for points, although he wasn't able to make good on that in either race.
- Pulled a good pass on Gasly in the grand prix to put himself in a strong position to score.

CONS
- Got caught out at Turn 1 in the sprint and dinged the rear of Lindblad's car, which allowed Colapinto get past him.
- Squandered just over six seconds of the advantage that he'd built up over Gasly, thanks to Lindblad holding him back, with a self-inflicted trip through the gravel the lap before his final pitstop.
- Was passed by Gasly after the first VSC restart into Turn 1, which is a move he probably wouldn't have been vulnerable to had he not had the earlier off.

Verdict: An impressive return, but going off at Turn 13 during the race cost him a likely point.

Started: 14th Finished: 14th

PROS
- Considering he had the significant disadvantage of running the old-spec Alpine aerodynamic package, both of his qualifying performances were strong.
- The yellow-flag infringement penalty was harsh, given the onboard shows he drove perfectly responsibly in the circumstances.
- A good start to the grand prix briefly got him into the points, before he had to serve his penalty.

CONS
- The 10-second penalty he received for not respecting yellow flags in Turn 3 was something he could have avoided.

Verdict: A strong weekend while on the back foot in terms of specification, but the second yellow-flag infringement dents his ranking.

Started: 3rd Finished: 2nd

PROS
- Qualifying suggested that his underlying pace was slightly better than Russell's, given he was faster over the rest of the lap after under-driving into Turn 1.
- Turned fifth into fourth in the sprint at the start by going around the outside of the boxed-in Piastri at Turn 1.
- Put himself into a position to win with good restart after the red flag and covered Norris well while he had tyre-age parity.

CONS
- Underachieved in the sprint element of the weekend, with the SQ1 run through the gravel at Turn 13 giving him damage that cost him performance throughout qualifying despite repairs.
- Admitted to being overly-conservative into Turn 1 at the start of his final Q3 lap because of rain, which swung the battle with Russell against him given he was faster across the rest of the lap.
- Second hard-tyre stint under pressure was messy in terms of managing the tyres and small errors, including getting caught out when Norris passed him.

Verdict: Too many untidy moments when he had a car capable of winning.

Started: 4th Finished: 6th

PROS
- Single-lap pace relative to Norris was very respectable, lapping 0.058s and 0.142s off Norris in sprint and main qualifying respectively.
- Well-executed restart lap after the red flag, jumping Leclerc then passing Russell, got him up to third - and losing the place to Russell in the first round of pitstops was thanks to McLaren's slow service.
- Race pace on softs was good.

CONS
- Was nowhere near Norris's level when it came to extracting performance across a stint from the hard tyres.
- Even when at his best this weekend, didn't quite have Norris's edge, and at his weakest was well off.

Verdict: Lacked a little compared to Norris, and a lot when on the hard Pirellis.

Started: 21st Finished: DNF

PROS
- Was the quicker Cadillac driver in both qualifying sessions, by 0.073s and 0.229s respectively.
- Produced a decent sprint drive, and a good first stint in the grand prix, although the hydraulic problems kicked in later in the race before his retirement.

CONS
- Difficult to benchmark his pace fairly against Sergio Perez.

Verdict: Continued his improved run of form.

Started: 22nd (pits) Finished: 15th

PROS
- His pace after joining the sprint race two laps down after hitting a hydraulic problem was impressive.
- Executed his grand prix strategy well, overcutting his way past Bottas, although the VSC timing meant he lost ground to Colapinto.

CONS
- Was the slower Cadillac in both qualifying sessions, although problems in sprint qualifying then a failed experiment with a soft rear suspension set-up on Saturday led to that.
- Circumstances make it difficult to benchmark his overall performance.

Verdict: A better weekend than the qualifying results, in particular, suggest.

Started: 20th Finished: DNF

PROS
- Capitalised on starting on softs to drive a good sprint race, jumping Albon at the start and chasing Ocon home.
- The pace deficit to Ocon wasn't as big as it was in Hungary.

CONS
- Power unit shutdown before the restart meant he had no chance to show what he could do in the race.
- Was the slower Haas driver.

Verdict: In his own words, "a really horrible weekend".

Started: 19th Finished: DNF

PROS
- While his race looked awful, he had damage that he suggested cost 20-30 points in downforce, presumably picked up in the Verstappen debris field.
- Drove a reasonable sprint race and was just two hundredths off pipping Albon to 16th at the finish line.

CONS
- Never looked able to access the pace Alonso did.

Verdict: Wasn't able to get what Alonso could out of the improved package.

Started: 9th Finished: 13th

PROS
- Was the more convincing Audi driver in terms of single-lap pace.
- Qualifying execution was mostly good, particularly in heading the midfield.
- While his recovery didn't get him anywhere near the points, he showed he had decent race pace despite suspecting he had an unidentified engine problem.

CONS
- Was fortunate to get away with high-speed spin in the last corner at the end of the first lap - although he also reacted well to keep it out of the wall.
- Moment at Turn 13 on his final lap cost him a place to Gasly in sprint qualifying - and potentially therefore a point in the race.
- With the mitigations of Audi's launch difficulties and a low-grip grid box, Bortoleto lost ground at the start of the grand prix.

Verdict: Fast but grand prix spin badly hurts his ranking.

Started: 17th Finished: 16th

PROS
- Recovered from a tricky sprint part of the weekend to get close to Albon's level in qualifying.
- In the circumstances, his race drive was going well before the Albon collision.

CONS
- Clattering into his team-mate after locking up when he hit the bump while defending at Turn 1 was an honest mistake, but a needless one.

Verdict: Blunder with his team-mate torpedoes his ranking.

Started: 7th Finished: DNF

PROS
- Achieved probably the best-possible result in both qualifying sessions and the sprint race.
- Dealt well with the struggles for grip and balance on a weekend when he largely performed well.

CONS
- Yes, track conditions were difficult, but placing the car low on the kerb on the first lap of the grand prix and going hard on the throttle was risky, leading to his huge crash.
- Had a modest margin over stand-in team-mate Lawson in main qualifying, although he would argue that's partly down to the cars being too easy to get to the limit of.

Verdict: Grand prix shunt has to tank his ranking given most of the field was more cautious considering the conditions at Turn 14.