NicoHulkenbergAudi vs CarlosSainzWilliams
SAI leads the grade duel 9–4 — across the 13 rounds both were rated in, the car stripped out of the equation.
Nico Hulkenberg vs Carlos Sainz: who is driving better in 2026?
the verdict, from the numbersNico Hulkenberg drives for Audi, Carlos Sainz for Williams, so the raw results are not comparable — everything below has car performance taken out of it. Carlos Sainz leads on The Index, 8.51 to 7.13 — P9 against P17, a gap of 1.38 of a grade point. Round by round, Carlos Sainz has out-driven the other in 9 of 13 races where both were graded. Nico Hulkenberg's clearest advantage is Tyre Management — 9.99 against 8.04. Carlos Sainz takes Race Start back the other way, 9.04 to 6.38. In the DriverIndex Championship — the same season paid on the official points scale, but on driver merit — Carlos Sainz sits P9 on 74 points to Nico Hulkenberg's P21 on 16. Officially they stand P15 and P15.