Head-to-head · season 2026

NicoHulkenbergAudi vs MaxVerstappenRed Bull Racing

Max Verstappen leads 10–3 in the race-grade duel, across the rounds both were rated in.

#15The Index · 7.62

P14DriverIndex Championship · 50 pts

P14Official · 11 pts

#1The Index · 10.00

P1DriverIndex Championship · 195 pts

P4Official · 201 pts

Round by round

the race grade decides each round · click a round for the full analysis

MEL – 8.0 SHA 7.7 7.2 SUZ 7.9 8.8 MIA – 8.2 CAN 7.4 8.7 MON 7.5 – ESP – 8.9 AUT 8.1 9.7 GBR 7.6 9.2 SPA 7.2 9.2 HUN 8.2 9.6 NED 7.9 6.2 ITA 7.6 9.8 MAD 7.6 9.1 BAK 8.8 9.7 MAL 7.9 9.1 SIN 9.6 8.4

The nine dimensions

season grades, mirrored — the longer bar wins the measure

8.18 OVD Overdelivery 10.00

7.56 PAC Race Pace 10.00

8.14 CON Consistency 9.13

6.90 ATK Attack & Defence 9.58

9.51 TYR Tyre Management 8.06

8.54 QUA Qualifying 8.73

6.88 STA Race Start 7.28

8.98 PIT Pit Stop Execution 8.20

8.75 CLN Cleanliness 8.65

Race grade, round by round

gaps = not classified

Nico Hulkenberg vs Max Verstappen: who is driving better in 2026?

Nico Hulkenberg drives for Audi, Max Verstappen for Red Bull Racing, so the raw results are not comparable — everything on this page has car performance taken out of it. Max Verstappen leads on The Index, 10.00 to 7.62 — P1 against P15, a gap of 2.38 of a grade point. Round by round, Max Verstappen has out-driven the other in 10 of 13 races where both were graded. Nico Hulkenberg's clearest advantage is Tyre Management — 9.51 against 8.06. Max Verstappen takes Attack & Defence back the other way, 9.58 to 6.90. They are effectively inseparable on Cleanliness. In the DriverIndex Championship — the same season paid on the official points scale, but on driver merit — Max Verstappen sits P1 on 195 points to Nico Hulkenberg's P14 on 50. Officially they stand P4 and P14.