Portugal WRC: Motorsport.com's driver ratings

Sebastien Ogier, 3rd – 8

Although he lost out on another victory, Ogier once again secured a lot of valuable points. Whether him having to sweep the roads was the chief reason for his loss to Meeke is debatable, but he definitely had his fair share of bad luck, hindered by two slow punctures on Sunday. At the end, Ogier ended up third – his worst result of the season - but, as is customary for him, wrapped up the maximum Power Stage points.

Jari-Matti Latvala, 6th – 6

It says a lot about Latvala’s season that, despite losing three and a half minutes on Friday, he still secured his second-best finish of 2016 in Portugal. The Finn had to suffer with no power steering after hitting a hole and, although he impressively soldiered through without crashing, the chance for a podium was gone. Now that he is 77 points adrift, Latvala's title shot is likely over, but he could still challenge Mikkelsen for runner-up.

Andreas Mikkelsen, 2nd – 9

This was the Norwegian's second podium in a row - and it was a lot more convincing than Argentina. Mikkelsen ran Ogier close throughout Rally Portugal and managed to beat him on Sunday, even when road position was definitely no longer a factor. The question now if whether Mikkelsen can make a habit out of matching the pace of his more experienced teammates.

Kris Meeke, 1st – 10

Meeke described his rally as "textbook” and it’s hard to argue with that. A genuine contender in both Monte Carlo and Sweden and 13th on the road here, the Northern Irishman was always going to be a factor - but it took a faultless run for him to build a massive lead by halfway. He had little reason to push after that. With Citroen returning in full force in 2017, there's now little doubt it has a driver ready to mount a proper title challenge.

Stephane Lefebvre, 35th – 7

After a positive debut in Monte Carlo, Lefebvre got a second chance in the car in Portugal - and ran well enough in the early stages, hanging on to sixth place. He then hit a rock in the very first stage of Saturday and was only back on the final day, taking over Ogier’s road-sweeping role. His mistake cost him a potential top-five finish but the pace was there.

Dani Sordo, 4th – 8

The Spaniard’s remarkable consistency continued, Sordo taking his third straight fourth-place finish in a season where he is yet to finish below sixth. And Portugal was probably Sordo’s strongest rally of the campaign so far as he kept up with Ogier throughout Friday, despite a puncture. He lost a bit of ground on Saturday and cruised to the finish in fourth, not taking any risks.

Hayden Paddon, DNF – 6

This was, of course, not at all the rally Paddon would've wanted to follow up his maiden WRC win with. Slowed by a couple of technical issues on Friday morning, he remained close to the frontrunners but an attempt to make up lost ground resulted in a spectacular crash that would eventually incinerate his stricken car and everything around it.

Thierry Neuville, 29th – 7

Neuville has experienced a wide range of technical problems already this year and Portugal was no kinder to the Belgian. He was cautious in the beginning and fell slightly behind Sordo on Friday but that became irrelevant when his car ran out of fuel in SS11. It’s hard to judge his performance as points were never going to be possible after that but he seemed more or less level with Sordo.

Kevin Abbring, DNF – 4

The first appearance in 2016 for Hyundai’s fourth driver Abbring was not a great one. Driving a 2015-spec car, the Dutchman broke his steering in the third stage and was done for the day. He returned on Saturday under Rally-2 rules, only to hit a rock in his first run and retire for good. With a possible shake-up on the cards at Hyundai, Abbring will need to do better - a lot better - to get a full-time gig.

Mads Ostberg, 7th – 7

Ostberg’s impressive streak of four top-five finishes on his return to M-Sport has come to an end in Portugal. It wasn’t entirely his fault as downshifting problems cost him a minute early on and he lost a further four minutes with a driveline issue on Saturday. He made it home in seventh safely afterwards, but his pace suggested he was unlikely to bother the top four anyway.

Eric Camilli, 5th – 8

After taking his first points in Argentina, Camilli’s return to the European rallies familiar to him saw the Frenchman grab his first top-five finish. Sure, the issues for those around him helped but he still had to keep it together for the whole distance, which he has struggled with previously. Camilli showed maturity and managed outside factors, such as driving with no handbrake on Sunday, well to beat his teammate for the first time in 2016.

Ott Tanak, DNF – 6

The Estonian’s rally was supposed to be about testing his team DMACK’s newly-developed tyres but it ended way too early for that particular goal to be accomplished. He had a good start, finishing SS3 and SS4 in third and fourth respectively, but ended up crashing at the same spot as Paddon when the afternoon loop started. Still, he seemed comfortably faster than the M-Sport duo, which is quite promising for the future.