In a 2025 season that went right to the wire, who delivered at the sharp end, and who didn’t hit the required level?
Working through the grid in final 2025 Drivers’ Championship order, here are our ratings for the year’s performances from F1’s biggest names and the drivers who found it tougher going…
Complete list of 2025 F1 Driver Ratings
| Driver | Our score | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Lando Norris | 8.5/10 | McLaren |
| Max Verstappen | 9.5/10 | Red Bull |
| Oscar Piastri | 8/10 | McLaren |
| George Russell | 9/10 | Mercedes |
| Charles Leclerc | 8/10 | Ferrari |
| Lewis Hamilton | 6/10 | Ferrari |
| Kimi Antonelli | 7/10 | Mercedes |
| Alex Albon | 7/10 | Williams |
| Carlos Sainz | 7.5/10 | Williams |
| Fernando Alonso | 7/10 | Aston Martin |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 7/10 | Sauber |
| Isack Hadjar | 7.5/10 | Racing Bulls |
| Oliver Bearman | 7/10 | Haas |
| Liam Lawson | 5.5/10 | Racing Bulls |
| Esteban Ocon | 6/10 | Haas |
| Lance Stroll | 4.5/10 | Aston Martin |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 5/10 | Red Bull |
| Pierre Gasly | 7.5/10 | Alpine |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 6.5/10 | Sauber |
| Franco Colapinto | 5/10 | Alpine |
| Jack Doohan | 4/10 | Alpine |
Lando Norris, McLaren – 8.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 13-11 / Points vs team-mate: 423-410
Lando Norris is now a world champion on his own terms — and he has done it by proving wrong those who doubted he could manage the heaviest pressure. The response to slipping 34 points behind after August’s 2025 Dutch Grand Prix was remarkable: from that moment he controlled race weekends, and for six straight rounds he outscored Oscar Piastri in a decisive title charge.
The defining feature of Norris’ late-season surge was how clean it was. Errors were minimal, he kept his head, and he absolutely earned the crown. Crucially, he also limited the damage in the first half of 2025 when he wasn’t comfortable with the car — and when it mattered most, his mentality looked as strong as his pace.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull – 9.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 22-0 / Points vs team-mate: 421-33
Ask most people inside Formula 1 who the standard-setter is and you’ll hear the same answer: Max Verstappen. In 2025 he reinforced that reputation again, dragging results out of a car that often looked a step short of McLaren’s benchmark. There are echoes here of the great “overachievement” seasons from the past — campaigns where a driver’s level keeps a title fight alive against the odds.
To lead the year for wins, pole positions and laps led is exceptional. And aside from the flashpoint at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix — where he “saw red” and used his Red Bull like a dodgem against George Russell — he came close to extracting the maximum possible from what he had.
There’s a reason McLaren CEO Zak Brown calls Verstappen a “horror movie character” — because he remains the measuring stick. Even Norris would tell you that.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren – 8/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 11-13 / Points vs team-mate: 410-423
For large parts of 2025, Oscar Piastri looked the picture of composure — right up until a difficult spell, sparked by a disastrous Baku weekend where he crashed twice, derailed his championship momentum. That slump shouldn’t erase the earlier evidence: he was outstanding in the first half of the year, put together a hat-trick of wins, and at times had the edge over Norris.
With only three full seasons behind him, it’s hard not to conclude the ceiling is even higher. This year has shown that if Piastri takes one more step, he can absolutely be a future world champion, possibly multiple.
George Russell, Mercedes – 9/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 21-3 / Points vs team-mate: 319-150
Mercedes didn’t have many genuine chances to win races in 2025 — but the two clear opportunities they did get were taken superbly by George Russell, with victories in the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix and the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix.
Much like Verstappen, there aren’t many weekends where you look at Russell and think he left something major on the table — at least until later in the season. Kimi Antonelli occasionally began to nip at him, and a couple of costly starts in Austin, Qatar and Abu Dhabi — at a time when track position became increasingly decisive — may have hurt his final outcome. Even so, there’s a strong case this was Russell’s best F1 season yet.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari – 8/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 19-5 / Points vs team-mate: 242-156
Seven podiums in what was typically the fourth-best car — and sometimes the fifth — is a huge return, and it says a lot about Charles Leclerc and the level he brought across the year. He also thoroughly outperformed his seven-time champion teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc now looks like the complete package. Perhaps we didn’t see him under the same late-season pressure as those at the very top, but he appears ready for a title scrap and, right now, he is Ferrari’s lead driver.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari – 6/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 5-19 / Points vs team-mate: 156-242
Lewis Hamilton described his first season in Ferrari red as a nightmare — and it’s difficult to argue with that assessment. He faced a genuinely rapid team-mate and, unlike some who have switched teams smoothly, he never consistently found the comfort he needed.
Some of the deficits to Leclerc were startling. To end the year being eliminated in Q1 four races in a row was shocking by any standard. Beyond the Sprint pole and Sprint win in China, there weren’t many positives Hamilton could bank from 2025.
Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes – 7/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 3-21 / Points vs team-mate: 150-319
The hype around Kimi Antonelli was enormous — and there were clear flashes that explained it. Sprint pole in Miami was a landmark moment, and his 2025 Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, where he was second in every competitive session to Norris, was another sign of serious potential.
On paper, his overall comparison to Russell doesn’t look flattering for much of the year. But Antonelli is only 19, and he can take real confidence from fighting through a brutal summer run where he recorded six non-points finishes in seven races. That resilience matters.
Alex Albon, Williams – 7/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 9-14 / Points vs team-mate: 73-64
This was very much a season of two halves for Williams — and for Alex Albon in particular. It would be a mistake to let late-season struggles rewrite how strong his opening phase was. An Imola podium was genuinely on the table before Charles Leclerc edged him off into the gravel.
Seven points finishes in the first eight races is excellent, and it made what followed harder to explain. Albon will be determined to understand the late-year drop-off and ensure 2026 looks more like the first half of 2025 than the second.
Carlos Sainz, Williams 7.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 14-9 / Points vs team-mate: 64-73
Carlos Sainz ended the year surging. Even though he finished behind Albon in the standings, he produced two podiums late on — in Baku and Qatar — and after the summer break he also began to outqualify his team-mate more consistently, by a couple of tenths on average.
The first half of the year was full of misfortune and did little to flatter him, fuelling questions about whether Williams was the right move. The way he finished 2025 was an emphatic answer — and delivered with real authority.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin – 7/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 24-0 / Points vs team-mate: 56-33
Fernando Alonso outqualifying Lance Stroll for 40 consecutive races is an astonishing statistic, and it underlines just how consistently sharp Alonso has remained. After Aston Martin introduced a major upgrade for the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May, Alonso converted that into solid points and some gritty fighting performances in a car that was rarely friendly.
A few costly mistakes did creep in, but the underlying speed is still there. Put Alonso in the right machinery and he remains capable of podiums — and even wins.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber – 7/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 11-12 / Points vs team-mate: 51-19
After 239 starts, Nico Hulkenberg finally ended his long wait for a first podium at the 2025 British Grand Prix — and beyond that moment, he was frequently the reference point at Sauber alongside rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.
Hulkenberg’s racecraft and pace management still place him among the most effective midfield operators. The big question now is how long he can sustain this level — but on 2025 evidence, he’s not slowing down yet.
Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls – 7.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 16-6 / Points vs team-mate: 51-38
Rookie of the year? Yes! At the very least, Isack Hadjar has to be in that conversation. The season began with an early wobble — the spin on the formation lap in Australia — but the response was impressive. He kept scoring points, built momentum, and capped it with a first podium at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix.
There is one necessary caution: unlike some rookies, he wasn’t measured against a hugely experienced team-mate, so we should avoid going overboard. Still, his standout weekends were strong enough that he earned a full-time seat in 2026 with parent team Red Bull.
Oliver Bearman, Haas – 7/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 14-10 / Points vs team-mate: 41-38
If you’re picking a second rookie storyline alongside Hadjar, Oliver Bearman is right there. Across the season he often outshone Esteban Ocon — a driver many rated highly going into 2025.
A brilliant fourth place at the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix was the high point, but there were also costly errors. Bearman is now flirting with a race ban after failing to slow sufficiently for red flags in Monaco and Silverstone — crashing in the latter. Even so, his raw speed is clear, and the upside remains significant.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls – 5.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 6-16 / Points vs team-mate: 38-51
Liam Lawson has done just enough to earn continuity at Racing Bulls. He had moments where he got the better of Hadjar and generally looked like he was trending upward as the year progressed.
But 2026 will demand more. The 23-year-old will be expected to step up as a team leader, particularly with British teenager Arvid Lindblad arriving. Given how Lawson finished the season, a second chance feels fair — but it comes with clear expectations.
Esteban Ocon, Haas – 6/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 10-14 / Points vs team-mate: 38-41
This was a frustrating year for Esteban Ocon, largely because his headline pace rarely appeared. Whether that was down to the Haas’ characteristics or something less obvious is hard to say — but either way it was surprising.
His race pace was often reasonable, yet he repeatedly found himself mired in traffic, in a field so tight that small compromises became big problems. Too often, he was simply left with too much to recover.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin – 4.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 0-24 / Points vs team-mate: 33-56
Lance Stroll’s lack of outright pace has become increasingly difficult to overlook. Fifteen Q1 eliminations across the year is a major concern, and in the final third of the season he was frequently anonymous.
He did manage a brief run of form — three seventh-place finishes in four races at Silverstone, Budapest and Zandvoort — but on average, he remained a few tenths slower than Alonso, and that gap was consistent.
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull – 5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 0-22 / Points vs team-mate: 33-421
Yuki Tsunoda’s season may ultimately have been defined by a promotion that came at the worst possible time: stepping into the second Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen, a move many had wanted before the season rather than two races in.
But he simply wasn’t close enough. Tsunoda became the latest driver to find their career jolted by what is arguably the hardest job on the grid. It was always going to be brutally difficult against Verstappen — but being consistently half a second off is unsustainable at that level.
Pierre Gasly, Alpine – 7.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 13-5 / Points vs team-mate: 22-0
Pierre Gasly might be the year’s most underrated driver. In a difficult Alpine, he repeatedly took the few chances available — including an excellent Brazil Sprint weekend where he finished eighth in the Sprint and 10th in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
There were also earlier reminders of his quality, like qualifying fifth in Bahrain and hanging on to seventh. Given how uncompetitive the Alpine often looked, Gasly’s ability to grab points when openings appeared was a genuine strength.
Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber – 6.5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 12-11 / Points vs team-mate: 19-51
After his impressive Formula 2 title campaign, Gabriel Bortoleto perhaps hasn’t displayed his potential as consistently as expected — at least early on. It took until June’s 2025 Austrian Grand Prix to reach Q3, but he repeated that achievement in Belgium, Hungary and Italy, and turned all four of those weekends into points.
The second half of his rookie year was far more representative. He matched Hulkenberg closely, and the final standings don’t fully capture his level. Over the full season he outqualified the German, which underlines the raw pace that made him such an exciting prospect.
Franco Colapinto, Alpine – 5/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 5-13 / Points vs team-mate: 0-22
After impressing at Williams last year, Franco Colapinto arrived at Alpine as reserve driver before stepping into a full-time seat from round seven at Imola.
He ended 2025 as the only driver on the current grid without a point, and his early weekends were a struggle. However, his level improved notably after the summer break, where a run of stronger performances relative to Gasly helped him earn a new Alpine contract on merit.
Given how strong Gasly has been, Colapinto being close to his team-mate in the season’s second half is encouraging. The issue is that it took time to get there.
Jack Doohan, Alpine – 4/10
Qualifying vs team-mate: 1-5 / Points vs team-mate: 0-7
Jack Doohan’s stint was short and intense. Colapinto replaced him, despite Doohan showing more promise across his six race weekends than Colapinto initially did. But two major crashes — in Australia and, more significantly, in Friday practice at Japan — amplified pressure on a seat that already felt under threat before the season even began.
There were glimpses, including outqualifying Gasly in his final qualifying in Miami. Still, his brief F1 spell appears to have ended abruptly after being hit by Lawson in the Grand Prix — and, fittingly for a brutal season, “in the wall” is how it will be remembered.
2025 Driver Standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren | 423 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 421 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren | 410 |
| 4 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes | 319 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Ferrari | 242 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Ferrari | 156 |
| 7 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes | 150 |
| 8 | Alexander Albon | THA | Williams Mercedes | 73 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Williams Mercedes | 64 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Mercedes | 56 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 51 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 49 |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | Haas Ferrari | 42 |
| 14 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 38 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Haas Ferrari | 38 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Mercedes | 34 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 33 |
| 18 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Alpine Renualt | 22 |
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 19 |
| 20 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | Alpine Renualt | 0 |
| 21 | Jack Doohan | AUS | Alpine Renualt | 0 |
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