F1 Driver Ratings: 2025 Saudi Arabian GP Edition

The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix delivered all the drama you’d expect from Jeddah—lightning-fast laps, first-lap chaos, and a new championship leader. Oscar Piastri rose to the occasion with a flawless victory, Verstappen stumbled under pressure, and Norris bounced back in style. Here’s how every driver ranked based on qualifying form, race result, and overall impact on a wild weekend under the lights.

2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix driver ratings

Full Race Report

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  2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Smooth Operator 2.0.
Perfect execution. Stayed calm behind Max, capitalised on the penalty, and managed the race from the front with surgical precision. Never looked flustered under pressure. With three wins in five, Oscar Piastri is showing real championship form.
Rating: 10/10

The Long Game.
Didn’t have raw pace but played the strategy perfectly. Extended his stint, timed the overcut, and held off a charging Norris for Ferrari’s first podium of the season. Measured, mature, and totally in control—exactly what Charles Leclerc and the team needed.
Rating: 9.5/10

Crash one day, masterclass the next.
Bounced back from a brutal crash in quali with a mega race drive. The alternate strategy worked wonders, and Lando Norris climbed the field with real confidence. Nearly stole a podium from Leclerc in the closing laps. Championship resilience.
Rating: 8.5/10

Fast but flawed.
Nailed the launch, but cut the chicane and got slapped with a 5s penalty. That cost him the win. Still managed a strong pace after serving it, and second place minimises the damage. But Max Verstappen knows he gave this one away.
Rating: 8.5/10

Williams Warrior.
Didn’t light up the timesheets but drove a no-nonsense race. Lost places but stayed in the points, made no mistakes, and continues to look comfortable in the Williams. Carlos Sainz even helped to keep his teammate, Albon, in DRS range and away from Hadjar to secure a double-points finish for the team.
Rating: 8/10

Made it Stick.
Another composed midfield performance from the Racing Bulls rookie. Isack Hadjar avoided chaos, held off Alonso in the closing stages, and secured a hard-fought point. Bit by bit, Hadjar’s showing he belongs in the F1 big leagues.
Rating: 7.5/10

Steady Progress.
Another clean drive from Mercedes’ rookie star. No fireworks this time, but he brought home a solid sixth without putting a foot wrong. Kimi Antonelli is quietly stacking experience and points. Long-term investment looks good so far.
Rating: 7.5/10

Sneaky Strong.
Slipped under the radar with a well-managed race. Clean, tidy overtakes, and brought home more points for an impressively resurgent Williams. Alex Albon continues to overdeliver with what he’s got—sharp stuff from the underrated king.
Rating: 7/10

Started Strong, Faded Late.
Held a podium spot early but couldn’t keep pace with the leaders as the race wore on. Fought off pressure mid-race but dropped behind Leclerc and Norris. George Russell and Mercedes looked decent—but not sharp enough.
Rating: 7/10

Ferrari Freeze.
Ran his race in a vacuum. No gains, no losses, and very little drama. Ferrari didn’t give him the tools to fight further up, and he didn’t manufacture anything himself. It feels like Lewis Hamilton is still learning to master this car.
Rating: 6.5/10

Invisible Icon.
Made up two spots but didn’t trouble the points. Tried to pressure Hadjar late on but couldn’t find a way through. The Aston Martin looks sluggish, and Fernando Alonso can’t do much with it right now.
Rating: 6/10

Quick but Costly.
Looked aggressive and sharp in battles, but a 10-second penalty for gaining an advantage off-track killed any chance of points. Liam Lawson has got speed, but that racecraft still needs refining.
Rating: 5.5/10

Solid but Sleepy.
Haas didn’t have the pace, and Oliver Bearman didn’t have the breakthrough. Made a clean race of it and avoided trouble, but never got close to the points. Still gaining mileage and learning the ropes.
Rating: 5/10

Marginal Gains.
Gained five spots but spent most of the race in traffic with limited pace. Haas just doesn’t look competitive right now, and Esteban Ocon was fighting with blunt tools. At least it was clean and mistake-free.
Rating: 5/10

Just Driving.
Another race, another anonymous finish for Nico Hulkenberg. Got through the 50 laps with minimal fuss but couldn’t make any meaningful gains. The Kick Sauber is a handful—and Hulkenberg looks uninspired right now.
Rating: 4.5/10

Nowhere Man.
Never moved forward, never featured in battles, never got near the points. It’s hard to remember a single moment from his race. A weekend where Lance Stroll was just filling space on the grid.
Rating: 4/10

Still Learning.
Stuck at the back, caught up in an incident with Lawson, and never really found his rhythm. Rookie mistakes are fine—but Alpine might want to see more aggression or spark soon from Jack Doohan.
Rating: 4/10

Miles Off.
Started last, stayed last (bar DNFs), and never found any kind of momentum. The Kick Sauber was off the pace, and so was Gabriel Bortoleto. Needs a confidence reset—and soon.
Rating: 3.5/10

One Lap Wonder.
Qualified well and had a strong shot at points—then crashed out with Gasly on Lap 1. Yuki Tsunoda‘s Saudi GP ended before it really began, and it was all avoidable. Needs to cool the chaos.
Rating: 2.5/10

Nope.
Pierre Gasly got caught up with Tsunoda at Turn 2 and was out before he even broke a sweat. Disastrous race after a strong qualifying. The worst kind of DNF—early, messy, and painful for Alpine.
Rating: 2/10

2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race results

The 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Race was held on 20 April 2025 at 8:00 pm local time.

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	50	1:21:06.758	25
2	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	50	+2.843s	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	50	+8.104s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	50	+9.196s	12
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	50	+27.236s	10
6	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	50	+34.688s	8
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	50	+39.073s	6
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams Mercedes	50	+64.630s	4
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	50	+66.515s	2
10	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls Honda RBPT	50	+67.091s	1
11	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	50	+75.917s	0
12	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls Honda RBPT	50	+78.451s	0
13	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas Ferrari	50	+79.194s	0
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas Ferrari	50	+99.723s	0
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber Ferrari	49	+1 lap	0
16	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	49	+1 lap	0
17	7	Jack Doohan	Alpine Renault	49	+1 lap	0
18	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber Ferrari	49	+1 lap	0
NC	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1	DNF	0
NC	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	0	DNF	0
Liam Lawson received a 10-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.