Tag: Mercedes

2025 Mid-Season Driver Ratings

IMOLA, ITALY - MAY 18: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes leads Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB21 George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W16 Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR25 Mercedes and the rest of the field at the start during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna at Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari on May 18, 2025 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

The F1 summer break, a month-long shutdown of all F1 activities, doesn’t just give the teams a well-deserved rest, but it also allows us to gather our thoughts and reflect on the season so far, and look forward to a 10-race run in that promises to be a thriller between the two McLarens for the title.

It’s been an intriguing championship so far, one dominated by McLaren with some quality performances from the chasing pack, most notably Nico Hulkenberg’s first podium in the Sauber at his 239th attempt, at Silverstone. I have been grading each driver’s performance out of 10 for each race so far, hopefully you have been reading them, and have given them all an average over the first 14 races of the season. Let’s see how well I have done, and if I even agree with the scores I have given them.

21. Franco Colapinto – 5.43

Franco replaced Jack Doohan after the Miami Grand Prix and hasn’t made the difference Alpine were looking for. There have been a few crashes and no points for the Argentine. His best score was 7.1 at the Canadian Grand Prix where he finished 13th, equalling Doohan’s best result.

20. Jack Doohan – 5.56

The pressure was on Jack before a wheel was turned, as soon as Colapinto was signed, it felt like the clock was ticking. Doohan wasn’t able to get on his teammate’s pace and also crashed the car a few too many times, maybe pushing too hard, especially when he tried to take turn 1 at Suzuka with the DRS open!

19. Lance Stroll – 6.27

It’s been another quiet season for Lance, apart from when it rains. In the two wet races of the season, Australia and Britain, Lance has recorded by far his best results of 6th and 7th, respectively. He did score a surprise 7th in Hungary after Aston Martin’s upgraded car really clicked, but apart from these, he hasn’t really been anywhere and continues to be the most frustrating driver on the grid.

18. Liam Lawson – 6.29

This has been a rollercoaster debut campaign for Liam Lawson. From being unceremoniously demoted from Red Bull to Racing Bulls after only two races, to scoring points in 3 of the last 4 races and outperforming his teammate consistently in that period. His average has been hurt by those early races, both in the low 3, while he has scored a 9.2, an 8.3 and 8.1 in the aforementioned points finishes.

17. Yuki Tsunoda – 6.3

The curse of the Red Bull second seat has worked against Yuki this season. He started well in the Racing Bull, being in and around the points, but hasn’t been at that level since. He has only scored points 3 times in the Red Bull for 4 points. He has really struggled to get on top of this car, which has finally made the team evaluate if they are the issue, not the driver.

16. Gabriel Bortoleto – 6.58

Now, I disagree with myself here. I think Bortoleto has been really solid this season. He started the season with outqualifying his teammate, but couldn’t get the races right, but has now started to do that. Like Lawson, he has scored points in 3 of the last 4 races before the summer break. He should be higher really.

15. Esteban Ocon – 6.75

Esteban has had an up-and-down season, following the form of his car. He has had great races, like in China, but then races where he has been non-existent. He has been ever-so-slightly outperformed by his rookie teammate as well, who has felt more consistent.

14. Carlos Sainz – 6.77

Carlos hasn’t got to grips with his Williams consistently enough for a driver of his talent. He has had some great results, Jeddah for example, but has been outperformed by Albon and has really tailed off in the second half of the first half. His qualifying hasn’t helped him, starting further back and having to battle through.

13. Oliver Bearman – 6.79

Similar to Ocon, Bearman’s form has fluctuated like his car’s suitability to the tracks. He scored his first points in China, and continued that streak until Bahrain, but hasn’t scored since. However, he finished 11th four times between Canada and Belgium, showing a more consistent hand than his teammate and could have collected many more points if the chips had fallen another way.

12. Kimi Antonelli – 6.91

Kimi has had some great highs during his maiden season; his podium in Canada and his sprint pole in Miami topped those highs but we can’t forget he started his career with a 4th and two 6ths! He has been unfortunate with reliability as well, retiring from the points in Imola and Spain but has made mistakes that resulted in DNFs as well. It’s been a true rookie season as he gets to grips with F1. He lost his way towards the summer break as the upgrades made to the Mercedes changed its drivability. Hopefully, the break can give him some space to re-adjust and come back stronger.

11. Isack Hadjar – 7.14

Another one that surprised me when the averages came out, I thought he would be higher. Hadjar has been the surprise of the season and the rookie of the year for me. After his terrible start in Australia, he has shown really strong speed, especially in qualifying. He has finished in the points 5 times and was strategized out of at least 2 more by the Racing Bulls team. He has had a tricky run since Canada, but his acclimatisation to the big stage has been impressive after such a tricky start in Australia.

10. Max Verstappen – 7.15

I know what you are thinking, are you mad having Verstappen only 10th!!? Well, I scored him a 1 for his misdemeanour on Russell in Spain so that really dented his average. A score I stand by, by the way, you can’t be deliberately driving into people. This season sums up the enigma that is Max Verstappen so well. He has almighty drives like in Japan and Imola, where you think ‘Only he can do that’, but then has those moments of red mist, as in Spain. It reminds me of Michael Schumacher; undeniably one of the best to do it, but they have questionable moments that are beneath their talents. The Red Bull has got progressively worse over the course of the season and is now probably the 3rd or 4th best car, but Max has only been out of the top 6, twice, with 4 podiums. Without the 1 in Spain, he would be right up there, but shoulda, woulda, coulda!

9. Pierre Gasly – 7.25

Pierre has had to deal with the slowest car on the grid this season but has taken the opportunities given to him. His weekend in Bahrain was fantastic, qualifying in 6th around much faster cars and holding onto 7th for Alpine’s first points. When he’s been able to get on top of the car, its worked but more often than not, he hasn’t been able to trouble the points. Another stand out performance was 6th in Great Britain, taking advantage of the wet weather chaos. Is Pierre’s talents being wasted at Alpine? Almost certainly.

8. Lewis Hamilton – 7.36

The final surprise of the averages. I think Lewis wouldn’t be in my top ten if I wrote a 2025 driver list off the top of my head, but when you look at his results, he has only not scored points in two races. China and Hungary. And he was disqualified in China through no fault of his own. It’s the colossal expectations that came with his move to Ferrari and Lewis’ negative talk about himself that has made this such a tricky season to watch. It hasn’t been disastrous but he has been thoroughly outperformed by Leclerc. The sprint win in China is the peak of his season so far, with three 4ths, two 5ths and 2 6ths, again not disastrous but not up to his very high standards.

7. Fernando Alonso – 7.37

Fernando didn’t score points until Spain, and is tied in the championship with this teammate, who ranks 19th on this list, so you are probably wondering, why is he so high up? Well, let me explain. He retired from points-paying positions in Monaco and China, a safety car cost him in Imola and he was driving a dog of a car to 11th 3 times. Oh, and since Spain, he has scored points in every race, bar Belgium. His best result of 5th came in Hungary just before the summer break. Despite being ancient by F1 standards, his performance levels haven’t dropped; he can be trusted to maximise whatever car he is in. He is the eternal man.

6. Alex Albon – 7.47

Alex started the season so strongly, scoring points in 7 of the first 8 races, until a 3-race reliability-induced DNF streak derailed his momentum. Since then, he has scored 2 out of 3 before the summer break. What a turnaround from last year. While his teammate has been struggling, Alex has been leading the team to 5th in the championship with fantastic consistency. Even with Williams giving up development of their car very early, looking at his season as a whole, you wouldn’t really notice.

5. Nico Hulkenberg – 7.7

You may think this score is propped up by his podium at the British Grand Prix (which is my drive of the season so far), but Nico actually leads the pack with three 9+ scores at the Spanish, Austrian and British GPs, as well as an 8.4 in Canada during that 4-race points streak. While he has been out-qualified by his teammate, Nico has shown great racecraft and experience to take the flashy results, showing exactly why Sauber and Audi wanted him in the first place.

4. George Russell – 7.8

This has been George’s strongest season in F1, truly stepping into a leadership position at Mercedes. He has barely put a foot wrong, been consistently fast and only been out of the top 6, twice. He has stood on the podium 6 times, including a great win in Canada. Looking back, I think he should really be ahead of Leclerc in 3rd place, but his teammate’s proximity early in the season may have affected my scoring, reluctant to give him particularly big scores. For example, Bahrain really should be in the 9s with his late electronic issues while holding off a much quicker Lando Norris, but I only gave him 8.8. You live and learn, but this shouldn’t take anything away from George.

3. Charles Leclerc – 7.87

Comparing Charles and George more, I think that George started with a better car, as Charles’ Ferrari was very temperamental and difficult, especially in difficult conditions. The results point to George having the better season, but I’ve been very impressed with Charles’ ability to pull a result out – thinking sticking it on the front row in Monaco to secure 2nd, that fantastic one-stop in Saudi, comfortably leading in Hungary before reliability caught up with him, and that great drive in Spain for a podium. What they have in common was the Ferrari didn’t deserve to be there, but Charles did. That is what has impressed me so much this season from the Monegasque. There we go, I got there! Convinced myself that my scoring and order, are in fact, right. Nicely done James.

2. Lando Norris – 7.97

We have made it to the two easiest scores of the day. Lando has had the slight raw speed over his teammate over the season, but mistakes have cost him points and momentum during this first half, thinking back to Saudi Arabia and, of course, Canada. This has been coupled with sublime performances like Australia, Austria and Monaco, where he has shown his class and bottle. Winning 3 of the last 4 races has brought him right back into play with his teammate for the Championship, who has just been consistent. I feel you must have noticed from this post that I value consistency in drivers!

1. Oscar Piastri – 8.13

Oscar has stepped it up a notch this year. He was outperformed quite comprehensively by Norris last year, but Piastri has been the performer of the season so far, no doubt. He lost at least 15 points when sliding off track in Australia, but since then has been virtually faultless. I still don’t think he should have got that penalty at Silverstone that cost him victory. He has shown speed, mental toughness, and a no-holds-barred approach to racing that has put him in this position and shown why he has won every category he has ever raced in. Don’t put it past him to complete the set this year.

Belgian Grand Prix Driver Ratings

It was by no means a classic in Belgium this time around. Once again wet weather actually gets in the way of racing, when it used to produce some of the best action. F1 in 2025 is basically a dry weather sport, which is a damn shame. Once the track was dry enough for this risk averse race director to let us go, Piastri took advantage of the slipstream up to Lecombe to take the lead and not look back. Not much action happened behind unfortunately, apart from Lewis Hamilton rolling back the years to pull off some lovely overtakes on a comeback drive, gifting him points in the process.

Without further ado, let’s get into the ratings:

Oscar Piastri – 9.1

It was a masterful drive from Oscar in Belgium. Starting 2nd on the rolling start, he bravely followed Norris through Eau Rouge and slipstreamed past him on the Kemmel straight to take the lead, and crucially the strategy advantage on a wet-dry track. Once he had the advantage, he didn’t give it back. He held onto his degrading mediums, and didn’t give Lando a sniff, putting in metronomic lap times over the last 25 laps to win by 4 seconds.

Lando Norris – 7.5

A mistake ridden race from Norris which we haven’t seen for a while. He didn’t ace the rolling start, which lost him the lead and then made 3 costly mistakes when hunting down Piastri to take the lead back. He had to settle for 2nd on this occasion and a loss of momentum in the title fight.

Charles Leclerc – 8.7

Charles had a great weekend all round in this seemingly improved Ferrari. He ran third for the whole race, withstanding constant Verstappen pressure to take a very deserved podium.

Max Verstappen – 7.5

Max was hampered by the race officials on Sunday. Red bull opted for a high downforce setup, anticipating wet weather, which they got, but the race director didn’t let them use it. With the race being run in dry conditions for the majority, Verstappen wasn’t able to get past Leclerc on the straights, confining him to 4th.

George Russell – 7.7

A lonely one for George after he passed Albon on Lap 6. He was quicker than the Williams but slower than the cars ahead, eventually finishing 30 seconds off the lead and 16 behind the podium. George is worried about this Mercedes performance slump since his Canada win.

Alex Albon – 8.9

A cracking performance from Albon. His last gasp Quali lap to get him into 5th was mega! Not that we saw because of poor TV direction, but that’s not new. He couldn’t hold off George in the wet but did stop Hamilton in his tracks to take a fantastic 6th for Williams.

Lewis Hamilton – 7.9

I think this was Lewis’ best race for Ferrari despite starting 18th and finishing 7th. His progress up the field in the early stages threw us back to pre-2022. He carved his way through, his late braking moves and brace driving. His move on Gasly was confident! Something we haven’t been able to say for a long time. Fingers crossed this is actually the turning point we are hoping for.

Liam Lawson – 8.3

Another great drive from Lawson. He is stringing a few together now! A good qualifying got him into position and Racing Bulls got the strategy right to maintain 8th place.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 8.6

Bortoleto’s best all round performance to date. He out performed his teammate all weekend, got into Q3 and scored his 2nd ever points. He looked consistently quick and made some nice moves in the race.

Pierre Gasly – 8.1

Valuable point for Gasly and Alpine. Their aggressive strategy paid off, Gasly pitted on Lap 11 with Hamilton to jump up multiple places into 11th and then inherited 10th after Hulkenberg pitted twice.

Ollie Bearman – 7.8

Ollie was unlucky not to get points in the race, after Haas left him and his teammate out too long on the inters and they weren’t able to recover. Ollie just misses out in 11th, gutting.

Nico Hulkenberg – 7.4

Nico was another who missed out on strategy. Sauber decided to pit him a second time when running in 10th, which proved to be the wrong decision. He dropped down to 15th and could only recover to 12th. A valuable point dropped in the very close midfield battle.

Yuki Tsunoda – 7.6

This bottom half is going to follow a similar pattern. Another driver screwed by strategy. Yuki was arguably having his best weekend in a Red Bull, qualifying and running in 7th until a radio mishap meant he ran an extra lap with the inters, dropping him well out of the points. Still, light at the end of the tunnel.

Lance Stroll – 7.1

Honestly have no idea what happened to Stroll, apart from he climbed from 16th to 14th. On paper, not bad. He did make a lovely move on a Haas, which we saw on TV. Other than that, we know he definitely participated.

Esteban Ocon – 6.1

Esteban was not happy with his team, saying they made every mistake possible on Sunday. They left him out way too long on the intermediates and went the wrong way on setup which left him stuck. Ouch.

Kimi Antonelli – 5.3

A struggle for Kimi in Belgium. Wasn’t able to get out of Q1 in both sessions, started from the pit lane in the main race and progressed only to 16th. This Mercedes performance and his confidence have taken a hit. Summer break can’t come soon enough to allow Kimi to reset and go again.

Fernando Alonso – 5.1

Not even Fernando Alonso can cure this Aston Martin. Alonso qualified 19th, started from the pit lane and finished 17th. Even bigger ouch than Ocon.

Carlos Sainz – 5.9

Yet another driver screwed by strategy. Carlos pit on Lap 12 like the rest of the grid but gambled on another on Lap 26 which was, again, a mistake. He wasn’t running in the points so might as well have hit it didn’t work out. Scored points in the sprint though!

Franco Colapinto – 3.5

Another pitlane starter who didn’t trouble the main field. Not much else to say. Like Stroll, we definitely know he participated.

Isak Hadjar – 6.7

Both strategy and car issues put pay to Hadjar’s day. Despite running as the first Racing Bull on the road in the early stages, the team pulled Lawson in first. This cost Hadjar a lap and many positions as he came back out towards the back. However, not all was right with his car, an issue lost him lots of time and ate through his tyres. He finished a lap down.

Austrian Grand Prix – Driver Ratings

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA - JUNE 29: Race winner Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on June 29, 2025 in Spielberg, Austria. (Photo by Zak Mauger/LAT Images)

Lando Norris led home a comfortable McLaren 1-2 in the Styrian mountains following a pretty mundane Austrian Grand Prix. There was drama on the first lap, as Kimi Antonelli missed his braking point into Turn 3 and had to take evasive action, but in the process, he locked his rears and ran into the side of Max Verstappen, ending both their races, much to the agony of the large Dutch contingent that made the trip.

Once the two cars had been removed, the race fell into a rhythm with gaps appearing between the front runners and the chasing pack. The McLarens were in a class of their own, pulling a minimum of 0.3 seconds per lap to the rest of the field, and had a nice battle on Lap 11, swapping positions a few times before the first stops, with Norris coming out on top. From there, the gap stayed around 6 seconds, only narrowing through traffic but Norris wasn’t troubled to the flag.

Behind the McLarens, the Ferraris drove quietly to 3rd and 4th. Russell was 5th, also in a race of one, but behind was when the fun really began. A fantastic 6th place for Liam Lawson, and 7th for Fernando Alonso, who both expertly ran the one-stop, against all data recommendations. A double points finish for the Saubers in 8th and 9th, with Bortoleto grabbing his first F1 points in front of his teammate and Esteban Ocon rounded off the top 10, in front of his teammate.

It was far from a classic in Austria this year but the 3 DRS zones do guarantee us some action, and I am happy to see the track will be on the calendar until 2041. Its a classic which creates good racing, something that needs to be protected. Lets get into the driver ratings before the best weekend of the year next week: The British Grand Prix.

Lando Norris – 9.1

Lando bounced back beautifully from his clumsy move at the Canadian Grand Prix. He led every session he took part in, taking pole by over half a second and holding off pressure from his teammate to take a commanding victory in Austria. His race craft was on show, performing a lovely switchback on Piastri through Turn 3 as the McLarens did battle. The only mistake we saw was running wide at Turn 10, which allowed Piastri the chance to overtake. Once the pit stops gave him a 6-second lead, he kept Piastri at arm’s length to take a momentum-building victory before his home Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri – 7.9

Oscar was caught out by Gasly’s yellow flag in Q3, which left him lining up 3rd on the grid. He immediately jumped Leclerc at Turn 1 to set up the McLaren battle. Taking advantage of DRS, he kept in Norris’ shadow for the first stint, momentarily taking the lead on Lap 11 before losing it again. He made one last, slightly desperate lunge on Lap 20 into Turn 4, which was nearly disastrous as he narrowly avoided Norris’ diffuser. It was uncharacteristic of the usually unflappable Aussie, and he got a virtual slap on the wrist from the pit wall for it. From there, he didn’t get close to Norris and had to settle for 2nd.

Charles Leclerc – 8.5

It was a quiet afternoon for Charles, but he maximised the performance of the Ferrari in Austria. Once he lost 2nd place to Piastri, he was left in the distance by the McLarens but stretched away from Hamilton in 4th. Leclerc took his 5th podium in Austria, the most of any track for the Monegasque.

Lewis Hamilton – 8.2

A much more positive weekend for Lewis and it was nice to see him smiling post race, despite finishing 30 seconds off the lead. Another quiet race in a Ferrari, starting 4th and finishing 4th. He lost ground in the first stint to Leclerc, up to 10 seconds and he did close in slightly over the next two, but never getting within 5 seconds. A podium would have been lovely but lets save that for next weekend.

George Russell – 8.1

Mercedes knew Austria wasn’t going to be a strong weekend for their car. The hot temperatures causing high tyre degradation and as a result, Russell ended over a minute behind the McLarens. This was damage limitation for Russell and probably the best he was hoping for. The predicted high temps for the British Grand Prix could scupper any podium aspirations Russell has for his home event.

Liam Lawson – 9.2

A brilliant performance from Lawson and a thoroughly well-deserved 6th place in Austria. I’m sure he had a smile on his face to out-qualify former teammate Verstappen on Saturday. It could have been a very different race as he came extremely close to being caught up in the first lap collision and lost 3 positions, but once clear, he performed the one-stop beautifully to well and truly finish best of the rest, getting back up to his starting position.

Fernando Alonso – 9.1

Another points finish for the leading Aston Martin and another successful one-stop strategy to take 7th place. Alonso just missed out on Q3 but was able to leapfrog into the points and held off his client, Bortoleto, to hold onto 7th in the final laps. All Aston Martin needs is a second Fernando Alonso for their other car…

Gabriel Bortoleto – 9.2

Bortoleto got the result his driving has deserved this year. He has shown moments of quality and great qualifying performances previously, but it all came together in Austria. His first Q3 appearance was followed by taking his first points of his F1 career on Sunday. He showed consistent pace throughout the race and made good overtakes when he needed to, but couldn’t quite get past his manager, Fernando Alonso, in the final laps.

Nico Hulkenberg – 9.1

This is going to be a hard one to rate below his teammate. Nico started right at the back of the grid and came home 9th. Both Saubers showed great speed in the race, and the car is showing real signs of improvement. Nico undercut at the first stops and overcut at the second and finished 7 seconds off his teammate. It’s double 9s for the Saubers!

Esteban Ocon – 8.6

Another quality performance from the back of the grid! Ocon started 17th and bided his time early on, making up a few places early on but then hanging onto his tyres to create a nice offset. He used this to his advantage, overtaking his teammate for 11th before lap 30 and then overtaking Hadjar late on to take 10th and the final point.

Ollie Bearman – 8.3

Bearman just missed out on points in Austria with another good drive from lower down the field, taking advantage of the incidents ahead. He was the first person to pit on Lap 11, starting on the softs and used the double hards strategy well from there, keeping out of trouble but couldn’t quite take home any of the spoils.

Isack Hadjar – 7.5

An unusual weekend for Hadjar in his rookie season, he was comprehensively outperformed by his teammate. He qualified 13th and finished 12th, continuing this small mid-season slump for the Frenchman. He had to take avoiding action at Turn 3, Lap 1, which dropped him down the order and he wasn’t able to threaten the points from there.

Pierre Gasly – 7.6

A frustrating race for Pierre as he made it into Q3 on Saturday, but tyre issues hampered him in the race. He was one of the few at the top to start on the softs, which degraded quickly, and he found no grip when he switched to the hards. Unfortunately for Gasly, we only really saw him getting overtaken on Sunday.

Lance Stroll – 5.3

Lance continued his streak of getting knocked out in Q1 in Austria and didn’t really trouble the TV screens during the race. He was rudely bundled off the track by Tsunoda at Turn 3, but that’s about it really. Another inconspicuous event for the Canadian.

Franco Colapinto – 4.5

A bumpy race for Colapinto. Every time he was shown on TV, he was in a scrap with Tsunoda. Both would end up with penalties, Franco’s for driving Championship leader Piastri off the road on the exit of Turn 3, not realising he was there. He would be spun around by Tsunoda later on to leave him last on the road, but he got that position back when Tsunoda had to take his penalty.

Yuki Tsunoda – 3.1

A terrible race from Tsunoda. Say what you like about the 2nd Red Bull and its issues, but this performance wasn’t all car issues. Yuki was knocked out in Q1 again, but kept making silly mistakes in the race. His dive bomb on Lance Stroll was clumsy at best and stupid at worst. He came from way too far back but didn’t fully commit, pushing Lance off at the exit and getting a slam dunk penalty. He repeated the move on Colapinto, this time at Turn 4. Diving late to the inside, but not fully committed, he has Colapinto to thank for not crashing at the apex, but then Tsunoda understeered wide, clipping and spinning Colapinto on the exit. He got a 10-second penalty for that indiscretion which put him dead last.

Alex Albon – 6.9

Really unlucky finish for Alex, he made up 6 spots at the start, was running in 6th place and looking likely to end his pointless streak before a technical issue forced him to retire on Lap 14.

Max Verstappen – 5.0

Max’s 31-race points scoring streak ended on Lap 1 on Sunday, through no fault of his own. He was minding his own business on the outside of Turn 3 before an out-of-control Antonelli came flying in, taking them both out. Unfortunate for Max and the Orange Army at Red Bull’s home race.

Kimi Antonelli – 2.5

A rookie error from Kimi, which is going to happen…as he is one. He got caught out by the cars in front braking earlier than expected, locked the rears and couldn’t slow down before colliding into Verstappen. He gets 2 penalty points on his license and a 3 place grid penalty for the British Grand Prix for his troubles. He will learn from this.

Carlos Sainz – N/A

A rare Did Not Start for Sainz. He was unable to pull away for the formation lap, causing an aborted start. Once he did get going, he brought it back to the pits, only for his brakes to catch alight, ending his race before it could start. Really tricky period for the Williams team. Hopefully they can pick things back up at their home Grand Prix.

Alright, decent Austrian Grand Prix, but can’t wait for the best weekend of the year, the British Grand Prix. Get us to Silverstone, where I fully expect the McLarens to continue their championship battle. Mixed weather is forecasted as well, could be spicy. See you next time.

Canadian Grand Prix – Driver Rating

Canadian Grand Prix, Sonntag, LAT Images

George Russell fantastically won the Canadian Grand Prix, never being troubled by the chasing pack as he took his and Mercedes’ first win of 2025. He was closely chased by Max Verstappen, but the Dutchman was more focused on watching his mirrors than attacking Russell. Behind the McLarens were recovering after an off-qualifying session which left them 3rd and 7th, but would come together in the closing laps to see their Championship lead reduced for the first time this year. Overall, it was an exciting race, with the strategies creating a nice offset that concertinaed the pack towards the end. I’m running out of time to write this (FP1 of the Austrian Grand Prix is less than 12 hours away) so let’s get into it.

George Russell – 8.8

George took a great pole on Saturday and led the whole way on Sunday, it was a great drive, just as talk is building about his future at Mercedes with the Verstappen link not going away. George has arguably been the driver of the season and this victory was thoroughly deserved.

Max Verstappen – 8.5

A typical Verstappen drive, didn’t have the fastest car but maximised the result. He held off Antonelli around the pit stops to solidify 2nd and ran quite a quiet race to the chequered flag. This level of consistency is what makes Max, Max.

Kimi Antonelli – 8.7

Antonelli became the 3rd youngest podium finisher in F1 history with a fantastic drive. He overtook the championship leader at Turn 1, threatened Verstappen around the pit stops and was holding on well in front of massive pressure from the McLarens in the closing stages. He earned this podium!

Oscar Piastri – 7.6

A slightly off weekend for the whole McLaren team in Montreal. Oscar qualified well to take 3rd but couldn’t hold on at the first corner and couldn’t pressure Antonelli in front to create an overtaking opportunity. His teammate who started 7th was able to catch him by the end of the race and should have passed, but we will get to Lando.

Charles Leclerc – 7.5

Another tricky weekend for Ferrari as the car just isn’t gelling at the moment. The upgrades don’t seem to be having the desired effect either. Charles found himself in no-mans land in fifth, but not as much as his teammate.

Lewis Hamilton – 7.5

Too many times this season have we found Lewis in the middle of nowhere mid-race. This time it was due to damage he picked up on Lap 13 after hitting a groundhog. He was driving well before that, keeping up with the leaders. This damage was costing him 1/4 second a lap which left him on his own for much of the race.

Fernando Alonso – 8.1

Points are like London buses for Fernando this season, wait ages for one and suddenly they come thick and fast. It was a great drive from Fernando to take best of the rest.

Nico Hulkenberg – 8.4

A great drive from Hulkenberg, took advantage of some first lap swabbles to get into position to score points and did well to keep them. Dragging this Sauber into the points is a great achievement and Nico has the experience and skill to do that.

Esteban Ocon – 7.9

A great drive from Ocon and a great strategy from Haas helped get the Frenchman into the points in Montreal. Starting behind his teammate, Ocon was able to move up the field and take his first points since Monaco.

Carlos Sainz – 7.9

Sainz recovered after a horror Spanish Grand Prix to take a point in Montreal. A nice dive down the inside of Bortoleto was a highlight after staring 16th.

Ollie Bearman – 7.3

Ollie just missed out on points in Montreal and would be disappointed to be beaten by his teammate but a solid performance from the team.

Yuki Tsunoda – 6.9

Yuki received a 10-place penalty in practice for overtaking under red flags, so he started from the back. He battled back but wasn’t able to get into the points. His performances are starting to go backwards again.

Franco Colapinto – 7.1

Franco beat his teammate in Canada, which is always a plus for him to maintain a positive reputation within the team. He didn’t trouble the points but the car isn’t really in that fight at the moment.

Gabriel Bortoleto – 7.2

Bortoleto is doing a decent job but being outperformed by his teammate more regularly, or at least Nico is getting the stand out performance from this car. Gabriel is in the fight though and building confidence.

Pierre Gasly – 6.9

An off weekend for Pierre. He was always towards the back and got in a few scuffles, notably with Lance Stroll. Beaten by his teammate that doesn’t happen very often.

Isack Hadjar – 6.1

Isack’s worst race in a long time. The Racing Bull didn’t look quick at all in Montreal and Isack got penalised as well for impeding in qualifying. He made it into Q3 but went backwards from there.

Lance Stroll – 6.5

I think Lance’s 10 second penalty was harsh, he did drift wide and Gasly dipped onto the grass but is that really worth 10 seconds? I think Pierre bought that a bit. Last on the road for his home race isn’t the result he wanted and probably didn’t reflect his actual pace, especially after coming back from wrist surgery.

Lando Norris – 5.5

Lando, Lando, Lando. A dodgy Q3 put him into the pack and he did really well to fight back in the race until a lack of judgement when overtaking his teammate cost him dearly. He looked for a gap that wasn’t going to open in time, when he probably would have got past around the outside of Turn 1. It was clumsy collision with the wall that cost him 10 points. Points that he needs.

Liam Lawson – 4.5

Lawson started in the pit lane after his team made lots of changes to his car post Quali. His race didn’t get much better as he retired early after not making any impression on the field.

Alex Albon – 5.9

Another tricky one for Alex, having qualified in the top ten, he was running well after getting pushed off the track on the first lap, which may have led to the issues that caused his retirement. The weekend started so promisingly but didn’t translate for Albon.