Teams and drivers were stunned to discover how much quicker their cars lapped the Shanghai International Circuit last weekend following its resurfacing.
The result was a cagey, processional sprint race followed by a grand prix which drivers started tentatively, then pushed their cars harder once they realised the untried hard tyres would go the distance.It was a weekend for stand-out performances of the positive and negative kind. Some drivers responded well to the uncertain conditions but others struggled to extract performance of their cars or avoid incidents with rivals.
Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the entire field.
Lando Norris
▼ Two sub-par runs in SQ3 left him sixth instead of on the front row
▼ Ran wide at turn six at the start of the sprint race and gave away three places
▲ Gained one place from Stroll to finish eighth
▼ Couldn’t improve on Q2 time and took third on grid
▲ Passed Russell at start and re-passed him after pit stop
▶ Had to manage brake problem at end of race
5/10: Made up for a scrappy couple of days with a cool-headed performance in the grand prix
Oscar Piastri
▼ Also slipped up in SQ3, but not as badly as his team mate
▲ Passed Verstappen easily for second place in sprint race
▲ Off Norris’s pace to begin with in qualifying but breakthrough in Q3 secured pole
▶ Controlled the race from the front for third career grand prix win
7/10: Took full advantage of his team mate’s slip-ups in qualifying
Charles Leclerc
▼ Struggled with tyre overheating more than team mate in sprint race qualifying
▶ Joined Hamilton on third row of grid
▼ Clipping Hamilton at the start could have had far worse consequences for both
▲ Strong race pace despite front wing damage
▼ Couldn’t keep Verstappen behind for fourth
▼ Pace dropped off noticeably at end of second stint
▶ Disqualified when car was found to be underweight
6/10: Ferrari’s mid-weekend balance shift seemed to suit him better than Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
▲ Claimed pole position for sprint race with clean single run in SQ3
▲ Controlled sprint race for first win as a Ferrari driver
▶ Less happy with car after set-up changes
▼ Suggested he let Leclerc passed, then took several laps to do so
▶ Disqualified due to plank wear
6/10: Early signs the new relationship is working, but still problems to iron out
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Max Verstappen
▲ Came very close to denying Hamilton pole for sprint race
▶ Knew defending from Piastri was a lost cause in sprint race
▼ Passed by both Ferraris at start
▲ Pace improved in second half of grand prix, re-passed Leclerc for fourth
7/10: Rare to see him lose places off the start, but otherwise solid as ever
Liam Lawson
▼ 0.4s off Verstappen on first run in sprint race qualifying but couldn’t cool tyres back down
▶ Passed five cars for 14th in sprint race
▼ Qualified last for grand prix, half a second off making the cut for Q2
▼ Couldn’t keep the hard rubber working in the race and lost a significant amount of time
▶ Bearman’s eighth represents the minimum he should have had from the grand prix
2/10: About as bad as it gets without crashing
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
▼ Couldn’t find a way past Tsunoda in the sprint race
▼ Said his two Q3 laps weren’t his strongest after qualifying almost four tenths of a second off Russell
▶ Damaged his floor on lap one running over Leclerc’s front wing
▶ Passed by Ocon for fifth
5/10: Workmanlike performance at unfamiliar track, unlucky to pick up damage
George Russell
▲ Opportunistic pass on Leclerc on first lap of sprint race, closed on Verstappen towards end
▲ Superb Q3 lap, improving his time in all three sectors, netted unlikely second on grid
▶ Couldn’t keep Norris’s quicker McLaren behind after start or pit stop
▶ May have eased off pace too soon at the end, preventing a run at brake-troubled Norris
9/10: At a consistently high level all weekend
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Lance Stroll
▲ Out-qualified Alonso for sprint race
▶ Ran eighth for much of sprint race but Norris eventually got by
▼ Out in Q2 but car had the pace for Q3
▶ Ran longest opening stint of any driver on hards
▼ Fell behind Bearman who was on same strategy
▶ Promoted to ninth by disqualifications
6/10: Collected points but it looks like there was more pace in the Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso
▼ Didn’t figure in sprint race after being out-qualified by Stroll for once
▼ Just like his team mate, the AMR25 was quick enough for Q3 but he didn’t make it
▶ Retired early in the race with brake failure
5/10: Got it together for the main event, then misfortune struck
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Jack Doohan
▶ Unable to do soft tyre run in sole practice session due to car fault
▶ Like his team mate, blamed traffic in SQ1 for his first-round elimination.
▼ Lunged into Bortoleto on final lap of sprint race
▼ Spun and eliminated in Q1
▼ Penalised for forcing Hadjar off in the grand prix and fortunate to avoid another penalty for late change of line while defending
3/10: Clumsy wheel-to-wheel racing could easily have left him on six penalty points instead of four
Pierre Gasly
▶ Said traffic spoiled his SQ1 run, like Doohan
▼ Dropped out in Q1 but had the pace to reach Q2
▶ Used same strategy as most drivers and made no progress
▲ Pulled off some good passes in the sprint race and grand prix
▶ Disqualified when car was found to be underweight
6/10: Frustratingly shy of the pace needed to compete in tight midfield
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Esteban Ocon
▼ Final corner error in SQ1 cost him chance to progress
▲ Great qualifying effort: 11th on grid despite being 15th on best combined sectors
▲ Passed Albon at the start
▲ Aggressive early pit stop paid off
▲ Gutsy pass on Antonelli for eventual fifth place
9/10: Superb recovery after Melbourne, great qualifying lap and pass of the race
Oliver Bearman
▲ Qualified a decent 12th for sprint race
▼ Slipped back to 15th with degradation towards the end of the race
▶ Tried to do three timed runs in qualifying but ran out of time to complete the last one
▶ Started on hards and ran long, passing Lawson when he started to struggle on mediums
▲ Passed Gasly for final point, then promoted by disqualifications
7/10: Not quite as together as his team mate but did well with ‘alternative’ strategy
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Isack Hadjar
▶ Faster than Tsunoda in SQ1 but punished for minor error in SQ2
▲ Out-qualified Tsunoda – and Antonelli’s Mercedes
▼ Passed by Tsunoda and Antonelli at start
▶ Poorly served by team’s two-stop strategy
▶ Frustrated by Doohan’s up-to-and-over-the-limit defending
6/10: Clear flashes of speed and potential
Yuki Tsunoda
▶ Tow from Hadjar helped him reach SQ3
▲ Gained two places at the start of the sprint race and held them to finish a fine sixth
▼ Might have been on the third or even second row but error in Q3 cost him better grid position. Got slower in each successive stage in qualifying
▼ Strong pace from sprint race was not apparent in grand prix
▶ Pitted on the same lap as Ocon – but coming in a second time spoiled his race
▶ Front wing failure, seemingly not caused by the driver, added insult to injury
▼ Received a warning for practice start position in the grand prix
6/10: Strong sprint race but driver and team errors compromised his grand prix
Alexander Albon
▶ Dropped two places from ninth in the sprint race with more graining than rivals
▲ Reached SQ3 and Q3
▶ Ran the joint-longest first stint of anyone on the medium rubber and briefly led
▶ Never looked like being able to pass Antonelli
▼ Received a warning for practice start position in the grand prix
8/10: Emerged from the hectic midfield to claim valuable points
Carlos Sainz Jnr
▼ Dropped out in SQ2 and Q2, admitted he still can’t get the last few tenths out of the car over a single lap
▶ Pitted during sprint race to test set-up change
▶ Couldn’t match Albon’s race pace and slipped back
▼ Passed by Bearman and Stroll during his second stint
▶ Promoted to final point by disqualifications
5/10: Tidy, but still trying to wring the last few tenths from the Williams
Nico Hulkenberg
▶ Started sprint race from the pit lane after set-up change
▶ Did well to reach Q2 and came close to reaching Q3 before making a slight mistake
▼ A snap of oversteer put him in the gravel on lap one, damaged his floor and ruined his race
▼ Poor pace on hard tyres – likely a result of his damage – meant he dropped behind Bortoleto
5/10: Decent qualifying performance but costly first-lap error ruined his grand prix
Gabriel Bortoleto
▲ Out-qualified team mate again on Friday
▶ Hit by Doohan at end of sprint race
▶ Said traffic compromised his out-lap as he failed to progress beyond Q1
▼ Spun off on the first lap, had to pit immediately
▼ His pace also faded early on the hard tyres
▼ Received a warning for practice start position in the grand prix
4/10: Core pace looked good but like his team mate it all went wrong on lap one
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2025 Chinese Grand Prix
- Red Bull reassure Verstappen over ‘when we’ll have a winning car again’ in meeting
- Mercedes explain impact of Antonelli’s floor damage on his Chinese GP performance
- “I gave a lot of lap time away in that first stint”: Verstappen’s full Chinese GP radio
- Stats: Chinese Grand Prix saw most disqualifications in an F1 race for 21 years
- Even the best driver on the grid needs a team mate to push them – Norris
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th March 2025, 12:45
Wow, 2x 9 in a weekend, that’s surprising, I could see russell get 8, considering none of the other drivers with top cars made even that, but 9 seems extreme, very often weekends where no mistake was made and performance was maximised ended up being 8.
I think ocon might be getting 1 bonus point for the fact ferraris got dq’d, and the sprint mistake you pointed out makes me think 9 was a bit much for him too.
Lawson another 2, unbelievable performances by him.
slowmo (@slowmo)
24th March 2025, 16:45
The 9 for Ocon is mad, entirely benefitted from it being hard to overtake and having drivers ahead of him disqualified.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:19
Yes, it’s the first thing I thought: ofc it’s an exceptional result to end up in that position with that car, however given that the cars ahead gained a negligible advantage, in normal circumstances he’d be 2 places back, and I doubt it’d have been a 9 in that case.
Mike Davies (@nanotech)
24th March 2025, 13:02
You guys owe me a new laptop after I spit my coffee on the screen reading Russell got a 9.
I managed to scroll through the sodden mess to see Ocon somehow got the same, though that one is perhaps more justifiable.
This new ranking system is confusing. Is that now more 9s given in 2025’s two races than in the entirety of the prior RaceFans rankings to-date?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th March 2025, 14:39
Nah, I’m surprised you don’t remember the 9s given, verstappen at spa 2022 for example, ocon also got a 9 in a recent monaco race, sainz got one for his singapore win in 2023, might be more but at least these are easy to remember.
Riccard
24th March 2025, 19:00
Verstappen also received 9/10 for driving from 17th to 1st in the rain in Brazil last year.
He was one of the best in qualifying but was blocked by Ocon on his first lap, then caught by a red flag on his second, and then took a power unit penalty to start 17th. Then he won the race anyway, making about 12 overtakes.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:43
Indeed, silly of me that I forgot that 9, especially as I like wet races, so that should be 4x 9 in the last few seasons with will’s ranking, and I agree with 3 of them, while ocon’s one in monaco was probably a bit questionable.
MacLeod (@macleod)
24th March 2025, 13:32
George an 9 is too much Over the weekend he constant but that isn’t a 9 …an 8 is good maybe a tad too igh but sellable.
Ocon an 9 if you see it of the weekend I would put it on 8 if you judge it only the Quallify and race an 9. So you rounded the score up as you don’t use .5
David BR (@david-br)
24th March 2025, 15:08
@macleod I assumed I’d read that wrong! I wish I had.
MacLeod (@macleod)
25th March 2025, 7:51
@david-br Reading myself seems autocorrection on my phone butchered my intensions. My excuse for that.
Robert Williams (@weiliwen)
24th March 2025, 13:37
Piastri wins the race from pole and he’s given a 7/10? I fail to see how Russel rates a 9 while the first-time race winner only gets a 7.
Tough crowd
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:45
First time race winner? Piastri won races before, it’s only his first win of 2025.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:46
But yes, very strange, I don’t think it would be questionable to give 8 to both for example.
Peter707
24th March 2025, 13:44
Ocon was beat by his rookie teammate both in sprint qualification and in sprint race, yet he gets a 9? I don’t get it.
Wiktoria Groblewska
24th March 2025, 15:44
Ocon got beaten in sprint qualis after he went too aggressive into last corner on his final push lap, he was on par with Bearman after S2 – so we can assume it was Ocon’s mistake, while Bearman got P12 start. Later Olliepushed his mediums too hard in the sprint, and he barely defended from being passed by Ocon.
In qualifying, I believe Bearman was unable to start his 3rd push lap due to blue flags, and poor timing overall. Hence why he got dropped in Q1, while Ocon almost made it into Q3.
In the race, once again Bearman pushed his Mediums a bit too much, so his pace dropped on the final laps – but the race was already settled. His Hards stint looked decent though.
I believe both drivers should get ranked good. Ocon was clearly “best of the rest” after Tsunoda got his treatment from VCARB strategists, Bearman maybe deserved an 8.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
24th March 2025, 13:45
The 9 for russell certainly does seem high given what verstappen archived in what arguably was the 4th best car.
I also think it was so clear that Haas were very strong and I think both bearman and ocon should be ranked down a grade or two.
I also think hulkenberg should have a 3 at best.
Qualifying 19th for the sprint while his rookie team mate was 14th. While he started in the pit lane, he still was beaten by bortoleto despite a contact, spin effecting his result.
He did a decent job qualifying for the race, but that is it. Botoleto fell back over 15 seconds from Hulkenberg with his mistake on lap one and despite this he still beat Hulkenberg by a huge margin. Hulkenberg’s damage was entirely self inflicted so the impact of it should count against him.
It makes no sense at all how Hulkenberg has a 5 with Bortoleto at 4. His performance in both races was worse than Bortoleto.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
24th March 2025, 13:47
I like the way the rating system has changed. Seeing more 9s and 2s is refreshing.
Concerning the Hamilton team order debate: The whole thing started after the pit stops when they both were in traffic. Hamilton and Leclerc were passing the midfield cars on the run down to turn 14 and therefore it’s understandable that Hamilton didn’t want to back off.
Leclerc once dropped back a bit when he had to follow a car for another half a lap that’s what Hamilton probably was referring to when he said Leclerc should get closer.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
24th March 2025, 14:47
To be fair, lawson did everything he could to get 2 these races, he would’ve got it even last year with such performances. I’m finding those 9 very strange, they don’t seem justified.
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
24th March 2025, 16:02
I didn’t say I agree with the ratings :)
Lawson of course absolutely didn’t deserve any better, but last year we had a few races with Perez underperforming and crashing and still getting 3s or even 4s.
Russell did very well, a nine is debatable though and I agree with you that Ocon is too high. But the new system is just under way and probably needs some fine tuning. I just like the general idea of giving a wider range of marks.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:51
Ah, yes, I also think it’s better to use a wider range of ratings, it’s just that I’m used to 9 being a really really special weekend from the past years’ ranking, and I didn’t see anything indicating the rating system changed now, and aside from that, as someone mentioned below, I feel 2 points is too much difference between verstappen and russell, I think they could’ve had both 8.
Yes, I think ocon got a bonus mark from ferrari’s dq, inflating his result.
Phil
24th March 2025, 13:49
So a driver who put the 4th fastest car on sprint pole and win in his 2nd race in the team, out qualifying his teammate (one the fastest of the grid) gets a 6, while a driver who basically qualified 1 position ahead of expectations and lost that position at the start and beat a rookie gets a 9. Give me a break.
Ankita
24th March 2025, 14:04
I guess you are a Hamilton fan !
David (@nvherman)
24th March 2025, 14:55
I’m not a Hamilton fan, but a 9 for Russell is pushing the bounds of credibility too far
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:52
Yes, don’t have to be a hamilton fan to feel russell got a really high mark, when compared to the most recent 9s we’ve seen.
David BR (@david-br)
24th March 2025, 15:07
See below for more of the same…
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
24th March 2025, 14:09
I am uncomfortable with drivers of disqualified cars getting a rating for the race as the machines did not meet specs.
David (@nvherman)
24th March 2025, 14:54
Agreed
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
24th March 2025, 14:22
’10/10′ George is consistent enough to win the WDC as the season heats up and Piastri/ Norris take points off each other and split the garage.
An Sionnach
24th March 2025, 14:35
I think George “10/10” Russell definitely deserved a 7, with an 8 justifiable. That’s a stellar score. I can’t give more than 7 for a fantastic qualifying and then keeping out of trouble in the race.
Ocon? I wasn’t paying attention. Seems quite high…
Sainz: Seemed painful. I’d give him a four.
Antonelli: Thought I was hallucinating when he got the driver of the day, but we’re in agreement. At risk of being slightly(!) unfair, perhaps there was a glut of votes from middle-aged French school mistresses?!?
Riccard
24th March 2025, 18:55
I think the audience was voting Antonelli as having driven well “for a rookie”, instead of best overall.
Which, hey, that’s what you get in an online vote where people are free to make up their own criteria.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:54
Yes, one of the silliest things I’ve seen in the DOTD is that when drivers are on the last race they get the vote, even if they had a horrible weekend, it’s happened to hulkenberg for example, at a time he was leaving f1.
David BR (@david-br)
24th March 2025, 15:03
Ok so I’m going to ‘take issue’. Leclerc and Hamilton both rated 6, yet Leclerc has 4 ‘downers’ versus Hamilton’s 1 ‘downer’ for offering his position to Leclerc (! that’s a negative??) but taking several laps to do so. Seems harsh and unbalanced, especially given Hamilton qualified ahead in both qualis, won the sprint, sacrificed his position in the GP, took an extra stop and was still just 2 seconds behind at the finish.
Hamm.
Call me paranoid but there’s a general tendency to downplay Hamilton in these evaluations over recent seasons, which also ends up reflected in the year end evaluations.
BasCB (@bascb)
24th March 2025, 15:25
Yeah, while the current form of these ratings makes somewhat more sense showing what influences the ratings these things seem widely varying weighing depending on (seemingly) preferences and dislikes, often ignores how big or small things are, rates things negatively that aren’t really at all, gives SOME drivers the benefit of the doubt or even praise while at the same time ignoring negatives that count solidly towards the rating for other drivers. Sigh.
Patrick (@paeschli)
24th March 2025, 15:38
How is being so slow you suggest yourself giving up the place to your teammate not a negative?
David BR (@david-br)
24th March 2025, 21:56
@paeschli As I pointed out, Leclerc had 4 negatives, Hamilton 1. Yes at that point in the race he was slower, probably down to the setup changes, but the review seems to mark him down for taking 2 laps to let CL pass when it was his own idea to begin with. I really think LH deserves to be judged ahead of CL over the weekend, but I dislike this points system anyhow, precisely because it’s clumsy with variables that switch wildly from week to week. I mean was Russell really worth a 9? I prefer the ‘stars of the weekend’ format that existed previously.
An Sionnach
24th March 2025, 16:19
I think RaceFans tries to be very fair with Lewis and Alonso in particular. Both are hard to rate, although Alonso is making it a bit easier of late(!). Max might be similar because so many will go as far as denying he has any ability at all, and he also has his die-hard loyalists. Max makes it easy to rate him because he rarely makes mistakes.
I thought Lewis was excellent all weekend, but disappointing in the race. He would have been more aware than the rest of us of his ultimate pace versus Leclerc’s, which is why he had to to the decent thing and offer to move over. Hopefully we see more luas from Lewis as the season goes on (“luas”, pronounced the same as the name, means “speed” in a certain language).
David BR (@david-br)
24th March 2025, 22:02
I think there’s a definite pro-Russell vibe at Racefans, but I guess everyone has their favourites, even if they’re unaware of it. Verstappen, I agree it’s easy to overlook how much he achieves. In some ways, having a better team mate would provide a clearer benchmark week in, week out.
Stephen Taylor
24th March 2025, 15:34
Interesting choices but can’t agree with all of them . Ocon doesn’t deserve a nine for Sprint qualy and race performance . George should have probably beaten Verstappen in the Sprint race. Ocon’s 8s for both would be more appropriate in my opinion. Ocon’s rating is also inconsistent with marking Piastri down for the Sprint part of the weekend . Oscar deserved a 8 based on what Ocon got. I think Keith’s predjudices against the Sprint format have led to Russell and Ocon getting one mark higher than they probably deserved . Would also give Antonelli a bit more of the benefit of the doubt with a 6 considering he had damage in the race and as for him struggling with the tyres in qualifying I think we should cut him some slack on him being 0.4 slower than a high quality experienced team mate on a track he’d never experienced before . I think drivers whose cars were disqualified from the Grand Prix for being illegal should not have their Grand Prix performance taken into consideration when marking. Lando would have surely got a 2 or 3 if he hadn’t salvaged a 2nd place
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:29
This is a good point, I heard before keith isn’t a fan of sprint races, so if there’s some weighting to do, ofc the sprint will have less points, and ocon will benefit from this. Having said that, in normal circumstances I suppose it makes sense to weight the race a bit more, as it has 3x the duration and scoring potential compared to the sprint.
Jere (@jerejj)
24th March 2025, 18:03
Most impressed: PIA, RUS, OCO, BEA, & ALB
Most disappointing: LAW, DOO, & NOR
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:36
Fully agree with the list this time, piastri outperformed norris in race and sprint, russell had basically a perfect weekend, so obviously massively outperformed his team mate, ocon had a great weekend even if I don’t agree with giving him 9, and so did albon, beating highly rated sainz again, and bearman had a decent race considering car and experience.
Lawson was ofc an absolute disaster (I remember the commentators saying “that is an absolute disaster for sergio perez”, so here we go again), doohan’s pace wasn’t horrible, but involved in several incidents, and norris made too many mistakes, especially the lap 1 of the sprint and some in quali.
Riccard
24th March 2025, 18:50
I realise that the ranking methodology has changed – last year under Will’s system ther was a clear guide to the ratings system with a rough guide for each possible score, whereas this year under Keith it’s all on vibes – but even for it all being on vibes, this doesn’t make sense.
Russell and Verstappen both a strong performance that any driver should be very pleased with. They got the most out of their cars and put them in the best places they could reasonably be expected to be.
Verstappen could perhaps have been a few hundredths quicker in sprint quali, and will be frustrated to lose a place in the 2-on-1 squeeze at the start, but otherwise can’t be faulted. Russell could perhaps have pushed closer to Norris at the end and (in hindsight) might have nabbed second when Norris had brake issues, but otherwise can’t be faulted. They were both among the best in the field.
So how do we end up with Verstappen on 7 and Russell on 9? There was barely a hair between them.
Piastri’s and Ocon’s weekends were similar to Verstappen’s and Russell’s – they were a little poorer in sprint qualifying, but otherwise consistently delivered the maximum from his car. I could see them each being a mark behind Verstappen and Russell. But Verstappen on 7 and Ocon on 9 just doesn’t add up.
I don’t think the “vibes” system is producing good results. Having a clear framework that a 7 might mean this, an 8 might mean that, was much clearer and also helped the writers calibrate their thoughts. It would be good to go back to that.
Riccard
24th March 2025, 18:53
In terms of comparability – it’s clear from the results that Keith isn’t trying to be comparable to Will’s old system, but here’s some food for thought.
Last year, Verstappen’s win in Brazil – which was a contender for top 10 wet weather weekends ever – was scored a 9.
This year, Russell putting in a good drive with no clear mistakes and making the most of his car (as Verstappen and indeed Russell do almost every weekend) – is also a 9.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:39
Ohh, yes, you reminded me of another of the few 9s that happened during will’s ranking, that was indeed a special race, means there’s been a total of 4, unless we forgot any other.
I agree with your objections, such as verstappen and russell getting 2 points of difference with flawless weekends and ocon getting 2 more than verstappen.
Leo B
24th March 2025, 19:04
Russell getting 9 is pure personal preference with no objectivity. He started 2nd and finished 3rd. That is not close to perfection. This used to be a better list.
asz
24th March 2025, 20:05
Actually, no. Most of the (rather manipulative) Will Wood articles used to include one or two (or three) questionable scores to keep the comments coming.
This year it is better so far because Keith is seemingly less intent on controversy-bait, and also because he actually utilizes the 1-10 scale instead of just the 3-7 scale (the rest being reserved for once-in-a-season/generation extremes).
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:26
Has it been confirmed the scale changed? Because I don’t see anything in the introduction to the article about this, what if it’s just a coincidence that there are 2 9s and a 2? Lawson after all would’ve got a 2 even with will’s ratings.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
24th March 2025, 19:10
Not sure how you can justify Piastri receiving a 7 while Russell received a 9. Perhaps an 8 for both?
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
25th March 2025, 0:17
Yes, I would agree more with something like that, especially I feel russell is overrated in here.
Theodore Levantis
24th March 2025, 22:45
I guess you would turn it up to 11 if Russell did what Piastri did by brilliantly controlling the race from the front, outqualifying the blisteringly quick Norris not once but twice, and controlling his sprint race to perfection allowing him to overtake Verstappen to come 2nd.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
24th March 2025, 23:36
Whether you agree with the rankings or not, I’m glad to see closer to the full range of numbers being used. Reserving a perfect 10 or disastrous 1 for extreme situations is fine, but when we’ve had the system for 4 years or so and only seen maybe three or four ‘9’s, and never a 10, I think it’s a bit too restrictive. It just made all the scores compress around a 4-7 range, which makes it too hard to differentiate between drivers.
Bosco Moroz
25th March 2025, 4:55
I’m not going to comment on the overall ratings, and definitely rarely agree with them anyway….but reading the comments, it appears that many F1 fans for some reason feel every driver is in equal equipment. Racing in real life is not a video game!
Judging a race on quali and race end positions is purely wasted breathe. Merc is not the equal equipment of the Mclaren, Fact! Watching Lewis in sprint, it didn’t appear Merc had pace of Ferrari either.
A great quali, put George ahead of better cars, losing 1 position to the best car and the driver most are expecting a fantastic year and probable championship is not a negative. At least from a racer who understands the sport from top to bottom. I have never been a particular fan of Merc or George, but come on, that was a weekend we may look back on as a true turning point in his career… or maybe he just likes China.
The negative comments and plain false statements about drivers and teams are ruining what has always been my favorite F1 site. A casual RaceFan with a keyboard is not a Race Fanatic…. yep, a long time fanatic of race fans.
Please bring back good photography….Race Fanatics/Racefans was the absolute gold standard, now it’s just pixelated cell pics, a real camera a cell phone is NOT.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
26th March 2025, 8:13
As I mentioned before, Russell is consistently overrated or over scored in these ratings. Not sure why. The same happened last week.
Elvira
26th March 2025, 11:37
Rating of 4/10 for the ratings here – unusually poor weekend.