Although the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was a largely processional race, a few drivers managed to distinguish themselves with their performances.
However their efforts in qualifying the previous day had a significant bearing on their overall result – as Lando Norris knows only too well.Here’s RaceFans’ verdict on the full field last weekend, plus our average scores for the first five rounds so far.
Lando Norris
▶ Fastest on Friday and in Q2
▼ Crashed in Q3
▲ Passed Sainz early on
▶ Took three laps to complete pass on Hamilton
▶ Passed Russell with less difficulty but ran out of time to catch Leclerc for third
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0s faster
5/10: Redeemed himself somewhat after qualifying error but third looked possible
Oscar Piastri
▲ Almost nothing in it between him and Verstappen for pole position
▲ Great start put Verstappen on the defensive
▶ Kept up the pace as well as he could stuck in Verstappen’s dirty air in the first stint
▲ Swift pass on Hamilton was vital to ensure he jumped Verstappen in the pits
▶ Measured his pace over the final stint to keep Verstappen out of range
9/10: Stood his ground at start, judged risky pass on Hamilton superbly
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Charles Leclerc
▲ Appeared to wring everything there was out of the SF-25 in qualifying
▲ Ran an impressively long stint on mediums
▲ Passed Russell in his second stint
▲ Out-ran Norris for final podium place
9/10: Needed to wring every drop from his Ferrari to beat Norris to third, and did
Lewis Hamilton
▼ Scraped into Q3, fortunate to only start three places behind Leclerc given how large the gap was
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.099s faster
▲ Got by Sainz on the first lap
▶ Frustrated Norris’s efforts to pass for two laps, which proved useful for his team mate
▼ Closed on Antonelli in final stint, aided by fresher tyres, but dropped back at end
5/10: Another poor qualifying effort and his race pace wasn’t sufficient to make up for it
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Max Verstappen
▲ Superior Q3 tactics, tow from Tsunoda and superb lap put him on pole
▼ Didn’t get off the line as well as Piastri which cost him the lead
▼ Took the lead back by deliberately cutting the first corner
▶ Took longer to pass Hamilton than Piastri did – was his former adversary being unco-operative?
▲ Strong pace in final stint despite being in Piastri’s wake
▼ Received a 5 second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage in the grand prix
7/10: At his irrepressible best in qualifying, strong pace in race, cynical turn one tactics
Yuki Tsunoda
▼ Crashed in second practice
▼ Nine tenths of a second slower than Verstappen in Q3, but gave him a tow
▶ Reached Q3 but set best time in Q2, 0.214s faster
▼ Lucky to avoid a penalty (again) for contact he was better able to avoid than the other driver
3/10: The pace was there but Q3 lap was poor and he crashed twice
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli
▼ Had the pace for fourth on the grid but made small error early on final lap
▶ Wisely chose not to force the issue with Leclerc at turn one at the start
▶ Ran fifth throughout opening stint, fell to sixth behind recovering Norris after pit stop
▲ Better pace than Russell in final stint
7/10: Still working it out in qualifying but coped better than Russell with tyres in race
George Russell
▲ Another strong qualifying effort but rued not doing two runs in Q3
▶ Couldn’t stick with Verstappen and Piastri in the opening stint
▼ Pace didn’t improve in second stint which allowed Leclerc and Norris past
▼ Faded badly at end and lost over a second per lap to Antonelli
7/10: Again a top performer in qualifying by faded badly in the race
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Lance Stroll
▶ Very little between the two Aston Martins when Stroll went out in Q1
▶ Ran the longest opening stint of anyone on hards
▲ Used blue flags cleverly to pass Bortoleto
▼ Lapped, unlike his team mate
5/10: The gap between him and Alonso was more typical this weekend
Fernando Alonso
▲ One of few drivers who put all of his three best sectors together in qualifying.
▲ Beat Lawson off the line at the start
▼ Lost a place to the other Racing Bulls of Hadjar on lap after restart
▶ Took evasive action to prevent collision with Bortoleto
6/10: Left little on the table in qualifying but surprising to see him lose a place to Hadjar so easily
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Jack Doohan
▼ Reprimanded for twice crossing the painted area between the pit entry and the track in practice
▼ Three tenths of a second off Gasly when he went out in Q1
▶ Made first pit stop on opening lap but lost places in second half of race
▶ Only driver to make second pit stop, once it became clear he was under threat from Bortoleto
▲ Used fresher tyres to catch Bortoleto and won drag race to the finishing line
5/10: Qualifying deficit to Gasly left him running a ‘hail Mary’ strategy
Pierre Gasly
▲ Aimed to do two laps after the red flag in Q3 but abandoned his first, had to be held in his pit box and did not have correct tyre temperatures for final lap as a result
▶ As a result his Q3 time was 0.342s slower than he managed in Q2
▲ Was in the process of passing Tsunoda on the first lap when he was hit by his rival
7/10: Unlucky to be taken out by Tsunoda but could have started ahead of him
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Esteban Ocon
▼ Admitted he’d struggled all weekend after being half a second off his team mate in Q1
▲ Only one of the three drivers who pitted on the first lap to complete the race distance
▶ Let Bearman past when told to.
5/10: Didn’t have the pace to match Bearman
Oliver Bearman
▲ Beat his team mate to reach Q2
▶ Set a better times in Q1 than Q2, by 0.112s
▼ Failed to improve on his new set of tyres in the second part of qualifying
▼ Pace faded towards the end of both stints in the race
6/10: Workmanlike performance in car which wasn’t quick enough
Isack Hadjar
▼ Said he’d struggled throughout the weekend after dropping out in Q2, clipping the wall on his way
▲ Got ahead of his team mate at the start
▲ Excellent pass on Alonso after restart, without DRS, likely earned him a point at the end of the race
▶ Finished race stuck in ‘DRS train’ behind co-operating Williams drivers
7/10: Made up for disappointing qualifying performance with excellent pass on Alonso
Liam Lawson
▼ Reprimanded for twice crossing the painted area between the pit entry and the track in practice
▲ One of few drivers who put all of his three best sectors together in qualifying.
▼ Beaten off the line by Alonso, then lost another place to Hadjar running off the track
▼ Failing to make the corner after passing Doohan led to a 10 second penalty
▶ Not much to choose between the two Racing Bulls on race pace
6/10: Quick over one lap but wasted his advantage on lap one
Alexander Albon
▶ A close match for Sainz’s pace in qualifying – a later spot in the running order might have got him into Q3
▶ Co-operated with Sainz to keep Hadjar behind – tactics they originally planned to use on Gasly
7/10: Dissatisfaction over Q2 exit was understandable, but he rebounded in the race
Carlos Sainz Jnr
▶ Only driver besides Verstappen to complete two timed laps after the red flag in Q3
▲ Beat Hamilton and Tsunoda for excellent sixth on the grid
▶ Chose his battles more wisely than he did in Bahrain
▲ Aided team mate with DRS in the race to maximise Williams’ points haul
8/10: Used same Q3 tactics as Verstappen to great effect, played team role superbly in race
Nico Hulkenberg
▼ Made a mistake at turn one which potentially cost him a place in Q2
▲ Got ahead of Doohan at the start
▶ Quick enough to out-run Stroll but not to attack the cars ahead
6/10: There was more in the Sauber, but probably not much
Gabriel Bortoleto
▶ Missing the single most representative practice session of the weekend due to a technical fault undoubtedly compromised him
▶ Poor luck continued in qualifying as he picked up a plastic bag
▼ Tried to use Verstappen for a slipstream but underestimated his speed at turn one and spun
▶ Let Hulkenberg through when ordered to.
▶ Plugged away on fading tyres at the end of the race
▶ Powerless to keep Doohan behind on final lap
5/10: Luck was against him in practice, hair-raising moment with Alonso in race
Over to you
Vote for the driver who impressed you most last weekend and find out whether other RaceFans share your view here:
2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
- Red Bull made tactical decision not to avoid a penalty in Jeddah, Horner confirms
- Norris’s starts were far poorer than Verstappen’s but the balance is shifting
- McLaren’s rivals “just one upgrade away from being the lead car” – Brown
- Russell told race control what he thought of Verstappen’s first lap corner cut
- Doohan’s final corner pass on Bortoleto was F1’s closest fight for last place in seven years
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
21st April 2025, 11:12
Cynical turn one tactics by Max. Yep, one that has stood him in good stead for several seasons. No wonder he was crying after the race when one of the key things in his armoury, dive bombing himself, has been outlawed. Id give him 10 for qually and 5 for the race. If he was being marked for classy responses after the race then 0 would be awarded.
Dex
21st April 2025, 12:24
You can award him -10 if you want. It’s utterly pointless; nobody cares about the ratings from this article either. He tried what most drivers would in turn one, he got the penalty, that’s it. That’s how modern F1 is. If you want, we can find almost every (if not every) other driver using the same tactics in the past. Sometimes they give the position back (usually after arguing with their team), sometimes they figure that 5 second penalty serves them better (and it often does, because penalties in F1 are silly). It’s cynical only when it’s Verstappen, because that’s the narrative.
This is why we like gravel traps, that does the trick.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
21st April 2025, 13:41
If you don’t care why are you here? Comments are entirely someone’s opinion or we just look at the race result.
Jojo
21st April 2025, 13:34
“If he was being marked for classy responses after the race then 0 would be awarded.”
I think Max responded well after the race. He didn’t let himself be goaded into speaking against the stewards decision and he explained why he wouldn’t. He held his tongue even though he was annoyed. He also spoke highly of Piastri and his talent. Emotions run high after the race, but I thought he conducted himself well.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
21st April 2025, 11:18
Disagree on the Gasly-Tsunoda verdict, not sure where Tsunoda could have gone from there. Not that Gasly had a lot of place without going off track, but he had more chance to avoid it and he was the one taking the risk with the overtaking attempt into that corner.
AlexS
21st April 2025, 12:40
Tsunoda was behind and put his front tire in front of Gasly rears. He just had to brake timely. He didn’t.
Emr
22nd April 2025, 14:00
Gasly turned left more than Tsunoda could. What could Tsunoda do? Brake and get driven into by someone behind?
AlexS
23rd April 2025, 6:43
Gasly followed the track on his side and was in front, Tsunoda did not, it is his fault that he could not do the corner without going to Gasly side of the track.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:34
You act like this happened to Tsunoda in slow motion. You’ve obviously never driven a race car before. There was absolutely nothing Yuki could have done differently. I don’t blame Gasly, but he tried to overtake around the outside in an area with almost zero margin for either car to have even the slightest bit of movement.
jhg103 (@joshgeake)
21st April 2025, 11:28
If they just put carefully positioned sausage curbs or tyre stacks in that T1 runoff area then it would solve a lot of headaches.
S Arkazam
21st April 2025, 11:33
gravel (or grass)?
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
21st April 2025, 11:35
…and cause others. Theres no 100% perfect solution
jhg103 (@joshgeake)
21st April 2025, 12:14
That’s what they like to say but artificial penalties just make it all the more… artificial.
Alonslow
21st April 2025, 14:30
I would just drop T1&2, it doesn’t bring high amounts of passing (only on the first lap), most if not all passes done there end with a car cutting the track or getting pushed off towards the run off area or the wall.
There’s space to do a better T1&2 in the same place.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:34
And then the first time a car got launched fans would whine about how unsafe the curbs are.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st April 2025, 11:42
Most impressed: PIA, LEC, & SAI
Most disappointing: NOR, HAM, & STR
MichaelN
21st April 2025, 12:21
It seems the ratings are a bit more generous these last few times. Two 9s for what were good, but hardly memorable races, seems to suggest a move away from the broader frame of reference. Fair enough, I suppose, Piastri and Leclerc did both have good runs and it’s hard to see how either could have achieved more this weekend.
These round-ups are still a good way to keep track of some of the lesser heroes. Seems that Bearman is quietly doing a pretty decent job so far. Good for him.
Riccard
21st April 2025, 12:47
It’s easy to see how Piastri could have performed better: he could have put the fastest car on pole.
That he had to scrap through and scrape a victory in the fastest car (with his teammate out of the picture) says to me that it wasn’t a 9/10 performance. More like 7/10: did it the hard way but ultimately placed as expected.
MichaelN
22nd April 2025, 16:21
Fair enough, yeah. I keep forgetting this is about the whole weekend.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:36
And 6/10s for several drivers who did the most they possibly could with the machinery they had.
Riccard
21st April 2025, 12:45
9 for Piastri and 7 for Verstappen doesn’t make sense to me.
Piastri had a clearly faster car, as demonstrated by his teammate, but performed poorly in qualifying and then – apart from a great start that effectively put him ahead of Verstappen – did nothing special in the race.
Verstappen performed better in a worse car and made things effectively a dead heat. Ultimately, the Mclaren’s advantage over the Red Bull was bigger than Verstappen’s advantage over Piastri, so the car decided the result rather than the driver… but Verstappen made things closer than you’d expect them to be (which should have been Piastri going pole-to-win unchallenged). That should put Verstappen a nose ahead… not behind by two points.
Personally I’d have
1. Leclerc – low 9 or high 8
2. Sainz – 8
3. Verstappen – low 8 or high 7 – finished in the expected place despite excellent qualifying
4. Alonso – low 8 or high 7 – finished in the expected place, did all he could
5/6/7. Russell – 7 – finished in the expected place despite struggling with tires in the race
5/6/7. Piastri – 7 – finished in the expected place despite poor qualifying
5/6/7. Albon – 7 – finished in the expected place despite poor qualifying
8. Hadjar – 6 – poor qualifying got him stuck behind the Williams cars
9. Antonelli – 6 – getting closer to Russell, but still not quite competing with top runners
Gasly, Bearman, Hulk probably also on 6
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
22nd April 2025, 13:05
Agree, verstappen should be higher; other thing, notice how russell is top this season on the average ratings, how’s that possible?
Someone said russell is consistently overrated, and I agree, how is it possible for example that he got 7 for a bad performance here, same as verstappen got?
THAT’s how he has the best average.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:42
What do you expect? This is RaceFans. Com . monwealth
Cam
21st April 2025, 13:36
Why is Lando first in this list? He isn’t leading the championship.
David (@nvherman)
21st April 2025, 13:56
It’s in order of last year’s WCC, then the driver with the lower number. Norris is no. 4, Piastri is no.81
Nerrticus (@nerrticus)
21st April 2025, 14:14
It’s in the order of last year’s constructors title (McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, etc)
Alonslow
21st April 2025, 14:47
Teams are indeed in that order, but the order of drivers is whatever, the first 3 teams are ok if they are ranked by 2024 results, but then Kimi is first instead of George so points it isn’t (Also Albon ahead of Sainz).
Now maybe it’s driver numbers, lower to higher, Kimi’s number is lower than George and this fits pretty well for most teams except for Aston Martin and Sauber, Stroll is first, but his number is higher than Alonso and he was way down on points in 2024 as well, Sauber doesn’t fit either, Bortoleto’s number is lower than Hulk.
So who knows, I would suggest current championship order, WCC then WDC seems the more logical order.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
22nd April 2025, 13:07
I gave a look at a different idea I had, alphabetic order for drivers, but it doesn’t fit for all, neither using names, nor surnames.
Jojo
21st April 2025, 13:41
His qualifying wasn’t poor, only one hundredth off pole. It was actually a very good lap by Piastri. Verstappen just managed something extra but doesn’t mean Piastri was poor. So 8 was probably fair for Piastri.
Jojo
21st April 2025, 13:43
Oops this was meant as a reply to Riccard’s post above.
Edvaldo
21st April 2025, 15:49
Max used Tsunoda’s slipstream to have the strongest first sector of them all, then beat Piastri to the line by 0,010s.
To call Piastri’s attempt poor is a gross exaggeration; he just didn’t have his teammate to help him be that little bit quicker.
Jojo
21st April 2025, 23:29
I didn’t call his lap poor, I was disagreeing with the person above who said that.
Edvaldo
22nd April 2025, 3:08
I was supporting your point!
BenHur
27th April 2025, 21:43
1/100 off pole is a very small difference if the cars are the same but with the fastest car Oscar should have won by a comfortable margin. And with Lando out to pasture he should have won the race without breaking a sweat. So good enough for 7 but far from a 9.
There are however 2 highlights in Oscar’s race: The start in which he Max’d Max while keeping the last cm of one of his wheels inside the track, and the decisive, unexpected lunge at the cranemaster which meant that Oscar lost almost no time while Max lost a few seconds after the dotaging tortoise. Max might still have won the race in the slower RBR had he been as decisive as Oscar against the creeping chicane.
Applebook
21st April 2025, 13:56
These ratings are always entertaining. Kimi gets the same score as Russell despite being clearly beaten on both days.
An Sionnach
21st April 2025, 20:14
Albon has been doing well so far this year. Getting the same mark as Max on what seemed an off weekend defies explanation. Max had an excellent qualifying and race, other than being beaten by Piastri off the line.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:45
Enemies of the state like Max and Alonso will always be judged to different standards.
David BR (@david-br)
22nd April 2025, 1:53
Leclerc and Piastri, good calls.
3 seems a bit harsh for Tsunoda, 5 is generous for Hamilton. I’d swap those points around.
Edvaldo
22nd April 2025, 3:11
A 5 for two crashes in the weekend is way too generous.
Hamilton has been unimpressive, but at least he’s bringing the points and keeping the damage to a minimum.
Emr
22nd April 2025, 14:02
Tbf if the corner walls weren’t jagged, he would have gotten away with the fp2 crash more. The Gasly crash was a racing incident. Your negativity is tiring
David BR (@david-br)
22nd April 2025, 22:58
I don’t see practice crasbes as that damning – it’s what practices are for, after all, and sometimes even the best drivers lose the car. I go by qualifying and race performances only, which I think should apply to Keith’s evaluations too to be honest. Tsunoda got into Q3. And as Emr points out, it was a first lap racing incident in the GP. So for me that’s a 5 at least given how difficult a car it is to drive (allegedly).
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:47
I agree. Though I wouldn’t give Lewis such a low score. But a 3 for Yuki is absurd.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
22nd April 2025, 13:09
Do you find it fair that russell has a better average than verstappen this season? I don’t, think he’s been overrated and today is another example.
An Sionnach
22nd April 2025, 18:52
Yes. Russell has largely put in good qualifying performances followed by driving the car home. Max has had a couple of astounding qualifying sessions and excellent races in Australia and Suzukam if not the others. The only mistake he has made was being beaten off the line this time around… but the car would not have been near the front row or a contender for victory without him sitting in it.
Russell’s approach is logical, but keeping out of trouble and having anonymous races should not earn high marks.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
23rd April 2025, 2:22
Yes, indeed; for the record, I think russell is having a good season, but at least him and verstappen should be swapped around.
Curiously albon is joint-3rd, an impressive performance with that car, and according to the ratings there’s a 0,4 points gap between 1st and 2nd and then again between 2nd and 3rd.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:51
I don’t. Max hasn’t made a single misstep. Max cutting the chicane wasn’t a performance misstep and didn’t change his finishing position. A downgrade for that incident is simply an ethical judgement. Max was scoring wins while his teammate was in P20. The Mercedes has clearly been faster than the RBR.
I dislike Max intensely, but I find it endlessly hypocritical how he’s judged to a different standard. And we know why this is.
El Pollo Loco
24th April 2025, 1:40
It’s silly how much emphasis a number of the ratings are based on how well cars did in the drag race to T1.